New Sled

Asher got a new sled a few weeks ago, but he's been waiting for enough snow to use it.  We finally got some one evening, but by the time we got outside, it was quite dark.  That didn't deter Asher in the least!

Of course in the meantime, the snow has melted & accumulated again.  He keeps asking all the time if we can go play on the sled.  I'm convinced that even if we didn't have any snow, if I let him, he'd try to coerce me into getting it out again.

I'm convinced that even if we didn't have any snow, if I let him, he'd try to coerce me into getting it out again.  He was quite disappointed the other day when he had to come back inside b/c it was just too cold, especially since he hadn't even gotten the sled out yet!

They're At It Again!

Just in case you missed Ant & Dec's Christmas special this year..... What's Christmas without a panto?



And of course, Robbie sang a Christmas song

Practice Makes Perfect

What better time for a three year old to practice his fine motor skills, than at quarter after 6 in the morning?  Which, really, as long as he stays quiet & in bed isn't usually a problem.

The only issue I have is when he calls loudly down the hall, "I need you to come & button my buttons!"

So much for sleeping in.  Now he just wants to know why he isn't allowed to wear his tiger jammies with the buttons anymore.

Trust me, I'm doing the whole household a favour.

Highlights

Each night at bedtime, I ask Asher to think back on the events of the day & say "thank you" to God for his favourite part.

Christmas Eve, as I was putting him to bed, he said, "Thank you God for Thanet coming into my room."

I asked, "Was that the best part of your day? Are you sure? Was it better than going to playschool this morning? Better than eating lunch at McDonald's? Better than opening presents? Better than having a special dinner & eating birthday cake for dessert?!?"

He replied, "Yes, Thanet coming in my room was my favourite thing that happened today."

I guess we might as well take the presents back..........

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3.5 years

Chancery - 1 year

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Asher: "We decided that we are going to make it a bit more challenging for you today."

Chancery: "Watch this..... Muuuuuuuuuuummmm!"

Asher: "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!"

Chancery: "Stop, stop!  You're killing me over here!"

Asher: "Ok, we'll let Mum take her picture now."

Dreaming Of A White Christmas?

What do you get when you mix Ant & Dec with Robbie Williams? An awesome show!

This is from Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Take-Away, a few years ago. Enjoy & have a Merry Christmas!

Come Have A Cuddle

After her naptime, before Asher wakes up, Chancery likes to get a little bit of cuddle time in with Thanet.  She's usually in a very cheerful mood, & quite ecstatic if we come down the stairs & discover that Thanet has been waiting for her..... or forgot to move before we entered the room

Thanet: "I'm not ready to vacate the warm spot I've been napping in, but I'm a bit worried about what you might do to me, Chancery."

Chancery: "Who me?  I just want to pet you!  And maybe poke your eyes a bit while I'm at it...."

Thanet: "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."

Thank Goodness For The Toothpaste!

Last week, Asher decided he didn't want to go to playschool Thursday morning.  Usually he loves it there, but he just protested all morning that he didn't want to go.  We tried to remind him of all the fun things they do there, "You can play with the toys there!"

"I don't WANT to play with the toys!"

"Your teacher will read books to you!"

"I don't WANT her to read me books!"

"Maybe you'll get to play outside!"

"I don't WANT to play outside!"

"What to you think you'll get for snacktime today?"

"I don't know..... I don't want to go to playschool!"

So we told him that he had to go anyway, got him ready & off we went.  He was fine the whole drive there, but once we pulled into the parking lot, it started again.

"I don't want to go to this place!"

We went in & started taking off his coat & boots despite his protests.  I told him to put his slippers on & he refused, possibly thinking that without his slippers on, he wouldn't be permitted in his classroom.

Finally I asked him, "Do you remember what they let you do after you have lunch?"

"Brush my teeth."

"And what do you get to brush your teeth with?"

With the slightest trace of a smile, he answered, "Candy cane toothpaste!"  And then he ran into his classroom ready to start the day.

Can't Hardly Wait

Friday night PChad & Asher headed off to see a Christmas program & Chancery went to bed shortly after they left, so with a few hours to myself, I thought I'd get some Christmas presents wrapped.

Funny, I've known Christmas is fast approaching, but Thursday it suddenly hit me that Christmas is only a few days away & I didn't have things organized yet!

So I wrapped all the presents, discovered that my new stockings (that hang much straighter than last year's) aren't very wide, & had to unwrap & re-wrap a few.  I placed the gifts under the tree & had sense enough to know that the kids probably wouldn't leave them alone for a whole week, so I stuffed them under & behind the tree & put a tray-table in front to impede their destruction.

Saturday morning, PChad & I were attending to a large mess Asher made when Chancery appeared holding a gift tag.  I rushed downstairs to discover that she had ripped all the name tags off the gifts & taken a large strip of wrapping paper off one of Asher's presents.

I decided that under the tree wasn't the best place to store the gifts for the next week, so I picked them all up & carried them upstairs to hide them for a few days.

Asher, of course, wanted to know exactly where I was taking them & why I was removing them from under the tree.

Chancery just watched me & followed me around, whilst attempting to look innocent.  However, her plan was thwarted, as evidenced by the scotch tape (complete with traces of wrapping paper) stuck to her chest.

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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Asher: "Chancery, are you sitting on a pillow to appear taller?"

Chancery: "Shoot, you found me out!"

Chancery: "Let's try an old fashioned, stoic photo."

Asher: "Did you like it, Mum?  No, you still want us to smile?"

Asher: "Well, I'm outta here!  Are you coming, Chancery?"

Chancery: "Are you kidding?  I was BORN for this!"

Hallelujah Chorus

If you are a fan of the Hallelujah Chorus (and even if you aren't), you need to watch this video of the silent monks performing it:



h/t mindi

Social Networking

I went to a ladies' brunch last week.  I was telling my mom about it before I went & she was very excited for me.  She said, "I used to go to that group & it's where I met lots of women my age!"

Well, Mom, I met lots of women your age there as well!  I was the youngest in the room by about 20 years, not that that bothers me.  I have just as much fun in a room full of ladies my age, as a room full of women my mother's age.

When I had initially called to get information about it, I asked of there were many younger women who went.  The coordinator replied, "We'd like to have more!"  That was my first indication that I might not be joining a group of my peers.

At one point, one of the women at my table asked what brought me to the island (as I had been introduced as the girl who moved from Calgary), I told them that my husband is a pastor & that he was called to a church here.

She said, "Oh, you don't look old enough to be married!"

"Well," I replied, "I've been married for 10 years, I'm 30."

"My goodness, you don't look a day over 19!"  She exclaimed.

And it might just be that the age gap made me look younger than my age, but I'll still take that compliment.

After talking to the ladies at my table, I discovered that they all have grandchildren the same age as my children.  Despite the fact that I didn't know anyone there, and I HATE going to places that I've never been before, especially by myself, it was a fun morning out, and I'm looking forward to joining them again next month!  After all, they are desiring more younger women to join them, and if I contribute nothing else, I fit that bill.

Music Everywhere

Using his Jeep as the only source of sound, Julian Smith made his own ringtone!  You could try making your own, but it took him 7 hours of filming & 2 weeks of practicing to make this one, so it's probably easier to just download his (it's free!) if you're a fan.

Christmas Tour of Homes 2009

I have found decorating to be a bit challenging this year, with all the "help" I've been getting from the little ones.  So, this year, not so many decorations, partly due to the fact that we finally have all our art hung on the walls.  A task that we finally got around to in November, a mere 14 months after we moved in, so I didn't feel like taking all the paintings down to put up the wall hangings.

Of course, the most important way to get in the Christmas spirit is the music, so I started by setting up my playlist, then set to work decorating the tree.

Our Christmas tree has 5 ornaments on it this year.  I started decorating it while the kids were up & they seemed to think it was a fun game to take the ornaments off just as fast as I put them up, so I quit.  It's all I can do at this point, to keep those 5 on the tree.  Chancery keeps taking them off and bringing them to me.

 

I really enjoy having the lighted garland on the banisters with the stockings.  I love the glow from the Christmas lights when the house is dark in the evenings, and the berry lights upstairs are one of my favourite features this year.

One thing that always gets me in the Christmas mood, is lights.  We didn't get outside to put any up before the snow hit this year, but we do have a few sets up in various places in the house.  As I pulled the different strands out of the box, PChad informed me that it's not that useful to have only one strand of each type (is that permission to buy more lights?).





As we strung them up, I concurred. Three feet of lights are a bit difficult to find a spot for, but I did find a window in PChad's office for the snowflake lights.

And we put these star lights up above the window in the living room, by the tree.

Of course, we can't forget the snowman doorstop that I made this year.  He had to be rescued from the floor after Asher decided to rip his nose off.  After a bit of facial reconstructive surgery, I think he'll be ok, but he's recuperating from his ordeal, on the counter.

Click here to see how I decorated last year.  To see other homes on the tour this year, or if you want to join in, click here!

We Can't Seem To Find Him

We've been having a bit of trouble finding Asher these days.  Chancery seems to be trying to tell us something, but seeing as she doesn't talk much yet, we can't really understand what it is that she is trying to communicate.

I guess we'll just have to keep looking.........

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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Asher: "Chancery, try to make a funny face, and then I'll see if I can make the same one too.

Chancery: "Ok, how about this one?"

Asher: "Yes, that was a good one!  And now I'll do it!"

Chancery: "Did you see that, Mum?  We made the same funny face!"

Classic Christmas Songs

There are a few songs that I always think of when I remember Christmases growing up.  The first one is a little known song "Christmas in the Northwest".  I suppose that there are lots of songs about celebrating Christmas in different areas, but this was MY Christmas locale.  When I finally moved out of the Seattle area, it struck me as odd that no one had heard this song, but we heard it year after year over the holidays.



The other song I remember because everytime it was played on the radio, the announcer would give a 1 or 2 song warning that he was about to play it so everyone could go & get their tape recorders. So obviously it was difficult to get your hands on the album. Mom, Dad.... Here it is, "Stop the Cavalry" performed by the Cory Band



Though why they never played the original version by Jona Lewie, I have no idea as I think it's good as well.



Which version do you prefer? Are there little known Christmas songs particular to your region?

Every Now & Then -Review

Every Now & Then is the third book in the Sept. 11 series by Karen Kingsbury.  I read the first two books a few years ago & just realized a while ago that Karen Kingsbury had written a third book in the series.

I think that due to the time in between reading the first two books & this one I had a difficult time keeping all the people straight.  There were also a number of references to things that had happened in the last tow books, but I couldn't really remember what those were.

I re-read the backs of the first two books after I realized that I had no idea who some of the central characters were & that helped a bit, but it would definitely have enhanced my reading experience had I read the other books more recently.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book, despite the fact that I wasn't clear on all the history of the characters.  In this book, we are introduced to a new main character & the story is set a few years after the terrorist attacks.  He has moved from New York to California which I think also breathes new life into the story.

Alex is a K9 police officer who has a great partnership with his dog, but is pretty closed off from the rest of the world.  He is crippled by what he lost in the twin towers, but not willing to admit to anyone, including himslelf, that he needs help from anyone.

I would definitely recommend this book, though I would also advise reading the first two books first as they lend to the story quite a bit.

Pat's Progress

If you've been following the story of my friend, Pat, who broke his neck this past summer, here's an update!



You can read the other posts here & here.

Common Courtesy

We went to the mall the other day, & due to the holidays fast approaching, it was quite crowded.  We had Chancery in the stroller & Asher insisting on pushing it.  Rather than fight a battle about something so silly, I gave in & allowed him the pleasure of dodging holiday shoppers.

I gave him strict instructions that if there was someone in his way, he was to say "excuse me," & wait for them to get out of the way, rather than bashing them in the ankles until they moved.

As we were making our way up a narrow aisle, Asher addressed a woman who was blocking our path.

Asher: "Excuse me!..... Excuse me, Lady!"

She turned her attention away from the trinkets on the table in front of her & bent down slightly saying, "Yes, Darling?"

Asher responded ever so politely, "I want you to get out of my way!"
And then he squeezed between her & the table of baubles she had been admiring.

Random Thoughts Upon Returning From The Grocery Store

I feel very sorry for whoever has to collect all the shopping carts from the parking lot on a doay like today.  The whole parking lot is covered with a layer of frozen slush.

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I wonder if it's odd that when I have to buy snow boots for Chancery, instead of looking in the little girls' section, I look in the boys' section so if we have another kid we can pass the boots on whether it's a boy or girl.  (Am I the only one that does this?)

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What warrants a price difference of $1.25 between the green grapes & the red grapes?  Are the green grapes that much better?

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Why is it always when you are out of something & need to stock up, that's when the store is also totally out of the item?

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While I am grateful for the shopping carts that seat 2 kids, why can't someone invent one where the kids can't touch eachother?  Is that too much to ask?

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When unpacking the groceries, I should try to remember not to let Chancery get to my eggs before I do  if I want to have any left.

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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Chancery: "Asher, I think I can make these pictures more interesting..."

Asher: "Well, what did you have in mind, Chancery?"

Chancery: "What if we did DANCING Sunday Pictures this week?"

Asher: "I don't think I'm down with that."

Chancery: "Well, there's always next week........."

Sounds Different..........

I'm not usually big on covers of songs, especially if they are songs that I like, but Glee covering Lily Allen? Not bad (though it is a bit odd to hear it sung without an English accent)!



What did you think? What are your thoughts on the show thus far?

Singing New Songs

I always love it when I catch Asher singing songs.  If we ask him to sing for us, he refuses, but sometimes if he isn't paying attention, he'll start singing & if we pretend not to notice, he will keep on singing.

As we were getting ready for his nap the other day, he started singing Lord's Army Song....

"I may never march in the cemetery....
Shoot the artilery....
Fight in the Calgary.....

I'm in the Lord's of me!
I'm in the Lord's of me!"

I just didn't have th heart to correct him.  After all, what reason would he have to fight in Calgary?

Perhaps I Should Rephrase

At snacktime we were enjoying some fake raspberry Newtons.  Asher had been begging for the new cookies we had bought that day, but I told him that we had to finish what was in teh cupboard first.

After he had finished his first one, I asked, "So, how do you like it?"

He replied, "I like them sweet."

Well, of course!  Don't we all?

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody as sung by...... the Muppets?



I just love the "Mnah, Mnah" guy!

Chasing Harry Winston -Review

This is a story about 3 friends who live in New York.  Adrianna is a serial dater, Leigh is engaged to a man she isn't sure she loves, and Emmy's long-term boyfriend just left her for his personal trainer.

They start out by making a pact involving Adrianna & Emmy, in which they must change their dating modus operandi to the complete opposite of how they currently date.

While I enjoyed this book, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be.  Lauren Weisberger's previous 2 novels (The Devil Wears Prada, & Everyone Worth Knowing) were both far superior to this.  It was a good story, but not as gripping as her other works have been.

If you are someone who doesn't have a whole lot of time for reading, I probably wouldn't recommend this book, since there are better ones out there.

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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I had the camera on video, but thought it worked out alright.  Here's what I deal with every week:

(Click to Play)

Asher: "Cheese...Cheese....Cheese..."

And the final product:

Chancery: "May I go now?"

Imagine

Glee the other night was AMAZING.  If you don't watch the show, it's about a show choir made up of a bunch of misfit highschool kids, lead by a teacher who wants big things for the Glee Club.  The cheerleader coach for some reason has decided that the Glee Club must be taken down & is always looking for ways to destroy them.

Last episode, Mr. Shuster (the teacher coaching the Glee Club), became worried that another group would do better than them , so he got caught up in the "smoke & mirrors" trying to make his club appear better through the use of wigs.

Then, the Glee club from a deaf school performed for them & changed his perspective.  Here is the link for the performance, & you really must watch it.

What If?

We were on our way to the butcher shop yesterday & Asher asked, "Where are we going?"

I told him we were going to the meat shop (it's just easier that way).

Asher: "When we get there, I am going to ask the meater for a lollipop!"

(They have a box of them on the counter for the taking, so technically he doesn't have to ask them for one, but it's good manners, eh.)

Just to offer the suggestion, I asked him, "What if they say 'no'?"

Asher: "We'll just see if they say 'yes'."

That's positive thinking.

The Torch

Some friends of ours let us know that the Olympic Torch would be passing right in front of their house on Saturday afternoon & invited us over to watch.  So we headed out to see what there was to see....



We saw the first police car pass the house, so we bundled all the kids up to have this enriching experience....


First came a Coke truck, handing out flags & commemorative bottles of Coke (that were FREEZING cold!).


Asher dutifully waved his flag, but his enthusiasm wavered as the torch was not forthcoming.


Chancery tried looking up the road to see what the hold-up was.


More police cars heralded the arrival of the torch.



We thought the Torch Relay would be more of a run, however it went by at more of a leisurly walk.
The camera crew that accompanied the "runner" (in the loosest of terms) asked "What did you think of seeing the Olympic Torch?"  I'm not really sure how to respond to that.  (I don't think our collective responces would merit a TV clip).  But at least we got a free Coke out of the deal!

An Epidemic

We've been having a bit of sickness going around our household. It all started with Chancery puking in her bed unbeknownst to us, one night last week, followed by a rash & issues at the bottom end.

Then, Saturday morning at 1:30AM, I heard Asher yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, I spit up!"

Indeed, he had, so PChad got him in the shower & I changed all the bedding. We took away Asher's buddies so he wouldn't get them dirty if he did it again, & we gave him a bucket to cuddle with instead.

We got everyone back in bed, & at 2:00AM I heard, "Sorry everyone! I'm very sorry!"

So I went to see what Asher was so sorry about & he had forgotten about the bucket & puked all over his bed again. So we repeated the procedures & hoped it wouldn't happen again, as we were now out of clean sheets for his bed.

Luckily that was it for puking, but he got the runs too.

Then PChad got sick on Sunday morning. It made for an interesting church service, but everyone did a good job of covering where needed.

Now my stomach is feeling a bit dodgy, but I figure that if I just convince myself I'm not sick, I can stay well. That works, right?

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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This morning I thought I'd show you how the sharing thing generally works in our house......

Asher: "Hmmm, Chancery has a car & I want it!"

 Asher: "I took the car from Chancery!"

"Asher, give the car back to Chancery."

Asher: "Can I have the car, Chancery?  Can you share it with me?"

Chancery: "Hold on, smile for Mum."

Asher: "Mummy, Chancery GAVE me the car!"

Just FYI

Do you know what a postman does? Do you REALLY know what a postman does?

Well, according to some sources (ie. Asher), "Mum, a postman is a man who builds posts & then goes into his house."

Don't you feel more informed?

Gone For Good

And just like that, all sense of authority has gone out the window.

Out Of Left Field

We had sat down at the table for dinner & were bowing our heads in preparation to pray over the meal.

Asher belts out, "Meet me at the hotel, motel, Holiday Inn!"

And that is a little glimpse into our life (and our music choices)...........

You Know You're Tired When..........

When I look back at my high school days, I am amazed at the energy I had.  My schedule looked something like this:

5:30 -Wake up & get ready.  Leave the house by 6:00.

6:30 - 9:30 -Work at Espresso Stand, do any homework that hadn't gotten finished yet.
9:30 - 2:15 -School
2:30 - 4:00 -Track practice
4:30 -9:00 -Work at McDonald's

Then I'd go home & be in bed around 9:30.  I also worked at McDonald's on Saturdays & some Sunday afternoons/evenings.

The early mornings weren't so bad, maybe b/c once I got to the coffee shop I loaded up on caffeine. But the thing that I really remember about that time was the dreams I would have.

I dreamed about sleeping on the couch that was in the back of my History class.  I dreamed about sleeping in my car.  I dreamed about sleeping in my bed at home, and I dreamed about sleeping on the couch at my friend's house.

Maybe because I knew that I wasn't ACTUALLY getting enough sleep, I tricked myself into believing I had, since I had dreamed about having naps all the time.  I don't remember being tired at all, but I still remember those dreams quite clearly.......

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

A gentleman noticed Asher's long eyelashes the other day & commented, "Wow, you have really long eyelashes!  Where did you get those?"

Asher replied, "God found them & put them on me!"

Then when it was time to pray after supper & say thank-you to God for the food, Asher changed it up a bit & said, "Lord, thank you for my looooooooooooong eyelashes & everything else on my body.  Amen!"

Sunday Pictures

Asher - 3 years

Chancery - 1 year

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Chancery: "I have a question.... Why is it that Asher gets to have toys & I have to sit here empty handed?"

Asher: "Because I always come prepared!"

Chancery: "Then I'm going to get a book."

Asher: "I don't think she understands that she's still supposed to look at you, Mummy."