Cold Enough For You?

I spend most of the day in our house. Some days I make it out to the grocery store, or Walmart, but b/w naps, lunches, trying to fix dinner, etc, my trips out are breif. Not that I mind. I tend to hibernate a bit in the winter. I'm not one to head out for a walk or anything crazy like that. Why subject myself to being cold if I can just stay in my nice warm house w/ my nice warm latte?

Well, today I decided to brave the cold to pick up some specials at the "other" grocery store. They had some buy 1 get 2 free deals, so I figured it would be worth the trip. Little did I know that b/c I went so late in the week, all the good stuff was sold out! But I did pick up some of my favourite bagels, so it wasn't a total loss.

As we left the grocery store & headed home I was feeling a bit chilled, so I checked the temp. IT WAS -34 C! Do you understand what that means? That's -31 F! But don't worry, we all had our mittens on.

I'm Sure She Wouldn't Be Amused

The other day Asher was helping me set the table for dinner & I asked him to get his milk out of the fridge. He did so, but also decided that he needed to get Chancery's dinner out for her as well. It took me a minute to realize that instead of grabbing this jar:

He had actually grabbed this:

And that is why he's not in charge of feeding Chancery!

I've Been Interviewed!

Today I'm being interviewed by Sarah of Brit Gal' in the USA.

1. You've moved 9 times in as many years, you have to be highly organised to pull this off without a nervous breakdown! Do you have a moving plan/list always ready, how difficult have you found all this moving and how quickly can you feel settled somewhere new?

I generally start packing things about 2 months before we move, which drives PChad crazy b/c he's constantly looking for things that've been packed away already. I've gotten really good at figuring out what will fit in the boxes, & tend to hoard nice boxes. This is the first time since our first move that we've gotten rid of the boxes (We'd better be staying for awhile!) I find it harder to move now that we have kids b/c I'm not getting into the new community as quickly as when I used to work, now I tend to stay in more. But it usually doesn't take more than a month or so to feel settled, we get involved in the church right away which really helps.

2. Where has been your favourite place to live and why?

Definitely England. Of course when we first moved there we were not ready for the culture shock. I think that we thought since they spoke English it would be like moving from the States to Canada, but there are so many cultural differences (as I'm sure you could attest)! The churches were different there so it took us awhile to find one where we felt like we fit. I had to figure out how to get a job (luckily the Visa wasn't a problem), we had Canadian dollars w/ the exchange rate being $2.50=£1. We were poor, but we had the most fun just walking around exploring b/c we couldn't afford to do anything else. We just really fell in love w/ the culture & it was refreshing to not hear everyone's business while waiting in queues! We'd love to move back there someday, but we'll see if that's what God has planned for us!

3. I am in total awe of you not wearing make-up for 5 years! As your picture shows, you are a natural beauty, but aren't you ever tempted to put on a little mascara or lippie!? Why did you stop wearing it?
I'm not real sure why I stopped, but to start again, I just am not that good at figuring out what looks good & what's too much, & I'm really bad at putting on eye stuff (luckily I don't really need that). I've been experimenting w/ lipstick again lately, but I figure that if I'm not sure that it looks good, it's probably better to go w/o, then at least I'm not showing the world I have no make-up savvy, it just looks like I didn't have time!

4. You lived in London for awhile, what did you like most about it and the least, is there anything you miss about the UK?
I just really liked the city. I loved taking the trains & tube & reading on the way to work, the FOOD! There's a restaurant in Chinatown called "Wong Kei" & you could get each plate for £5, so we'd go w/ some friends & each pitch in our £5. The waiter's weren't overly friendly, & you ate cafeteria style, but we always had a good time. I think it's still my favourite Chinese restaurant. I really enjoyed the people that I worked w/ there. They've all moved on from that company now, but they really helped me to understand & fit into the culture.

I think what I liked least was not being able to find things I wasn't used to having to look for. There's no Walmart, so when I needed socks for cheap, it took awhile to figure out the best place to find them. I cut myself fairly early on & I was looking all over for Hydrogen Peroxide or Rubbing Alcohol & couldn't figure out for the life of me why I couldn't find any!

5. What adjustments have you had to make to your personality or persona, since you became the Pastors wife. Have you had to tone anything down about yourself in order to fit the title?

I've had to stop talking about my husband! I think more about what I'm going to say before I just open my mouth. I really think about each blog entry before it goes up, not that I always have to show us in a great light but b/c I don't want to be a stumbling block for anyone. I'm not (quite) as sarcastic as I used to be, but it's hard to know if these changes are b/c I'm a Pastor's Wife, or b/c I'm getting older & maturing (a little). But I haven't learned to play the organ & I haven't joined the choir. I feel like I'm just another parishioner at church & that's the way I like it.

Here's the instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the
questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it, so I can link it.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview
someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask
them five questions.

Sunday Pictures: week 21

Asher - 2.5 years
Chancery - 4.5 months
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Asher: "Today I think I'll try using a prop."

Chancery: "Well, then this is MY prop"

Asher: "No, Chancery, you can't have that."

Asher: "I'll read this book to you, Chancery."

Chancery: "I read that book already."


Asher: "Can we have a new book, please, Mum?"

Just give a good smile, then you can find another book.

Chancery: "I love story time!"

Kleenex

During the night we were awoken by cries. These were not coming through the monitor though & seemed to have a message for us. So quietly got out of bed & listened.....

"Can you get me a kleenex?"

"And then I will blow on it!"

Apparently Asher wasn't sure that we understood his plight b/c he added:

"I HAVE BOOGIES IN MY NOSE!"

We're Not Sleeping Yet!

For some unforseen reason, my children, as babies are not good sleepers. I thought maybe it was just Asher & that Chancery was better, but suddenly she has decided that she doesn't want to sleep on her stomach anymore. No, she'd rather sleep on her side. Her SIDE! Who's ever heard of a baby that likes to sleep on it's side?

So I start her off on the side of her crib on her stomach (if she's really tired, she'll succomb to sleep right away on her stomach), but 9 times out of 10, she immediately tries to roll onto her side, goes a bit too far & ends up on her back. Now, she hasn't learned how to roll from her back to her front yet & she won't sleep on her back (Are you hearing my problem?).

Last night at 2am, she decided it was time to sleep on her side again, she then spent the next 2.5 hours crying & not sleeping w/ PChad or I going in every now & then to calm her down & try to get her to go back to sleep.

So, I'm wondering if any of you have heard of such a thing or if you have any advice on how to get my "side-sleeping" baby to sleep.

Buried Treasure?

This afternoon I could smell a pungent odour, so I decided I should check Asher's pants. Sometimes all I find is toots, & sometimes more.

So just before I took a peek I asked him, "What am I going to find?"

He replied, "Money!"

Goodnight!

As I put Asher to bed tonight, I noticed his lips were a bit chapped, so I put some of my Chapstick on him. He then went to give PChad bedtime kisses & PChad commented that he was a lucky boy b/c he was wearing cherry chapstick. Then I read Asher a book, prayed, hugs & kisses, the whole bit. I was tucking him in & he said, "I have on cherry chapstick, just like the song!"

Then I went out of his room, into my own & started to put my PJs on. I faintly heard him say something. Usually he talks to his "buddies" for awhile before going to sleep, so I ignored it. Then I heard a bit louder, in a sing-songy voice:

"I want a drink of wa-ter! I want a drink of wa-ter!"

(slight pause)

"Mummy, I want a drink of water, please!"

(pause)

"A drink of water would be ok!"

"Mummy?"

"Please may can I have a drink of water?"

(If he's not sure if he should say "may" or "can" he puts both in the sentence.)

"A DRINK OF WATER WOULD BE OK!!!!"

So, I finished donning my pyjamas & got him a drink of water, which he took the smallest sip of & said, "There, that's enough."

Parenting Advice

Those of us w/ babies, or about to have babies should read the safe baby handling tips as a refresher over at Word to Your Mother. I think it should be part of the prenatal classes. Just think of all the things that could go wrong if we didn't know this information!

Bargains Galore!

Yesterday we went to the Bargain Store. I haven't been to a Bargain Store in about 5 years, but it used to be on of my favourite stores. For those of you not familiar, it's like a dollar store, but things cost slightly more b/c they are (sometimes) a little bit better quality than your typical $1 items.

This particular store had the mini shopping carts, that are a bit difficult to manage w/ the 2 kids, but we did alright. I finally got the carseat situated so that it wasn't going to fall off the front & yet there was still room for Asher to sit on the seat. There was a tiny hole near the front of the cart that I could squeeze items into the cart through. We started off in the Christmas aisle, everything was 50% off. One of my favourite ways to say goodbye to the holidays is picking up bargains for next year! We slowly meandered through the aisles, narrow as they were, it's a good thing their carts are so small, but going around the end of the aisles was a bit tricky w/ the carseat across the front. I bashed into quite a few end-caps.

Near the back of the store Asher warned me to "Watch out for the lady, Mum." I told him that I would & thanked him for warning me. He then said again, "Watch out for that lady, Mum..... Lady, get out of the way!" I really can't blame him. In my baby book I'm recorded as saying, "Outta the way, Lady!" to a woman on the grocery store when I was about his age. But I did inform him that next time it would be more appropriate to say "excuse me!"

Book Critic

A few months ago, PChad finished reading "The Shack" & asked if I would like to read it. I wasn't so sure. I have this horrible habit that involves me not reading almost any book that he recommends. I'm not sure how it started. Maybe he was trying to push me to read a "good wife" book. Maybe he highly recommended one & I found it to be a dumb one. I'm not sure.

Anyways, I decided to pick it up a few weeks ago & I've been reading it, albeit slowly. I'm enjoying it, but there are so many other things I enjoy doing too, that it hasn't been real high on my priority list to read it. At this stage in my life, a book has to be an AWESOME read for me to put it near the top o' the priority list.

So I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. Sometimes I think it's waaaay overwritten. The author uses 3 paragraphs to explain that he's feeling the weight of depression (see how quickly I summed that up?), describing it about 10 different ways. The story line is interesting, & even though it is pure fiction, it is giving me some new ways to think about God.

Asher, on the other hand, seems to know exactly how he feels about this book. I went into our room the other day & could faintly hear the radio playing on my dresser, so I went to turn it off. I knew Asher had turned it on b/c neither PChad nor myself had. Asher isn't allowed in our room w/o us b/c Thanet's food always ends up in his water dish if Asher is in there unsupervised.

So, I turned off the radio & noticed my lotion had been moved from the back of my dresser to the front. As I picked it up, I discovered that it had been opened & a considerable amount was missing. Looking slightly to the left, I found it's new residence. Asher had squeezed 1/2 a tube of intensive care (read super greasy) lotion all over the cover of "The Shack." Curiously he didn't put the lotion anywhere else, just all over the cover of the book.

Third Strike, I'm DONE!

I don't know why I bother w/ Canadian Tire anymore. I went back today b/c I was looking for a particular basket to put on my table & knew I had seen it at Canadian Tire last week. I had a few other items that I knew I could pick up there, WD-40, a tow rope, window caulk, things of that nature.

I headed first to the basket aisle & found exactly what I was looking for (much to my amazement), then I was off in search of the other stuff. I passed the caulk aisle & decided to have a look. I really didn't know what I needed to get, so I looked around for an employee to no avail. So I decided to venture forth into the automotive dept for a tow rope.

I looked around & all I could find was tie-downs. Now I don't claim to know much about car stuff, but I do know that if I tried to pull a stuck car w/ a tie-down, I would be unsuccessful. So I went in search of an employee. I hit the jackpot at the automotive counter. There were TWO guys & one offered to SHOW me what I needed. I explained that I needed a tow rope for if a car was stuck. He gave me the last one that was on the shelf & I carried on to find the next item on my list.

WD-40 wasn't hard to find so I picked up a can & decided to try finding someone to help me w/ my caulk dilemma. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed 2 employees a few aisles down & headed that direction. I had just gotten my cart through all the junk they had piled in the aisles & they walked right past me to discuss something they were inventorying. I followed them & just as I caught up, they took off again. I decided at that point to give up on the caulk, but I had to pass that aisle on my way to look for something else. Just as I went by, I noticed an employee had just entered that dept. He was behind the counter, so I wended my cart through the narrow aisles & just as I made it up the counter, he picked up the phone, dialed, & held up his finger for me to wait. I DON'T THINK SO!

So I went off in a bit of a huff, getting more fed up by the minute. I noticed they had a Shark Steam Mop on sale, so I had a look, & debated w/ myself if I should go for it. There was an employee nearby (& she didn't take off as soon as I approached!) & I asked her if I bought it & discovered that I didn't like it, if I'd be able to return it. She said she didn't see why not, so I decided to take the plunge.

On my way to the register, I noticed there was another employee in the housewares dept that was a bit older (& perhaps a bit more knowledgeable), so I thought I'd ask her about the steam mop. She said she had to go to the warehouse (oh dear) to look for something for another customer, but could she come back & help me? I said that'd be fine & proceeded to wait. She showed up about 10 minutes later & looked surprised to see me, I heard her say, "oh yeah." I think I was lucky she happened by, or I could've been waiting for a LONG time.

I asked if she knew of anyone who had one. She did not, but she said that they sold lots of the mops. Then I asked her if I bought it & didn't like it, if I could return it. She said yes, but I wanted to clarify to be sure (It was on sale, but not THAT cheap). So I asked how I'd go about doing that b/c the cleaning cloth would be dirty, so should I wash it first, or just return it? She said, quite discourteously, that once it was used I couldn't return it (that's what I was asking, right?) b/c no one would want to buy something that had been used. She then suggested that there was another one on sale up front. She was headed that way & decided to show me. Unfortunately it was a 2-in-1 convertible vacuum, not a mop, but I didn't realize that at first, so I asked since this one didn't appear to have mop pads, if I didn't like it, could I return it. She then quite rudely informed me that "you can't return used items anywhere. That's not how this world works. No one wants to buy something that you've used. You can't just bring something back b/c it doesn't work the way you thought it would!"* So I told her I didn't want any of them then, & carried on to the registers to purchase the rest of my items.

Once home I showed PChad the tow rope I got & apparently it's the kind you'd use to tow a car behind you, not to pull one out of a snowdrift. So it'll have to go back. I told PChad he could do the honours b/c I am done w/that store.

*Incidentally, I noticed on the Shark website, they have a 60 day money back guarantee.

Sunday Pictures, week 20

Asher - 2.5 Years

Chancery - 4.5 Months

(Asher was sick this week, so he stayed home from church.
That didn't stop hm from wanting his pictures taken)
****************************************************************************

Chancery: "Oh! I found you!"

Chancery: "We're playing Hide & Seek!"

Chancery: "Do you want to play too, Mummy?"
Asher: "I suppose you may play with us."

Asher: "Just count to 4 & then come & find us."

Asher: "Let's go hide, Chancery. I have the perfect place for you."

Chancery: "I think you'll have to count a bit higher, Mummy, this may take awhile!"

Asher: "Ok, Chancery, just get in this bag & no one will ever find you."
Chancery: "Thanks, but no thanks, I think I'll find my own hiding spot."

Snowed In

After our snow storm yesterday I was wondering exactly what I'd find when I opened the curtains today.

Here's the way it looked yesterday afternoon:




And this is what greeted us when we opened the side door this morning:



Can you see the car? (or at least the antennae?)



The other side of the car


The front of the house


PChad shoveling!

It didn't take PChad long to decide that once he could get out, he was going to buy a snow-blower!

A Special Delivery

Since we moved to PEI, I've been looking for a supplier for the things I need for my lattes. I was thrilled to find that there is a coffee roaster who has a booth in the farmer's market & he sells decaf espresso. (I drink the decaf so I can justify having one everyday). He's been really great at helping me try to supply my other coffee needs.

There's also a coffee shop in town that sells lattes, cappuccinos, etc. They have Torani syrups (my preferred brand), so I asked if I could buy them by the bottle from them. They agreed & I purchased some from what they had in stock. They tend to have a limited selection, so I decided to ask the manager if I could order the other flavours that I wanted. She never called me back, so after a few days I called to ask again & was told that the flavours I requested aren't flavours that they stock (which I was aware of). So I asked, once again, if I could order the other flavours. When I finally got an answer from the manager, it wasn't much of an answer, she said she'd check w/ her supplier when she placed her next order (in the next few days). Two weeks later, when I was finally able to get ahold of her again, she gave me the same answer again, claiming she hadn't remembered to ask the supplier. It's now been a month since our last conversation & I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I emailed the farmer's market guy & asked him if he knew of a supplier & he sent me the link for a few sites. I looked around, found one that had the best prices & selection, placed my order, & w/in a week they were delivered to my front door (w/ much complaining from the delivery guy, apparently a case of Torani syrups is a bit heavy)! I got a significant discount for ordering by the case & I could pick whatever syrups I wanted to fill it. I got a few new ones that I hadn't tried before & I'm just thrilled that I have choices other than Vanilla, French Vanilla, & Chocolate Bianco! Not that I mind those flavours, but it's nice to have a bit more variety again.

Anyway, I ordered from BevTech, & was totally happy w/ their prices, selection & customer service. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for espresso products.

If you live in the area, feel free to stop by & I'll be happy to host you in my mini espresso shop!