Another day...

The picture is fuzzy and needs to be flipped, but Saturday night during baths I always pick out the clothes for the kids to wear to church, otherwise, they come up with crazy outfits that Dad thinks to look fine and approves, which of course don't, so anyway I had picked out this blue flowered shirt for Timothy to wear, and he put it on and never made a fuss about it. In fact, he never cares what clothes he wears as long as the pants don't fall down while he runs but he is VERY particular about his socks, just like his Dad.(sigh) So Sunday morning I have all the girls in the bathroom doing hair (boys are so much less time-consuming) everyone is talking and I think I hear Timothy say very politely, "I don't really like flowered shirts" and that's all he said. I kept doing hair and then thought he meant more ...so I asked "Timothy does that mean you don't want to wear that shirt to church?" "Not really Mom unless you really want me to" Of course you don't have to wear it, the kid never complains about clothes. So we went and picked out a "masculine" shirt. I know there is not a chance with the red one and hung them on the railing downstairs and said to Gerard "Timothy doesn't like to wear these shirts" to which he replied "Can't blame him, I wouldn't wear those either" Like father like son. (sigh) Does anyone want some flowered boy shirts?

We had a bit of sun, so it was water on the tramp, which was too cold for all the "big" kids, so they just relaxed (from what?? who knows?) (neighbor friend over)

Danielle loved having the tramp all to herself. I really don't like her on with the big kids as she gets way too much "high air time", but she is one tough little cookie. My neighbor says that too.

I started this over a week ago but never got around to posting it.

The other night it was time for Gerard and I to head on up and go to bed, and this is what we found in the bathroom at 11:00 at night. "Princess" Sharleen very quietly brushing her hair and doing who knows what else. (Notice how smooth and straight her curly hair looks...she must have been brushing for a while)

My son has loved watching the World Cup soccer games that are on now. He even got himself a clipboard (from the shop) and made up a list of words that have to do with soccer, because he is the "coach", then he took some juice can lids, punched a hole through with a nail, and put a string through, decorated them and made medals. Only the girls at school wanted them. lol

On Saturday Gerard was home for a bit and was holding Danielle while he was doing some things on the computer...and this is what happened, she fell asleep on him. He even came and showed me, saying "Do you think this is the last time she is going to fall asleep on me?" All those precious little things have a last time...it's not till later that you realize that it was the "last time"

The raspberries are slowly becoming ready in my garden. The kids love going and finding the red ones. Below is Timothy holding his good "find". The kids all helped me finish weeding (a bucket of weeds for a jelly bean, is that considered slave labor?) But now my vegetable garden looks great. I wonder if Theresa considers weeding part of babysitting?

What a Birthday Party!!

This has been another busy week with something almost every day. Today it was out to Langley for a birthday party. Now normally I wouldn't blog about someone else's birthday party, but it was a really scary party, and not in the sense that there were dinosaurs on the birthday "cake." The "cake" was Rice Krispies with green icing on top, so of course I asked "What's up with the "cake"? and found out that one of the little boys there is allergic to eggs, hence no real cake. So I ended up chit-chatting with the mom about allergies, her son is allergic to peanuts too. It is always good to talk to other people about how they do things and to realize you are not alone. Although, being allergic to eggs is a whole new thing. So we were sitting around, it was almost time to get going, but I didn't feel like it yet as the kids were all playing so well. Another adult had the little boy on her lap and was feeding him baby carrots with ranch dressing, then the mom came running back from the bathroom grabbed him, and ran to the van, saying over her shoulder, there are eggs in ranch dressing. WHAT!! so I followed, as I thought it would be good to see how an EpiPen works, but she didn't have it with her. She had talked to the hostess the day before and gone over the food and thought she didn't need it. So off I ran to get my keys and my EpiPen that was in the van. He had only a couple hives and breathing was fine so in the end we gave him the Benedryl I had. Now this is a reaction to less than half a teaspoon of ranch dressing that just had eggs in, not even a straight egg and he had such an instant reaction. She phoned me later, his face had started to swell, so off they went to the walk-in clinic and had more Benedryl and had to wait two and half hours for the swelling to go down.
This has shown me the importance of NEVER leaving the house without my blue diaper bag. (It's totally falling apart, but I need a bag with a pocket in the front as in an emergency the last thing I want to do is dump a bag and "find" it.) It has been so tempting so many times since Danielle is toilet trained to not haul the bag around, to the grocery store, nursery, friend's house, etc., or when it is forgotten to not go back home and get it, but it is so worth the extra work because even with everything planned and even having a different cake you just never know, and it happens so FAST. Sometimes my brain gets tired of thinking and assessing situations and always having it a part of my life, but that's the way it is. Like at the kindergarten grand when it was snack time before I even got to the table she ( Danielle) had reached up and grabbed the first thing could get and that was a homemade white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. Nope not good, put that back and gave her candy so no crying, and got her some popcorn twists. She was happy and life carried on.

I have been doing some research right now since I don't know if I should or shouldn't be having peanut butter right now, so my little babe gets used to the proteins My allergist and two doctors all said "Now that's a good question, I don't know the answer." What!!! you are a Doctor don't they always know the answers, or at least talk long enough so you think they know the answer. SO I really don't know if I should be having peanut butter sandwiches at night now or not. One theory for the rise in allergies in our clean society. I would mix dirt in with my soup or brush my teeth with the sand in the sandbox if I could be guaranteed that this baby would not have allergies. Another theory is, that in our society we are having too many peanuts. It is a cheap protein that "everybody used to grow up on." Japan is experiencing a rise in rice allergies as here in North America it is considered one of the least allergic foods. (we generally start with rice cereal, as the first "solid" food). So I am not really sure what to do and have just not been having any peanuts. A cousin of mine, her son was just diagnosed with peanut allergies too. It just seems so crazy that there are so many kids with this, and what can be done? Carrying an EpiPen is a life-saving solution, but doesn't fix the problem. (allergy)

Graduation Day!!!

They did it, they finally made it, got to the end...of kindergarten. On Tuesday was the "Graduation Celebration" for the Kindergarten class of 2010! There was a neat little program where the class sang some songs, and everyone got a turn saying something as they went through the alphabet telling us some of the things they learned...

and of course, got their diplomas.

Timothy's turn...shaking hands like a little man.

The whole class, with their teachers standing up in the bottom corners.

Singing us their songs.
One of my favorite parts, the class stood in a semi-circle around the audience and acted out a skateboarding song. It is a song that the teachers used for the kids to get some exercise, (I don't think it could count as "real" exercise) but it was a really fun song and Niessa sure got into the "moves."

Timothy gave me the thumbs up, he was not near as much into the dance as Niessa. Today I really realized that I have twins. I guess taking pictures of two and making sure I watch both. Most of the time they are just two kids with separate lives, (the way it should be) but they will often be sharing the big special days in their life. Nothing wrong with that...it's just different.

What a fast year for me, and people tell me the years only go faster, yikes!! I better hang on to my hat. This time last year I was really contemplating the decision to split them up. Gerard and I kept going back and forth, pros and cons and finally phoned the school on the last day to tell them our design. Then last summer they had their first sleepover at Gramma's by themselves, and they were so lost without each other. (Besides going to friends' houses between church on Sunday they had never really been apart until then) Here at home, I thought I would be able to conquer the world with one gone, but all I got to hear was, what do you think Timothy's is doing right now?, What do you think Niessa is having for lunch? and they just seemed so lost with each other. So of course then I was really questioning the decision to separate them, but as the expression goes "the names are on the tea towels" too late to make any changes. But it has gone incredibly well. They have each had their own stories to tell and of course no telling on the other. My biggest reason for keeping them together is less work, only every other day to get up early, and days with only two at home to get errands done, but it has all gone well. It's AMAZING who much better errands go with one gone. I think it's because there are no power struggles as one is the definite oldest. They are going to be separate next year too, not that the school asked, "It's just the way it worked out" a teacher told me. I am really hoping that it's the same memory work and spelling words etc. that will make the homework side a bit easier.

Fruit, Fruit and more Fruit

Yum, Yum...my sister "found" a place to get 30 pounds of fruit picked, cleaned, and stems taken off for $1/pound.(we bought 90 pounds) I am normally kind of picky were I buy all my fruit...it has to grown locally, and spray free but this year...I am being "efficient" in fact really efficient as Gerard even took all the kids out to Abbotsford Saturday afternoon to pick up the fruit since he was concerned due to my "lack of get up a go lately" he would not have any yummy fruit all winter, as he was not going to pick fruit with all the kids, and had a long list to do for the rest of Saturday afternoon ie. did not want to spend the whole afternoon taking out stems and cleaning fruit he thought this was just the best thing since sliced bread. And I have to agree, I had a quiet little time to myself and had a nap. We were going out to visit in the States and gets a little embarrassed when I fall asleep while visiting. lol. Yup it has happened, quite a few times.
The kids loved eating all the partially frozen fruit, OK, I did too. What's the point of saving all of it for the winter...might as well enjoy some of it right away.

Gerard and Sharleen with the fresh strawberries from our garden. Things are really starting to grow and we have fresh salad all the time. The beans are having a hard time as it's been so wet and cold.

These two little helpers spent a lot of time weeding the garden with me. Danielle filled up her bucket with dirt, one handful at a time, but Sharleen really helped by actually pulling the weeds. Notice the sparkly red high-heeled shoes...have to keep up appearances all the time. lol. She is such a neat dramatic kid..." Mom I sure worked hard helping you today, didn't I? as she rubbed the back of her hand over her forehead"

Everyone (except Mom) also got a haircut on Saturday. The girls hair I just trimmed the edges to keep it looking healthy but they think I cut so much off. I remember growing up and my mom would give my hair a little trim and it would just feel so different, like it was so much shorter. It's really cute, they keep mentioning their "short" hair, and even tonight Sharleen asked if it would still be short tomorrow. I am so glad that they are happy with the trim because they both have a friend with short hair (above the shoulders) and wanted me to cut their hair THAT short. I just couldn't do it.

First Sleepovers

A while back when I had some conferences in Surrey, Melanie babysat my kids for a couple days, but of course, Sharleen had to come with me (hearing conferences) and was really sad and disappointed that she did not even get one day to play with her cousin Alexis. At that time Melanie said she could come for a sleepover and every couple of days since she has reminded me, and asked when she was going. Well, it FINALLY happened. So when Sharleen went away Niessa was allowed to have a friend over for a sleepover at our house. They made a fort (I am sure that Timothy helped engineer that one) and had to sleep together. There was no school the next day, so everything was OK with me. They had so much fun together. I think sometimes it is easier to have someone else over, my kids all get along better.

Sharleen and her cousin Alexis. She had so many stories to tell..." Mom, Alexis, and me laughed and giggled all day long". I bet they did! Auntie Melanie also bought her the Barbie suitcase,"(mom Auntie Melanie sure spoiled me)" which of course everybody has wanted to play with since she came back home. Here they are dressed like twins. She wanted her hair done again "the way Auntie Melanie does it".

I was feeling a bit better today, even though it was an out-about day. Dropped the kids off at a friend's then off to the school for a team meeting, and got to meet Sharleen's teacher. (teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing). Then went to help out in the classroom as it was my day to help out. Back to pick up my kids and take her kids with me so she could go to the school to help out. The babysitting exchange worked out really well. Anyway since I was feeling pretty good I looked up a recipe in my new "cookbook" on the Internet and found one for fried sweet potatoes or yams. I am not really sure what I bought or if they are the same thing, anyway it was really good. Then I was cooking up some prawns to add to the salad and Gerard said they would taste sooo good with bacon (sure, clog our arteries) so that's what we had. Good for the kids to try something different. One of course said "I don't like seafood" and then two more right away agreed. (grrr) but the babe who didn't understand just kept saying "More meat". It's all in the head not how they taste at all.

Opa's Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Opa's 88th birthday. What a blessing...and to be in such good health. And! wow! the crowd we have become, there were still many who lived out of the valley that couldn't make it.

This year we "crashed" Uncle Richard and Aunt Lorraine's house. And yup, they have a pool...I told Uncle Richard we would be visiting every hot Sunday after the second service. lol. He said he's changing his phone number and e-mail address....guess that means he just wants us to "drop-in".

The kids had so much fun. However, I noticed tonight that I was not as thrall with the sunscreen as I should have been. big oops!!

Timothy finally got to open one of his birthday presents. I told him if he took it with other children would use it, and he would have to share. I rather him use it in a pool as at the beach these blow-up things can only handle getting dragged across the rocks so much. He did really well with sharing until some of the bigger (OK, adults) started to jump into the pool on it, so then it went into the van. That is something that Daddy can not fix with a quick weld.
Auntie Theresa spent a lot of time playing with her nieces and nephews and even took a shift as "lifeguard". Thanks so much.

This two-year-old sure enjoyed her ice cream cone. She ate every last bite. Nothing beats an ice cream cone when it is your first summer eating them all by yourself. What a wonderful get-together with extended family.

Then off to my sisters to drop something off and we were invited to stay for dinner. Which was so nice, as then I could come home and put the kids right to bed. ahhh! Well, then it is cleaning out the van washing the floor, etc. What a good day, I always have a good day when I get around to washing the floor. lol.

Ballet Performance

The girl's final ballet performance was this past week. They were supposed to be a part of the big year-end show which this year was held on a Sunday, so of course we couldn't go. Thankfully they didn't know any better, so there was no disappointment or tears. I think the other two moms in the class were disappointed that there were three of us who wouldn't go on Sunday. It is all of them together in their little outfits that make it all look so cute. I just loved the practical outfits. (I am always practical) For twenty dollars they got a swimsuit, tutu, dancing ribbon, and colored hair band. The song was "Somewhere over the Rainbow" which of course was perfect, they really were cute and did a good job. I can't believe it is over already. The months just flew by.

The whole class with their teacher.

They did learn some proper ballet "phrases". And it was really good for them to follow directions and to (try) to do the dance moves at the same time. And of course, I wanted Sharleen to hear the difference an F.M. system makes in a gym (bad acoustic). It was a really good experience for everyone. What do you say, Irma...Hillarie, Carrie, and Danielle in a couple years?? She is already "practicing".lol.

Sports Day 2010

Our family's first sports Day, and what a fun beautiful day it was. My kids were a little disappointed as they didn't get to find out what place they were in anything, but it's not the way it's done in kindergarten. Timothy had been really sick since Sat. evening but did not want to stay home for sports day. (of course) I felt really bad for him because he had been looking forward to it for a long time. Even wanted to practice running with me after dinner. Or get to go to bed later...who knows. But with lots of drugs, he managed to get through most of the day. They were so excited that Auntie Joni, well actually that Jamiee could come out and watch them. Later on, Niessa mentioned many times her soft really cuby legs. (baby Jamiee's that is.lol) She sure loves babies.

Ready set go...
Once Sharleen's Tylenol and Advil kicked in she was off to play with her friends the rest of the day. She had a lot of fun too. At least I can see my kids aren't the only ones that ditch the shoes. When I stayed in Thailand that was one of the ultimate bad things to do in not taking care of a child...let them play outside without shoes on. I guess it was such a visible sign of poverty or neglect, I am not really sure, but one NEVER wore shoes in a house (not even to quickly get something) and ALWAYS wore shoes outside. Another thing that was considered really bad manners was to walk over someone's feet. For example, if I was sitting on the floor with my legs out a Thai would never walk over my feet, would wait till I clued in that she would like to get by, or motion for me to move my legs/feet. Here we would not even think twice about stepping over someone. Or maybe even on them. lol. So in Thailand, I would not be a very good mom, with my bare-feet children. Who knows, maybe even here. I was at the park with the kids a couple weeks ago with all my barefooted children and one of the moms would not let her child go barefoot.

Surprise, Surrprise!!!

A friend decided that it wasn't good enough that I had Gerard's "leftovers" or only had half a birthday cake, so she surprised me and dropped off a huge Black Forest Cake. I am going to skip the cake decorating class and take some lessons on how to make fabulous yummy cakes for adults. lol. Seriously, the yummy things other people can make. I asked my husband if it would be nice to trade wives (baking abilities of course) but he just wisely smiled and asked for a second piece of cake. So thank you so much for taking the time out of your own super-on-the-go life to bless mine.
p.s. there is lots of tasty cake in the house...now would be a good time to drop by.