Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thangsiving Recap

What a lovely-lazy-at-home-sleep-in-till-the-unearthly-hour-of-7am - weekend we have had!

We've been hanging out in jammies, swimming, bowling, playing games, watching movies and eating eating eating. Ahhh. I love American Thanksgiving!

Is it too late to do the traditional gratitude post? Too late? No... Okay good. Since I am now at 701 posts I figure it's okay to be tardy. 701 posts, and still no book deals. Go figure.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for...

Friends that feel like family.


Thanks for the great dinner Rick and Colletty! So many great people to share such great food with.

Note to self: It is always wise to choose friends who keep their own beehives and make their own honeybutter. Mmmm.

I am thankful for family that I am happy to call friends...

We spent the long weekend sans extended family due to such things as:

Baby births (congratulations, Ruth and Justin, on your newest little turkey!Ruth)

Fat pregnant ladies (only a few more days left Eve!)

Cruises to Panama (Kenneth's folks opted for the cruise instead of hosting us for the holidy. Hmmmf. Why would anyone do such a thing!? I can't imagine)

and Canadians who had the good sense to celebrate Thanksgiving before the blizzards hit the True North Stong and Free.

Even without them around we're thankful for the aunts, uncles, cousins and gp's we missed.


I am thankful for this man who exceeds my expectations every day and makes me want to be a little better, try a little harder and bake good bread.

And I am so very thankful for the fact that four little human beings refer to me as Mom.


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Give Thanks


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Introspection

Of all the things that happened last weekend I think I regret the chocolate raisins the most. Perhaps not the actual purchase of the bulk bin deluxe chocolate raisins. Who can resist scooping those things scoopy scooop scoop scoop into the thin plastic bag before moving along to stock pile the cart with enough canned goods to feed my family for months. Which is the point of shopping, being Mormon and all... a basement full of canned goods is as good as an all expense paid first class ticket into heaven (or at least some peace of mind should difficult circumstances arise).

So, no, I don't regret the purchase of nearly 2lbs of chocolate goodness, I was starvin' marvin and those raisins really hit the spot. I think the biggest regret is that they were consumed in a mere 1.7 days which means that the glorious milk chocolate coated raisins are not currently available to feed my midnight craving, this is the regret. I would like to think that buying more chocolate raisins next time would solve this problem, that they would last through more craving fits like the one I'm having right now. But let's be honest. More raisins would just mean shoving them in harder and faster with the same regrets two days later, namely that there were not more.

I don't know. Maybe I regret being such a smartalec in church. I don't mean to be. Honest. I have every intention of arriving in Sunday School to fill my spiritual cup, get the learning that will help out through the week, contribute in meaningful ways... But it's something about those long church pews and the clinging of the pantyhose to my legs that causes all of my sarcasm and self proclaimed wit to boil rapidly to the surface. It jumps out of my mouth and lands smack dab in the middle of the Sunday School room floor for everyone to gawk at.

Note to self : Must be sure to think before I let these things come hurtling out of my pie hole. Perhaps if I were to fill the pie hole with pie, perhaps this would be the solution. Sunday School ala caramel pecan. Perfect. Even better... ala chocolate raisins.

However, it is a darned good thing I am a church going, God fearing Christian woman. This is why: I have prayed very fervently and honestly in the past few days in hopes that the Lord would enlighten my mind and give me guidance about how to raise a single solitary boy amidst a gaggle or girls. Remember, I am C to the LUE to the L-E-S-S about this matter. Let me tell you, dear faithful seven, that I have not been let down. Answers have come to me... I will list these in bullet points, since this seems to be how the Lord answers my prayers. Quick lists. Very practical.

- Play UNO - This is mentally engaging, teaches numbers and colors and requires his attention to be focused on a single thing. This is also one-on-one time with Mom, which means I am not on the phone, on the computer, knitting, painting, nursing, running, cleaning or cooking. I am with Oakley. Just me and him for a few minutes. I get the impression he likes this.

- Play Tic-Tac-Toe and/or that dot square game thingy. (God did not actually say thingy, it's just my interpretation) - once again practice with attention span, turn taking and writing skills. Oh, and get THIS little piece of revelation... Substitute whatever letter he needs to learn for the X or O. So we could play B's and Y's or V's and M's. You get the picture. I am not kidding when I say this was revelation. God is very practical.

- Swimming! - A good two hours swimming is worth a day of playing in the yard. Pack up the kids, try to forget that I have not shaved my legs, and get to the nearest (only) public pool. The 18 mile drive is so so so worth the energy expended, games played, smiles shared and tired boy (and girls) in the car on the way home. There is very little fighting after an afternoon of swimming. I may even get crazy and buy an annual pass, at this rate you never know what could happen.

-Hammer and Nails - Our basement work room is full of the stuff, and some old wood to boot. Oakley will spend a full hour hammering away, creating clumps of wood he likes to call "race tracks" or "space ships" or "cars". This is best when the babies are asleep, of course. Because a baby eating Nutella is one thing, but sharp nails.... not quite so bloggable.

- Treadmill! - Oakley is learning the fine art of running on the treadmill. I put him on in 0.25 mile increments at speeds ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 mph. He loves it. I love it, especially when things get really tense and I want to chase him around the house with a broom screaming British obscenities. Energy is spent working his little tushy instead of tormenting Ivy. The bonus is... I am training myself a nice little running partner. 10 more years of this and I'll have a nice little runner to keep up with.


So, there you have it. I believe in the power of prayer. Very practical, down to earth, help-me-in-this-very-moment-with-this-very-thing sort of prayer. Especially when it comes to parenting.

If there is one thing I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Season it is the knowledge that I don't have to do this job alone. The knowledge that God is there helping me with these precious little ones as long as I ask with faith. Even though I am a smartalec and make a mockery of church classes. I guess these kids are important enough that He overlooks these things.

I am also thankful for chocolate raisins.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Three Things Thursday

Kenneth has been gone this week and I was sooo looking forward to his early flight home today. Apparently the rental car had other plans. It broke down and he was delayed for over 2 hours, thus missing his flight. So instead of a 2 pm homecoming it's looking like 2am.

Sort of like being told at mile 26 that the marathon has actually been changed to 27.2 miles. Pure agony. Impossible. Must resort to drastic measures.

So, drastic measures it was. I took the crew to McDonald's and watched them consume HFCs and cholesterol, then run amok with newly made friends. Kids can just walk into a room and make a best friend in a matter of minutes. Me... not so much.

I have a deep seeded aversion to that term... best friend. Because when someone says they have a BEST friend it makes me just want to throw in the towel and not even try because who wants to be the runner up friend anyway. Like getting a bronze metal. I guess if it were friendship Olympics it would be okay, especially if you're Canada because a bronze metal in Canada goes a long way. Down here in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave where the gold metals pile up like Snickers on Halloween, they scoff at bronze. "Bronze!" they say... "Peanuts! Bronze is peanuts! Don't quit your day job, lowly Bronze athlete because there will be no Wheatie boxes with your picture on it." But the True North Strong and Free... we love us any metal we can muster up no matter what the color. Colour. Shreddies boxes all over the land are pasted with photos of Bronze medalists.

Bronze metal in friendship. Hooray for me.

Bronze metal in Mothering Nutrition, what with the french fries, ketchup packets and the aforementioned Nutella sandwiches.

But at least there was the air hockey machine. A literal gift from God on High for a certain blue eyed boy. I am clueless when it comes to this boy.

C to the LUE to the L-E-S-S.



He has been tormenting Ivy for the past three days. It's an art to him. An Olympic sport. He gets the gold in sister tormenting, and since he is American he can just toss the gold into the pile with all the rest of them. He steals her things, running around the room, making her scream like a banshee. He locks her into a room and runs away laughing. He pushes her off her chair and sits in it mockingly. He rips her papers and calls her stinky. He torments her to the brink of insanity, to the point of biting. And when he comes screaming to me with bite bruises on his arm I just have to shrug and tell him it's his own bloody fault. Without the 'bloody' because then he will just repeat it seven times at library story hour and everyone will know that British cursing is my secret delight.

Yes. The air hockey machine was fed quarters from my pocket for a solid hour. He didn't miss a beat, games were played with Mom, sisters, and newly acquired besties until his little heart soared and his mother remembered that there was a sliver of affection in her heart for him after all.

Then he came home, crawled into bed with his clothes on and fell asleep.

This boy needs a brother.

Or an air hockey machine.

Oh. And by the way. My Three Things for today...

Three things I wish I would have eaten for dinner since I had 3 bites of McD's cheeseburger and could take no more and now I'm starving but there is nothing in the fridge...

1. Pork chops with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh salad.

2. Fajitas from that little place in Las Cruces New Mexico. Extra guacamole por favor. And I would like to go there with my husband on a date to eat said fajitas. Then to a swanky hotel for some much needed 'relations'.

3. Homemade cream of tomato soup, fresh French Bread and a cuppa milk.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Ten Months or so...

The fact is, sweet Georgia Ann, that you have had a very different babyhood than your oldest sister.

For Eden, the world revolved around her. Nap time was nap time was nap time. No outings, no errands. My schedule was determined by hers. She ate at predictable times, slept at predictable times. She did not have sugar until she was 12 months old. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE BOOK SAID TO DO! And good mothers never feed their babies anything that is not on the "What to Expect the First Year approve Food List. And good mothers only ever feed their babies homemade vegetable purees and sugar free apple sauce.

And that was 3 children ago.

Please know that I love you just as much and kiss you just as much and dream big things for you just as much and want to eat your toes just as much and tickle you and snuggle you and chase you around on my hands and knees just as I have with all your siblings.

That being said, it is time to come clean.

Behold...

The peanut butter and Nutella sandwich.




This is not your first PB&N sandwich and I doubt it will be your last. Blame it on your Dad, as he is the one who introduced your siblings to this little number and now they want it ALL THE TIME.

And this, dear child... This is a Dorito.


I HATE Doritoes. They are nature's way of saying EAT MORE GREENS! And yet, there you are, lovin' every minute of it.

Just for the record, you also eat plenty of legumes, squash, fruit and the like. But I fear that there will always be Doritoes. And I KNOW there will always be Nutella.

I love you, Little Red.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Just in time for Thanksgiving

All those fancy schmancy supercalafragalistic bloggers have random photos of themselves. Taken by themselves. Pretending that they don't even have a camera, looking nonchalant. Pensive. Intelligent. Witty.

So why not? I have nothing better to do. There certainly are no FLOORS THAT NEED TO BE WASHED. Not at all.

Give it a try. Find the cleanest bathroom mirror in the house. Unsuccessfully adjust the exposure and...

Too dark...



Too deliberate...


Too many stains on shirt...



But wait.. wait a minute. Could that be?

No. It couldn't possibly be.

But Yes!




Why hello there waist. Long time no see. And I do mean LOOOONG time.

Welcome back.

There are still 4 lbs separating my current self from my pre-pregnancy-that-rocked my-world-and-made-me-into-a-crazy-woman-self...

But let's not dwell on 4 silly pounds and the unpleasant fact that half that poundage will drop from areas other than my waist when the baby is weaned.

And as for the last 2 unaccounted for pounds... let's just say that nothing is coming between me and the Pumpkin Chocolate Chippers. NOTHING I tell you.





Monday, November 16, 2009

Eve with Child

Eve and Sean are expecting their first baby. In TWENTY SIX DAYS. Sheesh. I'd better get these photos up before she pops. They were taken in October, but I am the queen of procrastination... frankly, it's amazing they are even edited at all.

She is having a girl, another niece for me!

Eve is a beautiful gal pregnant or not, but I rather like the pregnant glow. She doesn't believe me now, but she'll miss it when it's gone.







Happy pushing little sista!