Thursday, September 19, 2013

Thankful Thursday


today i'm just very thankful today for my family being home safe.


we had a pretty major tragedy occur in Ottawa yesterday.

a train collided with a city bus.

some people did not have their loved ones come home to them.

praying for peace and love and grace to all those affected by the crash.


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Thankful Thursday

so very thankful this week for:

-date night! (and baby sitting swaps with friends who also have littles)-
-strong legs to take me running-
-Megan learning to say thank you all by herself-
-brunch on Saturday with the "Ladies and the Babies" (this is what Isla called it)-
-finding some cute pair of velvet skinny jeans and a polka-dot dress 
for Isla for a total of $5.23 at Value Village-
-Isla's first day of Sunday School *sniff*, she's in the 3-5 year old class, 
graduated from the nursery, where oh where did the time go?-


Thursday, September 05, 2013

thankful thursdays

i've decided to start a little weekly thankful-ness on thursdays, it will help me remember to post weekly-insert sheepish grin here-

so thankful this week for:

-best friends having babies-my bestie Beth and her husband Pat just had their first little baby. and my oh my he is perfection, honestly the nicest baby i think i have ever seen!

-bonfires with friends at their amazing new home (on a tree farm no less!)

-strong legs to carry me while running

-a busy and fun long weekend filled with lots of visits with friends

-4 day work week ;)

-a stack of new books to read on my night stand


always so much to be thankful for!

Monday, September 02, 2013

a little secret

 i've been keeping a little secret around here... it feels big to me.  very big.
(it's not a baby)

i have recently taken up running... if you know me, you may gasp and/or snort with laughter.

i pretty much pledged to never run.

never ever ever.

if (and that sometimes has been a very big IF) i was going to do any physical activity, it was going to be a sneaky trick, as in it would be something that was fun and made me feel
like i wasn't exercising. like snowboarding, or wakeboarding or canoeing or maybe (maybe) going on a hike.

but running? no no no not ever.

 
then for some reason* in the past few months i started thinking about that "never ever never never never running"and i thought- maybe?

so i went all crazy town and decided to sign up for the color run, then i discovered that if you ran as a team, you could save $5, and me being just the little bit ridiculous that i
am, somehow i ended up being the captain of this team... oh my.

i downloaded an 8 weeks to 5K app on my iphone and finally mustered up the gusto to try it out on July 7th. Go me!

{after my first training run}
July 8th i trip over our computer cord, jam my toe so badly that i can't walk and end up needing an x-ray to make sure it isn't broken.

amazing, this is my real life.

so running gets put on hold for a few weeks.

then i started again. I have been going for a few weeks now and i find the first little run a bit daunting and then i get into it. it feels good, it feels fun, it makes me feel strong.
two weeks ago, for the first time, i did more running than walking.

{some post running pics... getting easier to smile after each run}
i am very very proud of me.

i also ran that color run two sundays ago, i didn't run the whole thing, but we ran at least half of it.
i also had miss Isla in a stroller, she wanted to be a part of the "big mess" run after she saw the promo video.
 

it made me feel like a real "true" runner.
i really and truly am enjoying my new found running legs and i am excited as to where they will take me :)

Thursday, July 25, 2013

garden harvest!

oh man, my garden has started producing and i love it!!

this is where we started at the beginning of July...


now my lettuce:



and my beans, my delicious delicious beans!
i have been harvesting about a handful almost every night.

they are my delicious crunchy chip alternative
:) 


i'm linking up this week with Outside, At Home
the blog of two sisters who i love love love.


Friday, July 19, 2013

resolution update

back in January i resolved a few things to happen over this year.

here is the updated list:

1-to finally stop biting my nails for good -- disgusting habit, even more so when you are a nurse. blech.
update: well, they aren't being bitten, it's been about 2 months i think, but i go back to work next week, so we'll see if they last til then!!

2-to go outside with the girls in the winter! -- this is tricky for me, i don't like being cold and it seems like a 
tremendous amount of work to bundle up 2 littles when i don't want to be outside in the first place!
update: we went out a bit. proof: 
on this day Isla refused to let Megan sit on her lap



so she sat on Megan, then as we were coming home, the sled tipped, Isla barely fell out but cried like she was dying, and poor little Meggie basically did a starfish face plant into the snow, a poor little old man walking down the street jumped over about 3 snow banks and almost fell down to try and pick her up, small babies stuck face down in the snow i guess are a little alarming! anyway, when i picked Megan up she just blinked at me. This is a pretty accurate demonstration of first-born vs. second-born. 
just a little snow this winter

3-to get back into cloth diapering -- i was a cloth fiend with Isla, and i had a pretty decent start with Megan, but kind of fell off for awhile (mostly they get cleaned and then live on top of the dryer for weeks at a time!)
update: after a few fits and starts, we've been back on full time with Megan when she's not at daycare and with Isla during naps.  Yay!

4-to sew some things -- really i just want to sew, anything at all. 
update: sewed some amazing bunting for a friend's little nursery, and started a quilt! oh, and made some little face or bum cloths, hurray!

5-to read 40 books this year -- as mentioned here.
update: just finished my 13th, i would probably be further on if it weren't for the longest most disappointing finally give up JK Rowling book. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

thoughts on potty training

so.
we've been attempting potty training for about 3 and some months now.

it went awesome the first few days, than poorly then well for a month and a bit, then poorly and then very poorly.

what i mean by this is that Isla always did well when we asked her if she had to pee, but probably only told us she had to pee a handful of times.
she also has very rarely pooped on the potty.

this has been a frustrating time, lots of pees all over the place: our house, outside, and at friends's houses.

i found myself starting to be angry with her.

i was rethinking the whole potty thing when the last thing that happened was 2 visits in a row at the same friend's house she first pee'd on the couch and then the next time pee'd all over her friend's room... that was covered in toys. oy vey. (to be fair, the second time i told her not to pee on the couch, i wasn't specific enough...clearly)

i think the main thing was that i almost felt a social pressure to punish, and not that anyone was actually pressuring me... but, you know.

so i took a step back, and then this showed up in my facebook newsfeed.

toilet learning vs. toilet training.

i'm going to go ahead and say that i won't necessarily do all these things, but what stood out to me the most was this checklist


in reading this list i realized that she had not been doing a lot of these things, and in fact still wasn't.

i also needed to check myself, and if my reactions always seemed frustrated and angry, we had to change something.

so here's the thing i think, if she's not ready, she's not ready.

so starting Saturday we put her back in diapers (mostly cloth-yippee!)
and told her that she could use the potty if she wanted to, but she didn't have to.

we had a much more relaxing weekend, with a few trips to the toilet or potty,
and this morning she asked to wear a pull-up and has been pretty much using the potty on her own (go figure).

so we'll see how this week progresses, but i'm happy to not be stressed and very happy to not feel frustrated  or about something she can't control.

live and learn.

poor first born trial children ;)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

I don't feel ready for this!

these two.


are off to daycare together this morning, for the first time.
Isla has continued for one day a week this past year, and today Baby Megan is joining her.

how did we get to this point? 
this year has been crazy and emotional and a little overwhelming at times,
but it's been an amazing journey to walk through and to see the bond these girls have already--i'm glad they are so close in age*

Thom is dropping them off, and i'll pick them up.
Isla did amazing on her trial days when she was 1, and i'm sure Meggie will do great as well.

i'm glad they are going to such a wonderful home daycare. 
i felt in my gut, when Isla was little, that this was the right place for them, 
and to this day i am so thankful to God for bringing Kattie into our lives.



*just to say, that i'm glad they are close, but if we have another one we will wait a weeeeeee bit longer in between.




Friday, June 07, 2013

a reading interlude

oh man, i've been on the waiting list since last summer for JK Rowling's new book "The Casual Vacancy"

-image from Amazon.ca-

i am not enjoying it, not even really one little bit.
it seems boring and i don't care or want to know any of the characters better.
if i hadn't been waiting so long (or keeping track of all my books read this year!) i would most likely put it down and walk away.

Thom says my problem is i keep calling it "that Harry Potter book"
his exact words were "you keep calling it the Harry Potter book, but Harry isn't going to apparate into this one"

he's not? well then why am i still reading it!?!

has anyone read this? does it redeem itself at all?

all i feel when i sit down to read it is: "oh, not you again"

maybe it's time to pack it in, life's too short to read bad books.

***updated to say that i read to about page 250 and then couldn't give it anymore. it was negative, filled with unnecessary swearing and terrible people... every last one of them... not worth my time or energy***

Thursday, May 23, 2013

veggie garden

i swear, i've been trying to snag some final pictures of the completed bed, but it's been raining on and off for the past few days!!

come out sun!

here is a little about the process:

i used all cedar and bought it all at Lowes
4-2"x6"x12's
1-2"x6"x16' cut into 4 pieces
6-2"x2"x48" balusters

as i mentioned before, i was inspired by Miss Mary Mary's cedar bed, so i pretty much just followed along with her plans.




i dug out holes for the posts, and then my mom and i carried it over to it's spot.
i put down a thick layer of cardboard first, 
because there were lots of weeds back where the old garden was.
and then it took a lot (i mean A LOT A LOT!!) of dirt, manure (i used sheep manure) and peatmoss to fill it up.


the one thing i would change if i could do it again is that the screws i used were 3" so the ends stuck out a little, which meant that i couldn't put the screws in from the inside... for some reason i was really worried that the 2.5" screws wouldn't be long enough, but i wish I would have used them because then i would have been able to hide most of my screws.

also, because i had my end pieces cut at Lowes, they were slightly off, so while i still always wish i had my own saw at home, it worked well enough to be happy with the finished product. i probably could have asked for more specific measurements if i had been super concerned about the final product.


once that sun starts a shining, i'll get a pic of it and the rest of the gardens my mom pretty much did all on her own!!

Thanks Mom!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

a veggie garden in the works!

so, when we looked at our house for the first time, Eduardo-our friend and real estate agent- looked out in the back yard and said "what do you think that is?"

my eyes sparkled as i replied: "that is a raised vegetable garden"

when we moved in to our house, the "raised" veggie garden looked like this:


well, 
it kind of looked like that, 
that is actually from October, my mom had transplanted a lily back there because there was no where else to put it, and there is also some fresh topsoil in the back left with some newspaper under it to try and ready it for the next summer.

and when we moved in, it was even more full of weeds than this:


and truthfully, when we did our final walk through, the weeds out back were probably taller than my waist.  
no exaggeration.

last weekend i attempted to make the current beds work for me.

first i thought I would just stack the smaller rectangles and make 3 smaller beds, but then i decided to take them apart and make 2 square beds. 

i got to this point:


and then i had a little huff and said to Thom: "i'm sad"
the wood was a little to rotted and ant infested to carry on.

but, being recently inspired by Miss Mary Mary's new cedar bed,
and after chatting with Thom, 
he told me get some cedar boards for Mother's Day to build my very own cedar bed!

Happy Mother's Day to me!


the building break-down to follow

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

it's been a week of needing an extra measure of grace.

for myself, for my girls.

we are dealing with teething and first tempers and tiredness.

it's been a week of reminding myself that i can use all my own strength,
                                                             but it probably will give out at some point.
my strength to be patient
my strength to be kind
my strength to choose my words carefully and
my strength to show love
  have all given out at some point over the past week.

today as the sun is shining through my window, i am reminded of this scripture:


Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, 
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Isaiah 60:1-2 (NIV)


and this one:

This is My command: be strong and courageous. 
Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, 
and I will remain with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (the Voice)


Thank you Lord. 
Thank you for your Holy Spirit and your strength in me. 
Thank you for second chances and new beginnings.
Thank you for your forgiveness and for your never-ever-ever ending love.
Thank you for being with me and
Thank you for choosing me to be the mother of these 2 little ladies.
Amen.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

World Down Syndrome Day

my brother-in-law has Down Syndrome.

he is fun and loving and such a true delight.
he loves his mom and his dad
and puts up with merciless teasing from his three(!) older brothers.

as you can see my girls think that their Uncle Matthew is pretty much the greatest thing of all.

i read this article today:


Uncle Matthew will teach our girls how to care, how to laugh and how to love Jesus.
He will teach them to be thoughtful and caring towards people who are not exactly the same as them.

my husband is a more caring, considerate and patient man because he grew up with  brother with Down Syndrome and parents who taught him that every person is worthy of love and patience, and frankly, of life.

We love you Uncle Matthew!!


Thursday, March 14, 2013

how little ones point us to Jesus

can i just say that i love being a mom?

an unexpected part of being a mom this time around was discovering again how much i need Jesus.

it's an amazing thing, this truth that i've always known...


but now.

now it seems even more evident.

little ones can test your patience, without meaning it, without doing anything other than what a little one is meant to do.

they ask a lot of questions, forget tasks, wander off, and make messes.
they take their time responding, and eat all the peanut butter.

it can be overwhelming, this take take take.

but this is what:

Jesus is bigger, he loves me, he loves my children and he matched us up.
I am learning what it means to not have control of my children, to give them grace, to let them grow.

just as God doesn't stand there, tapping (or stomping!--not that this ever happens in our house!) his foot as I am learning new things, he gives me guidance and patience and love.

another slightly more painful and a little gut wrenching is how God uses our toddlers to show our least becoming behaviours.

a few notes on that:
-we are teaching Isla to use nice manners, to speak nicely and ask nicely is a kind thing to do, and I've realized that I often forget to say please or thank you when I ask her to do something for me

-attitude! the other day Isla was asking for some juice, from the basement, while I was making dinner.
I asked her to come upstairs and ask nicely, which I'm going to hope she maybe didn't hear? a few minutes later this is what happened- she walked to the bottom of the stairs and shouted: "I said, 'I want some juice!!'" and believe you me that 'I said' had some serious sass to it.
 almost like she was repeating a tone she had heard an adult say use before... strange that.  ;)


for me, God is gently pointing out the immediate reactions that I sometimes have when I don't get my way or when I feel misunderstood or unappreciated.

I am thankful so much for these moments in motherhood,
for the stretching and growing and light that it brings.


and the fun, oh the fun it brings!!



Thursday, February 14, 2013

secret resolutions

does anyone else do this?

it feels similar to when i make a list and have some things i can cross off right away.

ie today's list could be:

- get Isla ready for daycare
- feed Megan
- blog
- get dressed
- look at paint for Isla's room
- tidy
- maybe go to the Restore or Ikea


you know... it looks like i've accomplished something already today

(which frankly speaking, getting one girl off to her day of fun 
and feeding the other one is an accomplishment!)

anyway, where was this going?

oh right, secret resolutions.
well, it kind of goes with the whole resolution of getting out more with the girls (which isn't so easy to keep with -30 celsius windchill... this doesn't mix with newborns---or with me)
but i also wanted to resolve to get out more on my own.

i had been tossing around the idea of cross country skiing
my family did it a lot when i was little, but it's not something i've really done seriously in probably 20 years.

so a couple of weeks ago Maryann and i went to look at used skis at Trailhead... apparently they only sell them at the end of their rental season--which makes sense, but is a bit of a bummer.

so with lots of giggling and a poor young sales man (who was so nice and unfazed -mostly- by our giddyness) we proceeded to try out and by brand new equipment!  

and on Monday night we did our first real ski.

we went to Gatineau and skied into a little cabin for a dinner.

Emma got us all together, Annie picked the route, Maryann provided the car and i drove.

it was so so so so nice.  and i was so happy.

and not entirely too sore the next day...

just my fingers, elbows and left big toe.  i have no idea why.

so secret new year's resolution was to start cross country skiing.

check.




ps. 
apparently skis are fit based on weight now and not height. this was a sad discovery, 
however our lovely little salesman showed us the first pair of skis which were between 100 and 130 pounds 
and said "this is probably right"

Oh Pat... you've obviously helped ladies purchase their first skis before ;)


Thursday, January 03, 2013

it's a new year!

wow.

2013.

it's funny to watch old tv sitcoms from the 80's where they think that by this time we will have hover-cars and robot butlers and all kinds of crazy "futuristic" things.

not so much!

i've been working out a small list of resolutions in my head, mostly i like to pick fairly achievable ones as i like to cross things off my lists :)

someecards.com - Thanks for not laughing at my absurdly unattainable New Year's resolutions

so in no particular order, here are some:

1-to finally stop biting my nails for good -- disgusting habit, even more so when you are a nurse. blech.
2-to go outside with the girls in the winter! -- this is tricky for me, i don't like being cold and it seems like a tremendous amount of work to bundle up 2 littles when i don't want to be outside in the first place!
3-to get back into cloth diapering -- i was a cloth fiend with Isla, and i had a pretty decent start with Megan, but kind of fell off for awhile (mostly they get cleaned and then live on top of the dryer for weeks at a time!)
4-to sew some things -- really i just want to sew, anything at all.
5-to read 40 books this year -- as mentioned here.


so, those are a few of my resolutions... do able, but i also know that i have to be intentional about them all.

i like that.