A few more pics

Monkey Boy and Strawberry Girl to the rescue!

They were SO hyper last night. Evelyn performed about 6 origional song and dance routines for me. I did video them, I will post shortly. They just would not settle! It was fun to watch them, but bedtime was about an hour later than usual.





Proof that they can play nicely together from time to time!

Evelyn was very tender with Ethan and he reciprocated 110%. After, Evelyn told me "Ethan is my best friend too" I replyed, "Ethan will always be your best and most loyal friend - if you treat him kindly. He loves you very much." Her reply "I really love Ethan too"

Melt my heart! I hope they grow as friends and not enemies.

This retro pic of for K-A. I was sure I had a pic of Ethan giving me a 'first' smile in that PJ! I think he's about 6 weeks old here.

Last week, my laptop crashed. The tech was able to retreive my files (thankfully) but it has made me want to post every somewhat decent pic to the web - just incase it happens again and I can't retreive my files. I last backed up my pics and videos in the summer, so the loss would not have been total. When was the last time YOU backed up your photo files?

He managed to get all the files off the laptop, reload windows and some programs, and transfer the files back. I have lost some programs, and have new ones I didn't have before. All my bookmarks were lost. But overall, it was not too painful an experience.

In answer to a past question Brandee, Ryan has discovered a way to 'screen capture' web pages and save them as an image file. This would work to archive blogs as a hard copy. Alternately, I am considering printing my posts. This would be the simplest option, though paper doesn't last forever.

Ryan is leaving for Phoenix in half an hour. He is gone until Thursday evening. He is going to a literacy convention and will be visiting the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. I work the next 3 evenings, so our friend Melissa is going to live with us for the weekend and watch the kids while I work.

Evelyn has a 'Walk-A-Thon" on Tuesday for her playschool. The goal is for the kids to raise $100 per kid. We are still a bit short of Evelyn's goal, so if anyone wants to pledge, let me know. I can cover your pledge and you can mail a cheque to me. The money is going to offset the costs associated with Playschool such as rental of the space, insurance, teacher wage, and supplies.

Pictures

I had forgotten I had taken most of these pics! I was lamenting how little I have taken pics this month, then I uploaded my memory stick and found these!

Then and now. Evelyn watching deer out our kitchen window a year ago, and now.











Evelyn at 14 months and Ethan now. There is something about huge earphones that draws kids...










Ethan telling me about the deer outside, and Ethan taking his new plush soccer ball to bed with him. He loves soccer right now.









Evelyn poses in a dress she got for her birthday. One of the few dresses she is willing to wear!

Happy Birthday February 'Babies'!

Happy Birthday to all the February 'babies'. Some have already celebrated their day, others will celebrate soon, but here's a little song for all of you.

Mary Ann, Lauren, Kyle, Scott, Great Grandpa Cracknell, and Daniel.

Doughnut Negotiations

Ethan tries to convince me to let him have a danish before he has eaten his supper. He shows a surprising versatility of emotion. I love seeing his facial expressions change so quickly.

Wall - E review

Evelyn and Ethan share their favorite parts of the movie Wall-E.

25 things

For those of you who don't Facebook, here is a note that I've written. Please feel free to e-mail and respond (If you can find the time). If not, please feel free to get to know me a little better!

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I crave peace and tranquillity. Conflict makes me feel physically ill. Many days, when my kids are at each others throats, I will yell "I want PEACE in this house! Please, just get along!" (yes, I see the irony of that)

2. When I think of my 'Happy Place' I am sitting on a coastal beach in BC,( any beach will do as long as its rocky), and I am watching the waves break on the shore and listening to the continuous crash, smelling the salt and rotting seaweed and wet wood, the wind pulling at my hair.

3. I can handle having some clutter in my home - but not too much. Sometimes I find it hard to breathe (seriously) when there is too much clutter. I think this could be called a mild anxiety attack. I am thankful that it is over something that I can change and control. I struggle with finding a balance between appreciating the stuff I have and hating it because it feels like an overwhelming burden.

4. When I received the first of these notes from another FB Friend, I thought "Oh, another chain letter type message". One of the lines in the 'rules' stuck with me though. It said " If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you." FB is great for maintaining acquaintances, and those relationships are important to have. But, I think we all crave more. There is a comfort in intimacy. In knowing someone well and having others know you. I know I have noticed my lack of intimate friends in the past few years. So, I decided to put an effort into completing this 'chain letter' in the hopes of ... well, growing friendships.

5. Like most women, I have many roles in life. Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend... these roles form the platform from which I view and interact with the world around me. They are not me. They are labels for how I interact with others and they define my relationship to those around me.

6. I went to a silence retreat last year. I was apprehensive about going, but I am glad I did. At one point, we sang a very simple song. It comprised the name of each person present, then the phrase 'Remember, who you you are'. So for me they sang "Beverly (x3) Remember (x3) Who you are". I believe God placed these words in my heart in the silence that followed that song, they have become very special to me. "You are a child of God, loved by Him, and precious in His sight" Later, a new truth was added to that "God is especially fond of you". I sing that song to my kids now and pray that those same truths will take root in their hearts.

7. I really hate phoning people. For some reason, I avoid calling people whenever possible. When I do actually pick up the phone and dial, it is only after coaching myself to do it. I think I am afraid of calling at a bad time, or being a nuisance. I much prefer e-mail. They can check when it's convenient, and I can make sure I have expressed myself the way I wanted to. I never call someone without a purpose. You will never get a call from me to 'just chat'. That said, I like having face to face conversations 'just to chat'. So, call me and invite yourself over for tea and then we can chat ;-)

8. I love historical romance novels and their movies. Jane Austin, Elizabeth Gaskell - bring it on! That said, I also enjoy a good war movie. Platoon, Band of Brothers... if there is a point to the violence, and explores some of the issues of war, I will enjoy it. That said, I tend to dislike movies where the characters get away with things I think are bad life choices or are ethically wrong.

9. I wish I was a more sanguine, fun loving person. Every personality type has it's positive and negative qualities. For me, I think I am too serious sometimes. I have to make a conscious effort to 'have fun' and let go a bit. I usually am happy that I forced myself to have fun ;-)

10. I once had a high school teacher make a comment on my report card that he 'enjoyed my dry sense of humour in class'. What an odd thing to put on my report card! I actually had to go and ask him what he meant! I had never heard the phrase 'dry humour' before and had never thought of myself as having it. I bet he had a good laugh about that conversation later on!

11. When I was in nursing school, we talked about the concept of 'unknowing'. I thought it was airy fairy BS at the time and paid little attention to it. One of the older students really got excited about the concept and I remember thinking 'is he seriously into this?!' I think in that instance, age and life experience were necessary to understand that concept. Now that I work in a small hospital, and encounter people I 'know' from daily life, I have to practise that concept continuously. I need to meet each patient in a fresh place. I can not make assumptions about them based on the gossip I've heard or impressions I have had in other encounters, or prejudices I may have without realizing they are there. I now understand why we had to spend a whole (painfully long) class on that subject.

12. I am a life long learner. I love learning and thinking about new ideas. If it paid well, I would happily go to school for the rest of my life! I just came across a quote on one of those cheesy motivational office posters. It said "A mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains it's original dimensions". Unfortunately, that snippet of truth did not have a cited author. What a great phrase though, eh?!

13. I love to dream. By that, I mean I love to say "What if".... and then actually plan how I could make it happen. I think through the obstacles, gather info on costs or availability, look at all the options etc. Then, I just let the idea sit and I wait until the time is right to act on it. My favourite 'dreams' right now are 1. renovating the basement, 2. moving away from Alberta, 3. going to Disneyland with my family.

14. I love that my Husband likes to dream with me and will listen to me plan through things.

15. I don't hate cooking, but I don't love it either. If I know what I'm going to make, and know I have the ingredients on hand, then I can tolerate making it. I like looking through cooking magazines and anticipating how yummy the meals will be. I find that motivates me to cook.

16. I'm not a baby person. I don't love cooing at them or holding them. I love my own kids, and thoroughly enjoyed them as infants, but I don't seek out other babies - and I can easily resist melting over the ones I do encounter.

17. I recently heard on CBC radio that the tailing ponds of Ft McMurray are leaking - on average - the equivalent of 8 Olympic sized pools worth of contaminated water into the underground water table DAILY! When I heard that, I felt like I was going to throw up. I seriously started to gag. I am so incredibly angry that this can happen - and continues to happen! What is wrong with Alberta!?!?! How can we let any industry corrupt and poison our resources and people!?! Since moving to Alberta, I have been called a tree-hugger (yes, I have proudly hugged a few trees in my life) and I have been called 'the environment lady' by the man who carries my groceries to the car. By westcoast standards, I am a very moderate environmentalist, out here, I'm radical! How funny and totally upsetting is that!

18. I love photography. I'm not an artist in the medium, but I sure enjoy it. I'm glad I have cute kids so I have an excuse to take lots of pictures!

19. I scrapbook, but I don't love doing it. I feel obligated to do it for my kids, and I understand that it is a wonderful gift for them and will mean a lot to them one day. I do it for that.

20. As I am an RN, it is probably not surprising that I like to help people. Growing up, I remember hearing about 'spiritual gifts' and I never really knew what mine were. I am thinking now, that helping and encouraging are the areas where I best feel that God is working through me. Those are things that show love to to others, and God IS love, so it makes sense that helping and encouraging others leave me feeling peace and joy.

21. I love learning new words. I may never use them in a conversation, but I love learning odd and obscure words. It's fun to try to break down a word I don't know into it's root and try to figure out what it means.

22. I like to fold clothes. How mundane it that! I find it relaxing, and seeing the neatly folded stacks of sorted clothes is oddly satisfying. I tend to procrastinate over putting the clothes away though. They often sit, neatly folded, in the laundry baskets for days and days before I finally put them away. I tell myself it is to force me to wear more of my wardrobe.

23. At work, I avoid dealing with families of patients whenever possible. I am not completely sure why. I think it is in part because families can be such messy things - like an unmarked mine field. I never know when I'm about to detonate something that it would be easier to leave buried underground. This is also true of how I relate to, and think of my own childhood family.

24. I'm running out of things! Hmm, on all of the chain letters I ever get, there is always the question 'chocolate or vanilla'. I am definitely a vanilla person. I love vanilla. I like chocolate, and I eat my fair share of it, but I rarely crave it. Vanilla, now that I crave. I love Tetley's Vanilla Earl Grey tea. That satisfies my craving most days.

25. I have a small collection of porcelain mugs. They are like fancy tea cups that hold a bit more and have a bigger handle. I love drinking out of them. I love the 'tink' they make as I stir in my cream, I love how delicate they feel against my lips, I love their beautiful patterns. I also love that something so minor and insignificant can make me smile every day.

A new look

What do you think of the new look for the blog? Ryan and I had a discussion last night about moving this coming summer. The decision made was..... Not this year. Summer of 2010 is a non-negotiable deadline. Destination is yet unknown. So, now you know our plans.

I figured the altered direction for 2009 warranted a change of layout.

In other news, Ethan has an ear infection. Ouch! Poor kid! It took me a while to clue in to what his problem was. At first, I thought he might be getting Chicken Pox! I'll back up and start from the beginning....

Both kids got a sinus cold from Ryan. It has stuck around for a while, (as sinus colds tend to do) but Ethan's nasal secretions (AKA - Snot!) became quite green on Tuesday. The next day, on waking from his nap, I noticed what appeared to be pimples on his face. They were not there when he went to sleep, so I decided to check his whole body. I found a cluster of 6 or 8 'pimples' on his lower back. "Whoa!" I thought. "These remind me of the beginning of shingles!" (which I have more first hand experience looking at than C Pox) So, I quickly e-mailed K-A some pics and asked her what her kids looked like when they first got Chicken Pox. She kindly sent me some pics of them, and they looked a lot like Ethan did. So, I decided to wait and see what happened next. He played normally and went to bed easily.

This picture shows Evelyn considering the idea that Ethan might have C Pox. Hmmmm...

At 3 am on Thursday, he woke and was miserable. He would not lay down, would not go to sleep, he had a mild fever, and was very irritable. He stayed awake, cuddling on the couch with me, and chewing on his fingers until I bundled him up to take Evelyn to playschool. I thought "maybe he's teething, he is chewing on his fingers a lot...I don't think it's Chicken pox - there aren't any new spots..."

It was a very long morning.

Shortly before I took Evelyn to school, I noticed Ethan's left ear looked red and I gave it a little tug. He SCREETCHED and almost hit the roof. "Ah-Ha!" I thought "An ear infection!" So I gave him some Advil (Ibuprofen) and we took Evelyn to school.

He promptly fell asleep in the car and slept for about an hour. When he woke up, he was normal again! "Now, WHY didn't I give him the Advil sooner?" I thought. Later, he had his normal nap and woke up with watery blood draining from his ear (Ack!?!?!?) I immediatly googled 'fluid draining from ears' and discovered that this is normal in an ear infection after the eardrum has ruptured. "Ruptured!!!" I thought "That can't be good!". I read a bit further and discovered that it's not that big a deal, it makes them feel better, and it will heal in a few days. 'Whew!'

So, his sinus infection continues, his spots are going away (whatever they were...)he is still chewing on his fingers a bit, and he is in good spirits as long as the Advil is working. Predictably, every 6-8 hrs, when the Advil wears off, my little boy returns to his monster form and I know it's time for another dose.

What have I learned from this? It is extremely common for kids to develop ear infections after a sinus cold. Typically, their 'snot' turns green, and a day or two later, they are screaming and crying and nasty. They may or may not have a fever, and they may or may not pull at their ears. Warmth is very helpful in relieving pain. Both warm compresses to the outside of the ear and warm olive oil dropped into the ear offer some relief. That said - no drops in the ear after it ruptures. They likely will not tolerate laying flat either. The best way to learn is through experience, second best is through the experiences of others! I was fortunate to not have ear infections growing up, and Evelyn has never been bothered by them either. So, the adage 'It takes one to know one' did not apply here. So, those of you with young kids, learn from this story!

I think I will take Ethan for a Chiropractor adjustment as soon as I have the chance - just to make sure all his nerves are non-compressed.

We finally were able to make a snowman! The thaw has ended and we've plummeted in the past 36 hrs to -37 with windchill. I'm glad we made the snowman when we did!

Ethan and Evelyn have enjoyed 'helping' Mama by shovelling the snow I just cleared off the sidewalk from the pile - to the sidewalk! Thanks guys!




Evelyn really wanted to make an "Ocean" cake. Here is the result. Graham cracker crumbs and skor bits for the sand, Littlest Pet Shop and Little People for the accessories. I used the same recipe as her birthday cake, but instead of chocolate cake (mix) and pudding, I substituted butter pecan cake (mix) and butterscotch pudding. The result was not nearly as good. The cake still looks pretty cute though and it only took about 20 min to decorate!


Oh! and Ethan recently figured out how to do puzzles. He completed this 15 piece 'Wonder Pets' puzzle all by himself!

Update: at bedtime tonight, I saw that Ethan just cut his last eyetooth! So he was teething! (at least that was a part of what was wrong with him!)

A Mid-Winter Thaw!!!!!

It is above freezing today!!!! There are drops of water falling from our drain spouts! (Can you sense my excitement over these facts?) I opened our new living room window, opened the front door, turned off the furnace and aired the house out! Whoo Hoo! What a treat and what a welcome reprise from all the extremely cold weather we've had the past 6 weeks.







I cut Evelyn's hair this morning. It is about 4-5cm shorter and her bangs are about 0.5 cm shorter than I've cut them in a while. I was looking at some old pics of her with shorter bangs and liked how it looked on her. I think the cut turned out well.







After lunch, I roped up two of our sleds so they could be pulled in tandem, bundled the kids up, and took them for a walk and a play in the park. We were outside for over 90 min - we even had our mittens off - and we never felt cold! They played on the slides, and swings and enjoyed afternoon recess with the students. When we got home, we tried to make a snowman, but the snow is still too dry to make into a ball. So, we hung out outside and the kids climbed the mountains of snow that have been shovelled over the past 6 weeks.

Finally, at about 3:30 pm, I made them come in and have nap/quiet time. This is much later than usual, but being outside was too much of a treat to cut it short just to have a nap!


I am reluctant to look up the weather forecast for our area. I don't want to know when this weather will end. I just want to enjoy it fully while it is here, and not have that shadow of melancholy that would come with knowing when it will end.

What a great day.

Evelyn's 4th Birthday and a visit from Nana and Auntie Dawne.

Evelyn celebrated her 4th birthday on Monday, Jan 12th. She was blessed with the surprise visit of Ryan's Mom Brenda and Sister Dawne. Ryan and I knew of their arrival, but Evelyn was not expecting them to visit. It was so nice to see them and have them celebrate with us.

Ashton, one of Evelyn's friends from school, was able to come to the party and he brought his big brother Alex. Melissa, Megan and Emily, some of Ryan's co-workers also came over to enjoy the party.

I was very pleased with how Evelyn's cake turned out. The chocolate cake was almost like a brownie and the 'Dora' cake decoration looked better than I imagined it would. It was pretty easy too!

Nana and Auntie Dawne stayed for 2 nights. We played Wii, cuddled, read books, did puzzles and went for a walk to visit the school. Evelyn came down with a fever and sinus congestion last night, so she went to bed early. Her playschool was cancelled because her teacher was not able to get there. We've had a good dump of snow in the past few days. Ryan took a personal day from work that day also. So, we were able to spend all of Tuesday together.

Evelyn dressed up as a fairy princess, and Ethan was determined to try her outfit on too - right down to the gold, high-heeled tap shoes! It was pretty funny - but we did not force him to wear this - it was all his doing!

So, this morning, Evelyn is miserable and feverish again. Ethan and she are at each others throats, and we all need a really good nap.

Hopefully, when I check on this blog later today, I'll have LOTS of comment to read! (You know, it is very discouraging to a blogger to not get comments. If you read it, leave a comment! Even a 'thanks for sharing' works nicely!)

No Pics, just an update.

The windows were installed yesterday. It took them about 4 hrs to do our big living room window and both kids rooms. I'll take pics when we go out later. I was surprised that they were able to install, as the temps have stayed colder than expected. I like that the living room window can open now and the kids rooms could potentially be used as an escape route in the event of a fire.

All of Evelyn's party guests have been unable to come. She took the news better than I did, though she was pretty sad that she would not be able to play any of the games we had talked about. I had to fight tears! I felt I'd failed her somehow. So, we will invite some of her adult friends over after school on Monday (her birthday) and celebrate with them. I'll ask if I can bring cupcakes to school for Tuesday, if not, I'll bring them for playgroup on Wednesday.

The new job is going well. The hours are a bit sporadic, but that's fine. Low stress, not busy, and, I get to wear pretty clothes - no uniforms!

Some new facets to Ethan.

He is studying the back of a 'Dora' book and looking at all the other books available. The look on his face makes it seem like he's cramming for an exam! He has started to really like watching and reading 'Dora' books. I think it is in part Evelyn's influence, but also the simplicity of the stories and repetition.


He climbed into a corner behind the Christmas tree and was playing for an extended time with an ornament of a horse and carriage. He made horse sounds and drove it around the window sill. It was nice to see his imagination at work.


Ryan gave him a baseball card that looks 3-D. Ethan became quite possessive of it. He carried it around for a while and proudly showed it off for a picture.

He has started to use possessive pro-nouns in his sentences. Instead of saying "put coat on now" He will say "I put MY coat on now" or instead of saying "drink juice" he'll say "I drink my juice". He is expressing more complex ideas in his speech and is saying longer sentences and stringing 2-3 short sentences together (paragraphs!) It's fun to listen to him talk with Evelyn. They have real conversations now and will disagree and talk it out.

I am very excited that we have an appointment for our new windows to be installed. They called today, and plan to install on Wednesday! They had to wait for the temps to go above -10. So, PTL, we are above -20 today! I cleaned all the junk out of the car - finally - because it was warm enough to be able to spend the 10 min outside to clear it out! This has been a VERY LONG cold spell.

I start my new casual position tomorrow morning. I think it will go well. I think it will be pretty easy and low stress too!

Evelyn turns 4 in a week. I had hoped to have her party on Saturday, but I'm not sure if any of her friends can actually come. Hmmm, I'm not sure what we'll do - I guess a family party. I feel a bit disappointed. I wanted this to be a special birthday for her. Ideas anyone?