So we’re on the final day of November and I have one last catch up to do…
Today I am recording my gratitude for:
1. The sweetest dog that ever there was. I have a series of photos of her sleeping on that cushion over the years, but this is the first one of her laughing with it…I love this dog so much. The only time she ever annoys me is when people come over and she wants to get too cozy with them (and really, she just wants to stand really close to them, she doesn’t jump or bark or anything too super obnoxious) other than that she is pretty much perfect. Considering she was a rescue whom we knew absolutely nothing about when we adopted her, we feel like we won the dog lottery.
2. Good neighbours who I can call on at any time for anything. They are like State Farm that way. It is a lovely feeling to be literally surrounded by good people.
3. The fact that my husband works regular hours, no evenings, no weekends, no holidays. It has not always been this way and I am always so happy on Friday afternoons knowing we have two whole days to hang out together. What a luxury.
4. I am grateful that with the not so awesome things that come about with aging, there are also some wonderful things. I love that I feel more and more confident about just being myself as I get older. I still care far too much about what people think about me, but I do feel as if I’m moving in the right direction and it is a really good feeling.
5. I am ever so grateful for my iPhone. It has saved me so much stress, time and money to have constant access to information when I am out and about.It’s also a really great thing to have with you when you go to meetings which you may or may not consider to be a colossal waste of time. And you know that I appreciate having a handy dandy camera with me at all times. The iPhone is a fantastic invention and so I am very grateful to Steve Jobs. (May he rest in peace)
6. I am grateful that I can stay in touch with my family and friends for free via email, skype internet and even our land-line now. When I first moved to the U.S., calls cost a dollar a minute and they were prohibitively expensive for a starving student. That made life really dark and hard especially when I was going through difficult things in a strange country. But no longer! The ease and economy with which I can now communicate with my far-flung loved ones is literally a dream come true.
7.Access to many good thrift stores, garage sales and the like which has saved us countless dollars over the years. Not to mention that I love the thrill of the perfect thrift store discovery.
8. Speaking of saving money I am grateful for a capable, smart and handy husband who has saved us tons of money on car repairs and basic household stuff. If he doesn’t know how to fix something, he looks it up online and then he does it. I am grateful for my father in law who taught him all this stuff and was a good example of sharing the work load and eschewing the concept of “women’s work”.
9.I am grateful for my faith. It is the basis of who I am. It gives my life “meaning, purpose and direction”. I am grateful that I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves and cherishes me and wants me to succeed. I am inexpressibly grateful for the pure love of my brother Jesus Christ which motivated the gift of the Atonement which I am so desperately need every day.
10. I am grateful for the scriptures and the fact that I can have constant access to them in so many different forms. I am grateful for the plethora of spiritual enrichment and enlightenment that is available to me and my family. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon several times over. It is the most amazing book I have ever read..so much more than just a book…a living thing. I am so thankful that my somewhat cynical and skeptical heart and mind have received a testimony of its truth and power on so many different occasions and in so many different ways.
What a life-changing exercise this always is for me. I suspect that I have terribly redundant over the years of doing this, or even within the month of doing this. Many of my “gratitudes” them may seem silly or trivial, but just the knowledge that I will be accounting for my gratitude each day has made me look at my life in a very different way.
I am grateful for the concept of gratitude. 
Gratitude wrap up…
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas..
And here are a few more of my favourite things.
In honour of her first snow day I dressed Ellabeth in this super, super cute snow(girl?) shirt from our sweet friend Carolyn. Can you see her little toofies? Now that she has 2 on bottom and one on top she likes to grind them. *Shudder* (very unfavourite thing).
Another favourite thing. Big and Little. We finally have some snow but up until now it has been rain, rain and more rain. The other day Finny’s chore was to clean the living room and I loved how he set up the girls’ rain boots. Ella, Gracie and Me. Little, Medium, Big. Love it.
Every night in December we have hot chocolate, I always get a little something extra (as do my thighs). That’s the perk of sleeping with the hot chocolate maker
As we drink hot chocolate we read a Christmas story (I wrap them up and each kid gets a turn to unwrap them. Most of them are from the library but we are trying to buy a new one every year for our own collection. Maybe by the time I have several grandkids I won’t have to go to the library anymore).
We also have a little Christmas themed devotional every night. Scripture, carol,etc. This year I put together the Christ book for our devotionals. I found it on my beloved Pinterest (thanks Peggy for sharing). Some more of my favourite things: cozy evenings watching my kids read to each other, and singing carols together.
Another of my favourite things: is there anything cuter than a baby in a white sleeper? My husband has always been a total sucker for our babies dressed in white sleepers. Some of my favourite mental images are watching him rock our white sleepered babies in the middle of the night(I buy lots of white sleepers ). In South Africa we call sleepers “Babygros”.I think that is a more endearing name for them. Love my babies in their white babygros.
Another of my favourite December traditions. Every night someone pulls a note (and chocolate) from our Advent calendar. Here’s a note to daddy from Gracie:
He does indeed buy mommy flowers. See? He’s my most favourite thing.
Another favourite thing: my sweet puppy. Illegally napping on the couch. I have almost the exact same photo of her a few years ago.
Some other posts regarding our many Christmas traditions: Here, here, here, here here and (whew!) here
Gratitude on the 3rd
1.So grateful for an amazingly kind and unselfish husband. Neither of us got a lot of sleep last night (read: hardly any) but I guess he is tougher. I was crazy tired when he got home from work, and he sent me right to bed for a nap. A lovely, beautiful, desperately needed nap. He took care of kids and dinner and dishes. A prince he is.
2. I get to stay home so that when I have a rough night like last night, I can stagger around the house all day and have verrrry sloooooooow thought processes and nobody comments on my zombie like appearance or the fact that I can’t speak coherently. People who have to go to work and are expected to be fully functional when very sleep deprived, have my undying admiration.
3. My baby is ridiculously cute so even when I am zombie like with fatigue (because of her night time antics, )I am delighted by her.
I’m doing my super attractive“I can’t stand how cute you are, I might have to eat you” involuntary lip clamp. She’s doing her, super adorable “I can make cool sounds with my mouth now” thing.
4.I have the sweetest dog in the world. We could not have ordered up a better one. I’m so grateful she came into our lives. The thing she is doing in the picture on the right is her loud yawn. She does this in the morning when she needs to go out. She is extremely polite.
5. My kids have a committed, loving and involved dad. I seriously cannot imagine doing this whole parenting thing with anyone else.
Week in Review
Oh poor neglected bloggy.I have missed you so. There has been much going on this week. Nothing I can remember off the top of my head though, of course, since my brain has apparently determined that memory is a non-essential component and a poor use of it’s time. So I am forced to look through my downloaded photos from the week and recreate it that way. Hey, whatever works.
Let’s see…on Monday I don’t know what happened, but I see I took a photo of some pretty flowers my husband gave me. They give me hope that Spring will come again….
On Tuesday, the Sayer Pinewood Derby Reign of terror came to an end when Gabe’s car only came 3rd in the end. Can you guess which one was his? It was a fast car, but alas, there were faster cars this year. In the last 8 races over 5 years the two big boys, with the help of their engineer father have managed to win 5 of them. Never coming in less than 2nd for the others. So 3rd was a huge and crushing blow. But not really. There were some fine looking vehicles out there..
It was actually looking good there for us for a while…
On Wednesday, Aaron reminded me that it was the 16th anniversary of our engagement by surprising me with a nice little presentation from our kids and a very yummy dinner
He had procured cinnamon crumb cakes (which I was obsessed with at the time of our engagement, and continue to hold very close to my heart-and thighs). Indeed, after the question was popped and answered we rushed out to get some in order to celebrate. I know. How romantic. He also had some of the Welch’s sparkling grape juice with which I am currently obsessed, and Train’s “Marry Me” playing on the iPod. Very sweet. Amazing how much the landscape of your life can change in 16 years. I like what I see.
On Friday, our handsome Benj went to his first school dance. He had a good time.
Also, it was Amy’s birthday. Happy birthday Amy!
And! Gabe got a giant Good Luck card from his classmates how sweet!
Apparently that evening, I took a very bad picture of my very huge belly (about 35/36 weeks)
On Saturday, Gabe participated in the County Spelling Bee. (The reason for the huge good luck card) He rocked. Check it:
He ended up coming 2nd out of 26 contestants (who had each won their school spelling bee). Most of whom were considerably older. In fact he lost to an 8th grader. He is the youngest 5th grader. What is sad is that he totally knew the word but heard it wrong, because the pronouncer had a cold. Shoot. The pronouncer was most apologetic about that. Life (and spelling bees) is not always fair and Gabe has had his share of lucky breaks. However, no need to weep over mispronounced words because he qualified to move on to the regional round. If he were to win that he would go to Washington DC for the National Spelling Bee.
We are all most bemused by this because to be perfectly honest, we have been actively hoping he would not win since the first school round. The hope was always not to go out on the first round. But Gabe is a diligent boy and has felt compelled to do his best although he did tell the newspaper reporter when she asked what he had hoped when he had arrived that day, that he had “hoped not to win because his mom might be having a baby. “ Poor sweet boy. When he realised he had qualified he looked over at me with a sheepish apologetic smile. He is so cute.
Indeed his mom might well have a baby since the regional round is going to be held the day before my due date. It might be just the ticket for putting me into labour on time. So, there’s that. I’m pretty confident I will get to see it with little sister still in utero.
Afterwards we celebrated…
On Saturday we also celebrated the adoption day anniversary of our beautiful girl
Can’t believe it has been a whole year since she joined our family. We can’t imagine life without her. She is pretty much the perfect dog. The only time I get really irritated with her is when she gets overly interested in guests (she particularly loves the ones who are not dog-lovers). She doesn’t jump or sniff for the most part, but she does stand too close as they sit on the couch and gets alllll kinds of up in their face waiting/begging for love. It is not at all dignified and as a fellow woman, I am embarrassed for her in her desperation for validation.
The rest of the time she is mellow and sweet. Very, very mellow…
and very very sweet. Oh how we love our Shemalema-ding-dong. We were so blessed to find her. We can’t imagine why or how anyone could have let her go. After several seizures this year, she has been officially diagnosed with epilepsy :( and we have begun to medicate her. She is doing well.
No more pictures please!!
So that’s the week in review. Not a bad one at all. The weather this February has been frightfully frigid but it has been a good month for us so far. We have had many blessings and reminders of our blessing, very much hoping the trend continues.
So….How was your week?
Happy Christmas Eve
It is officially Christmas Eve and all is cozy on the home-front. Not a creature is stirring, not even the cookie-obsessed doggy. Don’t you love this photo? It was not staged at all. This was one of our Christmas-hot chocolate books, and after the kids went to bed I found Shemly snuggled up next to it. It’s a good thing she is so adorable. She has been stalking me for cookies this week and managed to make off with a few. She will take baked goods over bacon or steak any day.
I have been sadly neglecting this blog and my journaling of family happenings in general lately. Happily we have photos to trigger my ever-failing memory. I hope to catch up in an epic way once Christmas is over. Christmas prep and traditions are pretty time consuming which does not leave a lot of time for blogging- but I figure it is better to live and blog about it later ;)
If I don’t get on tomorrow, Merry Christmas to you and yours, luvvies!! Thank you for tuning in to read about my little life from time to time. I treasure the relationships I have formed and the things I have learned through our exchanges. xoxoxoxo
Ah blessed health…
My friends. I am feeling healthy. At last! I have not had to contend with morning sickness (other then mild nausea from time to time) for over a week now, I believe. And the allergies are not making me quite as crazy (thanks Benadryl!) It makes me so happy. I try not to take my health for granted anyway, but after months of feeling truly awful almost all of the time, I realise that I did..so much more then I knew.
Because my former energy level is returning (oh blessed day!) I decided today that I needed to really channel that energy and balance the fact that my appetite is also back with a vengeance (and with it a distinctly pregnant appearance in areas which do not house a baby), and so my workout at the gym was more focused then it has been while I was feeling not my finest. I really have tried to exercise as consistently as possible on the days when I was able to leave my bed but it’s been a much lower key regime then I am used to and it feels so good to be “back” in a manner of speaking.
By the way, speaking of being “back” the gym is awkward these days. I want to to wear a T-shirt that says “I’m PREGNANT” because especially in gym clothes I look just…well as if I have not been to the gym for 4 months…and to make it worse…there I stand telling someone who appears to be in far better shape then I am what to do. (You can just imagine those who don’t know what’s going on wondering, “why does the skinny one let the fat one tell her what to do? ”) ANYWAY…my vanity aside, I don’t want to put on an unhealthy amount of weight because well…that’s unhealthy and I also know that sweating keeps me sane.
So I worked out with focus today, I jogged a couple of miles, I did all the push-ups, the dips, the weights, the squats instead of just the things I felt like doing. I left feeling healthy and virtuous and sweatily well worked out. I decided that I had done plenty for one pregnant girl for the day. I looked forward to tackling the grubby house.
Then I arrived at said grubby house and realised the dog needed to be taken for a walk. She had not been for 2 days and so she was due for a good one. I decided to take a nice leisurely paced stroll down the trail. The trail was gorgeous today. Simply stunning with changing leaves, a crisp wind, bright blue sky…it was Autumnal perfection. We walked at as leisurely a clip as a young Golden Retriever who has been cooped up for 2 days and is now surrounded by taunting squirrels will allow for…it was sublime. I didn’t feel pregnant at all. I had just commented on this fact to myself and wondered how long this lovely reprieve would last…
And then. 1.5 miles in (which meant, 1.5 miles to get back home) my bladder woke up and whined. I NEED TO GO POTTY! Right. NOW!
Now. I am very proud of my generally superior bladder control especially considering the number of babies who have bounced on said bladder (including one 9+ lber) but pride cometh before the fall, and it suddenly appeared to be the bladder of a stranger. Or perhaps my daughter (who seems to have the bladder the size of a lentil). I tried every mind game I could to distract myself of the urgent need for a loo. I focused on the pretty leaves, my mellow music…nothing worked. Then I started to scope out areas for emergency squatting. But the trail is well traveled and this is a small town so that plan was quickly discarded….all the while, my pace was increasing steadily. By the time I had a half a mile to go I was in a brisk jog. With a quarter mile to go, I was in a flat out sprint and my mind was moving just as fast to figure out emergency contingency plans. I figured that instead of going to my front door, I would cut through the alley which was far more likely to be deserted in the unfortunate event of an accident (which was feeling ever more imminent). This genius plan in mind I cut down the alley and immediately came face to face with a dad from soccer. And a neighbour (also a male) who were parked back there contemplating some construction. I sprinted past them praying that if things should not go my way, they were unobservant or just thought I was a particularly vigorous perspirer….
FINALLY I got to my back door. The dog and I burst through it, she frantically headed for her water bowl. I to the loo. We made it. I heaved a grateful sigh of relief. And wouldn’t you know…barely a trickle. The wicked, deceptive bladder of a pregnant woman.
And now I am rather tired. I feel like I should like to lie around and eat a hamburger instead of tackling the mountains of clean laundry that need to be folded and put away (my most hated task). It seems a bit sad to have wasted so much of my newfound energy on a sprint to the toilet.
On the other hand I feel like I may have invented a new revolution in fitness…Full Bladder Training. What do you think? Few things are more motivating, that’s for sure.
Goodbye February.....
For a short month this one seemed to last forever. Wow.
I'm excited for tomorrow because it's March. And March means Spring. Technically. And really, I take whatever I can get even though I will keep my snow boots out until June. There is comfort and hope in technicalities.
I go into March somewhat more motivated then I went into February. I exercised 6 times this week, it just about killed me but I am trying to make it into the Consistency Club for a group I have joined. It means I have to exercise at least 30 minutes per day for 6 days each week. For 30 days. 5 down (I joined on Tuesday but I did exercise Monday)...25 to go.
And remember the 28 Day Organizational Challenge? Ah yes. That. Actually it spurred me on to get quite a lot accomplished. Culminating today in my scary office space. And when I say scary I mean, terrifying. Cataclysmic of Biblical proportions. I found a piece of paper from 2008 in there today. I'm not saying that I have not cleaned it since 2008. For real. But it does lead one to wonder how that happened. Anyway, moving on... It's pretty awesome now.
I actually cleaned several other areas and then realized that I had failed to take before photos of said areas. Shoot, but oh well. I did manage to capture the horror of my office in living techni-colour though. But let's not look at that right now. I do not have the strength. Maybe tomorrow.
Instead, how about we look at a dog in a hat. Or several hats. Styled by the divine Miss Gracie. Clearly the dog is thrilled by her foray into fashion fabulousness.
Tribute to the Winter Olympics (albeit the 2002 Winter Olympics)
PS: the potroast was to die for. It was. And actually, it pains me to say it, yet I must...it looked better then that Pioneer Woman's did. And we had roast potatoes which are so much better then mashed. I'm sorry PW. I know I probably just ruined your life.
Our new family member....
has proven to be the most perfect fit. I can't imagine life without her. She is the sweetest, most "biddable" (as my mom would say), lovely girl. She has fit into our home seamlessly. . Here are some pictures of our snowy outing with her on Saturday.
Here she is, deep in concentration and concern over all the squirrels in the world who are going unchased at that moment.
Exquisite focus on that wall behind her, don't you think? Attempting to capture a shot of her catching snow balls in her mouth. Endless entertainment for all.
Blowing Benj's cover during a game of hide and seek
Helping to dig out the fort
Admiring Gabe's hat head
Queens of the snowpile
I have discovered that running through a pristine field of snow with a lively dog is about as good a workout and winter pick-me-up as you can get
Happy as a pig in mud is a dog in snow
As for her relationship with Thumper. It has been better then anticipated. Thumper did not turn her face to the wall and die at the very whiff of a dog as I suspected. In fact she has been extremely nonchalant and they have been (closely supervised, with Shemly on a leash) nose to nose on several occasions with much happy sniffing and tail wagging. However it has not all been lamb and lion lying down together without any ire.
There has been one incident.
Yesterday whilst on the phone to my mom I decided to wiggle out of the tights I had been wearing, I still had my heels on (they had straps) and the tights were around my ankles when the sound of frantic skittering of dog/bunny nails penetrated into my consciousness past the fascinating conversation I was enjoying. This was instantaneously followed by much shrieking of children as the bunny scampers into the room followed closely by the very excited dog in hot pursuit. The children at this point are nigh unto hysteria, screaming impotent cries of "SHEMLY NO! NO! " while helpfully standing on the couch pointing at the scene. I am still on the phone, and essentially immobilized by my tights around my ankles which cannot be hastily kicked off due to the still-fastened heels. Hence my contribution is to shriek along with the children "SHEMLY NO! NO!" Shemly appears to be having the time of her life with her energetic new playmate.
Thumper, not so much.
I have no doubt that she has no interest in ingesting the bunny (because she had ample opportunity and did not take it) but all the same, the bunny is not the willing plaything that Shemly seemed to hope she would be. And judging from the gnawing action that she inflicts on her favourite tennis balls, the outcome was looking increasingly dicey as she appraoched Thumper with her "tennis ball face".
Eventually Gracie, still attired in her fluffy white dress took matters into her own hands, grabbing the dog and immobilizing her while her brothers (Gabe and Finny-I will excuse Benj from this incompetence) continued to shriek helplessly. I was eventually able to extricate myself from heels and hose in time to issue Shemly the very stern "THE BUNNY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND OR YOUR TOY, SHE IS MY BABY" lecture. By this time the bunny had retired to safety behind the washing machine and had to be coaxed out with grapes and all manner of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Today is it as if nothing happened. As we pass through the kitchen to let Shemly into the backyard they give each other a cursory glance and nothing more. No references to the near play/death experience. Thumper is not the least bit skittish. Shemly feigns total ignorance of the entire incident.
