This is Sooo Weird – take 2

 

   I am writing this post on Windows Live Writer.  Never done it before, just messing around on my computer, trying to figure things out.  This feature is sooo weird!  I had a whole post typed out, then pushed the wrong button and it was gone.  Note to self:  WLW does not save every minute like Blogger does!

     I am the least technologically-savvy person you ever met.  For example, not only do I not have a smart phone – I don’t have any type of cell phone!  That’s right.  If I’m out grocery shopping and I forget an ingredient needed and have to call Jon, I have to use a pay phone.  Or my personal favorite, just guess!  I can always go back.  I would rather make two trips to the store than drive around crazily looking for a freakin’ PAY PHONE!!  And then be seen using said phone.  SO embarrassing! 

      Cell phones look cool though – every person and their dog seems to have one, and text all day long.  I would like one, just because they are cute little accessories and I would like to look important while I’m out somewhere.  So important that someone couldn’t wait until tomorrow to tell me something, so they texted me right then and there! 

      I have the basics: email, facebook, google search and this blog.  I don’t know anything about configuring, or writing code, or creating a website.  I don’t have a cool little phone that can do a million things, and I don’t have an ap for that.  Somehow I get by though!  Maybe the first step to becoming technologically advanced (or just up to speed with everyone else…) is using Windows  Live Writer to post on my blog!  I feel like such a big girl already :)

The Twins are Four?!

David and JD chose a Superhero theme for their birthday this year.  I was hoping for a Firefighter theme, with a possible tour of a fire station, but nope - they knew what they wanted!  Besides, it's not MY party, but theirs...
    

Waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive!!!

Big Smiles!

Face paiting is always fun!  The boys are Spider Man and Iron Man.... and the girls wanted to be princesses, of course! 

 I was brave and let David and one of the guests paint my face.  It was fun for them, and I especially like my pale red mustache.  As you can see, the boys have only girl friends.  That will hopefully change now that they are in preschool!  Not that I don't love these little sweeties, they are great kids.  But, you know. 

Can't believe we forgot to take a picture of the cake before cutting!  At least you get the idea.  I opted for an ice cream cake instead of making two seperate cakes.  Less stress!

YUMMY!

And present time.  After presents everyone played outside until dark.  The boys had a great day, and it was lots of fun for me to plan and execute.  So hard to believe the twins are 4!!

Blessings

Early this morning cries pulled me reluctantly away from the thick blanket of sleep.  As I shifted to get out of bed I found David, curled in a tight ball at my back, looking so peaceful.  I can't imagine many things sweeter than a childs' sleep face.  I didn't even wake him as I crawled sluggishly around him to the edge of the bed. 

JD was sitting on the bunk bed stairs, crying his little lungs out.  He had a bad dream, he informed me.  As I picked him up I knew the real reason for his cries;  he woke from a bad dream to find himself alone in the room, his brother gone. 

As I calmed my little guy down my thoughts were split between little arms squeezing me tight and my pillow, the warmth of my blankets and the nice, deep sleep I had been enjoying.  Such a nice sleep doesn't come every night... often I have trouble getting to sleep and when I do, tossing and turning keep me near the surface.  So this was, like, feather bed in a five-star suite kind of sleep.

Then I thought of that Kraft slices commercial.  The mom making the grilled cheese for her little boy, then the grown teenage kid making the grilled cheese for the mom.  That one always makes me tear up!!  Not kidding.  It strikes some emotional chord inside me, every time.  It makes me sad.

Mixing in my head with the grilled cheese was a clip from the news yesterday...the mother of that little boy recently returned home.  Little Kienan's mom was speaking of the nights her son was gone, stating that they didn't sleep.  She and her husband split themselves between their children and stayed with them all night.  I would do the same.  How lucky, how blessed they are!!  How many parents are out there who didn't get their little one back?  Who for years, YEARS, are searching, praying, keeping in touch with the investigators, conducting their own investigation, staring at every stranger who might have the same coloring, or hair, thinking "that would be what (fill in name) would look like now"...  I couldn't even imagine a horror like that.   

I just squeezed JD harder, feeling his little arms around me, little arms that feel bigger than yesterday (another growth spurt?!  seriously, the kids hands are huge).  I hugged my little JD and thought of my little David all curled up in my bed, his sweet face at peace in deep sleep.  How lucky, how blessed I am!, I thought while tucking both boys back into their beds.  An extra two or three hugs each (which David was still asleep for, he didn't wake up at all, even through transport), an extra smell of their hair, an extra kiss. 

When I finally crawled back into bed, wriggling down into covers a half-hour before my husbands' alarm, I couldn't sleep!!  Where was the feather bed in the five-star resort? ?  So tired, yet couldn't drift off.

I am so lucky, though.  Blessed.

Missing Memory Card

  I have been searching high and low for a memory card or two.  My own memory leaves me to believe we have used 3 in the life of our Handicam.  I could only find one, the one in the machine.  While searching (I hope I find them so I can print off a ton of pictures and mail them to our families!!) I found a card.  It was larger than the cards I was looking for.  A mystery!!  I pushed it into my eReader and then hooked my reader up to our laptop and found..........

David

David

BABYPICTURES!!!!   I had found the memory card for our old digital camera!!  Couldn't believe it.  It wasn't loaded, and the pictures on it I do have a version of on my blog already, but there are some I had totally forgotten about, some of my favorite facial expressions. 

JD

JD

Looking back, it's hard to remember my boys being this small.  Then I see a picture and so much comes back to me.   

My sweeties

I am so glad I found this card!!  But seriously, where are the others? ?  There are specific pictures I want from them!!

Summer Pics

This summer is almost over.  I picked a few of my favorite pictures to share with you (sadly our camping pictures aren't up; I uploaded them from the camera but for some reason, it didn't work.  Will keep trying!).  Fun in the sun, fun with friends, and the PARK were major themes for our summer.  The boys had some great times!

         The boys with their buddy!  Little monkeys, the three of them.

The boys were so excited to find a fire hydrant at the spray park, being as how they love all things firefighter!!

This next picture is one of my favorites of the three rugrats, who have been together and photographed since they were babies.

These pictures are on facebook, and if you have seen them sorry for the repetition.  That is our summer wrap-up!  We kept it pretty close to home;  next summer I hope to amp it up with cook-outs, day trips, and more time with extended family!!

Simple Things

         I was reading in the Nov. 2010 issue of Shape that in order to be happier we need to 'Savor the Simple Things' (pg. 31 - Shape Your Life section cover page).  Instead of only celebrating the big things (i.e. promotions, reaching weight goals, etc) we need to enjoy little moments that count as well. 

        Of course there was a study done, one of those pointless studies that confirm for scientists what us common folk already know.  This particular study (in Psychological Science) found that the more a person earned, the less they savor the small things (such as a piece of chocolate).  This is believed to be because with more money to enjoy, the little things just aren't as important. 

That said, here is my list of some of the Simple Things I Savor....

*a brand new box (or jug) of Tide - I enjoy doing laundry for my family (it's dishes I hate to do) and opening a new box is thrilling

*a fresh, clean notebook.  Pens.  Pencils.  Pretty much all school supplies. 

*fireplaces.  I don't currently live in a home with a fireplace, but that's my favorite place to be on a winter evening, with hot chocolate and a book.

*driving through the mountains

*the evening of the last day 'on' for my husband - it's usually a movie rental night, w/popcorn and staying up late since he's off the next few days

*the smell of a bakery (this is from my childhood, my mom & I walking past the bakery to go to the Merc - to this day when I smell a bakery I am suddenly a little girl again walking with my mom)

*autumn leaves

*the feeling of elation when a party I've planned goes off without a hitch and is enjoyed by all

*MUSIC!!!!!  All kinds, from my kids' lullaby CD to a piano protege to Green Day's latest

*Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year

*dancing and singing in the kitchen while I make supper (I am a rock star and nobody knows!)


Now I have my list, so according to scientists... should I come into a pile of money I will still be happy, since I savor the little things.  How about you?  What makes your list?

Kindness Spree

In our neighborhood there has been a serious rash of toy giveaways.  I'm not sure what happened; this used to be such a quiet neighborhood, very safe.  Now this recent toy-dropping leads me to suspect we have some pretty great neighbors. 

For some reason my boys have been the 'victims' in this spree.  First a small quad was given, then two large (albeit broken, but the boys don't care) remote-control quads.  I started to worry then, what was going on?  Do we look like a needy family?  I know my wardrobe is in desperate need of an updating, but come on. 

The most recent toy to suddenly appear in my yard was a big ride-on loader, like those jeeps at Toys R Us.  Pedal-powered and awesome, my boys couldn't believe their eyes.  I asked their friends why it was dropped off and they named a family down the street... this family has 5 kids, the youngest being twin girls about 9 months old.  As I saw the oldest boy in this family return to our yard, a.k.a. scene of the crime, I pulled him aside and asked what the deal was.  He told me they had been trying to sell the loader on Kijiji for quite awhile with no luck, and that they decided to just give it to the boys.  I asked how much they wanted for it, and this young man said "oh, nothing at all".  I couldn't believe my ears.  I suspect this family will be hit with a sudden rash of baking! 

What is this world coming to?  Just when you think no one gives a damn about anyone else, something like this happens. 

See Yah Summer

Ahhhh summer is nearly over.  Thank goodness!  I know most everyone loves summer,  the endless days filled with friends, food and activities.  Me.... I love the two or three weeks of vacation when we escape the city and spend time in the mountains of BC.  I don't mind the hot weather when we are camping, boating, fishing, etc.  But back in the city baking in the heat and the snacking mosquitoes is not my cup of tea.  I prefer autumn, which is no secret to those who know me. 

This summer we did in fact escape to BC.  My sons went fishing for the first time as we stayed in a cabin my father-in-law rented for the fam.  I gave my arms a workout in a rowboat for the first time since girls camp.  My husband took me for an amazingly private quad ride on a beautiful mountainside trail (not private like THAT, you sicko es!).  I was able to spend some great time with my husbands' family.  It was awesome.  Then we had to come home. 

And now, waiting for autumn.  In a few weeks the boys will be starting preschool - can hardly believe it!  PRESCHOOL already.  I may or may not cry when I drop them off the first time... I promise to try and reign it in.  After a talk with JD about preschool and all the fun they will have, all they will learn, and the friends they can make, JD looked at me with big eyes and said "will you be there?".  Awwwww!   I explained that mommies don't get to go to preschool and he was upset, but only until I mentioned the fun and toys again. 

Also in a few weeks the twins turn 4.  I am having a great time planning the party (let's face it - in a few short years this fun job will be taken out of my hands).  They have decided on a Superhero theme - awesome!  After a detailed drawing of the cakes they wanted, much humming and hawing, and a cost estimate of the whole party... I have decided to instead purchase a single ice cream cake with the faces of both Spider Man and Iron Man on it.  Grrrrr!!!  Creating cake masterpieces is a skill I want to develop, and I enjoy it immensely, but I think this is the best way to go this year.  I can almost hear some of you thinking "geez, it's only a preschoolers birthday party, not a state dinner!". 

At some point this fall I would love to make it down south to see my family.  I haven't seen them since spring.  It saddens me that if I want to see my family I have to be the one to do the traveling.  Or the phoning.  Or the emailing.  I SO wish we were closer!  Not just geographically but ... just closer.  The pick-up-the-phone-just-to-chat kind of closer.  And more than once every few months.  Man, am I complaining, or what?!?!  Sorry guys.  The blog is called 'Thoughts and Stuff'... 

Yes, I can't wait for the heat to go.  When the temp hovers around 12 degrees Celsius, I'll be happier than a hippo in a muddy wallow!!  Who's with me? ?  And what did you do this summer?

New Stage

I'm not sure where I've been, but sometime during the past month my boys have grown up. Still my little men, yet things have changed.
The first big change was cutting pullups at night. A few weeks ago David and JD still needed Underjams overnight. One evening at bedtime I discovered we had used the last one and SOMEONE (okay, it was me) forgot to buy more. Instead of rushing to the store we decided to try gaunchies for bed and to my pleasant surprise the beds were dry in the morning, and have remained dry since! No more diapers to buy and it feels wonderful!
The second big change is a new friend. David and JD have made friends with a seven year old girl who lives on our block. Not a big deal, but their first friend they've made on their own, not simply thrown together because the parents are good buddies. I still feel strange when she rings the doorbell asking "Can David and JD come out and play?". Part of me is thrilled, while the other part feels confused. Are we really There now? Already?
Awww, it's all good though. My little Sunshines are branching out in their preschool world.

Cookie Monster

         Two huge brown eyes are fixed on me right now.  Attached to these warm eyes is an incredibly cute fuzzy black face.  That's right, it's my dog, Diesel.  He is staring at me with unbreakable concentration as I pretend to ignore him and type this post.  The reason for his vigil?  I am keeping a cookie safe for my son while he pretends to build a car that will fight a tornado with eyes.  I'm not exactly sure why the cookie is involved or why JD wouldn't just eat the thing, but here I am, keeper of a decadent treat that is currently my dogs sole purpose for living. 
      Diesel sits, wags his tail, moves his little eyebrows up and down.. little attempts to get my attention while I continue to pretend I don't see him.  If I should look his way he will undoubtedly look away and pretend he couldn't care less that I have a sugar cookie with pink icing bathed in sprinkles sitting beside me on the table.  I never believe this ruse;  the moment I turn away or get up, even for a second, that cookie will be gone, hoovered in a heartbeat. 
     When this does not work according to Diesels' master plan, his second attempt is what I like to call 'Best Friends Forever'.  He will come and lay at my feet, or even ON my feet, arranging himself into his most cuddly self.  He will then put his chin on my leg and give me this look that seems to say "I would do absolutely anything in the world for you".  Then he closes his eyes, feigning sleep.  Adorable, right?  Yeah, don't trust it for a second.  The minute I let my guard down that adorable sleeping BFF is going to snatch that cookie right out from under my nose.  Diesel has now moved to this phase and is snoozing at my feet.
      The final attempt in what my dog could only think of as 'Operation Acquire Cookie' is the old 'I'm Starving' fake-out.  Diesel starts to pant and look pained, as though he hasn't eaten for days.  I swear, he appears as though he is on the brink of starvation and that cookie is the only thing that will save him.  Diesel is a master of illusions.  I love that dog.  I wouldn't doubt he has more tricks up his fur, the only reason this is the final attempt is because I usually have had enough by now.  I tell whichever boy has me guarding his cookie "if you don't eat this now I'm giving it to Diesel!"  That works.
      I have seen dogs bark, jump up on their owners, whine and beg for food or treats that the humans are enjoying.  I am very happy that my dog doesn't do those things.  He has a more creative way for begging, using his assets as best he can, which usually puts a smile on my face. 
    
       On a side note, the car is finished.  If anyone is interested in a vehicle that can defeat tornadoes with scary eyes (includes fire hose for putting out fires), let me know.  There are a few kinks to iron out but it may be on the market as early as 2032.