Will Anyone Notice?

I'm posting on my blog again. Will anyone notice? Will anyone cheer? Or will they say, "we know this won't last, it will be another year before she posts again..."

I just wanted to take a few moments out of my life and write down some words for posterity. Yesterday was Christmas. I spent time with some of my favourite people of all time. I have two wonderful parents, a Dad who gave me advice on both my twitching eye (too much stress) and Jericho's wart (keep it clean!). As well as a Mom who goes out of her way each and every day for everyone she cares about. I also have 4 siblings and 2 (almost 3) adopted siblings. They are the loudest people in the entire world. People joke that they can hear my Dad laugh in China, but sometimes I think they really can! There is plenty of teasing, but there is love there too. My nieces and nephews make my heart overflow. They are all lovely. I can see the various personalities emerging and the life-long friendships develop. Together, with help from their Moms & auntie's, they performed the nativity for all of us. They are all amazing little people.

My Grandma & Nana were both there as well. I had to take a few moments to consider how much longer they each will be with us, to cherish them.

There was even a moment where I found a note my cousin had written to my Mom in this memory book we did for her 50th birthday. She wrote a long note about how she marvelled at my Mom's ability to care for 5 children when she was realizing that even one had it's challenges. But at one point in the note, she said something along the lines of only being able to hope that she would reach 50. She passed away in 2009. Life is so short.

As 2011 draws to a close and I look back at my goals and dreams that I conjured up in ending of 2010, I wonder if maybe I didn't think big enough. I had wanted to save money, to exercise, to spend more time with those I love.... but I think the more important dream, the one I should have for this upcoming year - is to cherish. I'm now older than Rebekah was when she went to be with Jesus, and it makes me realize that every day is sacred, a gift.

My prayer for 2012 is that I can work more on my legacy. What is it I want to leave my children with? What will they remember of my character, my integrity? Will they know I valued my faith? Will they know I hold them so dear? Will my husband know how much my heart aches when I think of how much I love him? Do my friends know how their encouragement and love is what not only keeps me going, but how it makes me want to soar? My family, do they know how much I really care?

xoxo 2011, you've been good... even if I didn't write about you much.

Yogurt & Sickness

Last week was Nate's Whitehorse work week. It was one of the harder weeks I've endured. The day before he left, we realized that Jericho had a bad ear infection. He missed two days of preschool. Somewhere in there Malachi also became sick. During the day, they were pretty good and I did give them medication throughout the day, but at night it was a nightmare. They would each wake up a few times and I'm the type of person that has a hard time falling back to sleep. By Thursday I figured I had had about 30 hours of sleep since the ear infection diagnosis. I was miserable.

I also became quite the hermit. The thought of leaving the house while incredibly exhausted was not appealing in any fashion whatsoever. Sunday, I stayed home.. Monday, I stayed home.. Tuesday & Wednesday were the same. I spent 5 days straight at home. I was surviving. My parents took us out for lunch on Thursday and Jericho finally made it to preschool on Friday. Rachael had us for dinner on Friday night and my Dad took Jericho for the whole day on Saturday. Had it not been for those bright spots in my week I think I would have gone crazy! I'm blessed to have people who are here to take care of me! Sunday was difficult and I counted down the hours until FINALLY he was home! At one point after he had arrived, I just grabbed his arm and hugged him. He commented that he was still wet from the bathtub but I really didn't care. I was elated.

Yesterday was quite another story and I'm not sure if it was due to Nate's arrival or the welcoming arrival of health. Jericho was off to preschool and we had a dental appointment planned for afterwards. Around 11 am I received an email that twins plus, a local talent agency that we dealt with when Jericho was in the Westjet commercial, was hoping to have the boys come and audition for a yogurt commercial at 4 pm. I went for it. We needed an adventure badly. So not only did my #1 son gladly take the hand of his dental hygienist and go ALONE into his appointment, but they both GLADLY went separately into their auditions.

Jericho was in for about 2 minutes, but they had Malachi in that room for at least five. When I asked Jer what it was all about he didn't remember anything. It was the little one who told me all about pretending to be a train, airplane, and dinosaur. Callbacks are Wednesday and though it would be great for either of them to be in a yogurt commercial, I am proud of them simply for being so good! It was a fun day and they had a great time.

Today I had hoped to go to MOMS, a local group that meets Tuesday mornings. But the boys (and I) all woke up miserable once again. My Nana also was going to come over this afternoon and make a few loaves of bread with me, but I would feel terrible if we got her sick!

So that's been me lately... not a very uplifting post. I just finished typing that as Nana called and encouraged me. She prayed that we would all get better soon and that she misses and loves us. How can I let the clouds come in when I've just had all this sunshine?

Projects

My sister recently started writing in her blog again as well, but she's on a slightly different journey. She's making her own almond milk, almond butter and has eliminated all processed foods from her family's diet. She's also going to be planting her own garden and raising her own meats.

That's not my project, not something I feel passionate about, but power to her. I love making things from scratch, and there are so many more things I'd love to start making more of! We've done homemade pasta a few times and there's nothing like it! So yummy : ) But I'd like to start making whole wheat - just changing up my flour in a bunch of recipes.

She's started this project to save money, which is something I'm also working on. I saved all my grocery receipts from December and have started tracking my spending. I did up an excel spreadsheet for the month and entered the date, store, amount spent in total, savings made, and amount spent on miscellaneous items. Now my goal is to spend a little less each month. It's pretty easy to spend less in January than you did in December, but I was shocked to see how little I spent on gifts from the grocery store! Mostly because I purchased most of Nate's gifts online and we visited Toy Traders for the boys Christmas gifts. Plus my family did not exchange gifts at all this year, not even with the kids so we saved a tonne. We sent gifts to our nieces on Nate's side, but used Discovery Toys I know they will LOVE!

So here's to one of my 2011 goals: Get addicted to saving money!

Some others:

Spend more time with friends and family.

Make sure my husband and son's know how important they are to me

Exercise more (I know, SO original!)

Become a Team Leader with Discovery Toys by June 30th

Spend an hour each week improving organizational systems (which at this point, do not exist!)

xoxo

2011 - The Year of the Blog?

I apologize. I've become one of those lame bloggers who find other things to do besides post. I have to admit it was very difficult to remember what had transpired in the later months of 2010 without sneaking a few winsome looks at my neglected blog.

There was a time in my life where I posted weekly, sometimes daily... but I promise to try and keep it up this year. I don't mind getting nudged once in awhile as a sweet little reminder.

My life has become consumed with Motherhood and all that entails. I no longer work in an office. I miss some aspects of it, such as the social time I had with my Sister-in-law.. but I do love being home and having such a flexible schedule. I've struggled with finding a balance between housework, interacting with the boys, doing work with Discovery Toys, and planning my social life. My new years resolution is to work more on that last one. I do have a tendency to be a little like a hermit. I love being home and in the warm house. I love not having to drive anywhere or do anything. But I've also realized that it's detrimental to my well-being to not be with my friends and family. So please help me out, email me or call me and let's arrange a playdate or girls night : )

However, there has been a marked improvement in my ability to take care of my home. It may have to do with the hermit tendencies, but it's ok. My entire married life I have been beaten to a housewife gold medal by my husband. He does laundry, he cooks, he cleans, etc. NO MORE. Today I made pulled pork with buns made from scratch. I also folded 4 loads of laundry, took the boys to swimming lessons, cleaned the kitchen 3 times, vacuumed, and swept the floor twice. I hardly recognize myself friends. But I'm loving it.

The boys are growing like the proverbial weeds. Jericho brings joy to my soul. Today at swimming lessons, he left his class and came over to where Malachi and I were in the kiddie pool and gave me the biggest hug before running back to his frustrated teacher. Yes, I want him to listen, but I can't help but smile when he's so sweet. He still says the funniest things, but he's more into questions about Santa Claus, God and "Why boys can't have babies." I can foresee many a time this boy will send me to Google or my Dad trying to track down the answer to the most random question. But he's curious and he loves me.

Malachi has changed so much. He still gives me the best snuggles, but he must be the most determined child I have ever met. When I married Nate, my Mother-in-law told me that Nate was a very determined child. I think she was wishing me luck... but when she babysat the boys for us in September, she made sure I knew that Malachi was much worse! The best way to explain him is that he is impossible to manipulate. Bribery and other naughty parental habits do not work on this boy. I have to interject here and make sure my sweet son's reputation is not tarnished by this post. I am lucky he is a very good boy and most of the time WANTS to listen and obey. But when he doesn't want to eat, or won't clean up his toys, or refuses to be kind... He Is Impossible.

They both can verbally spell their names and Jericho is having fun learning to write various letters in his. He just has some trouble remembering the order, it is long after all. But I'm refusing to cave into the pressures of academics. He is 4 years old. We are working on it, but it's not that important to me yet. Maybe by the end of this month we'll have it down.

Jericho is incredibly imaginative and loves to paint. Malachi learns songs very quickly and they can stay in his head (and in turn, all of our heads!) for weeks.

Nate is working hard and enjoys spending time with the boys when he's around. On the 30th of last month he took them to the theatre for the first time while I took down the Christmas tree. Yes, you read that right... I don't know what's wrong with me : )

Hopefully you'll hear from me again soon!

xoxo

My Mothers Day

Today was MY Mother's Day. There are a few reasons why we decided to celebrate today, but mostly just because there is simply too many things going on tomorrow. But I ended up with a great day. The first thing I heard as I was still in the throes of sleep this morning was, "Daddy! Are you ready?" It was Jericho. I knew that there was some fun adventures afoot. Especially for Nate. I heard them quickly get dressed and wake up Kai and it was a plethora of fun and interesting sounds for about 20 minutes. My husband was kind and took several pictures of them putting together an amazing breakfast for me. I loved it.

The look on their faces as they presented me with a fine feast was priceless. They love me, they really really love me! It was so cute. There's something about someone making you breakfast in bed that just brings joy to a soul. It kept a smile on my face for most of the day.

About 3 minutes later, Malachi knocked over my coffee.

Then they took me to the mall and bought me some new shirts! The boys were bored and kept asking for the real "Benture" to start. We then went to a local park and I even went down the pole. I'm telling you, it was a CRAZY day : )

In the end we went to Costco and then off to Rachaels for a farewell party for Kevin. It was a pretty great day, but now I am so exhausted! Nate's just left to pick up his brother so I'm off to bed.

Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Lots of Milestones!

The boys are growing so fast! This week was full of firsts, especially for my little Malachi. I've been thinking for a few weeks how much I wanted to potty train him, but kept telling myself that he was still young and not to push it. With Jericho I pushed and he wasn't ready. On Monday morning we woke up and I asked him if he wanted to try underwear. He's worn them off and on without much success, but I told him he could get treats for keeping them clean and dry, as well as for going on the potty. I then left for work : )

I didn't have very high hopes for the process. I figured he would be back in diapers by the time I returned home for lunch. Imagine my surprise when I find out he didn't want to go back and had amazing success! I decided we weren't going back. So long diapers! Bye-bye change table! Wow, you have no idea how great that feels! He's done so good. Two accidents today and only after supper. I think he was tired, and the one time he was outside having fun.

We decided to purchase a bunk bed for the boys while we were out on Saturday. We've been trying to figure out what would work best, but the selling point was Jericho remembering how much fun he had in the bunk bed in Thailand. He insisted that we should buy them a 'ladder bed'. It was a good deal and there was a sale on the mattresses - so we got the nice ones that enabled them to sleep in this morning!

I was out the first night they went to sleep in them, but apparently they were so excited that sleep came quickly. Tonight they both came running out and said they had heard a noise, but once I told them the door would be closed once they came out again that was it.

I'm proud of them. Proud that Kai is excited about wearing underwear and breezing through potty training like a champ. I'm proud of Jericho for sleeping in the top bunk, I'm proud that he cheers his brothers progress... I'm just proud.

Jericho's been into telling 'knock knock' jokes lately, anyone have some good ones for me to pass on?

Thailand 2010

It seems like just a few short months ago we received a phone call from my sister-in-law that her and her boyfriend were going to be married. We actually heard lots of big news that day. Not only were they getting married, but they were expecting their first child together! Matt & Christa also told us about their impending arrival that day as well. That day is etched in my mind for good reason, I get excited about hearing about new babies & weddings!

As the planning for this wedding progressed, it came to pass that the affair would take place about 11,000 kilometres away in a place that I honestly had no desire to visit. Thailand. It scared the crap out of me. I tried endlessly to convince my husband to leave the children at home. There were just too many variables I couldn't count on and I wasn't sure what to do. In the end he convinced me that the best place for them is where we are, especially since his sister asked if they could possibly be in the wedding! The thought of having them perform ring bearers duties for the first time was quite a draw for me, surprisingly.

I decided it wouldn't be so bad if I could do as much smart preparation as possible. We talked of Thailand with the boys often. They knew we were going to ride elephants. They knew we were going to go on a long, long, long airplane ride. They knew who was going to come with us - several family members they don't see enough of... I read books of all sorts on travelling with toddlers/children/crazy boys. I learned about new products, about the wisdom of drugging my children, etc. I was inundated with information I hoped was helpful. Basically I worked hard at having an idea of what I was up against. I even went on the radio and talked to Claire Newell about it. She told me to 1. Leave the kids at home and 2. Bring everything but the kitchen sink. Claire was partly wrong.

We parred down. We brought no sling, carrier, stroller, carseats, playpen, or large toys. I was happy not to have an infant to be able to get away with that - and honestly we didn't miss any of it! Walking through the airport was almost a breeze. The boys each had those nasty backpack leashes which I detest, but they felt necessary. I felt good each time we went through security and never felt like I held up the line, or that the process of going through was a pain. I just put our carry-ons up, took each backpack off each child and walked right through. Amazing! My father-in-law had more trouble, but he has a system : )

I guess what I'm trying to say is at the end of reading all I did and experiencing what I already had previously, I tried to pack smart and prepare smart. Some would think it would be better to bring everything in case you needed it, not so. We found it was so much easier to travel with less and if we needed something, we would just buy it there or rent it - especially since everything was so cheap!

The preparation majorly paid off! As we landed in Hong Kong after a 13.5 hour flight, my lovely 3 year old son turned to his Daddy and said, "Thank-you Daddy for taking me on this airplane ride!" He was honestly happy as a lark to be up there. I never heard him cry. Malachi cried for about 20 minutes the whole flight. Other than that they played, watched DVD's, played on Daddy's iTouch, went for walks, and slept. I have never experienced a better flight with them. NEVER. And they've been to Ontario (2x), Minnesota, Hawaii, & Mexico.

Once we were actually in Thailand, it was easy to get into vacation mode. The first few days in Koh Samui I never left the resort. I stayed by the pool, by the beach, and in the beautiful air conditioned villa. I loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat, but this time I would work harder to convince Nate to leave the boys at home! As good as they were, and as much as I agreed in the end that it was a good decision to bring them.. When I got back home I felt like I needed "Nate time" We were constantly taking turns with the boys doing this or that and I just missed him in the end. Of the whole 2 and a half weeks we were away, Nate and I went out for dinner once. That was mainly our choice. My in-laws likely will never get a chance like that to visit Thailand again. I didn't want them watching the boys. I wanted them to enjoy their vacation and enjoy spending time with their own children.

I will say I haven't slept like that in ages. There was only one night that Nate & I were up past 11 - save for late night flights - other than that we were early to bed and late to get up. We actually might buy a new bed, king size : )

The boys were the best ring bearers.. if you know of anyone looking for two beautiful boys to walk down the aisle on that special day - seriously!! They wore their matching black short suits with vests, held hands, waved to the guests and excitedly strolled in bare feet in the sand. I was so proud to call them mine.

Thailand to me was serenely gorgeous. She was familiar, but vastly different from anywhere I've ever visited. She was friendly, but sometimes for the wrong reasons. The food was outstanding, and it created a hunger for more authentic Thai dishes once I was home. Thailand may have been a place I never intended to visit, but it became a dream I couldn't seem to wake from.

I have to thank my sister in law. Without her, I don't know if I ever would have decided to take a chance on visiting this place that now I have so many fun memories of. My kids now have pictures of themselves holding a baby Tiger, of riding an elephant, and of a ride on a tuk-tuk not to be forgotten.

The pictures really don't do it justice, but I'll try.

400th Post!

400 posts ago, I was excited to be expecting my first child 4 years ago. To say that 'time flies' seems like a vast understatement. Sometimes I just want to grab hold of a moment and never let it go. I adore my two little boys and spending time with them, just cuddling and reading... playing with trains or pretending to be lions. The laughter that emanates from this home while I run with Kai and chase Jericho is soul-soothing. My kids love to have fun and they love their Mommy. I knew today was going to be a great day when I woke up to Jericho saying "Mommy, you are the best Mommy in the whole world!" I don't know about that, but I like that he thinks so.

Nate and I went to try and experience some of the Winter Olympic excitement for Valentines Day and headed to Vancouver. On the way there we realized it was our 7th Valentines day together. Our very first February 14th I believe was spent walking the beach in White Rock. We'd only been dating for one month and 2 days and were in that blissful in love stage. We're still very much in love, but it's so different. It's like learning as much as you can about a person in 7 years and realizing that the more you know, the more you know you just can't be without him or her. Nate is awesome. People who know him well, know that he cares deeply, lives fully, and laughs often. That was a big sidebar... Anyway, we ended up in Vancouver and were able to celebrate with thousands of excited Canadians as we won our very first gold medal while being a host Olympic nation! It was electric! We happily just walked around and took in as much as we could in 4 hours. Nina was home with the boys, which was so nice of her. : )

I've been trying to get as much 'stuff' together for our Thailand departure, leaving in exactly 8 days. Last night I was able to pack up most of the boys clothing and toys. I'm having trouble deciding which bags/suitcases/backpacks to use for carry-ons. Once I decide that I can start adding or subtracting the stockpiled items. I have sticker books, DVD's, a travel pack from Aunt Noelene for toddlers, crayons, wipe clean dry erase books, sticky notes, and some little toy animals. There's plenty of random stuff that I just can't remember at this point, but basically I have a lot. I've tried to think strategically - I don't want to bring EVERYTHING. There will be things I can get there if I need them.

Tonight, as I listen to Kai crying almost 2 hours after he went to bed - still hasn't fallen asleep yet - I rest. I relax and just watch the Olympics and try not to think about everything I still have yet to do. I'm tired and have a number of things to get done at work this week as well. So I'd rather just not think and allow my brain to turn to mush.

A final thought: If you are wanting to delete friends on Facebook, don't ask people to send you a message or change your status to, "If you want to still be my friend, comment on this status." It's a new pet peeve. For one, some of the settings on FB don't allow you to see all your friends status's. Also, if you want to delete someone - don't delete them just for not responding to a status like that. Sorry for the rant, it doesn't apply to anyone who reads this. You faithful few I hold dear. : )

Criminal Minds

I am watching the last episode of Season 2 with my husband. Officially hooked. I gave him the first 3 Seasons for Christmas and now we watch them together late at night when really, we should be sleeping!!!

From Jericho & Malachi

We're going to be ringbearers in 39 days : )

How do you like our outfits, Mommy found them on ebay.

January 22, 2010

Today was nuts.

I woke up, I made breakfast, showered with a child, waited for the babysitter, kissed my husband, left for work, decided which task was most important, chose wrong, went to the notary, finished a few ROE's for laid-off employees, had lunch with my kids & niece, changed a diaper, back to work to try and complete the largest task of the day, got yelled at, yelled back, saw Nicole, realized I should have hugged Nicole, talked to Nate on the phone, talked to an idiot on the phone, made plans for the evening, received several text messages, didn't respond to all of them, gave hi-fives to Christa when largest task was finally completed, got home at 4:30 pm, hugged the boys, kissed the boys, decided not to go to Curves until tomorrow, sent Nate for groceries for dinner guest, received a phone call to expect 3 instead of one guest, tried to let Nate know and was unsuccessful, helped make dinner, had company, ate too much, had dessert, decided yet again to go to Curves tomorrow, took fun pictures of the boys jumping on the couch, made sure everyone avoided injury, gave out night-night kisses, and then sat down to computer time.

It looks even shorter than it felt.

I'm still here

Life has become crazy. I am in the midst of planning to cart two children off to South Asia while the rest of my city will be embroiled in the middle of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I also finished off year end for my work, working on letting everyone about my Discovery Toys sale, and trying to spend as much time with the boys as I can.

I've had a few emotional moments these last few weeks just thinking about them. I adore them. They bring me so much joy, but I struggle with my decisions as of late. Do I really want to be working so much when they are at such a fragile age? Especially now that my office has moved from out of my home, I find I miss them that much more. I've cried a few times about it, but I also know that when I'm home all the time they drive me completely nuts and this time apart has made me realize how nuts I am about them both. Something about absence and growing fonder? I guess I just need to really think about these next few months and how important is it for me to be working? I've always thought I would be a stay-at-home Mom and for the most part I think I am. I sometimes forget that I'm gone for about 20 hours on average per week not being with them. I do enjoy working, for the most part... which is what I think most people would say. I've learned a lot and come to realize that I'm pretty good at what I do.

As for planning for our trip, things are really coming together. I've tried to think strategically about what I'll spend our money on. I've rented CARES, these fancy straps that you can bring onto the airline instead of lugging around carseats. That saves some frustration. I also booked flights from YVR to Bangkok with a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong right at bedtime Hong Kong time. I'm figuring (fingers crossed here people!!) that by the time we complete our 14 hour flight to HK, everyone in my little group will be exhausted. It seemed to make sense to try and get caught up on some sleep and try and eliminate some jet lag. I rented a hotel RIGHT next to the airport, even though it's the MARRIOTT and a little more than I'd like to spend.

Thinking about everything should make me freak out and get stressed, but for the most part I'm just excited to go and hang out at the beach, play with the boys in the sand... oh - and go to a wedding! The boys have their matching short suits on the way - purchased on ebay. As soon as they arrive I'll have to post pictures.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me for things I should keep in mind, or bring along on our adventure?

Blog Fast

Don't worry, the title does not refer to my future blogging tendencies. It's only a nod to the fact that I've been lame lately in updating my life on here. To say it's been a crazy month and a half would be a harsh understatement.

There was Jericho's 3rd birthday, which was fun. I had struggled with whether or not to invite his entire preschool class or not. I decided on the not. We chose one little GIRL from class to invite and her name is Chelsey. Apparently he likes how she plays nicely with him. We also had Tasia, Cameron, Josh, Malachi, Daveigh, & Rachel. I was happy with how everyone played well together and there weren't any meltdowns. Maybe next year.

Also, Nate's been away a few times since I blogged last. I was finding it easier each time he went to deal with the boys and life on my own, but this last trip was incredibly difficult. The boys were sick, I was over-tired and trying to take on too much. My dad even called Nate to let him know that I really, really missed him.

Another update on our life is the addition of a family member. My sister had a baby girl on November 30th and they named her Nya. She's utterly beautiful. I've only held her once due to the illness that has been plaguing my family and I'm going through withdrawl.

Besides the sickness that really I don't want to talk about at all - the boys have been wonderful lately. I'm enjoying this stage of life with them, where they are beginning to get very independent and wanting to try things themselves. They are also having some really fun moments where they imagine driving a bus in a cardboard box together, or they play hide-n-seek or they spend time just playing with the trains, until they want the same one, that is.

Malachi adores his big brother. Anything Jericho is playing with, he wants to do it too. He wants to be just like him and do certain things he may not quite be ready for. Like go to preschool, be potty trained (which we have started on with some success), and wave goodbye to his naptime. The most interesting thing I've noticed about my second son, however is his extreme devotion to independence. If, for example, I have been a nice Mommy and given him a nicely peeled and sectioned orange, he will freak. He will completely refuse to eat it. Not happening. He must be allowed the opportunity to peel said orange on his own - COMPLETELY, and since he has trouble with the sectioning part, he MUST eat it like you would an apple. Any veering off from this plan of his on my part and watch out.

They both are into painting lately. We have some Chinet plates that we squirt paint into and they either get blanks pages or colouring sheets and go to town. They would paint all day if I let them. But the mess does wear me out sometimes.

I've been quite involved in selling Discovery Toys. I started October 1st and have met every goal set before me so far. I enjoy it actually. The toys are fun and the boys love the fact that they have all this extra stuff to play with.

I just can't believe that Christmas is coming so fast. I've bought for only a handful of people so far, but that's the story of my life. I always leave it to the last minute. I think it's because I have to be in the mood and that doesn't usually happen until December 1st.

Anyway, my husband is home and neither of us are working so I think I'm going to go sit with him a spell.

You are welcome for the update, sorry it took so long.

Motherhood

My boys are without a doubt, two of the beautiful and amazing little people I have ever encountered. They are my greatest accomplishment and they aren't even close to kindergarten yet.

I received the proofs for Jericho's preschool pictures and they are awesome. I don't know which background to pick. I also can't decide which sizes to get and how many... Do I get the memory matte? Do I really need an 8x10? How many people need a wallet sized (albeit adorable) picture of my son?

Tomorrow I'm going to the West Coast Womens Fair and working the Discovery Toys booth. I'm a little nervous.. I really need to study up on stuff so I can recommend items.

And I really should go to bed!

Remembering Being Weird.

An old post from an old blog:

Dated January 9th, 2006

Last night and this morning...

So I didn't sleep well last night. I dreamt that my family (being mom & dad and 4 siblings) went on this vacation to some volitile country. My brother Matt had to come home early and then something bad happened and I was the only one to make it back. I remember going to someone's house and being all dirty because I had fought my way back to civilization. How tragic.

And I kept waking up last night and not being able to get back to sleep. I told Nate that our mattress really needs to be turned over as I have found a divet and keep falling back into it.

Then this morning as I was opening the fridge to get my ingredients ready for my killer yogurt-strawberry-kiwi-banana shake, ALAS! One of Nate's diet pop's had exploded and left icy brown residue over everything. It was quite horrific really. So I chipped away at some of it before my tummy rumbled. Then I told Nate I hadn't been able to complete the clean-up, but I have now turned up the temperature in our fridge that was trying to become a freezer.

Do they call those transfreezual's? Who knows.

Another: Dated February 16th, 2006 (around the time Jericho was conceived)

No, I am not pregnant. I knew you would ask with a title like that..but no. I was watching a movie last night with good old Megan Follows where she was a reporter back in the '30's doing a story on how this wealthy lawyer named Charles Millar died and left quite the interesting will. Not only did he stipulate that some stocks in some race track get left to people who didn't approve of gambling....He also left a house to three lawyers who hated each other...The best part was Clause 9 which stated that he would leave the rest of his fortune (about $750,000) to the mother who had the most live children in the 10 years following his death. They had to all be born in Toronto.

There were three frontrunners in the movie: One was French Canadian who felt she had a psychic connection with Mr. Millar. One was an Italian immigrant who's husband was a proud unemployed bum. The third was a woman who had most of the children via different men.

The courts eventually awarded the settlement to 4 Protestant women because they believed that children borne out of wedlock and those born to unachievers also should not count....or something of that nature. I wanted to find out more about what really happened because Nate wouldn't let me watch the rest. I found the whole idea fascinating.


EDITED TO ADD:

One of the contestants, Pauline Clarke, would have won by today's standards, with ten children in ten years. However, not all her children were with the same father. In the process of getting a divorce, she had children with a man who was not her husband - a big mistake in 1930's Toronto.

Another front runner was Lillian Kenney, who had twelve children in ten years. Several of her children died, but because she could not provide death certificates to prove that the children were not stillborn, they were not included in her total.
In the end, both Pauline Clarke and Lillian Kenney were given the sum of $12,500 for their 'effort' in the contest. There was no mention of compensation for pain and suffering.
The remainder was divided up between the four front runners - each had given birth to ten children in the designated time period. The winners were Annie Smith, Kathleen Nagle, Lucy Timleck and Isabel Maclean.
Grace Bagnato also took part in this contest. By 1936 she had had 23 children, of which 12 lived. 9 were eligible, as they were born within the ten-year period October 31, 1926 - October 31, 1936.
She was one baby short of sharing the prize with the other front runners.

Wow, I was sure weird.

New Website

Check out the new Discovery Toys website I have all set-up... it's sparkly! Ok, not really...

discoverytoyslink.com/sarasearle

Discovery Toys

I just recently decided to take a leap into home business once again. A few years ago I sold Avon and enjoyed it to a point. I didn't make any money at all. I'm not really looking to make loads of money or anything like that, but I like that the things I buy to demo, I get to keep for the boys to play with. They already beg to play with "Mommy's toys".

I'm pretty excited about so we'll see!

Thanksgiving was pretty fun, we ended up at my parents place where we had our first "Outdoor Thanksgiving". Their home is under renovations so there's no furniture in the house so we decided to set the turkey up outside... babies and all! It was actually quite cold, but memorable. I had offered to my Dad that we could host it this year if it made it easier, but he seemed insistent and it wasn't until we got there and found out that he had this little adventure planned. He had bought this little trailer that attached to his ride on lawnmower and wanted all the grandkids to come for a ride. They rode around the yard a few times and ended up in his little pumpkin patch that conveniently had 5 pumpkins with one little green one that wasn't quite ready : ) The really little kids didn't really appreciate the ride much, but Jericho and Riley could have stayed in there all day.

My little Malachi is adorable. There are days where he talks like such a little man, then 5 minutes later it's Greek to me and I couldn't translate if I wanted to. Going for car rides now with him is like having my own tour guide. "Car Mommy! Big truck! There excavator! See the puppy! Mommy there trees!" And on and on and on. *sigh*

In regards to my previous post, turns out the little girl named Julie was actually the photographer for the class pictures. That might be why she 'looked like Papa".

Tuesday

This coming Tuesday, right at 8:45 am I'm going to be quickly scanning over Jericho's class list when I drop him off at preschool. Apparently, he's talking about a little girl named "Julie, who looks like Papa, that means she's cute and I like her".

Three is much to early for these sentiments. But, if she does exist, she is really just his friend.

Farmers Market

My dad has been working hard on developing his very own version of Craisins. He takes his very own cranberries and sweetens them with pineapple juice and dries them in his processing plant. Nate and I had gone to the Farmers Market the Saturday before last and noticed that the next Farmers Market was going to focus on cranberries. He asked if I would like to take and sell them for him at the market. Would I! I had to buy packaging and do up some pretty labels, but I loved the challenge and ending up doing very well. We sold about 90 pounds of dried fruit! I'm considering buying more product from Dad and going again this Saturday.

The only thing I didn't like about going to market was that we couldn't bring the boys. They would probably have fun, but it would have been a gong show. Instead, they played with the babysitter and had fun walking to the park. I like hanging out with them on Saturdays.

Jericho is still saying funny things. Yesterday, I asked him what he would like for lunch. "Beaver". Um... we're all out of beaver, can I interest you in meatballs made of cow? I've been telling him this particular story quite a few times. It's a story from when I was 15 and on a missions trip with my Dad in Bolivia. We had gone to these ruins and somehow ended up on the wrong side from where our vehicle was. Dad convinced me to climb this chain link fence as a 'short cut'. Right. So I tell Jericho about how Papa climbed the fence and jumped down and was fine, but how I climbed up and by the time I was at the top, I was overcome with fear and could not move a muscle. Dad kept telling me to jump and that I would be fine, but I just cried. Finally (this is Jericho's favorite part) I decided I would just jump... and I was okay! I was scared for no reason. Tonight I told him the story again and as I was putting him to bed awhile later, he commented that maybe next time I go climbing fences with Papa, that I should pick the smaller fences. That's pretty deep.

My younger cousin Joel and his wife Nicole welcomed Ava before her due date! She's gorgeous and apparently a sweet baby. The boys and I went to visit her and they love her already.

Malachi has missed out on several events lately due to his out-of-character foul moods. He has cried and screamed over the littlest things. I'm not sure if he's really behind on sleep or coming down with something or both.

We have an agreement with my brother and Christa where every Tuesday we take turns watching each other's kids so we can go on date nights. It's worked out great so far. We've gone to a movie, visited friends, etc. I quite enjoy it. And the nights we don't go out, we have a lovely visit from Sophia. Win-win I'm thinking!

Nate's found out that he needs to write an important exam in November so there will be a few days where I'm taking the kids out on exursions without him so he can get a few solid hours of studying in. He's quite nervous about it, but he always does great.

Here are a few pictures of the last few days.

Wake Me Up, When September Ends

I apologize to those people who are like me. To those who check up on the blogs they enjoy reading on an almost daily basis to see if there is finally a new post. I'm sorry for taking so long and for making you wait. It's been a weird month. I decided since there had been so many occurances take place, that I would let you all know in point form. Forgive me.

1. We went up to Penticton towards the end of August to visit a few of our friends up there. It was a fast trip, but awesome. We surprised Dan, rubbed Becky's belly, watched the kids enjoy Casey & Tera's slip and slide, and many other fun things. We truly wish we were able to take more trips like this. Hopefully next summer will be filled with Okanagan visits.

2. Jericho started preschool two weeks ago. His orientation was okay, most of the time he preferred to play with the toys and didn't appreciate 'carpet time' until he played some of the games. His first full day, he cried as I left him. I knew the best thing for him would be for me to just leave, so I did. As I strapped Kai into his seat, I could no longer hear Jericho so as the morning progressed I was just hoping he was having fun. Every day since then has gotten better. He looks forward to it and wakes up early on preschool days to ask "are we going to preschool now?"

3. Jericho says more and more funny things everyday. We were at the library one night and he was being quite a bit louder than I thought was acceptable, so I told him to be quiet. He wanted to know who was sleeping. He also likes to pretend to make soup and serves it to us and tonight he told Nate that it was Elephant Soup. When Nate asked what was in the soup, he said, "Alligator." He's also LOVING playing hide and seek. He'll ask us to hide while he counts and we usually try and make it difficult, but call out to him if he's having trouble. As soon as he finds us, he screams with laughter and then right away says, "Okay, now I hide and you come find me!" Which usually means that he's going to run into the corner in his room and lay on his stomach so WE can't see him. He makes me laugh all the time.

4. Kai is talking up a storm! He doesn't always make sense, but if I guess right, he will smile and say "Uh huh!" He's very good at putting his dishes away right after meals and basically cleaning any sort of mess. He'll say, "Keen UP!" Trains are still one of his favorite toys and it's hilarious to watch him play with the tracks. He'll let the motorized one run on a certain part, then pick it up, move it to another area and let it go a little bit more. It's annoying to him when it travels out of reach so he tries to control where it will go. He almost has all his teeth too! There are a few more coming in, but he's been pretty happy lately so you can't tell.

5. The most difficult part of my life happened during my small hiatus as well. I have a very close-knit family and we lost one of our own on September 11th. Rebekah had been very sick this summer, but no one had any idea that it was as serious as it turned out to be. I've thought a lot about her and what she meant to me and it's still painful to realize she's not around anymore. Some days I'm still in shock, and some days I think of her fondly. I guess I'm really struggling right now with aftershocks. Where do I go from here? How can I ensure that her death was not in vain? What decisions can I make, not only for me and my family, but for others who maybe don't have as loud a voice? I have lots of questions... I was talking to Nate about how I've known people who have passed away before and I've just never been affected as much as I am now. I've seen brevity, I've felt tragedy and heartache. Her funeral was good and it did remind me to be glad as she is in heaven now, but I wasn't ready for her to be there yet.

6. Nate and I decided to go away for the weekend, the day after the funeral. We had been planning it for awhile, but with everything that had happened I wasn't sure it was a good idea. It turned out to be a great decision. I had an awesome weekend with good people who reminded me to smile, not to forget necessarily, but Rebekah would have wanted me to enjoy myself, and I did. We went on a one night cruise from Seattle to Vancouver and spent a night in Seattle before we got on board. I laughed a lot and it was good. The kids were very well looked after and I know I made the right decision to go.

This week I've done a lot of thinking. I know I'm very blessed and extremely fortunate to have ended up with my family, my husband and my children. Because I've seen brevity and felt tragedy to this extent, I thought that maybe I should stop taking them all for granted. Maybe I should take moments and savour them. Maybe I should take all the hugs and kisses I can gather because I don't know when my time is up too.