Getting older

I used to love my birthday. I loved making a big deal out of it and I wanted everyone to know it was my birthday. When I was 16. As I got older, well I started to realize I was getting older, and every year I started to think, oh I used to think so and so was so old when they were this age. And you know, it really wasn't that cool any more to expect the world to stop for my birthday. When I turned 20 I remember thinking, there is no way Star Wars can be 20 years old, I saw it in the theatres. Yeah I saw at least one of the Star Wars movies in the theatre, when I was 3. The original came out the year I was born. And there were all these kids I knew that coudln't believe I had seen it in the theatre, because it was SO LONG AGO. After that it didn't seem like I should make such a huge deal out of my birthday any more. Now granted I still liked to go out with friends for a few more years. But now I would really not do anything outside of just Jeff and I going out for my birthday. It's just another reminder to everyone out there that yes, I am a year older. And although I don't mind when people tell me I'm young, I do mind when they tell me I'm old.
Well today I had a moment. A moment when it wasn't my birthday, but someone made me feel really really old.
We took Malcolm to get his passport picture taken. We go to the store and a nice girl takes probably 40 pictures before we get one that should work. As I'm paying I made the comment that I was so glad we have digital cameras now. Could you imagine doing this with a film camera? The girl working there said, "oh I know that would be hard. My mom was telling me you didn't used to need a picture for ID. Could you imagine that? Like even for a Saskatchewan drivers license, you just had to give your signature, and it was on the honour system. Could you imagine that?"
I looked at her in disbelief and said "no, no I can't". Then I left the store thikning, this girl who looks like she's about 18-20, just equated me with her mom. Because you know what, I had a SK drivers license when you didn't need a picture for it. Now what this girl probably didn't know is that it really wasn't that long ago. It was only in 2003 that it was mandatory to have photo ID with your drivers license in SK. Before that you had just the card that you signed. I think starting in 2001 or 2000 was when they started phasing in photo ID. I think you could get an "optional photo ID" around 1997 or something. And of course I got one right away, since there were certain places that would prefer you had it. But really it's only 6 years ago that it was made mandatory in our province. I won't tell you when I got my first license, however, it was beofre 6 years ago. And some girl in a photo store can't remember that far back anyway.

Happy Anniversary!

So it's our 4 year anniversary. 1 year and 1 day ago (as in the day beofre our 3rd anniversary), we found out we were pregnant. And now here we are with a four month old baby. He is such a blessing, and we had been waiting so long for him! I still remember how incredibly shocked we were to finally have a positive pregnancy test. And then when we went out for our anniversary dinner we were giggling over how I couldn't have a glass of wine.
This year we were able to leave Malcolm at my dad's for a few hours while we enjoyed a nice dinner out at the Granary, and a movie (the new Harry Potter).
And you know, I'm not bored with my husband. I still love him, and want to spend time with him. Granted we don't have to do everything together, but we like to. We can go on trips alone, or out with friends alone, but we miss each other and we still like to tell each other about our days, and the things we think the other person would have enjoyed. I like just spending time with Jeff still. I think that's good:)

Indiana and the ABC's

I talk to Gab on the phone pretty much everyday. Which means I also talk to Indiana on the phone that often. Sometimes I call them, sometimes they call me, but usually one of the first things I do in the morning is talk with my sister and Indiana.
The last couple of days he has called me in the morning to sing me the ABC's. We start off good, "abcdefghijk" now it gets cute "oooop" then he finishes the rest of correctly. Then he sings "Now, Know, C's, Time You Me". So mostly I just hear Gab during that part since she sings all the words. Indiana is not quite 3 yet, so even if he adds some extra o's, I still think he's pretty smart:)

Bree vs. the Thistles.

Bailey and Bree came running in yesterday, COVERED in thistles. Bailey wasn't so bad, but Bree was a mess. We spent over an hour washing and brushing her last night. And will probably do the same tonight.

Summer Project #1

This is our house when we bought it.


We had College Pro come and paint our house. We are pretty happy with the results. This picture actually is from day 3 of painting, they weren't quite done with the second coat etc. but you get the idea anyway.

Swimming

I finally had the opportunity to try out Malcolm's life jacket. We ordered it from MEC and it's special for babies. Click here to see the website.
Well, it's definitely cute, and it seems to work well. He was a little unsure of it, so we will have to keep trying until he gets a bit more comfortable in it:) He spent most of the time chewing on the buckle. Cute.

Weeding made easy

So I have always hated weeding, and have bought many things to help make it easier. Such as the garden claw which by the way, is not a whole lot easier. Well I was on the GCC website one day (see link to the left), and I saw this video for a Hula Hoe. I showed it to Jeff and he said we had a similar tool in our shed. Well I used it and it worked so well! Two minutes every day and my weeding is done. Now if the weed is really close to a plant, you do have to weed it by hand, but this sure helps for the in between areas.

Once again, Click HERE to see a video of the tool in use.

More Canada Day

Malcom and Mommy, with the stage in the background.
Malcolm with Grandpa Gonyou and Mama Kiss
Grandpa Gonyou and Malcolm hanging out.

So we had fun at the park today. We got there just at the end of the program. Just in time to re-affirm our Canadian citizenship. I think Malcolm really enjoyed that part;)
Then we got in line for cake, and that's what I was the most excited about. All the dignitaries that had been on stage were serving cake, so people like the mayor.
And then we bought some lunch and found a quite shady place to eat. And then we walked around a bit. Next year when Malcolm is a little older I think we will do a lot more there. They had all kinds of kids things set up. And of course the fireworks will be tonight. But I think that's a little much for a 3 month old to handle.

Happy Canada Day

I swear he was smiling right before I took this picture.

Today is Malcolm's first Canada Day. Unfortunately daddy is away on a business trip. So we are hanging out with Grandpa Gonyou and Grandma Chris (or Mama Kiss as Indiana likes to call her). In a little while we will be heading down to Deifenbaker Park for the celebrations:) More pictures to follow.

Billy Mays

Never underestimate the power of a bump to the head.

http://www.examiner.com/x-8357-DC-TV-Examiner~y2009m6d28-Pitchman-Billy-Mays-dead-at-50

UPDATE: It appears that maybe it wasn't the bump to the head.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/2009/06/billy-mays-autospy-reveals-heart-problems.html

2 celebrities, 1 day

When I was a kid, I used to watch Charlie's Angels when my parents weren't looking. I didn't really understand the show. But I LOVED Farrah Fawcett's hair. My Aunt Jane had a tape of "The Burning Bed", and every time we went there to visit, I would ask to watch it. I really liked her growing up. So it is a sad day indeed that she lost her battle with cancer. I hate cancer.

I used to LOVE Michael Jackson. I thought he was the coolest person ever. I couldn't understand why my mom wouldn't let me buy a Michael Jackson t-shirt when I was 8 years old. I loved Thriller, Beat It, Billy Jean. I loved it all. NOw he got creepy later on, with all the surgeries and what not. And let's not forget the allegations of sexual abuse, and the trials. Not his finer days. However, the Jackson 5 and the early Michael Jackson years did change music as we know it. So it is also a sad day that he died of cardiac arrest. (If the 11 minute old news is correct of course)

So let's mark June 25th as a sad day indeed.

Waskesiu

We have always held to the belief that kids are portable. More difficult than moving just yourself, but portable. So when we got pregnant we planned to still do the things we wanted to do, just in a different way. Some people support us in this, others think we are crazy. But as Jeff's co-worker said, "You gotta keep living your life."
So we went to Waskesiu this weekend with our 2 month old. We didn't camp, instead opting for a cabin in case he cried during the night. Which of course he did:)
We brought the bouncy chair, a floor mat, a play-pen, a carrier, and a stroller. And we were just fine. We have a Chariot, and that thing can go just about anywhere. We hiked the trail to Kingsmere Lake, and the Chariot made it fine over the tree roots, stairs, gravel etc. No problem.
We had intended to canoe today, with Malcolm's new baby lifejacket, but there was a thunderstorm, so we will save that for another time.

Sunday afternoon

We went to church today, then out for lunch at the mall. Did a little shopping, came home, napped. Grandma Ruth came to visit, napped some more, and now I have a happy little boy playing on his baby Einstein mat. Can't get much better than that.

smiles

Malcolm was really excited to go on his walk last night.
He is really starting to interact more. He smiles, and coos, and kicks his feet and tried to hit things. He has started to grab his soother and throw it. But then he want it back and he can't get it. It's really quite entertaining:)

Cooing

This is a short video of Malcolm in his swing tonight. It might make you dizzy to watch it, but the noises he was making were so cute!

Coffee

A long time ago, like probably 10 or so years, I quit drinking coffee. I used to have coffee all day long. But it was hurting my little tummy, and what not. Also when I cut all caffiene out of my diet I lost like 10 pounds. Now since then I have gone through stages of having Tim Hortons french vanilla to stay awake during school. And then sometimes the odd Starbucks, especially at work. Since I got pregnant, I think I had Starbucks twice. I mostly drink tea, and it's been mostly decaf lately.
We don't even have a coffee maker.
Well since we have had Malcolm all that has changed. When I take Jeff to work, we stop at Tim Hortons to get him a large double double and muffin ($2.74), and then on the way home Malcolm and I stop at Starbucks to get mommy a Grande White Chocolate Mocha with Raspberry. This is costing us like $8 a day. And the days I sleep in and don't drive Jeff to work, I don't know what to do without my coffee.
So we decided it's time. I went out on Saturday, and called my sister from Starbucks. She used to work at a coffee shop and really is a bit of a coffee snob. I got all the info I needed over the phone, and bought a coffee grinder, coffee and a coffee press. My coffee this morning was WONDERFUL!! (P.S., I only drink it in the mornings, never after 11am. Don't want to be the reason Malcolm doesn't sleep at night)

Coffee grinder + whole coffee beans + Coffee press =
two happy parents.

Trying to catch the first smiles on camera

This is the closest I got to catching a smile in a still photo. In the video I caught just the end of a smile and then a lot of squirmyness.

Laundry

With a newborn it is a struggle to get household chores done. You have to schedule your chores around feeding's, and cuddles and diaper changes and fussy times. And then everyone thinks you should sleep every single time the baby does. And sometimes there just isn't any time.
So today my mom came by in between feeding's and I thought I would quickly get some work done. We went through all 5 of our 0-3 mo sleepers yesterday, so i really needed to get the baby laundry done first. And since we are on a tight schedule (get as much done before he starts screaming to eat again), I was rushing. I have a little pail in his room that I have water with washing soda nad borax in, and I throw any soiled clothes in it, and washcloths, so that the stains don't set. This is the first thing I take down, and I throw the whole thing in the washer and run a rinse cycle before washing it. So I'm rushing down the stairs, and I forget that the lid isn't water tight. And yes you guessed it, I spilled poop water all over me. YUCK!!!!!

Family

Just thought I would share a particularly cute picture of my boy.


This past week and a bit has been very busy. My sister and her two boys came into town last Friday, for my baby shower on Saturday. The Saturday shower was very fun, and busy. Lots of guests. I was so happy to see everyone and really appreciated getting to visit:) A big thanks to Auntie Heather for organizing the shower, and Nana Cher for helping out, and letting the shower be held at her house. We also got to visit with Uncle Cory and his kids on Saturday.
My brother also flew in Saturday morning, and thus started a week of hanging out with the three baby boys. Indiana, Aleksei and Malcolm.
For Mother's Day we went to St.James, then had lunch at my mom's, everyone took a nap after lunch, then Jeff, Malcolm and I went to the Robertson house to have supper with his mom, Aunt and cousin. After a walk, we then stopped in to see my step-mom before going home to bed.
Then each day Malcolm and I would head over either to my mom's or my dad's house and hang out with Tim, Gab and the boy's. Indiana got to spend lots of time with his "new cousin", and he loved telling everyone about it. Aleksei enjoyed many of my shower gifts that are too old for Malcolm, but just right for Aleksei.
Alex came the following Saturday, and we had supper at my dad's house. Then Sunday was church at Dad's church, and family pictures in the park. Then we went to mom's for supper and hung out.
And today Gab and Alex and the boys went home. Tim leaves tomorrow.
It's been so nice to have them here and to visit. And I wish they could all stay another week! And I think Malcolm has loved all the attention.

Happy Derby Day!!

I think Jeff and I will probably follow the Kentucky Derby forever now. The Kentucky in us comes out today. Jeff is out placing our bets right now. Tonight for dinner, Kentucky Burgoo and Derby Pie compliments of Jeff's mom. We would have mint juleps too, but I can't drink right now.