Camping

The kids and I have just returned from a very nice camping trip with my Mom and Dad. We didn't go far from town, which was good since I had to come in yesterday for a doctor's appointment. It was super nice. Gavin has been asking his Daddy and Grandpa to take him fishing forever. So finally Pops took him fishing. Gavin was very excited by it and taken with it - even if his actual fishing time was minimal. Bronwyn went hunting for different flora and fauna with Grandma while the boys fished.

I had expected pretty ugly weather for the whole trip but other than Wednesday night we had beautiful weather. Pops made the kids a fire last night and they tried roasting marshmallows. Bronwyn didn't really enjoy that activity so much - I think she can't see the sense in wrecking a perfectly good marshmallow by cooking it.

The whole experience was great fun and the kids are just exhausted tonight - even after a nap on the way home.

I feel tired but very refreshed. The kids napped yesterday afternoon and Mom and I sat outside and chewed the fat. It was truly relaxing. My only regret is that Wes wasn't able to come as someone has to worry about feeding the family and paying the bills. Next time we will make sure Daddy comes too.

Still here

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. We are still here and still doing fine. The kids are having a nice summer. Last week was pretty iffy for weather. There has been quite a bit of thundershowers which has kept them indoors more than they would like.

We had a lovely weekend though. Tom, Pam and kids are down visiting with Mom and Dad. We spent Saturday and Sunday with them. Bronwyn has bonded with her big cousin Kennedy. Jared, Josh and Kennedy were just my kids age - yesterday!! I am sure it was just yesterday. Now they are big kids and they are so good with their little cousins. Being able to spend time as a whole family is truly a blessing. I have such great nieces and nephews and it is so fun to see all the adults engage with the kids. It is truly exciting.

The gang had an enormous water fight yesterday - which I think Uncle Tom started - is that right? Yeah - I'll blame Uncle Tom. Uncle Jon took over the middle of the fight and Uncle Wes finished it off. Are you seeing a trend!! The kids have so much energy and stamina it takes three uncles taking turns to handle them. Everyone was soaked by the end. There were wet t-shirts lying all over the deck - which Gavin felt obliged to keep wet by continuing to shoot them with water.

The Lawrence family came over in the evening too - so there were kids spanning every age. We are glad to have Shibu and Claudia and kids home safely from their trip to Guatemala.

I don't think we were 300 yards out of Mom and Dad's driveway last night before Gavin was asleep. We are headed off now to a little water park with Max and his Mommy. Bronwyn is very anti-water shooting activity so this should be fun!

A visit with the Pippus family

Tim and Sara and girls stayed at my folks for a couple nights and we got to spend some time with them. These are some of the people that I love most in the world so it was a real joy for me. My kids LOVED the girls. We went to the zoo among other things. What a nice couple days. We are all very tired now. The kids were grouchy and tired today so I kept them close to home, with a movie or two and some backyard play. I find they need that every now and then - and so does Mommy.

We'd like to welcome Samuel Hiller to the world. The little man arrived late Sunday night. We are so thrilled for Drew and Erin - they will be such wonderful parents. I haven't seen pictures yet because my bleep bleep email is acting up!! AGAIN!

We are expecting a pretty quiet week. Mom and Dad have gone to Saskatchewan with Jon and family. It seems like everyone else we know in Calgary is also gone or leaving. Really I think we are the only people left in Calgary.

Gavin is anxious for his good buddy Max to get home from his vacation. So far we have been busy enough that it hasn't been a big issue - but I am not sure when they are home and with Pops and Grandma gone - well it may be an issue soon.

On a roll

Hey - I am on a blogging role these days!! Look at me.

I had Bronwyn up to the hospital yesterday for a follow-up clinic. She saw the hearing specialist, a psychologist and a pediatrician. They all said that she seems to be doing very very well. Her speech is a bit behind - but no one seems alarmed at this point. They will send us a report with the full details in a bit but they were all very positive. I was very pleased because she even told the psychologist her knock knock joke.

While I was up at the hospital I poked my head in on our Church friends Kari and Drew. Drew is under a year old and is suffering from seizures. The doctors can't seem to figure out what is causing the seizures and it is a very scary and frustrating for both Kari and Jordan. I asked Kari today if she minded if I requested prayers on their behalf. For those of you who pray, please pray now for this family. They are walking down a path that is in many ways much scarier than the one we were on. There is so much uncertainty. I know they will appreciate the support and courage that comes from knowing that many are praying on their behalf.

Summer fun

Here is a swack of photos - they really show most of our activities over the last week. We didn't take any pictures of our Canada Day celebrations - except for the kids in their clean Canada Day shirts. They didn't look as white by the end of the evening.

We took them out to Joan's to watch the fireworks in Airdrie - they do their fireworks in the park right across from her street. I was worried that Bronwyn would be afraid but she loved it - she squealed and clapped and laughed. It was really cute. I was also worried that both kids wouldn't see the fireworks because of the late start time but they did. That is the problem with having Canada Day in July - if they do fireworks they can't really start any time before 10:30ish (and that is here in Calgary - it gets later as you go North).

I managed to get some house work done today. For most people this wouldn't be worth noting - but for me it truly is a monumental event. Between being physically tired and really hating housework it just never seems a priority.

The kids and I are pleased with our little garden that we planted - everything we planted is growing - some was even planted from seed. It isn't elaborate just a tiny little patch - but it is enough for the kids to get a sense of garden fun - which means digging for worms, right??

We truly hope you are all enjoying some sun and fun.

Oops

I should have said HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Summer days

Wow - we have been busy - but really doing nothing remarkable. Just goofing off here and there. We met some friends on Friday at a park and the kids played and had a blast. The park had a water play park which was great fun - for all but Bronwyn! She is not pro squirting water. She loves the little kiddie pool in the back yard and will splash and goof off - but just don't squirt her with a water gun or the hose or well really anything!

Gavin also found a very wee little caterpillar the other day in the yard and played with his new buddy for well... a long time. Until the lucky caterpillar made his escape! He is getting far more gentle than he used to be. I remember when he was two he played with a beetle all afternoon - the poor beetle didn't make it. Gavin started asking - hey why isn't he moving?

We also had a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house - Gavin has been begging to do this.

My world right now is full of little discoveries and big wonder. If I can force myself to slow down and try to relate to what the kids are seeing it really is pretty amazing.

I am so angry

Ohhh, I am just so fuming. I was reading this article on the CBC website and I made the mistake of reading some of the comments. I was absolutely shocked.

I don't care what your political views are or your opinions on the environment to even start to compare Steven Harper with the current government in Zimbabwe is seriously disgusting. These people who are writing these comments would never dare do this in Zimbabwe - they would be tortured for weeks and left for dead in the bush. The secretary general of the MDC, Tendai Biti, has been jailed on charges of treason, for making statements against Mugabe and the government. In a world where one of the opposition party cannot stand up against the government without being jailed what hope does the average citizen have. There are bandits of Mugabe's who have said they will kill anyone who does not have the stamp saying they voted.

My Dad can't get his sister on the phone because someone stole the telephone lines in her area. Poverty and despair are so rampant that some one thought to steal a phone line!

Mugabe and his actions are news now - but trust me it is not new. This has been going on for years!

I guess the fact that so many people feel free to post their own political views in a public forum such as the CBC website proves that our country is in a very different political position than that of Zimbabwe (or many other countries for that matter).

What makes me truly so angry is the people who commented can't see past their own issues and see the real tragedy in the making. To read this article and turn around and make comment on our own political situation seems extremely egocentric and blind to the suffering of others. Not everything is about us!

Wes keeps telling me that I should post this on the CBC comments, not here - but I guess I figure if people are prepared to make public statements like that in the first place they likely won't listen to me. Wes is likely right but I am not going to do it anyhow! So I am ranting at an audience who is not guilty. So this is a misplaced rant - I just needed to get it off my chest.

Guardian Angels

My mom always says that during the toddler years a child's guardian angel works over time. I always thought she meant that they some how manage to avoid serious injury when they fall off their bike or a chair or something of that nature. Here is a little story that happened in our house last week that shows how Gavin's guardian angel has been busy.

We had a visit from our neighbor Max and his Daddy. We were all outside in the yard. I had to come in the house to fetch something for one of the kids. Gavin followed me in the house. As he came in he picked up a couple of my old puzzle books from the recycle pile. The rest goes like this...

Gavin - Mommy, why are these in the garbage?

Me - They were in the recycle pile not the garbage.

Gavin - We can't recycle these - we must keep them.

Me - No, we have new ones and those are all used up.

Gavin drops the books on the floor.

Me - Gavin, pick those up and put them back where you found them.

Gavin - That's OK, you can do it.

Me - Gavin.

Gavin - Mommy.

Me - Gavin, watch how you talk to Mommy.

Gavin - You watch how you talk to me Mommy.

Now I turn around from my task and try to grab him by the shirt but miss. He runs out the door, giggling and saying (as I chase him) - You can't catch me.

By now he is a couple feet from our visitors so I stop the pursuit and say - You are just lucky we have guests mister!

Gavin - (saying to our guests) I ran away from Mommy!

Guest - Why did you run from your Mom.

Me - Because I was about to throttle him!

So as you can see Gavin's guardian angel has been working overtime protecting him from his pregnant mother. This is my third pregnancy and one of the few things that has been consistent throughout all my pregnancies is that I have a shorter fuse than normal. So you see he lives under a charmed star right now!

Don't get me wrong, normally he is a very good little boy - but he is after all three and a half.

Finally some sun

We have had a few thunder/rain storms today but thankfully the sun has also been shining for the most part. We played in the yard with Max and Isaac this morning. The kids had a blast. We have been doing indoor stuff for so long that it has really become a drag.

I cannot express what a morning outside with the kids did for my spirits! I'm a new gal!

We are hoping the weather holds for tomorrow as Wes hopes to get some stairs on the deck (so his pregnant wife can stop climbing up and down using a bucket and a great deal of luck). We also want to continue working on building our little garden area. We have a timeline now - I got excited and bought some tomato plants to put in - oops!!

Baby news

I had an echo early this morning (way to early for me). The tech told me that unofficially (the doctor needed to review the tapes) the echo looked great and the heart looks fine. So good news.

We even had some sunshine today - whoohoo.

The kids are in the bath right now, laughing and carrying on with Daddy. Bronwyn is becoming a real "daddy's girl." When I am changing her bum or trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do she says in a whining, pleading way - "Daddy, daddy daddy daddy." It is really cute actually.

Gavin on the other hand is having issues being apart from Mommy - which seems to include Mommy taking a shower! Sheesh. Oh well they are only young once. I truly don't hope he'll be standing beside the tub screaming and hollering for Mommy when he's sixteen. Truly I hope he isn't still doing that - it is a pretty scary visual!

Gavin is enjoying his swimming lessons. Oh no - a little naked girl has escaped the tub and found her Mom. Gotta go!

Hope

I have been thinking a lot lately about just how important hope is. Hope will make you hang on when every other indicator says to give up.

On a grand scale, hope is what helps many alive and struggling in Zimbabwe cope with their lives. On a smaller scale (although no less important), hope keeps the Mom of a sick little boy plugging away. Hope is God given - there is no too ways about it.

Recently, a friend of mine was describing an interacting she had with a health professional who wouldn't give her any positives about her son's development. The professional claimed that she didn't want the Mom to hang on to false hope and be disappointed. WOW - this blew my mind! What stunningly bad logic.

Hope is not about being disappointed if and when life fails you. Hope is about being able to hang on and continue WHEN life disappoints and fails you. To tell a parent not to have hope is basically telling them to stop trying. Thankfully, my plucky and very sensible friend put this advise exactly where it belonged.

I think of my family in Zimbabwe, hanging on to hope, because frankly that is all they have to hang on to. Mugabe can kill people, he can kill an economy, he can devastate land and destroy enterprise - but he cannot take away their hope.

We never have any idea what the future will hold for us. There will likely be joy and there will more than likely be sorrow. We gain nothing by losing hope, no matter what our current circumstances. Hope can be the comfort and catalyst that helps us rise from our current situation.

I hope my thoughts don't offend you, they are after all just my thoughts.

Mostly rainy days

We have been getting quite a bit of rain - which has really greened things up around here. It does look lovely. That is what I love about living in an older neighbourhood, there are so many mature flowering trees. This time of year is lovely in our little area.

The kids have been keeping busy - and so have I. I have finally started doing a bit more work again, since I am feeling better. We've had doctors visits and all sorts of goings on - nothing serious - just check ups etc.

Friends keep asking if we are finding out what the sex of the new baby is. We don't intend too. We have a good solid name we like for a boy but we have no idea what to call our baby if it is a girl. Wes has shot down all my suggestions so far.

Hey - so here's your chance - throw out some ideas to us - maybe we'll use it if its a girl. Wes doesn't want this baby's name to start with a G or a B (neurotic or what). And we have a preference for Welsh names. If you feel up to it gives us suggestions - I promise that we won't laugh at any - after all I already suggested Octavia (Wes vetoed it).

Bad blogger

I have not been very good at keeping up lately. Then when I sit down I feel like I just give a history of all our goings on and none of the real good details of life. I need to get back to more regular posts - I know - I just either never have the time or the energy right now. I have been suffering with a very bad head and chest cold - but I think I'll soon be over it.

We are in for a couple rainy days - so our outdoor activities are limited. Wes started our deck on the weekend, we also worked on our flowerbed and did some family stuff too. Bronwyn is feeling sick today - I haven't figured out what is wrong with her yet. She is very lethargic and a bit warm. She has been really clingy and sleepy. She is teething (2nd set of molars) so it could be that - but I am not sure. She doesn't have any of the symptoms I had so I don't think she has that either.

Gavin is full of beans as usual, but he also has been a bit tired today (and dare I say cranky). On the weekend I discovered that he doesn't really like steak that has been on the barbecue. If the meat has any charred bits he won't eat it. I felt exasperated by this and said, "I got used to eating burnt food, you will too." Sorry Mom.

A Day at Grandma and Pop's

We spent the day at Mom and Dad's today. It was so nice. We had lovely weather and I had no errands or chores to do - so we just hung out. It is so great being able to go in and out of the house without having to put on coats and boots and all the rest. So when we get outside and Gavin says "I have to pee," its not the huge issue that it is in the winter.

The long weekend is coming up and I think we plan to work in the backyard, as it is supposed to be nice. It should be enjoyable.

I am a bit tired and sore tonight - so I won't write too much. Tomorrow will be, likely, playing with Max, going to another friends house for a play date and whatever else comes our way.

I promised an update

The ultrasound went great. Baby Davis the third looks great. I even saw 4 full heart chambers. They didn't focus a lot on the heart as they will likely do an echo in a few weeks, but what I saw looked promising.

The kids are doing well. Yesterday during breakfast Gavin was announcing that he was a super hero and that he was going to save us - "after I eat my food though." Oh, OK - I guess I can wait. It is a jolly good thing I didn't need saving - otherwise I'd have needed more patience.

We spent the afternoon playing with Robbie and Carissa - which Gavin just loves - and Bronwyn too.

I promise a more complete and thought provoking blog at some point here - just not tonight - sorry!

Craziness

Wow - we just had a crazy weekend. Saturday we were at Mom and Dad's. Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill were there, as were Andrea, Ian and Janet (and kids) for a brief while. Shibu and Claudia came out with their kids and so did Jon and Cindy and kids. It was a wonderful day and the kids spent the majority of there time outside.

I tried to keep Bronwyn in a bit as I thought it might be a bit too much for her - but ever time anyone headed for the door she'd run to me with her shoes in hand. They came home completely worn out.

Sunday we returned after church to Mom and Dad's as Aunt Mary, Uncle Bill and Andrea were still visiting. We had such a lovely visit. I finally got to spend some quality time with my amazing cousin Andrea! What a great girl.

Again the kids were worn out.

The last couple days have been gray and a bit rainy - which doesn't bug me at all as it isn't snow! I think the kids have needed the time to regroup and rest. Also we received the Lee Valley garden catalogue so it feels pretty springy to me.

Last night Gavin was resisting getting in the bath (a sign of how tired he was) so his daddy grew impatient and put him in with all his clothes on. I didn't manage to get a photo. Gavin wasn't too impressed with that!

Tonight Wes was wrestling with the kids on our bed and Gavin decided to make a tent with the covers. He felt pretty honored when Gavin gave him the job of being the tent pole! After all these years he has finally arrived!

I have my 18 week ultrasound tomorrow - so I'll likely do a quick update again soon. I have uploaded some photos but I realized I am quite behind in the picture department. We have pictures from our visit to the Science Centre that we still haven't put on, as well as other shots from the weekend. I might catch up if I can - we'll see.

Where does time go?

We have been so busy but when I sit down to figure out what we have been doing - well it doesn't seem to add up to much.

It has been busy though. The kids are doing great. We have finally had some nice weather. Gavin wakes up in the morning and asks - Where are we going today? and - When can I go outside? I can't blame him - it has been a long haul and it is finally nice to have some half decent weather. And of course we are super thankful we aren't receiving kind of rain they are in eastern Canada - yoicks!

Two mornings in a row now Bronwyn has woken up and crawled out of bed (yes our bed) to go see her Dad while he is getting ready for work. When he brought her back to bed this morning she cried and called for "Daddy." I think she is becoming a bit of a Daddy's girl!

Here is a little video of Bronwyn playing the piano - I am sorry for the shaky video - I was trying to get her to not look at the camera and I seemed to create a fair bit of movement.

I am feeling better again this week - so far so good.

Ok fine, Nicola

So Nicola "tagged" me. I guess this is something new. She requested that I share 7 random things about me and then tag others to do the same. I am sure there is a greater good of peace and understanding for all mankind behind this?

So seven random things eh? How random is the question? They obviously have to be interesting but not too revealing. The fact that I have decided to wear maternity underwear for the rest of my days on earth (they are so much more comfortable - really) is likely too personal but saying that I won an award for reciting Casey at the Bat in grade 6 is likely too boring.

Add to that the fact that I am pregnancy and haven't formulated a solid thought in 4 months. And as always the compounding factor of the children - at this moment for example Bronwyn has figured out how to take her shirt off and is busily doing that while her brother laughs at her antics. This is a far more stressful task than I imagine Nicola thought it would be.

Fine, here goes...

1. I think my favourite song of all time could possibly be Tub Thumping by Chumba Wumba.

2. When I was a child I used to share my ice cream cones with my dogs - and it didn't gross me out. Now I have a hard time even sharing a cone with my kids.

- little recess to put my daughter's shirt back on and try talk my son out of taking his off.

3. I got one and only one D in University - it was in Statistics. The horrible truth is that I actually studied, got help and made an effort (which was super odd for me) and still got a D. I personally think they just make that stuff up as they go along!

4. I have fairly advanced theories about food. There are foods which I consider flexible (can be used in many different ways - eg. eggs, ham) and foods which are not flexible (ones that should only be eaten in their whole form - eg. apples). Then there are foods which I reject completely - like the melon family. It is a fairly complicated system - maybe I should hire a statistician to help me organize it.

5. Before I found out about my daughter's heart problem I could not have told you how the human heart works. I was thankful that it did - but I had no comprehension of how. I now know more but there are still bits that are hazy. This provides sport for my doctor friend Ali!

6. When I was very little my Granddad Watts told me stories about when he was younger. He told me that he was a soldier, a Welsh Guard in fact, and told me about being a guard in London. He also told me about the sewers in London (they are all made of cobbled stone - I guess) and how they are all paved. Just nice stories from his life as a young man. Of course, I grew up thinking that my Granddad guarded the sewers in London - didn't really know why - just knew it had to be important.

7. The first time I met Wes was at a church ball practice. I asked Andrea Reid who the cute guy at third base was? She replied Wes Davis. Now I thought I had already met Wes (the fellows name was Russ I guess - oh well guess I don't listen that great). I said - no that's not Wes Davis. Andrea said yes it is. I said - No, I am 99.9% sure that is not Wes Davis. Andrea shrugged and dropped it. Which is pretty amazing as she could have easily out ranked me considering she grew up attending church with Wes. Well - guess I was wrong - there is always room for error - you know that .01% chance!

So that's my random things. Now I guess the rules - of course there are rules! I now have to tag some others - so my apologies if this is as hard for you as it was for me. My logic for picking you - is you are avid bloggers whom I think won't have privacy issues - so forgive me if I got it wrong.

Tim and Sarah
Angela
Janet

Now for the rest of the rules - Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules in your blog entry. Share 7 random, or weird, facts about yourself. Tag people at the end of the post, linking to them. Leave a comment on their blog so that they know they’ve been tagged.

Buried in snow...

... and resenting it!

Sorry for my long absence but well - you know! The weather here is well frankly just shocking and I am not sure we shouldn't all write Weather Canada some nasty letters about it. I think it is time that this snow business just stopped.

It is so strange to feel house bound again in April. I have a water toy that the kids play with in the kitchen - I let them wear their swimsuits the other day as they usually get soaked when they play. It was snowing outside at the time - so this was purely an indoor swimsuit activity.

I took Gavin to see The Wiggles last week. It was great - except he fell asleep! He was so tired from the weekend and not napping - but what he stayed awake for he loved. He just loves The Wiggles - well not the new Wiggle Sam. Nothing personal, I am sure that Sam is a lovely man and a lovely Wiggle - but my son is quite resistant to change. He cries if I turn on The Wiggles and Sam in on instead of Greg. Oh yo yo!

I am off to bed - I am weary.