with each passing year

I discover that, in a wide variety of ways, I am more like my mother than I thought.

do you know why?

UPDATE: Sorry mom, this post was not that complimentary to you :) but there are many other ways I am like you that are good. But growing mold in the fridge was of great interest to that elementary school science teacher who was delighted to take any specimens you had to offer!

thoughtful

the twins made me this sandwich while I was putting Anders down for a nap. They know how much I love cheese....

but I just couldn't make it through. Some of those pieces are an inch and a half high! I did a lot of sharing, they thought I was so kind.

memorial

right now a memorial service for a friend of my parents has just begun. Myron was killed in a car accident 2 days after Christmas. His family was in the car with him and all were injured.

Please join me in praying for his wife, four children and family and friends who are gathering now to celebrate his vibrant life and say good-bye.

if you would like to read Gillian's (wife) blog you can find it here.

bubbles

this is what happens when a couple of kids empty their Grammy's bubble bath into the jacuzzi tub and turn on the jets. we just laughed.

kitchen dance

and I bet you couldn't even tell those cherries are hanging upside down!

Oh dear, I just published this post and watched the movie. Oops I did something wrong, the quality is terrible. And of course you can't tell the cherries are upsidedown. You can't even see them!!! I will try to fix this sometime today!

better

I forgot to mention that after a day of decongestants I am back to normal. If I had known it was that easy to remedy I would've done it sooner! Thanks for your kind comments about my sinuses.

We had sun yesterday, and today, and actually the day before yesterday too. Mingled with rain, but I'll take what I can get. It is so good for my soul. And the kids cabin fever too!

Tender-hearted love

This morning - not long after a confrontation between he and I - Elijah said to me,

"You are the best mama I've ever had. I would never trade you for anything. I wouldn't want to. Because I love you so much."

I am grateful for these surprise outpourings of love.

Drama

Our lives are filled with all sorts of drama everyday. Today I overheard this from the bathtub,

"Elijah RUINED my life!!!"

this morning

Elijah and Anders with snuggling with me on the couch. Elijah - being very sensitive to smells - complains, "When I'm so close to Anders I smell his poop". I was pretty sure Anders hadn't pooped so I said so. Elijah was perplexed. Hmmm. A couple minutes later he said,

"I think I know what smells like poo... your air"

Talk about morning breath. I'm off to brush my teeth.

In other news I'm pretty sure I have Aerosinusitus. The wiki article is pretty thick I couldn't understand about half of it. But basically it is extreme sinus pressure and pain caused usually by flying with some prior cold/infection. On the descent into Vancouver I thought my blood vessels around my left eyebrow were going to explode. Anyways it's been ten days and I've had wierd pain/pressure on and off since then. Anyone have any ideas? The article said most cases can be helped with decongestants so I think I'll try that...

Okay back to mothering...

Aimee

losing it?

We share laundry with our landlords downstairs. The agreement is that we have use of the laundry daily until 6pm and they have the evening hours. This works well, though occasionally I leave my laundry in the drier overnight, or they start a load before six. They're really laid back upstairs, and so are we, so no one really minds the occasional overlap into eachother's time. This morning I heard the telltale sound of the washing machine. Hmm. Strange, it's only 10am, and I was planning to get a few loads going right away. Maybe they had some laundry that just couldn't wait. Well that reminded me I had left some stuff in the drier so I grabbed my laundry and, for some reason peeked through the window of the washer - expecting to find a load of towels from bathing their dogs - and saw ... clothes that are identical to my own (what are the chances they own the same vintage polyester dresses).

I feel a little like I'm losing it. I guess I already started my laundry this morning (good for me) and then forgot about it (oh dear).

Hope your brains are intact enough to make it through the day alright. We'll see if mine are.

Aimee

4 year old sadness

Last night Eva was having a tea party with Anders and our good friend Chris. There had been many smiles, a spill (only water) and one of the glass saucers had clattered across the tile floor but remained intact - all was going relatively well...

And then one of the tea cups, from her brand new set, hit the floor and shattered. Eva was so distraught. No exaggerated hysterics, just deep deep sadness. It was her favorite one, pink with white polka dots. Through sobs she said heaving,

"I'm ... just remembering.... how... I ... felt... when I... first got it.... I was.... so... happy........... I don't.... think.... I'll.... ever....smile ..... again"

Poor precious girl. We were all sad with her. Chris collected virtually ever piece and we may be able to glue it together... we'll see.

I love that girl.

Alberta

Our time in Alberta was wonderful. The days were filled with good food, reconnecting with family and friends, some outdoor adventures, and even naps for adults!

Yet we did not come home as rested as we should have, considering our lazy days. Everyone in our family took turns with a vicious cold. Every night there were multiple wakings and a lot of comforting, drug administering and snuggling required. For the first few nights I slept with Eva and Lance slept with Anders. Even though Eva was the sickest I got the better end of the deal. Sleeping with a wiggling two year old can't really be called sleeping. One night, when Lance and I were actually in the same bed, I woke to find Anders between us. I was a little perturbed that Lance, after complaining so much about sleeping with Anders, had let him in. I didn't want to move Anders to his bed and risk waking him, so I just left and slept with Eva. The next morning Lance, waking from a terrible sleep, was pretty mad. Mad that I had let Anders into bed and then took off. We had a good laugh over the sly little guy!

More photos and memories from the trip to come.

Today we went to a drop in gym time at a nearby community centre. Our day is already way better than yesterday. Everyone - especially Elijah - just really needed to move their bodies. And the sun is out. Ahhh, were we ever spoiled in Camrose. Sunshine everyday. The constant grey here is like a thick blanket - but more like a suffocating kind and not all that cozy. Unless that is, you are at liberty to drink tea and read novels, then it is not quite as bad I imagine.

Alright, that's all for now.

Aimee

pretty....

You know you're having a tough day when you balk at acting out your daughter's made up story, "The pretty mermaid and the mermaid". Because you know you'll be just the mermaid.

I asked for a rewrite and the story is changed. "the pretty mermaid and the pretty mermaid" now showing.

First day back is never easy.

Christmas Eve

We have a family tradition to sleep under the tree on Christmas eve. There is snuggling, mayhem, a little frustration, huge smiles, insomnia induced by proximity to presents, and sighs of "everything-is-right-in-the-world-now-that-these-beautiful-children-are-finally-asleep". I woke up before the family and took some photos.

Snow fun