"Bert did it!"

Asher has been turning on the TV recently. It's not something he's supposed to do, & he knows it. Frequently I'll be in the kitchen, & he'll come say "TV." I'll go check, & sure enough, the TV is on.

Today I saw him playing with a small figurine of Bert, he went over to the TV & used Bert to hit the "on" button. I set Asher down for a time out & when his time was up, I told him that he wasn't supposed to turn on the TV. He very innocently looked at me and said, "Bert TV." In other words, "I didn't turn on the TV, Bert did it!"

Ahhhh, the fun starts now!

Our Romantic Dinner for Three

We decided to go out as a family to the local Pizza place. We haven't been in awhile, but figured that since it was V-day that it wouldn't be busy. We got to the restaurant around 5:15 to find only about 4 tables were occupied, that seemed a good sign, however, it took about 10 minutes for someone to come & seat us.

It seemed there was only 1 waitress on staff, so we actually had the manager covering our table. We ordered our drinks, pizza & I decided we needed an appetizer too. We got our drinks about 15 minutes later..... and waited about an hour for our breadsticks!

We noticed there were more & more people arriving, and the waitress/hostess began telling people that she could seat them, but it would be about 1/2 an hour before she'd be able to even get their order. I don't think it was that bad, but I think she just wanted people to go home, or somewhere else.

The manager walked by our table at one point and said the pizza should be out soon, it'd been over an hour already, and we were very thankful we had at least ordered the breadsticks... not least of all b/c Asher was getting a bit antsy. We usually eat around 5:30, and it was already 6:30 or so.

There were a few people that had been seated who now started heading for the door, they must have gotten tired of waiting. One man went up to the front carrying his pizza to ask for the bill & a box, another went up demanding refills for his table. The three of us just sat at our table, starving, wondering when our pizza would show up.

The manager came out again and said that he was really sorry and that he would comp our meal & give us another free meal for next time. Normally when we are apologized to at a restaurant my response is, "that's ok." I did not say that this time, instead I said, "thank you." We were very glad that he was so apologetic, and didn't try to make excuses, but was just sorry for our wait.

Finally after 1 1/2 hours of waiting, our pizza arrived! We had ordered a large, 1/2 hawaiian, 1/2 Italian, and got 2 mediums..... The guy who brought them to the table said they ran out of larges, so we got 2 mediums instead. Chad figured they forgot to put the order in for our pizza & figured that mediums cook faster.

Two hours after entering our romantic locale, gazing into eachothers eyes, wondering to ourselves if love would be enough to get us through, we left. We were satisfied, and our wallet was suffering no ill effects. The moral of the story? Just be patient and polite & you'll get good service...... depending where you are, of course!

The Worst Trip in History

We have finally returned home after the worst travelling experience I have ever had. We went to Montana for my Grandma's funeral. The actual time we had there was wonderful. We enjoyed spending time with my family, and all 11 of my cousins were together for the first time in 17 years.

We left on Tuesday afternoon last week to go to a hotel in Detroit as our flight out was early on Wednesday morning. We got to the border in Port Huron only to have Chad's Passport set the alarm off. An officer took our passports away and we were escorted to a parking spot. An officer held a stick in front of the car and instructed us to drive right beside us. Apparently Chad was a flight risk! He had inadvertently turned in his Student Visa when we moved to Canada for the internship, but he should have kept it b/c he's still technically a student. We spent an hour explaining to an immigration officer what happened, and he finally let us go.

We went to the hotel that I had reserved on-line, to discover that it was a MOTEL of the lowest form. We decided to continue to the hotel we had previously stayed at. When I called to cancel the first hotel I was told that we should come see the rooms for ourselves (I told the lady her hotel looked dumpy so we wouldn't be staying there). I said we had, and she then told me that I'd be charged for the room anyway...... chalk it up to experience. We'll be sticking with our old favourite from now on. I paid for 2 nights, one before our trip and one after our trip.... I don't suggest this for the future (more on this later).

Wednesday morning we arrived at the airport bright and early for our 8am flight to be delayed, then cancelled for mechanical problems. The next flight they could put us on would be the next morning, could we go home? Chad said "not a chance, I'm not crossing the border again!" We asked about other airlines and got put on a Delta flight at 4pm. The check-in lady comforted us by informing us that Delta was in the "nicer, newer terminal fully equipped with children's play areas." We got our luggage off the carousel and headed to the "nicer, newer" terminal. We were told we had to wait to check-in as you are not allowed to check-in more than 6 hours before your flight. Luckily at this point we only had about 1/2 an hour to wait.

When we finally got rid of our luggage again, we headed to security. Off came the coats, shoes, out came the liquids, laptop, fold the stroller.... it's much worse when you travel with a little one! The security officer informed us we had been flagged for extra screening. Sure, why not?

Twenty minutes later we were on our way to find a child's playplace. Chad & I had visions of mall-style play areas like we've seen in the Seattle airport..... Little did we know. We passed 2 play areas before we discovered their definition was quite different from ours. The play area consisted of a Little Tykes House. Asher enjoyed it for awhile. Not 8 hours worth, but it was better than no play area at all.

After many hours of bliss, we were boarded onto our plane and off we went. Asher must have decided it was night time b/c he fell into a deep sleep that lasted most of our 4 hour flight. Our layover was surprisingly uneventful. We arrived in Montana and awaited the arrival of our 3 suitcases & carseat. We received 2 suitcases (one with a large hole where the wheel used to be). After discussing with the ticketing agent that the hole was not there to begin with we were informed that wheels are not covered by the airlines. Chad found our other suitcase, but the carseat remained unaccounted for. We were sent to our hotel with promises of a carseat exchange by the next day.

We had a great time. My brothers were there, we had an adjoining room with my parents, so we could send Asher in to visit them, the only complaint was the pool was a bit chilly.....

Our flight out of Montana was at 5pm and check-out was 1pm. I asked the desk clerk if we could have a late check-out of 3:30 so Asher could get a nap, and she said that would be fine and put a note to that effect in the computer. We put Asher down, decided we should sleep too since we would be getting back late.
-1:10, the maid calls, "Will you be staying or leaving?" I told her we were having a late check-out of 3:30. "OK"
-1:20, "Hi, this is the front desk, your check-out time is 1pm." I told her the situation only to be informed that since check-in was at 3 we could stay no longer than 3 or we'd be charged for another night. "Fine, we'll leave at 3."
Asher of course woke through all these calls, so the nap was not as we had planned.

We went to the airport to await our outbound flight. 5 minutes before departure, no plane. The board finally switches to let us know we'll be 1 hour late.... 1 hour later, same thing happens again. At this point I know we're going to miss our connection so I go the the check-in to see if I can rebook. Apparently the flight we were on at 7pm was the last one for the night and the next one they could get us on is 10am. The lady tries to convince me to go back to the hotel and catch a 6am flight from Montana to get the 10am connection. We decided we'd like to get as far as we could in order not to get stuck in the tiny airport in Montana.

We missed our connection, and stood for an hour to get rebooked on the 10am flight. Since it was a weather delay the airline wouldn't put us up, but gave us a hotel discount voucher. We headed for the hotel shuttle area to be informed that our hotel's shuttle came every 1/2 hour, and we had just missed one. When it finally came it was quite full already, not too sure where all the people on the bus came from, but they had to turn people away. This is the point where I was very glad to have Asher along, as there were protestations that the baby had to be allowed on the bus, so we got squished on.

We got to our gorgeous hotel around 11pm, and headed straight to bed, but where was the crib we ordered? 10 minutes later I called for it to be informed that they hadn't received an order for one. It finally came about 10 minutes after that.

Tuesday morning we awoke bright and early to catch the 7am shuttle from the hotel to the airport. We almost caught the 6:30 shuttle, but we were too slow in putting our coats on. The 7am arrived on time loaded with people. They had room for 5 passengers, and were taking crew members first. There were 5 crew members, we didn't have a chance. There was a guy who apparently worked for the airline that kicked up a fuss and said this thing happens every morning and he had to get to work same as everyone else, he pushed his way onto the bus and there was a bit of a scuffle, but that was all they took.

One man got so irate he yelled at the manager, the guest services guy, and anyone else who looked like they worked for the hotel. The manager wanted to call a cab and have the hotel pay for it just to get rid of the guy. That would have been a pretty costly cab fare though, since we were about 1/2 an hour from the airport. The irate guy said there were 2 more busses out there and he was going to take the keys and drive them himself! He signed up for the 7 o'clock bus, and what's the point of a list if you don't honour it?

Around 7:20 another bus showed up and the manager rushed out to tell the driver to take us all aboard and get going. The driver protested that he was the 7:30 bus, but the manager said if he didn't go he'd have a riot situation on his hands, so off we finally went!

We got to the airport to discover that the lines for security were quite long, so we decided to eat at the Burger King before we got in line. I was quite chuffed to discover that a restaurant had the foresight to have a kid's meal on the breakfast menu! I always think that would be really smart, well, BK is really smart! :)

After eating, we got in the security line and in about 10 minutes we were through! The security personnel were really efficient (although they did dump out Asher's water. Apparently juice is allowed, but not water for kids). We boarded out flight on time, and we were on our way home!

We arrived at the hotel around 3:30pm, and since we had missed our flight, they had changed our reservation to the next night. Since it was early afternoon we didn't really need the room anymore, so I asked if I could have my money back. "No, we can't refund." I asked if I could get a voucher for the credit. "No, unfortunately not." What he could do is change my reservation for a few months out, so I can call to change it and stay there again, but if I don't use it w/in 6 months I lose my money. If you're flying out of Detroit in the next few months, let me know, and you can have my room.

We were supposed to be back home in Strathroy by 5pm for the Youth Group's Pancake dinner, but it was over at 7, and that's about when we got home. Asher went to bed shortly thereafter, and slept 'til 8:30!

We are home, and happy to be here. Chad says no more air travel in the States..... we'll see how far that gets us!

An Experiment in Dining Alone

This weekend I went down to Grand Rapids for a Seminary Wives retreat. It was really fun, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to get away for awhile. It was nice to hear a crying child & know I had no responsibility for it!
On my way home it was about 6pm and I decided I had too far to go yet to make it home before I ate. I didn't really feel like fast food, so I decided to eat at Ruby Tuesdays. I didn't actually feel that weird going into the restaurant by myself. I figure lots of people go in alone, usually they end up meeting someone, but I could go in and wait for a table alone. So I put my name on the list and waited for them to call me. The manager came up to me about 10 minutes later to inform me that "your table is almost ready. We're just getting it ready. It shouldn't be much longer." I appreciated her telling me that, but her tone of voice was like I must be retarded to be there alone. I felt like telling her that just b/c someone comes to a restaurant alone doesn't mean there's something wrong with them.
So after a few more minutes I was seated at my table. I perused the menu, chose my dinner, and THEN I started to feel a bit awkward. I had no one to talk to, nothing to look at, I didn't want to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation (more about that later), I didn't want to stare at the couple across the way with twins b/c I'm sure they get enough of that everywhere they go.... I was really glad there are TVs in that restaurant, even though they were all election coverage, at least I now know what's going on in the political realm. Even so, I still felt a bit funny sitting alone and watching the TV. I felt like I'd be better off with a book.
Incidentally, while trying NOT to eavesdrop, a new family was seated at the table next to me. They had 3 daughters aged from 13 to about 4. The oldest was protesting quite loudly that she wasn't allowed to have MySpace, and she didn't think that was fair. The mother said "we'll discuss this later." Which prompted the daughter to ask when "later" might be. Apparently the girl's birthday is in March, at which point she will be eligible for a MySpace account, and she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't be able to get one then. The mother said that they would discuss it after her birthday in March. "I can get it after my birthday in March?" "No, we'll DISCUSS it after your birthday in March, and I don't want to hear another word about it until then." At which point the 4 year old daughter says, "She gets MySpace after her birthday?" Mother is about to lose it here folks! "No, we'll DISCUSS it then, and I don't want to hear another word about it from ANYONE until then."
Oh, the joys of parenthood, something to look forward to.

The Power of Suggestion

So, I'm pregnant..... I feel gross in the mornings, I feel gross whenever I have to cook something, and I feel gross whenever Asher makes me spin around (but he enjoys it so!). I'm really hoping that in a few weeks I'll go back to feeling somewhat normal again. I don't think it lasted very long when I was pregnant with Asher. I remember pregnancy being Wonderful!
The other day Asher and Chad were watching Fraggles. I was reading a book b/c I find the Fraggles to be quite annoying. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the Muppets, just can't stand the Fraggles. Anyway, the guy and his dog were discussing a donut...... I then wanted a donut, so off to Tim's we went!
A few days later I was watching Gilmore Girls, and they made Cinnamon rolls. Cue a trip to the store for some Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls! Granted, what I really wanted was Cinnabon, but I couldn't justify a trip into London just for some Cinnamon Rolls.
It should be interesting to see what the next 7 months bring!

I Must Be Quite Thick

It has taken me about 8 years to realize that my best friend, was just that. MY best friend. I always knew that she had other friends that were closer to her, and that was fine. Recently it dawned on me that I've been making all the effort for the past.... oh, 8 years or so. We don't live close so that makes things a bit harder, but even so, there's alot of things one can do these days to stay in touch. It's just a bit disappointing. I figured we'd always keep in touch and talk about whatever. It seems I'm not even worth talking to at all. It's not that I don't think I'm worthwhile (I know I'm pretty cool), I just wish she'd make a bit more effort.... or any effort at all.

Yesterday was a pretty good day

Yesterday Asher was sick. He had a pretty high fever, and whenever he finally got out of bed, he'd ask for a drink, some bread, followed by a return to bed. All in all he spent 5 hours out of bed. I had the most wonderful day! Of course I was housebound, so that put a bit of a kink in the day as I had things I was supposed to go out and do, but all in all, a day spent indoors while your child sleeps isn't a bad day! I read, I finished season 7 of Gilmore Girls, I mucked about on the computer for awhile.... Of course, today he seems to be making up for lost time. He just tipped over his toy basket and announced that he made a "mess."

Saturday mornings we usually go to McDonald's for breakfast. I'm not sure when this tradition started, but Asher has really gotten into it. This morning (after we made sure he wasn't sick anymore), we asked him if he'd like to go to McDonald's. His response was, "Eat, Pancakes." Funny how he knows that in the mornings he gets pancakes there, b/c at any other time of the day he merely says "eat" if we talk about McD's.

Board Books

A question was posed to me by a friend last week. We were shopping in a thrift store and looking through the books. She paged through one and then put it down. She then asked, "How many books does a kid need, anyway?" Well, Chad & I are really into books. We'd much rather buy books (generally second-hand) than borrow. Simply because if you need to reference the book, or want to read it again, you can. Plus we tend to recommend many of the books we've read to friends, and then we can simply loan them out. We have found that if you recommend a book and leave it up to a person to find it on their own, most likely they will forget or not be able to find it, but if you own it you can simply hand it over to them so they can also enjoy it.
Today I was in Asher's room putting his books back on the shelf b/c he has a tendency to take all the books off the shelf if he's looking for a specific one. As I put them back I decided to count how many he has. There are over 100 board books on his shelf! I was astounded by the number, yet I find it interesting that we are already getting sick of reading many of the books b/c we seem to read them over & over again. I am very thankful that he has that many and not just a dozen or so! He must get his love for books from his parents. I can't wait until he can really start to read on his own though. I know that we'll still get asked to read books to him, but he's already starting to look at them on his own a bit. What I REALLY can't wait for is when he gets past the board book stage into the paper book stage, b/c I've been stocking up!

Fire is....... HOT!

Last week while we were at Chad's parents I figured we should build a fire in the fireplace, so I asked Asher to please ask Chad to make a fire in the fireplace. He walked across the room to where Chad was, looked him in the eye, said, "Sssss" (meaning Please) "Hot!" Because we always tell Asher that the fireplace is hot..... What a cutie, not that I'm partial or anything.

Mail Call!

Yesterday I got home from visiting a friend (we were supposed to go shopping in the States, but I forgot our passports!). I get pretty excited about getting the mail at this time of the year b/c more often than not I actually get something! I love getting mail, and Christmas brings it in by the boatload.....
Anyway, I went to get the mail, and there was a Christmas card from my brother (thanks Brian & Brenda) and a BROWN ENVELOPE! I'm going through the process to obtain Canadain citizenship right now, so brown envelopes are usually a long time in coming. I was pretty excited about that BROWN ENVELOPE, so of course I opened my Christmas card first and left the BROWN ENVELOPE for last. I opened the aforementioned BROWN ENVELOPE with trepidation saying "please let it be good news" under my breath. (I've already waited the appropriate amount of time as a Landed Immigrant, I applied for Citizenship in Aug of 2005, but since we lived outside of Canada b/c of Chad's schooling our situation is a bit abnormal, so I had to fill out a supplementary form. I've even taken the test for Citizenship (I scored 100%, thank you).) So I opened the BROWN ENVELOPE......
Inside was an appointment to appear before the Citizenship Judge next week. I am super excited! After this all that's left (if I'm approved) is to go back to take the Oath of Citizenship. This has been a long process. It all started when we got married 8 1/2 years ago. Needless to say I'll be really happy when it's all said and done and please pray that I answer all the Judge's questions satisfactorily so I can finally get my Citizenship b/c then it won't matter about if we have to leave the country for awhile, I'll always be able to come back, and I won't have to go through any more processes.

A Week in Paradise

We just got back from visiting Chad's family. We had a really good time.... or rather, I had a really good time, for the others it maybe wasn't so good. Our flight out wasn't so bad, we left around 8pm and got into Calgary around 1am. Asher slept for about 1/2 the flight, so he was pretty tired but not cranky when we got there. He settled into Alberta time pretty well. All was good until................
Day 2 (cue scary music). Asher started puking and well, lets just say it was the flu and it affected both ends. It wasn't pretty. The thing about a kid this age, is they don't tell you, or run to the loo when they have to barf. They just do it, on you, in the bed, it doesn't matter where they are. So, after numerous wardrobe changes, many loads of laundry, and a week of generally grumpiness, Asher was better...... But not before infecting Chad, Mum, Dad, Amber, Spencer, Paige, Owen, 2 Aunties, 2 Uncles, and apparently most the church. Somehow I managed to steer clear of it all!
So finally 2 days before we left everyone in the household was feeling pretty normal again. We played in the snow, we had a fire, watched movies, played games.... ahhhh good times.
The return flight was not so great. We flew out of Calgary at 1am. Asher stayed awake the whole time, running around and being cranky. Luckily there were extra seats so we could take the carseat aboard again (it's always nice to be able to bind your child into a seat). The main problem (I think) was there were about 5 babies on this flight and Asher wasn't too happy about being in his seat anyway, but once he'd fall asleep, a wail would pierce the silence and cue another child to start screeching. Asher would wake up and we'd have to try all over again to get him to go to sleep. We got into London around 6am, and home around 7:30. Luckily it was still dark out when we got home so we could just put Asher to bed, but he only slept for 3 hours, so we were all pretty tired.
Moral of the story??? Yes, travelling at night with little ones may work, but you have to try to get started a little earlier than midnight.

Playback

The other day I was thinking how cool it would be if life had a playback button. Not a REWIND button, as most people would prefer I'm sure, but just a playback. Like if your whole life were recorded, and you could just take an hour every now and then to review something. "That's what we have memories for!" I can hear you say, but they don't always stay true to how things were either. And I'm not just talking about WATCHING things in the past, but also to remember the feelings you had while you were in that moment. Ok, this would be nice for big things like your wedding, or the birth of your children (minus the painful parts), but also for some decisions you made. Sometimes I wonder what was going through my head when I made some decisions, not that I want to change them, I'm perfectly happy with where those choices have gotten me, but I just wonder what was going on in the snippets of memory that aren't there anymore, you know?
For instance, I'd like to see the part of my life where Katie and April and I made our club in the woods. Some of the times when our whole neighbourhood would get together in the evenings and play softball on the field across from our house. I'd like to relive some of the Cross Country races from highschool. I want to remember more of the times I spent with Theresa in junior high. The 8th grade camping trip to Oswald West state park. Camping with the youth group at Jesus Northwest & Creation. Clarissa and I shopping at Value Village. Dordt pit parties, and going to Twisters. Dancing with Ian & Fiona at Walkabout in London. Playing Dutch Blitz with the cousins at Christmas. Camping with Rubinos. I remember these times were fun, but I don't remember anything really specific about them. Maybe part of that comes with getting older, that your memory fails you more.... But I don't even just mean the good times. Sometimes I'd like to be able to remember the rotten times better too, maybe so I could see how far past that I've gotten......
I suppose in some ways this should also be a lesson to cherish the everyday times more right now so I DO remember more later in life..... and take lots of PICTURES!!
(and if any of you could help out with any of these memorable moments, I'd welcome your reminiscence.)

Living in Boxes

I really feel sometimes like life is still on hold. The whole time Chad's been in school we felt like we couldn't have kids, couldn't really start to plan the future b/c we never really knew where God was leading us..... Guess what, not a whole lot has changed, nor do I think it will.... ever.
Perhaps part of it is due to being a pastor in the CRC, moving every 5-7 years is kinda expected, but we learned a few years back that you can't live life on hold or you'll never do anything, and you'll never really be happy. So on that note, since we'll be moving in 7 months, do I unpack all the boxes of games that I have, or do I keep them in their boxes, making it easier when we move? Trust me, it's no easy chore getting them all packed, there's a ton of them. Do I try to go through the storeage room to find the bibs that I so stupidly packed away, and now really need, or do I just go buy more?

Death

The other day I heard someone say they were afraid of death. I started thinking about that, and I kinda think it's silly (if you're a Christian) to be afraid of death. Maybe the actual dying part, being painful, but after you're dead you get to be with God. We live in an imperfect world where there is hurt, pain, sadness, sickness.... (you get the idea). But when we get die, that's all gone. We'll be in heaven where everything is perfect. I actually LOOK FORWARD to dying! What on earth could be better than getting to heaven and meeting God? I'm not saying that it'd be easy for those I leave behind to deal with me not being here if I was to die in the near future, but for myself, there's nothing better than being with Jesus. Sometimes when we hear that someone has died we say they have gone to a better place, and I totally believe that. With that in mind, I live life as if I'll die today, and as if I'll die in 100 years. Either way, I honestly can't wait to be with Jesus.

I Got Tagged

Here's how you play. Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment "You're It!" and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your bulletin so I can see your answers.....

1. I have all my CDs organized in books, alphabatized... by the artists FIRST name.

2. I sometimes become obsessed about things. (I collect the old Fisher Price Little People, and I saw 1/2 a house, and couldn't figure out if I should buy it or not, I didn't buy it, and I've been thinking about it all week, did I do the right thing?)

3. The only time I drink water is in the evenings while I watch TV and eat Hot Tamales.

4. I can ususally figure out when someone's pregnant, sometimes before they know.

5. I would LOVE to move back to England, and I might be a little obsessed about this.

6. Canadian Oreos are totally different from American Oreos.

7. Chad and I have lived in 8 different houses since we were married 8 years ago. (not counting a short stint with his parents)

8. When I was in High School I planned to be a trucker.

9. I collect old VHS movies like Baby Boom, Footloose, Tremors...

10. I ADORE a good Latte.

Now for the fun part:

1. April - She'll probably do this, especially if I tell her to... :)

2. Katie - Same as April, and I'm eager to see their answers

3. Theresa - She's GOT to have some real interesting facts about herself.

4. Kristen - Though not real likely to do it, I think she may suprise me on this one.

5. Meredith - I haven't seen her in 20 years, she's bound to have some ammo.

6. Nicky - Same as Meredith

7. Mark K - My cousin, you don't know family as well as you think you might!

8. Leslie - She's moved around, had life experience, time to tell about yourself! :)

9. Meigan - Same as Leslie

10. Miki - We were pretty close for awhile, but you can always know more about a person, eh?