Harried, Harrassed, & Hormonal

Nine Months Old

2012-02-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

Sweetheart was nine months old yesterday. And she was quite tired when these pictures were taken......just before she headed home to bed.

She is moving around now, so it has become rather difficult to take a picture. As soon as you put her down, she is turning and twisting to get down onto her tummy. If she is on the linoleum, then she usually pushes herself into a corner and gets stuck. At home, she seems to maneuver herself underneath the dining room table. Last night, at our house, she was heading right for the stairs......she has no control as to where she is going. She is just happy to be moving.

Showing off those two cute bottom teeth.

She is a very smiley girl, but it was hard to get a grin when she was so tired. She watched us for awhile, but those smiles were hiding. And she really did just want to get down and move about.

No, she isn't crawling, but she learned how to get up on all fours last week. It lasts a few seconds and will usually get her closer to something that she is reaching for.

This is her reaction to seeing her Daddy when he came up the stairs. We all love her so much, and can't believe that nine months have flown by so quickly!

My sister

2012-02-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

My sister's surgery went well. It went according to plan and she is resting comfortably in the hospital. She will be there for a few more days and I am very, very proud of her. She still has a long road to recovery, but she is a very strong woman and she is going to be fine. I just know it. I suppose that I sound a little bit over-confident, but I have faith. Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes......we all appreciate them very, very much!!

Toy Show and Happy Birthday!

2012-02-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

We started our day in Pitt Meadows at the Toy and Collectible Show. It was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning. Grandson loves to look at all the hot wheels and the best part is that he can fill a grocery bag full for $5. We have fun looking at all the displays and he left as happy as can be. I met some friends for lunch at The Kingfisher and as usual, it did not disappoint. I have only been there a couple times and I don't really know why we don't go more often. I had the salmon and crab burger with yam fries. It was so yummy! Today, my baby sisters turned 48 years old. They met in Coquitlam for lunch and I love the picture that my one sister sent to me today. One of them is having major surgery tomorrow and needs lots of prayers. I have great faith in her Doctors, but I know that she will appreciate all of our prayers and well wishes. She has a very positive attitude and that is half the battle right there!!

Kids

2012-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time with kids. Partly, it's because it is my job. But most of all, it's because I really do love them. Now, I don't really like all of them all of the time, but I truly do love each and every one of them. I love the things that they say.......I am going to be very sad when Jade actually says "yesterday" instead of "yesternight." She makes me smile every single time. And when Chase says "Fighterman" instead of "Spiderman," I think that he is more right than wrong.

We had a fun day. We left the house at just before 10 o'clock this morning and arrived back home again just before 9 o'clock tonight. It's Hockey Day in Canada today and Hubby wanted to check out the card stores for his free hockey cards. Picked up some at Wisers and then he took me out for breakfast at The White Spot. One of our favourite waitress's is due to give birth in six weeks and I think that this will be the last time that we see her before she goes off on her maternity leave. She is having a baby girl at the end of March, and we are both so happy for her!

Our next stop was to go see #4 and help him with some paperwork that needed tending to. Hubby went off to his massage therapy appointment and I stayed and helped #4 with some stuff and also visited with #3, SIL and their blessings. After Hubby's appointment, we went to Mostly Music (to pick up more hockey cards) with #4 and Grandson, did a few things at Coquitlam Center and then went to dinner at #3 and family's. It was a great day and we were able to spend a lot of it with two of our favourite kids. They make me smile and laugh and it was a very, very fun day!!

Today

2012-02-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

This is the adorable face that greeted me this morning at 6:45 am. Her Mommy had just woken her up and she was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Lots of smiles, and I feel blessed to have been brought into her short little life. Her Mommy had to be downtown for a biopsy by 9, and when her Daddy came to pick up his daughter just after 1 o'clock, he had just dropped off his wife at a memorial for a young man who was only 17. It was not a good day for this little family. But this little gem had no idea of the circumstances in her family and she has brought so much joy into all of our lives. She did very well today.........she stayed longer than she has on any other day and she loves coming to Daycare. And I love having her. She is going to be one this week, and she is lots and lots of fun!! Don't you think that she has the most amazing eyes?

Almost 16 months old

2012-02-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

My great-nephew seems to have turned into a toddler. Overnight. Last week he was a baby. And now this week he is a toddler. He still crawls as much as he walks, but he is starting to look very grown up.

He is very personable. When I took him to the school today, he was riding in the stroller........Waving at anyone who would look at him. It was quite cute.......I think he must have thought that he was in a parade. We all know that it sometimes feels like one........

He is a great communicator. He signs All done, More, Milk, Hi, Bye, Shhh, No and Yes. When he wants something or wants to be taken somewhere, then he points in the direction that he wants to go. His words are coming along and he says Mama, Dada, chch(choochoo) and ish(fish). He ate a whole banana for breakfast and he said nana when I asked him to. He never said again. But I like that he tries.....most of the time he will say the first letter....Please is pe, tree is te, truck is tu, cat is ca. It's really cute and he is learning new things every day. It's a fun age.

He ate a lot today. It's a hit or miss these days, and he still loves his yogurt, oatmeal, grapes and fish crackers. Last week he loved blueberries, this week he liked to chew them and spit out the peel. When I grated a quarter of an apple for him, he inhaled it. Skin and all. Today he loved his banana, last week he threw it on the floor. He used to love cheerios, and now he throws them on the floor. So fun! Toddlers. I will never understand how they think, but I can't imagine my life without them. Every day is a new day and every day is an adventure!

Gordie Howe Night

2012-02-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

GH with GH
This one was taken prior to the pre-game skate

Ceremonial Face-off

Tuesday

2012-02-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

We started our day at Music today, and so #3 and I did a kidswap. She took care of her cousin, while I took Grandson with me. Baby hasn't really liked Music the last few times we have been, and he enjoyed staying with his cousins a lot. #3's new phone takes really good pictures and she is always so good about sharing. He started taking steps last week, by the way. I remember guessing that it would probably be a while, but as usual, I am wrong. The more experienced I get with guessing about this type of thing, then the worse I actually am. It's sure cute. Doesn't go any more than 7 or 8 steps at a time, and I love to watch him go. 'Like a drunken sailor,' is how is Daddy describes him......

It was another beautiful sunny day, and I had my new french doors open all afternoon. My sundeck becomes an extension of my playroom and we all had fun in the sun. It was 14 degrees today!! So lovely!!

I am on countdown to Hawaii, or Hywee, as Grandson calls it. I started awhile ago, and then lost track as I got so busy. But in a mere 13 days, we will be getting on a plane and heading west for 10 whole days. Our tickets were dropped off today and I am getting very, very excited!!

Outside

2012-02-06T22:21:00.002-08:00

Today was another outside day. I don't think it got as warm as it did on the weekend, but it was still very nice in the sunshine. Started off very chilly and frosty, but once that sun comes out, it is simply heavenly......

Sweet little baby girl

Showing off the back of her teddy bear jacket

I think that she is making a funny face.......it doesn't really look like her. But it shows off her two bottom teeth. She got the other top one last week, so that makes a grand total of four teeth at almost 9 months old. She has started to move around this past week too. If you sit her in the middle of the floor, then she puts her arm down and gets down onto her tummy and pivots around. Rolls a bit. Pivots a bit. And gets around fairly well. I remember that her brother was doing the exact same thing a few weeks before he crawled.......and I only remember because it was New Year's Eve 2008. We babysat him and he was just about 9 months old and he was moving around in the same fashion. I am not really ready for her to be old enough to crawl, but realistically, she could have been doing it 2 months ago. I really do think that she is growing up way too fast!!

Purpose

2012-02-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

I am not having a bad day. I just really liked this. Facebook is good that way. Full of inspiration, some days. Some days, it isn't. I sure do find out a lot from my newsfeed though, and again, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not so good.

I never did clean last night, so I think that I will have to get to it some time today. We ended up watching Crazy, Stupid, Love. And you know, it was one of the better movies I have seen in a while. Wait, it's the only movie that I have seen in awhile. I do love movies.....and this one was very, very good. I remember hearing that from people when it first came to the theatres, but I don't always agree with popular polling. I always have to consider the source. And even then, I don't always agree.

We taught Sunday School this morning and it seemed calmer and quieter than normal. But we had a great time with our 9 little pre-schoolers, and then headed out to Costco and Langley Farms. Didn't think that I really needed a whole lot but my bank account says otherwise. We spent over $500 at Costco and then we still had to go and buy more fresh veggies and fruit. Probably could have made do, but I would rather have too much than not enough. SIL has headed to a Superbowl party and #3 and the blessings are going to come over soon. We need to get outside and enjoy our 11 degrees and sunshine. It has been so nice for the last few days and everyone is in such good moods. Amazing what a little bit of natural Vitamin D can do for us, isn't it?

Lovely Day

2012-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

The sun is still shining and it was a lovely day today. We started off this morning in Maple Ridge going to appointments and then headed across to Langley to go out for lunch. This restaurant was closed in early January for Ukrainian Christmas, so we tried it out again today. It is not the easiest place to find and it is tucked into a very warehouse looking building on the Langley By-Pass. But it was just like my auntie used to make. The perogies were so delicious and the cabbage rolls were good too. And I also really like the Gourmet Food Store.......we picked up a few things from there as well. Because we bought some frozen pyrogies and borscht from Prairie Cottage to bring home......it was so delicious and I will look forward to making some for lunch this week!

When we come across the Golden Ears Bridge, this is the view that we see every single time when the sun is shining. I don't think I could ever tire of it. I think it is really quite magnificent!!

The Golden Ears Mountains. I love looking at them......so you can imagine how pleased I was when Hubby stopped the truck on Abernethy Way (he says everyone does it all the time) and I clicked another. We came home, watched a bit of the Canucks/Avalanche game, and then went for a walk. Hubby hosed all the leaves off of the driveway and I started dinner and did a bit of laundry. Don't really know what Saturday night holds, but I am thinking it will be more laundry and cleaning bathrooms. Yeah, I know. I am very boring. It's okay, it was a very busy week and I am looking forward to my very boring Saturday night!!

GH

2012-02-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

It was Gordie Howe night at the Coliseum last night. He is an icon. And at 83, he seems to be doing okay. My GH says that he wasn't near as shaky as he was 2 years ago, and he seems to have put on a little bit of weight. This is one of the reasons why Hubby chose this particular game to go to. He has a great respect and admiration for him.

The Giants wore commemorative jerseys for the occasion.

And on three separate occasions, we were very, very close to him. First he came right past us in the restaurant. Our friends mentioned to us that if we went to the Pacific Room at the Coliseum, then it seems like more people get random prizes. So we took that chance and had a really nice meal for $9.50 each. We both had the pulled pork sandwich and as much as I love The White Spot, it was a nice change from a burger and fries. Well, Mr. Howe walked right beside our seatmates, (a very nice couple who were also in their 80's, but you would have never known that) and then when we went upstairs, we also walked right past him while he was on his way to another private area. They had a place set up for when he was going to greet the 100 fans whose scratch and win ticket said Grand Prize. I like this picture because you can see his Stanley Cup ring.....one of the four that he won as a player.

And oh yeah......that chance that we took by eating at the Pacific Room worked out extremely well for us. Hubby was very excited and he was like a little kid when he scratched his ticket and it said Grand Prize. I wasn't allowed to go in front to take a picture, but somebody from the Giants organization did and they will email to us by Tuesday. He also got a very nice autographed 8x10 picture of Mr. Howe. Fun night, and it is just too bad that we had to leave a little bit early as Hubby's back was really bothering him. He lifted one too many batteries this week, not to mention a twisting of his hips when he tried to catch something that was going to fall off of the parts counter. Oh well, it was still a wonderful way to spend a Friday night!!

Spring-like

2012-02-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day today......almost like Spring. The weather forecast is more of the same for the next week. Reminiscent of Olympic Week in 2010. Way back in November, the forecast was for the coldest winter in BC history. So far, that forecast is wrong, and I am not complaining. I went to the park today with #3 and her blessings......we had such a lovely time.

Grandson has loved the swing since he was a baby. I really do think that he could do this all day long. I love how he and his Mommy play, "Activate, underduck." He laughs and laughs.

Sweetheart likes the swing too......not quite as much as her brother. But she sat in this one for a little while today.

Just hanging around.

Looking like she is going to have long legs like her Mommy....lucky girl!

She really liked the slide too.

Happy Groundhog Day

2012-02-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

I think that this is way too true. But I hope you are all having a good day!! Mine started out a bit later today. I slept really well. But I find that most Wednesday nights I will do that. Hubby and I have been going back to our Sauna Dates. We paid for a package last year at Essential Health, and then we went to a couple and never went back. Well, now that the office has moved to 223rd, it is way closer and way more convenient. So, for the last four Wednesdays we went for an infra-red sauna and killed 600 calories by just sitting and visiting. Oh, and really sweating. Not very romantic, but it's still very healthy and I sure sleep well after we go. We have four more that we have already paid for, and I am really considering buying another package. It's so good for both of us!

I went to the eye doctor this morning for a vision field test. And the pressures in my eyes were great! 15 in the right, and 16 in the left........I think that is the best that they have ever been. I go back for my yearly exam at the end of March. I feel like I am always going into New Westminster for eye stuff, and I know that it is really only every few months, but those months go by so fast!

Julie came and took care of my little guys this morning and she did some colouring with them and went to the library for Storytime. I actually beat her back home. It was very strange to come back to an empty house in the middle of a week day. I was way too efficient and even made it to the bank and to Wal-mart after my appointment. Valentine's Day is coming and I picked a few stickers and such for the little ones.

It's been a busy week. I did end up going to another Zumba class on Tuesday night and I liked it better than the night before, but it is still way too complicated for me. Our instructor told us that we have to come at least five times to understand the steps. I don't think she knows me as well as she thinks she does.....I think it will take more than five times!! And at $10/drop-in, that is expensive for having an okay time. It would be different if I loved it. One day, I will find something that I am more passionate about......well, maybe.......I still haven't after all these years.....BUT you never know. I like to walk, but that is really the only exercise that I really enjoy. It is important to me to keep my body moving.....no matter what....I will exercise because I have to.....not because I want to.

I am going to a hockey game tonight, and feels like sooooooo long since we have been, and it hasn't even been three weeks. Hubby and I have a Giants game tomorrow night and he is excited because it is Gordie Howe night. 100 fans will get to meet him and Hubby is trying to figure out how he can be one of those fans. It's totally random.

But that will be five nights in a row that I have been out and for me, that is a lot. I am feeling very rested, but I am sure that is because we were pampered so much on the weekend. I have been sleeping well, eating well and exercising. It is amazing how good one can feel when one takes care of oneself, hey?

Shenanigans

2012-02-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

I don't know why these pictures turned out so yellow, because it certainly wasn't yellow in the house. So sorry, but I still think that they are worth sharing. My aunt made the most delicious roast beef dinner on Saturday night and here are some of my memories.

Family picture-Take 1. The dog decided to jump down just as the picture was being taken and I think that I captured the moment rather well. Family pictures are hard to take at the best of times........so this one makes me laugh.

Family Picture-Take 2. Much better, don't you think? My cousin's children are 14, 11 and 9. They are growing up way too fast.

14 year old decided to make a face.....

.....so we did again.

These guys have way too much fun together!!

Happy 50th Birthday! Both cakes were simply delectable!!

Catching up

2012-01-31T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am trying so hard to be healthy. I have attempted to make better choices and exercise more. I have gained two pounds. Sigh.....

Now, after the weekend of being pampered and eating way too well (thank-you again, to my wonderful aunt and uncle) I didn't gain any weight in the last couple of days, but ever since Christmas I have put on a couple of pounds. No biggie. Except I am actually trying not to do that. And it's not really working.

Hubby made me a delicious smoothie today as my aunt made us one on the weekend and he replicated it this morning. It was delicious, and it just took me an hour to nurse it down, but I am just not really very hungry in the morning. Never have been. And yet, breakfast is still one of my most favourite meals to go out for. It helps, I think, that I get up so early and by the time I end up going out I have been up for 3 or 4 hours. That is when my body gets hungry. I have always known that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but ever since I can remember, I just don't want to eat first thing. Not like Hubby, who wakes up because he is hungry and has to eat ASAP. He is able to wait about an hour upon waking but if he had a choice, then he would eat breakfast first and then get ready for his day. Because he is such a creature of habit, then he always showers and gets ready for his day, and then eats and reads the newspaper. On weekends, he does sleep a little bit later, but really doesn't waver much from his routine.

And then there is me. I don't really have a routine. Every day is different. I usually wake up anywhere between 5 and 6, but when I actually get up is dictated by when the children are arriving. Some days, they come at 6:30 am. There are other days, it can be as late as 8. And since Christmas, I have been known to actually go back to sleep until 7. That is sleeping in. So if I get up at 5, I will eat around 9 or 10. If I get up at 7, then I will eat at 11 or 12. Sometimes I eat lunch for breakfast. No matter what though, whenever I get up, I will have a glass of water and and banana and take my thyroid pill and my supplements. Grandson used to love coming and helping me take my "vitamins." Believe me, with calcium/magnesium, vitamins B,C and D, plus my vision factor and adrenal boost, there is quite a few little capsules to ingest. To me, they make up small meal.

I tried Zumba last night. As I left to go, my entire family had a little chuckle about that. And they had every right.....I am not co-ordinated and I have no rhythm. I have been procrastinating since Christmas though and I did finally make a class. It was hard, and I was really sweaty, but I am very happy that I went. Thank-you Cynde, for calling and inviting me. I am going to try it again tonight with another instructor at a different facility. I actually feel pretty good this morning, but I didn't really push myself too terribly last night. Like the instructor told us first-timers, "It's not a dance class. Just enjoy the music and have fun. Try to keep up, but don't worry if you don't." Believe me, I didn't keep up, but I really did have fun and I smiled a lot. So I will try again tonight and see how it goes. Wish me luck!!

My cousin's son plays the guitar and has a group of guys that he jams with. He was practicing for almost 4 hours on Saturday and we were very fortunate to go and listen to him and his friends. (One of his friends has a soundproof room in his basement) It was fun....they are called Free Tacoz and they even have a couple of youtube videos. They have played in their school talent show we really enjoyed listening to them. Here is a pic of my very talented, guitar-playing 14 year old cousin!!

My uncle and aunt

2012-01-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

My uncle and aunt will be 80 this year and they have been married for 60 years last May. They are as much in love today as they were when they wed so many, many years ago. They are quite an inspiration and I love them both so very much!!

We hadn't seen them for over four years. It was so wonderful to spend some time with them on Saturday afternoon.

Calgary

2012-01-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

When I booked a trip to Calgary for the last weekend in January, I was prepared to find it snowy and freezing cold. It was chilly when we arrived on Friday night, but not unbearable. (-1 and a little bit windy) So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was that it was 11 degrees today. As we were driving to the airport, the temperature guage on my aunt's vehicle said it was 13 degrees. So sunny and beautiful......who would have thunk it?

I went outside this afternoon without a jacket or a sweater......it was cool, but it was tolerable.

My aunt and uncle in front of their house. This is where we stayed, and it was better than the Hilton. They have a beautiful spacious home and we had the whole basement to ourselves. Wonderful bed, and wonderful huge bathroom. They outdid themselves with their hospitality and we had such a fabulous time. Thank-you again, from the bottom of our hearts!

Two very, very special people!!

Definition

2012-01-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

I really like this one. I know that I don't work nearly as hard as I used to but I will always say that parenting is the hardest job that I have EVER had. But it is by far, the most rewarding. I don't really work very hard at grandparenting, it is our reward for surviving parenthood. Have a great weekend everyone!! I already know that I am going to!!

Getting ready

2012-01-27T05:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it is the end of January. In just over 11 hours, Hubby and I will be headed to Calgary for the weekend. I am very excited! We found a seat sale and I am still rather surprised that we are really going to Alberta in the Winter, but I just checked my Weather Network (I love my iPad2) and it is -10 in Calgary right now...with a windchill to make it feel like -18. It's -1 here right now. It's supposed to be 10 degrees there on Sunday (of course, that is the day we are leaving) but when I talked to my aunt last night, she says that the wind always makes it feel colder. It's okay, I have my boots, scarf and hat. I know that we really won't be outside very much anyway. I am going to miss my little guys......I did see 2 of the blessings this week, but I haven't seen Grandson for a whole week. It feels like longer. He started feeling better on Wednesday but #3 thought it best that he stay home and feel 100% before he goes out again. And so I do hope to get over there for a quick hug and a visit some time today. I know that two days will fly by and I will be home before I know it, and I am so looking forward to seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins!! We are only gone for a couple of days, not even quite 48 hours. Here is a couple of pictures of the girls.......they make me smile......every single day!!

Caring for the Caregiver

2012-01-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today was sunny.....
.....and I went to the dike for a short while....

....and went for a very little walk....

....and enjoyed our lovely sunshine....

.....and took some pictures.....

.....alone.

Piggy-tails

2012-01-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

Sweetheart has been working on building her immune system. She has had a cough for pretty much the entire winter. As soon as it seems to be going away, then it comes back. She is very happy, but she sounds terrible. She went to the Doctor on Monday and she is fine.....it's a virus.....but like we all know, it can change in an instant. So far, so good......but her Mommy went to visit a brand new baby in the hospital last night, so we babysat our youngest grand-daughter. Grandson is still feverish and still very needy so he stayed home with his Daddy and we took care of Sweetheart. It was way too fun!

I just love her piggy-tails!!

A funny face, but a better view of her hair.

Like all the other little ones before her, they all love this spot by the fridge playing with the music and the magnets. Her Grandpa doted on her all evening long.........I think this was the only time that she was out of his arms. (except when she was eating dinner)

Babies make the cutest faces.........and yes, I am slightly partial to this cute baby girl, but we sure enjoyed our time with this very special 8 month old!!

15 months old

2012-01-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

My serious little great-nephew is 15 months old already. He went for a check-up last week and is 21 pounds 4 ounces and 30 and 1/2 inches long. The Dr was very pleased that he has gained weight and is more proportionate to his length now. He is doing well. He loves his yogurt, but will eat most anything I give him. Bananas, grapes and pasta are a sure thing. I love his cute little personality. He is very affectionate and loves to come to Daycare. I love him so much and I love watching him grow and develop. He communicates extremely well and signs a lot of his words. He gets up on his knees and "walks" now, and is getting braver and braver with taking that first step. But so far, he will just hold on with one hand on the furniture and stand. Because of his cautious nature, I don't think he will walk for a couple more months, but that's okay. He is very happy to crawl around and participate. He especially loves the children but when Hubby comes home from work he holds out his arms and smiles so wide. It's very sweet.....once a kid magnet, always a kid magnet.

Happy Chinese New Years

2012-01-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

It's the year of the dragon. The closest that the children and I came to celebrating was saying Gung Hay Fat Choy and eating mandarin oranges and fortune cookies. The school-agers tell me that they talked about it in school today and the little ones enjoyed eating oranges. No one really cared about the fortune cookies except me. I love them....they were indifferent. We will have to try harder next year!

Baby Girls

2012-01-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

It isn't any secret that I have way more boys registered in my daycare than girls. So I am quite delighted that another baby girl has come. She is 11 months old and her first day was last week, but she had attended for another day before that. Usually, transitioning takes a few weeks or even months, but this sweet little girl's mommy has unusual circumstances. It's a very sad story, and I know that Cancer is a very hard word with a very harsh reality, but up until last week she was in remission. Because I don't know the results of her Dr's appointment, I don't really know anything more than that, but I don't think the appointment was a happy one. So for now, I will care for her once a week and love her and give her some social skills. Won't be hard, as she fit into our routine magnificently. When #3 was here, she pulled out her phone and took some really sweet pictures.....I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!

Oops! This one makes me smile,and Sweetheart just took it all in stride.
Sweetheart is 21 lbs 3 ozs now.

And she is 28 and a half inches long.

She just received her first top tooth this past weekend, although it looks like her friend is teething more than she is. She has the two bottom ones and one top one. She still doesn't like anything pureed, but will eat a lot of things if they are cut up into small pieces. And if she can do it all by herself. Little Miss Independence......just like her Mommy.

It is so much fun to have two baby girls. #3 gave them the baby dolls which is so gender-specific, but we play with cars and hockey guys a lot, and so we are enjoying the baby girls.

Wonder Woman

2012-01-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

I wonder where the weekend went. It went by way too quickly and I know that I still have a bit of an evening left, but I have already accounted for a couple of those hours. I have some paperwork to do and I am procrastinating.

I don't have to cook dinner as we had a really late lunch on the way home from Vancouver, so I can at least eliminate one task. Not that eating is really a task, but cooking and cleaning up certainly is. And I don't usually clean up. But I do a lot of tidying and putting away. Sometimes I just wish that my house looked like it. And it usually does for a few hours in the morning, but that is about it. Living in a Daycare does have it's pros and cons. I LOVE the children, but I really don't love their messes.

Friday was a Pro D day and I think that the school-agers made more of a mess than the toddlers. The few things that the toddlers drop on the floor don't really take very long to clean up. But those big kids move big things. Like small pieces of furniture. They love to make tents and the furniture and pillows don't move far, but they certainly do move. And then it is always me putting them away properly.....'properly' being the key word here. It was snowing in the morning so we did get outside for a little bit. Hubby was so wonderful and shoveled the driveway before he went to work and it changed into a sheet of ice by 10 o'clock, because of the freezing rain. All I could envision was concussions, but they sure loved it. I was so happy when they all came inside. Despite the mess......at least they were safe and warm and dry. Because two of them came without boots or outdoor clothes.......sigh.

Miracle #3 invited us over for dinner and that was a wonderful treat. She made the best chili that I have ever tasted, and then she and I (with Sweetheart) went to an Everyday Style party. It's a combination of Epicure/Pampered Chef/Partylite party and it was very fun to get out on a Friday night. Grandson was excited because his Grandpa was staying to play.....they had a Boys night and we had a Girls night. Win win.

Hubby and I tended to appointments and chores on Saturday. We went to Coquitlam Center for a little bit before we went to Mostly Music. Hubby had a gift certificate burning a hole in his pocket since Christmas and was very happy to pick up Series 30 of the McFarlane toys. Do you know that he has every single one from every single series? That doesn't include all the variants and special orders, but I do not even want to guess how many he actually owns. I used to tell everyone that I am the only person I know who has over 200 little men living in her bedroom closet, but now that he has a mancave, they don't live there any more. But they still live in my house. The only thing that is different about men and boys is the price of their toys. But when I compare the toys that my husband buys compared the toys that my friend's husbands toys, then I don't have very much to say. I am getting off easy. Really. Really. Easy.

Pretty Girl came and spent the night with us last night and it went so very well, as it was the first time that she had been without her Mommy and Daddy overnight. And she never did ask for them once. She slept right through the night until 5:24 this morning and refused a bottle but was quite happy to come and snuggle in Grandma and Grandpa's bed. She lasted until just after 7 and then we were up and at 'em. She was very happy to see her mom and dad when they came to pick her up before church, but she's quite happy most of the time anyway. Her Daddy calls her an emotionally unstable almost-2 year old, but I really only see that side of her when she is hungry or tired. And three hours naps make for very happy almost-2 year olds!! I am guessing that she went home for a very early nap and I can only hope that she had a nice long one.

Church was great. Two of the miracles came, and Grandson had a fever in the night so he stayed home. His whole family had to miss Superskills as Sweetheart has been coughing and feverish as well, so they couldn't make it. I was disappointed, but #1 was able to come with us and that was nice. She still isn't well and needs lots of prayer. SIL has had ILI since Christmas which is influenza-like-illness and he needs prayer too. Their whole family just needs to get better. #3 is really the only healthy one that lives there right now. #4 is still recovering from his surgery so even though I would have to say he is 80%, it's a very unhealthy household. Even the dog was sick just before Christmas!

Anyway, I have phone calls to make, emails to answer and paperwork to complete. I have managed to sit here on my computer and fritter away some time but none of those jobs are going to get done by themselves. Have a great Sunday evening, everyone!!

Her 1st Sleepover

2012-01-21T22:33:00.000-08:00

When we got asked to babysit tonight, we were going to go over to her house. But I suggested a sleepover and so this is what we did. It's been a very fun evening and Pretty Girl has been an absolute gem. After we played dollies and did some dancing to the radio, Grandpa went to get the iPad and here they are, absolutely engrossed in youtube music videos.

Hello, Pretty Girl!

They had lots of fun with the music.

She was getting tired, but never too tired to clap along.

And this is where she started her night. I thought she might resist going to bed and I was right, but she was fine with getting rocked and then lying with me in our bed. She is now tucked into her crib, fast asleep and there are doubts as to whether she will sleep right through, but you never know. I don't care either way, as I will love to see her and get some middle-of-the-night cuddles if need be. I love sleepovers!!

DS

2012-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, an older child left the Nintendo DS sitting on the couch instead of putting it away. So when Pretty Girl spotted it, she climbed up and gave it a go.

Looking like she knows what she is doing...

It was a Backyardigans game........she actually couldn't play it, but she really liked watching the characters.

"Hi, Gamma." She says that a lot now. Up until a few weeks ago, it was all about "Gampa," but she acknowledges me now too. It's always been this way with all of the children.....I feed them, I change them, I love them and care for them and all he has to do is walk in the room and they are overwhelmed with excitement. (and yes, he loves them and cares for them too, but he is such a kid magnet)

"Here you go, Grandma....your turn." She has learned how to share in the past few weeks too, and as long as it isn't Eeyore or Sasha, then she is quite willing to play and take turns. She says lots of words now, too many to count. Is putting two and three words together, and it is so cute. She is growing up way too fast, but it is so fun to be her Grandma and marvel at her as she goes from toddler to little girl. Oh, I just love her soooooo much!!

Pretty Girl!

2012-01-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

She just loves her bunny housecoat!

She received a kitchen center for Christmas and she loves to play and "cook." Don't you love the apron and hat? Such a little chef!

Playing before her bath.
At the park last week......she loves the "whee."

She really likes the snow.

And loved the snowball that Daddy made for her!

So cold!!

2012-01-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

I really do think that snow is quite beautiful. And it was really nice on the weekend when the lowest that the temperature went was -2. It is -10 outside right now and that is little bit too cold for me. But it is -53 in Churchill, Manitoba with the windchill, and -46 in Coaldale, Alberta right now. Those are a couple of Facebook statuses from yesterday and today and that makes my -10 seem almost balmy. I have booked a weekend trip to Calgary in a couple of weeks and it was -27 there yesterday. The weather network claims that it will be -1 by next week and I am praying that they are right. I actually own clothes and boots that will keep me warm, but Hubby doesn't. He just left for work in his west coast winter coat and I already know that he will be very, very cold walking over to his workplace from the parking lot which is about a block away. I love my UGGs and I love my down jackets, polar fleece, hats and scarves!! Sometimes I think that I have too many, but when the the winter weather comes, then I know that I really don't.

Hubby and Grandson were drawing happy faces in the snow on Sunday with their fingers and I told them that they had to stop or they would get frostbite. Grandson looked up at me and immediately asked, "Why would Frosty bite me?" Oh, he is so funny.......and he was so serious. He is so sweet and so complimentary. We were driving home from the gym last week and out of the blue he said, "Grandma?" I answered him and he said, "You're so pretty." There are lots of days where he will look up from playing and tell me, "Oh Grandma, you're so beautiful!" And I know that he is only three, but he truly means what he says. And says what he means. Children are so refreshingly honest and he does wonders for my self-esteem.

We went to the Dr. on the weekend to get our bloodwork results. And it was all good. I know that I had already lowered my synthroid medication, but I was NOT hyper-thyroid. Everything was fine...... I was just stressed from the renovations. My HDL was a little bit high, but nothing to worry about, and I was told to drink red wine. Dr's orders. Now, that gave us all a bit of chuckle, because I don't like wine and don't really drink at all. But he told Hubby to drink some too. It is good for all that ails, and his blood pressure was a bit high. Again, nothing to really worry about, but we will need to be pro-active. He already takes 5mg of Crestor every night, but doesn't need anything for his blood pressure. YET. He started taking celery seed extract a few weeks ago, when it was 150/99.......and now when we went back it is down to 139/94. Really, in truth, we both need to exercise more.......I am doing quite well with my hour or more a day, but we both need to get out and walk. Not in this frigid weather that has come upon us for the next couple of days, but we really do need to do some more cardio. We hold each other quite accountable, so I will do my best to get him out and about more!

Party, Party, Party

2012-01-17T06:32:00.000-08:00

We had three birthdays to celebrate this weekend, and we started on Saturday at 4. We did the traditional bowling for Lisa's birthday and then we all came back to our house for dinner and cake....and of course present opening. Pat's great-niece is here in the snowy Lower Mainland and she had a birthday at the beginning of the month, so we did a double celebration. We ordered chinese food and we all had fun!!

So excited!
Cute little 7 year old from Costa Rica!

After church on Sunday, we went to Langley to celebrate another family birthday. My nephew turned 17 and another fun time was had by all.

My beautiful niece will turn 19 in April!

The traditional money fan....he should have lots of fun spending his birthday money.

Bowling

2012-01-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Isn't she cute? Do you know what she is looking at?

She really couldn't keep her eyes away from it. The bowling alley is full of lights and noise, and it is total overstimulation for an 8 month old. She loved it though and couldn't keep her eyes off of......
......this. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a moving flashing light.

Cute little bowler.....he just loves it!!
And at almost 4 years old, he's pretty good at it.
Such form!

Me and my boy.

Watching his ball go down the alley.

Looking good!

Sweetheart just loved watching all the action!

He bowled on a lane with his Grandpa and his great-aunt. And he did really well.....yes, he had bumpers but he beat ME by quite a bit. Apparently, my family says that is not a surprise.

Cousins!

They are both looking at the camera in this one......but I actually like the other one better. Grandson loves his big cousins!

Snow

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

I thought that the rain would wash the snow away on Saturday, but I was wrong. The rain stopped, the snow started again and then the sun came out in the afternoon. It snowed again last night (not very much, just a light dusting) and I hear that we are supposed to get another 5 to 10 cm tomorrow. Probably not until the evening........but as I was shoveling the driveway yesterday, I realized we probably got closer to 10 cm yesterday too. That is four inches. It was heavy and wet, and the snow that fell last night was light and fluffy. Today, it started out quite foggy but the sun arrived in the late morning and it truly was a lovely day. It's been a very busy two days. I just got home from the hockey game and my Canucks lost to Anaheim Ducks 4 to 2. They played terrible, but I had a great evening going out for dinner at Rosie's on Robson with my very good friend. And the game was fun, even though the Canucks played badly......

I like this picture. Don't you love my new window and new blinds? Yeah, I know, you really can't see them very well, but I still like this picture.

Laughter

2012-01-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

I love to laugh! And this one made me laugh. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did....and do. Because I often go back and re-read previous posts. It helps me to remember.

I actually read an article this week about forgetting something when you walk into a room. It's the way the brain has been programmed. New room. New task. Clear the brain. It happens to me more than I want to admit, but it was nice when Dr. Oz validated it. I love his articles in the daily newspaper. I don't always even read the newspaper every day, but when I do, I really like his insight.

It's been a busy week, and looks like it's going to be a busy weekend as well. We have 3 birthdays to celebrate and I have hockey tickets for tomorrow night. It's snowing. Okay, it's raining. On top of the very beautiful snow that started last night and is outside covering my lawn. I am going to guess that there is about 2 inches and it is very lovely, but I have to go out in an hour and I am going to hope that the main roads are clear. Not that I should even worry about that, because Hubby is driving and we have 4-wheel drive......so I know that we will be fine. And if it keeps raining like it's been raining for the last hour, then it will all be washed away by noon, anyway.

Have a great weekend, everyone!! I will try and get back here before it's over, but it is looking to be action-packed and very, very social. Just the way I like it!!

Happy Friday!

2012-01-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Pictures

2012-01-13T07:46:00.001-08:00

The weather has been so beautiful this week. Wednesday was the coldest day, but we were still out for a little bit in the afternoon. #3 walked over here, and just before she left to go home, she took some really cute pictures on her phone.

My new stroller is the same as #3's, although it was made in a different year. I love it and I think that the two babies are simply adorable!!

The older children were having lots of fun playing. That is the nicest part of having the sunshine this week is that the older ones can get outside and run. I find that they need to get out. The little ones like it too, but the big ones need it.

Cousins!!

Every time that I look at his gorgeous blue eyes, I marvel at him. This baby is 1/8 chinese. I know that is not very much, but his eyes are simply amazing!

Her eyes are amazing too. She is 1/2 chinese, and yet her eyes aren't brown either. They are more gray than blue, but she is so cute. She is almost 2 and 1/2 and getting more and more beautiful as the days pass by.

The Park

2012-01-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

It was a very lovely day today, and we managed to get to the park for just over an hour before we had to pick the big kids up at school. Nice view from the swings, don't you think? The mountains and the dog park. Doesn't get much better than this.....for the one and two year olds.....and for me too!! It's days like this that I love my job more than I usually do.

He really enjoyed swinging.

And so did she!

These guys liked the play equipment more.

They have a new climber at the school.

Dresses weren't really made for playgrounds, but that didn't stop her.

She went right to the top.

The Golden Ears. This is the view from the school, and I don't think that I could ever tire of it. I love my mountains, and I love my Maple Ridge on sunny January afternoons!!

Sunny

2012-01-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

It's been really nice out for the last couple of days. Yesterday was a little bit chilly, but Monday and Tuesday were mild. I have been outside a little bit for all three days, and it supposed to be nice again today. The children are loving it......me, I love that we can get outside and get some fresh air, but I like it when it's more Spring-like. And to most people, 6 degrees is quite Spring-like. I don't really think so, but we will take what we can get. The children all tell me it's Summer and we don't need jackets. I beg to differ........and believe me, I do. Jackets on. Hats on. Gloves on. Check.

Words to live by

2012-01-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

Banana Pancakes

2012-01-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

Having her breakfast this morning

She doesn't like pablum. Actually, she is not really fond of anything that is mashed or pureed. But if it is cut into little tiny pieces, she brings out her little pincher fingers (only on her right hand) and eats one whole pancake.

I know that I say it all the time.......but she just looks so much like her Mommy did when she was a baby.....although her Mommy never did have the crazy hair. #3 calls it "Lyle Lovett" hair.....

Mondays are fun!

2012-01-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

I love Monday. I know that makes me odd, but I really do love getting back into my routine. Whatever that may be. I love my job, and I love my Mondays. It's usually one of my slower days of the week, and today was so much fun. The little guys and I went to the Gym, had our snack and did a pre-school pick-up before lunch. Two out of the five were picked up just after lunch, and two more met their moms and dads at the school. When I picked up the older boys today, we tried to play on the new playground equipment but it was so CROWDED, with a capital C. So I promised that we would try again another day and they were fine with that. We jumped over puddles and had some great conversation heading back to the van, and we decided that we would break from our usual snack, then playtime, then DS time........to whatever they wanted to do......within reason. And it was really nice to switch it up a bit, we still did all the same things but in a different order. They liked having the control, and 4:40 was here before I knew it.

The miracles and the blessings were here for dinner, and we had also invited some friends. It was a great evening, and another Monday is over. Oh well, I love Tuesdays too!!

Wonderful!

2012-01-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

Positive attitude......the power really is amazing, don't you think? I try very hard to have one and am successful most of the time, but there are always days that it seems impossible. Those are my days that I seem to pray a lot. And it doesn't always work out the way that I want it to, but I have to understand that I am not the one who is in control. God is. Plain and simple. And the more that I know that and believe that, then the more wonderful the day can be.

Today was a wonderful day. From the beginning to the end. We picked up Grandson for church and had a great morning with him. He learned about how Jesus had five loaves of bread and two fish and he fed thousands of people. It was a miracle! And Grandson listened so intently to the story and loved our snack of fishy crackers and breadsticks.......he played, did his craft and told me that Sunday School is too short. He was totally amazed by the solar system that is in the pre-school room right now.......he had to recite all the planet names for us. It was a very fun morning, and we came back here to play for a bit before we went off to Costco and Langley Farms.

Our computer monitor has been smelling like burned wiring for a couple of weeks now. It started on Christmas Eve and then it sort of went away for a bit, but was back in full force last night. It was still under warranty, and we actually still had the box it came in and the receipt, so Hubby packed it up and we took it back. Just like that. Costco has the return and re-purchase policy, so we did exactly that. Returned it. And re-purchased a new one. Only this new one is a couple of inches bigger than the old one........and it never really looked that much bigger until we brought it home and set it up, but a 23" computer screen is very big. Very, very big.

#3 and Sweetheart came to pick up Grandson in the later afternoon, and we had a little visit before they headed off home. Then we had dinner, watched the news and de-Christmasized the living room. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and we actually have a bit of an evening still ahead of us. Hubby has finished his ironing, he has taken out the recycling and garbage for tomorrow and I have done a bit of laundry and need to go finish cleaning up the kitchen. Monday will be here before I know it!

Busy Day

2012-01-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

Our Saturday started out with an appointment at our chiropractors. We usually go every four weeks, but this one extended into five because of the Christmas/New Year's break. I love my chiropractor, and as usual, she had us adjusted and feeling much better than when we went in. I really do notice at about 3 and 1/2 weeks that my back starts to feel painful and achy, and voila! One trip for an adjustment and I am good to go again. And having ten days off usually helps my back, but because the twisting and lifting is so part of my regular daily routine, I don't believe having time off really helped this time. Both Hubby and I don't make New Years resolutions, but we have both vowed that we are going to incorporate more cardio into our lives. We both have very active jobs, but we do lack in cardio.......so we have to go for more walks.

My friend just sent me a fantastic youtube video about exercise and it really only suggests one-half hour of exercise daily. Not really very hard, if you think about it........and that can even be in 10 minute intervals. Well, I do know for a fact that we have no trouble being active for at least a half an hour........so I am going to step that up a bit, and challenge myself to exercise for at least an hour every day. The video was called 23 and 1/2 hours, and Dr. Mike Evans challenges us all to not eat, sleep or sit for one half hour a day. I am going to try my very best to do that, and I am going to keep Hubby accountable as well. Right now, he is sanding and painting......and then there is me.....I am being rather sedentary. Maybe it should be him keeping ME accountable!

We weren't very sedentary today though, as we did errands for the better part of the day. Started off in Maple Ridge and then we went to Langley to find a pyrogy restaurant that wasn't even open. : ( We ended up going to Montana's for lunch instead and I had a wonderful pulled pork sandwich, but it just wasn't pyrogies. Disappointing, but it just means we will have to try again. Found a really fun kitchen store, so it wasn't a total loss. We had some birthday shopping to tend to as Hubby's sister is 42 on the 14th, so we had fun at Winners, Mark's Workwear, Mexx, La Vie En Rose and Addition-elle. Mostly just looked, but we did get a couple of hoodies, some t-shirts and some p.j.'s.......and a few other things for some other Spring birthdays as well. Headed back into Maple Ridge, got some paint for the kitchen/playroom touch-ups and went to Canadian Tire to pick up some storage containers. Just before we came home we stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee for me and a blueberry fritter for Hubby.......I just love my gift certificates so much!!

But now there is laundry to start and bathrooms to clean and dinner to throw in the oven, so I had best get going. Miracle #3 took a really cute picture on her phone on Wednesday and I just have to share it. She points out that her daughter is not very lady-like, she often tells us that she is not a dainty girl. Nope, she isn't but she sure is cute!! Her cute cousin is looking quite tired, but I just love it!! Thanks #3, you really do take some great pictures!!

Epiphany

2012-01-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

....is celebrated on January 6th each year. It remembers the three wise mens visit to Baby Jesus and his baptism, according to the events in the christian bible. www.timeanddate.com

.....is a Christian holiday on January 6th, celebrating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. Wikipedia

....is the climax of the season of Advent and Christmas and it's place in the church year, including a reflective prayer. www.crivoice.org

I liked all three definitions that I googled this morning, so I posted all three. January 6th is the 12th day of Christmas, and it ends the Christmas season. As a Christian, I have always talked about it but have never really officially celebrated it. Because we were so late with getting the Christmas tree up this year, I told everyone that I was going to keep it up until Epiphany. (yes, I received more than one quizzical look) And we have. I love my tree, but I will take it down this weekend. Christmas is officially over.

And tomorrow is Ukrainian Christmas. Cabbage rolls and pyrogies, anyone? I am not Ukrainian, but my daughter-in-law is........and I am willing to embrace all cultures and customs. Mmmmm, I love pyrogies!

Fun times!

2012-01-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

This week has gone by very fast. Our evenings have been full and so have our days, and I suppose that is one of the reasons. We had our New Years Day dinner on Monday night and the miracles were very happy to receive another turkey dinner. My new oven cooked it to perfection, even though it was a very big learning curve. Haven't decided if I am sold on the convection oven idea, but maybe as I get more used to it, I will learn to love it. On Tuesday, we went to Wah Wing for dinner with friends and it did not disappoint. Love that restaurant and I especially love the Szechaun beans. They are delectable!! Last night we went to the Giants/Hitmen game and it was very fun, but going out for two nights in a row plays a toll on us, especially when this is our first week back to work, after having ten days off. We had no plans tonight, and it was nice. Did some laundry and watched the Swedes win the Gold Medal in the World Junior Tournament. I loved the Russian goalie, he saved 57 out of 58 shots and they still lost the game, but he was soooooooo good. And so fun to watch!!

On Wednesday, we decided to eat the second gingerbread house.
And they tell me that it was very good!

It did keep them busy for at least half an hour.

And today, we went for a very short van ride to help out a friend and take him to pick up his car on 207th Street. As soon as Jade quit talking and asking questions, I figured that she had gone to sleep. I asked Pretty Girl if Jade was asleep and the answer was, "Yay." And then I asked her if Baby was asleep and she told me, "Yay." When I asked her if she was going to go to sleep, she promptly told me, "No." She was right, she didn't. Seriously, our ride was only ten minutes long at the most.

So she sat on the step with her new dolly (her name is Sasha) and watched me bring her friends in from the van. They both stayed asleep for about 45 more minutes. Actually, Jade's Daddy picked her up at 4, and she left here in his arms, still sleeping.

She never wants me to take her picture, but I snapped a couple anyway. And even though she is a bit teary-eyed, (she didn't like it when I went to unlock the front door and left her and her friends in the van for 10 seconds) I really like the results. She is actually looking at the camera and she is smiling!! That is success for our cute little 20 month old!!

Calories

2012-01-04T23:00:00.001-08:00

Just wondered if anyone else fights with their weight as much as I do. I have actually lost weight over the Christmas season, but that's fairly normal for me. I am busy and excited, so I tend to drop a few pounds. And as much as I try to lose weight, then that is when I usually gain. And when I am not really trying very hard, then the pounds melt away. I have been known to lose 7 pounds in one day. And I know that it is water, but when I do that, then I usually am quite disciplined and keep it off. Right now, I try not to pay too much attention to the scale, and I have learned not to weigh myself every day. But I did get on it today to find out that I lost two more pounds over the last couple of weeks. And I have eaten like a champion. It doesn't make any sense, and I think I will just thank God for small mercies and carry on. I have to put a bathing suit on in just over seven weeks.........I have lost 14 pounds since early November, so I think I should discipline myself a little bit better and really try to lose another 10 pounds before I go to Hawaii. Ready, Set, Go!!

The boys are back.....

2012-01-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

.....and I missed them all so much!! First, they shared a snack together. Look at the little one in the front. He didn't care about eating the cheerios as much as he wanted to play with them. Oh, I love toddlers so much!!
And even though they are all so little, they really do want to play within the same three feet of one another. True parallel play, but here the ones on the right appear to be having a conversation. Kind of funny, because neither of them really have a whole lot of words.

My three little blondies!
So cute!

This one is funny. The almost 2-year old really doesn't want to share his hockey guys. The almost 15 month old appears to be eyeing up the toys, (and yet, he really didn't even care one bit) and the 18 month old is just doing his own thing. They are all so good today, and had so much fun together! And these pictures were all taken before 8:30 am.

Something to think about!

2012-01-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

This came across my Facebook Newsfeed on New Year's Eve and I think it is just so good, that I had to share it. I love all seven lovely logics, but #6 made me think the most. Yes, I think too much. Like, probably every waking hour of the day. And a lot of my sleeping hours too. If I actually believed in making resolutions, then this is something that I would try to change. I just can't help it.......it really is the way that God made me!!

Hello 2012!

2012-01-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! It has been very quiet at my house today. It was very quiet last night too. I went to church and finished up some blogposts and Hubby watched TV and caught up on some of his reading. He opened some hockey cards that he bought yesterday, and we had a very, very relaxing New Years Eve. We were out and about since 9 am in the morning, as we started our day at the lab getting our bloodwork done. Then we went to The White Spot for the second day in a row for breakfast, (lucky,lucky me!) and carried on with some shopping and errands.

We ended up crossing the bridge to the Langley Costco as that is where I had bought Grandson's jeans that needed to be replaced because the snap came off in the first wash. I was happy that they still had some left, as $12.99 for a pair of CK jeans is a very good price. Size 4 was a bit tricky to find, but Hubby and I managed, and we also picked him up a Size 5 for his birthday in April. Shhhh.....don't tell.

After Costco, we went to The Carters/Osh Kosh store and we put a major dent in getting some more birthday presents for the Spring birthdays as everything in the store was on sale. 20% off of their already great prices, as well some of the clothes that were already marked down. We went to Hallmark and picked up Christmas goodies on sale there too. I can honestly say that we have already started our Christmas shopping for next year!!

Krause Farms, Wisers and Price Matters were our next stops before we came back over the river and went to Roots, Rona and Save-On. We used a gift certificate from Starbucks and Hubby got a Cranberry Bliss bar and I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I was very happy to hear that the Pumpkin Spice Latte's were still going to be on the menu until they run out of syrup and the Starbucks girl thought that might be in March. She said that she had LOTS of it, and I was quite thankful about that. I just think that they are SOOOOOO yummy. Very expensive, but still a very nice treat!!

Today was not as eventful as yesterday. We got up late, and Hubby has been painting trim all day. All of the windows are now without blinds, not to mention some of them had to be re-puttied and sanded where the gyproc has come off of the walls. He has finished the downstairs and is working on finishing the playroom upstairs. It's a very tedious job and it looks fantastic!!

I have been cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry, but mostly just working on paperwork and catching up on emails today. We just got back from The Keg, as we used our gift cards and had a wonderful dinner out. Thanks Dad, and Stacy and Ken. My Steak Oscar was delicious and Hubby really enjoyed his Sirloin Classic as well. He's back to more painting and I am going to play on my iPad. I might do a bit of tidying first but that is a never-ending job........and we haven't even had any children to mess it up this week. Just us......and I don't like to admit it, but it really is me who makes most of the mess. We are getting together as a family tomorrow to have our New Years Day dinner and I am really looking forward to seeing all of my blessings. I did see Grandson and Sweetheart on Friday, but I haven't seen Pretty Girl since Christmas Day, so I miss them. I miss all my little guys and will be happy to get back to work on Tuesday. I have eaten too much and relaxed too much and I will be happy to get back into my routine once again!!

Good-bye 2011!

2011-12-31T23:41:00.000-08:00

It was a pretty good year. The best moment was when our third grandchild was born in May, but it had lots more highlights. And a few lowlights, too. I just wish it wasn't so late and I could remember it all more clearly. Go back and look at previous posts, that is what I have to do to see what I did. I used to reflect and reminisce, and I still do that, but I need my blogposts to refresh my 51, almost 52 year old brain. It went by very, very quickly. The years seem to do that more and more as I get older. I love my life, I love my family and I love my friends. I am looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for us! Good night and God Bless!!

Christmas Weekend

2011-12-31T23:40:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve morning, these friends exchanged gifts.
Isn't she adorable?
So surprised!

He loves cars!!

This is on Christmas morning. She loved this little teething toy.

This was in his stocking.....I would say that he is a very happy boy!

Christmas morning 2011

This is what he asked Santa for.....a Ferrari 5-pack. Good ole Santa!!

She looks like she is enjoying herself.

And he looks very, very happy. Thank-you, Everyone!!

Sweetheart's First Christmas!

The week before Christmas....

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

.....and all through the house. This child was playing, as quiet as a mouse. He is a very quiet boy; although I know that once his words start coming, there will be many. He signs a lot of his words, and communicates extremely well. #2 says that he has excellent receptive language.

Such happy little guy! He is a very good little player.

Little buddies!

Cute boys!

On Wednesday, they took a picture with the gingerbread house.

And then they got to eat it! They tell me that it was very good!!

Dinner with Santa

2011-12-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

The boys were so excited to see Santa come in on the golf cart!
Hubby with Jade's baby brother.

Sweetheart with my niece. Cousins!

A very special family!

And another very special family!

Chase and his Mommy!

More special family...and an extra baby boy!

My friends who are like family!

Sorry #4, I didn't mean to get you with your mouth full. Oops! And here are more friends who are like family.

These guys just love Santa Claus!

My niece with Jade!

Christmas Photos

2011-12-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Family!
Big brother and Little sister

Big Brother

October 31st

2011-12-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Hallowe'en. It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon. It wasn't very crowded, and it was another sunny October day.

I was surprised that Grandson liked the barn. He usually says it's too stinky and runs outside. This day, he really enjoyed looking at the little animals.

Four little pumpkins with their pumpkins!

With the Pumpkinhead display.

He's taking care of his girls.....as they head into the little corn maze.

And they were off!!

Wrong way!!

He's pretending to be angry....he is very good at making faces!

Another pumpkin in the pumpkins!

Three generations. A mother with her daughter with her daughter.

A mother with her son and her daughter.

So sweet!

A Grandma with her grand-daughter.

Cute little 3 1/2 year old boy. We had so much fun at the Pumpkin Patch on a sunny Monday afternoon in October!

The Apple Barn~Part 2

2011-12-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

As I was going through my picture files, I realized that I have a bunch of blogposts that never made it to print. I don't really know the reasons why, but my life has been extremely busy over the past two and half months. These are some of the photos that #3 took when we went to the Apple Barn in October, and I decided that they needed to be in my 2011 Blog Book when it is printed. I have a few more posts to add before the year is over, so I hope you enjoy going backwards for a bit. The children (and the adults, too) had so much fun on our sunny October day.

The children loved this slide!

This is Grandson, enjoying his ride!

Cute little 2 year old!

We all had so much fun, jumping on the air pillow!

Pretty little girls....and a Daddy.

Grandson would have jumped all day!

I think that the smile says it all.

Pretty Girl thought that the sandy dirt was very fun!!

She wasn't so sure at first, but she did some great jumping once she got used to it.

See? Even I got up and tried it out!

Hugging Cousins!

I think that this one is really neat. Note the goat in the background.

We came back to the jumping pillow before we left to go home.

Look....0ur kids had it all to themselves.

Such a sunny, warm day for our fun field trip!!

Done!

2011-12-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, at 3:00 in the afternoon, the workmen came back to install my last two windows and the skylight. It was a beautiful sunny day and a little bit cold, but not really too bad considering it was the 23rd of December. I love this one window in, one window out photo.

These two guys were very impressed. It entertained them for more than an hour. And I have to admit, I found it quite interesting as well.

Watching.

The other window came out.

And then we were windowless. Because of the peaks of the roof, it did take quite some time to put the new ones back in. It's an art, really. These men were so good at what they do, and they were efficient and polite. They cleaned up after themselves with a shop-vac and when they left 2 and a 1/2 hours after they arrived, you would really never know that they had even been. Except that we had two new windows and a new skylight. That's 26 windows, 2 doors and 1 skylight that were replaced. Ameri-Spect came over today and did their final inspection, I signed some papers and it will take a few months, but $2900 is coming back to me in the form of a cheque from the government. I am so happy that this part is finally done. Hubby has three more window mouldings to paint and I am not even going to guess as to how much outside painting will be needing to be done, but it sure looks great. And it will feel even greater when it really is complete, but for now.......I am very, very happy!!

Hugs from.....

2011-12-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

........Joanne. This is the way that I sign off on my emails and letters. And I really do mean it. I am a hugging sort of person. I love hugs and I love the people who I send/give them to.

I love my family. And I love my friends. My friends are my family who I chose, and my friend Cynde and I go back eighteen years. I started out taking care of her two children when her youngest was just nine months old. She's going to be nineteen next month. Wow! That went by way too fast.

Cynde and I spent 13 hours together today. We went to Alderwood Mall and shopped until we dropped. She was on a mission to find a coat and some boots. She came home with two coats and two pairs of boots for herself. And I came home with one coat and one pair of boots for me. Yeah, I know I didn't need them, but I just can't resist a bargain. And I love my new black boots and new purple/black coat A LOT. And I love, love, love Cynde's black coat, her purple duffel coat and her two pairs of boots too. Her black one is a London Fog and is really too beautiful for words. We did good!! Actually, we did more than good......we did GREAT!

I did buy 7 pairs of shoes today and none of them were for me, but the Stride Rite store is going out of business in the Mall and every single pair was 40% off. And the shoes were already good prices, so that was very fun going through the sizes. Size 12 boys is apparently one of their most popular sizes and there wasn't much for Grandson, but I would have to say that Pretty Girl and Sweetheart scored big time. Especially Pretty Girl. I had so much fun shopping in the States today. We spent a few hours at the Mall and had some thai food for lunch. Then we went searching for DSW and found Famous Footwear and Nordstrom Rack as well. I think I will need to go back to all of the above.......maybe in January or February. We did scope out Costco and I didn't buy anything but I sure did love the little girl's London Fog jackets. They were the wrong sizes for my girls, but they sure were lovely for $29.99. They only had size 10/12.

We stopped at Olive Garden in Bellingham for dinner, and it was so delicious. The border line-ups were reporting 90 minutes at the truck crossing and so we drove to Sumas and didn't even wait for one minute. Had to pay HST for the first time in I don't know how many years. But it was still worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We had so much fun today......thank-you Cynde for the fantastic day, but most of all for your unconditional friendship. I treasure you and our relationship so very, very much!!

I have no land-line. It cut out on me yesterday just before noon and it still hasn't been restored. When I left this morning I thought that Hubby might call Shaw, but he has been painting window mouldings. All. Day. Long. It took him 3 and 1/2 hours to tape them and the better part of this afternoon and evening to paint them. He's had a long day. I have too, but mine was way more fun than his. He also went to fill his prescriptions. We went to the Doctor yesterday and he has an antibiotic to help his wheezy chest. He is coughing a lot, and might be fine without it, but probably not. He's been fighting this same cold for the better part of six weeks. It is time to kick it to the curb.

Tomorrow we have a home inspection scheduled so that we can get our grant money approved for our new windows. If all goes well, then we will have $100 per window sent to us, so that will be good. The Blind man was here yesterday measuring for new coverings and he was $1700 less than the last quote, so he was certainly worth waiting for. (Remember, he was the fellow who was going away on holidays for 2 weeks and wouldn't be back until Christmas Eve) We should have all new blinds by early next week. Yay!!

We have three more days together before Hubby heads back to work, he goes back on Monday and I start back on Tuesday. It's going by fast. We missed our call from Grandson this morning because we didn't have a working telephone; he wants to go on a date. So hopefully we will catch up with him tomorrow. We saw him briefly at Stacy and Ken's yesterday but he was having way too much fun playing with his cousin to visit with us old guys. The Canadians are playing great at the World Juniors and the Canucks are doing well in California. I haven't really watched too much hockey as I haven't really been home very much. If I plan it right, then I won't be home much tomorrow either. I do love holidays......and this one is no exception. As much as I miss my little ones, this has been a really great week of R and R!

Memories

2011-12-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

I often call my Christmas tree my Memory tree. Because that is what it is to me........it is full of years of Christmas Past and Present. I LOVE my Christmas tree!! And so it really did bother me that I couldn't put it up until after the front windows were finished. It really bothered Grandson too....he often asked me when I was going to get a Christmas tree. He even offered to show me where to go and get one. Ever since we bought our artificial tree a few years ago, it has totally taken the stress out of putting up the tree. I can do it whenever I want, whenever I feel like it. And up until this year, I had lots of help getting it up and decorated. The miracles love Christmas, so as soon as #4 was on his Winter leave in November, he usually brought up the tree from the garage, set it up, and also put on the outdoor lights. This year, because of his shoulder surgery and because he moved out in April, he didn't do either of those very important jobs for me. Hubby and I did get the tree up on Christmas Eve, and the outdoor lights never did get done. Oh well, they aren't as important as my tree after all. At least that is what I keep telling myself....sigh.

Miracle #2 has made it a tradition to give me and his Dad a decoration for the last ten years or so. Ever since I made the comment that we weren't going to have any decorations left on our tree when they all moved out because most of them belonged to them. And I know that he always puts great thought into whatever he chooses. His Dad often gets some type of hockey memorabilia and I often get some type of nativity scene or Disney character. My Mom used to get me Disney characters or angels, so there really is a definite pattern on our tree. My clients or their children have given me a lot of decorations over the years as well, and that is why I call it my Memory Tree. Pretty Girl made this lovely ceramic handprint for me this year......and we also received a Don Cherry Bobblehead and Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus.......Isn't it the cutest little handprint that you ever did see? On the other side, it says,"To Grandma and Grandpa, Pretty Girl 2011."

And it was quite a surprise to also get this new decoration on Christmas morning from our other two blessings. It is ceramic as well and I am very, very pleased. Oh, how I love all three of my beautiful grandchildren and I will cherish my two new "memories" with all of my heart.

Boxing Day

2011-12-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

After we went skating in the morning, we dropped Grandson off at home as he had another Christmas gathering to attend that afternoon. SIL and #3 gave us some turkey leftovers for lunch and we headed home. Hubby turned on the World Junior game but kept switching back and forth to watch a movie while I puttered about and attempted to tidy and clean. I watched a bit of the game whenever it was on, but I am finding it hard to sit still for any length of time. Canada trounced Finland 8-1, so as much as it was a good game, it wasn't a great game.

Hubby managed to watch Meet Joe Black and The Tourist. My friend came by, and Miracle #1 popped by long enough to receive her stocking that Santa had left and take a couple of pictures; but she didn't stay very long. Hubby and I watched Social Network and I liked it a lot, from what I saw in between napping. I was tired, so I lounged for the better part of two hours, Hubby made dinner and we watched the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers. So we basically did a whole lot of nothing. I am still somewhat intimidated by my iPad2 but I think that Hubby is addicted to Angry Birds. He tells me that he is on Level 5......and I don't have any idea what that means. I did find Facebook and played a bit on it, and I really like that I can play Bejeweled, but I need a training course. It's very fun and I am the one who has asked for it for the last two months, but I have come to the conclusion that Hubby will probably use it more than me. For now. Until I figure some of the applications out.

We went to an Atom hockey game this morning and stopped at Costco on the way home. I have finally washed my cookie pans from when I made shortbread on Thursday. Hubby is painting window mouldings. We went to Rona, the bank and the post office to get a couple of little chores completed. It's dark and rainy and I believe it is time for me to go figure out dinner. Sounds like a really boring Tuesday night......and I am kind of even looking forward to it!

Skating Party

2011-12-26T23:55:00.000-08:00

For the second year in a row, we have started our Boxing Day at the Coquitlam Arena at a skating party. Grandson was so excited to go out and show us how well he could skate.
I took him up to the ice while his Grandpa was putting on his own skates and Mr. Confident took off. One of the fellows who works there handed a pushcart to him and he was off like a shot. My call of "wait for Grandpa" was completely ignored and he just wanted to skate.

See? The skating guy told me not to worry, but look at him way out there!

And here comes Grandpa. Whew!

He was more than happy to have his picture taken.

A very happy boy skating with his Grandpa.

After about six or eight times around the ice, he came off to have some juice and a cookie. He loved skating and went out a couple of more times in the just-over-an-hour that we were there.

Uncle came with us......we told him that he couldn't skate because of his healing shoulder and he was more than happy to drink his coffee and watch from the stands.

Back out to skate again!

Pretty Girl came too!

Beautiful family! I love them so much!!

There were face-painters, but Grandson didn't want it on his face. He wanted a "hand-stamp."

"See Grandma? A Christmas tree."

Posing at the big tree out in the lobby.

A better view of his very pretty tree. I know that you can't really see the sparkles, but he really liked them. We had such a good morning out!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, we really did get the tree up! It took the better part of Christmas Eve Day, but it was finally done just after 4 o'clock. That gave us just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat (leftover cabbage rolls from the night before) and dash off to church. Christmas Eve service was delightful, and I am so happy that I went. It just doesn't feel like Christmas unless we go.....it's a tradition that was started when our miracles were wee, and their Grandma in Heaven would be so pleased that all four have managed to continue that tradition. DIL and #2 attended a true candlelight service, which is something I didn't realize that I missed until they mentioned it after they went. I love the carols, and the children's participation.......but yes, when we used to go to Olivet, then it was always a Candlelight service.

I tried out my new camera skills and took a photo of the tree without a flash and then with one. I can't really decide which one that I like better. There weren't as many presents this year as the miracles have all moved out, and the blessing's gifts were headed to their own houses. Santa did leave some fun stuff for the Daycare though.....he usually does!
Here's my 'Santa' with most of the presents that went to #3's house. #2 took all of Pretty Girl's home the night before. See? Wouldn't my Mom be so proud?

Sweetheart was such a little angel on her very first Christmas Day. She loved her toys, but she really liked sitting in the middle of the floor chewing on the cardboard the best. She is actually chewing her teether here, but most times when you looked over at her she had found the tag on her baby doll!

He loves our new toy. He called it 'Grandma and Grandpa's funny computer.' Now he knows it's an iPad and it has 'big Angry Birds.'

He loves his Uncle Ty.......and his Uncle Ty loves him. They have a lot of fun together.

Grandson and his Uncle.

Pretty Girl loved all the appies! I concur, they were very delicious.

My friend lent us some chair covers....and our table looked very festive!

Cousin's toys are fun to play with too.

Some of my very favourite people!

Grandson had a lot of fun with the iPad2.....He was showing us things on it, and knew how to work it better than me. Even Pretty Girl had to come and have a little look-see.

Mmmmm.....turkey time!

Uncle and his niece.

She really liked her baby cousin's new toy.

The little girls had lots of fun with it for quite awhile.

Our little sweetheart, with her very pinchable cheeks!

He loved his new goalie mask!

She loves telephones......she walked around like this for a bit. "Hewwo, hewwo." I especially like how she is holding both phones, and how asian she appears. At almost 20 months, she makes me smile. A lot.

Just playin'. Everyone had a wonderful day filled with hugs, laughter and too much food. We were all very, very spoiled. DIL, #2 and Pretty Girl were the first to head home at 8, Hubby and I left just after 9, but I hear that the party went on until 11. Lots of memories were made and it was the best Christmas Day ever. I know, I know.....I say that every year. But it really was tremendous!!

More Polar Express

2011-12-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

My sister sent some pictures over from our Polar Express Night. We all had so much fun. And it feels like so long ago already, as so much happened in between. Christmas was wonderful, and I am very well-fed and very loved. Thank-you to this lovely little family for all of my gifts. They out-did themselves, and I love, love, love everything!

Miracle #3 and her family also out-did themselves on Christmas Day. Hubby and I gathered at their house in the morning for breakfast, we did presents and the children were way too cute. Hubby and I went home for a couple of hours and then we headed back for the afternoon and dinner. It was so delicious and it was a very big treat to be so spoiled. Thank-you for all that you are and all that you did. You and your brothers are amazing and I thank God every single day for you and your spouses and your children!! I love you all to the moon and back again!!

Me and some of my favourite guys....My boy and my daughter's boy.

Another one of my favourite guys!

My sister surprised me on Christmas Eve by showing up with one of the bestest presents ever!! She gave me a framed picture of my Mom when she was 21, and a plaque that reads, "Children are the rainbow of life, Grandchildren are the pot of gold." She enjoys being a Grandma as much as I do....."Thank-you Mom, you were a great role model. I think that you are smiling down from Heaven and you would be very proud."

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T06:06:00.000-08:00

For unto us a child is born,

to us a son is given

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

From our family to yours....have a very, very Merry Christmas!!

It's Christmas!! I am just waiting for Hubby to wake up and we will go over to #3 and #4's house for breakfast and present opening. We saw all of the miracles last night.....1, 3 and 4 joined us at Burnett for their service and #2 and his family went to their church in Abbotsford. We met #2 and his family here for a quick present exchange and I will post a picture later, but we received the most precious hand-made Christmas ornament from Pretty Girl. Everyone except #1 went to our traditional Christmas Eve Open House at our very, very good friend's. We came home by 10 and made the wife-saver for today and then we opened our present to each other. We bought an IPad 2 and so far, I am very confused but technology and I have a love/hate relationship going on at the best of times. I know it will be clearer today when I am not as tired.

I am very excited for our day.......Breakfast with two of our little people and then a couple of the miracles and SIL have taken on the task of cooking Christmas dinner, for all of us. All three of our little ones will be together for dinner, making new Christmas memories. It's bittersweet, but we have become the "old people" who will get to partake and enjoy. Hubby and I made one of the miracle's favourites for dessert and we are very thankful for all of our blessings. It's not about the presents.......it's about our presence. Celebrating our precious Saviour's birth is just getting better and better with each passing year!! I love you all.....Have a lovely Christmas day with all of your loved ones!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve!! I am so excited for my three little blessings......and the girls don't even really know about it yet. Grandson has been counting down since the beginning of December and he was very pleased to show me his two fingers yesterday to tell me that there were only "two more sleeps until Christmas!" I love how interested he is this year, and how excited he is about all of it. I taught him that it was Baby Jesus's birthday and he is quite fascinated with it. He loves babies anyway, so the fact that it is a baby's birthday makes it even more fun. He came to church with me this past Sunday and I had to explain to him about communion......and all I thought was, "Thanks God, it's one of the first time he comes to church and you want him to get it all." He was very good and he sat very well for the entire 45 minutes before he went to his class.....and he chatted quietly and asked questions and it felt like way longer to me, but that is God's sense of humour.....his Mommy did exactly the same thing so many years ago.

Pretty Girl loves the lights and the decorations and is very excited about life in general. She has been very sick this week with the flu and is doing way better, but Monday/Tuesday was a rough go. She vomited for almost 20 hours. Her Daddy held her and her Mommy held the bowl, and it was very, very sad. I haven't talked to them for a couple of days but I am assuming that no news is good news and we will see them all today. #2 mentioned that they were going to stop by on Thursday and they never did make it, and everyone is busy, busy, busy!

Sweetheart is still coughing, and still teething and smiles through it all. We saw her for a little bit yesterday and I invited my friends over to her house, just because we were going to be there for a couple of hours anyway. She doesn't have a clue what Christmas is all about and is just happy to sit in the middle of the floor and smile and "chat." We all had a nice visit and it was a lovely afternoon of social time.

Hubby and I went into Langley last night to deliver presents to my niece's and nephew; we stopped by my friend of almost 50 years' house, and had a lovely visit too. Stopped at Save-On Foods on our way home and I actually don't think that we have to step foot out of our house today, until this evening when we go to Christmas Eve service. I am just waiting for my Christmas tree to be brought upstairs so that I can decorate it.......hoping that the Christmas Tree Decorating Fairies will show up and do it for me. As much as I LOVE my Christmas decorations, I really do strongly dislike decorating my tree. Decorating much of anything, actually. The miracles have done it for me for many, many years now.....but I do believe it is my turn once again. The windows were completed on Thursday and I procrastinated yesterday, but now I must get to it. Dessert for tomorrow is started, the presents are almost wrapped and it will be a cozy, comfortable, rainy Christmas Eve Day. I might even just stay in my pyjamas until noon!!

Fun night!

2011-12-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

Cousins!
My sister with her grandson.

Two of my cute grandchildren!

My cute great-nephew with his Daddy!

Making a cookie.

Grandson had quite the conversation with Santa. He asked him where his reindeer were and Santa told him that they were in the stable. "Where is your stable?" asked Grandson. Santa told him that it was out back and that the Polar Express went right by it. "Well, I didn't see them." stated Grandson, very matter-of-factly. He is a very matter-of-fact boy. He and his Mommy were having a conversation at lunch yesterday and his Mommy told him, "Santa is watching you." He thought about it for a second and asked, "Are you Santa?" She told him that she wasn't and then he told her, "Well, you are watching me."

He enjoyed making his cookie and he also coloured a picture.

Finished product!! We all had fun at Polar Express Night!

The Polar Express

2011-12-21T22:40:00.000-08:00

We tried out something new tonight and we all had a wonderful time. We went for a Polar Express train ride in the dark while wearing our pyjamas; the conductor was there and he punched our tickets. Santa came with us and we sat by the fire while the children ate treats and we listened to a reading of the book. They decorated cookies and had hot chocolate, Grandson coloured a picture. Another memory to add to the fun of Christmas 2011! I took lots of pictures, and there will be more forthcoming, but here are a few......just to tease you.

It's a bit crazy right now!

2011-12-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

So I know that I promised Dinner with Santa pictures today, but I just didn't get it together. They are on the camera and as soon as I upload them, then I will post them. I am also hoping that some of my family send me some of their favourites from the evening, as I was so busy chatting and eating, and eating and chatting.........that I didn't really take very many. Oops! And as usual, I was taking too many at the wrong settings, so quite a few turned out a bit blurry. Oops! I really do think that I am hyper-thyroid right now.......I don't have the blood test to confirm it but my naturapath and my husband are pretty sure. So am I.......but I already lowered my synthroid dosage and I have a Doctor's appointment next week. I don't think that I am going to learn anything that I don't already know. So here are a few pictures that #3 took at our Breakfast with Santa a few weeks ago. They're pretty cute........so forgive me for not doing what I said that I was going to, please?

These guys went to do a couple of the crafts. I didn't count, but I think that there were at least a dozen stations set up. They had a lot of fun!!

Looking like such a little tough guy.....he just loves her so much!!
And D has never really liked babies, but she loves Sweetheart!!

Beautiful girls!

Bless Us

2011-12-19T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have had a great couple of days. I think I need a weekend from my weekend though. I know that Christmas is only 6 days away and there always seems like there is so much to do. But I was done Christmas shopping ages ago. I just keep adding to the growing piles of gifts. I was told a long time ago by a friend that the earlier she starts, then the more she buys. I totally get it. I was pretty much done the bulk of my shopping a month ago. But things keep coming on sale and then I just buy more. And the things that I buy aren't really that expensive, I really do know that no one really needs to have what I am buying, but I just like it. And it's mostly just clothes that everyone will eventually need or grow into. I keep saying that I am done, done, done!! I just need to stay out of the stores and really mean it........just sayin'.

I got home from the hockey game over an hour ago. And it was such a great game! The Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0, so it was a shut-out and it was a fun to watch. I bought myself a new jersey last Saturday.......I decided that I was tired of wearing the white, burgundy and blue orca, so I went to the 30% off sale for season ticket holders and splurged on a new blue one. The old vintage one with the hockey rink and stick. I love it and I love that we won the game the very first time that I wore it!

We went to Dinner with Santa at the Golf Course last night........there were over 30 of us altogether and I love that we are making new traditions with the grandchildren. We all shared a wonderful meal together and the children are just that much older and that much more fun than last year. Grandson and Chase kept telling us how excited they were and they were jumping up and down by the time that Santa came riding in on his golf cart. I just think that three is one of my very favourite ages. Yeah, I know......I say that about a lot of ages. But three is pretty darn cute!! The one year olds were pretty darn cute too!! I promise to post some pictures tomorrow, but I have to take #4 to UBC tomorrow for his final check-up for his shoulder and morning will be here before I know it. Kristina is coming to take care of the Daycare kids and I need to get some more organizing done before I go to bed......my first little one arrives at 6:30 am. Good-night, sleep tight!

Life's Natural Highs

2011-12-18T07:42:00.001-08:00

Community

2011-12-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

The West Coast Express does an annual Santa Train for two Saturdays in December. And I know that I have taken advantage of it several times in it's history. Especially if I get to have fun and go on a train ride to Vancouver. Admission is a non-perishable item for the Friends in Need Food Bank, and I love to help out in any community events that I am able. We were too booked up last weekend to partake and we are too booked up this weekend to do it as well. But here are some very special people who were able to take a one year old on his first big train ride. And I am sure that it won't be his last. He LOVES trains and he LOVED his first train ride downtown last Saturday.

My niece with her son
My niece with her nephew

Enjoying the sights

On the train

He loved looking out the window

Walking with his Grandma

With all the beautiful Christmas trees

My gorgeous nieces with my handsome great-nephew!!

Friday

2011-12-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

We babysat last night so that Miracle #3 and SIL could go to his staff Christmas party. They weren't very far away..........just over at The Buffalo Club........and we were a little bit concerned as to how Sweetheart would do, but she did great. She has never had a bottle and she has been teething and coughing all week, but that just made her tired. She ended up falling asleep at 7:10 and staying that way until just after 9 when her parents came back. She woke up a little bit to be put into her car seat, but she was a very good girl for us and it was very enjoyable to snuggle and love her all evening. Grandson would move right in if he was allowed, and we weren't concerned about him at all. He ended up sleeping over and he was totally delighted about that. He did wake up very early this morning and as hard as I tried to get him to go back to sleep, he was just too darn excited to be here and start his day. It was just after 6 am. I was wide awake and Hubby was getting ready for work so he was very pleased to see Grandpa. We came downstairs and he watched a bit of TV before my little two year old showed up for the day.

Isn't he precious? I love that he touches his ears when he is tired. When he watches TV, he will often sit like this and touch his earlobes. After I took this picture, he asked me to do again because he said he looked away. I knew that he didn't, but I was more than happy to accommodate.
And just because I love the seriousness of his look here, I just had to add it as well. I can't get over how much he is looking more and more like his Daddy all the time.

After we took the big boys to school, we went to see a pre-school concert. KA was so excited that I was coming. When she woke up this morning, the first thing she said to her mom was, "It's my concert today, and Joanne is coming!!" She makes my heart smile...

They did an entire play about The Very First Christmas and my little shepherd remembered her line and sang so proudly. Grandson especially liked the Baby Jesus story and we had to go look in the manger when the show was over. I really liked that Jesus was wrapped in a pink blanket and he really wanted to know if the dolly could make a noise. He was especially fascinated with the presents that the Wise Men left for the baby.

And none of us knew why there were only two Wise Men, but my guess was that one was sick today. I loved the costumes and the story. The children performed brilliantly. And they were soooo cute!!

Christmas Productions

2011-12-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

We went to Hometown Christmas at the Alliance church last Thursday. On Monday night, we went to The Great Christmas Giveaway at Burnett Fellowship. And last night we went to The Act to see A Christmas Carol. The first two are tradition......we have done them so many years now that it just wouldn't be Christmas without either of them. One of my little friends was dancing in A Christmas Carol and then we also found out after we had bought the tickets that two of my other friends were also in it. I LOVE musicals......oh let's face it......I LOVE theatre productions. Big or small, I marvel at the talent and the work that goes into making and performing them. So our event calendar has been rather full, and it has been very, very fun!!

On Monday night, at the church.
Jenelle and Hubby

My 15 year old god-daughter with her Mom.

Ever since I took my photography course last month, I have been experimenting with new settings on my camera. And I was very pleased with the way some of my pictures from afar turned out. I still need lots of practice, but here are some of my friends who are very talented and performed for me and many others.

The children's choir......I think that I have taught Sunday School to the entire first row.....and even some of the second. They entertained me extremely well!!

The story was about the true meaning of Christmas. I loved the storyline, and these children were so great in their roles.

Finale! Afterwards, we ate ice cream sundaes and visited with our friends and family. It was such a great evening!!

This is at A Christmas Carol. Elizabeth had a main part......she was Young Scrooge's girlfriend. I took care of her from the time she was three until she was seven.

And little Jenna is a dancer. I took care of her from 11 months old until she was seven as well. Hubby and I really noticed how much she has grown up since we last saw her. She is nine.

Just glowing. She was such a star last night and she made my heart smile. At 17 years old, she has grown up into such a lovely young lady.

The Ghost of Christmas Past with Ebenezer Scrooge.

She is singing her solo....it's a sad song.

She did magnificently!!

Tiny Tim really impressed me. He really was a she, and she had a beautiful singing voice. The whole production impressed me.......it was a wonderful way to spend a Wednesday evening!

The finale.....it was so great!!

This is when the dancers came to do their curtain call. Daragh is 15 and is on the far right. She was so fast and they were so quick, but I just had to have a picture of her too. In all of her scenes in the play, it was very dark and I could barely recognize her with her costume and make-up but she danced in a couple of scenes.....the spirit of Christmas Past and also in Christmas Yet to Come. She loves to dance and it shows!!

In the last couple of days...

2011-12-14T22:38:00.000-08:00

.....we have been busy. Almost as busy as our weekend, but in a different sort of way. I am feeling that I need a weekend from my weekend, but at this time of year I imagine that is a bit of a dream. There is lots to do and lots to see and when I sat my little Jade in front of Treehouse on Monday, this is what she did. I don't even think she was sitting in the chair for two minutes. She was exhausted and slept for an hour before I went to wake her up. Her Mom says she napped all weekend. She hasn't been feeling all that great for the past week or so.......all of the little ones seem to have runny noses and coughs. Tis the season.....

I love that she chews the blanket when she is tired. She is not the first of my Daycare children to do that, and I am sure that she won't be the last.
I snuck a picture of Pretty Girl.....she always says No to pictures, but I can still sneak one in when she isn't looking.....lol.

Chase asked me to take his picture. He is very photogenic, don't you think? He has always liked getting his picture taken.

Kristina brought some gingerbread houses over today, for the children to decorate. Don't you love the little tongue hanging out? Concentration at it's best.

They all had so much fun!!

Showing off their masterpiece....still not quite finished.

The girls LOVED doing this way too much!

This was their finished results......Great job!!

This baby boy loves small confined areas. He crawled in underneath the exersaucer and played under there for quite some time. He did need some help out when the time came, but isn't he just the sweetest little one year old?

She is 7 months old!

2011-12-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Sweetheart is seven months old today.......and she is getting way too big too fast. She weighs 20 pounds 3.5 ounces and is 27.5 inches long. Which means that she is big for her age, but sooooo much smaller than her brother at the same age. She has just headed into Size 12 month clothing and her feet seem to be a Size 4.

She is very complacent. Is quite happy to sit and watch the world go by. On Sunday, she was nursed at 12:30 and never did complain all day long. Her Mommy decided at 4:30 that she needed to go back to the van and feed her, but she never really asked for it. Because she was out and about, she was content...........and is usually fairly content at home too, but she is always happy to be out in the world. And look at all of us with her great big brown eyes.

In the past few weeks, she likes to look at us with her sideways glance. Her Mommy calls it her shifty eyes, and she looks so cute when she does it. Sometimes when she looks at us, we have to wonder what she is thinking.......and she always looks at us with very bright eyes which are quite expressive.

She has been trying new foods this past month and it's a hit or miss sort of thing. Doesn't really like pablum, and it is a bit of a fight to get her to eat it. As a matter of fact, she has been known to purse her lips together and actually refuse. She does like carrots and squash though and is very interested to sit up at the table with her family. But she really is just there for social time. Loves her milk, but really can take or leave the solid stuff.

She got her first tooth on Saturday, December 10th. So far, just one little lone tooth on the left side. Isn't a very good teether; she had a few sad moments and was extremely Mommy-attached last week, but is getting better this week already. Had some restless nights......but like all things, this too shall pass. As you can see, she has lots of hair and is as cute as cute can be. We sure think so, anyway!!

Another perspective

2011-12-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

We took three vehicles downtown yesterday, which meant that we all arrived in Stanley Park at different times. When Miracle #3 and her van load arrived, they looked around and took some very fun pictures. She phoned me on my cel phone and I actually answered it.......because if you actually knew me, that is quite rare. I often don't have it with me, or don't recharge it. You can tell that I just don't depend on modern technology very much. I really do use email or land-line as my main way to communicate, but I prefer the in-person approach the best..........So we met at the playground for a bit before we went to line up for the train. Here is our trip to Bright Lights.....through the eye of another camera.

This is so cute.....Sweetheart looks at us sideways a lot.....so this seemed very appropriate.....she is with her Uncle Ty and his girlfriend.
This is the first year that he didn't mind the great big bears. He was quite afraid of them the last two times he had been. What a difference a year makes!!

Oh, how he makes my heart smile!!

A picture with his Gramma.

And another with his Grandma.

He is getting rather photogenic these days and will give us a proper smile most of the time. I love this boy way too much!!

He loves to make faces for the camera........this is his scary face.....or maybe his mean one.....I can't actually remember, but I still think it's funny.

Taking a picture of me taking a picture of Sweetheart. On the train.

Totally mesmerized by the lights and the music.

One of the displays.....we all love hockey!

A Christmas tree.

The abominable snowman.

The Lion's Gate Bridge.

Beautiful mountains.

I love how SIL framed this one. Oh, how I love my Vancouver!!

Sensational Sunday!

2011-12-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

We went to Bright Lights at Stanley Park today and we had such a great time. We had tickets for the 3:00 train and we knew that it was still going to be daylight, but the little ones in our family need earlier times than what was available on Ticketmaster. So 14 of us went down for the afternoon. It was very cold and very sunny and it truly was sensational!!
Pretty Girl and her family were running a bit late, so she was very excited to see us all when they got onto the train.......and we were all there to greet her!

The view in front of me.
And the view behind me.....we were all very excited!

Group shot!

I know it's blurry but I love this picture of my pretty girl!!

Both of the blessings weren't so sure of these walking snowmen. So #2 and I stood between them and then they thought that it was okay.

We walked down to the beach to enjoy the magnificent view!

And Grandson and his Uncle Ty went to investigate the cold water!

Sweetheart fell asleep in her stroller.....

....while her brother had some fun and made us smile!

Me and my Hubby!! Isn't that an incredible view behind us?

Some very special people who I love.

It was starting to get dark.....and the lights are truly amazing! We spent some time looking at the displays and then went to The White Spot for dinner. It was so much fun and I am loving that I took over 70 pictures. We had a sensational day!!

Action-packed Weekend!

2011-12-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

It's another busy weekend!! And we are only half-way through, but today is going to be action-packed because we made plans to make it that way. I do love Christmas!! And all of the activities that come along with it.

Friday was the start of my weekend this week. I did have a couple of children in the early morning and then a few after-schoolers from 3 to 5, but it really did feel like a day off because I was able to get so many things accomplished. A few years ago, a friend and I were discussing retirement.....and he made a comment which I have always remembered. He is a financial advisor and he told me that a lot of people weren't retiring any more, they were just cutting back to three or four days a week. By doing that, they were actually doubling their leisure time. Weekends are 2 days long. And 1 of those days, we are consumed by chores and appointments. So all we really get is 1 day off a week to do as we please and make our time our own. By cutting back to a 3 or 4 day work week, then we have 1 or 2 more full days to do as we please, and still keep our lifestyles to what they have become accustomed to. It made me think. And I think he is right. When I only work four days a week, then I can accomplish soooooooo much more. And so at Christmastime, right in the middle of December, it was a very nice treat to only really work four days this week. Especially this week!

My house is semi-clean, the Christmas cards are ready to be mailed and some of my wrapping is done. Just by having five hours off in the middle of day on Friday. I also met #3 and the children at the Mall for a bit. She had some errands to tend to, and I got to visit with a couple of the blessings. Win-win. I also did some banking that was needing to get done because of the new windows........I am loving that Haney Builders takes Visa AND gives out airmiles as we just put close to $15,000 on our credit card and then paid it off right away. My whole incentive for doing that was that I might get another holiday in the new year, besides Hawaii. I am dreaming, I already know that, but it never hurts to dream.

I got my hair done yesterday and we went to look at blinds. We are living in a fish bowl right now as Hubby wants new window coverings for every single window. Me, I am just as happy to put some of the old ones back up........ but Hubby has said otherwise, and #3 is agreeing. It's expensive to do the whole house, so we are just waiting to see. We did find a fellow who has great prices but he is leaving for a holiday this morning and won't be back until Christmas Eve. We decided to wait until he comes back and then make our decision.......as I am fairly sure he will take almost $2000 off the last quote. We will see, and I can live like this for a few more weeks. I do like the open-ness, and it is only annoying at night.

We went to Bruce's Market for lunch yesterday and I always forget how scrumptious their food is, and how much fun it is to look at their gift section. Found a few fun things and also ran into TWO of my social worker friends. I only know 3 social workers and we ran into 2 in a half hour interval. It was fun to chat and get caught up on their lives. They are even on Facebook and have both promised to friend me as their privacy settings are so high.

Hubby and I went shopping in Vancouver yesterday afternoon, we went to Swiss Chalet for dinner and then we went to the Giants/Hurricanes game. It was a very fast-paced game and we lost 4-2 but we had a great Date Night. We had another Date Night on Wednesday too, as Hubby had his MRI that he had been waiting nine months for. We went into New Westminster and I had a hot chocolate so I always say that driving and a drink or food make it into a date. It was a nice night too, and we chatted all the way there and all the way back. It is such a busy time of year and it is always so nice to connect as a couple. I love that man of mine, even after almost 33 years he is still my best friend and my main support!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-10T06:56:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday, we went to one of the best Santa Breakfasts that I have ever been to. It was very last-minute as I picked up a couple of notices on the Monday and I didn't even book it until the Wednesday before. For $5 per person, we had a lovely pancake buffet, complete with fresh fruit and choice of beverage. The Tooth Fairy was there giving out toothbrushes, Little Red Riding Hood was giving out cookies, and the Easter Bunny was handing out chocolate eggs. I remember seeing Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman too, but the man of the hour was Santa. Here are all of our little ones who were with us.......the man who took the pictures emailed them last night and we are pleased. After these were taken, each of the children received goodie bags as well. There were several craft stations for the bigger kids, and I thought that Northridge Church did extremely well. They outdid themselves for sure, and we all had a splendid time!!

Pretty Girl wasn't so sure of the jolly man in the red suit which is very typical for 19 months old. If she wasn't getting tired, then I am sure she would have sat with him, but I really like the Daddy-Daughter picture.
Sweetheart stayed awake for the entire time we were there as she certainly didn't want to miss anything. But she is looking very sleepy. Her brother sure loved it though!!

I am very surprised that my great-nephew sat with Santa. He is at the age where screaming would have been totally appropriate, but he didn't. Love this picture, but I love this boy even more!!

D is 7 and she LOVES Santa and everything there is to do with Christmas. This is a magical age for just about everything. Still believin' and still receivin' and is so excited with the whole season.

Day by Day

2011-12-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Work is busy. My social life is busy. I managed to make it into the naturapath's office yesterday to pick up some supplements to get me through December. It's December......and I am not really very stressed about Christmas, but everything else that goes along with it. I mean....really....who gets new windows three weeks before Christmas, anyway? Oh right....we do. I am questioning why we didn't wait until later in the month, like after Christmas when we are both off work for ten days. It was tricky to get me and all the children out of the house. I mean, it is easy enough to get me and the kids out and going.....but it's all of their stuff. Three loads later, we are ready to go. And that's with all the little ones strapped into their seats and the 3 and 4 year olds entertaining them while I go back and forth to the house to get their bags and food. Miracle #3 has been nothing short of amazing......she has opened her house and her heart to all of us, and we are very, very grateful. We were at her house all day Monday and then part of Tuesday. We were able to stay home on Wednesday amidst the hammering and the busyness and as much as I love being out and about, I really loved being home playing with the little guys. Everything is in disarray, but we just move from room to room and the workmen worked around us. It's all good. Even though I lost 6 pounds in 2 days from stress with a capital S......It's all good. Hubby says I was Hairy Scary. I didn't think so......okay, maybe just a little bit.

And here is a smile to melt my heart....she takes all my stress away.
I just love her to bits!

And I love him to bits too! Looking more and more like his Daddy every day. His Mommy asked him where he would want to go if he could go anywhere he wanted to go in the whole world. He told her, " Grandma's House." Hey, we even beat out the Aquarium. I feel honoured.

And here he is, hugging his other Gramma. He is a very caring, loving boy and he is growing up right before our very eyes!

Skating

2011-12-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

Life has been crazy......and that is an understatement. I know that it is December, and I expect it to be fun-filled and busy, but this is getting a bit ridiculous. I have so many ideas and pictures in my files, but I don't even have enough days in the week to post them properly. I promised to put up pictures of Grandson's skating lessons last week, and here they are......albeit a few days past, but still just as cute!

He always makes sure we are watching him...
He pushes this shopping cart with ease.....

Determination

Such a cute boy!!

He pushes the cart and his Daddy skates around....he tries to go faster and faster every time he gets close to us. Now that he knows he can do it, he just wants to get better.

So proud!

He is so pleased!! We all had so much fun watching him skate!

Windows~Day 3

2011-12-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

This was taken on Monday morning.

And I took this today.....I love, love, love my new french doors!
And you know.....the windows look pretty darn great as well!
(PS. The doors still need to be painted.....actually there is a lot of painting to be done. Hubby is just soooooo excited about that. Not!)

Windows~Part 2

2011-12-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

I have another busy day ahead. The workmen found some water damage in the back of my house, so they spent a good four hours fixing it. My french doors didn't come with them so they will have to bring them today and put them in. My skylight still needs to be done and they must have run out of daylight, as the four front windows are not done either. #3 invited me to her house again.....she is such a godsend, as I couldn't have survived yesterday without her (and Julie too!).......but I think we are going to try and stay here and see what happens. If we end up going up the road again, then we do, but we are out at Music for a bit, and hopefully the trim on the window in the room where Baby sleeps will be done by the time he needs to go to sleep after that. I have a Plan A and a Plan B.......so here we go again!!

Windows

2011-12-04T21:42:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is going to be a very, very busy day. I have three trucks arriving in the morning with new windows and doors, and workmen to put them all in. We are replacing all 27 windows and 2 sliding doors and I really don't know if I am going to be anywhere near my computer. My computer room is in the front of the house. Every single blind has been removed from all the windows except this room. And Hubby is coming in here next to do it. Right now, my very hard-working man is ironing his clothes for tomorrow, but he got up this morning and finished painting the last 8 boards of the more than 50 that he has been working on for the past four days. Then we moved furniture as there can't be anything within 3 feet of any window in the house. We had lunch, and did some grocery shopping and a couple of errands and then it was back at it.

We really haven't stopped all day and it is almost 10 pm. He has three more blinds to take down and six more brackets to remove and then I am sure we will collapse into bed. I have three children arriving at 6:30 am, two more at 7:45, three get taken to school for 8:30, two more get dropped off here at 8:45 and then we will head to the gym for our class. I will pick up Grandson, and Chase will meet us there, and then one little guy will get picked up at noon just after I pick another one up at pre-school. If you are keeping count, that means I will have 6 children until 2, two will get dropped off at school, three will get picked up at school and then I will have seven. For about fifteen minutes, because then Chase will get picked up at 3. We are all going to Miracle #3's house tomorrow because it will be simpler than trying to work around the men replacing windows. There will be trim and finishing done on Tuesday, so I should be able to get on with normal activities. But I just re-read what I wrote and I am already tired before I start. That is quite confusing, isn't it. Good thing that I have it all written down.....Julie is coming to help me in the morning and #3 will help out in the afternoon.

And for some strange reason, Blogger never printed the picture that I am adding. I did one too many backspaces and it disappeared from this morning's post. I really like it and I hope you do too! We all had such a great time at the Tree Farm......and after we were all done, we sat around the fire and drank hot chocolate. Such a great Christmas tradition.......and they decorated their tree today, and I hear it looks beautiful. Those are my grandson's words, but after they were all done, he placed his hands on his hips, stood back and told his Mommy,"That is a beautiful tree!!" I also hear that he has a little section all to call his own. Pretty Girl's parents decorated their tree yesterday and when she woke up from her nap, her words were, "Coo(l). Wowee!" And all of the reindeer are "nay nays." Christmas is already way too fun, and we've only just begun!!

The Tree Farm

2011-12-04T06:13:00.000-08:00

We had a very, very busy day yesterday and somewhere about 1:30 to 2:30 we went to the Tree Farm so that a couple of the miracles could get their Christmas tree. We went to a new place on 246th Street and it was great. Lots of trees to choose from and not nearly as busy. We all had so much fun!!

We came in separate vehicles so here is Sweetheart greeting her Grandpa when we first arrived. She fits Pretty Girl's snowsuit from last year, and she is also wearing her hat. I love hand-me-downs.

We just had to take a picture of the baby with the baby tree!
And our big boy with the big tree!
Grandpa and his grandson.....another little tree.

"Hey everyone, how about this one?"

She was very happy in her Grandpa's arms.

Grandson loved running through the "forest" and climbing on the "mountains."

Looking for the "perfect Christmas tree."

Sleeping little angel....it tired her right out.

"I see one, over there!"

She stayed sleeping for quite awhile. Gotta love this age, they can sleep anywhere! Her Grandpa needed to help with tree-cutting, so she transferred over to her Mommy, and still stayed asleep It was a man's job. I love how Grandson has to get right in there. He had to get right down to watch his Daddy saw down the tree. And yes, we said, "Timberrrrr."

And he had to help his Daddy and his Grandpa carry it to the truck! We all had so much fun at the Tree Farm!!

Advent

2011-12-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

December is here!! And that means that it is officially Advent. I love it!! I love what it means and I love all the Christmas activities that come along with it. We have managed to book up our calendar quite nicely this month, as there are just so many things to do!! We are heading to our second Breakfast with Santa of the season this morning, which will be followed by Grandson's skating lesson. Newsflash....he can skate, he can skate, he can skate! We are all so proud of him.....I wasn't there last week, but he had two not-so-good times out on the ice with his Daddy......and then last week, he got up and walked on the ice. They call it the duck walk at skating lessons and he is very proud of himself. Success......and it only took three lessons. Here is a funny story. As I was helping to get him ready for his second lesson I told him that his Mommy used to take skating lessons when she was a little girl. He then asked me, "Did she yell at her Daddy?" I just laughed, and told him no. SIL said that Grandson never did yell at him, he was just very discouraged in the first lesson because he couldn't do it perfectly. But he can do it now and I promise to take pictures today.

After skating lessons, Hubby and I have chiro appointments and then we are headed to the tree farm with Miracle #3 and her family.......they have 4:00 Bobs and Lolo tickets with Pretty Girl and her Mom while I am helping out at Christmas in the Park.....followed by the Santa Parade. Busy, busy, busy!! Please come by the craft tent and see me if you are out and about tonight. My pastor sent this bible verse out with his email yesterday and I hope you will all enjoy it as much as me.

"Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship~a different kind of "sacrifice"~that takes place in kitchen and workplace and on the street."
Hebrews 13:16

I hope to see you all on the street tonight!!

Joy

2011-12-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought about what gives you joy? I still remember a sermon I heard many years ago about choosing joy. I still remember little snippets of Pastor Derrick's words, even though I know that I don't remember it all. My friend told me last week that she had the CD.......I think that I should borrow it from her and listen to it again. Because, it was so true. Joy is a choice. We all have things in our lives that don't go according to the plan.......and bad things do happen to good people. But if we choose to be joyful, then the negativity does not consume us. I was chatting to a receptionist not too long back and we exchanged the usual pleasantries....you know, "How are you?"......"Very good, thank-you."......."Beautiful sunny day, don't you think?"....and that led us off into a very lovely conversation about how sunny days put people in better moods, and she told me that she is ALWAYS in a good mood, because she chooses to be. We talked a little bit about choices and being positive and eating right and taking care of our bodies. She was so sweet and couldn't have been any more than 22.......I loved her from the moment I met her and she is doing that realtor's office a great service by being the first person that people see and talk to when they walk into the office.

These two little people bring me joy!!

And here is a bunch more people who bring me joy....

And he just made us all laugh!! Laughter is good for the soul, and other things too, I am sure. He is 16 months old and he loved having the Rudolph nose on, and he hammed it up very well. Love this boy.......I really do love them all.......and these are just some of the many people who bring me joy. Every single day. I am so blessed to have so many smiles and hugs.....pretty much every day of my life!!

The Power of Story

2011-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a story. And we all love to share.......especially women. I went to a phenomenal workshop last night and Jane Cobb was awesome. I had so much fun, singing and playing and learning new stuff. I always need to go to classes to refresh my brain and re-energize my program. I bought her book called, "What'll I do with the Baby-O?" and I am thinking that I need to get more books for birth presents as it is an incredible resource. Complete with CD. Loved getting out with my friends last night and re-connecting with old ones, and affirming that I am still in the right profession. I love my job, and I love how God works so magically through my friends, my children and through all the gifts He gives me. Especially the sunrises and sunsets. They have been magnificent lately........and I can't take credit for either of these pictures, but I find so much joy in looking at them both. I love my Facebook friends, and how well they can photograph God moments.

Smiles and Noses

2011-11-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

Sweetheart....she really does smile a lot.
"Whatcha doing, Mommy?"

Showing off all 20 pounds of cuteness.

Looking a little bit concerned, but she really didn't mind.

A little bit crooked, but ever so sweet.

A Mommy and her son.

A grandson and his Grandma.

Serious one year old. The babies weren't so sure about this whole blinking nose idea, but they were very good sports about it.

Two very cute babies. They really like each other.

"Hey everyone....I love Daycare. I don't even cry any more."

Something to smile about!

2011-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

I bought some Rudolph noses on the weekend. And we had way too much fun and we smiled and laughed a lot. Here are some of our pictures, and I will post more from #3's camera tomorrow. Enjoy!

I know that Sweetheart isn't wearing her nose, but I still think that she makes us smile!! Hard to believe that she is 6 and 1/2 months old already. She really does give us something to smile about......every single day.

Choices

2011-11-29T07:01:00.000-08:00

We won the Grey Cup!

2011-11-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

I am not really a football fan, but it was nice to see the local boys bring it home and the BC Lions win the Grey Cup. I watched a little bit of it, and I really liked seeing them hold up the Cup and celebrate with their families. They showed a couple of babies who belong to players and I was rather smitten. I really like babies........and the little dark-haired one with very curly hair was too cute for words. I actually told Hubby that I thought we should go get him and give him a cuddle. He just smiled.....as usual.

I went to church yesterday and it was an especially great service with great music and a guest speaker. Loved it, and loved visiting with my friends. Hubby and I went to pick up my new Joovy stroller at my sister's house, then headed to Toy Traders, Krause Farms and JD Farms. I think we are all stocked up for our Christmas season with frozen pies and turkey. I love going to Langley and going to my favourite stores. Came back into Maple Ridge and did some more grocery shopping and I picked up a few things at Michael's for the Daycare kiddies. We came home and Hubby watched tv and I played on the computer........and then we did some chores and watched a little bit more tv. Hubby vacuumed while I got caught up on some paperwork, and I headed to bed early. And slept!! Almost 8 whole hours. It's going to be a very good day....I can tell already!!

Here is a picture of my niece, she danced at the Half-time show at the Grey Cup. She is on the lower right and she LOVES to dance. Isn't she simply adorable?

I had a busy week!

2011-11-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

My little guy reached his arms out to me yesterday and it warmed my sister's heart. She emailed me this picture of my favourite great-nephew and me.......we were just finishing up our Breakfast with Santa. He is such a little love and we really do like each other, not to mention how much we love each other as well.

I finally took some time for myself yesterday. It was a very, very crazy four days. Starting with Tuesday, with work and then shopping until 11; Wednesday, I also worked and then attended a Photography course in the evening; Thursday, I worked and then went to Disney on Ice with Grandson, Chase and their moms; and then on Friday, I worked and then Hubby and I babysat Pretty Girl in the evening. That was four nights out in a row, and three of the those nights were late nights. Let's face it, this Grandma is getting older and has no problem admitting it, but I just can't do four nights out in a row any more. I sure do love it though, the going out.......it's just my mind and my body who resist.

We started our morning yesterday with a breakfast out, then we went off to Photo Express, Haney Builders and Valley Fair Mall. I went to pick up a stroller that I bought.....this one is different than the one I had pictured last week, but a friend was selling her Peg Pliko and I just couldn't resist the good deal. This one will actually fit in the back of my van......and then we headed home for lunch and some cleaning up. I spent a little bit of time tending to emails and phone calls, then I went to the bank and an appointment, and came home for the rest of the afternoon and the evening. Hubby went to get a haircut and I made some turkey soup for dinner. Watched a really cute movie called Dear Santa, and then kept falling asleep every time I sat down. I heard that the hockey game was pretty good and we beat San Jose 3-2, but I slept through most of it. Finally put myself to bed around 11 and now I am good to go again. I have made lots of plans already for today.....first church, then a trip into Langley, the grocery store and we should be home in plenty of time to watch our BC Lions win the Grey Cup. I am not really a very big football fan, but I will probably pay attention to it, just because it is in town, and just because it is the Grey Cup after all. The weatherman claims it will be sunny and bright, so I hope he is right!!

The Christmas season is upon us!!

2011-11-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

We went to our first Christmas event this morning and it was terrific!! I am sure that Santa wasn't any older than 25, but he was a big hit with our babies and we all enjoyed a very nice pancake breakfast.

Pretty Girl is talking to us, but it is still a very cute pic.

Train ride, in the rain. It was very, very wonderful!!

My sister, my niece and Baby....I think he enjoyed it the most. He didn't stop smiling during the entire ride!! (although you would never know from this picture...it was taken before we started moving)

The Family!! We all had so much fun!!

I really like Daycare!

2011-11-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

"Dear Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Aunties.......I just want you all to know that I really like Daycare. I still whine when my Daddy drops me off, but that is just my way of telling him that I love him and am going to miss him. It's sure different from when I used to cry as soon as I came in the door and all the way up the stairs. My Auntie Joanne loves me and comforts me when I am sad. And she feeds me and changes me and rocks me to sleep. (sometimes her friend Julie rocks me and that's okay too) And I know that my Mommy ALWAYS comes to pick me up and take me home. I miss my Mommy, especially around 4 o'clock........but I have been such a happy boy this week. And it only took four weeks to get here. You should all be very, very proud of me!!"

" This is my best buddy, so far. We like each other."

"I am showing him that I can do Peek-a-boo."

"And I can play Pat-a-cake."

"Here you go Auntie. Do you want to play?"

"My friends and I are having a rest-time."

"I love Jade....and she likes to help me and play with me."

"My cousin and I play with the fridge magnets and listen to the music."

"And we all have fun!!"

Bliss

2011-11-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

It was so peaceful on Tuesday, at the end of my work day. I was burning a brown sugar scented candle at 4:34 pm....please note my beautiful new stove. I still think that it is as pretty as my five carat amethyst ring.......

........and my baby was still sound asleep, and had been that way since 1 o'clock.....isn't he absolutely precious?

And because she saw me take a picture of her cousin, she asked for her baba, jumped up on the chair and pretended to be asleep. Isn't she also so precious? These guys are just so sweet......and I am thankful every day to have them in my life to love!

What a Wonderful Day!!

2011-11-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

I had one of the best days ever, yesterday. It started out extremely early as the howling wind kept Hubby and I awake a lot during the night. And we never lost our power, but the internet and land line were both down for about 20 hours. I woke up a short time ago and am very pleased that I can get onto the internet again. I missed all of my friends who live in my computer.

Work was so great. My friend came to help me out, and it turned out that I needed her more than I even thought I was going to, as the power was out at the school and I ended up with 3 extra school-agers. She was able to take the little guys to Music while I stayed home with the big boys and my baby. We then went for a walk around the neighbourhood, had lunch and before I knew it, four of my seven were leaving. Baby slept for 3 and a half hours in the afternoon and it was just an all-round-happy-very-good day. Pretty Girl arrived for a few hours and we all had a great day together.

I went out with a bunch of friends to Coquitlam Center and had a splendid evening!! I had never been before, but their charitable night of shopping was better than Boxing Day with all of the fun, not as many crowds and way too good of deals. I didn't really spend very much money, but I came out laden with bags of goodies just before 11 last night, and we stopped for a quick bite to eat and a drink at Tim Hortons. I was so surprised to arrive home to darkness around me in my neighbourhood (not us, but six houses away it was black) and still no internet or land line access. This just affirmed to me that I really still want an IPad 3G for Christmas. I felt lost without being to check on all my friends on Facebook before I went to bed. And I especially missed making a blog post.

But I did wake up after only two hours of sleep, so now that I don't have so much thinking going on, I am going to head back to bed for a few more hours and I will see you all later!!

Burnt Toast

2011-11-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

This is how my morning started. I should have taken it as a sign. My action-packed day was not as fun-filled as I had planned. Burning toast makes a lot of smoke and it is very stinky. Even after airing out the entire upstairs and burning a candle for most of the day, the first thing Hubby said to me when he came home at 5 o'clock was, "What burned?" And the toast had burned ten hours previous. I made the best of it though and put it with my other "oops" from last year and made a very nice happy face. It helped to make a bad situation a little bit cheery.

My lunch dates canceled as they had sick children and no vehicle, my favourite grandson was sick and not coming to MyGym, and his sister has the same cold and they were both feeling rather crummy. I still had five little children and a couple of them were rather whiny today. Maybe the miserable cold, rainy, slushy weather contributed to their moods, but it just wasn't as good a day as I had planned it to be. Miracle #4 came over to give me hand with the sleepers while I went to pick up the school-agers, he stayed for dinner and watched Castle with us and now it is time to think about tomorrow. Hubby is upstairs cleaning up the kitchen, I have started a load of laundry and it is almost time to call it a night. I had a very busy weekend.......I didn't really think it was going to be, but I ended up visiting a lot of Open Houses and craft fairs. I ran into lots of friends and we did a lot of chatting and catching up on each others lives. I went to two church services and made a quick trip into Langley, and the weekend went by way too fast. It's a very dismal rainy night and I think I will head to bed early!

Night of Praise

2011-11-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Sing a new song to the Lord!

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

Sing to the Lord; bless his name.

Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.

Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Great is the Lord!

He is most worthy of praise!

He is to be revered above all the gods.

Psalm 96:1-4

I went to a worship service tonight and we sang and danced and shared stories. It was truly a night to behold and I had an AWESOME time. I have such a great church family and it was so inspiring. It was the end to our week of prayer.......and it was pointed out that we have the mayor and a school trustee as part of our family. Ernie and Kathy were re-elected last night for another 3 year term and I was there this morning to congratulate them. I love them both and I think that they will do well in their official duties. I had such a great night and I am way too pumped up to go to sleep, but I am about to try and rest. Morning comes early and I have a fun-filled action-packed day planned!!

Pretty Girl

2011-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Pretty Girl went for her shots on Friday and she is officially 30.5 pounds and 35 inches tall. She did what she did last Spring and did a huge growth spurt in a very short amount of time and missed one whole clothes size. Last May, she went from a 12 months to a 24 months in less than a month, and she just went from 24 month to a Size 3. Size 2 still fits in certain styles and brands, but she really is a Size 3. Her feet grew quickly as well as she is fitting a 6-6 1/2 now.

She is simply adorable. She is full of energy and laughter, and is learning new things every day. She talks a lot and she communicates extremely well when she wants to. She is just over 18 months old but acts very, very two. Complete with tantrums and screaming and mood changes.....and as her Grandma, I can laugh at her........but she is girl who does not like No for an answer. I can relate, as I don't like being told No either. I have learned that it is not socially acceptable to throw myself to the ground and scream. But it doesn't mean that I don't want to. That being said, the tantrums are diminishing lately and I think that they probably had something to do with her quick growing and development rate.

She UNDERSTANDS everything, and will follow simple directions. She likes most foods but LOVES beef, chicken and pasta. Is willing to try most everything and still has two speeds. Stop and Go. She still has that one nap in the day and sleeps anywhere from an hour to sometimes close to three hours, but that would usually depend on how well she slept the night before. Sleeps through on most nights, but she is a toddler, so that means that about one in ten, she might get fussy. She just got that last eye tooth and only has her 2 year molars left, so the restless nights are fewer and farther between.

I cannot believe how quickly this past year and a half has gone by. She is such a blessing in our lives and brings us so much joy. We all love her so very, very much!!