Mail Order Bride?

Playing dress-up used to be one of my favorite things to do. Forcing Andrew to play along with me was even more fun. In honor of my brother's birthday today I give you the sailor and his bride!

Thanks Andrew for still loving your older sis even though I tormented you in 100 different ways when we were younger!

This, That and The Next Thing

Well, here's an update:

-The renovations to our home are going painfully slow. As my insurance friend advised, they love the emergency call out but to get the renovations moving is a slow process. Today we had the dry-waller here so that is progress.

-Nate is in the process of auditioning for Abbotsford Children's Theater. We are waited with baited breath to see if he gets a part for their production this winter

-Nate just got new lenses in his glasses. His eyesight is quite bad with his prescription being -4.0 and -3.75. I don't know what those numbers mean except they get higher with each visit. Contacts will be in his near future.

-Liam doesn't like sleeping through the night anymore and Keith is getting really tired of popping in and out of bed to settle him. Really glad that's not my job :) We hope it's phase!

-We just celebrated Keith's dad's 70th birthday!

-My friend from Ireland is coming out this summer for 5 weeks and I'm so excited to see her!

-One more month of work for me and I'm off for 6 weeks! Sweet. Work is crazy busy now as we gear up for year end and prepare for next fall. Still loving my job, my co-workers and even the students :)

Those are the highlights of the past few weeks. The rest of the time we've just been living life and doing our best to savour the moments!
Hopefully there are more exciting or at least interesting posts in the near future.

I Like Clean

I just read the most interesting book. This book was all about the history of personal cleanliness. Fascinating stuff. I didn't realize that daily bathing/showering is a fairly modern concept that was really only started in the early to mid 20th century. You might think it very stinky back in the old days but they all stank so no one really noticed.

The author explores it all from Roman baths, to 17th century France (when cleaning one's self meant putting on a clean linen shirt), to public bath houses of Europe. There was a time when Europeans thought that the layers of dirt on their skin protected them from disease and would not let water come near it!

It doesn't read like a history text book. Ashenburg has filled the book with unique anecdotes, facts, stories, illustrations and photographs.

It was a random pick off of the library shelf for me but a winner. I recommend!

Our Tax Dollars at Work

Did you know that there is a new playground and water park at Mill Lake? I still remember when the old waterpark was 'new'! Nate was a wee little man when it opened and we spent many, many days at that waterpark beside Centennial Pool. Now my new wee little man will get to enjoy this modern waterpark and I suspect his older brothers will love it too!

At Least, No Rain

As we haven't had anything yet that I'd call beach weather we have to do our weekend outings with plenty of layers. Today we took a jaunt out to Harrison Lake. Fortunately the winds were fairly calm and the tourists minimal. We had a nice walk around the lagoon, saw the mineral springs and stopped for ice cream (just for the kids and Keith....I was already chilled). I didn't take too many pictures but here's what I can offer you....

Forgetting our Cares...at the Beach!

A trip to the beach yesterday afternoon was a good remedy for our worries at home. The sun was warm, the breeze was light and the crowds were sticking to the patio restaurants and pier. We found a perfect little spot on the beach where the kids played and we soaked up the sun!

Unrelaxing Long Weekend

This is not the kind of van you want to see parked in front of your house at anytime! Saturday night we had a flood from our ensuite toilet this time. We didn't hear the water splashing out of the basement light fixture until it had been running for a good 15-20 minutes. The water did a ton of damage in our bedroom, closet, ensuite, main bathroom, Nathan's bedroom, basement, and basement bathroom. Ceilings, walls, carpet and flooring all wet and damaged.

At this point they are drying things out with fans and dehumidifiers. Our house is VERY noisy and the bedrooms muggy. They will come back Tuesday morning to assess what can be fixed and what needs replacing.

Of course perspective is a good thing and we are thankful we have insurance (even though there's a steep deductible) and that none of our possession were ruined. We will get past this but it wasn't exactly how we would have liked to spend our long weekend at all!

A Parenting Story

I've had quite a week so far. Of course, with Keith being gone what would be minor problems are amplified as I deal with them on my own.

Monday afternoon Liam started up with a high fever. We had a restless night. Tuesday his fever raged on and his appetite vanished. That evening I decided to pop into the clinc to make sure his throat and ears were clear. Check. All systems go there which is good BUT then it's called a 'virus' and there's not much to be done for that.

Tuesday night was equally restless and long with some throwing up involved and extra messy diapers. At least now I knew he had the flu.

Wednesday was my day off so I was able to take care of Liam here at home and give him lots of TLC. He was beside himself with crankiness and couldn't seem to doze for more than 30 minutes at a time even though he was exhausted. I was able to get him to drink a bit but eating wasn't something he wanted to do. Around dinner time my toilet decided to plug up and keep running and running......I didn't noticed the SPLASHING sound until the bathroom was well flooded and there was water pouring into the basement bathroom via the ceiling. I used every single towel in my linen closet to mop up the mess and put in an emotional email to Keith. As this was happening Liam fell on top of Chad in the livingroom and split lip inside his mouth. Lotsa blood, lotsa tears and lots of (I'm ashamed to say) yelling on my part as this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Keith phoned me from Spokane and calmly brought me back down to earth. Then that massive nasty storm came and our lights flickered on and off. I don't like power outages and storms when I'm home alone. I am SUCH a baby. But we made it through the night.

Thurday.....I stayed home from work, bathroom is now dry, our power didn't go out, Liam's mouth is fine and he's been having a nap for the past 2 hours. He seems to be on the mend, thank God!

As for me, I am counting the hours until Keith gets home Friday night so I can relinquish my parenting responsiblities until I am physically and emotionally ready to go at it again!

A Weekend in Whistler

This weekend we took our first ever family vacation with Keith's parents and sibs to Whistler. I'll start off by saying the weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great time as our little family of five. We didn't spend much time at all as a group which made us kind of sad but oh well.

Here are the kids in front of the daffodils in the complex where we stayed. The grounds were beautifully kept.

That townhouse on the end was our unit. It was a tight squeeze for the 10 of us and it really could have used a deep cleaning which was kinda yucky. I am a particular person about cleanliness I guess! Otherwise it was a good choice location wise. Five minute walk to Lost Lake and about a 12 minute walk down to the village.

Heading out for a walk...bundled up as it was cool in the shade but soon we were shedding layers at it was very warm in the village.

First order of business was a stop at the Rocky Mountain Fudge Factory. The boys were in awe of the selection of treats.
They both chose chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick!

The only bear we saw IN Whistler. We saw a black bear two separate times on our way home at the side of the road!

Always nice to have a 12 year old with a steady hand to take a good family shot!

This play area was a new addition since we'd been there in November. Liam had a blast burning off energy going on the slide over and over again.

Nathan is holding their bag of loot from the Great Glass Elevator candy shop. Him and Chad had quite the time making their selections. They used their own money and shopped carefully.

For dinner that night we went as a group to the Mongolie Grill. Definitely one of our favorite places to eat.
Liam wasn't so good and we were trying everything to distract him from whining. The sunglasses came after he attempted to eat a blue crayon. Blech.

You chose all your food in it's raw state (veggies, noodles, meats, seafood) pile it up in a bowl, they weigh it ($3.50 per 100 grams) and then cook it up right in front of you on a huge grill. It's so fresh and tasty.

Nate and Chad waiting for their dinner to be cooked. The chefs put on a little show flipping their spatulas up in the air. Both boys really enjoyed the experience.

This was my concoction. It was beyond delicious!

A kind stranger offered to take a family photo of us the next morning on our walk to Lost Lake. Another beautiful sunny day!

We packed up a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon enjoying the beach. Liam enjoyed Grandma's pumpkin bread very much!

And then he was very anxious to get into that water! He had no issues walking barefoot on the pebbly sand nor wading in the cold water. It was all fun and games until we noticed LEACHES on his legs. Gross me out...seriously disgusting. Keith peeled them off, Nathan peeled off his own and his had already started to suck blood. I was traumatized.

Story time with Auntie Suzanne and Tyler. Liam is teething and I could not get a photo with his hand out of his mouth.

Liam had to content with Freyja in his face much of the time we were in the condo together. Liam was a good sport about it all and the dog was quite gentle with him. My kids only have cousins of the four-legged variety!

Good weekend...Liam is a good traveller and we are getting better at holidaying with an toddler in tow. Now I just need to survive the week ahead. Keith is away on an explosives course in Spokane and I get to do the single parent thing. Yippee.

Mother's Day 2010

My wonderful boys and I right before heading to church this morning.

We stopped by Keith's parents after church to deliver this petunia basket and a card.

Then we stopped in at my parents to deliver my mom her flower basket (which isn't showing up well in the picture at all!).

We also had a wonderful brunch of waffles and sausage and watermelon.

And after an afternoon of lounging on the deck in the sun, Keith made a great supper of grilled chicken, prawns, asparagus, veggies and rice pilaf.

No complaints....it was a very lovely day!

Expensive Hardware

Before

After

He's still smiling. What an adaptable creature. The question is will mom and dad be able to adapt to helping him with his flossing and brushing everyday?!

36

We celebrated Keith's birthday on Friday night at The Keg with good friends. Oh, we had such a fun time laughing and chatting and eating!

Kori's choice was off the special Crab menu. This is her 'cluster' of crab. A lot of work for your food.

My photos are a bit blurry as my camera was confused by the dim lighting. My top sirloin with tiger prawns was deeeeeelish!

We even had a small bit of room to share dessert. Billy Miner Pie which went really well with the 'Bean Boozled' Jelly Belly beans Keri bought for Keith. Moldy cheese flavor anyone? Perhaps vomit would be a tastier choice!

Jill and Brent shared the Brownie Sundae. Most people disguise themselves with blocking out the eyes but Brent goes for the mouth. He doesn't like being on blogs!

We decided that we had so much fun we should all do it again sometime soon! Who's birthday is next?!

Appreciated

Last week at school a group of students were assigned to 'appreciate' me. And did they ever. Many of us around the school were spoiled with yummy treats, gift cards, flowers and word of appreciation. The kids even wrote up a 'late slip' for me since I generously write up so many for them!