Are We There Yet?

Let 'Er Rip!

It is all about “Beyblades” in these parts as of late.  In case you aren’t in the know, Beyblades are spinning top type toys that are used to battle.  The premise is that the final “bey” left spinning is the winner.  These spinners bang, clank and bounce off each other and walls until eventually a winner is declared.  There are launchers, rip cords, battle domes and many more accessories.  Suddenly, Nate’s vocabulary is full of words like; Rock Leone, Aquario, Tornado Battlers, Earth Eagle, Saggatario ,Orso and Lightning L Drago.  I can’t help but chuckle when I hear him with his buddies repeatedly counting down, “1…2…3…Let ‘Er Rip”, and then watching them all stare into this big dome waiting to see who will be victorious for that round, with the last Beylade spinning.

It all seems pretty innocent and like always I am interested to see how long this newest craze will last.  However, I can’t see this phase ending anytime soon as apparently Nate is known in these parts to be a bit of a “metal master”.  A friend of mine overheard her two boys talking the other morning as one son asked the other, “What beyblade are you bringing today to try and defeat Nate, the grade one beyblade champion?”

Oh to be six again!  What is the latest craze around your house these days?

 

The House and a Heartbeat

I finally feel like our household is getting back to normal (kind of). It has been a complete gong show as we get ready for our house to go on the market this weekend. I am constantly working off of a "to-do" list and always trying to determine our best course of action to complete everything that needs to be done. 

Yesterday, dad and Judy spent the day with us helping with every job imaginable.  They washed windows, planted flowers, cleaned vents, and washed doors. Mollie was kind enough to take Ives for the whole day which was truly the biggest help.  Trying to accomplish things with a very busy two year old around is a very difficult task.  We are slowly but surely getting to the end and are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

On a lighter note, I got to hear my little babe's heartbeat for the first time last week- I love that sound!! All of a sudden things become very real. I am going to be 17 weeks tomorrow and cannot believe that I am approaching the halfway mark already.  I am feeling so much better than I was in the first trimester (other than the odd day where I feel like a really good cry would do me a world of good) and am crossing my fingers that I don't get hit by the tired bug again. 

This week is all house and then next week we are moving into Dad and Judy's for the week so we don't have to panic about keeping it clean for showings. I can't wait until we officially move into the new house!!

**I'm looking for furniture for Ivy's new room, any suggestions?  We already hit up Dufresne and don't really want to spend a bomb at e-Children- anywhere else for cute little girls furniture?

Terrible Blogger!!

We've had a couple of crazy weeks which have led me to be a terrible blogger- I'm sure you've noticed. 

First things first, my sister-in-law and her two youngest were in from Calgary for 5 days for a visit. She also was here to run the Police half with Jared and my sister.  I am vowing now, I will be running it with them next year after my baby makes his/her big entrance this fall!  We love having them in, but it is always a gong show with family at our house.

We have also been busy house hunting and had our hearts broken yet again.  This time 45k over asking and we still ended up 13 shy of the people who beat us. There is a happy ending to this story.  Yesterday we put an offer in on a house that has been on the market for just over a month (overpriced) and we were able to make them a great offer.  After mulling it over for the evening, they finally accepted close to midnight.  The offer is still pending as we are waiting on a few things from them, but if all goes well, we should be able to wrap by tomorrow.

With the excitement of buying a new house comes the stress of selling your old one.  While others may not notice, we look around and see to-do's and touch-ups everywhere. Tonight we will start the big de-clutter (while watching The Bachelorette of course) and try to get our house looking like a two year old toddler and a tired pregnant woman don't live there.

As this is the first house we're selling, I'm anxious to hear if anyone has any suggestions for getting our house into tip top shape?

 

 

 

Nathalie Jean

The concept of “filling buckets” continues to be on my mind this week.  Wednesday brought the much anticipated arrival of a letter from our “sponsored child” Nathalie Jean.  The kids love to hear from her and this letter was not a disappointment. Nathalie is almost exactly the same age as Sarah and she lives in a small town in the Phillipines with her mother and 3 brothers. From what we have learned about her over the past year is that she is smart, sweet, very pretty and a very good student.  Her life is tough but she has a very positive attitude.

 We first crossed paths with Nathalie when a representative from World Vision came knocking on our door last spring. Like most people, Blaine and I are always looking for opportunities to teacher our children about being giving and charitable.  Let’s face it our kids live a blessed life and we need to take every opportunity to discuss those who are less fortunate.  We knew the day would come when we would make the commitment to take on this responsibility as a family but we were waiting for the kids to be the right age so that they could be a part of the process.  As the four of us met with the wonderful young man from World Vision a year ago, we all listen intently to the details about World Vision Sponsorship.  We picked Nathalie because of her age ans story and we picked the Phillipines, well for many reasons.  Our hope was that our children could correspond with this child and develop a relationship of sorts.  Sarah and Nate both write individual letters to Nathalie, which go along with our family letters.  They are so proud to do this task.

 Nathalie’s recent letter was so heartwarming.  She was thrilled to receive some pictures of the kids and she writes,

“Dear Sarah, Your very very beautiful in your picture.  I'm 9 years old and in grade 3 too.  I like puppies”. 

 “Dear Nate, I’m so happy when I read your letter and also when I saw your picture your very  very cute.My hobby is reading books sometime i play badmenton with my cousin and brother” The kids were tickled pink.

The section addressed to Blaine and I went something like this,

“Thank you so much for sending me a letter again. I’m so very happy when I received your letter and also the letter of your two kids.  I’m so very proud when I heard that you are a teacher because my ambition is to become a teacher someday like you. And I’m an honor student in our class.”  She goes on to later say, “  I hope and pray we will meet someday together with your family.”

 As we fill Nathalie’s bucket with our monthly contributions to her community development programme in an attempt to help her family attain self-reliance, in return Nathalie fills our buckets with her heartwarming words and her gratitude.  Her picture on our fridge is a daily reminder of just how important and rewarding it is to give.

 “Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.”

-Brain Tracy

 

 

How Full is Your Bucket?

Some of you may be familiar with this expression and the book of the same title that goes along with it.  The premise of this once bestseller by Tom Rath focuses on “The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket” explained below;

“Each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it's empty, we feel awful.

Each of us also has an invisible dipper. When we use that dipper to fill other people's buckets -- by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions -- we also fill our own bucket. But when we use that dipper to dip from others' buckets -- by saying or doing things that decrease their positive emotions -- we diminish ourselves.

Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in that bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic.

But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. That's why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us.

So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another's buckets, or we can dip from them. It's an important choice -- one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.”Check out the book’s website for even more information.

Many schools use the concept of the “bucket” to teach pro-social skills and I was thrilled to hear that Sarah and Nate’s school was one of them.  What a great way to talk to kids about how we treat others and how we want to be treated! This picture book version  is a great way to introduce the concept to kids. I was even more thrilled when Nate’s teacher started regularly sending home “bucket notes” when the kids do something kind to fill someone’s bucket.  Nate was the first one to get a bucket note and on it Miss P wrote this:

“Nate filled a bucket today.  He fills buckets everyday and gave Miss P the idea for bucket filler notes! Thank you for making me smile Nate!” 

 My little grade one boy couldn’t have been more proud and even though Nate is now on his fifth or sixth bucket note he still can’t wait to show me them afterschool and he proudly displays each one on the fridge for weeks.

“The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket “ is a great metaphor for life.  It is simple enough for young children to understand yet potentially very powerful.

How many buckets have you filled today?

 

My Little Lorax

"My name is Maggie and I speak for the trees."
 
We have our own little Lorax in our house now that we have seen the movie.  It isn't a cheap adventure to take the monkeys to the theater but it was worth EVERY dollar.  I loved it as much if not more than the kiddies.  
 
Maggie brought the book home during the week as her choice of library book at school.  We read it 3 times and then decided to take in the big screen version.  It is so close to the book, the pictures, the words, the characters and most certainly the timely message.  The Lorax speaks for the trees and thanks, to Dr. Seuss, my kids do, too.  They sat completely riveted by the entire story and we all adored the Taylor Swift character.  Every tiny detail is perfectly replicated from the story book pages.  It is whimsical, dreamlike and I found us all tapping along to the songs they've added.

After the big show,  I listened intently to the conversation between Mags and Sades as it unfolded.  

"Maggie, why did that man have to live in that dark place and never come out?"

"Sadie, there were no trees, so there was no light.  If you have no trees then there is no sun."

"Where did his family go?'

"His family left because he liked money so much that he cut down all the trees.  He liked money  way MORE than he liked trees. Then his family was mad and they left...and so did the little bears."

"Maggie, Dad cut down a tree yesterday, is that bad for the animals."

"No, Sades, that tree was dead, so if he cut down a real tree then it would be, like, bad for the rabbits and they would have to move to another country."

Yep, I'd say they got it.  If you haven't taken the kids, go! If you haven't seen the preview, take a peek.

 

 

"You are Richer than You Think"

You may be familiar with this slogan made famous by Scotiabank.  Sarah, most certainly is.  An important part of being a Brownie is the “badgework”.  Recently, Sarah chose to do a badge entitled, Money Talk and part of the criteria of this badge is to open a bank account.  When I asked Sarah what bank she wanted to open her account at; she was adamant about Scotiabank.  Oh… the powers of advertising!

I tried to explain to her that it was really just a slogan and that generally all banks kind do the same thing, but she was unconvinced.  So off we went afterschool one day last week only to find Scotiabank closed by 4:00.  She decided we should try BMO, her second choice. 

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the Bank of Montreal was running a promotion for kids opening accounts.  With a minimum $25 deposit the BMO would then deposit another $25 into the account. The kids both opened a youth chequing account.  They were so proud as we went through the motions.  They loved answering all the questions, signing their names and walking up to the teller with their deposits. Now they each have their own bankcard (that mom will hold on to for save keeping, of course!) and they were very excited about the prospects of using a bank machine and checking their account details online with our help. 

This whole process was more about teachable moments and real life learning than the cash itself.  Although, Sarah is now set on saving up for a pair of rollerblades and Nate –Lego City Corner.  It was an extremely valuable learning experience for all of us and I am so glad we did it.  I can only hope this is only the beginning of a long life of positive and productive banking experiences for them.  The staff at the bank was so good with the kids  and Sarah and Nate left thrilled as apparently they are “richer than they think”.

 

Movie Night

Last week we enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable spring break close to home.  We had plans… but not too many.  We did stuff…. but not too much stuff.  We organized and purged in preparation for a spring garage toy sale.  We stayed up a little later, slept in a little later, spent time with family, spent time with friends and enjoyed a lot of down time.

 One of the best things I managed to cross off my to do list (right after clean the fridge and sort through the winter clothes) was the downloading of 4 years worth of home videos.  The only downfall of taking a ton of video of your kids is the maintenance and upkeep of it all.  We have most definitely watched little bits over the years but I needed to get it organized.  Yes, it took a ton of time, but time I had.  I downloaded, I burned and then we watched.

 What a riot!  They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  If that is the case then what is a video worth?  Nothing captures the essence of our children more than a video.  One evening last week, larger than life, clear and loud my precious little ones filled our big screen for hours in our living room.  As we sat cuddled on the couch watching these outtakes I couldn’t help but tear up at times; in awe of how they have changed and grown.  I laughed out loud at little two year Nate with his big eyes, his toddler voice and his endless energy…coming down the stairs on Christmas morning yelling the random word, “cannonball” as loud as can be. Or sweet, little preschool Sarah with her bangs, curly hair, toothless grin, and giggle that melted my heart; leading her little brother by the hand through the house and the clues in our annual Good Friday Scavenger Hunt. 

 We have many traditions surrounding video around here.  We always film the typical holiday escapades; Christmas Morning, Easter egg hunt, birthdays, just before Trick or Treating etc.  We do the school concerts and special events.  We always film a little on the first day of school before they head off on that big day.  If you are anything like me you are often behind the camera on these occasions and although you hear your voice a lot you don’t see yourself in too many frames.

 We have a ton of footage of silly, fun-loving times too…. extra curricular activities, New Year’s Eve dance parties, home based talent shows and summer days of dress up with Mol’s kids and the imaginative skits, plays and routines they come up with. One of the funniest is Sarah, Nate and Ty attempting to reenact the “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” with a furry creature they had caught.  It seems at “take 15” I finally quit recording. 

 My kids LOVED watching these hours of themselves on video and so did I.  It warmed my heart to no end.  These dvd’s are some of our greatest treasures and will always be so.  If you haven't recorded your kids in a while get to it!  Document these wondruous times as often as possible!  And if you haven’t downloaded those clips off your videocamera in a while…go run…do it now…and enjoy every precious minute!!

 

Big News!!

I have some very exciting news to share, although I know I am jumping the gun by a couple of weeks. I am officially ten weeks pregnant and expecting our new little one to make his/her grand entrance sometime around Oct. 31st. Although the morning sickness hasn't attacked me, the tired bug has been wreaking havoc in my life. I struggle to keep my eyes open past 9pm every single day. I don't remember being this tired with Ivy, but Jared assures me that I was. I am anxiously awaiting that 2nd trimester turnaround where things tend to pick up a bit. I already have a little belly which I know for sure I didn't have until much later with Ives- oh the joys of number 2! The other thing I can't wrap my head around are the outrageous cravings I'm having. I get fixated on what I want to eat and then can't stop thinking about it all day long. I made Jared stop to get me smokies the other night because I thought I was going to die without one. Scrambled eggs, perogies, and raisin toast are the other big ones these past few days.

We are busy house-hunting now that the pressure is on to add a third bedroom and mostly we just can't believe how fast this all happened. I now realize how blessed I am to get preggo so quickly when I know other people struggle so much- it must be that Menno blood we both have. Boy, girl, we are excited about either and have firmly decided that we will not find out the sex again. Hearing "it's a girl", was the biggest surprise in my whole life so I'm hoping we can replicate that "not knowing" excitement.

I haven't been blogging a lot lately mostly because I've been keeping this little secret and because I've been sleeping. I am very excited to share with you my experience and to pick your brains about having two. It seems like just yesterday we had none, and now a second- where has this past few years gone!! Thanks for coming along with me on my new journeyxoxo

Art from the Heart

This past weekend Sarah picked up her latest creations from her second round of pottery classes.  She returned home pleased as can be and so proud of her handiworks.  She LOVES these classes and there seems to be no stopping her.  She starts her next session in early April and I can’t wait to see what they make in the spring. 

Sarah eagerly bestows her pottery to others as gifts.  I have grown very attached to the cat mug she gave me and use it proudly at work each and every day.  Her brother is now the lucky owner of the fish sculpture, her dad a cow, and her grandma and grandpa proudly display a wishing well.  My favourite piece Sarah has made is the heart shaped jewelry box, which she gave me for my birthday.  There is certainly no better gift than something homemade… created and prepared in the little hands of our favourite little people.

The other day I wrote about treasures.   There is no doubt that these pottery creations are ones we will treasure in our family for many years to come.