Stuff of Life I just went back and re-read one of my blogs which had left off with a bit of a "cliff hanger." I mentioned our trip to the West Edmonton Mall waterpark, and my MRI experience! I thought maybe I'd fill you in on the details today. First, the MRI. I decided to participate in a University of Alberta study on post-partum depression and glucose levels in certain areas of the brain (at least I think it was glucose... it was related anyways). At the time I was nearly 8 months post-partum, and I was still dealing with some of the aftereffects of giving birth in terms of finding balance emotionally and what-not. As well, I figure it's important to help where you can with research. especially if it may lead to quality of life improvements for others. The good thing about the study was that childcare was provided! I seriously would not have participated if it wasn't... if I arrange childcare myself, trust me, I am NOT using to participate in medical research! So the nurse in the office took the kiddies and played with them in a little room full of toys, and took them for a walk and even bought them french fries! They were quite happy with the whole experience. As for myself, I answered a LOT of questions about myself, my history, my family, my medical history (surgeries, etc...). I have to tell you right now that that sort of interview process reeeealy makes me look crazy on paper! The question about have you ever seen visions or heard voices in your head - my answer was "yes." Now tell me that doesn't make you think I'm just a wee bit unbalanced! Of course I had to explain that it was during a prayer experience many years ago and it wasn't so much an audible voice as a sort of understandable wordless presence... okay, I just realized that no matter how I explain it, I'm gonna look weird on paper! Oh well. That's me. It's who I am! I've been in an MRI machine before for my knee, but this was completely different because they were doing a brain scan, so as well as being inserted in a very narrow tube, I also had this visor-like thing around my head. Quite claustrophobia inducing really! They had attached a mirror to the visor so that you could see out the end of the tube to the clock on the wall, but that's about it! As well the clock appeared not only upside down, but backwards as well so tellin time was quite a brain teaser! I decided to close my eyes for as long as I could so that my anxiety about a small semi-enclosed space would decrease... what you can't see can't hurt you, right? So after 15 minutes I opened my eyes, checked the time, and closed them again. Ten minutes passed... check the clock... close my eyes... five minutes... check... five... check... I should tell you that the MRI machine is REALLY LOUD! I had earplugs in (yuck they gross me out) and those ear protectors like you see air traffic controllers on the runway wearing. But it was still a lot of banging and clicking and thumping. The magnets in the machine are really strong and basically what they do is polarize all the atoms (molecules?) in your body by spinning them with the magnets, then they "release" the molecules and take pictures while the molecules reorient themselves. Some molecules reorient slower than others so that's how they can take pictures and tell one kind of molecule (e.g. glucose) from another (e.g. protein). It doesn't hurt... in fact you can't feel anything. So there I am in the machine and I'm hearing: boom... click... kang kang kang... buh-boom... tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat... brrrrrrrrrrr... king... king... boom... And so forth. And I'm waiting for time to pass thinking this will definitely be worth the $150 bonus they give for participating (which I'm using to treat myself to scrapbooking supplies and which, by the way, they haven't sent me yet, so I'll have to e-mail and remind them). And the last time I looked at the clock there was 25 minutes left. The next thing I know there's a bright light and I'm being extracted from the machine. I had fallen asleep. That's like falling asleep next to a jackhammer! Well, it just goes to show how tired a mother of 3 can get! REALLY TIRED! Well, I intended to share about WEM, but I'm going to go take a bath gefore wrapping Christmas presents! Scrapbook Idea of the Day Another Layout for you... this time without pictures! Yes. I am the great unfinisher! Used the Symphony (I think that's the title) paper pack and some chipoard letters which i covered with the paper (see detail above). I also ran a pice of the solid paper through an embossing/diecutting machine then sanded the embossed areas to bring out the pattern (see bottom right of the left page. All in all it turned out okay. I really like the papers, but have to find pictures to match!

Boom-Di-Ada!

Scrapbook Idea of the Day

The girl is on a roll! Yesterday's More to Adore layout followed by today's Boom-di-ada Level 2 Paper Packet! I must say that Boom-di-ada is one of my favourite papers, and my sister also loves it! Something about the colours that makes me cheerful! I also had the Stickease to go with this packet (I don't always get the stickease, but the ones with this set were fun) which I pop dotted (see detail above) in two places. I love the simplicity of this layout.

In general I have to say I like simplicity over busyness. It's a trend you'll see in my layouts. Not big on more than two, maybe three patterns on a layout, and usually these must be grounded by a significant area of solid or very subtle patterns.

This time I at least got the journalling done, but sorry, no title yet. I know, it's a problem I have. I'm a great starter, but not such a great finisher. This may be why our laundry sometimes gets folded, but rarely gets put away!

Hey! She really DOES scrapook!

Scrapbooking Idea of the Day

Well, it's been a loooong time, but I finally recorded some of my layouts, and thought I'd post one today! The supplies are all Close to My Heart from the More to Adore Level 2 Paper Packet, as well as a little brown ribbon (chocolate, I think, maybe cocoa).

I know, I know, I didn't do journalling or add the title, but, hey, it's a start! Also, I used my playful flourishes stamp set on the bottom right page to jazz up the simple blush pattern.

Done and Done.

Stuff of Life The items I've done are in bold! 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain (Mt Robson!) 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (See #12) 20. Slept on an overnight train (See #91) 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked (technically my mother hitchhiked but I went along too!) 23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Don't tell!) 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Netherlands and Turin, AB...) 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (When teaching and single!) 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo's David 41. Sung karaoke (Rock Band counts, right?) 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (See #12) 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business (Close to My Heart!) 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Not by choice) 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten caviar 72. Pieced a quilt (I think I'm working on my eleventh now...) 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Thanks Papa!) 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chicken pox 89. Saved someone's life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone (During my year as a substitute teacher) 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Read an entire book in one day

Confessions of a Control Freak

Stuff of Life I'm not going to do an update. Suffice it to say things have been going. Not necessarily going well, just going. Our feet are still technically under us. Barely. At the end of this week, hopefully things will start to shift. But I had to blog and share my excitement about a new project, or rather an old project in a new form. Check it out in full at the FLYlady blog (google for the link... I'm lazy). It's a whole system of keeping organized and staying on top of things that I think I might love. I'm going to try it anyways. The first part of the "Control Book" starts with "My Bedtime Routine". Seriously could be the most important part of the day because how you go to sleep can change how you wake up. On the routine she has 1) Shine sink (kitchen that is, because isn't it so great waking up to a clean sink without grubby dishes?) 2) lay out clothes (a great idea for me since I spend all sorts of time finding my clothes and the kids at the same time and am usually frustrated by the process in the morning especially when we have to go somewhere!) 3) Brush teeth (good idea!) and finally GO TO BED AT A DECENT TIME! So, other than that last one, I am starting this tonight. Okay actually I don't currently have enough clean clothes to get me out of the house, but I'll put together something reasonable for in the house tomorrow while I catch up on laundry. The sink? I plan to take all the dishes out of it, stack them on the counter, clean it and leave it. Yes, that's right, tonight I'm relocating the problem but according to her, that's okay (Stack them on the floor if you have to, she writes!) And brush teeth? That's a given. And I look forward to my Cinnamon Rush toothpaste every night! Gotta Go Be Organized!

Elf Video 3!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Video 2!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Dance!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Lump in My Throat

Stuff of Life We remember. We remember the young men who leave home and family to work and fight for peace, freedom and human rights. We remember the battle fields, grass crushed flat, caked with mud and drenched in the lives of the lost. We remember the targets of oppression: Jews, Gypsies, blacks, homosexuals, mentally disabled, writers, musicians, artists, politicians, and activists. We remember the innocents devastated by the destruction of homes and land, swept into prisons, doomed in the concentration camps, destroyed by massive bombs dropped from miles above and by one inch bullets shot from close range. We remember those who helped, who tended the homefires, who worked in the factories, who nursed the wounded, who hid the persecuted. We remember. I remember my grandfather, who this day remembers his own part in World War II. And I am thankful for his sacrifice, for his bravery, for his heroism which was a drop in a vast ocean of efforts to finally restore peace and freedom to the world in 1945. I remember the soldiers who have died in my lifetime fighting in different wars in different countries, with different weapons but for the same causes – peace, freedom, and human rights. I remember. And I am thankful.

My Cousin-Husband Done Treat Me Fine

Stuff of Life More Things I Never Thought I’d Say: #981 Just drink your yogurt, it’s easier #653 We don’t put pennies in the CD player. #38 Stop licking each other Does it seem like a lot of my “Things I Never Thought I’d Say” involve the words “don’t” or “stop”. Hmmm… Order has always been the exception rather than the rule around here. Well, this week, all signs of order have left the building as we invited my nephew Jonah to spend the week (Sunday to Friday) at our house while my sister catches up with marking and works on report cards. Some people might call a woman with a 4, 2 and 7 month old crazy for inviting a 3 year old to join the melee, and those people would probably be right. What some people don’t realize is that sanity has taken a long vacation from my mind, so labels like plain “crazy” are kind of a compliment compared to “right round the bend”, “nuttier than a fruitcake” and “out of her gourd.” Miriam has enjoyed having her best friend, cousin and future husband around for the week. That’s right, I said future husband. Their idea, not mine. Referring back to a previous blog, they have it in their mind that people who love eachother can get married. Period. No qualifiers on that statement. So anyways, somehow this week they’ve invented a “marriage pile.” I don’t know what or why, all I know is that once in a while one or the other decides a toy or object should be added to the marriage pile. It’s all very odd, but to a crazy dame (see paragraph 1), it’s not a big deal. Of course, the additional body in the house has also given Miriam opportunity to stretch her dictatorial muscles. She’s fully tested the limits on her ability to wield power over her minions (Finnegan and Jonah), to the point where she ended up on a ten minute time-out yesterday. Unfortunately I seem to be the only one standing up to her. Jonah and Finnean are apparently happy to obey each directive. Come on! Spines, boys, spines! More later… Perhaps I’ll fill you in on what happens when a mother takes her daughter down the corkscrew slide at West Edmonton Mall… or my experience in the MRI machine…

And If You're Very Good, After Shopping We'll Go to the Car Wash

Stuff of Life More Things I Never Thought I'd Say: #117 Just lick it off. #563 This is not for decorating, it's for bums, okay? (any guesses about the context of this one?) #349 If you barf on me one more time I'll sell you to the gypsies. (jokingly exhasperated!) #74 Let's not call people "fart" okay, Finny? That's right... fun around here is a visit to the old car wash down the street. Whee. I think the kids like it because while I'm out there spraying the car off, I unclip them and basically let them run wild in there (keys not in the ignition is case you were wondering). They love it. And when I vacuum they hop from seat to seat yelling "don't get me! don't get me!" So that's where we're headed today after a fill of the very empty gas tank and a hop into Superstore from milk and fruit and always a cookie at the end. On a side note, when I went in to tuck the kids in late last night, Miriam as usual was hanging off the edge of the bed and after I'd moved her back in place she spoke in her sleep saying "ti-ti, sleepy panda". I think the piano lessons are definitely working! Spiritual Thought of the Day I'm still working on memorizing Psalm 139, believe it or not. Admittedly it fell by the wayside for a while there, but I've gotten back into it, and it is coming along. If you've never memorized a psalm, I dare you to do it. It's interesting how it internalizes itself and takes on a greater meaning each time you read it. Like the gems are deeper than a brief scan of the text during a year-long cover to cover reading of the bible. I've done that before too, but this is where I'm at now. Scrapbooking Idea of the Day On pause these days since the great week in the life project (which is in pieces currently). I have seriously GOT to get through this master's course before I can focus on anything for an extended period of time. I also need a week off life so I can get my house in order and "reset", but that's another issue entirely! Oh well, life goes on. I am getting a bit excited about my recent organization of our spare room in the basement which I think I will transform into a guest bedroom/craft room. I thought maybe I'd set up a place for me to work, and a little table or desk for the kids, especially Miriam since she's of an age where the whole cut and paste thing is possible without close supervision (though her hair is remarkably shorter in the front left side of her face which indicates that perhaps my supervision of her could be closer). Anyways... Creative juices currently refrigerated while the rest of life boils over. Isn't that always the way! ;)

Food Glorious Food

Stuff of Life Addendum to yesterday's things I Never Thought I'd Say: #241 Don't pick your nose with a spoon. (Note I didn't just say "don't pick your nose". That's a whole other battle that I'm generally willing to turn a blind eye to.) I'm thinking about my one meal. You know, "What would you choose to eat if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life." If it was just one thing like tacos, I'd soon go insane, so I assume a full course meal complete with dessert. Sometimes I think in terms of breakfast lunch dinner but that really comes a bit too close to my monotonous reality (cheerios, sandwiches, and pasta are my daily reality in case you wondered). My meal (and tomorrow it might be different but based on how I feel today) would be: Salad: Greek with lots of feta, black olives with pits, no lettuce Soup: Cauliflower cheese (recipe out of the moosewood) with real parmesean sprinkled on top. Entree: This is a tough one but I'm going to have to say five cheese pesto spinach lasagne (the five cheeses are cheddar, mozzarella, parmesean, asiago, and gouda) which I've only truly had a few times in its complete glory, but which is SOOOOO good. Dessert: Bread pudding from the Highlevel Diner. There are peanut butter cookies in my oven which is why I am currently so food obsessed. Timer's going off. Over and out.

Life and Affirmations

Stuff of Life Another episode of "Things I Never Thought I'd Say" #64 No, bathwater is not yummy. #842 Please don't wash the bathtub with your toothbrush #353 Could you please stop hugging the cheese. And there you have it... life goes on in our humble home. The good, the bad, the odd - we've got it all! Here's a bit of a recap of our lives at this time and in this place. You may know that I am taking a course at the U of A as part of my Master's Degree program. It's the 6th of 8 courses I'll be taking (I'm registered for another in the winter semester, and will need to travel for my last course which with be Orff Level III). Following these it'll be thesis time! Fun, fun, fun! I still have not narrowed down a thesis topic. And quite honestly, this course is kind of making me regret the whole thesis route. Research methods is a very boring course which my unfortunate professor is trying to make at least bearable if not actually interesting for us. Bleah. The text is horrendous - poorly written, redundant, redundant (just kidding), and seriously makes me want to fold laundry or load the dishwasher rather than read it - and the fact that I found our that some of my classmates bought it direct from the publisher for $40 while I bought mine at the bookstore for $135 plus tax makes me want to cry. I have 2 more classes (full days on Saturdays) and then I'm done, so hooray! Other than my course, I am also doing a little scrapbooking here and there. I just love this activity. It's a bit of a creative outlet with a purpose, and reflecting on my life and the people in it is a very positive experience. I'm planning for our next Triple Treat Scrapbook Club which I think went really well this past month and am excited for next month. As well, I am finishing my Week in the Life album and look forward to letting it sit on our coffee table and entertain our friends, family and neighbours. The rest of my activities pretty much consist of housework, driving, errands, story time, playing games, organizing, nursing, neglecting Carmen's unfinished baby quilt, helping Jim with coursework, infrequent get togethers with friends, and occasionally trying to avoid my children... Speaking of my children, I have begun a self affirmation project to help me not be so hard on myself as a parent, especially towards my most challenging child (Bossy Betty as we like to call her!) Here are my affirmations for today: 1) When I was brushing her hair today I was intentionally very gentle, and instead of just getting the job done I brushed with long strokes down her back past where her hair ended, which she enjoyed as she likes having her back tickled. 2) I encouraged her to learn the name of a new little girl at preschool so that she would learn to be friendly towards newcomers, and would practice intentional friendship. 3) I made sorting the laundry into their bins ("shirts", "pants", "pajamas") fun, not arduous by playing games of find ten socks as quickly as you can, and throwing items to be sorted onto their heads which they thought was hilarious. I am a good parent. I am a good parent... Like the little engine that could I just keep reminding myself. Well, at least I'm better than my sister (just kidding! Melissa I know you're reading this and I thought I'd yank your chain). I do sometimes look at the way she parents and wish I had some of the personal attributes that she brings to parenting such as a physical level of interaction, intimacy of reletionship, and apparent high tolerance for noise. She's a good egg that one.I can learn from a lot of people close to me about different ways to parent. Jim... well... Jim is working. All day. Every day. Every night. Frequently long into the night (2 a.m. last night). This is life for him and I feel bad that it's so singuar in dimension. I try to help out but there's a lot to be done. Next semester will be better as he is teaching some repeat courses. Good. So other than the fact that my man works like a dog I have no new news on Jim. Miriam, Finnegan and Carmen are such joy to be around when I really think about it. (Okay, honestly, in the moment I often don't feel this joy, but stepping back reminds me). It is so neat to see how developmentally different they all are. Different ages and stages and they all have their benefits and challenges: Miriam: Benefit - super independent able to be creative and explore with little help from me. Challenge - super independent and sometimes not able to take external direction without flexing her independence muscles in my direction.

Finnegan: Benefit - verbal skills are so neat to see growing daily and my presence in his life is so important to him. Challenge - rigid in his perception of the world and the way things should be, and sometimes still really whiny and demanding.

Carmen: Benefit - Sits up on her own and can play with and explore toys and just goes with the flow. Challenge - Sleeping through the night with less than 3 wake ups. I realize I should "sandwich" these statements so I don't end on a negative, so I'll sandwich them all be saying they all make me soo proud and I think they are simply the best thing since sliced bread which isn't actually a great comparison. They're the best thing since chocolate, classical music, indoor plumbing and peppermint tea combined. I've gotta go... 9:30 and we're trying to get to bed early to balance out the late night yesterday. Write me a comment... I opened them to non-googlers and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Week in the Life Revealed!

Well, it isn't finished but I managed to get at least the first bit done and so I'm posting it! I am supremely satisfied with the outcome of the project. The album will come together somewhat easily as it uses only a few supplies:

adhesive

photos

page protectors

sewing machine

package of patterned papers

black cardstock

making memories stickers

American crafts marker

That's it! Simple, huh?

My journaling block was pretty much copied off of designmer digitals site (see left bar for link) which had a sample of sweetteas:

More later (I hope). I need to pick up more black cardstock today if I'm going to get anything else done!

>Cough< >Hack Hack< >Snort<

Stuff of Life

We are ALL sick over here. Sniffing, coughing, phleghmy in general. I just wanted a post to remind myself of the funny things my girl Miriam says.

At breakfast today: "Was I as small as Carmen?" "Yes. Even smaller. This small." (I point to a pice of granola dropped on my table) "Did I have feet?" I don't know if that makes you laugh as much as it did me, but I thought it was hilarious that feet would be top of her list for body part importance in utero!

While I was in the bath with Carmen this morning: Miriam comes by and closes the door "I'm just going to close this." "What are you doing?" "I'm closing the door. You're not going to want to see this." (uh oh) "What are you doing?" I'm closing the door because you won't want me to have it, so I'm making it so you can't see." "What do you have?" "You don't want me to have it. It's a surprise!" After much onvincing she shows me the bouncy chair that she's put her doll in. Don't know why she thought I wouldn't let her do that, but isn't that funny how openly and honestly deceptive she is?

The other day: (Talking very matter-of-factly to her imaginary friend while I was listening in) "Yeah, so, well, anyways I had a baby. But she was not nice and I didn't like her so I deaded her." Huh? Okay, I was a bit shocked but I'm pretty sure she doesn't really understand the full implications of "dead" and also i was a little glad that she didn't use the word "kill" because it's not a part of her vocabulary. I probably don't need to seek counselling for her! ;)

Spiritual Insight of the Day

Working my way through "Silence and Solitude." Reading it while the kids run around me like crazy and Carmen sits on my lap throwing herslf backwards into my chest. Well, I'm reading the words if not yet following the philosophy! I think it will be good anyways!

Scrapbook Idea of the Day

I love the dieline blog. I went on there and copied my favourite products which will inspire me. Currently using this one as inspiration for my Week in the Life journalling block.

Here are a few others too. There are LOTS more, but I won't give away all my secrets. check my links to the left for the dieline blog.

Done da done done done!

Stuff of Life Well folks, it's officially over! One week in the life of our little family from my perspective. Here's a run down of the totals: Monday: 54 photos Tuesday: 71 photos Wednesday: 59 photos Thursday: 83 photos Friday: 59 photos (ooooh! deja vu!) Saturday: 37 photos Sunday: 69 photos Grand Total: 423 photos!!! I should add that these are only the photos that actually made it from my camera to my computer. At least as many were deleted, probably twice as many. You'll notice a low for Saturday, mostly because I was out the door at 8 a.m. to go to my class and arrived at Bob and Libby's by 5ish, and in between let's just say there was not a lot that was photo worthy. Now the tricky job of narrowing these down to my absolute favourites, planning how I'm going to arrange them in a mini-book, and then printing and assembling the lot of them! I'm lookinf forward to the challenge though. I wish I'd kept track a little more of my thoughts and moments through the week. i was lax on the journalling while taking pictures (yes, I was warned) thinking I'd remember stuff, but I'm already forgetting! Oh well. Scrapbook Idea of the Day Be on the look out for another video in the next few days! Here's a few photos that will definitely make it into the mini book!

An Open Letter to My Readers

(Weird) Stuff of Life Dear Blog Readers, I don't really know how to tell you this, but I dislike your eyelashes. I think I realized it when I saw the purple monkey in your car and I saw you drive over my corned beef hash. I'm sure you're man enough to understand I'm allergic to your earlobes. I'm returning your toe ring to you, but I'll keep your suicide note as a memory. You should also know that I told the psychiatrist about the bruises and the apartment building is on fire. Greetings to your frog, Leonard, Melanie Okay. If you think I inhaled something I shouldn't have, this is just a silly game similar to Madlibs, except the phrases are preselected to match ydifferent trait of yours (for example the fact that my shirt is black inserted "I dislike your eyelashes" into my little letter!) It's silly but somehow therapeudic at the same time. Try it! Simply copy this letter and fill in the blanks by answering the questions below... and if some of it is a wee bit crude feel free to adapt it, it wasn't my creation! And please, send me your version of this letter. Post it in comments and share the insanity! Dear (Friend) ,I don't really know how to tell you this, but ___1___. I think I realized it ___2______3___ and I saw you___4___ ___5___. I'm sure you're___6___ enough to understand___7___. I'm returning ___8___ to you, but I'll keep___9___ as a memory. You should also know that I ___10___ and ___11___.___12___,then write your name here 1. What's the color of your shirt? Blue - Our romance is over Red - Our affair is over White – I’m joining the Convent Black - I dislike your eyelashes Green - Our socks don't match Grey - You're a pervert Yellow - I'm selling myself for candy Pink - Your nostrils are insulting Brown - The mafia wants you No shirt - You're mean Other - I'm in love with your cat 2. Which is your birth month? January - That night you picked your noseF ebruary - Last year when you peed your pants March - When your dwarf bit me April - When I tripped on peanut butter May - When I threw up in your sock drawer June - When you put cuffs on me July – When you smacked my ass August - When I saw the purple monkey September - When we skinny dipped in the bathtub October - When I quoted Forrest Gump November - When your dog humped my leg December - When I finally changed my underwear 3. Which food do you prefer? Tacos - In your apartment Lasagna- In your car Pasta - Outside of your office Hamburgers - Under the bus Salad – As you were eating Kraft Dinner Chicken - In your closet Kebab - With Jean Chrétien Fish - In a clown suit Sandwiches - At the Elton John concert Pizza - At the mental hospital Hot dog - Under a street light Other - With George Bush and Stephen Harper 4. What's the color of your socks? Yellow - Hit onRed - Insult Black - IgnoreBlue - Knock out Purple - Pour syrup on White - Carve your initials into Grey - Pull the clothes off Brown - Put whipped cream on Orange - Castrate Pink - Pull the pants off of Barefoot - Sit on Other - Drive over 5. What's the color of your underwear? Green - My boyfriend White - My father Grey – The Catholic Priest Brown – Your ‘My Little Pony’ collection Purple - My corned beef hash Red – My knee caps Blue - My salt-beef bucket Yellow - My illegitimate child in Ghana Orange - My Blink 182 cd Pink – The Montreal Canadian’s goalie None – My prized statue of Michael Jackson in the nude Other - The elephant in the corner 6. What do you prefer to watch on TV? Scrubs; Man O.C.; Emotional One Tree Hill; Open Heroes; Frostbitten Lost; High House; Sly Simpsons; Cowardly The news; Scarred Idol; Masochistic Family Guy; Senile Top Model; Middle-class Other; Ashamed 7. Your mood right now? Happy - How awful you are Sad - How boring you are Confused- That Santa doesn't exist Angry - That your smell makes me vomit Depressed – That we’re related Excited - That I may pee my pants Nervous - The Middle-East is planning their revenge on you Worried - That your Ford sucks Bored- That you need a sex-change Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your earlobes Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men Silly - That there is no solution to you being a dumbass Other - That your driving sucks 8. What's the color of your walls in your bedroom? White - Your toe ringYellow - Your love letters to me Red - Your Elton John poster Black - Your pet Blue - The couch cushions Green - The pictures from Vegas Orange - Your false teeth Brown - Your nose hair clippers Grey - Our matching snoopy underwear Purple - Your old New Kids on the Block blanket Pink - The cut toenails Other - Your car 9. The first letter of your first name? A/B - Your photo with the moustache drawn on it C/D - The oil tank from your car E/F - Your neighbour’s dog G/H - My virginity I/J - The results of your blood-sample K/L - Your left ear M/N - Your suicide note O/P - My common sense Q/R - Your mom S/T - Your collection of butterflies U/V - Your criminal record W/X – Your glass eye Y/Z - Your credit cards 10. The last letter in your last name? A/B - Told my psychiatrist about the bruises C/D - Never will forget that night E/F - Always wanted to break your legs G/H – Hate your cooking I/J – Mocked you behind your back constantly K/L - Will tell the authorities that you did not steal that whale in the back yard M/N - Told in my confession today about the moose poaching O/P - Was interviewed about the car you stole Q/R - Always will remember the pep talks S/T - Get sick when I think of your feet U/V - Will try to forget that you broke my heart W/X - Haven’t showered in a month Y/Z – Am better off without you 11. What do you prefer to drink? Water- Our friendship is ruined Beer – You should stop picking your nose Flavored water – I’m off to lead a new life as a lemur Pepsi – I will haunt you when I’m incarnated as an Eskimo Milk - The apartment building is on fire Wine – Thanks for the cocaine Cider – I have a passionate interest for mice Juice – I love Oprah Winfrey Mineral water – You should get that embarrassing rash checked Hot chocolate – Your Cucumber-fetishism is weird Whiskey - You ruined my attempts at another world war Other – I'm scratching my ass as you read this 12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation? Thailand – Warm tingly sensations USA - Best of luck on the sex-change England - Good luck in jail Spain - Go drown yourself China – You make me sick Germany – Go milk a cow Japan - Please don't hurt me Greece - Your everlasting enemy Australia - Greetings to your frog, Leonard Egypt – Kiss my ass France – With tears of sadness

Lost post: Day Five - Document a Week in the Life

Stuff of Life

Doing this document a week in the life project has totally got me realizing just how busy our lives are right now. I'm also realizing that maybe I'm not such a bad mother after all (yes, I question myself about this issue on a regular basis). I see through my own eyes with help from the camera that my kids have it pretty good. So here is a boast list of ten things that I've noticed this week that make me a good, no a GREAT mother to these little pumpkins of mine:

1) My house is a mess - not a call-the-inspector-and-have-this-place-quarantined kind of mess, but the kind of mess that indicates that productive play happens al the time, everywhere and with all kinds of toys that aren't really toys.

2) There are kiwis on my window sill, which indicates that we've got the bases covered when it comes to eating healthy and feeding our kids healthy food.

3) I've scrapbooked, sewed (sewn?), worked on my course assignments and blogged this week, which shows I'm taking care of myself at least a little bit, so I'm ready to take care of my kids.

4) I think my kids are just about the cutest ever... forget "just about". They ARE the cutest kids ever. Every mother should think that about their kids, right? I can't stop taking pictures of their perfect faces, and it's painful deleting the photos (which i must or i might as well buy a video camera for all the shots I get!)

5) We have so much laundry that I don't just categorize it by lights, darks, and reds... we also have in addition to these towels/receiving blankts, greens and blues, yellow/orange/beige, diapers, and sheets. Oh, and the darks load is usually a double. What's so great about that? The fact that my kids don't wear the same clothes day after day, despite the HUGE temptation!

6) So far this week my kids have played with chestnuts (which do NOT taste good roasted on an open fire by the way), leaves, our van, measuring spoons and cups, nursing pillows, laundry baskets... oh, and on occasion toys. I'm raising creative kids and nurturing this in them by encouraging atypical play things.

7) I read to my kids every day, usually two or three times with many many books, including my most despised "spot the dog" series and P.B. Bear (which was hidden under the couch but with the rearranging of the livingroom has reappeared - rats!)

8) I am cheap, not just thrifty - I am on the look out for a deal when it comes to, well, everything I buy, I don't buy impulsively (well rarely anyways), and I don't buy excessively. That means our kids aren't spoiled and there's also more cashola for things like swimming, classes, special outings, and savings.

9) I am trying to let my kids be who they are, not who I want them to be. They have a lot of freedom around here to do what they want to do (within reason - no you can't play with the garbage can, Finny) and experiment and explore.

10) I know I am not perfect. This is a fine balance because knowing my imperfections is healthy when I look for positive change but unhealthy when I mope about it. I'm not a perfect person, and I'm not a perfect mother, but I'm getting better!

So there you go. I'm a great mother, even if that doubtful voice inside my head (again with the disembodied voice!) tells me I'm a failure every once in a while. This little look into our daily lives for a week is a good remind that we're muscling through the challenges and embracing the good times when we find them - which is more often than you'd think!

Day Three - Document a Week in the Life

Stuff of Life

Is there something wrong with me?

I’ve been reading other people’s blogs, mostly fellow scrapbookers like myself because I often find cool tips and neat ideas on their blogs. Most of it is good. It’s real. Like the woman who posted pictures of her kids in the rain, soaked from puddle jumping and noted “the laundry isn’t done…still”. Or the women who are mourning for a two parents burned in a plane crash and their children waiting for a slow recovery (85% to the mother… she was is beautiful).

But lately I’m really wondering what it is that makes me so different it seems from the great “them” out there. The ones who post how wonderful and sweet and cool their husbands are. Or who share about how they scrapbooked with their kids while lying on the lawn in the sunshine and there’s proof they really did it because there are pictures on their blogs. Or the ones who post regularly, like clockwork, amazing layouts and projects with interesting (time consuming) techniques.

Don’t get me wrong. The DH (which I think stands for dear husband since I see it written in that context often, but for all I know it could mean dreadful handful or disastrous headache) is a good guy. And my kids are not holy terrors. And I sometimes find time to scrapbook.

But am I the only one not ga-ga over my husband’s fantasticism (yes, I made up that word).

Am I the only one who sometimes counts the minutes until quiet time so I can finally be alone?

Am I the only one who is lucky to get an hour a week with my favourite outlet of artistic expression?

I do not judge others or envy them (not in this case anyways). But sometimes I wonder… “how do they do it?”

I don’t pity myself (over this issue anyways). But sometimes I wonder… “one day, will that be me?”

So I keep truckin’ through this life. Busy, swamped really, and barrelling on through all the ups and downs and late nights and early mornings and wet diapers and dishes galore and course assignments and places to be and people to see.

I’m a juggler, and I drop the balls on a regular basis, but so long as those balls aren’t my kids (note I didn’t specify the DH – last week I forgot to put the key in the mailbox and he was locked out for an hour- oops), we’re okay.

We’re okay.

I’m okay.

Onward.

Scrapbook Idea of the Day

Still documenting my life bit by bit. I'm actually pretty happy with the progress I'm making, and some of the shots I'm getting. Should be an interesting album when (if) I get time to put it all together! So I thought I'd show off some of the pictures I'm loving. Here's just a few from yesterday and today:

Day One - Document a Week in the Life

Stuff of Life/Scrapbook Idea of the Day

So Ali Edwards, my scrap idol, over on her blog has begun this one week challenge/project to document the everyday things you do for one week. Keep the camera at hand to capture the little things in life that we see daily but take for granted, the precious moments (not to be confused with those bizzare porcelain figurines) we forget so easily, the regular stuff that makes our life our life. So I began this morning. My first photo of the day and of the week was this one:

Inspired, eh? Well, it was a start, and I was still in my bathrobe at this point.

Remembering to take my camera with me everywhere and keep it near was challenge number one. I actually managed to get myself, the 3 kiddles, the diaper bag, my purse, camera, and very heavy bag of veggies out to Jackie's place by 8:45 this morning. We spent the morning making zucchini relish, and chatting about this and that. By the end of the morning we'd laughed, cried and run an enormous 48 cups of zucchini, plus peppers, and onions (thus the crying) though the food processor.

At 11 o'clock I popped the kids back in the car and zipped over to Miriam's preschool (we were late but, oh well). At which point I forgot my camera at Jackie's house. Which is in the country. Oops. Well, the lack of photos is true to my life. Sometimes things get left behind, and with God's help hopefully it'll never be one of the kids.

So back home to hang with Finny and Carmen, tidy up a bit, do not much of anything before picking Miriam up again. Carmen conked out on the ten minute drive home and I popped her in bed but nap time didn't take. Finnegan slept. So did I... not realizing nap time was not a part of Carmen's reality. I woke up in my reclining chair to Miriam about 3 inches from my face, smiling at me, telling me about something she'd just done or created. I'm not sure what - it was all foggy at that point. But the sound of my girl, who rarely cries for more than 20 seconds, screaming her head off upstairs in the bassinette cleared my head pretty quickly. Uh oh. Confession time. I have no idea how long she was crying. Could have been a while and based on the fact that it took me 20 minutes to calm her down, I felt pretty bad about it. So no nap. Makes for cheerful kids, eh?

Jim came home from work early and we had early supper - tacos, which are a crown pleaser around here! I went out to Jackie's to pick up my camera, and on the way home hit the local value village where I picked up this sweet deal Juicer for $9.99. It seriously looks like it's never been used. Woo hoo! It might even work! (Maybe I'll try it tomorrow)

Bathtime, brush teeth, bed. Carmen is upstairs having a hard time sleeping because she's so overtired. Happliy her thumb never leaves her and I'm praying she'll calm down eventually. For tonight I've got a reflection for my course, and a lecture to help Jim put together for Chem. Best of all, my day ends with one of these... a glacier/screamer which is a heavenly combination of soft serve icecream and coke slurpee. Yum! Thanks Jim!

'Til tomorrow!

Melanie

Ta da!

Scrapbook Idea of the Day Here it is! I've imagined this for a few months and finally stole the time to create my first scrapping video! It took some time, but I can see the process getting faster, so I am not dissuaded from doing more in the future... thus the "Episode 1" title! Please give me feedback. What did you like? What could improve? Any ideas? Requests? Ta da! Supplies Used: Fiskars Eurotrimmer (paper cutter) More to Adore Paper Packet from Close to My Heart Adhesive (yes, mine totally sucked - I didn't have a holder and was out of the good Tombow stuff so I tried to make do. More like make don't!) I later added flowers (Close to My Heart) with a brad in the centre of each (dollar store) and "Stickease" stickers (also CTMH) As well I sponged the edge of the 4 x 4 mat on the right page using Cocoa ink and wrote my journalling with the Cocoa marker (Both CTMH)

Cuba or Bust!

Stuff of Life I have to note this before I forget. There are so many laughable things that happen in our house each and every day. I really should be keeping better track. Anyways... This morning Miriam and Finnegan had my two nursing pillows out in the livingroom and had connected the crescents to form what they decided was their "boat." Such simple pleasures! So there they are sitting in their "boat" and when I asked where they were going in their boat Miriam said "We're going to Cuba" and I thought, 'I bet they're in the only boat that's actually going to Cuba. I'll bet all the Cubans heading the other way think my two are crazy!" Too silly! (We went to Cuba for vacation last year which is where Miriam gets this idea from. BTW we went by plane, not boat that time!) Spiritual Insight of the Day Last night as I drove home from scrapbooking at Tara's I was just overwhelmed by the need to pray for the lives of three women that I know. I won't go into detail, but I am so privileged to be close enough with them that they have shared the tough stuff of life with me. I sang along to the CD "Hungry" and just lifted them up to God and asked that despite the challenges in their lives He would be there with them and make His presence known. So if you're in a prayerful mood and want to add "those three women Melanie's been thinking about" to your prayer today, that would be great. And a prayer for me to love them and be salt and light in their lives would be great too. Thanks. Scrapbook Idea of the Day (Cue Jaws music) It's coming... it's almost here... get ready... is the anticipation killing you?