Seven Up!

Fun, fun! My first tagging! I was tagged by Karla to do the following:

Go to the photos folder on your computer.
Go to the seventh folder of photos.
Go to the seventh photo.
Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
Invite seven friends to join.

So here's what the mathematics turned up:



This picture was taken by me on December 21, 2008 - just a few days before Christmas. This Christmas was a white one, and then some! I don't remember there ever being as much snow in winter around here, ever. This isn't a fabulous shot - it's not artsy, or technically sound, or particularly evocative - but here it is, the seventh of seven.

So now - I have to tag seven people. I tag Margot, Eleonor, Rachel, Stacey, Sheryl, Carla, and Kat!

Alright, friends - post your pics!

A Lovebug Blog Challenge...

I'm so excited that Lovebug has a blog! I, like many other people I know, are addicted to blogs, so it's great to have another blog to check in on. For those of you who are not familiar with Lovebug Scrapbooking, it is the friendliest community of scrappers that I have ever encountered. Along with the blog, there is a forum, a store, and a gallery. A little something for everyone!

This challenge was a scraplift challenge, and the chosen layout was by Lys, aka 'iamalloverit'. Lys had turned out to be my 'secret Santa' this past Christmas, and I ended up using some of the chipboard she sent me - thanks again, Lys! I'm not a 'literal' scraplifter - I usually use the inspiration piece as a launching pad and then head off in whatever direction I end up going. With this layout, I kept the basic composition and the 'time' theme, and ran with it. Thank you Lovebug, and thank you, Lys - the blog's first scraplift challenge was good fun!

Just sharing some newfound goodness...

I am absolutely in love with the blogging world, especially as it pertains to scrapbooking, photography, and all things crafty and creative! Last week I discovered this lovely lady's blog o' plenty, and this week via her blog, I linked up to this creative wunderkind. The goodness just never ends, I tell you!

A funny email...

My sister sent me a funny email today that actually made me laugh, and because I could relate to enough of it, I thought I'd repeat it here:






BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

Your Clothes:

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.

2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.

3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.

2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.

2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.

3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.

2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.

3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.

2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours,if needed.

3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics , Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.

2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.

3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins (a childhood classic):

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.

2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.

3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

So how much did you find yourself relating to this?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top of the morning to ye! Kiss me! I'm (1/16th) Irish!

Wishing everybody, green or otherwise, a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!








An Irish Blessing, to mark the occasion:

Lucky stars above you,
Sunshine on your way,
Many friends to love you,
Joy in work and play-
Laughter to outweigh each care,
In your heart a song-
And gladness waiting everywhere
All your whole life long!

And one more, for good measure:

May you be half an hour in Heaven
Before the Devil knows you’re dead!

Sláinte chugat
(Good health to you!)

Cup Half Full...

Okay. Lying here feeling all sorry for myself is getting old, so now I'm taking a moment to focus on some positive things.

Positive Thing #1
In between naps, I have been blog-hopping, checking out other people's links, etc. and I serendipitously happened upon a blog called 'One Little Word'. OMGosh - I'm in love!! My boring, painfully long sick days have now turned into lots of free time to dig into this blog! Yay!

Positive Thing #2
Casey came home from soccer school super stoked, proudly sporting a new jersey, and not nearly as wet as I anticipated him to be!!

Positive Thing #3
My sinuses popped, relieving much pressure in my face AND in my ears - and I'm actually feeling clearer right now than I have in days!

Positive Thing #4
My husband. There will never be enough words, or enough time, to ever be able to come anywhere close to expressing just how amazing he is and how lucky I am.

Positive Thing #5
I just realized today that I have had this blog for over TWO years already!! How is that possible?? I was so skeptical when I first started it, somewhat sheepish about having it, but have grown to love it ever so much!! It has been so great, so fun...so here's to another couple of years of happy blogging in Jillville! :)

Frustrated!!!

So here I am again and still, blogging from bed. Dang it! I am no better today than I was almost a week ago when I first got sick, and I'm super p*ssed about it!! I would so rather be at work! I would so rather be cleaning the house! I would so rather be doing anything other than lying in my bed, stuffy and achy and tired and BORED TO DEATH!! Frustrated!! I promised myself that this was NOT going to be another self-indulgent post about poor me I'm sick boo hoo etc. SO - moving right along...

Let's talk about the rain! Ah yes, Vancouver's liquid sunshine. Such a classic Spring Break on the Wet Coast! Casey's in a week long half-day soccer school program and he is super excited about it! Of course, we signed him up for this before he came down with pneumonia, ear infection, etc. So now he's out in the elements, running around, exerting himself, soaked through from head to toe...I remember reading a long time ago a magazine or newspaper article called "Old Wives Tales Debunked!" or some such thing. The article stated that the whole myth about kids catching cold from being out in the rain and/or cold etc. was untrue - colds are caused by viruses, not weather. Okay, makes sense. But I still can't shake my sense of guilt about sending my newly recovered Casey outside for three hours on a day like today! He has been SO excited about it though - to tell him he can't go would probably be worse for him than the weather and us Vancouverites, we gotta be tough! We can't slow down or stop for a little rain! We'd cease to exist!! I remember seeing a t-shirt when I was a kid - it said, "Welcome to the Vancouver Rain Festival! September 1 to August 31!". It took me a minute to figure it out, but once I did - HAH! I loved it! And that about sums it up, doesn't it?! So that takes up back to Spring Break. I do feel disappointed about the weather. Between the rain and me being sick, there's not much fun going on around here for the kids. So, I have to toss aside most, if not all, of my plans with them for the week, but I'm still holding out for Friday. We have been planning on driving down to Seattle to spend the weekend with my sister and her family - my little niece is turning 2 on the first day of Spring! She's only seven weeks younger than Cody. We haven't gotten together with all the kids in months and months, so this trip HAS to happen!! I HAVE to be better by then! Rain or shine, it will be a splendid, excellent, super fun time. Fingers crossed!

Sigh...mustering effort...

Gotta love a laptop! I'm home sick from work today and am blogging from bed! If I didn't feel so sh*tty, I'd feel decadent! I have to confess - I am a big, sniveling, whining wimp when I am sick! I loudly and proudly display all of the characteristics and mannerisms that, in healthy days, I actively despise in other people! I hate being sick - and one of the reasons why, I realized yesterday through today, is that it's boring, and it is the only time that I am ever bored! Too tired, achy, creaky, snotty, weakened, sweaty, chilly, itchy, irritable, thirsty, chapped to be able to do anything. Clothing on my skin is uncomfortable and annoying, my bed sheets and covers get all twisted and tangled, my hair is all flattened and agitating...the curtains are closed when I want them open, then they are open when I want them closed...my beloved bed and mattress now seem much to high off the ground to bother swinging my feet around and down to the floor to get up and fix the curtains - besides, I'm too stiff and sore. I try doing a Sudoku puzzle but my pen runs out - aw, for f*cks sake! - FINE! I'll multitask to make it worthwhile - haul myself miserably out of bed, head to the bathroom (you know how when you're sick so that it even hurts to pee?!), shuffle back to my room, find another pen, head over to the curtains and fix them to be however they're going to be until they again end up all wrong, and then stagger back to bed, straighten (at least a little bit - too weak to do it all)the covers, climb WAY up onto the mattress that, until I felt so wretchedly miserable, was coveted for it's high, plush qualities, fall back against the pillows with a sacrificial, wheezing sigh...burning hot again and winded from this taxing, torturous trek...

I told you. I'm pathetic. The worst! Of note, (and yes, I am fully aware of the absolute hypocrisy of this) if anybody else EVER behaved in my vicinity even remotely like I do when sick, I would gleefully volunteer to put them out of their misery for good. So how do you like me now?! Bleh!

I do feel a moderate amount of shame and embarrassment for my unequivocal wimpiness, especially in contrast to my 5 1/2 year old son, Casey. This kid has just spent over a week home sick from school (which was very disappointing to him - he just LOVES school) because he came down with pneumonia. Pneumonia! How on earth my healthy, active, gregarious little boy developed pneumonia is beyond me, but develop it he did, resulting in a visit to the Emergency Room of Children's Hospital, and a week's course of antibiotics. Of my three children, and in my 13+ years as a mom, I have never had a child so sick for so long. Raging fever, sometimes with hallucinations and nightmares, zero appetite (my slim, sometimes skinny little Casey didn't ingest any solids for over a week!), headaches, stomachaches, ear infection, coughing that made his throat sore and disrupted his sleep, nose so stuffy he felt like he was choking and couldn't breathe alternating with a nose so runny that his poor upper lip became painfully raw and chapped...just horrible for a little guy. And remarkably, no word of a lie, throughout the entire time, Casey did not complain ever. Not even a little bit, not once. The boy was patient and brave, and though I already think the absolute world of him,he earned a whole new level of respect from me, and showed me what grit really looks like! (Move over, Clint Eastwood!). So now, do you think I can muster even the slightest bit of stoicism or endurance in the face of his impressive example? Nope. Not a bit. Say it with me now, folks - PA! THE! TIC!

Now all this blogging has weakened me...I must rest. Oh, my failing energy...

Oh Happy Day!

What a day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the Spring is springing! All is well in Jillville!

For starters, I left work this past week on the afternoon of Friday, February 27th. On the morning of March 2nd, I returned. I was feeling pretty fine. Sit down at my desk, fire up my computer, flip my wall calender over - Goodbye, February - Hello, March! Glanced at the upcoming week and about fell right out of my chair. Next weekend is Daylight Savings! Yes - NEXT weekend! Oh Hallelujah, I heard the angels burst into song right at that very moment! The darkest days are behind us, and nothing but sunshine up ahead! There was a time, many many moons ago, that I would have said that Fall is my favorite season, but no more. As I have grown older, matured, given birth to a few children, Spring has become the more favored of the two seasons. Truth be told, I'm REALLY partial to Summer, but ah...Spring. It's the kickoff to summer, and where the fun is just beginning. Especially after the monstrous amount of snow that fell this particular winter - but we don't have to talk about that anymore! No, it is March, and it is (almost) Daylight Savings, and this calls for cake, wouldn't you agree?!

So that takes care of the beginning of this work week. Now we arrive at Wednesday, the middle of the work week, 'Hump Day' so to speak. Had a great drive in to work this morning - radio set to CFOX, as it always is when it's Mommy's turn for the radio. First song played not too long after setting off was 'Kickstart My Heart', classic Motley Crue. Had to crank that bad boy up to an unhealthy (but oh so rockin!) volume. Then, some morning show banter, etc. GREAT morning show over there on the Fox. Makes me laugh out loud every time I listen. Which is another great way to start a day - laughing out loud. Can only get better from there, right?! Oh, and it did! Almost to work, the Fox turns out some STP. Oh yeah, baby - crank the volume dial real high again. Pull into the parkade, zip to the roof, back smartly into an ideally located parking spot, and saunter on in to my department with five minutes to spare. Perfecto! Oh, and as a bonus - I realized that for the first time in months, I hadn't used the heater in the car on my way to work. Not once! Oh happy day!

Block Head

For a few months now, I have been experiencing 'writer's block', for lack of a better term. I am not one to be short for words, but I can't string together a simple paragraph to save my life! I've started several posts in draft form, but just can't get 'em going. It's a strange feeling to have so much going on inside my head and not be able to get it out. The connection between my brain and my ability to type has short-circuted. My fingers are mute! Kind of frustrating, I must say! It's not like I've got the next great Canadian literary masterpiece trapped inside - I just want to be able to vent, blab, ramble, pour it out...and I can't! I'm stopped up! The pathway from my brain to my fingertips is constipated!! I need the mental equivalent of a tall glass of prune juice but I just don't know what this would be. Crap! (no pun intended). In the meantime, this current mental affliction has not impacted the big piece of my little brain that is devoted to scrapbooking! I have managed to squeeze out (again, no pun intended!) a couple of layouts for the lovely little inspiration blog I mentioned in my last couple of posts. Sonja posts a new challenge at The Inspired Scrapper every Friday, which gives me just one more reason to exclaim TGIF!! each week. Challenge #7 was to use one sheet of diecut paper on at least two layouts. I managed to do this using a lovely cream coloured, very lacy piece of paper, and the bonus for me is that I used it on a primarily pink layout about my daughter and a boyish, earthier colour schemed layout about my son. Sonja's current challenge is #8 - using chipboard snowflakes, and the examples she has posted are very nice, but I just can't deal with anything snow related right now. Without going into huge dramatics, I'll just say that anything to do with snow OR winter could just about tip me over the psychological abyss I teeter on, so I will be abstaining from this week's challenge BUT - I am really looking forward to finding out what the challenge for the coming week will be! In the meantime, I'm on a bit of a card making bender, so maybe I'll have a few for posting soon, if words continue to fail me.

The Inspired Scrapper - That's Me!

Another layout I did in response to Challenge #6 at The Inspired Scrapper. Inspired, indeed! I haven't done two layouts in two days in who knows how long!!

Inspired by 'The Inspired Scrapper'

If you are a lover of all things scrapbooking, as I am, then check out this new inspiration blog belonging to Sonja McLean, an amazingly talented Canadian scrapbooker, and an all-round lovely human being. It's called The Inspired Scrapper and is home to a design team made up of several extremely creative women with a variety of personal scrapbooking styles. Something for everyone!!

Here's the layout I did for Challenge #6 - Lucky In Love. Although we are nearing Valentines Day, any day is a good day to stop and reflect on the people who we love and the richness in our lives, wouldn't you say?

Oh Canada!

Early this Saturday morning, I found myself sitting in a cold hockey rink, waiting for my daughter to hit the ice, drinking my Tim Hortons while my little boys waved at the Zamboni driver as we watched him clean the ice, and it hit me - it doesn't get more Canadian than this!!

Cute Casey...

After Casey's bath tonight, he had the shivers so I took out my hair dryer to blow dry his hair and warm him up. He was sitting on the counter in the bathroom watching me in the mirror, and he asked me, "Mom, do you want to be a hairdresser when you grow up?". So sweet. So innocent. So Casey! Love that kid!!

Back With The Weather Right After This Break...

Rain, oh glorious rain!! I never thought I'd hear myself say it but all this snow we've gotten in the past few weeks has brought on a refreshing new perspective! The silver lining, it is. At first, the snow was lovely. Romantic. Pretty. Fun for the kids. A novelty. Then, it became a bit much, didn't it?! It looks like it's over though, and it's exciting to see how quickly the mounds of snow are diminishing, between the warmer temperatures and all the blessed rain. I've become quite the weather watcher. It borders on obsession. I find myself Googling 'Vancouver weather', logging into the Weather Network a couple of times a day, and though I don't (can't!) watch the news, I implore my husband to please catch the weather and let me know what it's going to be like tomorrow or I won't be able to sleep! Okay, I exaggerate a bit.

My level of interest in the weather is, however, a measure of my adultness. When I was a kid and staying with my grandparents, every day at noon they'd eat their lunch in front of the TV because they had to 'catch the weather'. I didn't get it. Catch the weather?! 'If you want to know the weather, take a look outside! That'll tell you the weather!' (I was such a little smart ass!). 6:00 pm, the Early News would come on, and again - they had to watch for the weather report. WTHeck?! You just found out a few hours ago AND you can ALSO take a look outside! And, lord help me, 11:00 pm would roll around and...you guessed it. The weather. They just wanted to get the local news and the weather before they went to bed. Now here I am. All these years later. I'm sure they are both just looking down on me with bemused smiles on their faces, nodding their heads, saying, 'ah yes...our granddaughter is officially, and fully, an adult now'.

In Lieu of a 'Real' Post...

An original, seasonal haiku...

Snow in Vancouver
Pandemonium breaks out!
Starbucks on foot then.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Christmas is just coming up so quickly, isn't it? I know that I say this same thing every year and inevitably feel this way every year. (Actually, since I started getting old(er), I feel this way about a lot of things! Time flies when you're getted old!)Are you/your kids starting to get excited yet? Mine sure are, no thanks to my husband who keeps declaring, "Whoo hoo! I LOVE this time of year", thereby eliciting lots of eager questions and hopping about and "whoo hoo"ing from the kids! (insert good-natured eye-roll here!). Realizing that I'm bordering on sounding Grinch-ey/Scrooge-y, I should say that I really like Christmas too. Really, I do! Truthfully, though, I just don't quite feel that comfortable thinking about Christmas being as imminent as it is. I'll get there, though! I do every year! One of the beautiful things about having children is being able to see the world through their eyes sometimes, and there's no better time to do that than at Christmas! Just thinking that, I can already feel a bit of the magic wash over me...yes, I'll get there alright, and it won't be long before I'm bouncing around, whoo-hooing too!

Love the Usborne Books!

For anyone in the Metro Vancouver area (still feels a bit weird saying that - I'm a creature of habit, still thinking the 'Lower Mainland'!), I am having an Usborne Books open house at my house on Sunday, November 30, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you're interested in coming by, email me for my address! There'll be snacks/refreshments, and lots of great childrens books to peruse! Also, I'll enter your name in a draw for free books, and if you bring a friend, you get a free book! If you're interested in checking out the online catalogue, go to http://www.usborne.ca/. Any orders made by the end of November will be received before Christmas! You're welcome to bring your kids - our place is small, but we've got a playroom downstairs (and there will be plenty of age-appropriate reading material!) Hope to see you!

Boo!

It just dawned on me in the last few days or so that my youngest child, my little 'last but not least', my baby...will be two years old in three months! Wow! That just kind of snuck up on me! Almost two! And just thinking, 'almost two!' reminded me of something about both Chanel and Casey at that age. When they were almost two, I taught them how to say, 'almost two' when I asked them how old they were. They'd hold up two fat little fingers and say, 'almost two!' in their cutest little voices. Cody has not learned to say that. Granted, I haven't spent much time trying to teach him, but...really, I don't think he's there yet. And I don't mean to underestimate him, but he really doesn't have the verbal abilities at this stage that his siblings did (though he does like his books at this stage, just as much as his sister and brother did!) Me - "Cody, how old are you?", Cody - "BAH!". Up until a few weeks ago, "BAH!" was about it for him when it came to anything. Now, he's got distinguishable and specific sounds/words for specific things. So it's coming. I'm not worried about it - he's a smart little guy and he knows exactly what people are saying and can respond appropriately to questions and follow directions, etc. He will be fluent one day! Perhaps it's a classic 'third child' scenario...

Today, though...today he impressed me! We were out for a walk and ended up at our little neighbourhood mall/plaza so that I could get my Starbucks, and I bought Casey and Cody both a little Matchbox car at the grocery store. Cody was zooming his car along the sidewalk, stopping to look at whatever happened to grab his attention, and by this time, I was ready to get heading back home so I told him, "Let's keep moving Cody!", but to no avail. "Cody, come on, buddy! Time to get going, time to go home!". Nothing. "Cody - let's go, bud, or Mommy will put you in the buggy!" This is a perfect example of Cody knowing exactly what I'm saying to him, but in this case, choosing to ignore it. So finally, I had to scoop him up to put him in the buggy. Or, wrestle him in as it was. He's screaming and flailing and kicking around (Cody is definitely an intense little dude!) (Guy walks by and tosses out a comment - "Good set of lungs on him!" Yeah, I know, pal!)so I try distraction as a method of getting him to calm down long enough for me to maneuver his arms into the straps. "Cody, did you get a new car at the store?!" Cody nods, uh huh..."What colour is your car, Cody?", and Cody says (in his classic hoarse/froggy, adamant Cody voice), "Boo!". My jaw dropped open and my eyes opened wide. "Yes! That's right, Cody! Your car is blue!". So there you have it. The kid is coming along. And might I point out, Chanel and Casey might have already been chatting up a great, big, wordy, full sentences storm at 'almost two', but they didn't know their colours until much later!

That's my little Cody! Way to go, buddy

God Grant Me The Serenity...

A quick quote, from my daughter this time - the little smart mouth that she is! She was in a bit of a goofy/giddy mood tonight at bedtime, and so she says to me, "I love you! However many pills you need to take, I love you!". So silly, and yet somehow, so poignant...! She's aging me rapidly, this one - but every now and again, she can still give me a good laugh!