Sunday, Sunday, Sunday Pictures!

Chancery: "Let's go over our game plan for this week's pictures."

Asher: "Ok, I should sit here, you should sit there...."

A: "We'll both look towards the camera, like this."



A: "And don't forget to flash a winning smile, that's very important."


A: "And then, Mum will say, '1, 2, 3' and then....."
C: "You are seriously putting me to sleep!"

Guys, we'll take your pictures in a minute.

A: "What do you mean, 'it's not the real thing'?"

C: "I've been listening to his drivel for NOTHING???"




Ok, are you ready for the pictures?

C: "No, I don't want anymore pictures, I think you've taken enough today."

A: "Chancery's starting to get heavy, Mum."

Chancery, look at Mummy please!

C: "Oh, all right, I suppose you won't quit 'til you get what you want anyway!"

Needles

Yesterday I had to take Chancery to get her shots. Since we moved when she was only a few weeks old, she hadn't had any shots yet, so she's a bit behind, but not too much. Since I was there anyways, I asked about Asher's shots as well. I have no clue what's recommended & when they are due, so I was hoping they'd be able to help.

We waited in the waiting room for the nurse to call us back. They had an area for the kids to play, but the only "toy" they had was a bead thing, that frankly, just doesn't do it for Asher. He started opening all the cupboards in the room & asking me, "Where are all the toys, Mum?"

The nurse finally called us in & explained to Asher about the shots & what was going to happen. It was a good move on her part b/c otherwise he was going to start opening all her cupboards & drawers, I could see it in his eyes! So she gave Chancery the shots, there was some crying, & we went back out to the waiting room to wait our prescribed 15 minutes to make sure there were no reactions to the shots.

Not long after that, the nurse came back in & told me that Asher needed his 18 month shots, of which there were 4. She said she could do 2 now & 2 in 2 months when Chancery had to come back. So back into the room we went. Suprisingly, even though he had watched the whole she-bang when Chancery got her shots, he was really good...... until the needle went in! Then the lip came out & the crocodile tears formed! He was none too impressed w/ her.

All seemed fine, we came home, Chancery went promptly to sleep, Asher went for his nap, no problem..... until he woke up screaming that he had an owie!

I asked, "does your leg hurt?"
"nope"
"does your head hurt?"
"nope"
"does your arm hurt?"
"nope"

Apparently nothing hurt... until he moved his arm to get Russell. And then came the painful scream. So I got him some Tylenol & some water, but he refused to drink the water b/c it hurt his arm to lift the cup.

Poor kid, I don't think he's going to be so obliging next time.

The Real Deal

I've been catching up w/ old friends lately & have discovered that in highschool I was really in quite a bubble. Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy highschool, I was just really unaware of what the people around me were really like. I would take whatever people told me at face value (for the most part). I always wanted to see the good in people, which isn't a bad thing, but for the most part I just didn't know there was alot more that I wasn't being told.

I don't know if that's just b/c I didn't know what too look for, or if I didn't WANT to look further, but from where I am now, I can honestly say that I don't think I ever really knew most of the people I went to school with. I know some of that is my fault. A few times when people would tell me something, I would respond in shock..... sometimes at their actions, but sometimes it was just that I didn't have any exposure to it beforehand & didn't really know how to deal w/ it.

For my part, I don't think I was ever really judgemental (though I might have been perceived as such). When my frieds confided in me, I wouldn't go running the other way b/c they were not like me. I still liked them for who they were, & their actions & histories is what shaped their personalities.

I knew in highschool that there were a few people having sex, but I was unaware that there were so many more. I knew there were a few smoking pot, but I had no idea just how many actually were, in fact, I was told by one of my friends that they guy I dated for awhile smoked all through highschool & I HAD NO IDEA! I don't know if I was just out of the loop, or oblivious, but I think it would have been a whole different experience had I known more of what was really going on. Perhaps now I think I'm more tolerant than I actually was back then, I can't say for sure, but it sure is weird to discover that when I thought I knew my classmates & my friends, I hadn't even scratched the surface. It makes me wonder just how much more I've missed over the years.....

Marbles

This morning Chancery had a doctor's appointment. Since moving & lack of doctors here on PEI, this is the first time since she was born that she's been to the doctor. At 3.5 months, she has grown 4" from 20.5" and almost doubled her birth weight from 6,4 to 12,6. She's apparently on the tall end, but right in the middle for weight & head circumference. The doctor is kind of quirky & I really like him. When he finished checking her heart, he asked if they had told me she had a heart murmur when she was born, & I told him, no. Then he said, "I'm not even sure it's really there, it's so faint." He assured me that it's no big deal especially since he couldn't even really tell if she actually has one...... Just one example of his quirkiness.

A friend from church came to watch Asher & he had a great time playing w/ "Miss Julie" while I was gone.

Later I mentioned off-hand, "I think I'm loosing my marbles."

Asher asked, "Can I see your marbles?"

Then I explained that I didn't really have any marbles, but it's just something people say when they aren't thinking properly.

He thought about that for awhile, then offered, "Maybe Miss Julie took then home with her!"

A Momentus Day!

Yesterday at lunch time PChad was holding Chancery & she keep reaching for his food. He'd push his plate out of the way & she'd just get upset, so I figured maybe it was time to try the baby cereal.

At first she wasn't so sure about it. I think I made it a bit thick. She kept gagging on it, so we thinned it out a bit & she did pretty well. She seemed to really like it, but wouldn't open her mouth very far. It made feeding her a bit tricky, but we muddled through.

Today she was all over that cereal. I'd get the spoon close & she'd open her mouth like a little bird, & if I was taking too long she'd protest. She even was trying to help me by grabbing the spoon & directing it towards her mouth.


Before:We decided later that evening that Asher really needed a haircut, so PChad bravely took the clippers & went at it. Amazingly the wiggling boy ended up w/ a pretty decent haircut (not to say that I didn't have confidence in PChad, I didn't have confidence in the little wiggling boy!).

After:

After he was finished, he set Asher on the potty to wait while he drew a bath & cleaned up the hair. When he put Asher in the bath, he noticed that there was wee in the potty! So we all did a bit of a happy dance, whilst Asher stood & stared at us from the bath. He finally got to rescue his new stuffed doggie from where he was hanging just out of reach in the washroom and he got to have a candy (we are not above using bribery).

Since his "new special doggie" needed a shorter name & perhaps something a bit more descriptive than "new special doggie" he was given some suggestions. PChad suggested "Russell" while I suggested "Yellow Dog" (yes, I prefer the obvious names, then we ALL know which toy he wants when he asks for it by name).

Meet "Russell."

It might be a one off that he used the potty, but at least now he knows he can do it, though I'm not sure that he realized that he DID do it.

And that, my friends, is a day for the history books.... or at least the baby books!

"Big Dog"

When Asher was 6 weeks old, he was given a pair of stuffed dogs from the "Kohl's Cares for Kids" line.

Since he was too young to name them, we came up w/ the fabulous names of "Big Dog" & "Little Dog." They came attached to eachother, but quickly found their own independence. Little Dog became a bedtime favourite, Big Dog became an all-time favourite. Big Dog was afraid of the big wide world outdoors, so he never left the confines of his house, except when we moved, then he rode along in the car, but never ventured outside either (phobias run deep).


When Asher was about 1 year old, Big Dog spent one morning at the "spa" (Otherwise known as the confines of the washing machine) His care instructions said to hand wash him, but I wasn't confident that puke would come out by hand, so he took a spin in the washer.

Lately both Big Dog & Little Dog have been looking a bit bedraggled, Big Dog's a bit floppy, I think he could use more stuffing, or CPR. Little Dog isn't as bad since he hasn't seen all the action that Big Dog has.

Apparently this morning Big Dog was pretty thirsty b/c Asher brought him to me dripping wet from the head region. He had finished off ALL of Thanet's water, which was no small feat. I'm not sure that Big Dog would survive another go-round in the washer, so this just might be the end. Asher keeps asking about him, but he's still wet, & Thanet's water wasn't very clean since Asher keeps making "oatmeal" for Thanet in the water dish (re-hydrating his dry food).

Here's the after pictures:


Looks a bit like road-kill, doesn't he? And a Conversation w/ Big Dog:


*Big Dog is wearing Chancery's "Black Cat" Halloween costume.

Our Newest Member

A few weeks ago, we decided it would be nice to have a pet. Since I already clean up poop all day I decided a puppy was out. I'm not a huge fan of cold weather, so me walking a dog was out. At the moment I don't have an exorbitant amount of time to devote to training an animal (we're still working on training the kids), so basically a dog was out. Leaving a cat.

Choosing a cat was fine with me. I'm a cat person through & through. On cold winter days you can find me curled up w/ a latte, a cat, & a book. We bought the classified ads & started browsing for free cats, not too old & crochety, not too young & fragile (we do have a 2 year old after all). We finally found one in a town about 30 minutes away & took the drive to see him.

He was 4 months old, the people who had him had 2 daughters who drug him around, so he was used to some abuse, litter-trained & friendly. We decided to take him home since he seemed a good fit for our family. We contemplated names for awhile & PChad came up with "Thanet." When we first moved to London, England, we lived in a flat on Thanet street. I liked the name too, so it stuck. Plus, when a 2 year old says it, it doesn't sound innappropriate like some other names do.

Here's a clip of Asher playing w/ Thanet.

Baby, It's COLD!

The other day I was changing Asher's pants. We don't have a changing table, so we are set up on a cedar chest in front of the window. The most logical place to have the wipes container is in the windowsill. We may have to change that though. I took a wipe out & as soon as that puppy toughed his bum, Asher said, "Wow, Mummy, that's COLD!"

Some people have a wipes warmer, we like to go the opposite route to toughen our kids up!

Christmas Music

We got our first real snowfall of the season on Saturday. PChad took Asher outside to shovel the snow while I stayed nice & warm inside (since Chancery was sleeping, one of us had to sacrifice)! Asher was pretty cold when he came in, so I made Hot Chocolate for him. He's only had it once before, but he was pretty excited about getting to have it. However, he wasn't so sure about it once he realized it was warm. He waited until it cooled down & had it cold. Then it was ok.

When PChad was finished shovelling he came in & suggested I put the Christmas music on. Sadly I informed him that I hadn't loaded the Christmas CDs onto the computer yet, so guess what my task was on Sunday?

I started thumbing through the CDs & realized yet again, that I have an abundance of Amy Grant Christmas CDs. Four to be exact. When I was in Jr High I was really into her music. I loved it, so I bought her CDs as soon as they hit the shelf, Christmas ones included. Over the years I tried to shy away from her & buy other Christmas CDs, but discoved that it's better to stick w/ one artist than go all over the map, or you'll have:

• 3 versions of "Deck the Halls,"
• 6 versions of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,"
• 6 "I'll be Home For Christmas,"
• 5 "Jingle Bells,"
• 3 "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow,"
• 5 "O Come All Ye Faithful,"
• 4 "Oh Holy Night,"
• 5 "Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem,"
• 3 "Rudolph,"
• 6 "Silent Night,"
• 4 "Silver Bells,"
• 3 "Sleigh Ride,"
• 6 "The Christmas Song,"
  
• 4 "Noel,"
• 4 "Drummer Boy,"
• 4 "We Three Kings,"
• 3 "What Child Is This,"
• 7 "White Christmas,"
• 7 "Winter Wonderland,"
• And numerous other duplicates.

As much as I like hearing the Christmas songs, I don't want to hear the same ones over & over as I have them playing. I'm not too sure that New Kids On The Block, Trace Adkins, Amy Grant, Mickey Mouse, & Mel Torme can all sing "The Christmas Song" that differently!

Sunday Pictures, Episode 5

"Ok, ready for pictures, guys?"

"Here we go!"

"No, you don't need to hold Chancery, she can just sit next to you."



Asher: "Are we praying first, Mum, that they go well this week?"




A: "Fold your hands like this, Chancery."



Chancery: "Unhand me, you brute! I don't need your instruction!"



C: "Wait, if you have Thanet, that's a different matter!"




C: "I'll hold your hand, then we bow our heads....."

Amelia Bedelia

We had some friends over for dinner tonight. Asher was being his effusive self. Rit held up his glass to Asher & said "Cheers!" Asher wasn't sure exactly what Rit was up to, so we told him, "Put your milk out & tap Mr. Rit's glass & say 'Cheers!'"

Asher put his milk out, set it down tapped Rit's glass w/ his hand & said "Cheers!" I suppose he did all the things we told him to, perhaps we should have been a bit more specific.

Joseph's Coat

On Tuesdays we go to coffee break at church & Asher gets to go to "Little Lambs" which teaches him about some people in the Bible. He takes the papers home, but I have a really hard time getting him to tell me anything about what they did other than that they do puzzles, have a snack, & sing songs.

He never tells me waht songs they sing. He always tells me "Deep & Wide" which I am pretty sure isn't what they sing every week. On the way out to the truck this week I caught him singing, "The more we get together," he then paused, realized he was singing in my presence, & said, "No, we didn't sing THAT song!" I don't know WHY he won't tell me, it's not like I make him sing the songs over & over at home, he just wants to keep the songs to himself & I suppose that's ok.

Over lunch I usually ask who they learned about that day & he'll tell me their names, but not much more than that. Well, this week it was a bit different. He told me all about Jesus & how he got a coat from his brothers, but his brothers didn't have one.

I know, he was a bit mixed up in the names department, so I straightened him out a bit & then asked if the brothers were jealous. He said, "No, they were sad," then he decided that didn't cover all the emotions, & procalimed, "they were MAD!"

Later he was telling P Chad over dinner all about Joseph (he got the name right this time) & his brothers & the coat. He got to the part that the brothers didn't have one & added, "Just like Jesus & Zaccheus, they didn't have a coat EITHER!"

I suppose it's true, but someday we're going to have to make sure he gets all those Bible stories straightened out.

A Shocking Discovery!

Last night I discovered something terrible….. I simply do not have enough time to do all the tings that I want to do! This will probably come as a surprise to most of you, but there simply don’t seem to be enough hours in the day!

I have a really good book I’m reading, blogs to read, blogs to write, emails to answer, Christmas cards to address, a Christmas letter to write, the newspaper to read & the daily Sudoku to finish (to maintain mental agility).

I think I would have time to do those things if it wasn’t for all the other things I have to do. Get kids up in the morning, prepare breakfast (pour milk on cereal), change numerous pants throughout the day, get lunch ready, figure out what to have & prepare dinner…….

So I’m having to choose! It’s awful! I made the decision awhile ago that I didn’t have to read the newspaper everyday, that was liberating. Then yesterday I decided that I didn’t have to do the Sudoku either b/c I was trying to get it done, but wishing I could be doing something else instead. I figured that was kinda silly.

I think the main issue is that I have limited time w/o kids around to get things done, & if they don’t sleep at the same time, everything gets a little crazy! I know, it’s just a season of life & it’ll be over before I know it, but I think that’ll be ok w/ me. I’ll be fine when the kids can entertain themselves a bit more (or even sit by themselves w/o needing to be held all the time). I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve made a latte in the last month & at lunch time discoved that I only had a few sips out of it. I just don’t have time to sit & drink it right now. Maybe I should buy a beer hat so I could drink it throughout the morning!

First Baptism

Sunday was a special day for Pastor Chad. He got to perform his first baptism.

I wonder why they call it performing… Sounds like he did a bit of singing & dancing…. which he did not.

Here are the pictures. I relied on the family to take them rather than taking them myself. I figured if I took my camera to church again people would start to think it was a regular occurrence & that I was going to be taking pictures every week. They might think that I think I’m a professional photographer or something, which I am clearly not. Sammy is 3 weeks younger than Chancery, & his parents waited especially so that Pastor Chad could baptise him.

Reading the form

Baptising

Rit handing Sammy over for the blessing

Pastor Chad blessing Sammy

Sammy was really good & only cried once he knew he was close enough to the mic that we would all be able to hear it. He was then presented to the congregation & encored his earlier yunking performance by quietly belching! We were glad to be a part of his special day.

A Poll

Well, apparently my comments work again, so I need some reader input. Would you prefer I move back here to blogger, or should I just stay put on wordpress? There is a poll in the sidebar, so please visit either site & let me know your preference!

Today's Sunday Pics

Without further ado……….

A: “I have an evil plan to thwart Mum’s Sunday picture-taking.”

C: “I know what you are planning, & I think it would just be easier if we just co-operate w/ her.”

A: “You’re right, maybe I should rethink this.”

A: “Here’s my smile, Mum, & I’m off!”

C: “What, you let HIM go & I’m still here?”

C: “I’m simply too tired to do anymore pictures.”

Sunday Pictures, Take 3

Sorry about last Sunday’s lack of photos. Here’s the ones I managed to get:

“Smile, kids!“

Asher: “Buuurp!”

Chancery: “I can’t believe he did that! How uncouth!”

A: “It wasn’t me, Mum!”

C: “One should cover one’s mouth, like so, if one is going to belch!”

C: “These stripes are mesmerising!”

“Just give a good smile, then you can go.”

A: “See you next week!”

Dinnertime Conversations

Last night we had pasta for dinner & we have a 7 vegetable primavera sauce. Asher picked one of the veggies out & asked what it was. P Chad told him it was a Zuchinni. Asher said, “Zuchinni went WAAAY up in a tree for Jesus.”

Then we explained that was ZACHEUS, not Zucchini. We said that Zacheus was a MAN & Zucchini was a vegetable. He proceeded to eat more pasta & we thought the matter was finished, until he blurted out, “Zacheus is a vegetable!”

After dinner I was cleaning up the dishes & Asher told me that he doesn’t like the hiccups. I said it was a good thing he didn’t have them then. He informed me quite passionately, “Yes I DO have hiccups IN MY MOUTH!” I suppose that’s better than them being in some other part of his body.

Laws of Nature

Pastor Chad was gone to a meeting last night, so I figured that since I had an evening to myself, once the kids were down for the night I’d have a nice luxurious soak in the tub. I got the kids in bed, waited about 1/2 an hour to make sure they were totally settled, filled the tub, got in, NOT 5 MINUTES LATER Asher was crying for something. I figured he’d eventually give it up & left him to it for awhile (I was trying to finish my Sudoku puzzle). After about 10 minutes I thought I’d better go check on him, so I got out of the tub, & went dripping to his room.

What did he want? “Please, Mummy, I’d like the cow blanket back tied around me & then I will have a happy face! Remember?” No, I did not remember, & it took awhile for me to work out exactly what he wanted. He apparently wanted me to tie his cow blanket around his neck like we had done that morning. I expalined that having a blanket tied around your neck while you sleep is not safe, so I couldn’t do it, but we’d do it first thing in the morning. He sniffed a bit, said ok, & off I went back to my nice warm tub……. For a few minutes.

Once again, he’s crying, this time a bit more passionately. He wants that cow blanket on, & a drink of water, & for me to come back into his room. So, out of the tub, drip drip drip back to his room w/ a drink of water (luckily we had a sippy cup in the washroom). At this point he’s practically hyperventilating b/c he’s gotten himself so worked up. So, I try to calm him down w/ his drink of water (no luck), telling him his bedtime story again (not working), promises of tying the cow blanket on his shoulders FIRST thing in the morning (not good enough). I even tried telling him that we’d be going out to dinner tomorrow night & that he’d need to sleep b/c otherwise he’d be too tired & we’d have to stay home. Well, that perked him up.

Asher: “We can go to McDonald’s!”

Me: “Well, I don’t know if we’ll go to McDonald’s, but we’ll go to a restaurant for dinner.”

A: “McDonald’s is a restaurant.”

Me: “Yes, McDonald’s is a restaurant, but maybe we’ll go to Boston Pizza, or somewhere else.”

A: “I want to stay home.” (And the crying begins again)

Know what finally worked to calm him down? He realized I was wet & I told him that I had to go wash my hair. Apparently my having clean hair was enough to settle him down so he could drift off to sleep.

So, I quickly washed my hair, worried that things might escalate again. All was quiet, so I slipped downstairs to watch a little CSI & THE OFFICE! I look forward to Thursday night ALL WEEK! Precisely 5 minutes into “The Office” Chancery wakes up! Of all the nights!………… So I went up, nursed her, put her back down, prayed she’d stay asleep & went back to finish watching the show.

This morning Chancery woke up at 6am & decided she’d had enopugh of this sleeping lark. Asher normally gets up around 6:30, so I tried to get her back to sleep for awhile (in vain) & then when I realized it wasn’t going to happen, just sat up w/ her. And of course, since Chancery woke up so early, Asher decided to sleep-in ’til 7 *sigh* sometimes life just isn’t fair.

Broken Books

Asher has some books that my mom got for him from a garage sale. they are “Bob the Builder” pop-up books & since they were not new, have some parts broken out of them. On some of the pages the subject they are speaking of is missing b/c that was the pop-up part.

Even though they are broken (& Asher has also contributed to their brokenness) Asher still really enjoyes these books. He even asks for them by name….

“Please read the broken Bob the Builder books please, Mum!”

(and yes, there are usually 2 pleases)