10/28/08

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! ;)

10/21/08

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.

10/20/08

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.

10/17/08

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!

10/9/08

>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.

10/5/08

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!

10/3/08

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!

10/1/08

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: