Another Cutie got a Haircut

Isn't she sweet? I absolutely loved her long curly hair, but Adara is so active, her hair was always a rumpled mess. As well, she has never been very 'girly' when it comes to her hair, she dislikes any kind of hair clips or braids or...well, anything, really...so I finally conceded and asked her if she wanted her hair cut to her chin "just like Mommy's". She's thrilled with it, her Daddy thinks she's adorable, and although I miss the long curls, I do think it suits her.

Mama got bored...

...and Connor got a homemade haircut!

Trevor's barber refused the last time we asked him to cut Con's hair, and he was getting shaggy. I was a little nervous about the whole thing, but fortunately, he has no fear and the only trouble I had was that he wanted to play with the clippers rather than let me use them on his head. Seems to me he looks so much more like a little boy now rather than a toddler...

So Grateful

The day started off very poorly - Connor awoke shortly after six, and both kids were cranky. I wandered out into the main part of the house to find an assortment of leftover birthday decorations from yesterday, but nothing new for me. I felt sorry for myself.

And then, little by little, greetings started trickling in. An email here, a phone call there, a package and two cards in the mail. I went out to lunch with Mom and the kids, and Mom and Adara surprised me with roses. Two more emails in the afternoon, and then Trevor came home early and surprised me with some lovely gifts. A tasty supper and some chocolate cake finished the evening's celebrations.

I am left feeling so grateful. I get caught up in my own little world up here, absorbed in my home, my husband and my children, and I feel so distant from everyone else most days. What a lovely reminder that I am not nearly as alone as I feel. My dear friends and wonderful family members are still close emotionally, if not geographically. Thank you all so much. It felt like a big long-distance hug, and you would not believe how much I needed just that.

My Birthday Present

After much deliberation, I finally decided what I wanted for my birthday: books, books and more books. Trevor chuckled a little at my choice, but let me go ahead and load up the virtual shopping cart. I'm not into fiction very much these days, other than the occasional classic. There's so much I want to learn about that I'm really focused on the non-fiction. Here's some of what I'll be reading once my birthday parcel comes in:

Raising Maidens of Virtue: A Study of Feminine Loveliness for Mothers and Daughters by Stacy McDonald
Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time by Donna Otto
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
Building the Christian Family You Never Had: A Practical Guide for Pioneer Parents by Mary DeMuth
The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World by Jill Rigby
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room by Barbara Curtis
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald

Hurray for books! I'd been eyeing so many of these for months and months, but would have felt guilty spending a lot of money on them. Now I get a whole bunch, and I'll have fresh reading material for weeks!!

Happy Birthday to my girl

Our little Sweetpea turned four today. While the snowstorm did make most of our plans impossible, we had one very welcome surprise: the roads were so bad Trevor got to stay home! We had promised that she could have her favourite meal at Boston Pizza, so at lunchtime we braved the snowdrift-covered roads and slogged through to BPs. We ended up parking in the grocery store parking lot half a block over so that we could be sure we could get out again, and were very glad we did as for most of our meal we watched various trucks and cars get stuck while trying to park. As a grand finale, after a light supper at home we presented this:

and got this reaction:

...which made it all worthwhile.

So NOT what we wanted to do

And it's still coming down. Forecast says snow every day till the day after my birthday.

Recent Acquisitions

After more than a year of searching, we've finally replaced the old beige couch in the living room. We bought it and the matching loveseat when we first moved to Alberta over 10 years ago, so they've served us well, but ten years of various cats plus four years of kids have taken their toll. When we moved to our present home, I got two chairs from Ikea in the dark brown leather. I've been looking for a coordinating couch or loveseat ever since. Last weekend we finally found the set we'd been waiting for. They're fake leather (therefore less expensive and I won't be as worried about them getting wrecked) but they look and feel like the real thing. Trev picked them up this weekend and I'm really pleased at how much better the room looks. I know you can't get the full effect here, but the room looks so much more welcoming.

In more frugal news, we attended the first garage sale of the season - the public library had their annual fundraising garage sale, and we braved the crowds and got a few good deals. The most exciting find was this:

Adara was one happy camper! She's been eyeing them in the store, but I've been reluctant to pay $20+ dollars. This was brand new (still had the tag on), plays 6 songs with trotting noises(cute, but annoying), and we got it, a set of fancy speakers for Trev's computer, and a copy of the original "Wizard of Oz" movie for $30. I really do like hitting garage sales. What fun!

Taking on a New Challenge

I have accepted an interesting challenge, one that I hope will keep me on the straight and narrow with regards to my eating habits. I found I was starting to cut corners and eat more junk, and I want to stop that right away.

For the record, I'm off all refined sugar, refined flours, and dairy. I'm also avoiding fatty foods as much as possible, mostly because they upset my tummy. That should effectively cut out just about any junk food I crave, without making a big, fancy list of things I shouldn't eat.

Speaking of lists, I went to Staples and bought a little organizer today. I've been toying with the idea of getting a Palm or somesuch for my birthday, since I'm such a compulsive listmaker. In the long run, though, my frugality won out, and I went for a paper organizer instead. We'll try it out and see what happens.

Standing Still

There seems to be so much going on in the lives of those I care for that I feel like I am standing on the sidelines and watching everyone else roar by. My brother, his lovely wife and their children are moving to their new home this week. Ames is planning her move. Another dear friend is waiting to find out if she is, as she very much hopes, pregnant. Trevor's Dad and Carol are settling in to married life together.

Me? I'm fiddling with the details of life. How many squares should go into the quilt I'm planning? How should I tweak our daily schedule now that we can spend more time outside? When should I change over to the summer menu plan? And so on.

I suppose it's mainly because I'm waiting so impatiently to find out when OUR move will be. I'm such a compulsive planner, "before fall" just doesn't do it for me. I'll keep praying for patience. And that answers will soon be forthcoming. And in the meantime, I'll go back to planning quilts.

Spring Fever

We're having a series of days with highs a little under the plus ten mark, so it has felt very much like the beginnings of spring. The snow is certainly melting, creating the annual swamp at the back of our backyard, and we've seen our first butterfly, our first chipmunk, and our first squirrel, so we have high hopes that winter is indeed on it's way out.

The weather has also gotten my mind into "spring clean-up" mode, and I've found lots of new motivation to attack those projects that have been sitting around for the last little while. I really enjoy this phase every year, it gives me the energy to tidy up lots of little things that have been irritating me but that I've been too apathetic or busy to do anything about over the winter months.

I even bought a bathing suit! I know, it's a bit early for that, but I've been on the lookout for a Lands End swimsuit for quite a long time (they're so elegant yet also modest, which is a hard combination to find most places) and I got one on sale.

All I'm hoping now is that my body continues to fight off the cold the kids both have, so that I can continue to work away like a busy bee. There's so much to do, and only tiny pockets of time to do it in. Hurray for spring, and all the good things it brings!

Proof that I will never understand Men

Trev got a thank you card from his Dad and Carol, and enclosed was the gift from his Dad for being his Best Man. It was (I am not joking) Tim Hortons gift certificates. I was shocked. Trevor LOVED his gift - he said "Dad knows me so well!" and laughed and laughed.

I regard this as proof positive I will never truly understand the male mind. But then, would I want to? A little mystery is good for everyone. *grin*

Random Points of Interest

1. Our snowman, who has hung in faithfully since just before Christmas, has now officially passed on. Spring is starting!

2. I have acquired a harness for Connor. With his temperament, I figure the sooner the better. He wore it around the house today without any problems, but I suspect that once I add the 'leash' part, there will be some objections. I comfort myself with the thought that I'd rather have wailing then see him falling from a great height if I fail to watch him for more than a few seconds.

3. My little girl will be turning four in two weeks. She's spending a lot of time these days figuring out what she will be able to do now that she's a 'big girl'. Soccer, reading and adding are on the 'yes' list...using my sewing machine, staying home by herself, and carrying Connor have all been vetoed to her great disappointment.

4. The branches I cut to hang our Easter eggs on a week before Easter have grown leaves and are looking lovelier than ever. I've kept them on the dinner table because they make the whole room springy.

5. I don't really have enough of a brain to write a cohesive post about all of these things, but I thought I'd throw them out there for y'all.

Just Do the Next Thing

Little Connor is having a rough time at present, with a head cold, cough and teething all combining to make him a fussy, whiny cranky little bear who needs his Mama at all times. He's up a lot at night too, waking up because of the coughing or because of being unable to breathe. Poor little fellow. So a lot of our regular activities are on hold, and we're just trying to get through despite the lack of sleep.

On the plus side, I'm discovering that having a few years of parenting experience has helped me cope with times like these a lot better. Rather than trying to do everything, I'm focusing on the most important first: is everyone dressed, fed, and reasonably clean? Have I got a decent supper to serve, and a lunch for my Trev the next day? If those are done, I don't stress about the rest. Sure if there's some extra time and I can get some of the other regular chores or some laundry done, that's great. But I'm not beating myself up about it if they have to wait a day or three. I'll just keep trudging along and doing the next thing until I catch up again.

It's nice, every now and then, to realize that maybe I am getting a little wiser as well as older, year by year.

Listmakers Begetting Listmakers

Adara is just as into organizational details as I am. She needs to know the day of the week, the date, and the temperature as soon as she gets up. She loves to look at the weather report on my computer and give me a rundown on what the weather will be like for the next few days. And she delights in checking the daily schedule to see what will come next for activities.

The problem has been that my very detailed schedule is a little overwhelming for her. So when we were in Edmonton, I saw a small whiteboard for $1 and I grabbed it. We put it up in the playroom, and now every morning I write the day of the week and the date, followed by a list of the 3-5 most important things I want to get done that day. These can be anything from taking a walk to cleaning the bathrooms, fun things as well as chores, as Adara helps me with about 90% of the household chores.

This solution has really worked for us. Adara loves reading the list each day and reminding me of what's on it, and we both get a kick out of looking at the list at the end of the day and being able to say we got those things done. Like mother, like daughter, I guess. *grin*

At this Rate, I'll be Grey Before I'm 40

I knew my kids would be different - I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. But I guess I hadn't anticipated just how different they would be. Adara followed the general developmental guidelines pretty closely, with the exceptions of being a fairly early walker and her obsession with the alphabet and words. She was relatively careless and had a fair amount of bruises, but wasn't reckless. She would try to run away in stores but would never run far.

Connor, now, is a completely different breed. He is just over 15 months, and is pulling shenanigans I would expect from two-year-olds. He climbs like a monkey onto stools and chairs and from there onto tables and toilets. If he gets stuck and can't get down, he won't ask for help, he just walks off the edge and falls. His ultimate climbing achievement so far has been to escape from me at the grocery store and find a ladder - he got more than halfway up before I could catch him! Not only that, but he's really mechanically inclined and has an eye for detail. He can imitate exactly after watching you do something once, which means he can do things like switch our electric fireplace on and phone people on the telephone. I'm avoiding thinking about what this means for future escapades.

Furthermore, he's a very independent sort. Most kids will follow right after you if you tell them "bye bye" and walk away. Connor beams, waves goodbye, and heads off on his own. At 15 months. I'm not kidding. And starting yesterday, he started saying his fourth real word....folks, his FOURTH WORD is "NO". And he means it, too. *sigh*

Don't get me wrong, he's got lots of good qualities too. I love him dearly and wouldn't trade him for any other child in the world. But don't be surprised if I'm a nervous wreck by 40. Or even 36, which is only three weeks away.

Culture at Last!

Mom and I went to see Ballet Jorgen perform "Anastasia" tonight, and it was just lovely. Trevor gallantly put the little ones to bed despite their protests. Since I'm very reluctant to leave my kids for evening outings before they're at least one, these guys are really not used to the idea that Mama might be absent at bedtime. The ballet was totally worth it, though, and I'm really looking forward to moving somewhere with a few more 'cultural opportunities', so to speak. Going to the symphony, musicals, plays, the ballet, art galleries....all that good stuff.

In more mundane news, I'm going back to the menu plan system for mealtimes. I've drawn up two plans, a summer and winter mealtime rotation, and we'll tweak them as we go. Being the planning type, I've done up a menu plan for two full weeks (well, 6 out of the 7 days for each week, leaving me a flex day to catch up, eat out or improvise) for warm and cold weather. I've then done up a grocery list for each week, with all of the major items needed for the recipes listed, and added all of the recipes into the document so they're all together. I'll be able to add anything else I need for breakfasts/lunches/household stuff when I do up my shopping list Monday nights, but this should streamline the process. If you're confused but intrigued, I can email you the plans, they're done up in Word so I can fiddle with them easily. If you're confused and so very glad you're not a planner like me, that's alright too. Even I admit I'm a little obsessive about making lists and such things.