I've Missed Being Ever-Present Mummy - That's a Surprise!

Stuff of Life I haven't updated in a while... soooo busy. I'll share more later, but I wanted to get this posted before I forget. Finny came down from bath time today all towelly sweetness and said "I not have underwear." "Not yet," I said. "But are you going to have underwear when you grow up to be big like daddy?" "Uh-huh." "And is Miriam going to grow up to be big like daddy too?" At this point Miriam walks in and says "No, I'm going to have babies!" "Oh really?" "Yes, and I'm going to marry Finnegan" (We haven't yet explained the full concept of marriage except for the fact that it happens when two people love each other so much they want to be together always. So Miriam frequently speaks of her intention to marry her brother... We are not from the Ozarks. Seriously we're not. Is that how you spell Ozarks? I'm too tired to cross reference.) Anyways. Miriam continues. "I'm not going to marry Jonah." (She usually wants to marry Jonah, her cousin, which is slightly better, but we'll still have to break it to her some time this whole interfamily relations thing!) She shakes her head. "I'm not marrying him because remember when he was here for two days? He was reeeally grumpy! So I'm going to marry Finnegan." That girl makes me laugh. So does my boy and my pumpkin baby. Finnegan is so typically two. Starting to come into his own, displaying some stubbornness when he doesn't get his own way, and so communicative. He thinks he's so funny and he is really, just in a very two-year-old way. He often says or does things and smiles at me and asks "Is that so silly?" (actually it sounds more like "Is dat so dilly?" CUTE!) His big thing these days is saying "This is no" (nodding) and "This is yes" (shaking his head). He thinks backwards stuff is hilarious. But what's so funny is watching him try to coordinate saying "No" and nodding at the same time because he gets this concentrated smile on his face like he's trying to pat his head and rub his tummy at the same time. Silly. I just love him so much! I've got to write down his mannerisms before I forget them... There are some really precious habits he's got. Carmen is soooo sweet. I hope she doesn't resent me later for categorizing her as a sweet baby as opposed to adorable or cut or precious. I mean, she's all those things too, but she is so much more than that as well, and when you put it all together right now, she is pure sweetness, plain and simple. She is the BEST baby (don't tell the others!) She is so easy going and always happy. She's starting to figure out that her arms and legs are attached to her brain and that she can occasionally coordinate the two toward some common goal (like sucking on "Girrafimo" her hanging toy) She almost never cries. I mean never. I think she spends maybe a total of two minutes a day crying (unless she's gassy which can last a grand total of 6 minutes). I'm glad to be back to full time Mummy now. More on my absence later. All I can tell you is it's been an Orff-ully busy two weeks! Peace.

Now I Understand What Mr. Rogers Was Getting At.

Stuff of Life A continuation of things I never thought I’d hear myself say: #317 – “We don’t put Jacks in our nose.” #128- “Good burp!” #595- “You should chew after your fingers are out of your mouth.” One of the things that brings me joy in watching my children is comparing them to one another. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold one up and say “Oh, this one is so much smarter than those other two dummies” or anything like that. But it is so interesting to see how different three children can be despite the fact that they all live in the same house with the same parents and have inherited pretty similar genetics. Both nature and nurture are, I think, fairly similar. And yet, there is Miriam, who is so much more confident than Finnegan, my little Mama’s boy. And there is Finnegan, who is so much more go-with-the-flow than Miriam, who always wants to know what to expect. And there is Carmen, who sleeps so much better than either of the other two which may be the greatest blessing in my life currently. They are all so unique, but also similar in many ways, and I simply enjoy each of their little personalities! I am enjoying being a SAHM (Stay-at-home-mum) right now. It’s good to be there for all the silliness and creativity and questions and curiosity and wonder and exploration that life as a little person entails. Spiritual Insight of the Day I love my neighbours. I really do. Not just in the “well, God told me to love them, so I guess I should, even though so-and-so has an irritating yappy dog and what’s-his-face needs a new muffler, which I’m reminded of every morning at 6 a.m” way. Our neighbours are great. We have game playing neighbours who are fun to hang out with an laught with and comete against. We have helpful neighbours who show up to shovel when the dump truck drops a load of dirt in our yard and who hand-me-down their lawnmowers and other tools. We have young neighbours who wave with bright smiles at us and who fill the street with laughter and shrieks. We have neighbours who see eye-to-eye with us and neighbours who remind us that there is more than one way of seeing things. We have awesome neighbours. In the two years since we’ve been in this neighbourhood, we’ve actively introduced ourselves to the folks on our block, and the result is a sense of community and friendship and even security. Earlier this fall, Miriam tricycled down to “the tree”, which is one end of her boundary, and our neighbour Aileen, not seeing me sitting on our porch, came running out of her house. “Miriam, what are you doing out here?” she asked before I called and waved, and explained that the tree in front of her house is one end of Miriams tricycle boundary. I like that our neighbours know us and know our kids and even care about and protect our kids. So today, I am praying for my neighbours. I’m thanking God that he gave us such a great community with such interesting people. I’m praying that our friendships will deepen and that we will learn to be there for each other. I’m praying that they will be blessed by God in their work, in their families, in their homes and schools, and in all parts of their lives. God loves my neighbours as much as he loves me, and I pray that they will realize God’s intention to prosper them and care for them. And I’m praying that I will love my neighbour as much as I love myself. Scrapbook Idea of the Day. TURN OFF YOUR FLASH! That’s it. My big insight. Do it. It will make a world of difference in your photos. My camera turns on the flash whenever there is even the slightest bit of dim in the room. Totally unnecessary. I checked out the instruction manual, and now turn the flash off every time I turn on the camera, and only use it when I know it is quite dark, or if I want to “fill” when the foreground is darker than the background. Since turning it off a couple weeks ago, my photos are so much better in terms of light and colour and softness of image. Try it. You’ll like it.

When Pigs Influence Family Fun Time

Stuff of Life I’m melllllllting! We’ve spent this week trying to beat the heat. Visits to the legislature grounds and cool malls have definitely helped the situation! Summer is not my favourite season for one reason – hot dry weather. If summer was 25 degrees Celsius and partly cloudy all day, I would be one happy camper! And thank God for our new blinds which are keeping the sun from turning our house into an easy-bake oven!!! Canada Day was so fun! Miriam has been suggesting for about a week that we should have an “Olivia” picnic. Olivia, for those of you who don’t know, is a pig who, in the book “Olivia Forms a Band”, goes to see fireworks and has a picnic with sandwiches and corn on the cob and strawberries and watermelon. So, knowing that Canada Day celebrations include fireworks, I shopped for the appropriate picnic ingredients, and on Tuesday we packed the picnic basket, walked to a park and sat on the grass under an enormous tree and enjoyed an official “Olivia Picnic!” We went home and the kids went to bed then we woke them up at nine (actually it was so hot that when I went to wake Miriam up I found her lying on her back, singing and playing with her toes.) The fireworks at Fort Saskatchewan were smaller than “big city” fireworks, but they lasted a long time and were beautiful. I was a little worried that Miriam would be sensitive to the noise as she tends to be with anything loud, and hoped it didn’t cause a major freak out considering how tired she was. But she sat with Oma and Oma covered her ears and she enjoyed the show. Finny cuddled with Jim and I had Carmen who was sleeping until the first firework went off at which point I stuck my finger in her mouth and she happily sucked away for the next fifteen minutes! NOTE TO SELF: Take the extra time and effort to intentionally make memories. This is a day we will all remember and which I can reflect on with pride knowing that on Canada Day 2008 we had a great family time together. Most of the “Stuff of Life” is little stuff like bath times and stories and playing in the backyard, but once in a while some of it should be extra special. Spiritual Insight of the Day I was talking with Carmen yesterday. More accurately, I was speaking English and she was speaking gobbledygook. Nevertheless, we had a most engaging conversation. She was completely thrilled with my singsong words and she smiled and squirmed and gurgled with all her might. It got me to thinking two things: First, isn’t this what the best friendships are about? Two people who can literally talk about nothing, yet completely enjoy the time spent together? Second, this kind of parallels what our relationship with God is like. We look up at Him and often don’t necessarily understand what He’s saying to us, but we know it’s loving so it makes us happy and we try in our own little ways to imitate His words to us. If God loves us the way I love my infant girl, are we not seriously the most treasured people ever? And to think that, as much as I love Carmen, God loves her about a bazillion times more. Cool. Scrapbook Idea of the Day It’s not exactly scrappy, more like “cardy”, but take a jaunt over to kwerner design blog. She has “Make a Card Monday” which features some cool video and neat ideas that can be transferred to the world of scrapbooking too. Also, if you haven’t yet, visit some of the sites I’ve listed on my sidebar there. I regrouped them so my daily picks are separate. I think Cathy Zielske may be the funniest person I’ve known aside from my sister or a gathering of my MacDonell aunts. She is so real. I just love it!

Great Kids

Stuff of Life I love Grandparents… specifically grandparents who are willing to take the children off our hands over night so we (Jim and I) can kick back and focus on ourselves and our relationship. Good stuff. I’ve spent yesterday and today tidying the house and catching up on laundry so that when I drop two of three off tomorrow, I can come home and not think “Gee, I should just toss a load in the dryer while I’ve got time.” Nope. No siree Bob. I will NOT be doing anything even remotely resembling housework during my time off! To assist in this matter we will go for dinner, meet some friends for breakfast, and possibly lunch it out as well. The only dishes produced should be Jim’s morning coffee cup, Carmen’s nightly bottle of preserved breastmilk, and perhaps my own tea cup. Laundry avoidance strategy? We’re throwing out tomorrow’s clothes after we wear them… just kidding. I wish. A fun day with the kids today. It makes me wonder what makes one day totally laid back and low maintenance, and others wound up and stressful. It really doesn’t seem like I did anything out of the ordinary, but today was just so easy. Finnegan is starting to get a mind of his own, and is learning to ignore my requests to, for example, give the puzzle piece back to Miriam. And the counting to 3 strategy doesn’t work because he immediately starts crying “Don’t count! Don’t count!” and is so focused on me not counting that he won’t do anything at all but dance around all panicked! So silly (or “dilly” as he’d say) But we had a great day with playing outside. I can push him way higher on the swing than I ever pushed Miriam at the same age. He’s not particularly a daredevil (actually he’s a bit of a chicken – doesn’t like being swung around or tossed in the air) but I think he sees Miriam swinging high and want to be like her. Her little shadow. So cute. Miriam was so into words today. After her quiet time, she got out some paper and markers and wrote a letter to Nana and Grandpa: “Tomorrow I like to have a sleepover” complete with an illustration of her and Finnegan outside their front door and Jim and I “away” with Jim having a mad face because he doesn’t want to stand on my head but that’s the only place to draw him. On another page she wrote “Macaroni and cheese” and “Perogies and sourcream” and drew pictures as well (though what a horse has to do with KD, I have no idea). Then later after bath time she was running up and down the stairs between the bathroom and the kitchen table, and when I finally inquired as to what she was doing she showed me that she’d written the words “hot” “bath” and “cold” which she’d read off the taps and written on her page (short term memory only held a few letters in her mind at a time, thus the running back and forth!) Carmen as usual is a delight – it just comes with the territory at this age, I think. She sleeps AWESOME (ten-ish to seven with rarely a wake between.) During the day she hangs out wherever she’s dumped…er, I mean, lovingly placed… and often entertains herself with her new best friend, Mr Right Hand Thumb. This frequently results in a gradual drifting off to la-la-land. And when she’s awake, she just talks and smiles and looks adorable. That’s all for today. Off to bed to rest for my day of rest!

Nurturing Life

Stuff of Life Mastitis – if you don’t know what it is, all you need to know is you do NOT want to get it. Ouch. Still on my gardening kick. I am about two days away from “done” in terms of getting everything planted and organized to the point where I can sit back and enjoy it and simply maintain it. I’m so excited about my garden. I have over 60 different species of plants growing out there. I have plants that are well on their way, and plants that are yet but seeds. I envision my garden as a place of relaxation, comfort, beauty and peace. I envision my garden as a place where my children will learn about the amazing process of growth. This garden will not be a hands off affair, though already I have consciously held back from saying “don’t touch!” Instead I tell the kids to be gentle, and how to touch so the plant isn’t hurt. I remind them to be careful not to step on plants as they wander among the new buds. I like seeing Finn eye-to-eye with the delphiniums and the Echinacea, and Miriam gently fingering a green poppy bud one day and surprised by it’s yellow petals the next. This is their garden too, where they have helped me plant less than straight rows of peas and carrots, beets and beans. They will enjoy it too, and we will be in awe of God’s creation together. This is a privilege and a joy for me. I’ll cherish it. Spiritual Insight of the Day My two hour wait for a doctor yesterday (see Mastitis above) gave me some time to delve into “The Sacred Romance” again. No, this is not some sleazy romance novel, but a look at God’s relationship with His people. The chapter I read talked a lot about what our role is in this great play we’ve found ourselves in – the epic story in which we have a part. It was good reading. I especially liked a paraphrase of one of the verses in the bible which went something like: God’s people/the church is not peripheral to the rest of society. Society is peripheral to God’s people/the church. I can’t really put into words what this means to me. I can only say it helps me feel more significant, and motivates me to be braver in my walk through this world. The chapter also remembered Jeremiah, who was a prophet sent to speak God’s word, but who wasn’t feeling up to the task. God reassured him that He would give him the right words. I know that God also will give me the right words so long as I am willing to speak them. So that’s my prayer today, that I would be willing and waiting in expectation for God to invite me to speak in His story. Scrapbook Idea of the Day Journal. Take time to remember the little things that are so easily forgotten. Like how Miriam always used to wake up with a pirate eye when she was a baby because her one eyed gummed itself shut at night. Or how Finnegan fell in love with “Olivia Forms a Band” after Melissa gifted the book to Miriam for Christmas 2007, and how he always said the same things at the same points in the story for weeks on end (“boke neck?”). Or how Carmen learned to suck her thumb at 11 weeks of age and how we didn’t try to switch out for a soother because it was a) self soothing which is good when you’re one of 3, b) better for van rides because we wouldn’t be able to stick the soother in if it popped out because we can’t reach you like we could the first two in our little escort, and c) it’s so darn cute! These details are not important. Not life altering. Not significant to anyone but us. But it’s these little details which differentiate us from all the other two-parent-three-kid-middle-class families out there.

Grow Up

Stuff of Life Sometimes there’s just too much stuff and not enough life. Focusing on the positive… actually mostly just trying to ignore the negative. Spiritual Insight of the Day Start a garden. Grow something from seed. Visit a berry farm and pick a few baskets. Today it’s all about the garden metaphor… scratch that. It’s not just a metaphor. It’s also just God’s great creation. Scrapbook (Gardening) Idea of the Day To be honest, I haven’t scrapbooked in a while… not really. I’m in garden mode right now. My grandparents a few years ago gave each of their children an early inheritance gift, and my father gave my sister and I $1000 of it for ourselves. I’ve saved it in its original American currency form (darn that – whodathunk the Canadian dollar would go par? – crud). I had thought to use it as part of the down payment on our first house, but what with housing prices in Alberta so high, the thou would’ve seemed a meager contribution. So I thought, “Hey, we have no landscaping other than grass. How about a MacDonell tribute garden?” See, my grandparents were hard working parents of ten children, and as well as owning the MacDonell Inn in Cornwall (now gone), they also owned the MacDonell Greenhouse, selling plants and trees and shrubs to people and landscapers (not that landscapers aren’t people…) Anyways. We spent our first summer just getting the landscaping done to the point of grass (don’t even GET me started about our landscaper). We spent our second summer digging out the packed cement-like clay to 18 inch depth (deep for perennials – can go shallower for annuals). Now in our third summer we’re finally at the fun stage. And by we I mean me. I’m doing most of the work because quite honestly I have most of the motivation. I’m super excited to have planted 45 perennials as well as 4 tomato plants, a zucchini, basil (two kinds), oregano, chives, cucumber and seeds for carrots, beets, peas and beans. I still have to plant some Chinese lantern, sweet pea, dill and morning glory seeds, and after looking at the empty patches in my garden, I went today and picked up 20 more perennials to fill. Can’t wait to get them in, but it’s raining today, so am trapped inside watching the clock and wishing it was sunny. Maybe tomorrow. So, my scrapbook idea of the day? Be creative with whatever you’ve got, whether it’s paper and ink, or dirt and seeds. Make your world more beautiful!

Time Flies When You're Completely Overwhelmed

Stuff of Life Things I never thought I’d hear myself say: #451 – “Don’t put grapes in your shoes” #237 – “Don’t eat your pasta with a pitchfork” #105 – “It’s not a good idea to put fingers in bums.”

Ah, yes… the joys of motherhood. I knew I’d encounter silly and bizarre behaviours with my munchkins, but even I can’t predict from one moment to the next what kinds of zany plots and crazy mischief these two will cook up. And as a result, my list of unusual phrases is growing and growing. If I had a penny for every time I shook my head at something I said, well, I’d have enough money to pay for a chiropractor to fix the neck damage from all that head shaking! Spiritual Insight of the Day It’s a long haul, so… Be patient. Be authentic. Be connected. Be wise. Be intentional. Be who God created you to be. Just be. Scrapbooking Idea of the Day Sign up for ScrapinstyleTV. This is a neat sight with some interesting videos (only available to members – free) and some galleries and ideas to inspire. I suppose that’s where I am right now, just gathering inspiration while I organize and sift through my supplies.

Things Which Are Excellent and Praiseworthy

Stuff of Life It’s official! My wonderful husband is officially a “Doctor.” (Of philosophy, not medicine!) June 5, 2008 marks the convocation of James Sandercock as a Ph.D of Microbiology and Bioinformatics (or something like that!) I’m so happy for his achievement after 6 loooooong years of often frustrating repetitive experiments. And on a personal note FINALLY! IT’S OVER! It’s been a long 6 years for me too, not so much in the beginning, but towards the end as first one baby then another arrived and life became very busy. But this chapter is now over and we are entering into the world of “real” work with him teaching at the local college and hoping to move into something permanent. Deep breath… ahhhh… freedom… Spiritual Insight of the Day On the topic of convocation, during the President’s convocation address, she referred to the University motto “Que cum quae vera” (might be misspelled). It apparently means “Whatsoever is true” and originates from the bible, Phillipians 4:8, which states “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - thing about such things.” Of course the secular liberal arts University takes this phrase and twists it, but I digress. Here, today, is my response to this passage, the excellent and praiseworthy things I will think about: 1) The sky is cloudy and I can smell the rain in the air preparing to water the grass and plants and clean the dust off the trees and buildings. 2) Dinner last night was a splendid affair of beautifully laid out dishes, diverse flavours and enjoyable company. 3) My daughter is creative and independent and inquisitive and often eager to please. 4) My son is funny and gentle and bright and energetic. 5) My infant daughter is calm and cheerful and precious and sweet. 6) I have such fun friends with whom to play German board games and jam to rock band and scrapbook and just chat with. 7) My dishwasher ran this morning and my washing machine and dryer are busy in the basement… I’m blogging instead of being elbow deep in suds… if this isn’t praiseworthy, I don’t know what is! Scrapbook Idea of the Day I’m using Close to My Heart’s Cherish idea book to clean out my scrapbook supplies in preparation for a new batch. I take a bunch of related papers, check the idea book for a layout and throw it together in record time… no titles or journaling or even photos, but the pages are ready to be personalized, and if I’m not thrilled with the outcome, I have friends who will happily use the pages for their photos.

Bork! Bork! Bork!

Stuff of Life Ever had a day that seemed to move in slow motion? That was today for me. I can’t believe it took us until 10 to get out of the house to go shopping, and I honestly can’t explain why. The store was crazy busy, and the line up about a half hour wait… at least they had cookies for us near the end! Despite the slow-mo, the day’s been great. Hung out with my girl for a bit while the little ones napped… I just love her conversational style these days. It’s so grown up and articulate. She’s using phrases like “Seriously mum,” and “No, probably not” and talking to her imaginary friends “So I was like, that’s so irritating.” My boy’s picking up some grown up vocab too. I sat down on the couch to read him a story the other day and he says to me “Aksee I dit deya.” (Actually, I sit there) He’s still working on some sounds (“Binny dop Bork ona goun” isn’t a return of the muppet’s Swedish chef, it means “Finny dropped fork on the ground.”) As for Carmen, she mostly sucks – literally! Life is good. I could complain – really I could, but what’s the point? Sometimes you’ve gotta consciously ignore your gripe and sit back and say “Life is good!” So… Life is good! Spiritual Insight of the day. I confess. After all that the other day about getting back to basics, I didn’t… not yet anyways. But I will. Seems like I’m making choices to do other stuff lately. No one to blame but myself really. But it’s still in my mind. Scrapbook Idea of the day Seriously loving Ali Edward’s Blog these days. Check it out, and follow some of her links. Really creative inspiration, and lots of up to date info on what’s hot out there! I’m purging my supplies these days. I made a big order with a friend of mine for some papers and stuff, so I’m trying to use up my odds and ends to make room. Still scrapping from my crop bag. So long as I limit my space, I figure I’ll also limit my budget, prioritize my projects, make the process simpler by minimizing choice etc… Of course, I do sometimes dream of a scrapbook room stocked to the rafters!

A Prescription to Blog

Stuff of Life There's an article in Jim's Scientific American this month about the therapeudic nature of blogging. I haven't read it yet (gotta be in the mood for geek-speak) but the implication is that this here what I 'm doing right now is beneficial to my mental health... Hey, I'm not going to say "no" to a boost to my current mental stability! If I’d had my camera this morning, I would have taken a photo of Miriam and posted it. Instead, I’d leant it to my mother yesterday so had to settle for video (not scrap-worthy unfortunately) and a verbal description here. As I was on the phone with my best friend Tara this morning, the house became suddenly very quiet… when there are two children and an infant in the house, this silence is usually a bad sign. So I put Carmen down and tiptoed upstairs to check on my munchkins. They were happily and quietly playing in their closet, sitting inside the IKEA drawer shelf that holds their clothes, but which they take the drawers out of and use as imaginary cars. And get this. Miriam had on the most hilarious outfit. She’d put on her flowered cloth swim diaper, flowered swim suit, Finnegan’s swim trunks, her green and white polka dot swim suit, a fuchsia swim suit with floating Styrofoam inserts, and a ridiculous pink cap which Carmen will grow into but will probably never wear because it’s so unfashionable! Cracked me up completely, but I managed to say in a really positive upbeat voice which only a mother can conjure up in moments like these “Hey, Miriam! Cool outfit! What are you wearing?” At which point I got the proud breakdown of her attire. She actually asked if she could wear it to church! I briefly considered it, in light of the song lyrics “Come, just as you are to worship!” (Tee hee J) Finnegan is such a sweet, gentle hearted boy, not your typical rough and rowdy boy, but first thing in the morning he wakes up and absolutely BELLOWS from his crib! Not in a mad/sad/impatient way, just for the sake of being loud. I have no idea how long he yells for someone to come and get him out of his wooden barred prison, but once he’s out, he’s his peaceful little self again! I should get him up from his nap right away… but the peace and quiet in the house right now is gooooood. Spiritual Insight of the Day I gots nuthin’. Feeling a bit drained and uninspired, spiritually today. I read a blog though – my he{ART} (see left link) – and I was reminded of the importance of just the basics, that is, simply scripture. No devotional, no discourse, no history… just the Word. God really does speak through His word. I’m going to take time to read my bible today. Scrap Idea of the Day You know all those scrapbook magazines and idea books sitting on your shelf? I don’t know about you, but I have no intention of letting them go any time soon (My husband on the other hand reads his Scientific American once and never picks it up again and is happy to recycle it… not a re-reader, that one!) But other than flipping through them from time to time, I haven’t really gotten the best use out of them. So my current project is a search for journaling ideas. Flip through, find a journal that is creative, and jot down a note about the format so I can imitate it in my own scrapbooks. I’m basically a big scraplifter, but given my stage in life (4 year old, 2 year old, 8 week old, working husband, Master’s degree in progress…) that’s about all I can muster up generally. My other project is organizing my photos in my computer. I’m renaming everything based on year-month-day (08-06-01 will be all today’s photos for example followed by a, b, c…). And once that’s done, I want to create index cards so I can easily scan for photos without going into my computer.