Back Woods Wife

I've moved!!!

2008-06-09T19:48:00.004-06:00

For further blog updates please visit www.backwoodswife.ca . I was going to keep updating both sites but it's a bit much. I'll leave this one up for now but won't be adding any new posts here. Please come and visit!

Happy Birthday Dwayne!

2008-06-09T19:46:00.000-06:00

Today is Dwayne's 35th birthday! We had a low key day - Dwayne worked with the loader this afternoon, Lindsey came by for a visit, and then we ordered in pizza for supper. Tonight the plan is to watch a movie, kidlets permitting, and eat cake! We'll do another birthday celebration on Friday with the extended family. We have 3 birthdays to celebrate - Dwayne's, my sister Lindsey's, and Grandpa Ib's. Dwayne has requested key lime cheesecake so I'm off recipe hunting. :)

Word of Thanks

2008-06-08T11:16:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Hendrik and I ran some errands, including picking up an additional mosquito net to install over his bed in the loft. We had a small one over Riley's crib and then a larger one that we were using to cover our bed and Hendrik's little bed, which we had smooshed against the side of ours. Now we have one for each bed. Much easier for keeping the bugs off and out and all of that. After Dwayne hung his net up for him last night Hendrik happily exclaimed, "Thank you for my nasty mosquito net!"

Perhaps I should explain. The "nasty" adjective is tagged exclusively to the word mosquito. The mosquito net is actually quite nice, lovely in fact. Some people might even describe the whole mosquito net-draped look as romantic. However, around here they are practical first and pretty second. We have been referring to the mosquitoes as "nasty mosquitoes" because they have been chomping our poor, defenseless little people. Apparently we must call them that a lot because Hendrik never simply says "mosquito", it is always "nasty mosquito".

There has been a lot of gratitude around here for mosquito nets, nasty or otherwise. :)

2008-06-07T21:30:00.000-06:00

Oy!

I spoke way, way, WAY too soon

2008-06-07T20:56:00.002-06:00

Oh the mosquitoes. It's like we're camping. The other morning I woke up at 4:30a.m. This may not be out of the ordinary for some people but it certainly is for me. Just ask Dwayne or my parents or my sisters or practically anyone else who knows me. Brutal. Dwayne woke up shortly after me and by 5:15 we decided we might as well get up seeing as we weren't going to be sleeping anyway for all of the buzzing and insect killing. There were clouds of them in the house.

We spent a fair bit of time trying to figure out where they were coming in and filling in any little gaps that we found. Then we drank a lot of coffee. Then we waited until nightfall to see if we had improved our situation.

Well. There was slight improvement but still a crazy number of mosquitoes getting into the house. Today there was more inspection and sealing up around the outside of the house. Again we have to wait.

As I am sitting here typing I am being swarmed. I think I have found the source. They seem to be coming in through a small gap above the picture window in the living room. In log homes you need to leave room above the windows and doors for settling and shrinkage of the logs. The space is filled with fiberglass insulation and covered with wood trim which seems to be fine in the cold but not enough to keep the mosquitoes out. Dwayne is spray foaming the outside of the window right now and hopefully we will see a marked improvement.

Tonight will tell. Wish me sweet, mosquito free dreams!

Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, and then a lot fewer mosquitoes

2008-06-04T21:00:00.000-06:00

Sunday night and Monday night were awful, awful nights for mosquitoes. The local populations were in full force and we had a gap somewhere that was allowing a steady stream of the pesky creatures in. We looked everywhere, secured and re-secured screens on the windows, checked for gaps around the doors, etc, etc. After 2 nights of killing 3 to 4 DOZEN mosquitoes each evening we finally found our gap. We had moved the the water lines for the kitchen sink this spring and hadn't sealed over the holes. The mosquitoes were lurking in the cool, dark crawl space under the house and then easily flying up into the kitchen through the little holes. Last night Dwayne filled the holes in with spray foam. ~*~BLISS~*~ We only killed 3 or 4 mosquitoes before going to bed. Ahhhh........

My own domain!!

2008-06-04T13:21:00.002-06:00

I now have my own domain! www.backwoodswife.ca

I will eventually be abandoning Blogger entirely but for now I will be posting identical posts on both sites. I am still trying to figure out what I would like for design on the new site and am playing around with WordPress' many features. Please feel free to give me input on the features you like or dislike in regards to the new site (calendar, search function, comment column, etc). Right now I am just using a WordPress template and will hopefully come up with a more personalized design in the somewhat near future. ;)

My Mad Scientist

2008-06-03T16:06:00.002-06:00

Monday's Quotes

2008-06-03T11:47:00.002-06:00

"Gae-goo."
~ Riley, upon receiving a cracker.

"Daddy, it's a problem. Can I please have some chips?"
~ Hendrik (We're not sure what the "problem" was but the chips apparently were the solution!)

Assorted gurgles and coos and baby laughs.
~ Abby, the ever happy baby!

Poor neglected little blog

2008-06-03T11:39:00.002-06:00

I'm afraid I've been neglecting you dear blog but there has been a lot going on around here. All the more reason to post on you but the time seems to be zipping past right now. Things have been/are being built, the screen tent has been set up, a whole host of queen wasps have been captured and exterminated (ew!), our driveway has been cleared of stumps and leveled, children have been growing, and the very necessary mosquito nets have been hung over the crib and beds.

I've also been remiss in taking photographs. I better get that camera battery charged back up and download the pictures I have taken. There are babies a-growin' over here! Delicious babies if I do say so myself, unfortunately the entire population of mosquitoes agrees with me as well.

I'll be back between swatting mosquitoes off chubby little legs and cheeks, loads of laundry, diaper changes, and checking up on my resident mad scientist!

And we have power!

2008-05-27T23:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight Dwayne hooked up the the wood gasifier to the battery bank and gave them a bit of a charge. We can officially make electricity from wood scraps now. We're generating our own power from wood and cleaning up our property at the same time! :)

Fort Myth stikes again

2008-05-27T13:21:00.001-06:00

As many of you know, my husband is on parental leave right now. Wonderful for us but it means we are a little bit out of the loop from time to time. Dwayne went to the hardware store this morning to pick up a few things and ran into a couple of the guys from work. They had heard that I was pregnant again. Huh? It's amazing what you can learn about yourself if you listen to the rumour mill. This is actually is the second time in a week that someone has said something to Dwayne about this.

For the record: I am NOT pregnant.

We can only assume that someone saw me at the health centre going down to see the midwives. What a lot of people seemingly don't understand is that women stay in the care of the midwives for 1 year post-partum. Visiting the midwife does not necessarily indicate pregnancy!

Small towns. Gotta love 'em. Most of the time.

Wood gasifier

2008-05-26T23:21:00.000-06:00

As of tonight we have a working wood gasifier. For us laymen, that means that we can run a gas burning engine off of wood scraps. The engine, in turn, will be used to charge our battery bank. Essentially the concept is this: scraps of wood=electricity. Apparently the technology was used a lot during World War II when there was a petroleum shortage. Dwayne found directions online and has been building the gasifier with assorted metal containers and automotive parts he had lying around. I will get him to dictate a post to me one day so I can better explain how it works.

Greenhouse

2008-05-25T20:53:00.000-06:00

Today after church we took a little trip to the greenhouse. My dad met us there so we were able to have one adult for each tot. Handy when you are trying to carry around plants as well as children. :)

I picked up some pansies and some pepper plants. We're not going to crazy this year as we don't have an official garden yet, just some planters out front. It's still so nice to see all of the green lushness after a long cold winter even if you don't bring much home!

Creepy Crawlies

2008-05-24T20:46:00.001-06:00

Bug season is officially here! In addition to the mosquitoes we now have carpenter ants (some of which are flying as the queens are trying to establish colonies), regular ants, assorted beetles, wasps (regular size and the giant queens flying around again), oodles of spiders big and small, and your staple house flies.

I'm not so much afraid as a bit disgusted. I don't mind seeing them go by but I don't like being surprised by them. There was a big nasty spider in a dish on the shelf the other day that I almost grabbed when retrieving a bowl that was stacked inside said dish. For some reason I took a look back into the dish after grabbing the bowl and saw it hunkered down where the bowl had been. Ew, ew, ew. I thought it was dead at first so I blew on it to make sure. It moved. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Thankfully Dwayne was inside and I made him squish it. I'm not a fan of the squishing. I don't like the feel or the sound if the bug/spider is big enough. I'm more of a catch and release kind of gal.

I don't want the kids to be afraid of bugs and spiders so I try to show repulsion instead of fear when a reaction is necessary! ;)

P.S. Happy Birthday to my bug loathing sister Lindsey!!!

First Words!!

2008-05-23T23:40:00.000-06:00

Technically Riley said, "Anbarry" a few weeks back (translation "Grandbarry" which is what the kids call my dad) but today she added a couple of words that were more understandable to the general public.

This morning Riley came to me with her little plastic teapot in one hand and a little Melmac teacup in the other and said "tea" while holding them out to me. The teapot she has been playing with lately was one that my sisters and I used to play with when we visited my Gran'ma and Gran'dad in Ontario.

This evening when Dwayne's family came for a BBQ Riley said, "Hi" to Anka when she came through the door.

"Mama" and "Dadda" have also been in use for quite a long time but these are the first non-name words for her. Sweet!

Gratuitous Abby shot

2008-05-22T23:56:00.000-06:00

An open letter

2008-05-21T23:57:00.002-06:00

Dear Friend,

I hope you won't take offense when you read this letter. You're not the kind of person that offends easily so I think I'm safe.

I have a confession to make.

I didn't clean up my house before you arrived. Not to say that I didn't do any cleaning at all but I certainly didn't do anything over the top. No floor to ceiling scrub downs, no major mopping of the floors, just a little vacuuming, some shuffling of laundry, and a quick clean of the bathroom.

The cleaning I did today was the sort of cleaning that I do when I know family is coming over. I'm not afraid to show you my (clean) laundry piles waiting to be folded and put away, or the collection of toys strewn across our living room. You'll also see the somewhat organized (in my own little way) chaos that is my desk and, if you peek under it, probably a dust bunny or two.

For you, I'm keepin' it real. I know you do the same for me.

Ten weeks after the birth of our first child I was still deluded enough to think that my house needed to be perfectly tidy and clean, my hair washed, and the baby and I's clothing colour coordinated or at least not clashing before I could let you past the front door. That was back when I didn't allow anything dropped on even a freshly mopped or vacuumed floor to come in contact with my firstborn without it being practically sterilized again first.

Fast forward three years. There are now three kids. My house is still ~~fairly~~ really messy most of the time, my hair is usually brushed, and my clothes likely match each other but not the baby's. I've discovered that dirt isn't the end of the world and that the odd stray germ is okay too. I've let go of (most of) the guilt of not having a perfectly organized home complete with fresh bread baked daily and a sparkle and shine on every applicable surface. (Where does this self imposed expectation and the accompanying guilt come from anyway?)

But Friend, you understand all of this. It doesn't phase you. You'd probably be disgusted with me if I had it all together at this juncture in our lives. While I'm aiming for something remotely encroaching on the fringes of perfection I know I'm no where near that and that's okay.

I am the joyful mother of three happy, healthy children who perfect my world. Thankfully children don't thrive on perfection, they thrive on love. In this house we're heavy on the love and trying not to worry about perfection.

So welcome to our home - share the mess and share the love!

Love ya!

Overheard...

2008-05-20T23:03:00.001-06:00

"I'm just going to sleep with my eyes open Mommy."

-Hendrik, yesterday afternoon as he climbed sleepily onto the couch. :)

Happenings

2008-05-19T20:02:00.003-06:00

-A couple of visits with some of Dwayne's extended family who are doing some locum work at the health centre in town.
-Another trip to the snake pit - no snakes this time, just ducks, sand hill cranes, a fox, and some fish.
-Another bookcase built by Dwayne for the living room.
-Riley dressing up in shoes and hats and winter clothes - just for fun!
-Riley pretending to talk on her toy phones and also the remote controls. :)
-Hendrik using his potty more and more.
-An addition to the "Thomas the Train" set for Hendrik
-Abby shrieking and laughing as loud as her big sister. And that's saying something! :)
-Showering in our own shower in our own house! Yay!
-The advent of mosquito season complete with lots of bites for Hendrik and I.

I have been remiss in posting lately so it's time to pull my metaphorical socks up and get writing again!

You know you live in the north when...

2008-05-15T17:39:00.003-06:00

Well, you know it's been a long, cold winter when +19C feels hot. Yes, that's right, HOT. Talk to me in a few weeks after we've had some upper twenties weather and I will be singing an entirely different tune.

Bye bye buckets!!

2008-05-13T14:19:00.003-06:00

No more buckets! As of last night all drains were good to go. Toilet, sinks, washing machine, all in normal working order. The shower sealer is curing as I type and by week's end we will be able to shower at our own house. It is so nice to turn on the taps and not worry about how full the 5 gallon pail underneath is. It is so nice for Dwayne not to have to be slinging buckets all day long. :) We are pretty happy around here!

Grouting the Shower

2008-05-12T22:20:00.004-06:00

Yes, spring is here and our septic system is thawing out after a very cold, very long winter. We had trouble with our leaching pit freezing partway through the winter and as a result we have had running water but have not been able to drain it through the pipes. This has meant Dwayne carrying out bucket after bucket of wash water every day. It has also meant that we have not showered in our own house yet! When we first moved in our hot water heater had not yet arrived. Then the hot water heater arrived but the installation kit was back ordered. For MONTHS. Shortly after the installation kit arrived our septic system froze up. Since December we have been showering at my parents' and my sister and brother-in-law's homes. We have really appreciated being able to shower, believe me, but it will be nice to shower in our own home, both for us and for our families as well. All of this bucketing has been quite time consuming and each shower trip takes roughly 1-2 hours depending on how many errands we tag onto the trip. The leaching pit's thawing will give us the gift of time and Dwayne's burly arms a break. The ground is also thawing nicely and soon it will be thawed deep enough down that we can bring in some heavy equipment to dig up the system and bury it deeper to prevent freezing next winter. A day or two of work will well be worth it come October!

It's Official!

2008-05-12T22:14:00.002-06:00

We have a third thumb-s*cker in the family!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T15:20:00.004-06:00

We are enjoying a quiet afternoon today. Dwayne made french toast for lunch and now we are all in various states of repose.

Abby is alternating between dozing and wakefulness,

Hendrik is singing and playing with his trains,

Riley is napping,

Dwayne is reading,

and I am blogging and catching up on the news.

In a little while we are heading over to Mom and Dad's for a Mother's Day BBQ. :) BBQ photos to follow...

A Boy and His Shirts

2008-05-10T11:17:00.001-06:00

You know how a lot of kids have a stuffed toy or a blanket that they really love? Hendrik has his shirts. Technically they're my shirts but he has absconded them and would actually have several more if I didn't convince him that I actually do need to wear shirts.

I think it all started when he began sleeping on his own in his big boy bed. He wasn't too keen on the idea as he was used to sleeping with us for at least a portion of the night. I offered him one of my shirts as I couldn't sleep in the bed with him. He took it and has had it every night since (the blue one). Later on he decided that he should also have my green shirt. Both of these shirts are made of a silky cotton blend and any shirt that has a similar feel is one that I have to fight to keep! Many of my maternity shirts were of this composition so any chance he got he would try to convince me to give him another shirt.

These shirts are naptime and bedtime essentials and are very precious to him. Occasionally Riley will streak past him and snatch one and toddle away as fast as her little legs will carry her. She knows she's got something that her brother thinks is good and she wants in on it. This doesn't tend to go over well with Hendrik. However, on occasion when he is in a benevolent mood, he will share one of his shirts with Riley. Every day this week he has woken up and offered one of his shirts to Abby "to snuggle wif" for a little while. Very sweet.

He loves his little sisters, sharing his shirts says so.

Our Little Sunbeam

2008-05-09T23:11:00.004-06:00

Life is good when you have a cookie in one hand and a toothbrush in the other.

Gardening tools!

2008-05-08T15:27:00.003-06:00

Today a box arrived in the mail from Lee Valley Tools. We are big fans of Lee Valley Tools in this family. Great quality tools and gardening supplies and great books and gift ideas as well. I ordered a little hand rake, cultivator for myself and a set of colourful moulded plastic garden tools for the kids.

Photo from LeeValleyTools.com

Riley and Hendrik were both thrilled. We plan to test them out later on this afternoon in the yard. There are a lot of little sticks and pine cones and things that need to be swept up.

Right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot

2008-05-07T23:13:00.000-06:00

Last week I mentioned to Hendrik that he had a right hand and a left hand, a right foot and a left foot. I didn't know if really understood what I was talking about but I thought it worth trying anyhow. Today he came up to me and said, "Mommy, this is my right hand and this is my left hand. This is my right foot and this is my left foot." He had it right. I was suprised that he had remembered as I had only told him about this once. Later on I asked him to show me which hands and feet were left and right and he again did it correctly. I tried another time later in the day with the same result. "Great!", I thought. "He already knows right and left, this will helpful for getting his shoes and boots on properly."

I excitedly phoned my mom and told her the good news. She was appropriately impressed and proud of her grandchild as grandmas tend to be. :)

This evening we went to visit my parents and I thought I would demonstrate his new found left/right identification skills. I asked him to show Grandma his right hand. Lifting up his left hand he said, "This is my right hand." Then he lifted up his right hand and said, "This is my left hand."

Repeat with the feet.

Mom was pretty amused but told Hendrik what a great job he did as grandmas tend to do no matter the outcome. :)

Note to self: Pride commeth before the fall.

The past week...

2008-05-06T22:39:00.003-06:00

- A lovely visit with Dwayne's parents
- A visit to the snake pits
- A Sunday afternoon potluck at a good friend's new home
- Abby turned 2 months old (already!)
- Riley says "Neigh" while playing with toy horses
- Hendrik has used his potty twice
- The little cabin now has a proper tin roof

Today I got a call from my former piano teacher. She told me she was thinking of holding a garage sale but then decided it would be too much of a hassle and thought my sister and I could use some of the items she had planned to sell. It worked out perfectly. Many of the items that she gave us were things we had been looking for or wishing for in our homes. Area rugs, hall runners, light fixtures, small appliances, a much needed storage unit for DVDs and CDs...wonderful!

Paper trains

2008-05-05T14:49:00.002-06:00

Our little guy loves the "Thomas the Train" series of books and DVDs and loves to reenact the stories with the train characters that he has. Those that he doesn't have we cut out of the brochure that comes with each train you purchase. Those 3 page spreads are precious to our boy and he insists on cutting out the pictures of the trains that he likes. In fact, as I type now, I am being approached. "Can you cut Edward and Henry out Mommy?" Once they are cut out they will be affectionately known as "Paper Edward" and "Paper Henry". Those little paper bits are every bit as important to him as the actual trains that he has. Dwayne and I have been driven to distraction a few times when one of his favourite paper trains has gone missing. There is great sadness from Hendrik and great persistence to find the missing train as well. Some days he will walk around with paper trains pinched in between all of his fingers on both hands. Sometimes he won't let go of them until he falls asleep! I love that he is using his imagination and it is so much fun to watch him interact with these "toys".

Mid evening at our house

2008-05-04T22:34:00.000-06:00

Here is what it typically looks like around 8pm at our house.

Abby napping, this time in the "man chair".

Riley thinking about sleeping. Have I mentioned how much she loves toothbrushes?

Hendrik acting out "Bob the Builder" or "Thomas the Train" stories. Here he is with "Travis the Tractor", complete with "Silly Spud" in the hay bale.

"Bare Necessities" as sung by a 3 year old : )

2008-05-03T14:59:00.000-06:00

Look for the bear necess-a-nees, simple bear necess-a-nees
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necess-a-nees
Why a bear can ress-a-nees
With just the bear necess-a-nees of life
(I like bein' a bear.)

We're big "Jungle Book" fans around here right now. :)

I love this picture!

2008-05-02T14:28:00.000-06:00

I snapped this while walking down the path with Riley at the Snake Pits. I didn't know if it would turn out but it actually wound up being my favourite picture from that day.

Heralds of Spring

2008-05-01T22:48:00.002-06:00

This week we went to what is affectionately known in these parts as "The Snake Pits". It is a favourite picnic spot officially known as "The Salt River Day Use Area" just inside Wood Buffalo National Park. It is a fine example of karst topography and there are lovely hiking trails that range from 700m to 7km. We often picnicked here when I was growing up - winter, spring, summer, and fall. Hopefully our little family will continue with that tradition.

We decided it would be fun to take Dwayne's parents to see the snakes. We had to take advantage of it while the garternsnakes were still at the caves. It's not something you can plan or schedule. The snakes' migration is completely weather dependent and so each year is different.

These little guys are a sure sign that spring has arrived. They venture out as the snow melts and the weather gets into the double digits to sun themselves on the exposed rocks and brown earth. After a week or so of sunning and snuggling up to potential mates they make a several kilometre trip to their summer grounds. I didn't realize garter snakes swam until today. They actually go down a steep cliff, swim across a small river, go up a cliff on the other side, and then slither on down the road to their favourite vacation spot.

After viewing the snakes we had a hot dog roast at the fire pit and the older kids had a great time running around the flat area overlooking the Salt River. We brought a ball along and Hendrik and Riley had great fun chasing it and each other around. Abby had a good nap. :)

While we were there several other families we knew arrived with their little ones to see the snakes. We were lucky enough to be there when one of the park wardens (who was fittingly named Birch) arrived, excited to talk with the kids about the snakes. He picked one up and let the kids touch the snake if they wished. One of the kids asked if the snake had a name. The park warden said he didn't think so. Hendrik piped up, "His name is No Feet." (No Feet is the snake from the "Little Bear" series.)

After several trips up the trail to see the snakes it was time to go home. Hendrik was heartbroken. He did not want to leave the snakes. He sat beside me on the benches by the fire pit sobbing and sobbing. Mid cry he looked up at me with a very serious face and said, "This is no laughing matter," and then resumed crying. Oh my!

The kids were pretty exhausted at the end of the afternoon and we thought that they would likely fall asleep in the van during the first few minutes of the drive home. Wrong! There was a great deal of sadness from Hendrik about not seeing the snakes again that day and some sympathy sounds added by Riley. We stopped at the drug store on our way to Mom and Dad's for supper to pick up diapers and these little guys as a suprise...

Hendrik has named them "No Feet" (from "Little Bear") and "Kaa" (from "The Jungle Book"), respectively. :)

The Many Faces of Abby

2008-04-26T16:56:00.002-06:00

These pictures were all taken over the period of a minute or two!

Backyard visitors

2008-04-26T16:11:00.004-06:00

Dwayne has been clearing trees around our house to open things up a bit and also as preventative measures for the upcoming forest fire season. We have cleared all of the coniferous trees within a 30ft radius from the house so far and will clear more as time allows. It also means we get a start on our firewood for next winter. :)

Since cutting down the jack pine and spruce trees we have had some extra company around here. Spruce grouse have discovered us! They are happily eating the needles from the tree tops which are now lying on the ground. This saves them having to fly into the trees to eat the needles. There are 6 of them that we have counted so far and they are quite content to stay around despite all of the noise we have been making and the activity in the yard. (The black poles you see are the start of the towers for our wind turbines.)

A male spruce grouse

A female spruce grouse

The grouse are not afraid of us and we have been getting as close as about 5 or 6 ft away from them without them even flinching. I imagine we could get closer but I don't want to scare them off. Each time we venture to the outhouse we do a quick head count to see who is around. So far there are 2 hens, and 4 roosters in the batch.

First kiss

2008-04-23T23:12:00.004-06:00

This evening I got my very first kiss from Riley. It was totally unprompted and entirely her idea. :) She was tired and needed to be held a lot this evening while we were at Mom and Dad's for a farewell potluck for some friends. On one of the many times I picked her up throughout the evening she leaned forward and gave me the sweetest kiss on the lip. Melt my heart!

Riley and I had never been apart before for longer than a few hours until I had to go to Yellowknife suddenly and stay for those 3 weeks. It took double that time for things to get back to normal once we were home. It makes me feel sad for those children who are tossed between parents at such a young age or are taken from their families for whatever reason. It must be very disruptive and confusing for them. I am so glad she and Hendrik were able to stay with Mom and Dad while we were away and I know they had a wonderful time together but the time apart from us really did have an impact on her. Riley was grinding her teeth for a while around the time we had to leave town to have Abby and I wonder if it wasn't her way of showing stress.

It is only in the last few days that I have felt that Riley and I are back to what we were before Abby was born. Those 3 weeks that we were apart we tough on both of us I think and it took a while for her to be as free or trusting with me as she was before. I wondered if it would ever be the same and I am so happy that she and I are interacting the way we did before Abby was born. Thankfully she loves her new baby sister too and often joins Abby and I for a cuddle in the chair when I am nursing Abby.

Hooray for first kisses!!!

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T13:22:00.003-06:00

The Simple Woman's Daybook meme

2008-04-21T21:00:00.006-06:00

A Monday meme from "The Simple Woman" blog. For other daybook entries click on the link below.
The Simple Woman

FOR TODAY ~ April 21, 2008

Outside My Window...tiny little snowflakes falling, forcasted to turn into a winter storm. Freshly cut firewood, cut this afternoon in our yard. Firewood for next winter and land clearing all in one!

I am thinking...silliness is underrated sometimes.

I am thankful for...family and good health.

From the kitchen...nothing too exciting today…Cream of Wheat, KD, hot dogs, applesauce, assorted munchies.

I am creating...a semi-permanent craft space in our mail living area. If I can leave things set up there might be a chance of my getting a project completed.

I am going...to inquire about Airmiles flights to Ontario for a visit with my extended family.

I am wearing... jeans, thigh high cranberry coloured socks and a matching waffle weave Henley hoodie.

I am reading...Middlemarch by George Eliot and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. I am craving something Jane Austen but my books are outside buried in storage.

I am hoping...that warmer weather returns soon. I’ve had enough of April snowstorms!

I am hearing...the washing machine, the dishwasher, children playing, the Muppet Show.

Around the house...lots of laundry hanging to dry, a pile of papers waiting to be tackled, children’s toys strewn across the living room, my little people, my hot hardworking husband.

One of my favorite things...the cast iron teapot my parents bought for me “just because”. It is a beauty. I’ll have to post a picture.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: sorting/downsizing/organizing ALL of our clothing, friends coming for supper and coffee, a farewell potluck, hopefully some sewing.

Here is picture I am sharing...

THOSE kind of friends

2008-04-19T21:01:00.003-06:00

Do you have THOSE kind of friends? You know, the ones who you don't necessarily see than often, but every time you see them you can pick up exactly where you left off and it's as though you just talked with them yesterday? I am blessed to have 2 such friends here. We all have busy lives and preschool age and younger children so between cold season, vacations away, this meeting or that, or life in general, we don't connect as often as we'd like. Last night we were able to get together and it was great. We all remarked at nice it was just to pick up where we last left off. No hurt feelings or anything, just excitement at seeing one another and easy conversation. Ahhh...

A new haircut

2008-04-19T20:51:00.001-06:00

It never looks the same as when you come home from the salon but it is an improvement nonetheless!

Snow, snow and more snow

2008-04-19T20:42:00.005-06:00

Just when we thought spring was here to stay we had our first and likely, only snowfall warning of the entire season!

At 1pm this is what it looked like outside our backdoor:

About an hour later:

Two hours after that:

In the morning there was about 6 inches of snow on the roof of our car. We went from shirtsleeves to snowsuits in less than 24 hours! Oh well, we really should know that there are no guarantees of having spring weather in April after all our years of living in the north! Hendrik was thrilled though. He got to build another snowman, this time with Daddy. :) We think it looks a bit like Silly Spud (from the "Bob the Builder" stories if you are not familiar with the name).

Carpentry 101

2008-04-15T14:30:00.001-06:00

"The Knack"

2008-04-15T14:23:00.001-06:00

I love this!!

Hat tip: Stacy at Your Sacred Calling

Stay tuned...

2008-04-11T22:06:00.003-06:00

I haven't been posting much lately. I'm not sure why... ; )

There is a lot going on around here but not the time to blog about it all just yet. I have been taking pictures and jotting down notes to myself for when I get the chance to get caught up. Please bear with me, regular posting should resume soon.

Sisters!

2008-04-11T21:40:00.004-06:00

Here are Riley and Abby! The first picture was taken April 4th and the other two were taken March 26th. Sorry for the delay in posting these but I figured better late than never, right grandmas?

A Promise Kept

2008-04-11T21:04:00.003-06:00

This evening Hendrik and I made a snowman. Finally. It has been a long time coming. One of Hendrik's favourite books this winter was "Flannel Kisses" by Linda Crotta Brennan. It talks about a family's activities one winter day including using "sticky snow" to make a snowman.

All winter long Hendrik kept asking if there was "sticky snow" to make a snowman. All winter long I kept telling Hendrik that we had lots of snow but it wasn't sticky snow and that we would have to wait until it warmed up a little before we could make a snowman. Hendrik didn't forget (he never does!). He kept talking about making a snowman when it warmed up a little. It has finally warmed up a little. The snow is finally sticky enough to stick together. Today was finally the day.

Daddy kept the little girls inside with him and Hendrik and Mommy ventured outside to make a snowman. There was great excitement and a lot of rushing to and fro to find sticks for arms, buttons for eyes, jack pine cones for buttons, just the right scarf, and a mini carrot for a nose. I almost forgot to add a mouth, Hendrik didn't. More tromping through the snow to find a curved stick for our snowman's mouth. Ta-da!

Hendrik didn't really want to leave his new snow friend. He was plied away with the promise of chocolate pudding once we got inside. After coming inside he asked another half a dozen times to go back outside with the snowman. Tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning. Then there were wondering about whether or not the snowman was outside talking in the snow. It was determined that he was.

Then there was chocolate pudding.

A conversation

2008-04-01T22:02:00.003-06:00

Me: Hendrik, would you like to go to the dump with Daddy today to get rid of the garbage?

Hendrik: Okay. The dump was closed, now it's open.

Me: Yes, Mommy and Daddy forgot that the dump was closed Sundays and Mondays but today is Tuesday so it's open.

Hendrik: Yeah.

Me: So you'd like to go and help Daddy then?

Hendrik: I think that's a splendid idea.

That's right - the word splendid being used in conjunction with a garbage dump. By a 3 year old.

Note: We live in a rural area so we don't have garbage removal service. "The Dump" is our landfill and used to be open 24/7/365 before the town became worried about people getting hurt and suing them. It was the place to go and watch black bears and find treasures that others had tossed as rubbish - furniture, old vehicles, etc. Our official town signage calls it the "Nuisance Grounds". Sounds mighty fancy for a town who likes to go and watch bears at the garbage dump for their evening entertainment doesn't it?

P.S. "Thomas the Tank Engine" DVDs and books are to thank for the addition of the word splendid and a host of train-related words to Hendrik's vocabulary.

First bath day at Bell Rock

2008-03-20T22:21:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the first time the kids have had a bath at our house in Bell Rock. We are still without running hot water and our septic system isn't draining as quickly as it should so we have been going into my parents' place for showers and baths. (This weekend we should have hot running water as the parts have FINALLY arrived but the showering at our house will have to wait until spring has fully sprung.)

When we bought our kitchen sink this fall I chose a really big one with the thought of bathing little people in mind. Baby bathtubs are so awkward to move around that I thought a large sink would be ideal for the littlest of our children but I didn't realize it would fit our 3 year old quite comfortably as well. So yesterday evening the kids all had baths in the kitchen sink. :)

As you can see, not everyone was pleased to be having a bath. Riley didn't want to get out, Hendrik kept asking to have another bath, and Abby was not impressed in th least!

~ Abby Sophia ~

2008-03-10T23:05:00.008-06:00

Announcing Abby Sophia!
Born March 5th at 4:15 a.m.
9lbs 1oz
52cm long

Here are a couple of photos of Abby. : ) The first one was taken when she was about 8 hours old and the second one was taken at 5 days old. Although she is sleeping in both of these, she is a very bright-eyed little girl. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures of her during her awake times during the next few days.

Abby is a sweet little baby and is both eating and sleeping well. Hendrik and Riley have taken to her and so far she can sleep through their wrestling matches. : )

Quick update

2008-03-03T17:07:00.002-07:00

Still no baby! There are no plans to induce any time soon. Maybe after Thursday, we're not sure. Baby is happy and healthy so they don't want to rush him or her which is fine with us.

We are really missing the kids and home but are so thankful that Mom and Dad were able to look after them for us. I think we'd all be climbing the walls right now. It is way too cold up here!

Hopefully we will have baby in arms soon and when we do, I'll be back here to let you know.

Internet access is almost non-existent right now as there is a constant stream of teenagers using the computer. This is the first time I've been online since Friday sometime.

Waiting...

2008-02-22T20:47:00.002-07:00

We are still in Yellowknife waiting for the arrival of the newest member of our family. Thankfully, the baby is no longer breech so a VBAC will likely happen for us. It has warmed up nicely since we first got here so we are enjoying the warmer temperatures but are getting bored and are really missing the kids. Baby was due yesterday so any time now...

Change of plans

2008-02-16T17:29:00.001-07:00

I went in for my regular prenatal check-up with the midwives on Thursday afternoon and the midwife picked up that baby's position had likely changed. She had one of the doctors do a quick ultrasound. Sure enough, it confirmed her suspicions - the baby had turned breech.This meant that I was no longer a candidate to stay in my community. I had to leave either that night on a medivac flight or the next morning on the scheduled flight if there was room. As I wasn't in labour, I requested the morning flight so I could pack and get the kids ready to go to my parents'.

I left at 6:30 am on the plane and spent most of the day at the hospital. I had an appointment with a local midwife, a locum obstetrician, followed by an attempted version (trying to turn the baby from the outside - it didn't work), and then another ultrasound to make sure that the baby was still in the position they thought it was.

If I have the baby before Tuesday I will likely have a breech VBAC (unless baby turns back on its own) but if the baby comes after Tuesday I may not be given a choice but have to have a c-section as the doctor on call for the rest of the week is not as VBAC or breech friendly. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER C-SECTION. The recovery takes so long comparatively and I have 2 little ones to chase around plus the new baby on the way. There is still a chance the baby could turn back on its own and that would likely allow me to have another VBAC as well.

Please pray that all will work out for the best. My husband left this morning to start driving up here to meet me and should be here sometime this evening (it's about an 8 hour drive). The kids are home with my mom and dad. I know they're in good hands but I sure miss them!! I have extremely limited internet access at the hotel but will let you know once baby arrives!

THANK YOU!!

Maternity clothes

2008-02-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

One of the more frustrating things about being pregnant for me is finding clothes that fit. Emily was wondering if I wore maternity clothes or not. Yes and no. :) I found that for the first part of my pregnancies I would wear my regular clothes and would usually switch to maternity pants before I would switch to maternity shirts as my belly would make doing up the waist of my pants very uncomfortable.

In the second trimester I definitely needed both pants and shirts in maternity sizes but found that even size smalls were baggy until I had a definite belly. I had a selection of small and medium sized shirts but found that the mediums would hang off me in the shoulders even though they gave a bit more ease everywhere else.

The challenge as I got bigger was to find a way to keep my belly from sticking out of my shirts. This pregnancy I discovered Diviine ModesTee tanks. They are long and stretchy and hold their shape very well. They are non-maternity so I just ordered a size larger than I normally would to accommodate my belly in the third trimester. They go back to their original non-stretched shape after every wash. (They actually have a sale on right now.)

Pants are another story altogether. It is almost impossible to find maternity pants that fit. They either fit in the belly and are huge in the butt and legs or they are snug in the belly and fit well everywhere else. For each pregnancy I've had one "good" pair of black maternity pants and then made do with ones that don't fit as nicely. I've had some luck at Thyme Maternity (a Canadian company but you can find items on eBay), Liz Lange Maternity (from Target originally, but again, bought on eBay), and one very expensive pair of maternity jeans bought new on eBay (Seven For All Mankind I think...they have lasted me through 3 pregnancies so far).

The last month or so I tend to spend a lot of time in loose fitting non-maternity yoga or fitness pants and, if it's winter, flannel p.j. pants around the house. Basically anything that can sit under my belly. :)

I hope that helps Emily! If you have any more questions let me know. :)

On a side note, if you want really comfy maternity and non-maternity underwear and bras check out Bravado! Designs. They also make really great nursing bras.

A different sort of Saturday afternoon

2008-02-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today I went to town alone. I haven't been doing too much alone lately, mostly because I can't haul the kids around by myself and we have been busy sorting out hiccups around here and just trying to avoid going out in the cold wherever possible. Today was VERY cold and as Dwayne didn't have anything pressing to do house-wise, he volunteered to keep an eye on the kids for me so I could go and do some errands.

It was a nice break but it took me 3 HOURS(!) to go to 4 stores that are less than 30 seconds away from each other. I am SO pregnant and SO slow right now. (Funnily enough I ran into someone who hadn't noticed before today that I was pregnant despite my being in her grocery store at least twice a week!) I think this will be my last trip to run errands alone before the baby is born. It's takes so much energy!

While I was gone Dwayne washed all of the dishes that I haven't quite been able to catch up with! It was so nice to come home to a sparkling kitchen. He even cleaned the stove top and all of the burners. :)

This evening Dwayne has made a quick trip into town and the kids and I are hanging about watching kids' cartoons, eating soup, making pudding, and painting Hendrik's cardboard box garage that we made yesterday. Everyone is looking pretty sleepy so I am going to get Hendrik and Riley ready for bed so that if they drift off before Dwayne gets home he can just carry them up to the loft without us having to disturb them too much.

Hopefully we'll be able to relax by the fire later and watch some TV on DVD.

Off I go to snuggle with my babies!

Bedtime conversations with Hendrik

2008-02-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

This past week sometime...

"Mommy."
"Yes, Hendrik?"
"Big lellow generator needs diesel. Little blue generator needs gas."
(Slightly stunned silence.)
"You're right baby."

Last night...

Hendrik rolls over to Dwayne.
"I love you."
"I love you too Hendrik."
Hendrik rolls over to me.
"I love you."
"I love you Hendrik."
Repeat several times.
(This is a new development for him. :) )

Belly photos!

2008-02-07T16:13:00.001-07:00

Not only is my belly big enough to hide my feet, it can hide a toddler too!

Hendrik finds taking pictures of the baby in Mommy's tummy very entertaining.

2008-02-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

2 more weeks - give or take 2 weeks...

2008-02-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Two more weeks to go until the baby's due date. Before I became pregnant with our first baby I thought that obstetrics was a fairly precise science. Then you find out that your due date is accurate to plus or minus two weeks. Hmmn. Not so much.
We are quite certain of our due date though and I am really hoping that the baby is not going for the "plus two weeks" side of things. :)

I had an appointment with my midwife today and she feels that all is going really well. She doesn't think the baby's birth will be imminent but likely closer to the due date. So far the trend for me consists of the babies arriving 1 day before or 1 day after their due date. The midwife gave me some more homeopathics to take over the next couple of weeks to help prepare my body for the birth. I am relatively comfortable for being so large, aside from leg cramps at night and the awkwardness of moving around, and am trying to take advantage of that by doing some chores around the house that I may or may not get to right away after the baby arrives.

Speaking of chores, I better get to work. There are dishes calling my name, Christmas decorations to pack away (still! - they've been sitting in a pile for weeks now...), a bunny cage to clean and laundry to fold and put away. No excuse for boredom today! :p

New-to-me Regency gown

2008-02-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today I received a Regency gown in the mail that I ordered from a lady on the Sense & Sensibility Forum. I took a chance that it would fit and am I ever glad I did! I love it. The lady who made it found it a tad too small and as she had only worn it once, put it up for sale on the message board. Here is a picture, the dress even accommodates my pregnancy belly. :)
(Please pardon the slightly spaced out expression!)

I have always wanted a Regency gown since watching A&E/BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice (1995). I have a couple of the patterns put out by Sense & Sensibility Patterns but have yet to complete one. I have one in the works but won't be able to finish it or fit it until well after the baby arrives! This way I get to enjoy the dress and someone else's handiwork.

Some new things to read!

2008-02-06T00:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a box in the mail from Mary Janes Farm. I ordered a set of 5 back issues of Mary Janes Farm magazine. I recently bought the book "Mary Jane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook" by Mary Jane Butters. It is a fascinating read about self-sufficiency and being a farm girl at heart whether you live in town or country. I thought the magazines would be nice to curl up with during this crazy cold snap we've been having.

I think I will go and pour myself a cup of tea, curl up in a comfy chair with a blanket, and think about something other than cold and snow!

Essential daily companions

2008-02-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

I bought these work gloves this fall when we were out purchasing other supplies for the house. These were the first pink work gloves I had seen and when I saw them I knew I had to buy them. There is a strange phenomenon at work in my family - work gloves usually disappear unless they are quite distinctive. Everyone tends to end up with similar looking gloves and they get forgotten and reclaimed and make the rounds before some recognizes them and says, "Oh! That's where those went." I figured this way the menfolk wouldn't mistake them for theirs and likely wouldn't even borrow them if they couldn't find their own. So far so good!

I use these gloves at least a dozen times a day when I am loading or checking the wood stove or when I am filling up the pots and kettles to heat up dish water or if I have to grab something from outside quickly and don't need the warmth of my winter gloves.

Mine are the "Petal Pushers" from this page. Technically they're gardening gloves but they are great all around gloves as well. :)

2008-02-05T15:36:00.001-07:00

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

Fortune cookies

2008-02-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the kids and I were over at my mom and dad's for the day as we were having some ice issues in our drainage pipes outside. While there, I discovered a box of fortune cookies that a friend had brought over Sunday when my mom and dad had a bunch of friends and family over for lunch. I grabbed a cookie, cracked it open, and found not one but two fortunes inside.

They read:

"Follow your heart for success this week."

and

"Soon a visitor will delight you."

I had to laugh. Baby is not due for another couple of weeks or so but I thought this would be really funny if the baby did decide to make its appearance this week! :)

Then Dwayne opened one at lunch and his said,

"You will soon receive a unique gift."

It was too funny.

Birthday cake! At last...

2008-02-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since Riley's first birthday. On her actual birthday we were all still getting over a horrible stomach bug. Then we moved. Then it was Christmas. Then we had major plumbing issues and our oven wasn't working either. This Sunday we finally had her cake. My mom baked it at their house and the decorating was a team effort by my mom and my sister Christen, with Hendrik as their eager assistant. ("You want some icing Grandma?" = "I want some icing Grandma.")

Poor little girl. It was not her afternoon. She wasn't feeling one hundred percent and she was fussy and crying a lot. She was quite happy once everyone started singing "Happy Birthday" to her but then she dissolved into tears when everyone stopped singing. So, we sang again. She ran her finger through the icing and then wiped it on my face. We got a couple of pictures of her looking relatively happy anyway!

Later on in the afternoon she discovered chocolate. Lindor chocolate to be exact. She loved it. That happied the little girl right up. Yesterday she saw me eat a piece of chocolate and immediately tried to pry my mouth open to get to it. Another chocoholic in the family! :)

Saturday afternoon "fixing"

2008-02-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Dwayne spent part of the afternoon on Saturday adding a bit more insulation where the walls and the roof join to seal up some air leaks we had found. This involved taking down some of the wood trim, insulating with spray foam or fiberglass, and then nailing the trim back up. Hendrik thought the hammering was something he should help with so he found his little plastic hammer from his toolbox and went to work just like Daddy. After they were done, Hendrik noticed Dwayne had foam insulation stuck to one of his fingers. Hendrik tried to rub Dwayne's finger on his so that he could have some foam on his finger too! Somebody sure wants to be just like his Daddy. :)

2008-02-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.
~Pearl Bailey

New infant snack?

2008-02-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when Dwayne got home from work he picked up Riley for a little cuddle. She instantly became fascinated with his face. Dwayne hasn't shaved in a couple of days and she thought that his stubble was quite interesting. She pinched a bit of his skin between her fingers and then homed in for a lick! Apparently she thought this might be some new, previously unknown food source. LOL! :D

Confronting ones mortality

2008-02-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the rest of you moms out there but each time as I draw near to the birth of a new little addition to the family I can't help pondering my own mortality. I know that even though we live in a modern age with modern medical conveniences and technologies that there is still a chance that I may not live to see my own children grow up. Life and death are forever entwined in our world and for me this most joyous time will also bring sobering thoughts as I am reminded of my own humanity.

Psalm 139:1-16

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

This last verse is of great comfort to me. God cares for us so much that not only did he know us before we were born but he also knows what is to come in each of our lives. If God knows each of our days, then why should we worry about a single one of them? (see Matthew 6:25-34)

"Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Exerpt from "His Eye is On the Sparrow"
Lyrics: Civilla D. Martin
Composer: Charles H. Gabriel

Do the Next Thing

2008-02-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

At an old English parsonage down by the sea,
There came in the twilight a message to me.
Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven
That, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
Like a low inspiration, do the next thing.

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance, by thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then as he beckons, do the next thing.

Author Unknown

Bloggy Award!

2008-02-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was given my very first bloggy award by the lovely Rain at Rain's Musings.

I'm honoured and quite tickled by this nice surprise. :)

It's my turn to pass on the honour!

The rules are:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.

2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.

3. In their post about the award they need to link back to the original entry.

In no particular order:

Emma at Charming the Birds From the Trees for working toward her goal of creating a lovely life for her family and inspiring the rest us along the way.

Lindsey at Red Letters for her fascinating insight into Biblical characters and stories and her inspiring intercessions (a challenge by a friend).

Lauren Christine at with humility, thankfulness, and rejoicing for her sweet spirit and dedication as she works at being a home keeper and new wife.

Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse for a peek into her family's life as they homeschool and grow together. She makes everything seem so effortless!

Joslyn at Simple Lovely who reminds me to look for beauty in everyday things.

Some blogs to check out!

2008-01-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

My "middle" sister Lindsey has joined the blogosphere. She has two blogs - Red Letters which is a more contemplative blog, and Little Hearth which she started today about homemaking. I'm sure she'd love it if you'd stop by and visit!

Uber Pregnant

2008-01-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

So big. So tired. So ready for this baby to be born.

I am really looking forward to carrying this baby around on the outside of me instead of the inside. It will be nice to roll over in bed without it taking at least 3 separate motions. I won't be missing the acid reflux either. I realize the tiredness is likely to continue for quite sometime but it will be a different kind of tired. Weird how being a different version of tired can be refreshing.

Don't get me wrong, I love babies. I love the end result of being pregnant. However, I am not one of those women who loves the state of pregnancy. I quite enjoying being able to move about freely and lift heavy things and pick things up off the floor without the danger of not being able to make it up on my own afterward.

Just under 4 weeks until baby is due and I can't wait! There is still a lot to be done before he or she arrives but I won't be complaining if baby's arrival interupts my housecleaning plans. :)

Six Unimportant Things Meme

2008-01-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged for this meme by Rain over at Rain's Musings.

The rules for this meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

OK so here we go:

1) I am full of useful/useless information. I am chock full of tidbits of information "just in case". I am an expert on nothing! :)

2) I hate wearing socks but I also hate having cold feet. Sometimes I can't avoid the socks and sometimes I tough out the cold so that my feet can be free!

3) I have a near phobia of raw chicken juices in my kitchen. I am ridiculously attentive whenever there is raw poultry in my house. Just ask my husband, it drives him nuts. I follow along behind him disinfecting whenever he comes back from hunting grouse.

4) I had a thing for cows when I was a kid. My dad finally told me I could have one if I could carry it home myself in my backpack. Being about 10 years old my backpack wasn't so large and neither was I. It was definitely a safe gamble for him. Although, Dad sometimes thought we should have one in the backyard because we went through so much milk...

5) I like to have all the dirty dishes on the left side of the kitchen so that the right side of the kitchen stays clean. I also wash dishes from the left.
Example: If it's a double sink I wash in the left sink, rinse in the right sink, and set the dishes to dry on the counter beside the right hand sink.

6) I love home improvement shows and am quite happy whenever I get tools of my own. I have my own hand saw, miter box, level, measuring tape, staple gun, and Dremel! I don't use them much but I like having them around. On my wish list - a hammer of my own.

I tag Emma at Charming the Birds From the Trees, Lauren Christine at with humility, thankfulness, and rejoicing, Lindsey (who happens to be one of my sisters!) at Red Letters, Trina at All That Is Good, Manda at Tree Fall, and Hannah at Cultivating Home.

Some decluttering tips

2008-01-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I like the show "Neat" on hgtv with Helen Buttegig. Helen is a professional organizer and is great at helping people find systems that work for them, not just imposing her own organizing style on them.

Here is what I'm thinking about today as I try to unpack more boxes into our little house (650 sq ft total!!!):

3 Questions to Help Make Purging Decisions
1) Have I used it recently?
2) Is there a specific use for it?
3) Would my life suffer if I didn't have it?

If the answer is no, let it go!
~From the Neat website.

I particularly like #3. There are so many things that I don't need, never use, and if I didn't come across them every now and then I wouldn't even know I had them.

2008-01-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

love is the greatest refreshment in life.

- pablo picasso

Mystery solved!

2008-01-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today our plumbing was acting up again. Now we think we know why. Dwayne remembered an incident from this summer when he was driving the loader near the vertical access pipe for the septic tank. He saw the vertical pipe move when he drove past it. His theory is that the underground drain pipe was popped out of proper alignment with the tank when the septic tank shifted due to the weight of the loader. Right now the pipe narrows where it butts up against the tank underground instead of keeping it's 4 inch diameter.

Once the ground thaws Dwayne plans to dig a hole over the affected area, cut the pipe, fit a longer length in, and secure it with a connector. Then the outflow pipe from the house will stick into the tank instead of just butting up against it. Until spring we'll probably have to do a weekly pipe check to avoid the problem. We also noticed the problem occurred after we accidentally bought 3-ply toilet paper instead of 2-ply.

Dwayne of All Trades

2008-01-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to the smell of French toast. Dwayne likes to make breakfast on the weekend. :)
(Not only does the man cook, he can bake, take care of babies, and fix or build just about anything and everything!)

A sick little guy

2008-01-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today we found out that the grandson of friends of ours has been hospitalized as there is great concern that he has some kind of lymphatic cancer. His mother took him into emergency a night or two ago because he had a lump starting to swell on his neck. The doctor took one look at it and had him flown to the next major center to see specialists. Apparently the little guy had been to the doctor a couple of times over the past 6 months or so for related reasons but he was given antibiotics as the doctors must have assumed he had swollen glands due to an infection. Please keep this little one in your prayers, he is only 2. I can't imagine what it must be like for his parents. It must make one's heart feel sick and sore.

So clear and bright!

2008-01-18T23:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight the sky is so clear and the moon is so bright that the outdoors is actually brighter than the darkened indoors. I can actually see my way around the house by the moonlight shining in through the windows. The evergreen trees, which usually appear so black at night, are glowing as they reflect the moonlight off of their snowy boughs. If it were about 10 or 15 degrees warmer, it would be a perfect night for a late night stroll but tonight I am content to enjoy the scenery from inside our cozy little log house.

Getting ready for baby

2008-01-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am starting to make some progress on the baby preparation front. I washed and dried a bunch of neutral coloured/themed baby clothes and blankets yesterday at my mom and dad's. Today I will fold them and store them in large Ziploc bags so they are ready to go if we have to go to Yellowknife to have the baby. If not, at least I know they are freshly washed and handy here at home.

I located the baby bed amidst the piles of boxes upstairs and found the infant car seat accessories, like head/hip supporters. I will be shopping around for a new car seat today as well. We've decided to buy a bigger one that Hendrik will use and that can convert into a booster seat for when he's older. Riley will move into his car seat, which we will change back to rear facing for now, and the new baby will take over the one Riley has been using. Hopefully the new car seat will be here in a week or so.

Next, we'll have to get the van sorted out and cleaned out a bit. It's been doubling as a wood hauling truck lately (it's an Astro van) so we can put the benches back in it. Our little Geo is not going to be big enough for 3 car seats and 2 adults.

I should pick up some newborn diapers for now as well. We have cloth diapers for all the kids but until we get our hot water heater functioning we're using disposables.

Plumbing adventures

2008-01-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Our current hot water heater:

We had a problem with the plumbing outflow pipe to our septic tank this week. There was a block somewhere in the line but we couldn't see it or find it. Dwayne took the pipes apart under the house and we had special heaters going to try to thaw any ice that might have been in the tank or the pipes. Still no progress. We thought it was fixed a couple of times only to pour some water down the drain and have it sit there again for an hour or two. After 2 days of frustration the problem is finally fixed.

Yesterday, Dwayne bought a couple of lengths of re-bar from the hardware store, welded some sort of connector on them, and then brought them home and fed them through the pipe. We had tried using a plumbing snake but it was too flexible and Dwayne figured it was bending back on itself. He could feel a block but couldn't tell what it was. After a few good shoves the block pushed through and voila! we had drainage again.

Today I am dealing with the aftermath. Despite being at Mom and Dad's for most of yesterday I have a huge mountain of dishes to tackle. We had company on Saturday night and when I went to do those dishes on Sunday we discovered our problem. So after 3 days, we have no cutlery, bowls, or pots clean. Fun. Still no hot water yet either so I'll have to heat the water for the dishes by pots and kettles on the wood stove. You have no idea how much time having hot running water saves you until you live without it for a while!

Off I go...wish me luck!

Weird winter

2008-01-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

We are having a bit of a strange winter. Yesterday it went up to -5C and by tonight it is supposed to be -32C. This does not take into account wind chill. Currently, it's -27C but the wind chill added in it feels like -40C. Brrr. The past couple of weeks it has been cold during the week and then warmed up 10 to 15 degrees on the weekend. Those warmer days are nice but then the colder days feel that much colder again after you've gotten used to warmer weather. February isn't even here yet so I'm certain we're only seeing the beginning of the colder temperatures. I'm all for hibernation right about now.

Unwanted visitor

2008-01-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I was hanging up wet laundry on our drying rack when I felt a tickle on the inside of my flannel pyjama pants. I thought it was probably a thread so I light scratched the pant leg and figured that would shift the thread for the time being. A second or two later I felt ANOTHER tickle. This time it had moved down from my hip to my calf. I now began to suspect this wasn't a thread. Ugh. I shook the fabric of my pants hard and lifted the cuff at the ankle and out popped some sort of wood beetle. Gross. I managed not to scream (the baby was already asleep), uttered a few sounds of disgust, and looked around for something to squish the beetle with but there was nothing appropriate in arms' reach so the little creep escaped into a crack in the floorboards.

My 2 year old thought this whole escapade was entertaining and for the rest of the time before bed he kept saying, "I have a beetle in my pants. It's yucky. Take off my pants." Thankfully, it didn't bite and it wasn't THAT big but I don't welcome insects of any size inside my clothing. Ew.

For the grandmas out there....

2008-01-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

The picture of Hendrik and I was taken last night just before bed and the picture of Riley is one Hilary took at her place on Boxing Day.

Accounting?

2008-01-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

On a whim I had a look at my Blogger profile just to see what everyone else is seeing. I was a little bit surprised. Under "Industry" it said "Accounting". Hmmn. Not even close. It must have just defaulted to the Industry at the top of the selection list. Anyway, I am no longer a part of the accounting industry!

2008-01-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
-Annie Dillard

Hat tip: Simple Lovely

After Photos

2008-01-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I took today from Monday's challenge. My camera's battery is low and there are a few things to put away still on the other side of the room so more pictures will be coming later. I have 2 little helpers in the after pictures. :)

The bins beside (and under!) the crib have some of my fabric stash in them. I didn't realize how much I had until I put it all in one place! I better do some sewing before I aquire anymore.

Riley's crib, part of our bed, and Hendrik squinting for the camera. :)

Riley's crib, our bed, Hendrik's big boy bed.

Making Your Home a Haven - January 7

2008-01-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Crystal is hosting another "Making Your Home a Haven" segment.

Today's challenge is creating a morning routine. Life here is starting to take more of a routine form now that we are getting settled so I have a hope of trying this out this time.

1) Get up earlier to spend time with Dwayne before he leaves for work.
2) Read for 15 minutes to half an hour.
3) Breakfast for the kids and I.
4) Dishes right after breakfast so we can avoid the mountain at the end of the day.
5) "Baby Can Read" for the kids, blogging/internet/email time for me.

Our special project for today is to tackle our loft area. It serves as a bedroom for all of us and also as storage space. I will be limited in what I can do as I'm not supposed to be lifting much weight but I'm sure we can make visible progress one box of clothing at a time. :)

Here are the before pictures. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart or extremely organized among you!

From right to left around the loft:

A side effect of not having hot water....

2008-01-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

We have an interesting problem around here today. It is the second time it has happened in the past week or so. Our septic tank has frozen over. Because we only have cold running water right now there is not enough heat in the septic tank to keep the bacteria active and the liquid from freezing over. It isn't frozen solid thankfully but there is a small skim of ice over the whole surface. This means that we can't use much water inside because it doesn't drain well with the holding tank being frozen over. Fun, fun.

After work today Dwayne is going to the hardware store to get a special kind of heat tape (used in cold climates to wrap around pipes to keep them from freezing usually) to drop into the septic tank to thaw things out. Our hot water heater should be here today along with the vent kit so hopefully we can get that installed soon and then we won't have this problem anymore. :)

In any case, no dishes for me today - later this evening perhaps. Maybe the kids and I will spend some time upstairs in the loft getting clothes organized instead. We need to do it and seeing as we can't do much else we might as well take advantage of the opportunity presented to us.

Can you say relaxed?

2008-01-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

Finally enjoying home

2008-01-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

I am loving our new home! Even though we still don't have running hot water and we still have a few air leaks to seal up and even though we have boxes everywhere it still feels more like home than our old apartment ever did. I don't know what it was about that apartment. We were grateful to have a place to live that allowed Dwayne to have a shop and allowed us very affordable rent but no matter how hard I tried to make it ours it never felt like it was.

There is only so much you can do in a rental and I didn't care for ours to begin with. It was very old and no matter what you did you could never quite get it to look clean even if you had just scrubbed all the walls and the floors. There was lots of room and lots of windows but the windows all started at chest height which made it impossible for the kids to see out of them without being lifted up or them climbing up on something. There were a lot of safety issues in that apartment too.

It is so nice to live in a place that we were able to tailor to us and to things that we like. The new place has much less floor space (to be remedied in the next house!), lots of windows, and lots of warmth. I asked Dwayne to make all of the windows in the living room low enough for little tots to look out of without having to stand on anything.

It has been so nice to observe Hendrik watching things out the window, pointing out trees and the neighbourhood dogs and the ever expanding collection of old vehicles in the yard. He also LOVES going to bed in our new house. We had been fighting with him on bedtime in our apartment for a month or two before we moved.

Riley wakes up every morning smiling and clapping as she opens her eyes and sees out the windows that run around the top of our loft bedroom.

Dwayne actually likes getting up for work despite the extra chores of bringing in firewood, loading the wood stoves and putting gas in the generator, etc and having to be up about an hour earlier. He likes to sit in his chair drinking coffee by candle light.

I am actually enjoying doing dishes. The kitchen isn't large but it is functional and I finally have sink that I can fit larger pots and pans in without a fight!

There are still a lot of organizational quirks to figure out. We will have to add more storage in the kitchen and figure out how to configure our sleeping loft better but despite all the work and disorder that we are facing now we couldn't be happier. :)

One of my Christmas presents

2008-01-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

This arrived for me in the mail a couple of days ago. I love it! Fun and comfy. Perfect timing too because I am starting to get tired of wearing the same clothes over and over again. I'm at that stage where there are few things that fit!

Image from discobelly.

Did I mention that I am loving Etsy?

Bloggy block

2008-01-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't felt much like blogging or taking pictures or doing much of anything than what absolutely needs to be done. Between the sad and tragic events of the past week, being very pregnant, our family getting over assorted colds/bugs, Christmas, and moving into a new house, I think I am in recovery mode. I am hoping to return to posting regularly very soon but am sort of enjoying the time off.

There is so much that needs to be done around the house. We are still living out of boxes in the bedroom so I would like to get that organized soon so that it is easier to locate everyone's clothing and to move around in the loft!

Thankfully, we've had a reprieve in the weather this week and what was supposed to be a fairly cold week has turned into a rather pleasant one with temperatures forcasted between -10C and -16C, quite balmy for this time of year. You can tell that winter has really set in when you think that -16C is a warm day...

I'm off to read a little from "Home Comforts" by Cheryl Mendelson before I go to bed. I have a rumbly in my tumbly too which will like require a snack of some kind. Goodnight, see you soon!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

Our evening started out with a ham dinner at Christen & Andrew's (my youngest sister and her husband). We all went our separate ways for a few hours and then gathered at our place for the rest of the evening with the addition of our friend David (he's really family). We relaxed by the fire and chatted. Riley fell asleep early on and Hendrik fought sleep with every ounce of his little being.

At midnight we toasted and talked of New Year's Eves past. David intoduced us to "Tim Tams", a yummy chocolate Australian treat complete with directions on how to do a "Tim Tam Slam". We had ours with hot chocolate, excellent if you are a chocolate lover!

We contemplated watching a movie but by about 2 a.m. we decided that we were all too tired to make it through and entire movie and everyone dispersed by about 2:30.

It was a very relaxing, enjoyable evening but I must say that I can't handle the late nights the way I used to! To top it off, both kids had one of the most restless nights for either of them to date so there were a lot sleep interuptions. I felt a little groggy all day today but it was worth it for the time spent with family and friends. :)

Christmas Dinner

2007-12-28T00:21:00.000-07:00

We had our family Christmas dinner early this year so that Dad could be with us before he flew to meet Mom, my sister Lindsey and her husband, and most of the rest of our extended family in Ontario.

These photo sessions usually dissolve into hysterics at some point as one or more camera timers go off before they are expected to and there are various shots of people's backsides as they are running to get into the back row of the picture or diving for the floor spot in front. This time didn't disappoint either. I don't have any of the "bloopers" on my camera but I'm sure I can hunt one of two down...

We had an excellent dinner and a nice, relaxing evening together. Fun, food, and fellowship!

From left to right, back to front:
My brother-in-law Andrew; Dad; David (pretty much a brother to our family); Aunty Hilary (David's mom); Grandpa Ib (our adopted Danish grandpa); Dwayne; Hendrik; Jen(me); Riley (on Jen's lap); my youngest sister Christen.

The house!!! A sneak peak. :)

2007-12-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures to get you started. The kitchen, bathroom and loft are almost indiscernible right now so you'll have to settle for the living room until we get some more organizing done. :)

But first, what's a log home without a little taxidermy?

From left to right:

Our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. :)

Back door, woodstove, stairs to the loft.

Taken from beside the woodstove, looking across the dining table to the kitchen and front door.

From the kitchen, looking into the living room. Our couch is backing onto the dining table.

MOVING! ~ No phone!!!

2007-12-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of moving this week. We spent the first night at our new house on Saturday night. However, we are without a phone as the phone company is trying to get service set up for us. Hopefully I will be back soon with pictures of the new place and an update!

The Birthday Girl!

2007-12-12T22:42:00.001-07:00

Watching Strawberry Shortcake with her big brother.

Bathtime!

Caught between smiles and making funny noises. :)

A little bit of excitement.

Studying her new toys.

An audience with our little princess.