Mornings

My favorite time with you is first thing in the morning.
It's a good thing I'm a morning person 

and don't mind getting up early.

I genuinely enjoy our quite moments together.  No one else is awake and it's just the two of us.  After your morning nursing and snuggle in my bed we mosey downstairs since you are ready for something to eat.  You "help" me make my coffee and then we prepare your hot cereal.  

I think this is the time that I hear the most new words from you.  

There's no one to interrupt you or speak louder than you.  

You have me all to yourself and you truly appreciate having my full attention. 

Rather than wish you'd sleep in late and wake up in the rush of the day, I will enjoy each of these mornings with you.
You are my baby and I will hold on to these moments forever.

Bread Making

Last week, Joshua and Andrea took a school field trip to the Ukrainian Cultural Village, east of Edmonton.  One of the activities was to make Paska bread.  Unfortunately, some kids didn't have the opportunity to try the bread and so being quite experienced in the kitchen, I told my kids that we would have our own bread making lesson at home.  I dug up my Oma's original recipe (which happened to be in my Mom's handwriting) and tried to figure out how I was going to bake bread without the luxury of my bread machine!

And so we began with the basics... how they did it in the "olden days" as my kids say.  Heated the milk on the stove, used traditional yeast, and waited the full 1.5 hours for the first rise.

{we were so excited to see the water and yeast chemistry "work", since that meant I did something right}

We moved on to the next steps of mixing the flour and letting it rise.  Delighted faces were around after the first rise.

SUCCESS!!

I kept half the dough for traditional buns and let the kids created their own.  

When I was growing up, my Oma always ensured that there were fresh buns ready to eat every time we came to visit.  Now being as Dutch as we are, there was (is) only one way to eat fresh, hot buns and that is with butter and sugar... lots of each.  As I baked today, the memories came flooding back as the sweet smell of bread filled my house.  I took a bite and was brought back to my childhood days of visiting my grandparent's house in Neerlandia.  I hope I can provide some of those same memories for my children and grandchildren in the years to come.

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. 

 

  

  

  

 

She's Not Growing Up That Fast (really)

As a parent, so often we hear how quickly our little ones are growing up.  True, the years seem to fly by but have I heard it so much that I'm perhaps forcing her to grow up faster than she wants to.  She dances with grace and poise.  She moves smoothly and gently.  When she dresses up for church, I feel like she could pass for 12 or even 14 years old.  Yet today, I left my teary 9 year old girl at school so she could practice her solo for her spring concert.  I held her in my arms and I felt like she was five years old again.  So young, small, and needing me.  She wanted to come home so badly and I needed to encourage her to finish out the day.  Did I make the right decision to make her stay?  How long will I feel bad for leaving her?  I am now watching the clock... waiting for 4:00 to roll around so she can be with me again.  Secretly, I'm even hoping Sarah will wake up early and we can get the kids from school and I can have an extra hour with them.

You are beautiful Andrea.  You are elegant.  You are growing up.  You are still so young.  I love you.

 

** Well I have all my ducklings in my pond now.  She was no worse for wear and was delighted to be home.  I can now enjoy the next four days with my kids!**

It Was Her Day

For a couple weeks, Arianna has been after me to invite her friend Lara over.  Finally, her mom and I managed to organize ourselves and we were set to go... until Lara woke up sick that morning.  Arianna's body just sagged with disappointment as I broke the news to her.  Lara's mom and I were quick to reschedule the play date and today was it.  The girls played for two hours straight until Lara's mom was ready to go.  I then offered that Lara stay for the afternoon and we'd bring her home later in the day.  Supper time was approaching and Lara joined us for that too.  Finally, 7:00 was nearing in and Doug drove Lara home with Arianna in tow.  It was such a big day for her.  So often, we have older kids around, do the driving for Joshua and Andrea and have their friends over for dinners.  Arianna was in her glory as it was HER friend who was our guest of honor tonight and SHE got to have the trip with Daddy to take her guest home. 

And her busy day wore her out.  She was sound asleep just minutes after being tucked in.  So sweet to see her growing up little by little.

My Pea in her Pod

Ever since our move about 10 weeks ago, Sarah has been having a tough time sleeping well at night.  By not sleeping well, I mean up at least two to four times per night.  I really don't mind getting up once (or twice) to feed and snuggle her but it was getting exhausting.  So Doug suggested we set up her tent and see what happens.  She went down at her regular time and woke up at 10:00 like she always does.  I mentally prepared myself for a long night as per the norm and drifted off to sleep.  I woke up at 3:30 (Sarah's usual time) to silence.  Being tired enough, I quickly dozed off again.  I got up that morning with the kids, got them off to school, and started the day.  Sarah slept until 8:30 in that silly tent!

The next night, I did the same, she woke up once at 10:30 and slept on until 7:30!  This is the pattern she has been following since Thursday!  My two reasons for her sleeping are 1) she can't stand up in it and 2) she can't lose her soothers.

Funny how babies have these little quirks about them.  But like Doug said to me "whatever works and gets everyone the most sleep."

                    The "Pea Pod"

This is what the tent looks like set up.  There must be something about it that makes Sarah feel secure and for now, I'm sticking with it!

Cloth Diapering

isn't new to me.  I had a diaper service for Joshua and did my own with Andrea.  Arianna didn't have them.  I saw a great deal on Kijiji for some cloth diapers and I thought I'd give it a try again.  I figure in about 2-3 months, I'll have saved what I would have spent on disposables plus less waste in the landfill.

 

 

She is such a skinny bean!

Thankful Thursday

* my family

* coffee

* the freedom to home educate my kids

* my Kitchen Aid mix master

* my new house that is becoming a home more and more each day

* my collection of Norwex (cleaning without chemicals is great)

* we are a two vehicle family so I'm never trapped at home

* comfy pants

* A God who loves me unconditionally

Next to "Mom"...

I think I love being called Aunty Stephanie the most.  I watched my 3.5 year old nephew for the past couple days and it was the first time he's called me by name.  It's just one of those sweet names that I love to hear!

An Appetizer

Joshua had asked me on Monday night if he could prepare his cereal for the next morning.  I said he could but that we were going to have waffles for breakfast.  His response: "That's ok.  It will just be my appetizer."

My First Quilt

If you follow my other blog, you may have already seen my first ever quilt that I made.  It was surprisingly easy, although I only did very simple blocks.  No angles or anything too fancy like that.  It had been a long time since I had done any sewing and getting back at it was like being reunited with an old friend.

My sewing maching which I LOVE!

The finished product

Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic torch came through Spruce Grove this morning.  Last night I was thinking about going and when I got up I debated getting everyone out of the house at 7:00.  Then I realized I would really regret it if we didn't.  So in a matter of 15 minutes, we had all the kids in snowsuits, coffee for Doug and I, and we were out the door.  We walked a couple blocks to City Hall and managed to get a spot on the curb right close to the ceremony.  The excitement, patriotism and city spirit was phenomenal and I am so glad we were a part of it.  I am pleased that I made the effort to support our country

GO CANADA GO!

(Picture taken from City of Spruce Grove Website )