meal time

so i don't tell him it is time to eat

he hears me making supper, or lunch

it could be an hour before we actually eat

and this is where he will be until we eat

sucks for him when it is something he doesn't like....lol

he gets soo disappointed

ps africa posts to come.....yeah you heard me postS.

See You Later

tomorrow

11:35 we take off tomorrow

i am excited

scared

nervous

and miss my kids already and they are sleeping upstairs

we finished packing about a half hour ago

we will finish cleaning tomorrow morning

we are not bringing our laptop to the other side of the world

there is not much chance of the internet anyway

soooo

this is see you later

see you in three weeks probably....or soo

if i don't get back to you before christmas....

merry christmas...may God bless you as you celebrate Jesus birth

if you think of me please pray

thank you for sticking with me

One week....

ONE WEEK TILL:

we are in lusaka

we are out of a plane after 2 and a half days

we get to shower after 2 and half days

we are warm and wearing shorts

we are truly on vacation

just over 4 days until i leave my kids for 17 days

i have had discussions about communicating with my kids while we are gone

we have decided against it

i know my kids and know what will work for them

i know there are those out there that disagree

everyone does this different and every kid is different

please don't say anything to me personally

i am done being told i am evil for not phoning my kids.

nuf said!!

beneath it all vs bodacious

this all starts back in april before i had a blog

i hate bra shopping

i have had a lot of trouble finding a bra that would last for a while

i asked on facebook where people went bra shopping and where i should go

the consensus was beneath it all or bodacious

funny thing about it is that everyone that commented is on the other end of the spectrum then me: i have a broad rib cage and small boobs

i decided that i would try both and give a kind of review

well here it is

beneath it all

i went here first

i walked it and was the only one there

they measured me over my clothes

then went and found me some bras to try on

i was looking for something with no padding and one with padding, i usually don't have much trouble finding ones with padding, without is the problem

so she tries a couple

then someone comes into the store and i almost get forgotten

she comes to tell me that my only option is one with padding

i pick the most comfortable and buy it for-

$ 60.00

i am not used to that price

i am used to wearing sports bras or la senza when pregnant and bigger

so i ask how long a bra is supposed to last

if worn on a daily basis 4-6 months

she was right on that

the band stretched and the padding is squished at almost exactly 6 months

which was this month

so that leads us to.....

bodacious

so i walked in there

there was one other lady in there but two workers in there

the lady measured me with my clothes on, but got me to move my bra at certain points and my arms to get good measurement

she was also writing it down

i asked what happens to that paper

it gets put into the computer for later reference when you come in again

so she gets me a couple of bras

i let her know that i wanted an unpadded comfortable bra-still formed but no up lift

she bring one just to see

she now understands why i hate bra shopping and go and gets a bunch more

she checked every single one i put on and showed me how to "fluff"

we found one that fit IT FIT

i decided to challenge and say that i didn't really like the straps

(they had laced leaves lining them :( )

so she went hunting

and came back with like 6

out of those 6 2 fit....

so now i have a choice of 3 i tell you THREE bras

i have never experienced this without being pregnant

so i let them know which one i wanted and they said that was great

also that they would write the other ones down on my card for when i came back to know which ones fit me well....

i just about hugged her

i hate bra shopping and i had a good experience

i got the bra paid for by my mom for a birthday gift

it was the same price as the last one i bought ($60)

but i would have paid more myself for an experience like that

and probably will in the future...

good by la senza and any where else.

PS they have a referral program sooo if you want a card i got one for you

Two weeks......TWO WEEKS....

two weeks

two weeks till we leave

last week i was stressing about packing everyone up

this week i am excited....

two week till i can be warm again.

it is cold here

my anxiety over leaving my kids has gotten to be a lot less

i know there are people praying for me

and my worries

we are half packed

the kids are not packed at all, but they still use all that needs to be packed

jeremy has started to take his malaria pills

i am taking a different kind, less side effects

jeremy has a international licence

we will be renting a vehicle there soo need extra drivers and i am not one of them

:)

got our visa credit card

need to get cash yet

need to get some extra SD cards

need to find the extra battery for the camera

need to get the power converter

need to get some air plugs

need to get through the next 2 weeks

i am excited for the first time

i feel confident in the people that are watching my kids

i am happy that they get a break just like we do

but will miss them like crazy

we need to get some surprises ready for the kids while we are gone

WOW TWO WEEKS

two weeks till i am warm

(can you tell i don't like to be cold)

lol

so much on my mind

but this is all that is coming out

Normal

i have always known that my daughter was not the most normal kid=
she is small, or should i say petite
it took until she was 8 months old before she was on the growth chart for weight
she was sitting and crawling at 6 months old
she was walking.....NO.....running at 10 months old
opening door handles at 16 months
128 percentile for height at 2 years old
as tall as a 5 year old when she is just about 3

but i thought that everything else was running along the normal line
i think that she learnt her abc's at a good rate and still knows them
she has had no problems at all with having a younger sibling
she has hit everything else pretty normal

SOO here it really is:
is it normal for a basically 4 year old girl to fish for compliments??
at least once a day she says or does something i can tell she does or says very deliberately to me or around me and then she state something like..."i am smart aren't i mom?" "i am a good helper aren't I ??" " that was good dancing wasn't it??" ....and on and on.
sometimes i only get one a day, but the other day i got at least 5 or soo
is this normal???
should i worry about her self confidence
should i worry about her self esteem
should i be stopping her some how
what am i doing wrong
am i doing something wrong

i worry about this because i am afraid that my self esteem or lack there of is rubbing off on her
i know it could happen
just scared for her
and for me for dealing with her
i love her and want her to be the best person she can be......

AAAHHHHHH.

4 more weeks

at this time in 4 weeks i will be about to get on a plane for an over night flight to frankfurt germany.

yikes

that will be the beginning of a great adventure for me

first i have never left my kids for more than two night
which was a stretch for me....you can ask jer

second i have never left home for more than 12 days

third i have never peed on a plane or bus
we have 3 overnightish flights there and 2 on the way back

fourth i have never been to a country where i will not understand the language
went to belize but everyone spoke english unless they didn't want you to understand and even then it wasn't to often

fifth i have never wanted to see animals (on purpose) not in the zoo

there is soo much that i don't want to list anymore
i do like change, but this
i don't know
maybe it is cause i am not doing it with my whole family

i am excited to go and see so much of what is in jers memory
and childhood
i am excited to experience soo many fun thing
but i worry also.



i. am. a. worrier.






as we get closer you will probably hear more and want me to shut up about it
sorry

Imagination

so we are sitting here this evening watching the football game.
jer is watching while also reading sunday school
i am sitting there watching and thinking is it bed time soon(for the kids not me)
zandria is who knows where in her room i think
elias is playing on the couch with his trucks, cars, and tractor

suddenly we "cuse me" from elias
we both respond "you are excused" (my kids require that when they say it otherwise they repeat it until you say it.)
he ignores us
we here "cuse me" (oh forgot to say that that is excuse me)
we look over and say "your excused" again
jer goes back to what he was doing
i look over to figure out whether he is burping or farting
nope
he has a hand on a car looking at his tractor
his tractor was in his way
he was saying "cuse me" to whoever was driving the tractor
he realized after saying it twice that he had to switch over and move it himself
so he did
and then everything was good.

oh the imagination
where does it come from
Love it.

just a warning: multiple postings

clumsy me

i am clumsy

i don't know how i do it, but i tend to hurt myself soo easily

almost two years ago i slipped at the end of my drive way and broke my leg

jeremy classifies that as the hell time in our lives

i broke my leg 3 weeks before we were to move into a four level split that we were supposed to have mostly renovated by the time we moved in

not to mention that elias was 5 months old at the time

i couldn't carry him or anything else with the crutches

hell

well i had a time when i didn't hurt myself until the july

we were getting ready to go to a company golf day thing

went to put the stroller in the van for the person who was watching the kids and miss judged the door and hit my head

i really did need stitches but really wanted to golf

it was on my hair line so jer said no one would notice soo off to golfing we went

now

i stepped right on the edge of the carpeted stair and slipped

went down on my bum but had my hand on the rail, banister whatever you call it

well it went fast enough that i didn't get my hand out before it got the the bracket

where it is attached to the wall

well pretty sure it is not broken

in elementary school i got a soccer ball to the tip of the finger and it did the same thing

swelled, turned purple and blue

my mom took me in and they said it was badly sprained and jammed

I could still move it, but it was just super sore

really badly bruised

pretty sure that is what happened this time

i don't think it is broken so i have not gone in

i can still move it

it is just tender

I am sooo clumsy

and i wonder where my kids get it from

Finally did it

ok

so have you ever had something you have done but never had the opportunity

i have never had this done to me but know people that have

i liked hearing about it

i finally got my chance

i paid for the car behind me in the tims drive thru

it was not much, i was a little disappointed about that but whatever

as i drove away i had the strangest reaction

i was freaked out and worried

are they upset

are they creeped out

are they thinking i am crazy

are they mad

what are they thinking

what is their reaction

i tried to figure out for a long time why this concerned me

they don't know me

it was my money not theirs

why did it bother me

i liked doing it and would do it again but am still trying to figure out why i reacted the way i did

Time away

jeremy and i have been wanting to go the the spa, temple gardens that is. we actually went through air miles and got a pretty sweet room, well it was more of a suite, for free, well not for free we had to fork over air miles. but it was worth the 1300 air miles.

my in laws had promised zandria a sleep over sometime soon, well she was promised this in the summer. we got the voucher and booked it as soon as we could, which turned out to be thanks giving weekend.

well we have it planned for a while and were getting excited about shopping, and watching a movie and just relaxing in the hotel and pool.

a week and a half before we are to leave for our fun weekend, well only one night, but two whole days we get a offer of two tickets to the football game. what game you ask.... riders vs toronto. jer thought that i was going to say no... i am not that mean. he is a die hard rider fan i could never do that to him.

so we didn't actually get to the hotel until like 8 after we had a delicious supper at a cool restaurant. the restaurant was a restored old house that was once owned by one of the first people that lived in moose jaw. it was really neat.

then was the hotel so beautiful. the mineral spa was ok. quite warm, but i couldn't stay in there long. don't know why but my skin can't handle it for long. i start to sting.

it had been over a year and a half since we last did something like this.

it was well needed and well enjoyed.

Sanity.....How long will you last

Ok first of all Sorry. I know that I was going to do the blog everyday for a month, and have failed. We went away for a couple of days without the computer. When we got back I just didn't have much to say, and didn't think that anyone cared or read anyway......but got yelled at the other day from my aunt. Soooo sorry Ronna I will make it up to you.


So my sanity.
Not sure how long it will last with my boy being the way he is right now.
Zandria was never a picky eater. She would at least try something without much fight. She is pickier now then she used to be, but she is still willing to try and even eat everything for dessert.
Elias not soo much.
He has always been a fighter. He has never wanted to try new food, or try food that he doesn't reccognise, but ate alot of last time we had it.
We started forceing it into his mouth just to get a taste, and then he would eat what was in is mouth and then decide from there.
Now he won't allow that.
We put some in his mouth and he spits it out and screams.
Even stuff that he has liked and eaten before, like the week before, he still spits out.
He tries to just drink milk to fill himself up.
We limit that.
He has to taste the food.
It is not like I am making anything different than what I have been making since he was born.
He has had it all before but suddenly he doesn't like any of it.
He doesn't eat so he is grumpy.
He crys.
He whines
He screams
I am loosing my mind slowly.
If he doesn't eat he gets moody, and grumpy and I am going insane.
I can't just let him eat nothing be junk or bread and butter...can I???
I don't want to let him eat the things that he really likes, cause then he will get sick of it. He can't just eat yogurt, cereal and bread. He will get really sick of it really fast.
I don't know how much more I can stand.
What to do???

10 of my favorite things (in no specific order)

1. look at those big brown eyes...she is one of my favorites

2. look at that smile..... he is one of my favorites

(i have yet to meet a person that doesn't love that smile)

3. jeremy my loving, lovable husband

4. BSF bible study fellowship

5. fresh from the garden carrots

6. flyers

7. sunshine on an october day

8. when my kids play well together

9. my van....i love my van and the space it gives me...love it

10. getting away for a night without the kids to a hotel

(hehe we are going to the spa in moose jaw...you guessed it without the kids)

why does it have to be soo hard??!!???

we are going on a trip as most of you know. it is some place hot. i need to have a/some bathing suits to bring with.
why didn't i think of it earlier?
i am not sure it would have helped.
we are on a budget. can't spend $1oo per suit for two suits.
so what do i do......wait till end of season. what does that equal.....
a frustrating, bad, long irritating process.
a month ago i went and found a brown, green and purple top. didn't find a bottom cause i ran out of time. i loved that top i got. fortunately i have board shorts that kind of go with it.
my mission today was to find bottoms and maybe one more whole bathing suit.
NOPE. not soo easy.
most places don't have many out any more.
most sizes are super picked through.
or they are just kind of ugly the ones that are left.
YIKES
i bought something today.
i bought another top. it is black and white.
AND
a pair of bottoms....................that are blue..
YES i said BLUE.
so now i have potential for three swim suits and not one complete.
jeremy laughed sooo hard.
i have been avoiding going to the swimsuit store because of the price. the reason he is laughing soo hard is cause he told me to go there and get two suits and be done with it. i refused because i am mennonite, cheap, frugal, thrifty, whatever you want to call it.
WELL POO ON YOU jeremy... i still saved some money.
i have three pieces that where over half the price of theirs.
BUT the unfortunate thing is is that i still have to go and get them.
AAAHHHH

aaahhh that was fabulous.

today i got a friend to watch elias while zandria was at school so i could go for a much needed massage. (thanks elsa). i went to my mother in laws massage therapist. i was ssoooo sore before hand and even had a head ache. oh the bliss of laying there and having someone massage your headache away. i have never had someone do that before, usually i leave with a bigger headache that will only go away with a hot bath and a good sleep .
it was great. came home with the kids fed them and then got tired. i haven't slept well in probably a week, between my shoulders and neck being sore and elias having trouble with nightmares and night terrors. well i decided that everyone needed a nap. we laid down and were out. we all have close to a three hour nap. it was bliss. elias even woke up in a good mood. rare in the last week. zandria was less whiny. it was great.....until bed time. well bed time was a little later than wanted, but oh well........IT WAS FABULOUS.

Packing

packing

i usually like to pack

i am at a lost this time

i have never been anywhere where so much could happen

i could get bit by a bug and get malaria

i could eat something and get pukey

or worse diarrhea

i also know that i have time

i am a worrier

i am afraid that i may not find everything i need

or think i need

what do i need

help

i am a worrier and need help

Another week........

So I am sitting here watching Jeremy get ready for another week out of town.

He is watching football while he does this.

I am used to this but every so often I just don't want him to go.

Oh well

need money to live.

I would rather have this than shift work.

I have more to do this week than last soo maybe it will by fast.

More hair appointments

more stuff to prepare for for the weekend.

The best thing of all is that the long weekend is next weekend

WOOO HOOO

talk to you tomorrow.

which one are you ?????

i go to a bible study every thursday morning. i like it. it seems that no matter how often you read a passage or study it you always get something from it. whether it is something small or big you always get something. well... i had a big realization. i am sure that you all knew this, but i just didn't clue in until this past thursday.

isaiah 2-4 talks alot about pride and vanity. i don't classify myself as vain... but that is just what i think of myself. i never thought of myself as being proud..come on i chose to drive a mini van before i had kids.

well i still don't know how vain i am... i would ask someone to tell me, but i got call high maintenance once and that ticked me off. I would admit to being a little vain, but high maintenance NO i would not classify myself as such.

the proud thing and the minivan thing is soo true, well ok when it comes to my vehicles yes. my goal in life has always to be humble and happy with what i have. I love my life and i am happy. i beg my husband not to buy stuff for me and if soo cheapest of whatever as possible. I just want to make sure that what i have does not make someone into a green monster. i don't like when i turn into one soo i try not to make others stumble.

stuff is not the only thing that you can be proud of....proud of self is a problem. I don't have this problem either. this is arrogance, bloated head, full of themselves, and on and on. I am not like this.

but where i have the most problem is the opposite of arrogance. low self esteem. you might say that this is not a issue of pride. but it is.

pride is defined as absorbed in oneself. when you dwell about how good you think you are or how much you think you suck, you are still absorbed in yourself. your focus is still on YOU.

i struggle with the last one. i don't feel worthy of anything or anyone. but i am still thinking about me all the time. i am too fat, i talk too much, i am too pushy, i am too ugly, i am a bad mom, and on and on. i never saw this as pride. i saw this as humility.

i was wrong. it is the opposite.

instead of dwelling on what is not perfect and not the same as it used to be ( pregnancy does that) i should be dwelling on God. He made me the way He wanted and the way He likes. the funny thing about the whole thing is that in my head i am sure of that, but i still have such trouble letting other people see me as good cause that would be like blowing my head up and making me proud and that is not humble.

you ask me is there a happy medium.......yes, but to find that is only through God. He loves you the perfect amount and if you look towards Him He will help you with your self esteem issues and your pride issues.

so what am i doing....praying and trying my hardest to follow what He wants me to think.

soo which one are you???? low self esteem, too proud , or are you following what God wants you to think about yourself???? be honest.

One Whole Month....

hahaha so i am starting a whole month of blogging.

this is my first one, it will be lame.

jeremy and i are going to a friends 30th birthday party tonight.

i turn 30 this year and i am trying to decide if i want a party. i hate my birthday.

not because i am getting old, but because i hate being the centre of attention.

i like the fact that i am turning 30

i love my life. i love were we are as a family

i love what God is doing in my life and heart

why would i make a big fuss about turning old

i am not old

i know me now

i love that

so why don't i want to celebrate it

i HATE attention

what to do

what to do

Tomorrow it starts.

So I decided to take the challenge of blogging everyday for a month. I know of a couple of other people doing it in October so I will join in. I think it will be fun. Sometimes I feel like I want to blog but don't really know what to write, or what people want to hear. So whether you want to read it or not is up to you, but either way you may get some of my kids stories, my whining, or just pictures. But it should be interesting. I am excited about it, but yet a little nervous too.

So we will see how this goes.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Venessa

The New Look

So as you can see my blog has a new look. Do you like it??? Let me know if I should change anything.

There is a reason for the change....I can't believe I haven't mentioned it yet.......

We are going to Africa.

By we I mean my in laws, Jer's brother and his girlfriend and us.

YES that is right with out the kids.

I am not sure how I feel about us leaving them for 2 and 1/2 weeks. But then I get myself to look at the travel plan just for on the way to Zambia and it makes me happy that they are not involved in the 2 and 1/2 days of travel it will take to get there.

For those of you who did not know, Jeremy grow up as a missionary kid for six years of his life. It was always in Africa. Three years in Kenya and then when he was older three years in Zambia. Jer's mom has wanted to take the boys and significant others back to visit and do some touristy stuff.

So in December we are going and the kids will be here. If there is anyone that has ideas of how to make this easier on me and them PLEASE let me know. Also if anyone could let me know how to add a count down thinger to my gadgets or where ever I can please help.

I am sure to post a lot more of this trip as it comes closer.

Oh Brrrrrr or should I say Bear

We went camping September long weekend.

It was COLD!!

We didn't expect it too be warm but we were hoping that it wouldn't be supper cold and raining the whole time. Well we got there on Saturday morning and it was not hot but kind of warm until supper and then it got cool like it should this time of year.

Then we woke up to drizzle and a couple of things misplaced in two or three other campsites as we filled five. We just kind of wrote it off as it could have been a bear, but was most likely something smaller.

It rained and was cold the rest of the day and we were sleeping in a tent.....FUN!!!
Well in the afternoon my mom and aunt decided sitting in the camper was boring so we went shopping in Kamsack. haha I have also said that shopping and camping don't mix, but when you are freezing in a tent and it is still raining with two antsy kids.....I went to Kamsack.

Well after supper it stopped raining and we had a fire. It was soo nice It actually felt warmer than the night before because of less wind. We were sitting and chilling, when I heard my cousin and uncle yelling about something at the next site..we thought nothing about it until..... my other cousin yelled from the road where she was walking to the washroom, "Dad the bear is on the road looking at me ...DAD...THE BEAR"

Well we all ran to her cause she was freaking out, the guys chased the bear across a couple of our other sites and away. We found out that the bear was about 3 feet from my cousins saint Bernard, and that is way they were yelling. Thankfully the dog slept through the whole thing.

So the scared of bears person that I am... I went crazy cleaning every spec of food up and making sure there was nothing that this bear would want to come and bother us about. I thought I had gotten it all, but was wrong. Around midnightish, I heard a bang at the one corner of the tent, closest to the camper we were beside. I thought it might be my mom moving something in the camper so I just listened. Soon I heard licking and moving of plastic bags. I had shoved our cooler under the camper, thinking how was he going to smell it or get it out from under there. Well he had gotten it out from under the camper, without making it unusable again I might add, and ate almost everything. He didn't like sandwich meat very much.

I sat there praying my heart out. THERE IS A BLACK BEAR NO MORE THAN 3 FEET FROM THE TENT THAT MY FAMILY SLEEPS IN. I prayed and prayed and kept as quiet as possible.
Until a truck drove by and came to a stop. My cousin had gone to see a friend and just pulled in thank goodness. THANK YOU GOD.

The story continues........

At four in the morning my uncle and cousin come walking past our tent. They were coming to check on all the tents. Why I ask.... Well my cousin that had driven in just after midnight was also sleeping in a tent. He also heard something out side of his tent. He didn't do the same as me. He went and took a look outside just to be face to face with the bear. Well he scaled the camper, there was nothing to help him up onto it so he literally scaled the camper, which woke up his dad and he went to check on everyone else.

The bear really liked good host iced tea mix. He liked a whole lot of it. haha.

But yet the funnier part about it is that everyone but my parents, Jeremy,the kids and I, went to go watch the bear rummage through some garbage earlier in the day near the fire wood pick up in the camp ground. Us that didn't go had decided that we didn't need to see something that could hurt us unless it was behind a cage or fence.

It was an exciting weekend and can't wait to do it again next year, earlier in the summer and with no unwelcome guests.

My baby turns Two

Well my baby turns two today. Well I should say he turned two today. I am pretty sure he was born sometime in the morning. Sucks to be a second kid, mom doesn't remember anything about you....lol.

Well I love the little, or should I say big, boy to death. He is a flirt. You may think that I am joking, but if you have met him in the last 6 monthes, you know what I am talking about. His aim, anyone but especially women of the grandmother type. Oh but back to the big part, he is two wearing size three to four. YES he is that big. He weighs close to as much as my almost 4 year old does. Yet he is a big chicken. He loves trucks and cars.....well anything that has wheels basically. But yet to take him to a real truck or quad or anything like that that he likes to play with in toy form he freaks out. Won't touch it, won't go near it. We are anticipating that there will come a day when we can't keep him from them. Funny kid.

So what age do kids start to walk?? Average age is 12 month/one year. Well the day he turned 1 he took his first steps and hasn't looked back since. When do kids start with tantrums and attitude??? Hence the terrible twos. Well today he turned two. So far this kids goes by the day. He does everything down to the day. Yikes. I should have expected it. Thats my kid.

I love him and his birthday has been great. Zandria had a struggle with today. All the new things to try that Elias still hasn't seen and the fighting begins. But a good day none the less.







Ps Just wanted to let you know that I have decided that I am going public. I don't feel as if I am showing anything that could make my kids a target to anything bad. If you have any opinons or suggestions please feel free.

Change

Life is changing.
I don't know if I am ready.
I am used to making my schedule and keeping to it as much as I can.
I have a lot of flexibility.
This fall that all changes.
Zandria starts pre school.
I feel as if I am getting in over my head when it comes to the business that I am getting into.
It is not my schedule, it is hers and her teachers.
Yes I am a control freak.
I like to be in control.
I have been struggling with this for a while now. I want control. I want to direct my life. I want my say to be the last say.
It can't.
I am not in control.
God needs to be in control.
God is in control.
I need to let Him be in control. I need to let Him do this without me worrying and stressing.
I am a worrier.
I can make myself physically sick when I get a worry in my head and can't let it go.
I worry that I might miss a day of Zandria's pre school.
I worry that I might be late in dropping her off or picking her up.
I worry that we have put her in over her head.
I worry about any thing that can and can not be worried over.
I worry about everything that should and shouldn't be worried over.
God is in control.
I feel like I have to repeat this over and over.
It just feels like it goes in one ear and out the other and that I never really believe it.
This frustrates me.
Why can't I believe this?
Why can't I just give it all to God??
Why?
How?
Yikes!!
Change!!

Life???!!!???

Life
So interesting, so fun, so hard, so long yet so short.

A couple of weeks ago a lady got out of her vehicle on circle drive and got hit by a semi. Her life changed, Jeremy's co-workers life changed, so did Jeremy's to an extent. I knew her. No she would not be that type to do it on purpose, but I do not know for sure. All I can do it pray that she didn't. Life can be gone in an instant. Why only God knows and is in control. Only if everyone knew and believed.

Life can make people do crazy things that are not good for them. People seclude themselves. Why no one knows. They have their reasons that no one knows. All you can do is think of them and pray for them. Then life is gone once again.

So hard to understand. What to think? What to feel? What to do??

Camping with a girlie girl and a scaredy cat.

So last weekend we went to the lake. My parents and some of their friends have fifth wheel campers permanently parked up at Piperl lake. It is a small fishing lake. It rained off and on the whole weekend. We didn't have to battle the bugs as much with the rain, but yeah didn't do as much as we wanted too.

Elias didn't like the change he is a home body. Plus he is scared of pretty much anything that is new to him. Can you imagine him camping. SSSOOO Whiny. But we endured and had a good time.

Elias got a new truck before we left. He had fun with it in the rain.

My parents love to fish. They bought Zandria her first fishing rod.

Here she is practising her casting. My dad had to watch so he didn't get hit in the head, but she got ok at doing it.

Then came the real thing in the boat. She had soo much fun reeling it in. The boat was a new thing for her to, but she loved it.

Elias on the other had did NOT like the boat. Did NOT like the life jacket. The soother was given to get him to stop screaming when the boat was moving. When we weren't moving we took it off (he wasn't going off my lap if he could help it so I wasn't worried) so that my brother didn't get too ticked off. On the boat ride back he actually didn't scream he just whimpered a little. Maybe next time he won't cry at all. Not likely but we can always pray.


So Zandria and my dad gave up on her rod and moved to his. It was still the same, he casts and she reels in. Well on like the third or fourth cast the got a bit. She saw it right away and got excited, until it splashed up close to the boat.....she dropped the rod and just about jumped over the windshield. Thankfully my dad is not stupid and had a hand at all times on the rod thinking that her letting go of it was a good possibility.
This was about as close to it as we could get her and it lasted just long enough to get the picture. We did throw it back though.


Well a couple of weeks before one of the other couple met this fox. He came to find something to eat and keeps coming back. They seem to find it fun to feed him and keep him around. Here my dad is feeding him a hot dog. He would eat pretty much anything that you offered. We had fish for supper Saturday night, not ones that we caught, and he had the nerve to go up on the table to help himself. My brother got a good pic. I missed it though.



Hahaha. so this is a picture that got ruined by Elias running up wanting to pet the "puppy". Yeah I don't think soo.


They had soo much fun seeing some thing new.

This was not the only wildlife that they got to see, but this is the only one that I was quick enough with the camera. They also got to see the typical squirrels, eating and fighting over the peanuts that my parents fed them. They actually use a old fishing rod to fish for them.

We also saw a wood chuck. It was surprisingly tame and we got quite close. It was a good weekend. Would have been better without the rain and the bugs, but still good. We will go camping again, just don't know where yet, but it will be with our girlie girl and her princess fishing rod and fear of fish, and our scaredy cat who is afraid of everything new, except "puppies".

Summer.....Finally.

Sorry it has been a while. It has been really busy around here. We have finally got some nice weather in between the rain. The kids have wanted to spend alot of time outside, and people have wanted thier hair done. Sorry.

Since it has gotten nice out Elias has been able to wear his new jammies that are shorts. Well he was still awake at 9, so we went to lay him back down and found this. He thought it was soooo funny, but I wonder if he could have done it again. haha.

My kids and I have discovered that ladels and serving spoons make better and more durible then most sand shovels.

My daughter is a girl. She loves to dress it. She picked her clothes, and she knows that she can't go out with out her hat on, and it is very rare to see her in our back yard with shoes on.

Zandria's hair is frustrating to me right now. At about this time last year it annoyed me too. At that time I just cut off the stuff that bugged me and then made it look like it was on purpose. lol. This year is even more annoying. She won't keep anything in her hair that will keep her tangles in the back under control. SSSOOO I tried this. This took about an hour or a little less to do. I had the tv on so she was occupied. She loved it and asks me to do it all the time. The best part is that we can get away with leaving it in for about a week at a time.

This is the after. She liked that too.

Who said tv was bad for kids

My kids watch TV. I know that a lot of parents try to not let them at all. I think that I would go insane if I didn't let them, let alone nothing would get done in my house cause Zandria is at the stage were she does start to get bored and I would have to entertain her some how. Well I love Sesame street. I grew up watching it and I let them watch it every morning. They have changed it a bit, almost more educational. It is great and they both love it.

Well the other day we went on a long walk, the type you have the twin bike stroller along cause you know she won't walk the whole way. Jeremy found this feather as we were walking and gave it to Zandria. She took it and was quietly walking for a couple of minutes and then stopped. I asked her if she was coming. Her response was..." Mommy I have to put this back in its habitat" holding the feather up. "Umm well Zandria I don't think we can do that right now we have to keep walking." I commented in amazement back. I was walking in stunned silence while Jeremy tried to explain to her that the bird that lost it didn't need it anymore, sort of like when mommy cuts peoples hair off and throws it in the garbage. The bird just doesn't want it any more. Well we continued walking, as I said to Jeremy she is probably just repeating a word she heard, I am not sure she even knows what it means. Literally a minute after I said that she saw a bird in a tree and said this..." I have to put it back in its habitat, there is the birds nest in the tree. Can I go put it in there?" Jeremy and I just about lost it laughing in amazement. She knows exactly what it means. WOW. Jeremy explained it to her once again. This time I think she let it go.

One thing that they do on Sesame Street is they pick a "word on the street" and focus on the definition of this word and saying this word in different situations. She used another word that day, humongous. What 3 year old uses that word. It makes me laugh to just think of these big words coming out of her mouth. lol

There is a lot of TV out there that is not good for them too watch. I am very picky about what they do watch. It has to be educational or really really creative and imaginative. A couple of Zandria's favs are: Sesame street, Word World, Sid the Science kid, Martha Speaks, Rollie Pollie Ollie, Koala Brothers and of course one from when I was a kid again, Magic School Bus.

So I disagree with parents that say all TV is bad for kids. I think that my kid proved that wrong. You just have to be picky about what they watch, and not too much at a time.

I love my little girl. I think that she will be ready for school when she is 4 (birthday in December), what do you think???

Bad Mom

So I feel like a bad mom, but I did not take pics of Zandria at her first dentist appointments. Yes appointments. Her 2 year old molars have undeveloped enamel. She had one bigger cavity in one and two smaller ones and one didn't have anything yet, it just needed to be built up. Well I am not one to take her soo I wrangled my mother in law to go with her and sit with her as she got everything done. Well I must say that the combination of a good dentist, a brave little girl and me not being there with her resulted in a good experience for all. Her dentist has three kids and one her age, she new how to handle the situation. Zandria was just amazing. Yes she cried but what kid wouldn't there first time with that shining light and all those tools that make noise. Yes she even laughed I was told. Not sure whether it was funny comment that was made or the laughing gas that they administered through the "bunny nose". My point in this whole thing is that I feel like a bad mom. I couldn't and wouldn't stay with her during it all, plus I forgot to take pics for the little bit that I was there for. I do feel better at the fact that she did have a fairly positive experience. I just don't so well with things in my mouth or anyone else's mouth, especially needles.

Just call me referee

Well I don't know what made me think that I would never get to this point, but I was almost to that point. Elias will be 2 in September and Zandria will be 4 in December. Up until yesterday they played soo well. They would share and play and talk and cooperate. Well that went out the window yesterday and today. I thought yesterday was just a fluke. I thought that they just had an off day. NOPE. Today was worse. Non stop. I felt like a referee. What sport not sure, sometimes hockey breaking up a fight, soccer at times counting down similar to handing out yellow and then red cards, and sometimes both when I actually do have to give them a penalty, that would be a time out. I did not enjoy today. But hey I don't see it ending anytime soon. I will just have to brush up on my reffing skills and hope and pray I don't have a headache like I did today.

No........Mine!!

My Elias has learnt in the last couple of weeks the word no. How and when to use it. I hate that word. Are you hungry...No, do you want to play with me....No, do you want to eat chocolate...No.....wait ....some...some. I don't like that word. Then there is the word mine. For those of you that have watched Finding Nemo, you will understand when I call it the seagull syndrome. Mine mine mine mine. Zandria comes near him and it is Mine mine. That is all hear out of his mouth. Mine Mine. No No No. Mine Mine Mine. No. I am soo sick of hearing it. I hope this stage ends soon. Oh and what makes it worse is when Zandria gets a bit bored and think Hmm I haven't heard those words in a while. Then she goes and tries to take his toy or whatever she needs to do to get him to say those words. Then she giggles or just gives that grin like haha I did it on purpose and got the response I wanted it. IT DRIVES ME NUTS.

Talk...Talk... and more Talk

Ok so again I am by myself. I do not feel bored and lonely like last time. Well no I am bored and lonely but am not having a pity party like I was last time. I think that I started this blog because I am a talker, Jer isn't here to talk to about just about anything that comes to my mind so I started a blog. haha. I am sorry to all who thought it was something else. An up side to it all is that my life and mind are pretty full of stuff that surrounds my kids, which are supper cute.

Let us start with Elias..... Lately he has shown us a part of his personality that would describe him as purely mennonite. My wonderful husband went and got me one of my favorite things in the world to eat. He went and got me a couple of almond croissants for breakfast and the kids got muffins and a couple of fruit pastry things to share with him. Well Elias looked as this all and flipped out. We offered him all three things for breakfast. Nothing would do. I finally said well should we give him some yogurt, one out of three of his usual breakfast foods. Needless to say it was what he wanted. It was all about routine. He also had a granola bar, which is what he usually has with his yogurt. Then just now I had to go and calm Elias down for bed for the second time, I was trying to figure out what the problem was. He has been doing this for the last 3 or 4 nights and it is starting to get irritating. So I thought about it and I had washed bedding on thursday of last week. He didn't have his regular bedding so I pulled out his regular blanket and put it on him. hahaha and that was the trick. He went right to bed. haha. Such a mennonite. Change is something that Elias is not a fan of. We have always seen him as a happy easy going kid, and then he pulls this out. Yikes. We are in trouble I think.

Ok so as far as mothers day goes. I had a really good weekend. My kids made me some pictures and cards, and my husband got me some good breakfast meal. YUM. I would post pics of me and my kids, but I don't have any. I don't like picture even with my kids. So yeah sorry.

Zandria is in birthday heaven. There have been alot of birthdays recently. She is all about cakes. Jeremy's birthday is coming up on saturday and Jeremy has been trying to prep her about the fact that he is not going to have any decoration made out of icing on his cake. She says why and he explains that he wants a cheesecake and that icing does not belong or taste good on it. She just does not understand. The cake is vital in her mind. One of the birthdays that is coming up that we are invited to is her friend Libby. She loves Libby. The first thing that she asked when I told her about the party was "what kind of cake" which means what is it going to look like. We found out that it is going to be tinker bell. Well this is exciting but not as exciting as talking about what her birthday cake is going to look like in just over 6 months from now. hahaa. She is such a cutie. Birthday crazy. At her friend Rylan's birthday Rylans mom said ok lets start to sing and Zandria started everyone off with "happy birthday". She can kind of keep a tune too. Then there are birthday cards. She could spend like an hour int he card isle at superstore. She loves it. I love her because she loves and because I totally don't. I hate birthdays, well no I hate my birthday, love everyone else's. haha it usually involves cake and icing. haha.

So that is enough for tonight.
I am sorry if this annoys you.......just don't read again. haha.

Until my next rant and/or something interesting happens in our house .... talk to you soon.

Venessa

So much to say.....

What do you do when you have too much in your mind. I feel like I need to say it, or write it, but the only place I have is here, but you won't be interested. What to do??? Well I am soo sorry, but I am going to spill what my mind is thinking on here right now. I am soo sorry if you just don't care........So this is your warning that you may not want to continue.


Ok so I had no idea how smart a three year old can be. So we were at one of Zandria's friends birthday party, she was playing with some of the gift bags that were given. She was also colouring some pages that were ripped out of a colouring book that was received by the boy. She decided to put a picture in each bag, but did not have enough pictures for all of the bags, so she asked me to rip out some more. I said no she could just put the colouring book in there. She proceeded to almost throw a temper tantrum, but I stopped that. She stood there quietly for about five minutes or so while I talked and then she asked me if she could colour some more. I said sure and opened the book for her to colour. She looked at the book and then at me and then at the book again. Then she started to rip it out, I stopped her and told her to just leave it. She said no and started to rip it the rest of the way. Then she coloured for a minute and then put it in the one remaining empty gift bag. I honestly didn't know that a three year old could problem solve like that, and for that matter be so particular. I was shocked and proud at the same time, or and very annoyed that she got her way.


Now for the next thing. I am at home right now by myself, well the kids are here but they are asleep. I am the only adult here. I have been at home by myself now form Monday to Thursday for the past two months now. I know that I don't have a choice. I know that no matter what kind of a job there are always out of town trips. I know that Jer likes his job. I know that it pays the bills and give me an opportunity to stay home with the kids. I know that it could be worse. I miss Jeremy a lot during the week, but we do get a three day weekend every weekend. I have a hard time having patience with the kids. Some weeks the patience runs out on Thursday morning or afternoon. Other weeks (like this one) I struggle to get to supper each day. On those days I just try to figure out how last week was so different or sometimes even how yesterday was so different. It is just so weird.


Our street is closed. Our water main are being serviced in some sort of way. We have pipe lining the street and is annoying to drive over to get into our driveway. Plus when driving you have to dodge a lot of material, equipment and workers. But the up side is that it keeps the kids amused for a while.... Elias a lot longer than Zandria. They are loud also. Oh well at least it is getting done properly. They are saying it could take till mid July. That is a Long Time.


Oh the stuff going through my mind. There is sooo much more, but I am getting tired and I want to go to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow is more relaxing then today, or at least more productive.

Sorry to all of you who read this and think oh she should stop complaining, or oh this was boring. Well I did give you a warning so deal with it. haha. I just needed to "talk".

Venessa

I Love Road Trips.

I really do love road trips. I like driving some where. There are no people around me that I don't know, I have control most of the time how fast we have to go and what happens in the vehicle. I just really enjoy road trip.
Well yesterday the kids and I packed up on a mini road trip to go and see Jer in North Battleford. We were going to go and have supper with him and then hang out for a couple of hours and then head back after bed time. I have done this once before and worked out great. Yesterday was different. On the way there I stop for Tims and got some timbits while there. The kids had two each and then Zandria got bored so I gave her another snack which was all good. I gave the same thing to Elias thinking he would complain otherwise. He did, but he didn't eat it. Ok whatever. Zandria got bored again so I turned on a movie for her to watch, and Elias was content to play with his truck. Around 20 minutes outside of North Battleford it happened. I heard Elias cough and then I looked in the mirror and slammed on the brakes. He was vomiting. So I opened up the van door and he looked at me and then proceed to vomit some more. It was a mess. I cleaned him up and then continued driving, praying the whole time that he was done. (This next part is gross but weird and has to be said) He hadn't puked up all that he had eaten for lunch only some of it. So weird.
Well we made it to Jers hotel and Jer cleaned him up the rest of the way in the hotel room. Elias was in a great mood, no fever, no grumpiness, lots of energy, he was fine.
So we have come to the conclusion that Elias might have a little bit of car sickness or motion sickness. We have never noticed it before , but then again he normally hasn't eating this much while in the van. I don't know if that is the only reason, but we are pretty sure that motion sickness was his problem. He even ate a big supper. We did take precautions and get some motion sickness meds for the ride home. We did not have any incidents on the way home.
I love road trips. I can't believe I have a child that can get car sick. This just sucks. But I guess if I still want to go on trip I just have to plan a bit more time so we can stop to eat and let it process a bit before taking off again. Oh well got to do what I got to do.
It was an eventful five hours, but whatever I will probably do it again.
I love learning new things about my kids.

Princess Play

Some people have asked me if I regret having my kids so close together. First, I don't think that 22 months is that close, would have liked it closer. Second, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have been waiting for the day when they would really play together. Don't get me wrong they have played together for awhile, but it has been mostly Zandria amusing Elias. The other day Zandria decided to play dress up, and Elias wanted it. Zandria picked an outfit for him and he let me help him put it on, and they truly played together. I loved it sooo much. Jeremy Can't wait for these pictures to come out at his wedding. lol.

He makes a really cute princess.

When they want to they can share really well.

You know you say share too often when it is in the top 10 words your 19 month old says.

Love it.

That is as good as it gets. I have such a hard time getting him to look at the camera without being like an inch from it. haha. Zandria on the other hand is a girl that loves the attention of the camera.

Nap????

So Zandria is kind of in limbo when it comes to naps. She has always liked her sleep. I thought that she would nap for a long time. It seems as if it may go away sooner than I had hoped.

This past Saturday she decided that she would have about an hour quiet time in her room instead of a nap. After the time in her room was done we were going outside to play and go for a walk since it was beautiful out side. Well......................

Yes my daughter fell asleep in the wagon on our walk.

It was sooo funny. When we got home we had to take a picture.


Now we know if she is really tired she will fall asleep anywhere, even on a bumpy wagon ride.







Here is one with Elias. Couldn't leave him out. lol

Enjoy.

Venessa

Wow is all I can say.

My kids never cease to amaze me. It all started last week Monday. Elias had to get his 18 month old shot. Ok so I should start when Zandria was 18 months I took her to get her shot and she did not cry and only flinched on two of the three needles that she got that day. She watched the needles go in and everything. I thought this kid is crazy. Elias is not as tough as Zandria is, he cry more and more easily. So last Monday I expected it to be a screaming fit. So we sit I cuddle and hold him tight, I look away as I always have, the first needle nothing. The second....nothing not even a flinch. The third, the deeper of the three, a little flinch. WOW. I was absolutely shocked. Unlike Zandria, Elias got very cranky for the next 24 hours after.

When we go for shot we go to a drop-in clinic were there are 3or 4 health nurses, and a dental assistant that does fluoride coating for free. So I took both of the kids there. Zandria sat there like a perfect angel :) haha . While the dental person proceeded to tell me that there is something wrong with her enamel on her two year old molars, and that she had cavities on all four of them. YIKES. She informed me that I need to take her to her dentist asap. Elias we must have asked to much of him that day already, because to get that fluoride on was a fight.

So that brings us to today. Zandria had her first dental check up. We tried to prep her on what would happen and she just said, oh ok, oh oh yeah. I didn't think I was getting her to fully comprehend, so what I did was bribe her. I told her we would buy her a treat if you was really good. So we got there and she did everything perfect. She had no problems they even polished her teeth. I was flabbergasted. I did not expect her to be so ok with someone having so many tools in her mouth. As I sat there watching her I realized that she probably would have been great with out the bribe. Shot. I still got it for her. But now I am like well do I do it for the cavities that she needs done too? Is it fair of me not to do it again?? Only if I would have known. What other 3 year old would be so ok with it?

My kids amaze me.

WOW.

My daughter is 3 and a half years old. She has been potty trained since just before her 3rd birth day. She has been night trained since two weeks after she was trained, but lately she has been waking up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom. She has not done this before, or very seldom. So jeremy is getting frustrated. He wants to put a night light in the bathroom so that she can go in the middle of the night by herself. I don't think it will work.

What do you think will work and does anyone have any ideas how to make it so we don't have to get up and help her.


I know this is all new to me the blogging thing. I do think that I don't have alot to write right now, but sometimes I do. I don't know how to post pics, but soon I will learn how or get someone to show me. Sorry if it is boring.

Hey So I have never blogged before, but thought it would be fun. I don't have anything to write at the moment, but I will I am just trying to figure out how to make it work, so have patience with me please.