Cheap Entertainment

After a long day of being cooped up inside because of the insane winds (gusts up to 138 km/hr), the kids found a way to entertain themselves.  I was getting dinner ready when Lennard called for me to come and bring my camera. Whenever he does that I know I'm in for some 'fun'.  This was the scene when I rounded the corner into the bathroom.  Both kids sitting on the counter with their feet in the sink... turning straight cold water on them!  At least we've told them enough not to touch the hot that I didn't worry about them hurting themselves with the hot water.  They had such a blast that we just left them there!  

Frozen

We took the kids to their very first movie in a theatre today.  About a month or so ago, we were driving past the theatre and I pointed out Lennard’s work truck out front.  I said something about it being in front of the movie theatre and Emma asked, “What’s a movie theatre?”  I hadn’t realized until then that we really hadn’t taken them to the movies!  I think Emma went with us once when she was a tiny baby, but she slept in her car seat the entire time. 

They were excited to get their own bag of popcorn, though Emma took one bite and then wouldn’t eat much after that.  We had woken Ben up from a nap to go to the movie, so he hadn’t even had lunch (oops!).  He loved the popcorn!  We watched the movie, Frozen.  It was excellent.  I really enjoyed it.  The kids did pretty good.  They were up and down a bit, but the entire theatre was full of kids, so it wasn’t a big deal.  Emma had a couple meltdowns, but she managed to make it through the movie.  As soon as we got home she ended up falling asleep on the couch.  It’s been a good day.  Completely crazy wind (80 km/hr gusting to 120), but thankfully we haven’t had to be outside much.

Another Year Older…

I’m not sure why this birthday has been hard for me… but it has!  I felt ‘old’ today.  Not exactly the best way to feel on a day that is supposed to be special.  About half way through the morning I ended up giving myself a pep talk about how blessed I am and that I needed to be a Pollyanna and ‘look for the good’.  Even though I still had moments of ‘blah’, the rest of the day was much better.

I was so touched when one of my good friends offered to take the kids for the morning.  She brought me a box of chocolates, a very thoughtful card (that made my day) and took the kids from 9:30 to 1:30!  And even though I felt guilty for not cleaning and getting stuff done while the kids were gone… I sat and read a book!  It was great!

My parents invited us out for dinner (I didn’t have to cook!) and we had a delicious meal of breaded steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, buns, etc.  SO delicious!  We had cheesecake for dessert and the kids had a blast singing Happy Birthday to me and then Ben blew out the candles for me.  Thankfully they only put 4 on the cake, so that helped!

The rest of the evening I spent at the church for a Relief Society activity.  The best part of the entire evening wasn’t all the classes (sorry!), but getting the chance to visit and laugh with so many different sisters in our ward.  I love our ward! 

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster day, but in the end I can say that even though I feel ‘old’ I am blessed to be where I am in my life.  I have a wonderful life.

A Sunbeam!

It was Benny’s first day of Sunbeams today!  I had a hard time believing that both of our kids are now in Primary.  Ben was so proud to be in with the ‘big’ kids and he sat so nice and reverent through the entire Sharing Time/Singing Time.  I was very impressed.

Emma is in CTR 4 now and did amazing as well.  The last few weeks she’s had a few meltdowns wanting to be with me, but she didn’t even try to come sit with me today! 

Being Primary President definitely has its perks.  I love being able to see their excitement throughout Primary and all that they are learning. 

True Canadians

Emma and Ben are definitely true Canadians.  They LOVE playing outside in the snow.  Any chance they get they jump at it.  Lennard was clearing the driveway this morning and the kids decided they needed to ‘help’!  Lennard brought out the t-ball set that my parents gave Ben for Christmas and they played all morning!  Ben has a good swing going, while Emma is definitely still learning.  It was hilarious watching them trying to get to the ball and then pick it up with their gloves on.  I’m glad that Lennard was out with them the entire time… I enjoy my warm home a little too much!

New “Toy”

After finding out that our oven wasn’t working properly (on Emma’s birthday), I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new oven.  We’d ordered it on the 27th, so it’s been a long couple of weeks trying to make dinner without a reliable oven.  I never realized how much I use my oven! 

 
                           OLD                                                                   NEW

The roads were horrible, but we made the trek in to Lethbridge.  It was a nice break from the house… especially since both kids fell asleep within 5 minutes from leaving home and slept until after we’d picked up the stove and fueled up!  So nice! 

We were grateful for a wonderful neighbor to help us bring the oven in to the house. (Thanks, Madison!)  The kids were jumping around and yelling about their new oven… and then had a blast playing with the box it came in!  I was more than excited to see the old range pulled out and the new one slid into it’s place.  I love it!  I love having such a huge window in it and be able to see everything that will be cooking.  I also like that there are three racks… and yes – I will be trying out the convection bake with all three racks of cookies very soon!

We definitely hadn’t planned on buying a new oven, but thankfully we had enough saved up from extra jobs and gifts (electrical, babysitting, and Christmas gifts) that we’ve been able to pay for it outright.  I love not having to go in to more debt!  What a blessing. 

2014 Resolutions

At the start of a new year I always wonder what the next 365 days will bring and what I can do to make it better than the past year.  There is always room for improvement… always! 

One of the projects that I decided to work on this year is called Project Life.  It’s a basic scrapbooking system that I’ve tried in the past, but this year I’m going to do it digitally and (ideally) have it ready to be printed in a hard cover book at the end of the year.  I’m excited to capture our everyday craziness and have a record of what we’ve done each day. 

As I was working on this title page, I found this quote about happiness and it made me stop and think that THAT is what I want to focus on this year.  To just be happy with what we have and not wish our lives away.  It’s way too easy to say things like, “When the kids are this old, we can do this…” or “When we build a deck, the backyard will be so much better.” or “If the weather would improve, we could go camping.”  The list can go on and on if we allow it too instead of looking at where we are and what we have and being grateful for it.  I love the stage the kids are right this very moment.  I may not enjoy the temper tantrums, but I am going to try to remember that it’s because they are growing and learning and healthy children!  We may not have a deck in the backyard, but we have a wonderfully huge backyard that the kids can run and play in without us having to worry about where they are!  The weather may not be pleasant right now… but we live in Canada!  I am proud to be a Canadian and sometimes I just have to be able to put up with the cold and be thankful for my warm, secure home and safe neighborhood.

I am looking forward to the adventures that we will have as a family this year!