January Blahs

...yup Niki--i am plagerizing your blog title since it is so fitting to mine. It has been a tough week with cabin fever and fighting all the sickness that has been surrounding us lately--we lost the battle a few days ago when Elliot and i both came down with sore throats and runny noses. I guess we can be thankful it wasn't the flu??? But it still sucks to be sick while keeping up the endurance it takes to get through January out in the country with two busy little guys!! I have been sad, mad, miserable, happy, thankful, raging mad...mostly all in one day lately...seriously, i can squeeze all those emotions into one day! I think its been a harder week than usual because Elliot has not been happy--he walks around for much of the day (if we are at home) whining and he has developed this pitch that i swear would attract dogs if we lived in the city!! But that is how my kids take me to the brink of my sanity and back again and funny enough, it is ME that feels bad, and not them!! Aren't they the reason i am going through all this work???? But then, i take a look at these pictures, and i get my perspective back again at how lucky i am.

I think it all started with an amazing visit with my great friend Meg....we were both kid-less for the afternoon while she was at a Young Life Conference in cowichan bay...we had lunch (yes, we sat through the ENTIRE thing..i didn't have to get up or cut anyones food, or feed anyone!) actually, that last part isn't true--i fed Meg her first Dynamite Roll! She threatened to plug her nose...but she ended up being won over......but i digress...after lunch, we shopped (nothing fun really, just some fruits and veggies--but the point is that it was alone!!!)-and then we went back to the hotel for a quick 4 minute burst of 'sunshine' for her first tan ever!!

To be able to actually talk with someone i love who has history with me and has known me for over 10 years (before kids!!) without being interupted was pure bliss....But can i just tell you.....the next 4 days after that have been so hard since i had a small taste of what that freedom tasted like and how much i really really miss it!!!!
So, i am working on changing my perspective and staying positive.....though on the flip side, i wouldn't trade what i have for the whole world!! Pretty whacked out eh? So, we had a really nice weekend together...here are some shots Chris and I have taken with our new camera.

So....this is a new week, and it WILL be better!!


This is a shot i caught in the van on the way home....Isaac holding his brothers hand while he slept...it was the sweetest thing.

In our history at being at camp...the lake has never frozen!! It was quite momentous!

..this week

Its been a good week...we've had alot of visits with friends, been cooking a few new things, trying to keep up with the housework.....normal week-but today has sort of loomed ahead of me as we have no plans. I hate having no plans - well, i guess i like it better than having too many plans because then i get tired and overwhelmed--so life is a fine balance isn't it?

I was so proud of isaac yesturday morning as we headed to his playschool - he decided he wanted to wear his buzz lightyear costume to show all his friends at school. I admired him...didn't care at ALL that nobody else does this - he marches to his own drum thats for sure--i need to take lessons on that.
And as for Elliot--i figure his first year of perfect baby syndrome has caught up...no parent is allowed to just have a perfectly textbook baby who is content unless he is hungry or tired...things will change and they have!! Elliot is officially trying my patience these days...he walks around shrieking, or crying because he is frustrated since he can't communicate his wants. He has signs and he uses them as best he can....but arg!! He drives me nuts these days...and its Isaac who is the easier one lately. (man, i hate to 'label' but how else can you sort of describe how things are going with their characters?)
So, as i said - its been a good week - this is life....my life

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Well, its 2008! I have a one year old and a three year old--both of which are amazing little guys and a husband i adore who just brought us back from California because we had time on our hands and wanted an adventure with our boys! I may post pics of that trip later, but probably not--as i am onto the new year now! Whats on my mind now is last nights party and how amazing it was that at one point of the evening some of my most favorite people in my life were in the same room....some of my girlfriends with their families, my in-laws, my husband and my babies......just playing! Here is a pic of us playing......too bad i didn't get any shots of the rollerskating routine me and my Diva friend amanda thought up---maybe you will see it on youtube in the next while!


But seriously---this last year has been so full of blessings, i can hardly keep count. God has been so good.....i feel so humbled when i think about it. So--Happy New Year---may this next year be as amazing as the last.

It's that time again.......

Camp is done for Chris for the month of December and we are thirsting for some good old adventure!! Since time is plenty and money is not....we figured the most bang for our 'solid dollar' would be to head South via (ahem..sniff) our VAN!! Ah, a fine day it would be to be rich and have a huge luxury motorhome to cruise the interstate in....but perhaps another time....for our kids our little and this is what memories are made of!
We have sort of been dreading the actual driving part of the trip, but the boys seem to travel well on a whole, and we are looking forward to seeing some family and meeting some new people and just seeing where the road takes us. We have a real loose itinerary of traveling down the oregon coast. But first we are staying with some family in Mt Vernon, Washington, then down to Oregon to visit Aunt Betty on Chris's side then down to California to see family on my side. We are sketchy on whether or not we will make it all the way down to cali---but we have left the option open to turn around at any time or change our route at a moments notice!

We will be packing puzzles, movies, stories on tape....we have a whole system prepared for the back of the van to make it the most space efficient along with a roof top carrier that looks like a big mac container that chris scooped from the free store last summer, powerwashed it and voila-good as new! It was initially going to be a usedvictoria sale item, but we never got around to it--good thing eh? This big mac container will be holding our red jogging stroller since its the most comfy for elliot on those long hikes and isaac can sit on it when he gets tired...so the umbrella stroller didn't make the cut this time round!!

Chris and i have been waivering back and forth on why are we doing this crazy drive--and 2 night ago was his turn to waiver--we both just want to go somewhere warm where there will be no risk of black outs (we've already had one a few days ago to remind us how much they suck!!) - so yesturday morning, i spent 3 hours searching, calling, emailing etc to find us a hot destination that didn't require passports and was within our $2000 budget. Punta Cana was the place, no passports needed, within budget..but when it came time to put a deposit with the credit card i had been holding all morning (since i had called in for my avion points to redeem)--do you think i could find that lousy card????? nope! i searched high and low for an hour! This house isn't that big....but nope. Chris and i finally decided that it was silly to spend all that money for only 1 week, and so many things have just fallen into place for this trip, that we said 'ok....road trip back on'. And the moment we decided that, i walked into the office to sit down and email the travel agent at the desk i had scowered 3 times prior for that card.....ta-daa--there was the card almost right on top of the keyboard under one little piece of paper. So--there you had it folks.....more confirmation--sniff-no beach, just road.

I'll tell you one thing though--those points are being saved for a wicked trip to somewhere hot with white beaches for september 13, 2008 for our 10 year anniversary with no kids!! Tell you that much!!!!

ADIOS!!!

a night away??? you don't SAY......

Yup--its true...i was away with no KIDS!!! For a whole 17 hours with my fellow 'friend in the trenches' Cristin Smith. We ate way too much junk food, watched some chick flicks, dipped our hands in wax, laughed, drank wine.....everything that a sleepover consists of except gossip--we don't really have too much exciting to gossip about now that we're moms with different sets of friends pretty much. But it was glorious!! I was so giddy by the time she came to pick me up and the time flew by...seriously--way too fast.

Her folks have a house on the lake in youbou...here is a pic of the view from my room.

Fort Rod Hill

It was a good day out--finally a really nice day aside from a tiny bit of rain! But the boys had such a great day and i was thrilled to be out of the house!! It was a bit of a preview to what December is going to be like with Chris off for the month! He had hosted last weekend, so he had monday, tuesday and wednesday off and he has this weekend off--so it feels good to have him around a little more to play! However, for some reason, i find we spend more money when he is off...not sure why-but maybe its because i hang out at home more when he works hence moolah stays in the pocket!!

Fall.....

We love the fall--this morning while isaac was at playschool, Elliot and i were playing out on the deck. He was inspecting a leaf while i was cleaning off a toy and suddenly there was a huge gush of wind and a whole whack of leaves from the tree in our front yard came floating down. It was stunning--it was like god just bent down and gave a little puff for us to enjoy all the colors and sudden whirlwind of leaves.



Chris and i are doing some deep thinking about traveling and vacations etc...and i think we are deciding that when we truly think about traveling with these boys while they are so young--maybe it will be harder than its worth? To traipse them all over the states whether we fly or drive, it would be way more fun when they are older. We are thinking maybe we will save all our avion points for a really hot, relaxing vacation for our 10 year anniversary next fall for just Chris and i.....sigh!!!!

My dads cousin who lives an hour from Seattle has invited us to come and stay at their home while they vacation in florida...so i think that would be a fun opportunity--not too long in the van, financially a good idea, and still gives us the chance to make some really great memories.....so, thats the process so far!!

My friend Niki had her baby finally last night-i have been checking her blog 4 times a day at least for any updates..and yesturday she had a baby that weighed almost 11 pounds!!! I can't wait to hear the whole story! ok--signing off--need to make a grocery list and pick isaac up from playschool! Ciao!!

Bob the Builder, Superman and a Little Bear!!

Including a costume change on Elliots part, he was Superman indoors, and a warm little bear when heading outdoors! Isaac decided moments before leaving the house that he wanted to be Bob the Builder!! Such sweet little souls....aren't they adorable!?

...i can't look away!!!!!

Seriously......i started to watching this awful movie tonight, which i later found out was based (loosely) on true events in australia where tourists would break down on this lonely highway to be rescued by a Crocodile Dundee kind of guy, only for him to turn into a psychopath who tortures them. I kept trying to turn the channel, but then i kept turning it back for one second at a time to see what was happening next!! How sick is that?? i was totally disturbed through the whole thing, hoping they would get away from this awful man only to find out at the end that there was no real happy ending. It was graphic and violent and totally disturbing and i am sitting here wondering why i kept having to turn the channel back?? i actually, at one point, called chris in to take the remote and help me. He took it, then handed it back after a few minutes saying with a knowing nod 'Sharon, you watch what you want'.....arg! ok FINE--i want to watch the psycho! no i don't! yes i do! NO!! so, yup-watched the end, turned out to be called wolf creek....ever heard of it?? i am sitting here now very disturbed and am making sure that my doors and windows are locked. man--all the scary movies bombard you at halloween don't they???

Little Bear and Superman

The superman costume was originally bought for Elliot - but Isaac loved the idea of being a superhero - and though the legs were like knickers on him.....he loved it. This was yesterday at isaacs playschool halloween party. He had a great time running around in the gym with the rest of the kids, but i have issues with what junk they feed them at these parties--why hotdogs, chips, and cupcakes?? As parents, we all had to bring something assigned to us - for me, it was juice. But why couldn't we have buns, meat,carrots, apples and ok-the cupcakes were so good and i love the mom who brought the mini-cupcakes so my kids didn't have suger overload from the massive ones. But seriously--i kept saying, its only today, they don't eat like this normally.....sigh.

My little Diaper Heads..

i love that these 2 boys have a sense of humor and are starting to distinguish what would be pretty hilarious! The diaper on the head was Elliots idea....and big brother confirmed...'yup! thats funny! let's do it!'

My friend Cristin.....

....had a birthday last thursday!! We had a great dinner and her favorite dessert (favorite as far as i know, but how can a girl have only ONE favorite??? i'm sure she has more!). But Cristin has become a really great friend to me these past few years as we watch our kids grow up together. She is the most conscientious and thoughtful friend...and her husband commented to me tonight that Cristin will never say a bad thing about another person...and i can confirm that.

When she was pregnant, we met at Jitters coffee bar where she told me the news about Olivias arrival...and 3 weeks later, i brought her back to the same coffee place, same seat and told her that i was pregnant with Isaac!! So, we have some pretty special history...and i love her to pieces.

Sunday with the boys.....

Its been raining and raining......so we have been playing inside alot! Today Chris and i organized in a few places around the house - that always feels good to do that once in awhile--like, i de-cluttered all the pictures on my fridge to only a few...took down all isaacs art (which is lovely but takes up ALOT of room!) and i find now when i go into the kitchen, i breath alot easier...weird eh? To realize that fridge actually is white!!

We played in the rain, took a ride on the golf cart around the property, played in the new castle (chris put a sheet over top -so today it was a top secret hide-out!!) and went to grandma and uppa's house for dinner tonight...so it was an eventful day.






So-life is good at the moment. We are still stressing abit over the month off in december whether we will have the finances or idea to do something fun! The last 2 years have been a bit of a struggle since we have totally dropped one income....funny how an extra grand per month in maternity pay really does make a huge difference!! hmm..funny..not!! So--maybe we will just end up staying home, taking short road trips...maybe a motorhome will present itself and we can hit the open road with no itinerary, but we won't be doing it in the van (well, i won't be.... willingly anyways....). This is all a stage..i know this...because in my mind, i know that one day i will be wealthy..just not now because i want to play with my kids.

and that sits well with my soul.

life....sweet life (warning: Graphic Pictures)

Life feels a little on the edge the last few days..since thursday 4:45pm to be exact since Chris had his hovercraft accident. The blade behind him that propels the hovercraft forward (which is attached to the motor which is attached to the base of the hovercraft) came off and hit him in the back at 4500 rotations a minute. The motor came off the base and landed where he was sitting too, so who knows what exactly happened.....but he got about 15-17 stitches in the ER that night and has been going full tilt all weekend with the staff retreat because he has been feeling fine. Today is the 3rd day and everyone knows that after a car accident, you may feel fine for the first few days but that third day will be more painful if you've been pushing it the first 2 days--so here we are--3rd day and he honestly is a wreck. He started walking with his left side tensed yesturday to compensate for the pain so today his body aches from that, his wound leaked through the bandages onto the couch last night while he was sleeping, he feels lightheaded, exhausted...etc. So i have been pulling out all my first aid, but its not as fun when you are working on your partner and not a stranger!


The point of my blog today is just to get down on paper that i am feeling like i have had a layer of protection stripped from my senses. i have felt safe for so long with this man and to know that he was an instant, a movement, an inch from something worse happening on that hovercraft makes me feel pretty shaky. I feel shaky....i don't feel like things are ok yet--and this feeling worries me. Is it the little voice saying that things aren't ok? or is it just me being a worried partner? i love him more than anything in the world and he makes my life beautiful. So..i am feeling grateful but still very much on edge. My mom sent me some insight in an email yesterday saying:

...your heart is in your throat and you feel that you have been extra blessed and spared a really bad time...and it’s easier to keep that gratitude feeling when you know exactly what it is.

Thanksgiving Monday

We had our friends Dan and Karen, Mike and Christie and their kids comes over monday afternoon for a hike to go geocaching and a potluck--everything was so good! We had 8 adults and 9 kids total at dinner (yup-we were outnumbered!) But we had lots of laughs.....it was a great thanksgiving monday.
Finding the Geocache at Skutz Falls - lots of treasure on this one! There were 2 toonies, swim tickets, a little kermit and gonzo, a compass....more that i can't remember-but it was a cool one to find with the kids since there were lots of kids stuff in it!
This is me with Christie and Karen....Karen, as you can tell, is the real serious one
!

Walking Boy!!

This Blogger has left the building.....

BLOGGING SABATICAL!

9 years married....

Chris flew out to kelowna on our anniversary last thursday to spend the last few days of our holiday together. We were all very excited to see him! We went on a couple trips including a couple orchard tours, a honey bee farm, hanging out on the beach...and had a week of real "summer' together--the weather was so great-check out the tan! Even the boys are pretty brown with whiter hair than when we left!

So here is the castle story--we found this amazing castle structure at a garage sale saturday morning....its SO cool and perfect for both boys--but the only hitch is--its big! We were going to sell it (and did get a bite the day before we left but by then decided we really wanted it--) Its seriously one of the coolest structures i had ever seen - secret door, lookout tower...cool stuff for little guys! So, we packed it up as small as it would go and off to the airport we went.......this is us waiting to see if it could come home with us -nope...too big! sigh....so--anyone want to go to kelowna?? i am trying to devise a plan to get it to the island - anyone have any ideas???

Okanagan Holiday

It's day 3 and the boys and I flew to kelowna for a bit of a holiday. Days one and two are always great but very hard because everyone is out of whack - but now i think we are officially over that hump and finding our routine. Whew-those first couple days are fun but the boys are so out of sync, making me exhausted at the end of the day!

Anyways---Sunday we went to ArtWalk in Winfield which was cool - and then to the local apple orchard for brunch that overlooked the valley and then a tour around the orchard. Its interesting watching my parents out in public with my kids. After both boys were finished eating, they wanted to walk around the outside patio. People were looking at them and smiling but mom and dad seemed very concerned that they were bothering people...;-) So-i felt pretty 'on' those first few days.

The apartment above the garage is awesome--and its currently staged to sell (as their home is on the market) - but the place is windows all around..so its like daylight all day starting at 6am!! Arg! And by day 2 i am going squirly from lack of sleep and breaks from those boys! So yesturday my dad taped up garbage bags on all the windows and now we are all back on schedule with 2 hour naps and sleeps starting at 7ish enstead of 9ish!

Isaac got a bike with training wheels as a surprise from nona and granddad this morning....they put it beside the harleys and this morning let isaac push the garage door opener to reveal the big surprise. It was cool- isaac was pretty excited - but he was more thrilled to see the horn!!! (yes-and we are all still thrilled about that horn (not!!) ;-)

So-at this very moment-life feels a bit more normal--mom left for yoga in a panic, dad left on his harley for work to see a customer, elliot is napping and isaac is playing with the dogs in the courtyard where i can watch him from the computer. He keeps coming in to ask me questions or make demands...but that is pretty normal. Carrie should be here soon to hang out - i think we may go to the beach like we did yesturday..the weather is gorgeous here! I don't think i will tell her that isaac and the dogs wrecked her really nice volleyball..i think we will just go and buy her a new one..lame. i have some plans to see some old friends this week that i am pretty excited about - facebook is awesome for hooking friends back up--love it!

Chris arrives in 2 more sleeps on our 9 year anniversary...pretty excited to see him-there is a definate gap when he is not here.

Anyways--i should go play with isaac......

Its 4:30am......

...and here i am. I normally feel quite safe in my life but I just had a bad dream. I am surrounded by love, have a wonderful home, and a dog that will bark at any approaching thing - which i hate but love at the same time because it makes me feel safe - but tonight i woke up feeling scared after a dream i had: Isaac was over at his friends Alex' house and Alex had gone to bed but isaac wanted to have fun in their shower (weird i know - but...thats beside the point). Amanda and Gene were home but for some reason, Amanda went away and i was also at my home (so isaac is there on his own with gene - but gene doesn't show up in the dream) - so i head over to their house to be with isaac. While i am there about to head up the stairs towards the bathroom - amanda calls on the phone and says frantically that there were some men coming who said they were from the mustard seed but she just found out that they weren't from there-they were bad men...and by this point i see them coming and they are between me and the bathroom where isaac is. Its at this point where i am still currently feeling sick and uneasy...but a 'to the death' type feeling comes over me. The rest of the dream is pointless to tell but the feeling that i just woke up with is still here.

Do you ever go into your kids room and lie beside them while they sleep and just pray 'please....please..'. Its so scary being a parent and tonight i just lay there thinking how fast things could change, but mostly, i need to remember that there are bad people out there and i don't often think that way. So, tonight (or this morning), i am feeling still a little anxious but so thankful. My prayer to god has gone from 'please..please' to 'thank-you..thank-you!!'

Summer is officially over........

Camp is over, staff are gone, and the place is ours again....well, sort of--we just had a new family move in next door - and so far, its actually been nice. Between the 2 families-we have a week old baby, a 1,2,3 and 4 year old!! so-i think it will be pretty cool to have them all play together this year. Becky and i used to work at Qwanoes together in our younger years--she was the 'orange' girl---orange hair, orange knee highs, toques, etc....she was pretty cool--so hopefully we can become friends.

Today we are heading to the west coast to watch the waves come in and hopefully see some whales (which was Isaacs request). Sorry i have been slacking on the blogging--the whole reason i started this was so that my family would stay updated, but they never check it, so i am still pondering the reason i do this........anyways--Happy Long Weekend!!!