Rewards and Bellies

The kids finished their swimming lessons today. Nathan passed into level 5...yippee! Chad did not pass, BUT he did go from barely putting his face in the water to actually being able to swim. He's got a long way to go in his confidence but he tried very hard and made great progress. We rewarded Chad with a new scooter. Chad's old one broke about a month ago and he's missed it! When Keith and I go for our fast walks the boys keep up on their scooters so this was a gift to myself as well! I had told him all along that he would not get it unless he passed but knew deep down I knew that he simply was not going to be put in the next level just yet. He deserved a reward anyhow for his fantastic improvement.
Nate is going to get a reward too but his will have to wait a little longer until we can get down to the States.

Also, I was at the doctor today for a check-up. It was very routine. Happy to report that no news is good news and everthing is going really well. Still packing on weight like a crazy woman (seriously) but he doesn't say anything so it must be fine. I expect I'll gain the same as I did with Nate and Chad.

Here's a current photo of me. I finally have something to show you! Broke out the maternity pants yesterday and am loving the comfort. Only 18 weeks to go!

Those Long Legs!

Nathan spent the day at a track meet for several local schools. The sun was shining but not to warmly and there was a light breeze. Perfect! I was sad to miss out but due to the short notice I could not get time off work. Next year I will be able to attend lots of school events though and I'm really looking foward to that!

He was very pleased that he came in second in the high jump. We're proud too!

Unfortunately he missed his race in the 400m dash because he was busy in the finals for the high jump and the events over-lapped. He's a great runner as well so that was too bad.

Oh well...there is always next year!

Answers to Some Great Questions!

Wow! I didn't think I'd get such tough questions. I'll do my best but some of them have really got me thinking....thinking that I don't really have good answer!

1. Has blogging changed or effected your life in any way and if so, how?
Well, I now have a journal of the past 3 years or so of my life. I am pleased about this because I am too lazy to keep a journal the old fashioned way and I am not creative enough to scrapbook. I do plan to save my blog to disk to keep as a memory. I suppose I do take more pictures because of my blog....pictures of things that I normally would not. Such as food, flowers and everyday life.

2. If you could go anywhere in the world where would that be and why?
England! I've always been fascinated by the English culture and landscape. I especially want to visit Cornwall. I read many novels set in this area and it sounds so beautiful. I'd love to explore by bike or by foot. And all those delicious accents....mmmmm!!!

3. What's on your bedside table?
Dust, framed double photo of my two boys, clock radio, lamp, a parenting book, my blood pressure monitor and some pamphlets on vaccination.

4. What is your 1st 2nd and 3rd priority in life?
Number one would be loving my husband in the way he needs to be loved, number two would be looking after the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of my boys and number three would be making sure I don't go crazy.

5. Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We drove down the Oregon Coast and then went to Disneyland. It was very fun! All inclusive resorts were not a big item back in 1994 but that's what I'd do now.

6. What is your favorite colour?
It really depends on what the color is for but if I had to pick just ONE it would be green. It's fresh and alive.

7. Are you very "girlie"?
No, I'm not at all. I do not enjoy primping and pampering myself. I don't get manicures or pedicures and put off coloring my hair until the last possible moment. I am not creative and do not like crafts...they frustrate me.

8. What is your "passion" in life?
This question was a bit scary. I don't know that I have one...is that bad? I'm sort of mellow in really loving my very mediocre existence. (and I wonder why Nate doesn't have more drive!) I am content with the everyday. I do not crave thrills and adventure. Too some this is boring I suppose. Perhaps I will discover my passion one day....I hope so!

9. What did you think of your husband when you met him for the first time?
I thought he was incredibly good looking and thought I would be the luckiest girl in the world we could end up together!

10. What is your favorite TV show?
Amazing Race. I get to travel for free!!!

11. Where is your favorite place to vacation?
I haven't travelled too much so I will only chose from the places I've been. I love my grandparents property in Oroville WA. It's very peaceful and relaxing. No TV, no computer, no radio, no phone. It's a complete get-away!

12. Do you like being Mennonite?
Ummm....sure. I've never thought about it before. But yes, I like it. I like having a strong heritage that I can learn about. So many people do not know their backgrounds. Plus we there are some great Menno jokes out there and I can relate to most of them :)

13. Do you find Abbotsford to be full of snobby Mennos?
No, not in the circles I run in. I find Abbotsford to be full of young people with too much money (new houses, new cars, toys, etc) at an early age that have not had to work hard for it. Whether they are Menno or not is beside the point. I do wish people would be content with less. I hate the unspoken competition to one up each other. There are snobs in every ethnic group.

14. What is your most embarassing moment?
I have many but will only share one today....at a party in highschool when some guy accidently hit a pool ball off the pool table onto my foot and I yelled an obscene word VERY loudly and the whole room got quiet. Oh dear.

15. What would you like to be doing 25 years from now?
Exploring the east coast of Canada and the US in a lovely RV with my husband and a dog.

16. What is your favorite food to snack on?
I'm pretty open but it has to be crunchy! I really like apples and popcorn.

17. When did you commit your life to Jesus? How did it happen?
Let's see...I can't really remember. I must have been very young. What I do know that as a young person I would 'become a Christian' over and over again just in case it didn't 'stick'!

A Big Ole Ramblin' Post

I think it's pretty great that the weekends are sunny and the weekdays are rainy. It works for me! I had heard it was supposed to be yucky weather today so was really pleasantly surprised to wake up to lovely sunshine!

We went to church in the morning, of course and then spent the rest of the day at home. Funny thing, living in a house. We stay home lots. When we lived in our condo we had no choice but to plan some sort of outing on sunny days. It got tedious after a while. We are truly enjoying hanging out in our own yard. I'm certain we'll never take it for granted.....10 years of condo living will do that to a person!

Oh oh....looks like Keith got into the kid's sidewalk chalk!

Keith worked on his homework assignment for his correspondence course (work-related) for most of the afternoon. The kids played with the neighborhood hoodlums. Last year they were quite tentative about playing in the street. They were quite worried they would be kidnapped and other such silliness. They just were not used to being outside! This summer is a whole new ballgame. They are outside constantly....riding bikes, scooters, drawing on the driveway, or just running around with all the other kids that seem to congregate on our street. I love it! This is what I wanted for my boys....neighborhood play. I grew up doing this and have the best memories of playing and playing and playing. We never went home unless we were hungry or the streetlights came on...then we knew it was time to get our butts home!

I wanted to make my family some smoothies....not something I've done before. I threw all the ingredients into my blender, turned it on and nothing. Checked to make sure everything was clicked in place properly and nothing. Banged it on the counter and nothing. Grrrrr! Moved onto to using my magic bullet type hand blender. It only made a groaning sound when I turned it on. I guess the fact it hadn't been used in 7 + years can affect a machine :) I then proceeded to make wee batches at a time in my mini-chopper. A new blender is on my 'to buy' list now! They tasted good though.

Yesterday Keith had his co-worker come and check out his old jeep. His daughter is looking for a vehicle to replace one that was recently in an accident. Her dad is a jeep fanatic and can also tinker with engines which is a good thing because our old jeep needs some work. Good news is that they will be buying it! I am so glad to have it out of our garage as this means Keith can now park inside and our driveway will have more room for the kids to play. It would be fun to say that we are going to use the money for something like an exotic vacation but sadly (it's not that much) we need a new fence on the east side of our yard and our basement floor needs to be replaced. Very practical!

After Ted and his daughter left, I saw that our neighbors across the street was outside with a batch of new kittens. A new family had moved in last fall and we had yet to meet them. I am shy (really!) and had been trying really hard to work up the courage to go over there and introduce myself. I am so glad I did. They are a very friendly young couple with three girls ages 5, 7 and 8 years old. Keith came over too and we had a great time getting to know each other a little bit. This brings me to today. We were out front with the kids and noticed that they just brought a truck load of bark mulch home. They called over and asked if we wanted some because someone they knew ordered too much and was trying to get rid of it. Of course, we took them up on the offer! They very generously went back to the site and loaded up another truck full for us and dumped it off on our driveway. How nice was that?!

I took this photo when no one was looking. I didn't want to explain my blogging fetish to our new friends just yet!

Keith and Nate then proceeded to spread the bark mulch over all the front yard beds....in the rain! Nate gave up after an hour but Keith kept on and two hours later (and no dinner yet, poor man) he is done! It looks wonderful!

Now that's an ominous sky! Our beautiful sunny Sunday ended in a rain storm.

After two years here of not really knowing anyone around us I finally feel like we 'fit' into the neighborhood. Our newer neighbors to the east are wonderful people as well and always ready for a nice chat over the fence. Our neighbor to the right is my sister-in-law's step sister. Do you follow?! She's a great lady and loves my baking so she's in my good books :)

Okay this post is really long and needs to be edited for content. I will stop.

Have a great week y'all!

We Saw.....IT!

Keith and I went to Mission Hospital for my ultra-sound today.

Comparing to my experience with both Nathan and Chad this was amazing with a capital 'A'! Really.

Our tech today was the most lovely and personable lady. She too was pregnant with an oopsie-baby, so of course she could be completely empathetic to how we were feeling and what we'd like to know about the results. She told us that there are very few techs that allow the husband in for the entire procedure and she welcomed Keith in for the whole thing. She patiently explained every measurment she took, every picture she took, and every image on the screen. She also had the screen towards us the whole time as well. Back with both boys the tech would only allow Keith in the room for the last 5 minutes or so. And they would not talk during the procedure nor let you see the screen until the end. It made it such a cold, clinical procedure.

Today we were assured that the baby was growing normally, has all it's odds and ends, no deformities and my due date is accurate. The baby's heart-rate was 145, so make what you'd like of that! Sounds like the same as my other two. The baby would not flip over for her so she couldn't get us a decent photo. We told her not to worry about it since we'd get photos next month at our 3D scan.

The bladder thing wasn't too bad either. I absolutely did NOT follow the instructions and still had plenty of fluid in me to be able to get a proper ultra-sound. PHEW. I was really worried about that aspect.

Anyways....I'm glad that part is done! I feel a lot better knowing the baby is in good shape. I didn't take my vitamins in the 1st trimester so of course was imagining all sorts of problems. Now all this baby has to do is GROW!

Oh right....last night I went on a walk with Kori, Keri and their husbands. This is a killer walk that they have been doing for the past 6+ months at a very vigourous pace. I did my VERY best to keep up and it just about killed me. They live in a neighborhood with many steep hills. I did survive and felt pretty good afterwards. The bonus was that was when I took off my shoes and socks at home my feet had completely gone back down to normal size! Even this morning....I can see bones and veins and tendons. This thrills me! So, now I know how to cure what ails me. Keri and Kori.....I'll be back!

Half Way Day

Today marks week 20 of the pregnancy. Half way to......a BABY!

Eeek. Still haven't worn any maternity pants yet but I suspect this will happen pretty soon. I am feeling energetic and healthy. The baby is moving all the time and those the more enjoyable moments of pregnancy. The two main complaints are swollen ankes/feet and leg cramps. Pretty minor in the scheme of things! The boys are talking about the baby constantly. They are so protective of me and love to talk to my belly. They like to out-do each other. Nate will say: Baby...this is big brother, I love you, I can't wait to play. Then Chad will say: Baby, this is the other brother, I will love you more, and I will play with you more. They are very sweet.

After church we lazed around on the deck for the first half of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine. The second half of the afternoon consisted of a VERY long bike ride. I think we were out for a little under three hours and my bum hurts.

Here are some pictures at one of our rest stops....

Summer all of a Sudden!

That was a bit of a shock to the old body! Going from months on end of cool weather to instant heat. Yikes! I have the sunburn to prove it.

I also got a glimpse of what the rest of the summer will be like for my poor ankles. It's really quite distressing to have ankles that look like puffy pillows. Now I get to feel fat ALL OVER instead of from the knees up :) Drat.

We had the brilliant idea yesterday of going to meet at a park for a sushi lunch with Kori and Roger. It was delicious and we could see all the other moms with their tots eyeing our meal jealously. I bet they were eating yogurt and goldfish crackers!

Thanks for the date!

Keith and I decided to purchase a new light fixture for our dining room. The old one wasn't horrible but didn't really work with our mostly black accesories. We used Christmas money from my grandparents towards this new one. I don't LOVE it but it was the closest thing in our price range. Of course the one we REALLY liked was over $450.00. Not gonna happen!

This old one is up for grabs....come on...you know you WANT it!!!!

Randomness

This was a delicious dinner of sweet n sour chicken on rice. My mother would have something to say about this....too orange! If I would have had a green pepper it certainly would have been a more colorful meal.
Our huge cherry tree is raining pink. Such a yucky mess when all is said and done.
The boy doing his homework. Oh how I long for summer vacation when the evenings are free to do as we please!
Chad and his dad having some bonding time after supper. Sure is grey out this evening. If the weatherman is right we're in for a fantastic weekend. I can hardly wait!!!

V-Dub...I Missed You!

It's good to have you home little blue car!

Today I got my car back from the collision shop. We had been without it since April 1st and that's no joke! Ha ha ha.....pathetic humor attempt there.

I sure missed that piece of metal. Strange how one can get so attached to a machine.

It's been detailed within an inch of it's life and will never look so nice again, I'm sure of that. I was a bit concerned that driving standard again would take some getting used to but it's just like riding a bike.

Now....NO MORE ACCIDENTS please God for a LONG time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was our courtesy car for the past several weeks. I really enjoyed driving it....very peppy! The most annoying feature was that it did not have power locks. It was a foreign concept to my kids to have to actually PRESS down a knob to lock the door and they constantly forgot to do it.

The Week-End

I had a great rest of my weekend! The right amount of relaxing with some work thrown in for good measure. My Mennonite heritage dictates that I must accomplish something each day (minus Sunday!). It's in-bred. I can't help it!

On Saturday I took Chad's bookshelves and toybins to to task. They were getting very cluttered, dusty and full of odds and ends that needed a home. With some help from both boys we had it all tidy and looking organized within an hour!

A short time later Chad came running to tell me that during some rough-housing with Nate his front tooth got knocked out! This was great news because that tooth had been sitting at a crooked angle for sometime already and we were tired of calling him 'snaggletooth'. His smile is MUCH cuter now!

Aren't these undies cute? Chad got these from his auntie for his birthday.

When I came downstairs Sunday morning to check my email (daily routine) I was VERY VERY happy to find this surprise waiting for me! I had been eyeing this chair at Costco for quite sometime now but always talked myself out of it by telling myself if I was too comfy at the computer I might sit in front of it even longer than I already do! The old chair is hard and makes one's bum sore after a few minutes. I'm thrilled with my new office chair....it's a dream to sit in!

Mother's Day was grand. The boys made me very touching cards at school. Keith treated me like a queen all day....I didn't have to lift a finger. My mom had us over for a turkey lunch which was very delicious. The day ended with us watching the Survivor finale. Not sure I'm too happy about the winner but am pleased for Amanda and Ozzy that they found love. I'm such a sap!

Exciting Friday Nights at Our House!

So, you've read about our week and then perhaps you can understand that by last night we were done!

We decided to get a few errands out of the way such as picking up the hanging baskets for Mother's Day. We knew that the nursery would be a crazy zoo today! Each of our moms gets a nice mixed basket each year. They love it...or so they say! I also picked out the ones I wanted from my family....a mixed basket and a basket of impatients. I look forward to them filling out and looking pretty all summer long. Because I have a north facing front yard it's quite devoid of color. Not much grows very well in shade, so the beds consist of shrubs and such. A hanging basket of bright pink impatients really brightens things up.

After stopping at the nursery we went to Canadian Tire to check out their bike selection. Chad somehow dropped his bike and the brake line snapped off. Keith decided that we would get him a new one rather than try and jimmy it back into working order. The old bike was a hand-me-down x 3, so really had a long life. We found the perfect bike for Chad at a price that wasn't too crazy. It was the last one so we bought it on the spot. Keith then took us home and drove back in his jeep to pick it up. He loves his new bike and says it rides much better than his old one. He's also pretty happy that it has shocks! Somehow this really mattered to him!

Keith then planted the pine tree Chad received at his field trip to our local Arbour Day celebrations. I'll make a gardener out of him yet!

After the kids were bathed, fed yet again, and bedded down for the night we collasped in front of the TV and caught up on our shows. We are Survivor and Lost fans. Sure looking forward to the Survivor finale on Sunday!!!!

This Week

I don't care to have weeks like this past one too often. It was crazy hectic and stressful! I do not thrive in this type of environment at all.

It started off with Keith being called out at 2:30 am on Tuesday to investigate a HUGE fire at some new townhouses in East Abby. He got home from the scene at 5:30 pm that afternoon. He was so very tired. It was great experience for him and he enjoyed it but that investigation took over his regular work load all this week. The regular work just kept piling up and there are two people in his department away from the office so he is filling in for them as well.

On top of all this Nate has had a huge project due today that we have been helping him work on each night. I shouldn't say 'we'. It's been mostly Keith. Keith is a perfectionist....Nate doesn't give a rat's arse about his school work so to say things got a bit tense would about describe the nightly homework scene. I don't think Nate was to bed before 10 pm all week. Needless to say the project is done and it looks pretty great. I hope Keith gets an 'A' on it :) I sure don't remember my parents helping me out so much with my schoolwork but then again maybe they did and I just don't recall. Today he is presenting his report to the class. Keith is out all day with Chad for a grade one field trip. What a great Dad! I rarely can attend fieldtrips due to my work schedule and it means so much to the kids to have their mom or dad there. I am very grateful to have a husband that is more than willing to participate in his children's education.

My kids are also in the midst of a set of swimming lessons. Twice a week we head to the pool directly after school. Chad has made a break through with his fear of water issues. He can now confidently put his head under water. I figured I have paid $225.00 over the past 3 years for him to accomplish this. I try not to think of it that way since it gets my blood boiling :) Everyone has issues and Chad's happen to be a horrible fear of water. I just want him to be able to swim so he can attend birthday parties, go to summer camp and simply be safe around water! Learning to swim is a must in my books.

I had a great day out on Wednesday with Kori and Keri. They let me tag along on their weekly Wednesday day out. We hit Guildford to check out some maternity shops. We had a fabulous time laughing and eating and smashing OPI nail polish bottles. Perhaps one of them will blog that!

On Wednesday evening I hosted a baby shower at my house for a coworker who had a baby girl at the end of March. It was a full house and we ate SO much. It was potluck and everyone contributed a tasty dish. Very little work for me. I just put out plates and made sure I had vacuumed, dusted and scrubbed the bathroom. A grand time was had by all.

That's the week round up. I hope to have a very relaxing weekend with lots of time to put my feet up. My ankles are starting to swell at the end of the day now and so I have every reason to take it easy!!!

Our New Routine

Because I know that YOU are all dying to have an update on Nate's sleeping issues.....hah!

Nathan has continued to wake up each and every night for a few panicked cries and a fresh adventure. He never goes far, thankfully!

Last night I caught him just as he was about to use his closet as a bathroom. Good save!

The night before he dragged his duvet into our room and was looking to bed down on the floor for a nap. I wonder what tonight will bring? A full night's sleep with no interruptions would be a nice switch!

Makes me wonder if he's having some sort of issue in his head that not even he is fully aware of. He's had a huge school project to work on the past few weeks. Another thing is his mother. I am going to blame this on hormones but my patience and tolerance level have been pretty much non-existent for a while now and the kids are bringing out my evil side. Maybe my short temper has been bothering him. I'd be scared of me if I was ten years old.

The project is due tomorrow and I am going to make a concerted effort to be a better parent.

Maybe it'll help!

Our Little Secret

I hope Nathan never finds out about me sharing this!

Let me go back a few decades. When I was a little girl I slept-walked. My dad would tell me the craziest stories in the morning of my nocturnal wanderings. I never ever remembered a thing in the morning of course! I also never did anything exceptionally weird to my knowledge except the one time I left the house to try and get into the car. Thank goodness my dad is a very light sleeper and followed me just to see what I was up to!

This brings us to our first born, Nate who is like his mom is so very many ways. Unfortunately he also sleep walks. It's more like he acts out his dreams (emptying out his laundry basket once!) or cries out in his sleep than wanders aimlessly. He can go for months and months without an incident but for the past week solid he has been having these episodes about two hours after falling asleep. It's getting old.

We cannot wake him up. We have found the best way to deal with him is to speak in a loud, matter-of-fact voice and direct him either to the bathroom or bed. He never remembers a thing in the morning either.

Sometimes we think he's awake and has 'snapped' out of it. Nope! So we can find out by asking questions such as 'how old are you?'. The other night he was sixteen.

Anyhow, we got this genius idea of video recording him last night just so we could prove it to him in the morning because he often thinks we're teasing him about all this. So, like clock-work around 11:00 pm we heard his moaning and crying and knew it was time to get the cameras rolling.

We herded him to the bathroom to go as sometimes this is why he wakes up in the first place. And just so you know Keith was videoing from the shoulders up ONLY....we are not completely crazy here! So he's sitting on the can babbling/crying/nodding off all at once. I am trying to ask him what his name is and old he is to see if he's awake. His answers were mumbled but correct so I thought he was 'all here'. This is what led me to believe he was still in deep REM mode.....he stood up, pulled up his underwear, pulled off some toilet paper and wiped the back of his neck. Yes folks....all caught on video. I laughed SO hard (even though I know that was cruel). Nathan woke up to my hysertical laughter and promptly cried for real.

Y'know....feels like we're already in nighttime training for this new baby with all nighttime fun!!!!

Do any of your kids sleep-walk, talk in their sleep or have night terrors? If so please let me know how you coped with it.

Bonus Post

There are some of my blog readers who seem to be fairly anxious for a pregnancy update. I was just at the doctor's for a check up and this is what I can tell you:

~ I am gaining weight like nobody's business. It's packing on really fast and it's rather distressing!

~ The triple screen blood test came back with good results. This is a genetic test for 'older' mothers to predict the chances of the baby having chromosonal defects.

~ It's time to book my ultra sound. I hear Mission's clinic is the best, so I am heading there for a scan on May 23rd. I am scared I will pee my pants. Pray for me!

~My regular pants still fit....thank goodness for low-rise waistlines.

~ My doctor loves my Sketchers....funny man! He doesn't usually say much at my appts but today it was all about the shoes!

~ Keith forgot to show up at my appt (he is required to attend all of them with me...it's our little agreement) and he feels VERY VERY VERY bad. I have a feeling I will be getting flowers tonight


***UPDATE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS***

1. The May ultrasound is not the 3D scan. That will happen in June and we will be finding out the gender. This is so I can adjust either way :)
2. No nicknames. We call it 'the baby'. Very original, no? We actually do not talk about the baby much at all. Strange but true.