Thursday, November 08, 2012

Without a woman or a girl


James Brown was a wicked smart man!  I know this song has been redone time and time again by every artist who gets up near the top of the charts... but James Brown deserves the credit. He had the right idea!
"It's a man's world, but it wouldn't be nothing, without a woman or a girl."

I was abruptly woken this morning by someone telling me that they had an 'accident' in my bed, right beside me.  I felt bad for Miriam, she was yelling apologies and when I looked at my bed there was only the littlest, tiniest spot of pee. But, Eric was up giving her a shower, and regardless of how big it was, the sheets still needed to be washed.

6:00am... I am never up this early!  I know, there are people who wake at this time for work everyday, and there are people who wake up at this time by choice... not me.  I am so lucky, my kids usually sleep until 7 or 7:30, and I think that is mostly because I wake them when I get up and get ready for the day.

Anyways - I got off topic there - I decided I wouldn't go back to sleep.  How often do I get an hour of quiet in my house, by myself?  *Hint: the answer is 'NEVER'.

So my mind is quickly sorting through the regular morning routine, and thinking of all of the things I have been meaning to do when I had a moment to myself.

I could fold laundry (which I really need to do, since today I used the last pair of underwear that was in my drawer)
I could do dishes (ha - that's a joke)
I could sit down and write the blog post I meant to write last week (yes, that's it!)

To my point - here we go-

I think that growing up I always felt moved to do something radical.  To stand up for what is right, and to help others see the injustice around us.

I did projects on racism, or equality, or environmental issues and animal rights.

I'm not sure what sparked me then, but it is pretty easy to forget about those things.

It occurred to me that I have forgotten about most of those things because they do not stare me in the face.

I guess I thought that most pharmaceutical/cosmetic companies had stopped testing on animals.
I guess I thought most big corporations were at least trying to lower their carbon footprint.
I guess I thought that everyone sees each other as equals, regardless of their sex or race.
I guess I was wrong.

There was a woman in the UK who, with Lush cosmetics and the humane society, is launching a huge campaign to put an end to cosmetic testing on animals.  My first thought is - good for her!

As for woman's rights, its clear to me that I am treated equally in my own home, doesn't that mean it is the same for everyone else? *Hint: the answer is 'NO'

I work with *mostly* women from many many different backgrounds.  I specifically work with 2 women, one who is East Indian and one who is West Indian (that is how they explained it to me.  They are very similar to me, culturally and by looks, but they stress that things are very different for them) and they are both young ladies in arranged marriages.

Lately I have been thinking that these traditions are simply just traditions.  I thought no one really did this anymore!  When I asked the ladies if they were happy they both answered with a strong "No!"

They are happy with their kids, they are not happy with their husbands, and both of them tell me that before they had kids they made their husbands promise that they would not set their children up for an arranged marriage.

This seems foreign to me.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize that if these 2 women are here in Canada, what happy the hundreds of thousands of woman left back in their home countries.
Here we have laws which needed to be abided by, laws that state that a man cannot beat a woman, laws that give each of these ladies the same rights as their husbands, but 'back home' there are no such rules.

This was just my thoughts... it's a hard thing to imagine for me, here, in Canada, with the husband I chose, with children we were happy to have together and where my opinion is just as valid as his.

This battle has been raging for centuries.  How can this constant battle end? *this time I have no answer.. I have no idea what to say...



                                      You see, man made the cars to take us over the road

Man made the trains to carry heavy loads
Man made electric light to take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark



This is a man's, a man's, a man's world
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl



Thursday, November 01, 2012

Raising girls: I'm no expert!

"The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want the verb to be educate, or activate, or engage, or confront, or defy, or create." Eve Ensler

Miriam has been challenging me this week.
She has been testing me day in and day out.

My cousin sent me a link to a video (which is in the link above). I watched it and I laughed a little and cried a little, but mostly it made me think.
Being a girl/woman allows us to feel so many emotions.  I know this - I am an emotional mama! Yet, I am constantly finding myself irritated by the amount of tears produced by my girls (but mostly by Miriam).  I have a habit of getting her to calm down and then pointing out to her that she didn't need to cry about it, that she was being silly, crying about something like her sleeve being inside out. And sometimes I dismiss her entirely.  I say things like "I will talk to you when you are done crying" or "I don't understand anything you say while you are crying" (which is kind of true)

I mean - she cries a lot, and it is true that her tears are not always warranted.  She cries about her 'spot' on the couch. She cries about her hair being in knots. She cries when I brush her hair. She cries that she is tired. She cries that she doesn't want to go to bed.  She cries that there isn't enough food in her bowl. She cries that there is too much food in her bowl.  And that was just this morning!
Miriam crying because she had to put a sweater on.


I don't want her to be a whiney, crying girl. I know it' going to irritate teachers and classmates (as well as me and Eric). But, I don't want to numb her to what makes being a woman special. So where do I draw the line between cranky, irrational tears and tears that actually mean something?

Lucy didn't like the look of the pumpkin's insides.

What really made me realize that there is a distinctive difference was not only the video that I watched but on Saturday night, Eric and I put the girls to bed as usual.  Lucy was more upset than she normally is and was crying in her crib.  Miriam is used to this. Usually she covers her head with a pillow and goes to sleep regardless.  Saturday was different though.  On Saturday there was a chorus of crying.  Feeling like something must really be wrong, Eric and I went back to the bedroom.  I asked Miriam why she was crying, and she replied, "Lucy made me cry because she is sad!"  That pretty much broke my heart.

Emotions are good.  Without them we might as well be walking dead.

I realize I haven't answered the question about where to draw the line.  I have no clue.  All I know is that, I am an example of how they will one day react to their own children.  One day Miriam might have a crying girl like her, or maybe she will only have rough and tough boys or maybe she won't have any kids at all, but she always needs to feel something, whether it is sadness or joy or fear, feeling it reminds you that you are alive.  

Maybe I just need to be more patient with the with the tears, and find out what it is before I dismiss her feelings.  I hope one day she will be a strong woman who feels many emotions.



I AM AN EMOTIONAL CREATURE
by Eve Ensler
I love being a girl.
I can feel what you're feeling
as you're feeling it inside
the feeling
before.
I am an emotional creature.
Things do not come to me
as intellectual theories or hard-shaped ideas.
They pulse through my organs and legs
and burn up my ears.
I know when your girlfriend's really pissed off
even though she appears to give you what
you want.
I know when a storm is coming.
I can feel the invisible stirrings in the air.
I can tell you he won't call back.
It's a vibe I share.
I am an emotional creature.
I love that I do not take things lightly.
Everything is intense to me.
The way I walk in the street.
The way my mother wakes me up.
The way I hear bad news.
The way it's unbearable when I lose.
I am an emotional creature.
I am connected to everything and everyone.
I was born like that.
Don't you dare say all negative that it's a
teenage thing
or it's only only because I'm a girl.
These feelings make me better.
They make me ready.
They make me present.
They make me strong.
I am an emotional creature.
There is a particular way of knowing.
It's like the older women somehow forgot.
I rejoice that it's still in my body.
I know when the coconut's about to fall.
I know that we've pushed the earth too far.
I know my father isn't coming back.
That no one's prepared for the fire.
I know that lipstick means
more than show.
I know that boys feel super-insecure
and so-called terrorists are made, not born.
I know that one kiss can take
away all my decision-making ability
and sometimes, you know, it should.
This is not extreme.
It's a girl thing.
What we would all be
if the big door inside us flew open.
Don't tell me not to cry.
To calm it down
Not to be so extreme
To be reasonable.
I am an emotional creature.
It's how the earth got made.
How the wind continues to pollinate.
You don't tell the Atlantic ocean
to behave.
I am an emotional creature.
Why would you want to shut me down
or turn me off?
I am your remaining memory.
I am connecting you to your source.
Nothing's been diluted.
Nothing's leaked out.
I can take you back.
I love that I can feel the inside
of the feelings in you,
even if it stops my life
even if it hurts too much
or takes me off track
even if it breaks my heart.
It makes me responsible.
I am an emotional
I am an emotional, devotional,
incandotional, creature.
And I love, hear me,
love love love
being a girl.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Inspiration

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom." Vincent Van Gogh

An old teacher of mine passed away after a battle with cancer last week.

Mr. Delaney was an all inspiring man.  He could have caused action from a rock - and not by being loud or giving you shocking facts, but by listening, by being attentive and intentional.  He lived his life caring for others all over the planet (literally).  And although I haven't spoke to him in ages and haven't thought much of him in recent years, his death shook me.  Death always shakes me.

As a parent I genuinely hope that my children will one day encounter a teacher/adult/peer who inspires them the same way that Mr. D inspired me and so so SO many other students who walked through the doors of Waubaushene, Fesserton or Victoria Harbour Elementary. He encouraged me to take action, to make a difference in any small way that I could.  It was there, with him, that I started writing letters to various Ministers in Parliament and expressing concern for education for myself and my peers.  Expressing concern about injustices that were happening all over the world, but focusing mostly in Sierra Leone, where Mr. D has spent a significant amount of time.

As an adult I have lost that inspiration, passion and vigour. Those traits have been replaced with ignorance and complacency. I occasionally believe that one person CANNOT possibly make an impact on the world, but Mr. D proves that theory to be incorrect.  The number of people who he touched, that could make it to his funeral, could barely be contained in the confines of the church walls, but that is still only a small portion of people affected by his life.

I wish I did not feel this ignorance (which I suppose I could change) but at times it is hard to believe that my life as a stay-at-home mom/babysitter could make much of a difference, and that definitely needs to change.

I am clearly in need of some inspiration since last night I was even having incredibly boring dreams.

I am a dreamer - not like the John Lennon song. I mean in my dreams I live a crazy, unbelievable life (which would only be possible in dreams).  My dreams involve flying, not in airplanes or helicopters, but me, flying through the air, and managing for undisclosed periods of time under water.  Sometimes I dream that I am travelling to exotic and magical places and meeting new people and learning new skills.

Last night, I dreamt about going to the grocery store and buying 5 lemons (yes, specifically 5) and going to bed.  I DREAMT ABOUT GOING TO BED!! How incredibly lame is that!?!

Last night I was sitting in Southlake hospital to get a little chest infection looked at, but while I was there it occurred to me that I was sitting in the same hospital where Mr. D took his final breaths last week.  A place where hundred of thousands of people have taken their last breath.

Perhaps some of them were also global citizens/inspirations like Mr. D, perhaps many of them were apathetic, barely acknowledging anything that goes on outside their own community.  Perhaps more of us need to think on a global level.  We need to take over the calling of people who have been called to something new (or taken from this green earth).  We (as in me and you - just to be clear) need to make a difference and leave an impression on the world we will one day leave behind.

I guess you could say I am breaking out of my rut... but I still need to figure out what it is I am going to do about it.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Stuck in a RUT!

So, I'm stuck.

I am stuck in the rut of running children to programs after dinner every evening and coming home and flopping on the couch, (or some nights right into bed) currently coughing and hacking every step in between.

Seth says I sound like a motorcycle.  He thinks it's cool.
Seth says my constant coughing is getting really annoying.  Right, it's annoying for him - it's not bothering ME at all!

I am stuck in the rut of leaving my daughters in their PJ's until noon.

I am stuck in the rut of cooking, cleaning and caring for children (which isn't too bad because at least my house had been staying relatively tidy).

Halloween is disturbing my rut.  Now I have to sew and cut when I get home from running kids to Awana, swimming, skating, or the chiropractor.

I have to admit, I think I kind of like my rut - but it sure isn't giving me a lot to think about. Clearly my rut doesn't involve blogging - which I imagine is because my thought process is relatively the same throughout every day.

"It's time for breakfast.  It's time for a walk.  Hey! Stop hitting! It's time to tidy up. It's time to colour.  It's time to cut and paste.  It's time to eat lunch.  It's time to have a nap (not me - but kids).  Hey!?! it's quiet!  It's time to clean the kitchen.  It's time to get the babies from their nap.   Hey!?!? Where are your clothes? It's time to go to the park.  It's time to play.  It's time to cook dinner.  HEY!?!? how did your face get so dirty?" and so on and so on...

I swear to you - my next post will be about breaking myself out of this rut - but not tonight... tonight is Grey's Anatomy -  so I need to be stuck for just one more day... hahaha.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Cream of Carrot Soup

Today I am going to share with you, a family soup recipe.
My mother in-law gave me this recipe the first year we were married.  Since carrots are one of the cheapest things to buy in the fall, this soup is budget friendly and delicious.



Cream of Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups carrot
3 cups of chicken soup base
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp thyme/basil (depending on your taste)
Add any herbs and spices that you like, this soup really takes on flavour and it's great if you want to add nutmeg or cloves for fall flavour.
2 cups milk

Sautee onions in butter until golden. Add carrot until coated with butter. Add soup base, herbs and rice, cover and simmer until carrots are tender. Add salt.  And puree (Usually I can do this in 3rds without it overflowing on me.  Put back in the pot, and add milk. Feel free to garnish with whatever fresh herbs you have around.

This soup is pretty filling.  The rice makes it more than just 'soup' (since my husband needs more than just soup for dinner) and I serve it with some garlic bread or fresh buns... YUM!

Enjoy!



Monday, September 17, 2012

Grace at my House

A good friend of mine and I read a book together last year.  We called each other once a week, and talked about what we read and what was going on in our lives. The book was called 'Grace based Parenting' by Dr. Tim Kimmel.  I recommend this book to all parents, but especially Christian parents as it really speaks on the basis that we, as parents, need to be able to show the same grace as our Father shows us, to our children.

I made this as a reminder that God has given us his grace so I can make mistakes, and so can my kids.


Monday, September 10, 2012

This Emotional Mama.

It doesn't take much to make me cry.  I am an emotional woman.  I cry over "Ontario" commercials, and "Our heritage" commercials.  I cry when my kids amaze me, and I cry when my kids upset me.  I cry when I think about my friends who live far away, and I cry when I think of my friends near by.

I cry.  A lot.

Two weeks ago I was feeling a little sick.  I was laying on the couch and talking to Miriam.  I was crying because I love her.  Lucy was sick too, and I cried because she loves me!



Last week, I went to sign Seth up for swimming.  I was concerned that his level would be full, and he wouldn't get to go, but there was one space left.  I almost cried.  *Almost - because there was a line-up of people behind me and I has to hold myself together.

After signing Seth up for swimming, and getting the final spot, Miriam asked to watch the kids who were swimming in their lessons, which you can do upstairs in the same building.  When we got upstairs there was figure skating sign-ups.  I asked Miriam if she would like to do it, and she answered with a resounding "YES!".  So I signed her up.

As we were leaving the pool/ice rink facility I told Miriam we would go buy her skates very soon.  She requested pink skates.  Knowing that I wasn't going to any fancy stores to purchase her first pair of figure skates, I told her that the skates would be white. She then requested 'PINK LACES!?!'
 There I was, sitting in my car, crying again.  I used to figure skate. I used to have white skates with pink laces. She really is MY daughter! (I know this, but she is so much like her father, it's SCARY!)

We bought her skates on Friday evening, but she fell asleep on the way home.  First thing in the morning she asked to put her skates on!


So she wandered around the house for about an hour with her new skates, with pink laces!

And finally, as many of you know, Seth played Rugby this year.  He finally found a sport that he likes!
Yesterday was their final festival of the year, so he got a medal and a trophy, and also scored 4 tries!


Again, I held back the tears because of a crowd, but I was just so proud!

Now, I think I have always been fairly emotional.  I had a little teddy koala bear when I was a pre-teen,  and teenager.  It fit nicely in the palm of my hand, and I remember using it to wipe my tears as I fell asleep at night sometimes.

And DON'T think that I am sad all the time.  I am really not!  But when I get all excited, and I'm ready to explode, I generally explode through my tear ducts.  I cry all the time, and I am ok with it, although I can start to see the panic in Seth's eyes if he sees me crying, which makes me laugh, and cry at the same time, which is really unattractive, as I wimper and snort and turn red.

My point is, if you aren't an emotional person you might never understand why a friend of yours cries all the time (especially men wondering this about wives)  but sometimes, us emotional, criers, just need a good cleansing cry to feel better!  It's ok, don't fear, don't run and hide, but do I understand the shock and panic that could overpower you to run the other direction!!

Are you an emotional person too?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Garage sale?

This past weekend two of our neighbours had a great big garage sale.  They must have collected items from other people as well, because they were HUGE!  Both sales were to raise money for someone who is currently battling cancer. The sale lasted all weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 8am-4pm.

I had to work on Sunday afternoon but I thought I should send my husband down the road with a few bucks to support the cause and get the kids a little something.

While I am at work I am getting text messages from my husband. "I got tons of stuff!"  "There is lots of good CD's here"  We got "CD's, DVD's, some VHS, some lights and stuffed animals." This was what I expected... pretty typical of garage sale's and my husband, who likes to find a good deal.

Later that afternoon I start receiving text messages about my house being filled with junk.  My husband tells me that he looked out the window and Seth and his best friend are dragging home all of the 'FREE' stuff that was left over from the garage sales.  Later he looks out to see Seth pulled a wagon load of items and Sean wheeling down the sidewalk with a computer chair that is also full of garage sale items.

By the time I get home at 10 o'clock I am expecting disaster. There is Eric, sorting through a pile of CD's and listening to random ones to see if he likes any of them.  There is a pile of CD's for me, mostly pop from the 90's.  There is a box of DVD's and VHS's for me to decide what I want and don't want.  I enter Seth's room where he has a T.V. sitting ontop of the desk chair that I mentioned previously and nice leather bar stool and a few new random stuffed animals. I guess we were lucky and his friend took home most of the really junky stuff, we just got saddled with the CD's and movies. (which isn't such a bad thing to be stuck with, if you are my husband)

Yet on Monday morning, when I went down to play with the kids in the basement I was in for 2 shocking surprises.


This here GIANT bear is sitting in my chair...

and as I started to do a little dusting I noticed this staring at me...


A wee bit creepy considering that the mother is missing her eyeballs.

At this point I still feel like we got off pretty well.  There were quite a few good CD's and DVD's for the kids.  Mind you on Monday evening I heard from an other parents that my son and his friend were back down the street, looking for more junk to bring home....



1, We don't have a pool... so why the pool noodles?
2, we don't have an xbox... so why the xbox guitar?
and 3, How the heck did you manage to bring home a BAR!?!?!

Looks like I am going to have to have a garage sale!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

WW: Dishwasher: try, try again

I know that the dishwasher doesn't clean sandwich containers very well.  My husband knows that too, yet for some reason we continue to try....




Thursday, July 26, 2012

Energy Efficient life style??

I have been inspired.  This topic has been on my mind for years, and I feel like it is time to write something about it.

A friend of mine at The Year of Less has challenged me (and all of us) to stop using our dryer for the month of August.  My first thought was - "It's not August yet. I can wash and dry a couple things today."  That is a terrible attitude. I am kind of embarrassed.

I honestly don't use the dryer a lot.  I like to use it for bath mats, stuffed animals and towels. I have one little girl who had a favourite bunny and I like to use the dryer after I wash it, and right now the bunny is filthy.



Last week Seth and I had a lengthy discussion about reducing your carbon footprint. (this discussion started when I found him cooling off in the chest freezer) He is aware of the state of the ozone layer and being environmentally friendly, but it never occurred to him that sitting in the freezer made any impact on this.

This discussion led to other discussions of reducing our waste and trying to encourage others to do the same.  I helped him to realize that the earth could be a very scary scary place 30 years from now.

I realize now that my family has been making changes as long as I have been alive. (and even longer)

There are a couple things I remember very clearly about my Oma, one of those things is that she never wasted water or food. She ate the skin of Kiwi's and the core of the apple. She NEVER drained the bath tub. The water left in the tub (after used my myself and my brothers if we were all visiting) was left in the tub with a jug which allowed her to pour the water into the back of toilet to flush it. She had reusable ice cubes and I don't recall ever seeing paper towel at her house. I know Air conditioning was not as popular when her house was built, but I am sure she didn't have one. (I should mention that she lived in Germany during the second world war. I think coming close to starvation makes you use things a little differently)

My father tells stories of sharing his bath water with his siblings.  The youngest went first, so he, being the oldest, got the dirtiest water, but that is nothing soap couldn't help. My nana has always picked berries at local farms and made her own jam. Same goes for the A/C at their house.

When I think of my mother in-law I realize that she is extremely environmental friendly. No A/C, hang dries all of her clothes, even in the winter because they have a wood burning stove to heat the house. I know she often buys her meat from local farmers and she grows and cans from her own, HUGE, vegetable garden.

My parents; we didn't get a second car until I was almost a teenager. We lived in a small house (yes, inconvenient and stuffy at times but most certainly energy efficient). Now they don't have A/C, and they raise their own cattle and sell it locally as well.  They now have a vegetable garden that my dad works to maintain and freezes food for the upcoming winter as well as canning and jamming (yes, Jamming it both senses of the word, haha)

Now I have been using my A/C like a crazy woman, granted it has been ridiculously hot, but I have been hang drying our clothes and as much as it pains me to say this, my kids don't get bathed nearly enough, so I am saving water! There is a reason that we, as a 5 person family, avoided purchasing a van and use a nice little station wagon instead. One car family here, which is relatively unheard of in our neighbourhood.  At the park I am constantly asked how I have not gone stir crazy and how I can stand being stuck at home all day with all the kids.  Plain and simple, I don't have an other option.

So here is my point.  Every time one of us makes a small decision to do something a little environmentally friendly we may be prolonging our children's future (or grandchildren's) on earth for a nano-second. If we are all making these choices, maybe the 30-40 year battle against carbon emissions will finally see a small victory.

I read a report that stated, yes, most households in North America have switched to using incandescent bulbs in their home, but have also made a switch to less energy efficient, big screen televisions. Thinking about the choices we are making in our home makes a huge difference.  I encourage everyone to join the challenge and stop using their dryer for the month of August.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Birthday Brownies!

OK, well, a few weeks ago I made these brownies, took a photo and now I can't seem to find it anywhere on the computer.  Yet, it is still my hubby's birthday tomorrow.  This is my go-to recipe for scrumptious, delicious brownies.

Even though I know I won't have time to make Eric these brownies (because we have rugby early am and then we are headed to my parents for the evening) I will share the recipe in honour of his birthday.



I found my photo!


This is the only photo I have of it.
 It is crumbled along the sides of the cone


Amazing Brownies
This is the only thing you need to know in order to try this recipe.


1/2 cup butter
3 Tbsp Cocoa
1 cup white sugar

Melt in a pot.  Once smooth remove from heat and add - 

2 eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1/2 cup flour

Put it into an 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 20 min

Let cool and then lightly dust with icing sugar! (you can make chocolate icing too, but I love them by themselves, I find the icing sugar is the perfect addition.

That's it.  Serve! and Serve!  and Serve!  An 8x8 pan is never enough for us, we always need to double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan.  if I make a single batch during the day, Eric may come home and there would not be a trace that I even made them!

So try these next time you are craving some amazing brownies!!

Don't forget to come over to Facebook and "Like" my fan page! 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Beach Day!




I feel this captures the essence of "beach day"





Time for a big sand castle!


Peek-a-boo!


If you want to read more about our weekend and our trip to the beach, click HERE!

Also find me, and 'like' me on Facebook - HERE!!

Monday, July 16, 2012

In the middle.

I know I write about Miriam, a lot, on this blog. But - she is such a character. She always says the right thing, at the right time. Even though she is the middle child, I often feel (ok, and maybe hope) that she will never have a 'middle child' complex.  Miriam is too, in-your-face, too, LOOK-AT-ME, too all encompassing, to ever feel like she was ignored or neglected as a child.  Plus, her daddy thinks she is the greatest thing in the world and he spoils her, even when he shouldn't.

Yet, there is one place where Miriam is in the middle, and that is in the car!

We tried to have Lucy in the middle for as long as possible because Seth can be pretty good at calming her down during long car rides, and Miriam loves looking out the window and watching her baby sister. But when Lucy outgrew her infant carrier and still needed to be rear-facing, we had to re-organize the seating arrangement, even though we knew putting Miriam and Seth beside each other would cause some fighting on those long trips.

We decide to escape, and take a drive on Saturday evening. We (meaning, I) packed up our dinner and we headed to a beach about 45 minutes north of us.  Getting there wasn't a problem, both girls fell asleep and Seth kept himself occupied by staring out the window.  We ate, and played until it was late, hoping the girls would fall asleep in the car on the way home as well.

I think we made a mistake.  We brought jelly beans with us to the beach, and the car ride home was a realization that my kids, who never get caffeine, should really not be allowed sugar either!
There was a lot of crazy behaviour, a lot of good laughs and a whole lot of silliness.  Which I really don't mind. It was fun, and Seth was laughing along with her and they weren't fighting.

Sunday was a different story.  Seth had a rugby festival in Lindsay.  Which according to google was almost a 2 hour drive, but we made it in 1. As we drove into Lindsay we passed a Dairy Queen (this is 8am) and Eric says "If Seth scores 3 try's today, we will get ice cream on the way home!"

I think this was a joke. We have never witnessed Seth getting a try, although my brother assures me that he did, in fact, score one last weekend. Seth is not all that athletic.  Either he doesn't try to be or he is just not talented in that way.

So Seth started the 4th game of the day.  He loves the games of rugby, so he has been playing with  smile on his face (unlike when he played soccer or ball hockey). First couple minutes and he gets himself a try. the crowd (i.e.:the parents) go nuts. I think everyone is aware of Seth's lack of abilities/effort and we are all happy and shocked.  Minutes into the second half he scores again. Here is where he looks over at Eric and smirks. Eric and I look at each other and I say "You promised ice cream for 3!"

Seth says to his team mates, "I need one more try and then my dad needs to get me ice cream!"

So I don't know whether it was his team helping him out, but he put forth a mighty effort and scored within the last minute of play!  Coach says to Seth, "In hockey we call that a hat trick!" Seth replies to coach, "My dad calls that Ice Cream!" bahaha!!
So we get ice cream. It is a total disaster. I don't know WHY we thought Lucy needed her own ice cream cone, but that won't be happening again for an other year!

We wash all the children thoroughly with the water we have left, wipe them off with baby wipes and change clothes as needed.  We get back on the road and Miriam falls asleep.  Here is the downfall to sitting in the middle.


Poor little Miriam.  Seth was making her make funny faces, moving her lips to say funny things, pulling ears and opening eyes.  Lucy got in on the action too.  Lucy started poking her face, grabbing her shirt and pulling her hair.

Here, Miriam is definitely the middle child!


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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Welcome to the garden.










 



Of course, my girls pick all the flowers and throw them into the kiddie pool!

This is what happened after being left in the pool overnight. It was white!

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Wedding weekend!

This weekend my husband's cousin got married.  They had a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful, fun filled reception. 

My husband and I went without children.  We were trying to recall the last time we spent a night together without our children and decided that it was before we had Lucy.  In fact, I found out just days before my friend's wedding (weddings are a good reason to leave the kids at home apparently, so who wants to get married next?) that I was expecting Lucy! So it was almost 2 years ago.


Enjoying a kid free car ride, Eric is singing (no, he isn't good)

We had a LONG drive. 4.5 hours.  Thank God we had no children in the car! With just us two adults we managed to only stop to pee once, and get gas once. We made it to the hopping town (can you call it a town if it is only home to 8,500?) of Renfrew!  

I kept looking out the window, hoping to find a chip truck on our journey, but alas, we found all the chip trucks on our way home today, and none on Saturday. The first place we stopped at in Renfrew was a little celebration in the downtown, and Eric and I continued to explore the downtown area and grabbed some super duper delicious sushi!

We tried to check-in, but we were told there was no room ready for us, so we pulled over to a vacant side street and changed in the car! We are pretty good at that! I did my makeup in the mirror of the car, and TA-DA!

We are such a good looking couple!

The bride and groom are also a good looking couple! They played great 70's music (I am 26, so I am not re-living my youth, I just love that music) and looked 'oh-so' in love!



We enjoyed the wedding in it's entirety! We tore up the dance floor until the wee morning, and couldn't have had a better time!

What we could have done was got a little more sleep! Ha ha ha! Morning came early.  We planned to leave at 9am. 9am came and went. We planned to leave at 9:30am instead. 9:30am came and went. We ate breakfast and planned to leave at 10am. 10am came and went and with it came all of Eric's relatives that were staying at the same hotel. So we finally got out of Renfrew by 10:30!

I was tired after chasing gophers all night (seriously, there are gophers all over the place!) They were digging in every grassy area in the 'town' of Renfrew! I didn't catch the kids a new pet, but was tired out and promptly fell asleep once the car was moving.  

About an hour later Eric says, "Do you remember going through this place?"

I open my eyes to see a little place called Eganville and to find that my husband has been going the wrong direction for the past 30 minutes. (This happens to us A LOT! Feel free to read THIS for an other interesting story about us getting detoured)

So I failed my job as Navigator but was able to redeem myself and get us back to our original route, and we only wasted a couple minutes (according to Eric. In actual fact, we lost approximately 30 minutes). So we left 1 1/2 hours late and took a 1/2 hour detour. We could have been home 2 hours earlier, but that is just what a car ride with the Seaborns is like!

But, we made it home alive. Our kids were alive too! Well taken care of by my brother and my mother. Seth scored his first try at his rugby festival on Saturday morning. I guess he was showing off for his uncle! My mom and brother packed up and took Seth with them for a couple days and Eric and I were left with the 2 BESTEST girls in the whole world, so we took them out to the park/splash pad.

They missed us!

And we missed them too!

We certainly enjoyed a rare weekend away from our children, but I love getting them back into my arms for some good cuddles!  

If you are interested in watching, take a look at this video of Miriam singing us an awesome song. I call it "I love my mom, I love my dad. I love them a yot!"


Thanks for reading!