Home

I've had three days pretty much entirely away from my kids.
Friday was spent at an eye doctor appointment.
Saturday until this afternoon Trevor and I drove to Calgary for a wedding and spent the night at my sister and brother in-law's house.
The kids stayed with my parents.
While it was a strangely nice break it was even nicer to be home. As we were driving back there was a little bit of wistfulness at the taste of the freedom we'd had before kids.
Then I walked in my parents door and the smiles and joy that greeted me totally eliminated any of that. I cuddled and hugged both Sierra and Sawyer and knew that life was exactly as it should be and as I wanted it to be.

stuff

I have pretty much run out of things to blog about, it's been a fun challenging month of blogging but I'm glad it is nearly done!

I was at the ophthalmologist yesterday and fully expected a second needle-in-the-eye venture. Doc said no, not needed! I went home happy.

My dad had the day off so he drove me the 2+ hours and we had a great time hanging out and talking. My dad and I are rarely short of words when we're together. I love my dad and feel very fortunate and thankful for our relationship. It was nice to hang out with him for a change because it's usually my mom I chat with. That happens simply because it's a mother/daughter thing.

After my appointment we celebrated by thoroughly enjoying a large hamburger and fries with coke for supper at White Spot.

Salsa

We had oodles of scrumptious home-grown tomatoes this year that seemed to all ripen at once. So we decided to make salsa.
After chopping tomatoes, various, peppers and onions we cooked the whole mess up and canned it!

Yum!

Passing Time

I stayed home all day on Tuesday.
It was a cold, grey day and I had no errands to run so hanging out at home seemed like a good idea. I even wore comfy pants all day, did not put on make up and I don't think I brushed my hair. All of those things are highly unusual for me. I puttered around my house all morning and played with my kids. Then Sierra and Sawyer both even gave me the pleasure of some time alone while they napped in the afternoon. And by evening I was going stir crazy.

Wednesday I was out all morning until 1 P.M., Sierra did not nap and yet by the kid's bedtime I was not ready to sell them like I was on Tueday.

Hmmmm.

So today I went out for the sake of going out.
I brought Trevor coffee, found some stuff to buy at Walmart, had coffee with my mom, and made a quick trip to the mall to exchange something. While all of it was good and ate up a huge chunk of my day, what I really wanted was to be with a friend for a warm cup of coffee and a chat. Last year this was far less of a problem but this year two good friends have gone back to work full-time, and one moved away for the year.

Most weeks during the hubbub I call my days I'm wishing I could just be at home, but this week is different. My second eye injection is tomorrow so perhaps I'm subconsciously affected by that. The weather has also suddenly turned colder and with all the leaves gone and everything turning brown the landscape is rather drabs so that could be contributing to my mood too. Maybe it's just one of those days, everyone has those.

Anyway, Sierra refused to nap and I've managed to successfully push her to play alone for the past hour but that is soon to end. I need to motivate myself to tidy up and vacuum (I can't stand dirty floors!) and maybe clean the bathrooms. Supper would also be a good thing to figure out too! Maybe I'll procrastinate and pick up the phone....

Me

For fun, how about some random stuff about me?
Okay, here I go:

1. I've been polluting my mind and watching Young and the Restless on and off, here and there for many years. I'm actually at a point where I've been away for awhile and don't know what's going on. Three or four episodes should remedy that..
2. Peanut butter and sliced bananas on toast are my current breakfast obsession.
3. I'm a total coffee snob - no Folgers or Nabob in this household! (To my friends who serve this to us - it's totally okay, I wouldn't drink it if it wasn't okay!) Oh and I don't think Starbucks is the greatest coffee ever invented. I drink it and like it because my city has limited options in few locations.
4. My occupation and training as an optician makes me a high demand employee again. I'm a sought after person these days as my maternity leave is up in two months. I wish it were my husband and not me in this position. I hate making decisions like this. (more details on this another time)
5. I dream of own a small truck. Perhaps that's the redneck in me.
6. I also dream of owning a vacation home. It can be by a local lake or an exotic beach as long as I can get there often.
7. Popcorn is, hands down, the best snack of all time. I could eat it by the boatload.
8. I've only had remotely short hair twice in my life - when I was 9 and when I was 25 (or so). The second time Trevor was so sad that I didn't dare keep it up.
9. I dream of being able to afford matching bras and underwear - many, many sets!
10. I thought watermelon a really bland, uninteresting fruit to eat for the first 29 years of my life, then I got pregnant with Sierra and now my taste buds do a dance when I eat it!

On The Bottle

It seems that Sawyer has decided that he's had enough of breast feeding.
For a good month now I was only nursing him during his one nightly/early morning wake-up. Then one night last week he didn't even feign interest in me and wailed until I got him a bottle which he promptly drained before going right back to sleep. He did that again a few nights later and now it's been two nights in a row and I think he's decided to go completely on the bottle.

Formula was already his primary form of liquid. I stopped taking my milk enhancing drugs soon after he went on solids and then of course my production went down and so formula entered the picture. I would try nursing him here and there but then the teeth came. Teeth and breast feeding with Sawyer were not a good combination. At night he was too sleepy to practice his new chewing capabilities on my nipples so it wasn't problem.

Now he's decided that bottle is better. I have mixed feelings about the end of this phase. I definitely had a much more positive experience breast feeding Sawyer than with Sierra but I wouldn't say it was the greatest thing in the world for me or anything. Although I would say I enjoyed it for the most part, I did it because it was easy and free and good for Sawyer. Many times it was just a nuisance and I felt merely like a dairy cow.

I suppose it's more what it represents than the actual breast feeding being over. It means that my baby is growing up at lightening speed and I'm not ready for it to be passing so quickly. He's getting more delightful everyday as his personality is increasingly coming through so I don't really wish him to be a newborn again. But the fact he's all baby now and no longer an infant and the fact that I will likely never experience this again is causing me to swallow a little hard.

Carla's Buffet Challenge

Kids have to be the most frustrating beings on this Earth to feed.
My husband may grumble at some of what I make - but he eats it because he didn't have to prepare it.
My parents and in-laws are generally just appreciative of my providing them a meal and aren't that fussy anyway.
My cat gets no choice and doesn't seem to care, he eats what I give him and adds the occasional mouse to his diet. (he's caught 4 since we moved in to this house - ewww!)
Dogs will eat pretty much anything and think it's the most divine culinary creation to ever cross their taste buds. (well my dogs I had while growing up were like that)

My children write a whole different story.
Sierra would exist on pasta and bread if I let her. Oh and chocolate, or anything sweet for that matter. She's a true female! Oh wait, that is what she live on! I wrote this post a year and a half ago and not much has changed except her ability to verbally communicate her dislikes about what I offer her.

Sawyer, to my dismay and while still limited to baby mush, is already showing strong dietary preferences as well. When I offer peas or some other veggie mixtures he will obligingly eat a few spoonfuls before either spitting it at me or clamping his mouth shut or looking around at anything but me and the loaded spoon. It doesn't matter if it's homemade or store bought, he turns his nose up at it. Last week I tried a pasta and veggies combination and he gaped his mouth open like a baby bird in between spoonfuls and nearly polished off an entire jar! Most fruit gets the same response, his cereal is eaten well too. He is also very texture sensitive, the new pasta meals I've been giving him contain tiny bits of noodles and meat that are not pureed and if he feels them in his throat he gags, sometimes until he throws up a bit. He doesn't choke, the bits are far too soft and small, so it doesn't worry me. He just needs to swallow and all would be well.

Meal times take an hour most days.
I prep Sierra's food with all her particulars, I prep mine (usually healthier, with less carbs and more veggies) and while trying to eat my meal run back and forth to meet Sierra's demands. Then I feed Sawyer. It is sooo frustrating and not only does it take a considerable amount of time to make there is also a lot more clean up too.

It feels like a restaurant buffet in my house and I'm the chef!
Yet what else do I do?
My kids have to eat and I do my best to get at least some healthiness into them. (Sneakily I might add but whatever works sometimes) The food Trevor and I occasionally prefer (such as salad and steak) would get the scorn from many kids so for those meals I prep something separate for her. I often try to cook meals that Sierra might enjoy but reading the mind of a three year old?
Ha!

So I spend what feels like a ridiculous amount of time in the kitchen and pray my kids don't suffer malnourishment.

On My Way

Remember on Monday when I listed the things that were making me kinda grumpy and in low self-esteem?
I managed to work my way through that entire list.

I exercised four times.
I ate well most of the time.
My mom and I went for supper Friday evening then we indulged in some retail therapy. I was able to spruce up my wardrobe with five new items and only spent my birthday money! It was also really nice to hang out with mom and no kids.
I got my hair trimmed and coloured on Saturday.

Tomorrow's Monday again - let's see if I can keep up this self-improvement trend!

My Week

(I realized at 10 o'clock last night, while sacked out on the couch watching CSI, that I hadn't posted for the day yet. I really didn't feel like it - so I didn't.)

I have had a great week. I attribute that to a combination of many factors with the main one being the Spirit of God working in my life. A lot of it seems very practical and simple and I can see how people will look at the list and say
"How is that anything spiritual?"
It's a little hard to explain but I believe that the Spirit of God motivated me to do these things and provided me with a positive attitude in spite of some factors that could have been potential downers.

1. I started exercising in the morning again and my body is thanking me rather than complaining. I've done four out of five days this week so far. Activity to start my day is so stimulating and pushes me through the rest of the day both mentally and physically.

2.I've been feeding my body much healthier food. It's amazing how the right fuel achieves higher output!

3.The weather has been fantastic! Warm and sunny - we wore shorts yesterday! Is is really fall? I'd be confused on that one if it weren't for the lack of leaves on the trees.

4. My kids have been in great moods. I'm sure most of that has to do with a happy Mommy. I have been far less irritable with them and been able to exhibit a higher level of patience with their antics. The fact that they've been awake every morning by 7:15 when they used to wait until 8 hasn't angered me - it's extra motivation to work out! And they've allowed me to work out with only minor interruptions. Sierra calling to me repeatedly from her room at bed time or afternoon nap/quiet time hasn't made me want to pull my hair out. I can even say that Sawyer's aggravating 4 A.M. wake up calls haven't infuriated me (but seriously, the kid is 8 months old - JUST GO BACK TO SLEEP BY YOURSELF!!) Overall, I have truly enjoyed my children this week - most of the time.

5. Despite not particularly wanting to watch hockey all three times already this week, I haven't felt at all snarky with it being on. I don't sit and scowl at the TV wishing the ice would crack open and swallow up all the players. Besides, we're paying for it so we might as well watch the games.

6. It's Friday, my house is already clean because we hosted our church Bible study group last night so I can leisurely work through the mountain of laundry and just be at home.

I'm anticipating an equally great weekend.

I hope yours is too!

What I'm Watching

1. Hockey: namely the Vancouver Canucks approximately three times a week. I do enjoy it most of the time, tolerate some of the time, and resent it occasionally.

2. The Event: new this season and is supposed to be "Lost-esque". It is intriguing thus far. I don't find it nearly as vague and abstract as Lost which is a good thing. Lost was irritatingly addicting and yet we never knew anything that was going on! I'll see where this one goes.

3. The Defenders: a couple of lawyers who banter back and forth with each other and of course battle cases. So far it is entertaining, Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connel are an amusing pair.

4. CSI - all of them. I've been watching them since they began and I just can't stop.

5. Survivor: this show annoys me and yet I keep watching it. They make the dumbest voting decisions! I try to remember that TV only airs what they want viewers to see but many times I shake my head at what is going on. Then again, I'm not sleep deprived, starved, and living in the wild with a bunch of strangers so I can't identify with their states of mind - you'll never catch me doing that either!

6. The Amazing Race: not really my favourite. I find the show drags.

7. Bones: this show never fails to make me laugh. It's great! Grisly and disturbing but an enjoyable time.

8. NCIS: Los Angelos: I don't know what to say besides that I find this is simply a good show to take up an hour of my evening. Your usual solve-the-crime-type of show.

9. Hawaii Five-Oh: it's okay. Nothing totally captivating or that unique, some cops catching bad guys. It's good enough.

10. Sister Wives: a polygamous family in Utah. A concept that is totally beyond my understanding and thinking so I'm bizarrely fascinated by it. They seem happy....

Christmas?

One of my Christmas cacti is blooming already. Apparently no one told it that it's two months early. It's the wrong colour for Christmas decor anyway, so I'll enjoy it's beauty now!

Back at 'er!

After having a birthday which was celebrated three times over two weekends in a row and a road trip coupled with Thanksgiving the weekend after that - all of which were filled with inactivity and tons of scrumptious food - I officially decided it was time to get back on the healthy track.

I've also had a rather low self image lately:
I hate my wardrobe,
I'm unhappy with how the clothes I have fit.
I need a hair colour and cut.
I've been eating rather poorly.
Exercise has not been a part of my vocabulary.

Rather than hibernate in my home and mope I decided to do what I could.
My hair - well that's just a matter of getting it done.
There's not a whole lot I can do about what clothes are in my closet because of limited funds.
But I can change my fitness level and better my eating habits which in turn should improve how my current clothes fit. I did my own version of boot camp near the end of June and was liking the results both physically and mentally. Then vacation happened, and summer, and, and, and! My kids and life have changed since then and that is not a realistic method of being helathy right now. What is doable is getting up when Sawyer gets me up at 6:30 or so and working out then. It's not like I'm getting a whole lot more sleep after that anyway so I might as well utilize the time beneficially. For me, eating healthy goes hand in hand with exercise because I don't want to waste the exercise.
I started this morning with a half an hour of cardio and ate really well today and feel pretty good. I hope to keep up the momentum. My goal for weight loss has also changed since summer and I'm hoping for 5 lbs for now.
Here's to success - this time!

Bedtime

"Mommy, come close my toes!" (cover her with her blanky)
"Close your own toes!"
"I can't!!!"

"Mommy, I need another big hug!"
"You've already had 143 hugs, you don't need another one."

"Mommy, sing me another song."
"Daddy, already sang all your bedtime songs."
"I need one more."

"Mommy, I'm hungry."
"You've had pancakes, a muffin, and grapes - none of which you finished, no more."
"I'm still hungry!!"
"You can wait until breakfast."

"Mommy, come blow my nose."
"Blow your own nose!"
"I can't!"
"Yes you can!"
"No I can't."

Sobbing from bedroom.

I finally relent. I sigh and stomp to her room.
I blow her nose and close her toes and give her one more big hug.
"I love you Sierra."
"I love you too Mommy."

Silence.

Ahhh, sleeping.

This and That

We finally had out first hard frost last night - fairly late in the year for these parts! It left the ground a lovely sparkling white and was quite pretty.

Much of me is still not really wanting to let go of summer but as Trevor and I started cleaning up our basement this morning I began feeling ready to move on to inside stuff. We are gung-ho to finish up our basement development. Plus there are many other little bits of inside things that have been ignored all summer that desperately need get accomplished.

We had a plentiful tomato harvest this year and will likely be cooking them up into some fresh homemade salsa. Or else if we run out of time because they are very ripe already we will simply dice them and freeze them. I'm hopeful for the first option!

Of and on I read a name blog called Swistle Baby Names and yesterday the person who was up for help had chosen the name "Sawyer" for her expected girl and was wanting middle name suggestions. Her first name choice sure brought a lot of controversy which resulted in several deleted comments due to impoliteness. I personally can't stand boy names for girl names, especially the one used for my boy that I never imagined being a girls name. However, naming one's child is extremely personal and the child becomes their name and grows on people. I'm sure there are many that turn their noses up at my kids' names. When the Morgan, Jordan, Taylor trend arrived that took some adjusting for me. I went to college with a guy named Stacey and that took awhile but eventually he was Stacey and it felt normal too. I know a couple of Morgans and now it doesn't seem so strange. I admit I had rude thoughts when I first read the post but I put myself in check and did my best to respect another person's tastes. Maybe I should feel flattered that she also likes the name Sawyer - not offended that it's for a girl.

Speaking of names - when I was in grade 5 I thought Roberta the most beautiful name in the world and wished it was my name! I am so glad that I didn't get to name myself at the age of 10.

Hockey season started a little over a week ago. My T.V. watching schedule is now preset for me until June.

My Cuties

I love my kids!

(P.S. That's makeup on Sierra's cheeks, it's blue and she thinks she looks beautiful!)

Old Treasures

I was rummaging around in our disaster of a storage room this morning hunting for something I that just can't seem to find when I came across a box labeled "Carla's" in my mom's writing. On the top I spied an old Barbie-type doll of mine and decided to bring the box up for Sierra (and myself of course) to discover.

Join me down memory lane:

Left is Bethany Rosetta - my only Cabbage Patch doll that my parents fought people to buy!
Middle is Kelly - my first and favourite doll.
Right - can't remember this one's name but she's what was called a "My Child" doll.

My mom sewed all these clothes for Bethany. I'm amazed at the skill she had and the detail that went into these! (she doesn't sew these days)

The blue bunting bag was hand made by my grandma.

You can't see it in this picture but the pink pants on the left have little flower stitching along the pockets and a zipper seam sewed in!
I made the cape on top, you can tell, it doesn't match the caliber of the other items!

Doesn't she just scream '80's? I loved her outfit!

Don't I look accomplished with all these?
Yeah, whatever.
Left to Right: Two academic medals of some sort from grades 7 & 8
Canada fitness badges, physical tests we had to go through at the end of each school year grades 1-6 (sit-ups, push-ups, endurance running, sprinting etc.)
Swimming lesson badges.
Gymnastics badges.
Bronze and Gold for playing ping-pong in the summer games. I won the bronze out of only three competitors and was for the singles division, the gold was doubles and there was only one other team, I think I was 11.
The green ribbon was grade 9 track, the relay. We only got forth because one team member neglected to eat lunch and nearly passed out. I remember being so ticked because we totally had the number one spot!
The red and blue ribbons were for our local fair where I entered carrots or potatoes or something that I'd grown in my own little corner of my parents garden.

Family Matters

Great-Grandpa - Opa - holding "Little Henry" (Opa is one of the people Sawyer is named for), feeding him ice cream and only letting him go to play with Sierra or when Sawyer had enough and wanted mom.

Great-Grandma - Oma - singing Sawyer to sleep. She still has the touch - 10 younger siblings will give you that!

Great-Uncle Randy getting on the floor and playing toys with Sierra.

Great-Aunt Anita spoiling Sierra as much as her grandmas do with gifts and special treats. Sierra snuggled with her on the couch watching 'Dennis The Menace' movie on afternoon.

Cousin Matt trying his best to befriend Sierra, she didn't run away but still wasn't so sure of him.

Cousin Sabrina getting huge points when she and I took Sierra to the park.

Second Cousins Shayla (almost 5) and Ceili (3) having a hoot with Sierra and were enamored with Sawyer.

Going to a small country church and observing that the bottom two of four rows of mailboxes have the family last name. Every other person was a relative!

We had a fantastic three days in Winnipeg visiting with Trevor's family, some of mine, and some great friends!

Zoo Day

(Yesterday's post somehow did not get published-go check it out!)

With the mind consuming issue regarding my eye that occurred at the beginning of September I totally forgot about a delightful highlight from that day.
We took our kids to the zoo.
Sierra was thrilled to meet Bob the monkey, Nirmy the elephant and Fox the zebra. No, those aren't actually the names of the animals there. Trevor tells Sierra original bedtime stories with those such characters. It added an extra element of excitement for her to meet the figments of Trevor's imagination. She was especially stoked at meeting Nirmy the elephant.

Kids sure do add a fun outlook on life!


She wasn't so sure about the snakes!


Sawyer contentedly rode in the Snuggli on my back and here he is actually snoozing. Clearly, he was ethralled!

It's too bad such a lovely outing was shadowed by my gimp eye but it's a good thing we have pictures as happy reminders!

Attack of the Birds

It was late last night when we returned to Trevor's aunt and uncle's house - the place we are staying on this little/long trip. The kids were both sleeping so we carefully gathered all our things and gently lifted them out of the van and walked toward the house. I was ahead of Trevor and had Sawyer.

A bird began to fly around the porch light as I neared the door.

Then another one appeared.

All of sudden there were approximately fifteen of them flying around like they were buzzed out on drugs!

At that point I was committed to going so I emitted a little shriek, ducked my head and ran, opened the door and raced in. As I shut the door I heard a bird smack into it and saw it fall to the ground through the window. Then I turned around and lo and behold a bird had flown into the house and was flying down the hall! Thankfully it simply perched itself on a cabinet at the end and just stared at us.

Great!

Now what?

Meanwhile Trevor was carrying Sierra who'd had a conniption at the sight of those crazed out birds. He ended up coming through the garage door to avoid the melee. We both zipped down the hall to our rooms, upsetting the bird again. (There is nothing quite like having a bird zooming by your head!) By this time the commotion had fully aroused our kids so I worked on getting a terrified Sierra settled down while Trevor dealt with the lost bird. He managed to heard the bird into the garage where it stayed until morning.

This morning - aside from the bird in the garage - there was no sign of a bird anywhere near the front door!

Strange.

Speaking of birds - it's Canadian Thanksgiving today and I was attacked by another bird. This one was dead and all it assaulted were my taste buds and stomach! Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Straight

My hair straightener that I'd had for many years finally kicked the bucket recently. I guess it got mad at me for dropping it and heaving it unceremoniously into the cupboard repeatedly.
It broke.
My awesome hairdresser got me a new one from her supplier for basically her cost and it is fabulous! It's called a "Love Your Hair Pro". My hair slides through much easier than my old one and leaves it nice and smooth.
I'm blessed with a wave that either takes product and work to bring it out, or product and work to combat it.
Good product and good tools are the key.

Driving

(Sorry I'm a day late with this one. The post was typed but there was no access to internet.)

5:00 A.M. Alarm goes off. Carla moans and curses knowing it’s not just a quick Sawyer feeding that is waking her up.


5:35 A.M. On the road - only five minutes later than planned. Pretty good with two kids!

5:55 A.M. Sierra declares her need for a bathroom. We try to explain that she just went, after we woke her up, apparently she was still sleeping and has no recollection of the act. We stop in order for her to produce a mere dribble. I explain that she better push all her pee out now because it is going to be a long while before the next potty.

6:30 A.M., Carla is asleep. Sawyer is also back in slumber mode. Sierra on the other hand is watching the sky begin to lighten.

7:30 A M. First DVD

7:45 A.M. Second DVD

7:55 A.M. Third DVD - Carla has had enough of this game and says no more DVDs!!! Apparently Sierra is excited by all her options and was hoping to view them all at once. Carla on the other hand has to crank her head back and contort her body every time a DVD needs switching.

9:20 A.M : Breakfast at McD’s. The food was stellar (insert sarcasm here). Sierra turns her nose up at all options and ends up getting toast from A&W.

10:05 A.M. Back on the road. Carla spends the next half an hour switching DVD’s, fetching drinks and snacks for Sierra, and retrieving Sawyers toys from the floor. Carla feels like she’s had a work out for the circus and says “ENOUGH!!” Everyone goes to sleep except Trevor - who’s driving.

12:15P.M. - We reached the half way point and stop for lunch.

1 P.M. Back on the road Carla is sitting in the back of the mini-van and entertaining Sawyer. It must suck to sit backwards and stare at the back of a car seat.

7:00 P.M. - We are just over a half and hour from our destination. Sawyer is finally asleep having only slept about forty minutes since noon when he normally sleeps a good two plus hours. He was G-R-U-M-P-Y!! My body is very sore from all the acrobats I’ve done today climbing from the front to the back to the front again, from picking up many a dropped items and providing various snacks and DVDs etc. Sierra somehow managed to poop in her underwear as well which we discovered at the last rest stop. Nice. She was farting away for awhile there and apparently more than air was coming out. She’s three, stuff happens with three-year-olds. The timing sucked though. Overall she has been a good little traveler, very little complaining and her demands haven’t been too great. She has only slept a half an hour since waking up this morning so I’m not sure how she is functioning. We’ll likely pay tomorrow!
Anyway. I’m glad to say we are safe and mostly unscathed - Sawyer may resent his car seat - and us - after this trip but he’ll survive! I’m signing off now, we are obviously really close as we’re driving on the signature bump, bump, bump of Winnipeg roads and I can barely see my shaking screen.

Prepping

It's eight A.M. and all I want to do is go back to snoreland. Unfortunately there is a list full of tasks that I need to get done today. It trails from my hands across the floor and into the hall . I have kids so I'd be awake anyway list or no list, but maybe I wouldn't feel so tired if I didn't know I had so much to do. I see a big cup of steaming coffee in my near future.

I had a terrible kid day yesterday and managed to accomplish exactly nothing, hence my stress so early this morning. Tomorrow we are leaving for five days to Winnipeg and I need to pack up my house and fit it into our van because, you know, we need everything.
Bah!

Later: The check marks are increasing and my stress is decreasing!! Yay to my grandma for taking Sierra this morning, Sawyer for napping this morning and both kids for napping now.

Party Time

I love a party.
I love to celebrate.
I take after my Opa that way.
I don't care who or what we're celebrating I love any excuse for a party.
Not a bring-a-keg-in-and-invite-the-whole-town-to-get-sloshed kind of party but a more civilized, calm kind of party.

My birthday was on September 25 and in my family birthdays last a week. On my actual birthday Trevor and I went out for dinner and then this past Friday we had some friends over for a gourmet pizza party.
It was so much fun to plan and prepare and we had a grand time. Trevor and I made the dough and sauce from scratch and assembled the pizza's ourselves.
We ate:
Caesar Salad
Three Cheese (Parmesan, Mozzarella and Gorgonzola) Spinach Pizza
Calebrese Potato Provolone Pizza
Mushroom Fontina Pizza

Chardonnay White and Chianti Red to compliment.

Of course cake - a decadent homemade one from a friend - for dessert!

Shane O'Brien

Who?
I know you are all asking and insanely curious to know.
He is a hockey player who, until today, played for the Vancouver Canucks, (Trevor's favourite team) and is greatly disliked by Trevor.
"A brainless thug of a player who takes penalties at the most inopportune times because he has no brain!!!" (Trevor)
Every time we watched a game - which was two or three times a week - the incessant complaining and groaning over the brainless acts committed by a certain Shane O'Brien were heard by me.
I put up with them because that is what this wife does when it comes to hockey. Puts up with it or be banished forever. Actually, I quite enjoy it most of the time. The game that is, not Trevor's moaning over the antics of a certain player short of a brain.
Anyway, Mr. O'Brien, was picked up by another team today and there has been much cheering.
Trevor, because, well I think the reason is obvious.
Me, because now I don't have to listen to the wretching and whining!

P.S. I was stuck on what to blog about this evening and asked Trevor - hence a post on Shane O'Brien! Sorry.

Summer - Finally!

The last two weeks have been incredibly warm and beautiful - almost making up for the summer that barely arrived! Yesterday we took a spontaneous day trip with my parents to Waterton Lakes National Park.

First we stopped by the river for a picnic lunch. Sierra and my dad threw rocks while the rest of us prepared the grub.


Wildlife decided to make an appearance on the other side of the river. We warily watched him (her?) amble down the banks, wade across the river, give us a look and continue on up stream. Phew!
We were primed and ready to heave the kids and ourselves into the van if he took even one step towards us.

Sierra worked on her endless energy source:
at the park....

...throwing leaves and more rocks into the lake.
...eating ice cream to refuel (no pic)

...walking along the lake and 'crunching' and kicking up leaves.

It was a fantastic day!

Corny

Sierra's first try at corn on the cob!
She chomped away on it and asked for more.

She Won!

As fast as it arrived, this unwelcomed cold is also exiting in a timely fashion. I feel mostly clear headed this morning and not like all I want to do is crawl back in bed. In fact, since Sawyer actually slept until 7:45 (Hallelujah!) I got up with the kids this fine Saturday morning and am allowing Trevor to sleep in -something he hasn't done in well over a month. I figure that since I get an interrupted sleep thanks to one child or another all week that I'm entitled to sleep in on Saturday mornings. So when Sierra comes into tripping into our room and says
"Time to wake up!"
I burrow myself under the covers and pretend I've lost me hearing.

But I was feeling nice this morning.

A few weeks ago my mom saw a colouring contest in our local newspaper for tickets to the
"Max and Ruby" show that was coming to town. Sierra happened to be visiting that evening and with her 3 year old artistic abilities she carefully coloured the picture. Granny sent it in and lo and behold Sierra won.
She got 4 tickets to the show, 3 books and a DVD. I had the pleasure of taking her to the show The acting and sound quality definitely left something to be desired but Sierra loved it and it was fun to be there with her.

Daily

I can't believe I signed up to blog every day for this month of October with NaBloWriMo. Especially since we plan to be away for three weekends, one of which will be a five day weekend. (Is that really a weekend then?)
I'm not sure what kind of posts you are going to get. There will likely be many posts on my kids because, quite frankly, they are a lot more interesting than me and what else is there to my life these days? I may put up random pictures of nothing or talk about the fabulous bottle of wine we drank last weekend.
Truth be told, it is Thursday evening - not quite October - as I type, and I have a least one more post ready and waiting to be revealed, and many others on the forefront of my mind. So I'm optimistic regarding the success of this venture. I'm also spooning a bowl of Lipton chicken noodle soup into my mouth. My nose is packed full of snot, my ears are full of cotton balls, and there are knives in my throat. I'm sick. Since it is very likely that my sense of logic is severely compromised, my thoughts of success may disappear into a ball of snotty Kleenex when I'm better.
My parents have the kids, Trevor's out, and I have the house to myself to wallow in my germs. It's quite a downer to have the house entirely to myself for once and not really be able to languish in it.
Anyway, I hope this month doesn't become too monotonous and that you all stay with me!