Joshua's Favorites

at 10.5 years old

Food: Black forest trifle cake
Friend: Bryce
Subject at school: Science
Activity: building Lego
Outdoor Thing to Do: sprinting
Time of Day: morning
Meal: Breakfast

Ben

This week I had the pleasure of watching my nephew for a few days.  His vocabulary is amazing for a 2.5 year old and I wanted to make sure I wrote his Ben-isms down.  Here's just some of the quotes that entertained us:

- "What's that?"
- "Why?"
- "Where's Joshua?" (or Andrea, or Arianna)
- "What happened Aunty?" (after spilling some water)
- "My floor is darker than yours."
- "Why?"
- "I need covers!" (after a crying jag in the middle of the night- good thing I'm used to getting up)
- "I'm spraying water all over the place" (bath time)
- "George is okay." (or sleeping, wrapped up, sitting, watching TV, cold...)
- "That's so funny." (which could be anything)
- "Why?"
- "The snow is still hurting on the deck."
- "What time is it?"
- "Where are we going today?"
- "Where's George?"
- "Why?"
- "What's dat noise?"
- "Where you going Aunty?"
- "SARAH IS WRECKING IT!!!"

Dogs...

For as long as Doug and I could remember, dogs have been part of our lives.  Growing up, there was a dog in both our families and so it only made sense that we had a dog (or two) after we were married.  Dogs are fairly high maintenance.  Vets, groomers, food, cleaning up messes... the list is quite long.  But despite that, we still have always had a dog.  Having a dog also requires the responsibility of deciding when that furry life has lived to it's fullest.  Lately our 13 year old Lhasa has been having accidents in the house and generally seemed to be going downhill heath wise.  Yesterday I took her to the vet and called Doug hoping he'd join me.  We wanted to the vet to determine what Megan's quality of life was.  Did she have a few good months ahead of her or had she lived out all she could?  After doing an assessment of Megan, the wonderful vet (Shannon) said Megan was arthritic down most of her back, into her hips and down her hind legs.  A look at her eyes determined she was mostly blind.  Living with her, we knew her ears were going too.  She had lost much of the muscle control in her rear hips and legs which also accounted for the loss of bowel control.  Her weight dropped three pounds since October.  We went home 15 minutes later with that information knowing we had to make the decision of how long to let her live.  Doug called me and suggested we take her back the next day.  His reasoning was that it wasn't going to be any easier tomorrow, next week, or in two months.  When the final day came, it would be hard for everyone.

This morning Megan had a gourmet breakfast of bologna, cheese, crackers and Milk Bones and thoroughly enjoyed her indulgence.  When Doug came home from work around 9:00, the kids knew it was 'time' to say good bye.  He later said to me that taking Megan out of the house and away from the kids was one of the hardest things he's had to do in a very long time.  *sigh*  My kids' hearts were hurting so bad and there was only so much I could do to make them feel better.  I held them all close, hugged them tight and told them it would be ok.  School for the day has gone out the window. 

Quotes from this morning:

Joshua- "It will be hard to get used to saying 'Sadie, outside' after saying 'Megan, Sadie outside' for so long."

Andrea- "And I thought bringing Noah (another former dog) to the SPCA was tough."

Arianna (to Megan)- "Don't worry Megan, soon you'll be with Jesus and everything will be ok."

*Megan*

Sarah's Favorites at 20 months

This idea was taken from Kelly's blog.  She has done this for each of her kids as they've reached an aged milestone.  I'm just going to start one now.

  

Person: Mommy (for basic needs), Daddy (for play)

Food: Ritz crackers and instant oatmeal

Toy: Baby Emma doll

Activity: going out of the house or yelling at the kids

Friend: Lucy (her cousin)

Book: God Made Me (she loves the mirror at the end)

I love my birthday

It's not just the number but it's the one of the two days of the year that belongs to me (Mother's Day is the other one).  On my actual day this year, we shared supper with Doug's parents.  My mother in law brought me a cake and everyone sang to me. 

A week later, my sister hosted a Superbowl get together and she had made a cake for my brother and myself.  More singing. :) So far, I have extended my birthday for a week. 

The following Friday, I went out with my sister.  We went out to Moxies for supper, shopped and watched a movie.  A true classic girl's night out and a much needed break for both of us. 

Today, February 21, a full three weeks AFTER my actual birthday, Doug, the kids and I went out for my birthday lunch.  So this, my 34th birthday (I believe) is now over.  I have done the celebrating I wanted to and I think I've managed to stall it out long enough for this year.

Pedicure

Last Christmas I was needing one more gift for Andrea... I decided to give her a pedicure and lunch date with me.  Today she was able to redeem her 'gift'.  We went to Boston Pizza and shared some nachos and then went off to get our feet pampered.  I have never had a pedicure before and I think I'm hooked.  The warm water, massage, scraping the dry skin off (yuck!), and painting them a fun color.  What a treat to sit back and have someone take care of you.  It was so fun just hanging out with my little girl!  It's so neat that she's growing up and we are able to do more grown up activities together.

I hate

being home alone.  I find my fuse is so much shorter when I'm parenting solo.  The kids don't seem to cooperate or listen nearly as well and I just feel weary.  I lost it when an egg fell to the floor and the house was still in disarray at 8:00pm. 

**sigh**

Road Trip

He left yesterday morning for Winnipeg.  For a two hour trade show on Thursday.   *sigh* 
I have a week of single parenting, eating meals alone (fine, with the kids), sleeping alone (unless someone joins me), waking up and having coffee by myself...  Maybe I'm having a pity party for me but I'm lonely.  I miss him when he's gone. 

Times like this make me realize how big God's plan was for us to all have a "help-mate".  We were not created to do everything on our own. In Genesis 2:18 (The Message), it tells us: God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion."  I like the word companion.  It says a lot about the relationship between a husband and wife and I like using that word to describe Doug.  My companion.  My partner.  My friend. 

My Birthday

The night before my birthday, I told Doug that all I wanted was a full night's sleep.  Meaning Sarah had to sleep all night.  After her 10:00 nursing, she slept until 7:30!  My day started with a hot coffee and a very happy baby.  Doug was the first to wish me a happy birthday and all the other kids soon followed.  I received a painting from Arianna and a picture collage from Andrea.  The kids and I made brunch together and had a good school morning.  Doug's parents came over for supper to help celebrate and even brought a cake for me.  While we were eating, a friend of ours installed our garage door opener!  No more getting out for me!  It was a good day.  I ended the day with a hot bath and a good book!

As I sit here reflecting on the past year and even the year ahead, I feel so richly blessed by God.  He has trusted me with four beautiful and healthy children.  A husband who loves me more than anything.  A sister who I adore.  In laws who treat me like their own.  A home.  A vehicle.  The list goes on.  I am one lucky woman.