Wired Again

After a long month unplugged, my trusty Apple Blossom is once again operational. My geeky and debonair husband (he made me say that) finally gave up on Apple Care and replaced the hard drive himself.

Sadly, I lost every speck of data on the old hard disk. (What? Take a backup? Are you mad?) I did not lose anything critically important, but am nonetheless mourning the loss of my personal files. It was a hard lesson learned.

From now on I intend to update my blog on a more regular basis. Life has settled down in Inksterland for the time being. Babe is rapidly moving beyond the newborn stage, our house is comfortably sold, and I don't intend to start packing for another good month. It's all smooth sailing for now.

Super-Duper Thankful!

Our littlest family member celebrated his one-month birthday yesterday and gave his Mommy a great gift. Our babe slept seven straight hours last night! A new record!

Our little guy hadn't been sleeping very well since the weekend. I enjoyed some spicy East Indian food for supper on Mother's Day. The curry agreed with my digestive system just fine. When it landed Baby's tummy a few hours later, it went over not so well.

Lesson learned. I'll lay off the curry for the next few weeks. (And for the particularly observant, yes, I did modify this week's menu plan.)

At any rate, our baby's bad night on Sunday resulted in a series of less-than-stellar sleeps. He seemingly forgot how to sleep in stretches longer than three hours.

Until last night!

Here's to hoping the trend continues this evening...

Thankful

I have lots of big things to be thankful for in my life. Here's a tribute to the precious little stuff that also makes life great...

Watermelon
Chubby babies
Spell check
Three or more consecutive hours of sleep (still hoping for this one)
The Grouchy Ladybug
A gift primarily composed of nylon stockings, a flowerpot and grass
Call display
My husband's debonair good looks (he made me say that)
Unexpected groceries
Little girls in summer dresses
A new magazine
Slow cookers

I Admit Defeat

I shouldn't start blogging after nine o'clock in the evening, when my brain is half-fried. Apparently, I lack the required horsepower. Posts that seemed brilliant at ten in the morning are considerably less wonderful from the other end of the clock.

I think I'll go to bed instead.

Menu Plan Monday
May 12, 2008

I am stepping back on the menu planning bandwagon after several weeks. We've been blessed with many hot meals since Baby's arrival and our freezer is well-stocked with food. I haven't had to cook from scratch for nearly a month. It's been a wonderful break!

Here's my plan for the upcoming week:

Monday: Bubble and squeak (we'll clean out the fridge)
Tuesday: Slow-cooked ham and broccoli (with some adaptations, recipe from my new cookbook), steamed carrots, cabbage salad
Wednesday: Encore performance
Thursday: Beef curry (from the freezer), basmati rice, steamed cauliflower, green peas
Friday: Veggie lasagna (from the freezer), green salad
Saturday: Leftover buffet
Sunday: No cooking (supper with Ben's parents)

For more great recipes and menu planning tips, please visit Org Junkie.

Playtime

I'm often amazed by the innate creativity and playful nature of children. Today I enjoyed a quiet morning with our two youngest kids. Our (almost) two-year-old daughter spent the better part of an hour playing with a teddy bear, a blanket, the laundry basket and an empty yogurt container. She was happy as a clam, not concerned that her toys were simple and inexpensive.

As I prepare for our upcoming move, I am thinking about purging and streamlining our family's belongings. In particular, I've begun sorting through the kids' toys. It seems toys have a crazy way of multiplying and taking over space. I believe toys need not be expensive or fancy to be fun. Some of the best toys are simple and everyday. Therefore, I plan to get rid of most of the kids "non-creative' toys --- especially the ones that require batteries, are made of cheap plastic, came with a restaurant meal, or are broken or damaged.

Further, in our new house Ben and I plan to rotate through the kids' toy collection. We will keep many toys in storage, bringing out only a small selection at a time. When our house was on the market we put many of the children's toys away anyway. The kids didn't seem to notice toys were missing. I was amazed how much easier clean-up time became with fewer toys. The play room in our new house will be slightly smaller than our current one, so I believe less toys will be a great benefit.

Here is a list of some of my favourite toys for children. These toys will definitely stay within our collection:

• Wooden blocks
• Wooden train set with tracks
• Lego and duplo blocks
• Tinker toys
• Play kitchen with pretend food and dishes
• Soft puppets
• Dress up clothes
• Little people
• Potato heads
  
• Stuffed animals (I often edit this collection)
• Dolls with soft bodies and faces
• Play dough and tools
• Art supplies
• Lacing toys (for older preschoolers)
• Aqua doodle
• Puzzles
  

Life Is Good

Our house is now officially 100% sold. Babe slept six hours straight the other night. I received the latest issue of Craft in the mail today. And Ben and I are turning in early!

Life's Short

An aged turquoise minivan.

Four full car seats.

A trunk full of groceries.

Windows rolled down.

Speakers blaring Skillet.

(I see nothing wrong with this picture.)

Crafty Goodness:

Taste of Home: The New Slow Cooker

(Can a cookbook be classified as crafty goodness? Hey, why not?)

I possess a terrible weakness for comfort cooking. I love making soups, stews, casseroles and roasts. I'm into simple, homey recipes. As well, I am (more than a little) dependent on my slow cooker. It is one of my few kitchen appliances I could not do without. Lucky for me, comfort food and slow cookers go hand-in-hand!

I recently discovered the Taste of Home series of cookbooks and magazines. (The Taste of Home website is also worth a look.) I like many of their recipes and I especially enjoy all the beautiful pictures accompanying them! The New Slow Cooker is a gorgeous book, filled with over 200 tasty recipes. The book is conveniently divided into categories and even includes an extensive desserts section.

A few days ago, my good friend dropped off several meals for my freezer. The meals were simple, pre-prepared slow cooker dishes. A light bulb went off as I considered her gift. Many of the recipes within the pages of The New Slow Cooker could be adapted for the freezer. The slow cooker is already a time-saving appliance, but I can prepare simple slow cooker dishes and freeze them in advance! How easy is that?

I borrowed my current copy of The New Slow Cooker from our local library. I'm hoping to receive a copy of my very own for Mother's Day. (Hint, hint, hint.) I figure this book is an appropriate Mother's Day gift, as most moms spend a great deal of time in the kitchen!

Dreaming...

Now that our house is conditionally sold I am allowing myself to feel excited about our new home. In two short months we're moving to a new house! A big house! With a big yard!

I've been thinking a lot about our new yard (and the wonderful soccer fields out our back gate). Here are some things I am looking forward to outside:

• A compost bin. (I've wanted one for years and years, but we've never had a yard to call our own.)
• Choosing a tree for the front yard. (I think a mountain ash is the front-runner at the moment.)
• Shoveling the walk. (Yes. I do like shoveling. It's very therapeutic, don't you know.)
• Having a place for the kids to run!
• Our beautiful new two-level deck.
• Inviting friends over for BBQs.
• Having a place for the kids to run!
• Starting a little vegetable garden. I'd like to plant some peppers and tomatoes and sunflowers (because they're just fun and could look cute along the back fence).
• Planting some perennials in the front yard. Any low-maintenance suggestions?
• Having a place for the kids to run!

And you know the best part? Those soccer field will be an awesome place to set the kids loose and let them run ;-).

Crafty Goodness:

Itty-Bitty Hats
by Susan B. Anderson

I like to joke about the fact I enjoy reading books about knitting more that I like the act of knitting itself. I think this is because I feel somewhat intimidated by the craft. Some knitting patterns are virtually indecipherable, and the choices of yarns and tools and projects are practically endless. It's all rather daunting.

I love Itty-Bitty Hats because it is accessible for newbie knitters. I learned a great deal from this book. Susan Anderson begins at the beginning and clearly explains knitting terms and techniques. As well, her baby hat patterns are actually understandable (and the projects are terribly cute)! Baby hats make great projects for newbies because they are easy to finish. A simple hat might require a mere hour or two of effort.

Anderson's book motivated me to take a leap of faith. I finally learned to knit continental style, thanks to Susan's clear illustrated instructions. (I originally learned to knit in the less-efficient english style.) I'm slow as a tortoise at this point, but am clinging to the hope that my change in technique will pay off in the long run.

I highly recommend Itty-Bitty Hats for newbie and wannabe knitters alike.

Crafty Goodness:

S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop
by Diana Rupp

This year I'm working to improve my sewing skills. I'd classify myself as a "sort-of-experienced beginner" seamstress. I saw Diana Rupp's new book on the Craft blog and promptly borrowed the Sew Everything Workshop from the library.

I only wish such a cool text existed when I was studying home ec. in junior high! This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the basics of sewing. The projects are hip and fun, and Rupp includes tissue patterns for 10 projects right within the book. (I did not open the envelope, however, as my book was from the library.)

Rupp clearly explains sewing terms and techniques. She starts right from square one. Her book discusses tools, fabrics, notions, sewing machines, patterns and much more. The book even includes several quizzes to test readers' new-found sewing knowledge.

The Sew Everything Workshop is a comprehensive crafty guide. I'm planning to add a copy to my personal library.

And In Other News...

Yesterday Ben and I accepted an offer on our house. It is conditionally sold! Our realtor has slapped one of those wonderful C/S stickers on the sign in our front yard. Hopefully, that C/S will transform into a big, fat SOLD sticker by the end of the week!

God has been amazingly faithful to us through this entire process. A month ago I could not have imagined we would buy a new house and sell our current one. Our home was only on the market for 18 days. We had one showing and one open house. (I was feeling quite discouraged that no one was coming to look at our place!) Our realtor says it is a miracle we have sold so quickly, as the Calgary market is completely saturated and few houses are moving.

As well, our buyers would like to take possession two weeks after we take possession of our new house. We will have some grace to accomplish our move and clean up the house. Everything has fallen into place effortlessly, it seems.

Hooray and hallelujah! :-D

Is This Meant To Be A Compliment?

We stood outside the classroom door, waiting for the school day to begin. My five-year-old son gently patted my belly and casually remarked, "Hey Mommy, your tummy is all soft and squishy now." He paused and then continued, "You know, now that you don't have a baby in it."

My son began tugging at my shirt, and before I could stop him, exposed my soft tummy to the other moms gathered in the hallway. "And look Mom!" he exclaimed, "Your belly button's not an outie any more!"

Parenting Is Not For The Squeamish...

There are distinct disadvantages to having three children in diapers --- especially when all three decide to monumentally fill their drawers.

At the same time.

Our newborn babe managed to coat the very tips of his toes. While I bathed our littlest family member, our three-year-old's offering completely plugged the toilet. I'm sure I've seen asteroids that were smaller. The contents of our dear girl's diaper triggered Daddy's rock-solid gag reflex.

I'm convinced it was a conspiracy. Bedtime was inevitably delayed while Mom and Dad cleaned up the toxic waste.

How do single parents do it?

A Big Day

Today's date has been circled on my calendar for several months.  It is our newest family member's due date :-).  I can hardly believe our baby boy is nearly two weeks old already.

Today was a momentous day for our youngest son for another reason as well.  He reached a newborn baby milestone --- tonight his umbilical cord stump fell off.  

Our son has the cutest outie bellybutton.  (Just like his daddy's!)

The Birth Story

Our baby's due date is two days away, on Sunday April 27th. I can hardly believe our beautiful baby boy is already ten days old today. He was a precious, early surprise!

Timothy Mitchell Inkster was born at breakfast time on Tuesday, April 15th. I had been feeling strong contractions for several days before our baby's birth but I wasn't convinced labour was imminent. Ben and I were preparing to put our house up for sale. I had been on my feet, cleaning and organizing, so I believed the contractions were simply a result of my busy week.

I woke up at about four o'clock the morning of April 15th to use the washroom. I'd had strong contractions earlier in the evening but they seemed to fizzle out after I went to sleep. Ben rolled over as I hauled myself out of bed.

"Are you still having contractions?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Not really," I replied, "I think it was a false alarm." I waddled off to the bathroom.

I was shocked by a string of strong contractions within the next few minutes. Maybe it wasn't a false alarm after all ... I returned to the bedroom to wake Ben.

"Umm, Ben," I said, "I lied. I think we're in business. You'd better get up."

The contractions kept coming strong and regular. I ran a warm bath while Ben set up our birth supplies in the kitchen. From the bathtub I phoned our midwife, my mom and Ben's mom. The contractions were strong but not incapacitating. At this point I wasn't totally convinced I was truly in labour. At the same time, I figured it was better to sound the alarm early with our fourth baby. I didn't want the labour to progress too quickly. I was worried the baby could be born before everyone had a chance to arrive!

Our midwife, Kim, walked through the door sometime after five. She was soon joined by our second midwife, Cassie. Our moms also arrived around the same time. Kim checked my cervix and it was dilated to six centimeters and was very stretchy. I wandered downstairs and basically hid in the small bathroom off the kitchen. There were so many people in the house! As the contractions grew stronger I wanted a quiet place to concentrate.

I asked Ben to send our mothers upstairs. I just I needed some space. Ben finished inflating the birth pool and he filled it with water from the kitchen tap. Unfortunately, our water heater was not up to the task so the water was barely lukewarm. Soon after I got into the birth pool I started shivering uncontrollably.

It was time to boil some water (not for the baby but for the mommy). Ben and the midwives took turns bailing cold water out of the pool, boiling water in large pots on the stove, and carefully pouring hot water into the pool. Meanwhile, I found my "primal labour mama" and entered into transition.

I sat cross-legged in the warm water, closed my eyes, and moaned my way through each contraction. With my other births I found that making a low, deep moaning sound helped me to "ride the waves" of each contraction. This labour was unique because I experienced consistent double contractions throughout transition. I joked that they were coming "two by two" --- two big waves with a blessedly long break in between.

I lost track of time but transition probably lasted about an hour. The baby was posterior the whole time. I think his position caused the contractions to feel more intense because his kicking and movements were incredibly uncomfortable. As well, I resisted the labour to a certain degree because of fear --- fear that the baby would be born posterior. I believe the labour would have progressed much more quickly if I had been able to let go of my fear early on.

At the end of transition I shifted my position from sitting to kneeling on all fours. I rested my head on the edge of the pool. At one point I experienced a couple of huge contractions and felt the baby squirm and shift uncomfortably. I'm not certain, but I suspect this was when the baby turned anterior. I continued moaning and breathing and waited for the arrival of "pushy" contractions.

The pushy feeling never really came. I reached down and could feel the bulgy bag of waters still intact between my legs. "Will this go faster if you break my bag of waters?" I asked the midwives. They agreed it probably would. I told Ben to go fetch everyone from upstairs. (The children were all awake by this point.)

Cassie quickly broke the amniotic sac. It was completely painless (for the first time in any of my labours). The contractions still didn't feel terribly pushy but I now had an audience and I was anxious to snuggle my new baby boy. My body knew what to do. With the next few contractions I started to push.

With my second and third babies, pushing was a quick and easy enterprise. Each baby was born after only a couple pushes. This time I was surprised to discover that pushing required some extra effort. I don't know for certain but I believe I pushed for about ten minutes before baby number four finally emerged. It was actually an interesting experience because I reached between my legs and could feel his head descending down the birth canal with each push. I felt the soft wrinkles on the top of his head and could even feel him turning his head and wiggling it from side to side.

Finally, with a long push and a mighty roar, baby's head emerged. I took a quick breath and pushed his shoulders and body out into the warm pool water. Everyone in the room cheered. It was 8:35am. I snuggled our little boy to my breast as oxygen filled his lungs for the first time. His complexion quickly turned from grayish-purple to a gorgeous pink. I could tell he was born a couple weeks early as he was absolutely covered in cheesy vernix. The baby let out a few tiny cries and then cuddled quietly in my arms.

All three of our children were present for the birth of their baby brother. Our five-year-old, in particular, was enthralled by the birth. He was so excited! He practically fell into the pool in a effort to get as close to the action as possible.

Ben cut the umbilical cord after it had stopped pulsing. I delivered the placenta into the pool shortly thereafter. The midwives helped me to my feet and we slowly walked up the stairs and into a hot shower. Absolute bliss! Baby was passed from one set of loving arms to another as I got myself cleaned up.

I believe one of the best parts of home birth is having my own bed. I went straight from the shower to my bed and nursed our new baby. I then spent most of the day upstairs in our room. The children went off to grandma's house and Ben and I enjoyed a lovely "babymoon". I felt so strong and healthy! Baby was born over an intact perineum and within a few hours I hardly felt like I had just delivered a baby. What a blessing!

To be honest, my fourth labour was easy and difficult both at the same time. Physically, everything went extremely well. God has blessed me with a body that is exceptionally capable of carrying and birthing babies. I've never had any complications. However, mentally I did not feel prepared for our fourth baby's birth. We'd had such a busy week leading up to the birth, with the purchase of a new house and putting our own home up for sale. As well, I was caught off guard by baby's arrival two weeks before the due date. I did not feel emotionally prepared to deal with the labour and battled some fear.

Today, ten days after the birth, I can hardly imagine life without little Timothy. He is a joy. He is a calm, content baby and nurses beautifully. The children all love their new baby brother and I am totally in love with him too.

Quote of the Day

(Imagine this statement coming from the mouth of an exasperated Junior Kindergartener.)

"School is so boring.  It's just all about learning."

Baby Pictures

Our little boy is already eight days old. He is such a calm and peaceful baby. (He basically spends his days eating and sleeping.) I am completely in love with his newborn smell, grunts and sighs and baby sounds, and all the sweet snuggles. Sometimes, I wish our little one could stay a baby forever. The time flies by so quickly.

Our baby boy at one day old.

Baby's first bath.

We are Experiencing Technical Difficulties...

Life is a funny thing.  Wouldn't you know, the night I went into labour my laptop died.

It's dead Jim.  Dead.  Dead.  Dead.  The death rattle of an Apple is a fearsome thing.

Thankfully, my geeky husband has no shortage of computers at his disposal.  Apple Care should also provide a new laptop for me.  (When we find a moment to call them.)  In the meantime, I have decided to enjoy my "unplugged" season.

I believe it's no coincidence my laptop died within hours of our baby's birth.  Ben and I have entered an intense, but sweet, time in our lives.  We have a new baby and a new house all in the same week!  I feel God is giving me permission to focus on my family more fully, without the distraction of my computer.

Ben will let me borrow his laptop whenever I'd like, but I intend to limit my computer use for the time being.  I'll check in every few days :-).

And yes, I intend to post baby pictures very soon!  I promise!    

Happy Birthday!!

Our family is pleased to announce the early arrival of our newest member:

Timothy Mitchell Inkster was born yesterday, April 15th at 8:35am. 

Active labour started at about four in the morning.  Timothy was born at home with the assistance of midwives.  We were blessed with another peaceful waterbirth.  All three of Timothy's siblings were present, along with Ben's mom, my mom, my sister, and (of course) Ben.

Timothy arrived 12 days before his due date.  He weighed 8lb. 8oz. and was 20 1/2 in. long at birth.  (I am glad he didn't wait another two weeks!). He nurses like a champ and is quite calm and content.

I will share pictures soon!

The First Day

Our house officially went on the market this morning.

The same morning my three lovely children decided it would be a good idea to flood the basement.

(Okay, so maybe it was just a large puddle in the middle of the carpet. But still, my poor nerves can't handle that kind of excitement today of all days...)

Menu Plan Monday
April 14, 2008

Life has gone a little crazy for our family. This week we have a new house, are selling our current home, and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby #4. I am thankful to have Menu Plan Monday to keep me on track. Hopefully, we will not resort to eating out this week!

Here is my (loosely) proposed menu plan:

Monday: No cooking (supper with my parents)
Tuesday: Vegetable lasagna (from the freezer), green salad
Wednesday: Encore performance
Thursday: Whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce, steamed broccoli
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, raw veggies
Sunday: No cooking (supper with Ben's parents)

If you would like to see other great menu plans, check out Menu Plan Monday on Org Junkie.

The Budding Theologian

(I don't claim to say his preschooler theology is correct...)

You know, God's will is like soy sauce.  He pours it out.  But if He pours out too much on you, like if you pour too much soy sauce on your rice, then there won't be anything left for anyone else.

A Quick Update

Things are moving along in Inksterland. Ben and I spent most of the day cleaning and tidying our current home. Tomorrow our real estate agent will take pictures and prepare the house listing. Our house officially goes on the market first thing Monday morning.

Ben and I are both tired. (Exhausted. Not quite firing on all cylinders at this point...) However, we don't have much left to do. My pregnancy nesting coupled with a neat-nick personality resulted in a fairly tidy home to begin with. We should be finished all the odd jobs by tomorrow night.

Baby is staying put in my womb for now. I have been having some strong contractions over the past few days. Will Baby make his appearance soon? I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he arrived this weekend, but the contractions could simply be a result of all the excitement lately. If Baby waits two or three more weeks perhaps our house will sell before the birth. (Wouldn't that be great...)

Things are moving along at an alarming rate, but Ben and I feel surprisingly peaceful amidst it all. It's as though we are in the eye of a hurricane. We can certainly tell many people are praying for our family. Thank you for your prayers!

A Big Day

I can hardly believe it.

Ben and I bought a HOUSE today.

A really, really beautiful house. In an ideal location. With everything we could ever want.

This is the house we intend to raise our children in. The house has a walk-out basement and backs onto a series of soccer fields. The fields are directly across the street from our children's school. I cannot imagine a more perfect location.

Someday we plan to develop part of the walk-out basement to be my piano studio :-).

This house is a complete and unexpected gift from God. I am shocked at the timing of everything. Less than a week ago we did not know this house existed, and were not even thinking of moving for several years.

God has been very, very good to us. I am totally overwhelmed by His blessing.

That Little Monkey

I visited my midwife this morning. Apparently, babe has turned completely posterior. (No wonder so many people have commented my belly shape looks "different" this week...) I guess that also explains all the crazy "alien belly" bulges I've been experiencing!

I'm not too worried. Baby #3 also turned posterior in the final weeks of pregnancy. She got herself turned around during labour, and I suspect this baby will do the same. My midwife says it is quite common for later babies (#3, #4, etc.) to choose the posterior position. They have more room to perform acrobatics in the womb.

I can hardly believe baby's due date is only 19 days away. Could be any day now...

When Did My Husband Grow a Uterus?

My beloved is currently sprawled on the couch, sipping red raspberry leaf tea, thoroughly engrossed in Pride and Prejudice.

Is this normal male behavior???

Menu Plan Monday
April 7, 2008

I suspect this week will be an eventful one for our family. Therefore, I am keeping my menu plan simple and easy!

Monday: No cooking! (supper with my parents)
Tuesday: Homemade chicken and rice soup (from the freezer), fresh bread
Wednesday: Whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce (from the freezer), green salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Spanish rice and beans casserole (from the freezer), green salad
Saturday: Encore performance
Sunday: No cooking! (supper with Ben's parents)

Check out Laura's terrific site, Org Junkie, for other great Menu Plan Monday recipes and ideas.

Trouble

I think it is a bad sign that we have our favourite mechanic's phone number on speed dial.

Our van's transmission blew yesterday.

100 Things About Me

I've seen the "100 Things" meme floating around the blogosphere lately and thought I would jump on the bandwagon. Hopefully, I don't bore anyone with this...

1. I am 29 years old.
2. I was born in Saskatoon.
3. I've lived in three major Canadian cities --- Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary.
4. I have lived in Calgary since 1990.
5. Ben and I have visited every province in Canada and every major Canadian city.
6. We drove across Canada, from Victoria to St. John's, in the summer of 2002.
7. I was pregnant with our first child at the time.
8. I met my future husband on our first day of Grade 10. He was only 14!
9. Ben and I started dating in Grade 11.
10. We dated for almost exactly four years before our wedding day.
11. Our anniversary is December 29th.
12. Ben and I have been married a little more than eight years.
13. Our wedding was on a Wednesday.
14. We became engaged on a Wednesday.
15. We started dating on a Wednesday.
16. Our first child was born on a Wednesday.
17. Our first son was born almost exactly three years into our marriage.
18. Ben and I have three children right now.
19. I am (roughly) three weeks away from birthing our fourth child.
20. Our fourth baby will be born almost exactly six years from the conception date of our firstborn.
21. Adding up all my pregnancies, I will have carried a baby three of the past six years.
22. For the most part, I enjoy being pregnant.
23. I've been blessed with easy, uncomplicated pregnancies and births.
24. Our first two sons were born in the hospital.
25. Our daughter was born at home with the assistance of a midwife.
26. God willing, our fourth baby will also be born at home.
27. I believe natural childbirth is best for mom and baby.
28. Some day I would love to teach prenatal or childbirth classes.
29. I was raised Catholic.
30. I attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through Grade 12.
31. I accepted Christ as my savior on July 10, 1992 at Bible camp.
32. I was 13.
33. I started attending a Protestant church when I was 16 (after earning my driver's license).
34. My parents were quite understanding and supportive of my spiritual choices.
35. I studied fine arts in university.
36. At one time, I aspired to be an art teacher.
36. I have my BFA in Developmental Art (art education).
37. I minored in Museum and Heritage Studies.
38. After my first degree, I went into the BEd. program.
39. I dropped out after one year because I became very disillusioned with the public education system.
40. I got pregnant with our first baby to seal the deal.
41. Ben and I married in the middle of my third year of university.
42. At one point, Ben and I were both in post-secondary school at the same time.
43. We ate mostly noodle soup and our parents' benevolent leftovers.
44. On the day our first son was born, we had $30 in our bank account.
45. God has always been faithful to provide for our family.
46. Ben and I are grateful for our "early poverty days".
47. I play the piano.
48. I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 years old.
49. I took my Grade 10 piano exam when I was 19.
50. I taught piano lessons part-time for eight years.
51. I really like teaching piano, and plan to go back to it when our children are older.
52. I am now working on my ARCT diploma in piano.
53. Some day I would like to learn the cello.
54. I love deep, resonant instruments.
55. One summer I learned to play the electric bass.
56. I have a passable singing voice, but I wish it had less treble and more texture.
57. I led worship at our former church for four years.
58. I did not enjoy leading worship. I served because I was competent, not because I was passionate.
59. I have not been part of a worship team for almost five years.
60. I think God is still healing my heart in this area.
61. I love to read books.
62. I read my Bible every day when the children nap.
63. I really like the One Year Bible.
64. I also really like Kay Arthur's inductive Bible studies.
65. My favourite reading material is usually Christian fiction.
66. I'm a softy when it comes to Christian romance novels.
67. Some of my favourite authors include: Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Bodie and Brock Thoene, Beverly Lewis and Randy Alcorn.
68. My emotions are affected by what I read, so I try to stick with Christian books.
69. Ben and I rarely watch movies.
70. We don't have a TV in our house.
71. Ben and I each have our own laptop computer.
72. I probably spend an hour each day on the computer.
73. I love working on my blog.
74. My blog was two years old yesterday.
75. I am reasonably computer literate, thanks to my geeky husband!
76. I love anything to do with crafts.
77. I wish crafts were cool when I was in art school.
78. Last year I learned how to crochet.
79. I am learning how to knit.
80. I have been knitting the same afghan for almost two years. (Maybe I'll finish someday...)
81. I fear I like reading books about knitting more than I enjoy knitting itself.
82. My studio major in art school was painting.
83. I never paint now, but I have some ideas I'd love to work on.
84. I always have way too many ideas for all sorts of projects.
85. Some day I would like to write a novel.
86. I have the novel outlined.
87. I would also like to write and illustrate a series of children's books.
88. And open my own piano studio.
89. And open my own Etsy store.
90. And raise a great family.
91. God is teaching me to be more focused ;-).
92. I think my parents and sister are pretty great.
93. I know I'm blessed to have parents who have been married for over 30 years.
94. I'm thankful to have great in-laws too.
95. I have a wonderful circle of friends.
96. I tend to be introverted.
97. Being friendly and outgoing is a learned behavior for me.
98. I harbour an unhealthy fear of talking on the phone.
99. I definitely prefer using email.
100. I love being a wife and stay-at-home mom. I am living my dream.

Book Review:

Seventh Day

by Bodie and Brock Thoene

The Thoenes' A.D. Chronicles series rank among my favourite books of all time. I greatly enjoy historical fiction and especially appreciate stories set around the time of Christ. The A.D. Chronicles are fascinating because the series is based on actual Biblical accounts and extensive historical research. These books bring stories from the Bible vibrantly to life. In all honesty, the Thoenes' fiction has worked to deepen my Christian faith and my personal hunger for God's Word.

I recommend reading the books in this series in order. The characters and stories progressively build and develop. My favourite A.D. Chronicles book (thus far) is Sixth Covenant, which describes the events surrounding Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. I believe the sixth book is the best in the series to date. Seventh Day had a hard act to follow!

The series' seventh installment revisits several previous story lines and characters. At times, it felt as though the book played a lot of "catch up", reintroducing people and plots. In a way, Seventh Day felt a bit like a filler --- bridging the gap between the sixth and (future) eighth A.D. Chronicles books.

That said, Seventh Day is a brilliant book and quite engaging in its own right. Much of the plot centers around the Biblical account of Lazarus and his miraculous return from death. The Thoenes flesh out Lazarus' story and propose a compelling interpretation of the events.

All seven of the A.D. Chronicles books have found their way into our personal library. I believe these books will stand the test of time and continue to inspire readers for years to come. I look forward to sharing the A.D. Chronicles with our own children some day. The Thoenes are a gifted team and their books are always a pleasure to read.

If you would like to read book reviews by other Spring Reading Thing participants, please take a look at the Mr. Linky on Callapidder Days.

Big Boys Use the Potty

The potty training journey continues in our household. Our three-year-old son continues to wear pull ups and has an accident of some sort every day. It has been a difficult, humbling experience.

However, we may have finally turned a corner this week. Our son has decided he likes using the little portable potty (rather than the big toilet with a special seat). He has consistently used the little potty chair for the past two days. Yesterday, for the first time in many months, he was accident-free.

Even better, today at bath time (without prompting) our son took off all his own clothes, put them in the laundry, used the potty, and then dumped the potty's contents in the toilet! What a great display of self-motivation! Perhaps our three-year-old is finally starting to realize he can do "big boy things" all on his own.

We praised our boy a great deal this evening. His little chest puffed out with pride in his new accomplishments. I am praying this trend continues in the coming days...

And "Mom of the Year" Goes To...

Umm, not me --- not after missing the fact my young daughter nearly bit her own tongue clean through.

Last Wednesday I took the children to preschool gym at the Y to run off energy. For the most part, they each had a blast. At one point our 21-month old took a minor tumble and started to cry.

I scooped our daughter into my arms and snuggled her against my shoulder. She buried her face in my shirt and sobbed. After a few minutes another mom approached me and said, "She's bleeding quite a lot, you know..."

Sure enough, I pulled my daughter away and was shocked to find both our shirts covered in blood. I'm not one to panic at the sight of blood and I know a tiny mouth injury can often bleed like a geyser. I calmly found some tissues and mopped up the mess.

Our little girl stopped crying and assertively stated, "Go play now!" She toddled off and that was that. The trauma was over.

Or so I thought.

Fast forward to yesterday...

Our silly girl has quite a sense of humour and loves entertaining an audience. At lunch time she made a game of sticking out her tongue and making funny noises. I caught a glimpse of her cute little tongue and was shocked to see two deep tooth marks embedded in its surface. They looked like two huge craters.

How had I missed this for five days?

I knew my daughter had bitten her tongue that day at the Y. It never occurred to me to actually look for the damage in her mouth. (Seems like a fairly obvious first step, I know...) She stopped crying, ran off to play, and the issue was over.

Lesson learned: When a child is bleeding profusely it's usually best to seek out the source of the leak!

Menu Plan Monday
March 31, 2008

Here is my proposed menu plan for the upcoming week:

Monday: No cooking! (supper with my parents)
Tuesday: Creamy salmon pasta with peas (a hold over from last week), green salad
Wednesday: Slow cooker chicken in creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, brown rice, green salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Vegetable lasagna (from the freezer), garlic bread, green salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: No cooking! (supper with Ben's parents)

I you would like to check out other meal plans or recipes, please visit Menu Plan Monday on Org Junkie.

A Disclaimer

I would like to state for the record that I do not snore. Of this I am sure.

I have only been known to snore under the following rare and exceptional circumstances:

a) when I am great with child
b) when I am sick and congested
c) on Sunday afternoons

Otherwise, I never snore.

The Countdown Begins

The moment is sneaking up on me. You know, the whole birth thing. In approximately four weeks our newest family member will exit my womb, one way or another.

In the past I could claim a minor obsession with natural childbirth. I devoured every birth story I could find on the web. Homebirth, hospital birth, even unassisted childbirth. I read it all. I slogged my way through Ina May Gaskin's psychedelic tome, Spiritual Midwifery. I read everything in the homebirth and midwifery section of the library. I formed my own (rather strong) opinions and prepared for my own empowered birth experiences.

This time around I have given the upcoming event very little thought. I'm not exactly sure why. I still strongly believe in natural childbirth and prefer homebirth with a midwife. I've not read any books on the topics of pregnancy or childbirth. I have indulged in Jenni's series of hilarious birth stories. (She is expecting her twelfth any day now.) However, my birth research over these past months has been incredibly limited.

Last week our midwife came over for my 36 week home visit. We talked about preparations for the birth. (A birth that could conceivable happen within the next couple of weeks.) Suddenly, everything became much more real. I realized I need to get ready! I need to prepare myself!

Physically, I feel pretty well set to go. I have washed the baby's clothes, set up the nursery, bought those teeny-tiny newborn diapers and gathered most of my birth supplies. I feel satisfied that everything is checked off my list.

Mentally and emotionally, however, I'm not sure how I feel. I find it hard to fathom the fact we will have a new little person in our family. Even more, I'm not sure how I feel about facing labour one more time. I've sort of pushed it to the back of my mind this pregnancy.

Praise God, I've been blessed with three easy labours and births in the past. (As easy as labour can be.) I've had three normal, natural, uncomplicated experiences. I truly believe God has designed my body to give birth beautifully. I must simply step aside when the time comes and let my body do its thing.

Yet, I'm not as naive as I used to be. All my reading and research and experience has taught me that birth is a wondrously complex process. I also know that a certain level of pain is involved. It just is. Am I ready to face that pain one more time? To be swept along with the waves and to release my body to God and to the miraculous process He designed?

I will be honest. I'm not sure I am ready to do it all again. Part of me wishes I could skip ahead to the point of snuggling my beautiful newborn babe without all the pain and effort. What is my end goal? A healthy newborn baby. This time around I am less interested in how I get there.

And thus, my attitude scares me. Why do I feel so apathetic? This is something I must work out, and soon. I sincerely believe attitude plays an important role in outcome (in birth as in life) and I want to enter into this birth with a positive, God-honouring attitude. I still believe natural, midwife-assisted homebirth is the healthiest option for me and my family. I'm simply not as passionate about it all.

Nevertheless, in a few short weeks I will give birth. One way or another, this baby is coming into the world. I'm praying it will be a beautiful process once again. But most of all, I'm praying for a healthy, wonderful baby.

Brilliant!

Slowly, but surely, I'm learning to knit. I've run into a bit of a snag, though. How am I supposed to keep track of my rows? How should I count them out? I'm sure experienced knitters have a bunch of cool tricks up their sleeves, but I've resorted to tying knots in a leftover strand of yarn. (Not especially glamorous, but it works.)

Today I stumbled across this idea. Sheer brilliance! I've been inspired by Denise's Row Counter Bracelet. What a simple, elegant solution. (The bracelet works like a simple abacus.) I will certainly craft one of these cool bracelets sometime in the near future.

Curious Bedtime Apparel

A terrible round of colds has been working through our household lately. (I believe our family is singlehandedly keeping the kleenex industry afloat...) We've had more than our fair share of coughing, sneezing, runny noses and sore throats.

As is often the case, our three-year-old has fared the worst of the bunch. His cold turned into a nasty ear infection. For a few days the poor little guy's cough was especially horrible. He coughed to the point of gagging and throwing up several times.

As a result, our three-year-old made a habit of taking his "bucket buddy" to bed at night. Just in case. The other night Ben and I went in to check on the boys before turning in ourselves. We found our son fast asleep, sporting the following headgear:

(Please excuse the picture quality. The room was dark.)


We're not exactly sure how he managed to fall asleep with a garbage can on his head. (No worries, it was clean and empty.) Our son was thoroughly unconscious. Perhaps Ben and I were somewhat overzealous with the powerful cold meds...

Book Review:

Deceptively Delicious
by Jessica Seinfeld

This is a very cool book. A very sneaky book. A book about getting vegetables into kids' bellies (without them even realizing it).

In a nut shell, Deceptively Delicious is a cookbook filled with creative versions of everyday recipes. Each recipe incorporates a sneaky veggie puree --- a hidden shot of fibre and vitamins. Some of the suggested recipes seem quite outlandish, but are intriguing nonetheless. I am itching to try them out. Some of Jessica Seinfeld's most interesting suggestions include:

• Brownies (with carrot and spinach)
• Chocolate chip cookies (with chickpeas)
• Banana bread (with cauliflower)
• Homemade ketchup (with carrot)
• Macaroni and cheese (with butternut squash or cauliflower)

Jessica Seinfeld includes instruction for preparing and freezing vegetable purees. Some veggies are simple to prepare (like avocados) but others require a bit more work. I think I'll buy a few jars of organic baby food to try in some recipes before I commit to making my own purees. (Carrots, squash, sweet potato and peas are all easy to find in the baby food aisle.)

I also enjoyed Deceptively Delicious' vintage cutesy feel and gorgeous photography. Nearly every recipe is accompanied by a luscious photograph. (And cookbooks without pictures are just plain boring, aren't they?)

Check out Jessica Seinfeld's website for more information about her book.

Here's to all you sneaky moms out there!

Where's the Baby in the Bubble?

I wish I knew!

My baby ticker widget has been broken for the past few days. Apparently, the site that serves it has gone down. I am sorely disappointed.

I will try to find a new baby ticker. In the mean time, my pregnancy is 35 weeks and 1 day along today. The baby's estimated due date is April 27th.

It's a date that's coming much too quickly...

Bias Tape Bliss

Have you ever been baffled by bias tape? I certainly have. I know how to sew bias tape with hand stitching, but I had never learned the proper way to do it by machine.

Bias tape is less baffling now that I have watched Amy's hilarious "no swear bias tape tutorial". Amy's blog, Angry Chicken, is definitely worth a visit as well.

Menu Plan Monday
March 24, 2008

The upcoming week is turning out to be quite eventful. Our eldest son will be on his school vacation and Ben's younger sister will stay with us for several days. Ben and I are looking forward to attending Focus on the Family's After Happily Every After on Friday night. As well, on Saturday we are planning have some old friends over for supper.

Here is my proposed menu plan for this week:

Monday: Leftover night
Tuesday: Homemade soup (from the freezer), whole wheat rolls
Wednesday: Creamy salmon pasta with peas, tossed salad greens
Thursday: Stuffed pasta shells, cheese toast, garden salad
Friday: Pizza (from the freezer), fresh veggie crudites
Saturday: Lasagna, garlic bread, green salad, homemade cookies with frozen yogurt
Sunday: Leftover buffet

As always, thank you to Laura at Org Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday every week. Check out the Mr. Linky on Laura's site for other great meal plans and recipe ideas.

Brotherly Love

My husband overheard the following statement from our five-year-old son. Apparently, our son was (more than a little) annoyed with his younger brother. I'm not convinced our eldest son fully understood what he was saying...

"I'm five and you are three. You serve no purpose!"

Phew!

A great weight has just lifted off my shoulders. Tonight I finished. Finished. Finally finished preparing our tax paperwork.

Because Ben is self-employed, our taxes are somewhat more complicated than the average family's. (This next statement is a bit embarrassing to admit.) I was an entire year behind on our home-based business bookkeeping. (Thank goodness I don't keep the books for the main business.) It was a daunting task to wade through all that old paperwork.

But it is done! Complete and off to the accountant!

I think I'll sleep well tonight.

An Easter Blessing


I was desperate for a nap. Our two youngest children were asleep in their rooms and our five-year-old coloured quietly at the kitchen table.

"Honey," I mumbled, "Mommy is going to lie down on the couch for a few minutes."

"Okay," he replied, "I'm going to do my work!"

I was unconscious within seconds. An hour later I woke to discover my feet covered with a multitude of coloured papers. Groggy and half-asleep, I hauled myself off the couch.

"Hi Mommy!" exclaimed my son, "Come see what I did!"

Various pictures adorned the house. Jesus' cross was glued to the front door. A castle, complete with turrets and a moat, sat on the windowsill. God proudly surveyed the scene from the door of my china cabinet.

"You know why that picture is of God?" asked our son.

I studied the small drawing of a vaguely human form. "Um, no Buddy. Why is that a picture of God?"

"Because God is higher than the sun. And look! There's a picture of the sun!"

Sure enough, a cheery, yellow sun shone just below the drawing of God.

Sweetest of all were the many drawings of Jesus on the cross. Pages and pages of them. Our son had spent the better part of an hour contemplating God, Jesus and the Easter season. He'd quietly worked out his understanding of the story through paper and ink.

With simple, child-like faith.

***

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
(Luke 10:21)

Spring Reading Thing 2008

The weather in Calgary has been gorgeous this week. The snow has melted, the geese are returning north, and I've seen a few brown bunnies hopping around. Perhaps Spring is really on its way! It seems most of Canada is still buried under a mountain of snow, however, so I am not packing away our coats and boots just yet...

Once again, Katrina at Callipider Days is graciously hosting the Spring Reading Thing. I am looking forward to participating in her newest reading challenge. Because our family is expecting a little bundle of joy within a few short weeks, my reading list is quite modest. I've chosen to include six books.

Non Fiction:

Sew Everything Workshop
by Diana Rupp

The Riddle of Amish Culture
by Donald B. Kraybill

The Creative Family
by Amanda Blake Soule

Fiction:

Deadline
by Randy Alcorn

Seventh Day
by Bodie and Brock Thoene

A New Song
by Jan Karon

If you would like to browse book lists of other Spring Reading Thing participants, please check out the Mr. Linky at Callipidder Days.

Happy reading! Happy Spring!

Martha Was Right

I just finished reading the February issue of Martha Stewart Living. (Thanks for the subscription, Lori!) A recipe from the magazine recommends serving chili topped with ripe avocado because the avocado is a healthy alternative to sour cream.

Oh man. What great advice. The creamy avocado tastes so good on chili.

Score one more for Martha!

Colour Theory

Our five-year-old son has been learning a bit of French in school. The other day he decided to review his colours en francais.

"Hey Mommy!" he said, "Did you know that the colour blue is bleu in French?"

"Yes, that's true," I replied.

Our son systematically named every blue object in the room.

"Hey Mommy! Did you know that the colour green is vert?"

He named every green object.

"Hey Mommy!" exclaimed our son, "Did you know that the colour red is rouge?"

Every red object.

"Hey Mommy! The colour pink is rose!"

Every pink object.

Our son paused and thought for a moment. "Mommy?" he asked, "How do you say yellow in French?"

"Yellow is jaune," I said.

"Juane! Juane! Juane!" he repeated gleefully.

Our son pointed to his younger brother's shirt. "Juane!" he exclaimed.

"Hey!" our three-year-old protested, "My name isn't John!"

Harmless Amusement

So our five-year-old son has invented a new game. He takes unreasonably great joy in pretending to be a fainting goat...

Menu Plan Monday
March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day! May the luck o' the Irish be with you!

I have a confession to make ... I have been utterly exhausted these past few days. My feet feel as though they are stuck in mud and my brain is moving in slow gear. I have entered the final tiring weeks of a long pregnancy.

Therefore, this weekend I surrendered and threw frugality out the window. My husband and I made a trip to M&M Meat Shops and bought several large frozen casseroles. I plan to basically give up cooking from scratch for the next few weeks. I simply don't have the energy available. This is a short season of life, and I am trying not to feel guilty about caving to convenience! Anyway, I figure it is less expensive to buy pre-made casseroles than to eat out at restaurants more often.

That said ... here is my proposed menu plan for the coming week:

Monday: No cooking! (supper with my parents)
Tuesday: Shepherd's pie, tossed salad greens
Wednesday: Encore performance
Thursday: Spud special soup, whole wheat rolls
Good Friday: Fish fillets, whole grain rice, steamed green beans with almonds, cabbage salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Easter Sunday: Stuffed pasta shells, cheese toast, caesar salad

Special thanks to Laura for hosting Menu Plan Monday every week. Please check out Org Junkie for many other terrific menus and recipes.

The Intrepid Traveller

"Hey Mommy, know what?"

"What Buddy?"

"When I'm a man I'm gonna drive all the way to the top of Canada!"

"That sounds cool."

"Yeah ... so, umm, do you think I could borrow your van?"

The Pink Spot?

Waking up this morning with my eyes glued shut was not a pleasant experience.

Pink eye??! Yuck!

Here's some good news: Polysporin makes over-the-counter antibiotic eye drops, so I don't need to wait for a doctor's appointment. Relief is coming very, very soon.

I am just praying no one else in our family catches this!

Thirsty

I think the switch to Daylight Savings Time has thrown the kids off a bit. The boys have been in bed for more than an hour now, and they are still not asleep. A few minutes ago our eldest son called me into his room.

"Mommy," he said, "I just need you to do something for me."

"What's that?"

"Well, you know, my tummy is really dry," he explained.

I didn't understand his point. "You mean the skin on your tummy is dry. Do you need some lotion?"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "No Mommy! The inside of my tummy is dry."

Of course, our son was angling for a drink of water. It was a classic bedtime stall tactic, to be sure, but I did bring him a tiny drink. I had to give the guy credit for creative communication!

Menu Plan Monday
March 10, 2008

I am looking forward to this week. On Thursday I will celebrate my First Annual 29th Birthday, and Ben will cook supper for me. My sister is bringing over a decadent cheesecake for dessert that night, too! As well, my sweetie is taking me out to supper and a concert on Saturday. It is shaping up to be a fun week.

Here is my proposed menu plan:

Monday: Crock pot chili with cornmeal muffins (a hold over from last week)
Tuesday: Cheesy chicken vermicelli, green salad, steamed asparagus and garlic bread
Wednesday: Leftover night
Thursday: BBQ salmon burgers, baked beans, cabbage noodle salad and cheesecake!
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: No cooking! (supper out at a restaurant)
Sunday: Homemade lasagna, green salad and cheese toast

I am planning to make large batches of the chili and lasagna so I can freeze the extras. About a week ago I bought a sizable order of organic ground beef. The meat is exceptionally lean and tasty, and wonderful to cook with. Also, I would like to thank Tammy for providing two of my recipes this week!

Take a peek at Menu Plan Monday on Org Junkie if you are interested in browsing other delicious meal plans and recipes.

Happy cooking!

We Have a Solution!

Ben thinks we should exchange our paper shredder for a goat.

Hmmm ... might not be a bad idea.

Goats probably have a good page consumption rate. And no one is likely to reconstruct a document once it's been through a goat.

Do you think the condo board will approve?

We'll just stay away from fainting goats. (They're almost as flaky as mail munchers.)

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

So maybe my new mail muncher isn't so sweet after all. We are on our third machine this week.

And this one is not working.

I am not amused.

I was willing to give our flaky paper shredder one more chance this afternoon. Ben came home from Staples with an extra $25 in his pocket because the machine went on sale today. When he exchanged our (second) broken one, the store refunded the difference in price. I was happy with our unexpected windfall and was (almost) willing to to forgive our mail muncher for breaking down.

Almost.

That was until it completely stopped working again this evening.

I am willing to give the machine one more chance because I may have inadvertently tripped the overheat circuit. The manual says I should let the shredder cool down for half an hour. If the mail muncher isn't functioning normally by tomorrow morning ...

... it is going to that great big paper shredder dump in the sky.

And I am not bringing home another one.

A Man After My Own Heart

My Benjie must really love me. Last night he came home with a fancy new spatula and a matching ice cream scoop to go with it.

Now, if only he had remembered the ice cream to go with the scoop!

Farewell, Old Friend

I was nearly finished making a batch of peanut butter rice crispy squares. Carefully, I poured the cereal into the gooey peanut butter. I grabbed my spatula and quickly stirred the hot mixture.

Disaster struck.

My spatula. My favourite silicon spatula. Broke. Snapped right in half.

I nearly cried. I love that spatula and use it practically every day. I feel as though I've lost my culinary left arm.

Ah well. My birthday is coming up next week. And nothing says "I love you" like a spatula ... especially a fancy new silicon one. ;-)

The Mail Muncher

I've been working my way through a stack of bookkeeping and paperwork in preparation for tax season. My goal was to have everything ready for our accountant by the end of February. (Unfortunately, that deadline has already flown past...) I'm nearly there, though. Just a couple more evenings to go.

Last week I spent a few evenings sorting and organizing our personal files. I purged. I colour-coded. I alphabetized and categorized. Our files are now a thing of beauty! Ben teased and accused me of "hardcore nesting". I reminded him that sorting through files was a far cry from "hardcore nesting" activities like renovating the house!

My purging and sorting resulted in a large box of unwanted papers. Sensitive papers. Papers I wouldn't feel comfortable simply tossing in the recycling bin. So this weekend I made a responsible technological purchase. I bought a paper shredder. A really cool paper shredder.

Our son has affectionately dubbed our new paper shredding wonder the Mail Muncher. He diligently helped me sort and shred hundreds of sheets this afternoon (under very close supervision). I think he especially enjoyed emptying the bin of shredded paper bits. Our son oohed and aahed every time coloured papers spiced up the mix.

Even with this afternoon's work, we still have most of the paper pile left to shred. I wouldn't want to burn out our handy new machine by shredding it all at once. We'll slowly work our way through the mountain, a bit each day.

I must say ... the Mail Muncher has earned a place among my favourite household machines. We'll put our new toy to good use in the coming days.

O Canada

This afternoon our five-year-old found a lucky penny in a parking lot. He twirled the coin between his fingers and carefully examined its inscription.

"Ca-na-da," he carefully spelled out. "Canada! That's where we live!"

"Yup. Sure is, Buddy."

Our son climbed into the van and I buckled him into his seat. As I drove through traffic, he continued to examine his coin.

"You know, Mommy," he called from the back seat, "I know why they call it Canada."

"Oh really?" I asked, "Why is that?"

"Because nada means nothing, right Mommy?" he inquired.

"Well, yes. That's true," I agreed.

"But we live in Can-nada. In Can-nada we don't have nothing. We have everything!"

His five-year-old logic astounded me.

"You're absolutely right," I said, "We are very blessed to live in wonderful country like Can-nada."

"Just Call Me Your Majesty..."

Our children like to play make-believe (a pass time I heartily encourage). Some of the kids' favourite imaginary games include building elaborate space ships, going camping, and running a restaurant. As well, they often pretend to be royalty.

Kings. Queens. Noble knights. Princes and princesses.

This morning the game kicked into high gear soon after breakfast. Our five-year-old directed the action. He played the part of the king. I was assigned the role of queen, our three-year-old played the prince, and Little Sister was a lovely princess. The king set thrones (kitchen chairs) in the middle of the living room and wore a flowing black cape around his shoulders.

"Queen Mommy," he declared, "You must come and sit on your throne beside me."

"Uh, Buddy, I still have to clean up the breakfast dishes," I said.

"Queens do not do dishes!" he decreed.

"I'm afraid this one does," I replied.

The king turned his attention to the prince and princess. I hurried to finish tidying the kitchen.

"Queen Mommy?" asked the king," Now will you come and play with me?"

"Well, okay Buddy. For a few minutes," I said.

"Don't call me that!" objected the king, "You may only call me Your Majesty!"

And so it was. For the rest of the morning our five-year-old insisted on being addressed as Your Majesty.

Interestingly enough, the young royal was easily convinced to lay aside his persona in exchange for a plate of spaghetti at lunch time. He also spent most of the afternoon pretending to be a giraffe...

Menu Plan Monday
March 3, 2008

(Note to self: wasabi peas are not a suitable snack for a pregnant woman. Remember this!)

Here's my proposed menu plan for the upcoming week. Next week's calendar is looking more full than I would like. I'm hoping the recipes I've chosen will produce plenty of leftovers and some fodder for my freezer.

Monday: No cooking (supper at my parents')
Tuesday: Thyme chicken with roasted winter vegetables (a hold over from last week's menu), spinach and orange salad
Wednesday: Encore performance
Thursday: Crock pot chili, cornmeal muffins
Friday: Spud special soup, leftover cornmeal muffins
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: No cooking (supper with Ben's parents)

Hop on over to Org Junkie to find other terrific Menu Plan Monday meals.