crazy mom

The Perfect Gift

2011-12-16T09:50:00.000-06:00

my new iPhone (i should really write about how my iPhone has completed me... save that for another day)... anyways, my new iPhone has an app for christmas gift shopping...

let's you know how many people you have to buy for - 71 - how much you have spent - yikes - and you enter in when you have wrapped and delivered your presents...

thrilling... i've spent so much time using this app that now i have 8 days left till christmas and only three gifts wrapped... but brilliant...

every year i love trying to think of the perfect gift for those on my list... a few i don't give a whole lot of thought to... sorry uncle ted... but for the 68 others i really, really enjoy thinking about what would make them smile or cry when they open it...

or dance for joy... really the best reaction is tears... that's when you know that you've outdone yourself...

unless the person is a crier... i which case i usually get socks or tea towels for that person...

let's take these three for example... you first of all would think - get 'em a hat... but you'd be wrong cuz this was just a silly, crazy family get-together for my grandma's birthday and these ladies got out of hand...

that's my mom on the right... she thinks her gardener's hat is hilarious right there...

so she's the one that i usually try to get NOT to cry... cuz that's more of a challenge than the other option....

she usually cries when we arrive at her house, then sienna will say something sweet and she'll cry, then she'll cry about forgetting to have thawed the turkey, then she'll cry at the christmas eve service because the candlelight is so magical, so by christmas morning i feel like for her sake and for ours she needs a breather...

a gag gift is perfect for her... a rubber chicken or funny napkins...

this leads me to the next kind of gift... donating to a charity in the name of someone on your list...

been there, done that... kinda quit doing it when i got it in return...

30th birthday and my husband decides saving the life of a panda bear is more important than my happiness that day....

i mean - you do get that sense of overwhelming goodness...

it's just you don't have a present and i got him one for his 30th... and then you feel awfully selfish if you claim that your need for the new gucci perfume is above that of the helpless little panda...

my question is... did the 'charity gift-giver' just not have a good gift idea or ran out of time and decided that they'd tell you that the charity gift is in your name...

even though they were going to donate all along anyways...

they 'kill two birds with one stone'... get their charity on and christmas gift shopping all done on one day online...

or... does one take it as a hint that they are being told to be a bit more selfless and that it is disgusting the pedicure bubble bath they bought themselves... when millions don't own shoes???

i usually like to include in the charity card a little... "merry christmas... hint, hint - you could do more charity work"...

third point... the gift of 'presence' instead of 'presents'...

only issue i have with this is that you are assuming the the recipient would rather you and your 'stories' and 'jokes' rather than an actual gift...

i feel like you should really do some soul searching before you decide what is actually better...

you or a blender...

last of all... this is my idea for this year... the perfect gift... what christmas is all about...

the gift of LOVE...

this is truly why Jesus came to earth right??? to share love and teach us how to love???

so... i'm wrapping up boxes filled with...

'the idea of love'...

and when friends, family, coaches, teachers.... when they open the empty boxes and look puzzled and bewildered...

i'll say, "can you feel it??? it's LOVE... it's invisible... but it's real... enjoy"...

you can't stop or out yell.... a yeller...

2011-11-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

so - before i had my boys in hockey - i had heard stories of hockey parents yelling at their children... screaming horrible things like 'you are horrible' at their tiny little offspring out on the cold ice...

i thought i'd only ever be filled with pride and amazement watching my children learn the game...

until the first game... brandon was 4... and i couldn't seem to help myself... it was like i was being taken over and i had to yell, cheer, clap (note to self - get good clapping mittens), and critique every moment he was on the ice...

thank goodness he was on a large enough team that i got a few 'breathers' when he was on the bench!!!

so - this is just a thought to all those hockey yelling parents out there...

first of all - i get it - i understand the urge to yell at your child... like you've never messed up in your own personal life and you have every right to yell at them publicly... i just did it last saturday...

second of all - has anyone ever out yelled you and stollen your thunder??? and it was like you didn't even know where to go from there???

i'm one of the top yellers in my town... this was pointed out to me at the novice game on saturday... they didn't give me an award or anything (as i thought might be appropriate)... instead just merely pointed out that i do not stop talking or yelling...

and then the question was asked "what do your boys think of that?"

well... i'm sure when they hear me they are mad... embarrassed... resigned to the fact that i'm loud...

on the flip side... you just don't hear kids having the conversation "so when you scream at your mom, throw your shoes, lay on the ground and hold your breath till you turn blue, what does your mom think about that? does she like it?"

not that i'm justifying my behaviour by my three year old daughter's behaviour... but she deserves to be yelled at during can skate i think... ;)

i was out yelled during hockey this spring... horribly out yelled... and i didn't know what to do with it... i actually had to re-assess cheering and how to cheer... it caused me to take a breather and think to myself "does anyone need to yell - 'watch that cherry-picker' 26 times in a game?"

so as i'm listening to the parents that were able to out-yell me...

the different styles, voice patterns, hockey term usage, repetition... i got thinking...

yellers only yell if they can be the top yeller... or at least in the mix...

if you are way 'out matched' yelling you just get silent...

also... instead of videoing my child out on the ice, what if i videoed the yelling and we had 'tape sessions' to go over how we could improve the yelling, maybe take it to a different level... and in some cases tone down the amount of veins that pop out on men's necks as they yell...

one of the best was when i saw the 'look of death' shot out to a child from his parent... i'll never forget this look... just so you can get a mental picture...

- eyes blood shot (common at hockey tournaments in winnipeg)

- veins at a Sylvester Stallone level on the neck and forehead

- eyes squinting ever so slightly... the left eye twitching...

- head slowly going in a back and forth shake... like there has never been anything more dissapointing than loosing that face-off....

- the lips (needing some chapstick in the worst way) 'mouthing' in slow motion words like

'you... better... not... want... a.... ride... home...'

- after the slow motion... a blood curtailing scream 'GET GOING'... still sends chills up my spine...

this was all very shocking... until i realized that the glass on the boards at this rink was just cleaned far better than i was used to and here it was a reflection of myself and everyone was starring at me....

OK.... so i'm teasing about some of this...

conclusion...

so... unless there are a few out screaming me and i just get quiet... which can happen...

because i realize my cheer would sound like a small kitten's noises (i like to imagine those noises) in comparison... i do like to feel like i went to a game and cheered... out loud...

if i'm with a rather 'quiet' crowd.... you will hear alot of ...

"hurry"

"go hard"

oh wait... these are my curling cheers... right, hockey...

"go hard" (i believe this applies in any sport apparently)

"let's go stars"

"give me an S... (silence)... give me a T... (silence)... give me an A... (2 people move to a different section)... give me a R (i see one lady slip some bailey's into her coffee and roll her eyes)... what does that spell??? (this is when a few giggle and yell STAR... because i've forgotten the S at the end)..."

"don't humiliate your family name" (like what they are doing on the ice could do any more damage than what i've already done in the stands)

"two hands on your stick"

"one hand on your stick... and then two.."

"win the draw to beater..." (i've found alot of hockey players have nicknames... sometimes i say them wrong)

"what do you want to eat after the game is over???"

i've decided... i don't need to yell less... i need to sit alone...

laundry...

2011-11-09T14:10:00.001-06:00

just a thought...

whoever is creatively designing the 'Hurley' long sleeved t-shirts for Costco... 2 things need to be said...

#1 excellent price point...

any mother of boys understands that you do not want to be spending over $15 on a long sleeve t-shirt that will be wrecked within three months...

#2 confusing color scheme...

so - this is how laundry is done at the farm here...
- we have two laundry baskets in the laundry room
- no individual hampers
- all dirty clothes get separated into two categories - lights or darks
- (forgot - jason's work clothes have a separate basket... as does my 'lady delicates')

so - you can understand my confusion when these long sleeve Hurley t-shirts have black t-shirt with WHITE arms...

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT???

dull the black in the light's hamper

make the white look grey in the dark's hamper

the decision i came to was put them in the dark's hamper and when the white sleeves look gross, i can just cut them off... kinda like i do in the spring with all of Jason's jeans...
(he loves a good cut-off jean short)

preparing for death... always...

2011-10-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

i don't think i'm obsessed... with dying... but i like to be prepared...

for instance... i planned when to have children... the only months i thought were appropriate to give birth in were feb - may... i had my reasons... i found out later not a whole lot of people do this...

so when jason and i recently went to new york, i spent the better part of three days preparing my house in case the plane crashed and we died...

he thought this was a little morbid and did not help me...

my thinking on this is - who do you think is going to have to clean out your house if the plane crashes and you die... yes, momma and mother-in-law... creepy...

i have my will all set... and in a fire proof safe along with any important financial documents and of course my medallion and ribbon collection from elementary school... i'm pretty sure my children want to see that i placed 5th in ball throw in grade 3...

when i was younger, i would 'boobi-trap' my diary just to see if anyone was reading it and i was pretty confident my mother was reading it...

so now i have to have a big box with a label on it... 'do not look in or snoop through... or you will regret it'... now, i do feel like this might be too much temptation for my mother to not look... so this is just a 'test' box... inside this box is just one piece of paper saying 'i know i'm dead, but i'm really disappointed in your self-control'...

i think this will freak her freak enough to maybe not snoop through the actual box of stuff i have that says 'snoop if you really must... but i suggest not'...

i made sure all the laundry was done... closets cleaned... garbage taken... everything labeled that could possibly be labeled...

i even go as far as to leave letters to my three children of things i think they need to know - if someone else is 'raising' them...

my in-laws are their guardians and i feel like they are a good choice as i'm happy with how my husband turned out and they live 3 miles from our house... but there are a few differences that i need the kids to know...

like my take on who is the best team in the nfl and why... (although i'm sure they would have come to the logical conclusion that you should either cheer for the Packers or the Steelers)

in writing these letters i became so sad i could barely leave and go on my trip... for fear the plane crashed and i didn't get to raise them!!!

i also prepare myself and my luggage for possible plane crashing or customs search...

by preparing myself... i mean that no one wants to see grandma undies on a 'woods woman' ... even if it is a dead woman from a plane crash... oh no - i get out my special 'anniversary' underwear to travel in... slightly uncomfortable but i feel like the payoff of looking good dead is worth it...

my luggage (because i have been held at customs enough times now) is neatly organized and only my top quality 'fruit of the loom' make the cut for packing time!!!

conclusion... i feel like it's time for a conclusion...

i have decided on any upcoming trips with just jason and i that we will be travelling on different flights... the chances of two planes going down is unheard of right???

i haven't decided on different hotels in case of a hotel fire... i feel like i need to do a bit more research on the chances of dying in a hotel fire... but this is something i'm looking into...

possibly things like walking on the other side of the street to him... getting on a different subway train... taking two taxis...

hmmmm.... i might need to start working i'm realizing to pay for these 'risk management' fees!

but what if the stress of working outside the home gets to me and takes years off my life and i end up dying early because of that???

(ok... that was a long conclusion... and i feel like i didn't resolve any issues i was having... just going to have to stop typing... and start googling the risk factors of all activities i'm involved in... should be fun!!!)

happiness...

2011-10-13T14:24:00.002-06:00

pondering happiness alot lately... i like to be happy... i feel like one should be happy and if you are not happy, you need to make life choices to become happy... and if that doesn't work, pretend to be happy... and if you can't manage that, maybe don't go out in public or update your facebook status... :)

so here i go... gonna watch oprah's lifeclasses.... i'm sure everything will be fine after that!!! for sure...

i want to be this happy... i want Sienna's happiness... i'm worried when she leaves me and goes to school someday, there will be no one around to make me happy...

good idea... i should homeschool her... keep her around me... she can live with me forever... great idea...

you know what else makes me happy??? spending money...

you know what else??? buying things...

you know what else??? quality time with my family and friends... and then sneaking off to buy something online... and then more quality time...

so - there's got to be more to happiness than money and spending it right??? maybe... maybe... we'll see what oprah has to say... she doesn't have much money...

i remember watching oprah and gayle's big road trip... and oprah saying she hadn't filled a car up with gas since '83... and gayle and oprah laughing like normal people say such things... and then gayle sang and oprah put headphones on and didn't listen... and 4 hours later i was wondering why i wasted 4 hours watching them banter back and forth.... and had no idea where Sienna was...

ok... i will make a list of things that make me happy...

1) mon... monday's - i actually like the beginning of the week... this is laundry day and i get to watch ellen without feeling guilty... and ellen makes me happy - take that oprah...

2) winning... yes - i enjoy my Packer's winning... when i play crib with my son and beat him every time... when i predict what is going to happen on Blue Bloods before Jason does... Tom Selleck makes me happy...

3) clean things... and things put in order... (this might be an issue for a therapist)

4) funny jokes... especially my own... at which i cannot stop laughing until i've cried, sighed, and forgot where i was or who was driving the vehicle...

5) blue cheese... not to make other cheeses feel badly cuz i do like them all... but my heart is with blue...

6) lovemaking... which the love affair with the blue cheese has recently put on hold... i don't know why i have to choose!!!! it's tearing me apart!!! (i didn't include any pictures for this point)

7) reading... well more the idea of reading more... buying books and such... wandering around McNally and Robinson and having a nap in a chair in there... and then i found audio books - where someone can read to you while you clean... or lay there... eating blue cheese... and having no one attracted to you...

8) small children... and old people... i don't care much for the middle part of life people... recently - i saw my grandpa... first thing he said to me was - "you've gained weight..." i love that old people and small children can tell you the truth... small children don't know any better - until you yell at them and make them cry... then they learn... - and old people are living like it's their last day so they say horribly inappropriate things...

9) dancing... my daughter and i I would say average a good hour of dancing per day... to music... choreographed by mostly me... i let her ad-lib a little here and there...

10) my kid's having fun... especially of someone else takes them to the "fun-ness"... makes me really happy...

i was not with them when they were killing birds... but this picture makes me happy... for them... not the birds...

i asked Sienna what made her happy... she said:

titty's (she can't say her 'c' sound... i hope)

bunnies

birdies

horsies

fly's

marni (her imaginary friend)

i'm actually happier with her list than mine... i should go with her's...

born this way

2011-09-17T15:54:00.002-06:00

i feel like i must write this... down...

not sure how to do so appropriately... so scrapped that idea...

here it goes...

i was reading to the kids the other night from the Bible... from Romans... they were discussing the differences between Jews and Gentiles... particularly men... (cuz the Bible mainly likes to discuss men...)

neither of my boys asked any questions... they were not opening up the doorway to any sort of conversation about 'foreskin' or 'circumcision'... even if they had a question they didn't dare ask for fear of what their over-zealous mother would answer...

(ethan once asked why his dad had armpit hair and two hours later he knew exactly where babies came from...) i'm kidding...

i'm actually just as awkward about these conversations as they are... and i giggle too much...

in all fairness to me... this is what i have to look at when i'm giving the 'birds and the bees' chat... a magician or a sheriff... or his latest 'vampire'... sheesh...

so, i start in on the circumcision talk... i say 'do you know what that word means?'

they both say, 'no'...

i say, 'it means that the foreskin is cut of the penis'...

ethan immediately plugs his ears, starts rocking in the fetal position, and says, 'i think i'm going to puke'

brandon says, 'huh... and here i thought i was just born that way... kinda like Lady GaGa's song'

i can't stop laughing... really, really hard.... and Sienna is screaming and chanting the word 'penis' (which up until this point has never been used in our household... and i'm now going back to never using it again)

brandon says, 'why isn't everyone's like mine???'

i say (amidst tears from giggling) 'when you were born, 9 years ago, i still thought it was kinda the thing to do... so when you were 6 days old we took you to the hospital and the doctor cut... he...'

brandon quickly interjects with 'i get it'

then i add 'i also believed that it would be good because your dilly-dong (sienna started chanting dilly-dong) wouldn't get infected and i assumed i would never, ever have to talk to you about it!!!'

ethan had turned a darker shade of green by now and i thought i should stop talking... i said 'well, i think that about wraps up that conversation... (to which i wanted to add... not like your twig which is no longer wrapped up!!! bahahaha...)'

now... there are so many parents who come to me for parenting advice... catherine, how do you do this and what do you say about that.. that sort of thing...

my advice... (i can almost feel the anticipation)... is don't creep your kids out too much... think back to when you were a child... did you want to hear your mother say 'vagina, penis'... no... did you want to hear her say anything about your anatomy??? no... if anything... a quick convo about not letting anyone see or touch your 'private parts' and possibly an illustrated book or drawings (not done by your mom!!!) when you are old enough... where everything is, their actual names or where they go!!! (i'm giggling... i can't stop)

i also believe if your child wants to know too much about such things as the intimacy in the boudoir... perhaps the little Casanova's thought patterns need to be redirected???

unless you are planning on being in the medical field... the majority of the adults do not use proper terms in referring to their 'junk or girls'... i'm not against children learning the proper terms... go ahead and learn them... in fact i'm for it... just don't say them like people won't giggle or catch their breath or have a certain level of shock factor involved with you spouting out body part names...

when a boy get's hit in the 'go-nads' - i don't want to hear him scream 'ow, my scrotum'...

this leads me to my last story...

i was taking ethan and his 6 and 7 year old friends to a movie for his birthday last april... they were watching home alone 2 in my vehicle... (we like to 'prep' a movie with a movie in the vehicle... and then one on the way home... totals about 5 hours of movie watching... and alot of sugar... see why i get asked parenting advice all the time!!!)

one of ethan's friends' pipes up... 'you know what would make this movie so much more better??? if they hit each other in the berries more'

this was received with raucous laughter and high fives and the boy that said it was a genius and everyone's hero...

i was thinking to myself 'would it have been received in the same light-hearted fun fashion if he had decided to go with the clinical term... or would his friend sitting beside him have hit him in his berries'

meals to the field - part 2

2011-09-12T22:51:00.001-06:00

harvest 2011... started August 13th... my first official big meal to the field...

these are the containers I take meals out in ...

my morning starts here, with two loads in the dishwasher... and i generally start cooking about 10 am and don't stop till 5...

i employ small children... three of them... i pay them what they're worth...

sienna get's an orange... or a noodle...

ethan get's beef jerky... and to 'strap on the rodger's championship belt'...

brandon get's a toonie... to save up for such events as go karting... cuz how cool does one look in a go karting helmet??? pair that with some bowling shoes and you're set!!!

on August 17th... a nice, warm Wednesday... i had the bags packed up and was ready to go... 9 men i was told...

Greg, Jason, Kevin, Larry, Randy, Andy, Bill, Jeff, Jason, Larry

the menu that night was:
- Western Beef and Beans (Western means you feel manly when you eat it)
- Whipped Potatoes
- Corn on the Cob
- Ceasar Salad
- Nectarine Upside Down Cake (it was supposed to be upside down... i'm assuming)

we get it all loaded up in the vehicle... i had taken the opportunity (all 4 days into harvest - thinking the hubby's all exhausted and needs a 'pick-me-up') to put sticky notes with sharpie 'love notes and pictures' all over jason's containers... tee-he... mature...

and i could never resist the urge to draw pictures on sticky notes with sharpies...

i drive and start delivering the suppers... thinking how excited jason's going to be to get his 'love parcel'... about three wrong turns and 40 minutes later i've completely forgotten about the sticky notes and am sweating and panicked and late with supper...

i finally am driving all over this field dropping bags of luke warm food off and i have one bag left (jason's) come up over a hill and see two combines...

apparently he only counted 1 for Larry (even though there are 2 Larry's)

there is Larry the hutterite... probably 17 years old i'm guessing and looks like kid rock with short hair...

and there is Larry the Grandpa... this was the one left...

i phone my husband and say "you can't count"

he says "give my supper to Larry"

i say "sure thing big daddy"

he says "over and out little lady"

(i made the last two lines up)

i get ethan "beef jerky" to run Larry the supper... and ethan decides to go for a combine ride with Larry...

it was only when i was sitting there, thinking 'mission accomplished'... then i started thinking about tom cruise in mission impossible... and then rob lowe's new book stories i only tell my friends in which he talks about tom cruise.... and then the fact that who names a book that title only to proceed to publish it for millions to read and i wouldn't really feel that special as a friend anymore... say if rob lowe was around a campfire with you and goes 'i have a great story i only will tell this campfire group of friends'... and you're thinking, ya me and the million losers that download your book on itunes...

where was i... oh yes... when it suddenly hit me like... hmmm... a sack full of bricks???... (i'm horrible with sayings)... "I GAVE THE SHARPIE/STICKY NOTES TO LARRY"...

it was almost like on home alone when he realizes he's home alone... and puts his hands up to his face... and it's a precious moment in cinematography...

except mine was minus the hands and precious momentness... more the puke in the mouth event...

i don't know what is worse... Larry the Grandpa trying to choke down a supper covered with aztec like artwork.... or my 7 year old boy who DOES know how to read having to watch this all unfold in the combine...

when i picked ethan up from his very disturbing combine ride (which i'm sure will come up in therapy someday) not a word was said, to Larry, to ethan... and it's even too early for crickets!!! not a sound in the air...

now whenever i see the post it's and sharpies... i force myself to allow sienna to do the drawings to cheer people up...

2011-09-09T21:48:00.007-06:00

my middle boy - ethan we'll call him - has a crazy imagination... ever since he was little... and left to be on his own for hours at a time... he could make up the craziest scenarios... (like, where is my mom)

this is a good shot of him holding his breath... he took it on his own... with my ipad... alone in a vehicle - outside a rink... in a city... we'll call it saskatoon... only the 3rd most dangerous city in Canada...

he made a video on my phone the other day (that was when he was alone in the vehicle cuz Sienna, Brandon and I had gone for a combine ride) ... i just found it and here it is him "alone on the african savanna... no water... no food... and i hear lions"... all of a sudden he's singing "home owners, helping home owners"...

i really wish i knew how to upload this stuff to my blog... (i'm sure it would really up my viewership)

he's always had to have a costume on... whether it be super heros or jerseys... or hats (sheriff hat in particular)... he does not like it when it's a normal t-shirt and shorts...

the picture of him with the sheriff hat and matthews jersey bowling... that was his class field trip... glow bowling... he thought that outfit to be appropriate...

i'm excited to have a kid with this kind of personality... but not really sure where to focus his "personality" on...

we tried piano... decided he's completely tone deaf and maybe more a drums guy...

in fact... he lip-syncs now in the vehicle... here is a song he knows every word to and does his 'air band' (by himself) to... (some of the lyrics)

"Pretty Girls"

There's a lot of pretty girls in this city
There's a lot of pretty girls in this town
I'm trying to pick the right one
I'm trying to pick the right one
Trying to find a shorty to hold me down
I’m so indecisive
Trying to find a pretty girl that these shoes goes nice with
Been around the world and back, got a I4 and girls in black
But I need a chick that's gonna hold me tight like vice grip

Just make sure you need my heart how you found it
You can keep the key but the lock is around me
Baby, let’s take it slow, no pulling a fast one
And you look like the type to keep my mind off the last one

I really love my 7 year old singing these lyrics... well not singing - cuz he can't carry a tune to save his life... but "knowing"...

just leave my heart like you found it

i'm wondering what this means to him... hmmmm... or if the ladies in grade 2 know he's on the prowl 'trying to pick the right one'...

this coming from the same kid, same trip... i heard him fart and then stick his head down to smell it... look up and realize i was looking in the rear view mirror... and say "i guess whoever smelt it dealt it"

of course it takes me back to my TLC days (man i've ruined a few wedding karaoke's with Waterfalls)

don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and lakes like i'm used to...

this was actually the closest to 'camping' i got in my childhood!!!

conclusion... a kid with an imagination... equals a lifetime of laughs... and possibly a child living with at home with you the rest of your life... :)

meals to the field

2011-09-06T21:48:00.004-06:00

so... i know i blog about twice a year... but my husband has told me i need to get a hobby other than watching every program on discovery channel (he obviously does not understand the joys of swamp people, great tank battles and world's most expensive)

meals to the field... here is the field...

there are 10 guys to cook for - i only cook 3 times a week...

the amount of food that one has to cook for 10 men is staggering... plus my three children... and myself... (who recently has really enjoyed eating alot!!!)

today's menu:

i thought it would be cute and fun to do "breakfast" for "supper"... genius (the men were all so tired i seriously think they thought it was breakfast time)

Pannukukua (an egg casserole - kinda like a really think crepe)

Hashbrown Casserole

Breakfast Deer Sausage

Bacon, Cheddar, Onion Biscuits

Bacon... mmmm...

Peaches and Whipped Cream

amount of food i used:

6 eggs (not bad)

flour, sugar, etc... i'll stop naming these types of ingredients

6 packages of breakfast sausage

2 pkg hashbrowns

1 1L half and half milk

2 500 mL whipping cream

1 block cheddar cheese

4 1lb pkgs of bacon (used 3... my daughter and i ate 1)

24 peaches

6 onions... tear...

2 cans mushroom soup

now - this meal in particular is pretty high fat... high creaminess... high baconiness...

not normal... but normal is 14 cobs of corn... 2 pans of beats... 2 roasts... 2 pies... 1 giant tupperware full of salad...

you get the picture...

and i drop it off (they each get their individual meal in containers in a insulated bag)... and they most likely eat it without looking at it... smelling it... tasting it... even though most of the time it takes me a good 6 hours to prepare...

some would say - 'throw hamburger helper at them'... come to think of it... no one has said that... in fact i haven't really talked to anyone about it... mostly just to myself... in a made up conversation with someone i picture in my head... (alas, farm life)

i say - 'i'm an artist... a farmer wife food artist... i like to create themes for the evenings i take meals... sometimes even dress myself and children accordingly... use fresh herbs... pretend i'm a chef at a four seasons hotel..."

i realize reality and what i'm doing don't really fit... no one's really wondering what spice i used in the eggs... PAPRIKA - SPANISH SMOKED PAPRIKA!!!! they might not have even realized it was eggs...

i just know that the days i get to wake up... cook all day... i feel giddy... giddy happy...

last week it rained on two of the days i was supposed to cook on and they shut down and didn't need a meal... i was so upset that "mexican enchiladas fiesta night" got cancelled...

i went to the co-op grocery store last week... pushed a cart full of groceries... while pulling another cart... just waiting for someone to say "hungry???" and then i'd laugh and say "don't you know it"...

i saw a lady pulling a basket on wheels... it looked like something an 80 year old would pull... one of those 80 year old ladies that goes to the grocery store and buys just enough for that day cuz she's unsure if she'll make it to the next - you see her ripping off one banana... one potatoe... you feel like telling her to just go for it - plan for a week at least...

i wonder what this lady thinks of me pulling and pushing two carts... she probably thinks that i'm on the show extreme couponing or something...

in conclusion... i'm working on a cookbook... most likely for myself... a harvest meal cookbook... taking pictures of my three year old with food... in her "Polish perogie night outfit"... hehe... pretty sure i'm publishing it for myself, my momma, and maybe my grandma...

although grandma told me to stop sending stuff to her cuz she doesn't have room for anything... other than her one banana... and potatoe...

winning isn't everything???

2011-04-13T15:15:00.003-06:00

'winning isn't everything???'

what do you believe???

why do we put ourselves in sports, music, school, dance, business, art....

what is the goal if not to win???

so, i was watching Master Class on OWN network (it's a young lady named Oprah that started her own network in case you hadn't heard)... it was featuring Jay Z... love Jay Z... i know - kinda strange and you probably don't want to picture me dancing or 'getting my groove on' to "i got 99 problems.." hehe...

ok - so Jay Z says "i believe you only learn through failure"

and i say to myself "i believe every word Jay Z and Oprah say!!!"

but hold it... you cannot learn through success and winning??? that's silly... eventually all those learning moments created by failure should lead to success and winning correct???

i remember being at a football game and this guy was sitting beside me and was saying how during his high school football career the team lost a lot... i said, "what did you learn through that?" and he said, "nothing.... " he continued by saying, "you know how you learn?? you surround yourself with a good group of people, you dedicate yourself to greatness and working hard, get a good coach... and win... and then you learn"

now... i think there are times that you definitely have something to learn through failure...

i truly believe that everyone has purpose and a calling and if you stay in a situation that isn't working... you might never get to realize what you were put here on earth to do!!! that comes with age though i suppose...

now i'm trying to apply this concept to my 'golf game'... hehe.... and i'm totally backtracking and thinking it's fine to be in something and not win... just for the fun of it!!! i like to golf - until the 6th hole... then it bores me... and i'm not very good... understatement... so should i give it up??? well, perhaps professionally yes... but it's still a good activity for me to go out and do with friends right???

it's also annoying if you want to say play slow pitch recreationally and your teammate (let's call him Jason Kelly) decides that he wants to win and ruins it for you cuz you are horrible and are holding the team back from it's goal to win!!! (this only happened once by the way... i do love him still)...

so winning in team endeavours involves the top players learning how to be good teammates to the 'role' players (that's what Jason now calls me!!! hehe) and thus those top players becoming better teammates and people and the 'role' players becoming better at what they do!!!

another argument for winning would be that 'winning is contagious'... meaning... if young children watch older ones win at a certain sport or do well at certain activities or school... they will have this drive put in them that they are not satisfied with anything less than success and will push themselves until they achieve it...

this applies to my children a bit... i believe they can't really become passionate and successful at something unless the parent puts the effort and love into it... piano... for the boys... i hated piano growing up - HATED IT... but i thought it was only right for me to put the boys in piano... they hate it... i know they can sense that i'm not in love or passionate with 'ticklin the ivories' (really hope that's a saying)...

same thing with reading... unless it's a magazine or the occasional book that intrigues me (pirates or cowboys rescuing a damsal in distress)... not interested in reading - not when i could be watching the celebrity apprentice!!!... so, my boys, they read... 20 min a day cuz they have to... not out of love or passion..

this is my and Jason's fault i believe... can't really expect the youngin's to be interested in things we can't even fake interest in!!!

i've also seen examples of men (in particular) that perhaps didn't win at enough things when they were young and take any recreational sports activity way too seriously!!!! a nice game of lawn darts can turn into a death match!!!! (i'm finally not picking on my hubby here... )

does winning build character??? i believe it does... probably only if you do loose occasionally though... it's like a rich person thinking they 'know' what a poor person is going through... um, nope you don't, unless you've been poor... you need to know how to win gracefully - probably only achievable if you've lost and it's hurt... winning and the attempt and goal to win can develop a courageousness and gutsiness in you... it can make you strong and determined to always get better... it can give you an edge to go the extra mile... (it could also make you complacent, lazy, cocky, and give you a false sense of self if you allow it too!)

would you rather be the underdog or the favorite??? some love to be the underdog so they can say this should never have happened and they over achieved... others have the strength to be the favorite and then deal with loss if things fall apart...

are there more important things in life than winning??? and sports for that matter??? of course there are... getting the cure for AIDS... getting clean drinking water to those that need it... being a good friend, a good family member... but what do you do if you put yourself in a competitive situation??? think about drinking water or try to win???

a person needs to be well rounded - with many different interests... for instance, i like to garden, organize (this is a full time hobby), run, shop, cook, and nag my husband.... but get me in a game of hearts and i want to win... rather than loose i'd like to win... but if i don't win (and after consoling myself with a box of toffifee chocolates)... i still have shoes to think about and a husband to yell at!!!

my conclusion...

winning is not everything... unless you loose all the time... then all you can think about is winning!!! :) i would never choose to loose and if i was loosing constantly (say at pie baking competitions or something) i would decide to put my energy into something i could occasionally win at!!! (say soup making competitions!) some take winning to a weird, crazy, frantic level that is hard to deal with (me every christmas with board games) and it needs to be simmered down!!!

so i will go with winning is half the battle... the other half is to become who you were put on earth to be and to bless others through this...

ps... i have the right to change my mind on this completely if someone sheds some insight i haven't considered... and not feel like a failure!!! hehe...

following through on unreasonable threats...

2010-02-13T15:01:00.002-06:00

so... jen wanted me to write something cuz she wants to procrastinate... so here it goes...

i was thinking the other day as jason was disciplining one of our children that he was really getting carried away with upping the "anity" on his threats... at first it started with just telling ethan what he did wrong - then ethan seemed very unapologetic... so jason gets a little ticked and says, "no tv for the rest of the day"... ethan still didn't care... jason then goes to "no tv, DS, or Wii for the rest of the day"... ethan was really trying to tick him off, so still didn't care... then jason upped it to "no electronics of any sort for a week!!!".... aha!!! at this point, ethan was not scared at all and jason screamed something and left his room... i said, "thanks - now what do i do with him for a week???" needless to say, that was a very long week and i'm sure i failed...

but generally speaking, i really like to follow through on threats... i like to be consistent - even when the threat gets over the top, i still follow through... like the time when brandon was 2 and we went to my mother-in-law's for supper (which is better than any fine dining anywhere in the world!!!) and brandon did something bad and i said, "if you do that again, we are going home"... well, about 3 1/2 minutes later we were packing up and going home and i cried the whole way home... brandon didn't seem that worried about it...

i've had to stop the vehicle and pretend to drive away from a child - or pretend to leave a child at the rink - or have a child miss a birthday party - or bite a child (that was soooo awkward)... the list goes on...

i've learned through the almost 8 years now to really, really take a breath and think before i get going with the threats and the "you better watch it or else!!!"... i'm not sure if all parents get carried away or just jason and i...

the other aspect to this is that jason and i are pretty competitive with each other - even with disiciplining... like, when we are 'tag-teaming' the yelling at a child, we like to see what the other is going to put on the table... and i have to win, it has to be worse than anything he's ever thought of... like burning a toy!!! (the kids enjoyed that one... it just cost us money... never again)...

i really did have a good example set for me by my parents - they would send me to my room, mom or dad would 'cool down'... then they would come in a reasonably explain the error of my ways, what my punishment was (generally a spanking) and then pray with me... very controlled... almost like robots...

in the past year i've gotten into this counting thing (ok i've done it for at least two years, it's a habit that i'm not proud of)... it's like i don't expect my child to obey until i countdown from 5 to 1... and sometimes it's so embarrassing that i have to get into the 2 1/2... 2... 1 3/4.... 1 1/2... seriously... just come already!!!!

the public disciplining is always the worst - no one likes to hear you yelling your head off at your child... so you wisper, poke, pinch (you know you've done it), and sometimes just ignore and walk away and pretend like they aren't screaming "mom" at you as they lay on the rink floor... i remember brandon being just over one and punching me in the nose and my eyes started to water... or sienna throwing her head back and hitting me in the throat and i thought i was going to have to go to the hospital... sometimes i try my lowest, growliest, scary voice that ends up sounding like anthony hopkins from silence of the lambs... thinking that people prefer that to yelling... hmmmm... i'm sure other kids have had nightmares about that voice...

i was not planning on giving any solutions for disciplining in this little rant - just an insight into how jason and i do it oh so wrong sometimes (after which we always try to regroup and restrategize our plan of attack - and i say attack cuz we view it as a mini war... us putting our will upon our children and trying to brainwash them...)

good luck to all parents out there and thanks for disciplining cuz it always gives me new ideas!!!

my husband...

2009-09-15T10:03:00.002-06:00

so here he is... my better half... hmmm... eating a coconut cupcake... advertising for crumbs bake shop... why do people say better half - do they really think their partner is better than them???
i see quite often women bragging about their husbands, how great they are, how thoughtful, how lucky they are to have them in their lives... makes me sick... hehe... like seriouly - i don't want to hear it... i don't think your husband is that amazing - i think mine is... who are you trying to convince??? if you think he is... that's great - that's probably why you married him... but i didn't marry him and i don't want to hear how hot he is... it's ackward (?? spell check please)... it's almost like i should say, 'yes he is'...
maybe i would consider gushing about jason if i thought for one moment he gushed about me... you know what he gushes about??? the STEELERS... that's about it... he seems to think that marrying me and treating me well every day is enough... (and by well, let me tell you, WELL... ladies you know what i'm saying.... WELL TO THE L) see, this just got wierd...
now don't get me wrong (cuz i know it could seem at this point that i don't really like him)... i have always felt from the moment i first met jason at college - talking on the stairs - that he was the man i'd marry and live happily ever after with... i feel like we don't have a boring love, it's full of excitement, fights, making up, challenging each other, making each other better, falling more in love, and enjoying evenings together...
but will you ever hear me gush about him??? nope... and if i do slap me - right across the face, preferably with a glove... cuz that's just gross... no one wants to hear that you got the best man on the planet... you just go ahead and have him...
(oh i'm so cynical... - i really was giggling as i wrote this)
lucky for me he's too busy checking his fantasy football team to ever read my blog... hehe...

why i haven't blogged in forever...

2009-09-05T10:09:00.003-06:00

so - last entry it looks like was in 2007... it's now 2009 - so much for this being my diary... alot has happened... and really - i write this for myself... so i can look back and remember and laugh at the stages of life i go through - and then when early alzhiemers sets in it will be like a little story book...

so i had a daughter - her name is sienna rain - i held her for the first month without letting her go... it was a unbelieveable experience going into the hospital that morning - may 22 2008 - and then two hours later ... and a third c-section later... seeing her in jason's arms... you just can't stop looking at her face and trying to figure out whose nose her nose is like...

so at christmas time, we are at my parents house - showing her off... and my grandpa said after studying her fat little legs, "you know the neat thing Catherine, God has a plan for her..." i guess he was a little worried about her fattness...

since i haven't been blogging - there was a new president elected... Barak Obama... on Jan.20, 2009 - it was the inaguration of him... i ask Ethan who the president is and he says, "micheal phelps"... why not...

the same supper - and this is really why we don't usually talk to the kids - brandon asks jason if he likes swimming or running more... jason says swimming and brandon says, "but aren't you too big for that?" nice...

then came st.patrick's day - i usually make a big deal out of that - with asparagus or pea soup and green everything - ethan had drank a blue powerade and had proceeded to go to the bathroom... and calls to me from the bathroom, "well... i had some st.patrick's day poop"... once again, whoever said that you can learn alot from a child maybe never was around a child... i've learnt very little... other than blue powerade makes green poop... not a very useful bit of information...

i've found that having a baby has slowed me down alot... didn't realize how easy life was getting with the boys until sienna came along and everything seems more complicated now... she has her two naps a day that i try to be home for - so my outtings consist of going to the post office/bank... and that's about it... i could keep her up and visit someone, but then she screams and claws at me and i get frustrated and sweaty and i figure i should have just stayed home...

so i haven't figured out quite why anyone thinks having a baby is great... i think they should come out about 2 years old... i'm just hanging on every day, looking for signs of her growing up - so i can feel sane again and like i can go somewhere and not have it be a big deal...

i agree with colin cowherd (i think that's the right spelling) when he says, 'life is 10% what happens to you and 90% your reaction"... some days are better than other's for my reaction... i've also realized that everyone has their own life and their own problems to face and no one really cares about my daily battle to try to find some sort of enjoyment out of motherhood... no one wants to hear your sob story... i know i don't want to hear someone else's sob story constantly... like my brother ryan said, "i don't feel bad for people with kids... they chose to have kids, now deal with it and stop sighing and looking all exhausted" (i might have taken some liberties on his original statement)

so i started running - sometime last november... it wasn't to loose weight - it was to have something that i do and that is 'my' time... and then a friend of mine, jen, asked me to do a 10k and i decided to do it and try to train pretty hard for it... and can't say i enjoyed it, but i did it.. and i enjoyed that it helped me just to enjoy running now... so now i run every other day - ususally 5 or 6 miles - and it's so a part of what i do it's easy now - never thought that was possible... so this november will be a year of running and i've never felt better...

well... better go do some motherly chores such as cleaning out the dishwasher, making bran muffins, having my lemon green tea... and perhaps update my little online diary more than every two years...

pros and cons of pregnancy...

2007-10-31T13:00:00.001-06:00

pros...

1) slow down... think more... read more... possibly blog more...

2) only heightens my love for food... even if it's coming up after i devour it...

3) amazement and creepiness of something good growing in you...

4) makes me want to be healthy

cons...

1) nausea sets in

2) kinda turn into a hermit in my house

3) hubby has to deal with massive mood swings

4) the whole upcoming c-section/recovery thing... no big, right???

pregnancy is teaching me at this point though to really slow down, enjoy little things like reading to the boys, watching them play.... i seem to have time now to read and to think more... i'm really hoping that this will kick start a much more healthy, relaxed and peaceful version of me...

why the bible is so interesting...

2007-08-06T20:46:00.000-06:00

so... as i'm tucking brandon in to bed tonight... he says, "you know why the bible is actually so interesting mom?"... i'm thinking something really neat is coming next and i say, "why?"... and he says, "because it tells all these cool stories that never happened.."

oh, i laughed... and very hard i might add - seriously, what was wrong with me as a child that i never wondered about someone coming back to life from the dead or a flood covering the earth??? i'm excited that he thinks - and that we can talk about what he's thinking about... ethan i'm sure will get to an age where the conversation doesn't always have to center on 'poop' or his 'pee-pee'...

difference between them....

2007-07-29T16:32:00.000-06:00

so, before i had ethan, i thought that parenting was the major factor in the actions of a child... i still think it's about 60% or so, but there is definitely room for God-given personality in there...

such as - when given a box of tic-tacs, ethan polished his off in under three minutes and brandon still has his locked in his safe in his room today - five days later ....

ethan has always found it interesting to try to kiss girls - where as that thought would not even cross brandon's mind...

brandon will clean his room, brush his teeth, and tuck himself into bed... where as ethan will wander around saying 'poop' and 'pee -pee' until i walk him through our bedtime routine....

it's also amazing that i love them both equally - i could never dream of wanting their personalities to change at all.... but i do want them both to follow my rules... so they probably will see life very simularly... (is that a word??)

there... that's my thoughts on that...

the lake won the battle...

2007-07-04T14:27:00.000-06:00

why do i suck???? these things tend to happen to me... my eye is almost swollen shut today and i have various bruises on my legs from my attempts at skiing and kneeboarding and my tubing experiences....

why can't i just relax ever and not come home sunburnt and aching sore all over from the lake????? other people do relax at the lake - but i grew up with constant action... we liked to schedule our days in 30 min. incriments and keep it going all day, from one sport to the next...

the one thing i could do at the lake was tube - and that's what i got the black eye from!!! i see brandon go kneeboarding... i see jason ski and wakeboard... i get excited and i try to ski... twice... not good... then i try to knee board - which looked more like glorified tubing, as i never got off my belly....

and the sad thing is... i will try again - why don't i give up???

fishing too... i suck at that as well... i caught my first fish, screaming and broke the line... then my second fish... screamed, and when jason was reaching to get it, it somehow got the hook off and swam away... brutal... and yes, both the boys caught fish - brandon caught three...

oh well, i do have a good time... just not good at anything....

ranger lake free for all...

2007-06-26T15:57:00.000-06:00

the boys enjoyed a day of horse riding and wall climbing....

i think the girl bascially pulled brandon up the wall...

i don't have much to say about this... either than that they did it... and i will never own horses... or any animal...

who gets to go first?!?!?!

2007-06-22T14:38:00.000-06:00

you might ask - what do these pictures have in common???? well, they are both in my story of last night...

so, i sit to enjoy a burger - and not just any burger - one with fried garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bacon then with melted cheese and a nice slice of tomato on it - on my newly built muskoka chair (which i did build!!!) and along comes my father-in-law with the sprayer... to do the field across from my house...

funny thing is jason and i were discussing and he's going to try to start doing this - telling people when he is spraying near their yard - like, real creepilly just going up and knocking on farm doors to tell them....

so, i'm eating supper, smelling spray in the air (the wind was going the other way)... and thinking, i could go inside, but really, why do i want to be as healthy as ever and jason is around this stuff all the time... kinda would like to exit this here earth at the same time as the ol' hubby... so, i ate my burger and smelled the spray...

the end...

what kind of sandwich

2007-06-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

this is for cute girl ... and i could not for the life of me figure out how to put the actual quiz thingy on my blog... so i copied and pasted it... kinda boring i know... but i am boring - according to this quiz.... and according to cute girl's quiz, her mortal enemy is the ham sandwich which is my best friend... so where does this leave cute girl and myself???? very rocky relationship to say the least... it's funny how they nailed me to a tee in this personality quiz...

You Are a Turkey Sandwich
Conservative and a bit shy, you tend to stick with what you know and trust.You are very introverted, and you prefer to blend in whenever possible.Though you may be hard to know well, anyone who does know you considers you a true friend.Your best friend: The Ham SandwichYour mortal enemy: The Tuna Fish Sandwich

going green as they say...

2007-05-09T13:13:00.000-06:00

so... over the past year i've been attempting to go green as i have quite the concerns about global warming... and also a sense like i need to make sure i'm raising the boys in a way that is taking care of their physical, spiritual, and emotional needs as well as teaching them to take care of what has been given to them to take care of...

so, i have done the usual composting, growing a garden, recycling everything i can, reusable shopping bags, keeping the house's temperature at a reasonable level, changing my lightbulbs... and now the latest - planting almost a hundred trees yesterday - now, i do have to say that this is more of a priority for shelter from the wind than going green, but never-the-less... it is trees...

also, not to sure how many of these trees will survive... i'm also getting the house evaluated by an energuide worker to see what improvements can be made through windows and such...

it's a little frustrating when you live on a farm and have to drive everywhere and your husband is a farmer and uses a crazy amount of gas and chemical... so, don't really know what we'll do about all that, but i do think that we will start to see some better inventions that will maybe help out a little?!?!?!

there you have it... call me a crackpot all you want... but brandon told me that he thinks he'll be living underground in tunnels someday and i really don't want him to, even though he thinks it'd be fun!!!

my birthday wish.... GRANTED!!!

2007-05-03T14:29:00.000-06:00

soooo... a certain lady in the 'know' as we say in the industry... she gave this mag subscription to me for my birthday... and i'm very happy....

although, this does not help with my lil' shopping problem... but i do love it... happy birthday to me!!!

seeding is underway...

2007-05-03T07:13:00.000-06:00

so, seeding began last week and now we are in full swing and jason just loves this time of year... although very stressful....

the boys seem to enjoy when we are moving vehicles and taking out suppers... they get semi and tractor rides so they are happy...

and i'm happy cuz i don't have a kid in diapers or a baby to be dragging around with me this year... it's crazy how easy suppers are to get ready when the boys can just go watch tv or play outside and then we just pack up and go... now that i said it's easy - i'm going to mess up next time i'm sure... but i am enjoying the boys older ages for this whole farming thing...

at the pace we are going right now, we'll be done seeding by harvest time!!! he,he... sometimes you do wonder how on earth you are going to get all the acres seeded, but then i just choose to forget and to just watch oprah or something...

top gun fans...

2007-04-18T15:18:00.000-06:00

this is the lil' guy that went on a date with me last night.... i know ... poor ethan!!! i really need to let him go... but i'm having trouble..

he wore these glasses all day - inside the stores.. everywhere... almost like he had something to hide... very suspicious... hmmm....

ethan's third birthday party

2007-04-18T14:59:00.000-06:00

ethan's second birthday party - he had a dress up party - he was a ninja turtle... i think that is michealangelo, but i'm not sure (i have seen the new movie twice now, i should know)...

a few kids couldn't make it... but the ones that did ranged from princesses to goalies... very cute... he really enjoyed his presents this year and the kids did get to go outside to play afterwards... which is nice for me...

i'm celebrating cuz this is the last 'kids' birthday party at my house... hopefully... i plan on the parties being in other places from now on...

now the only birthday left is mine... and it's during seeding... so i won't be celebrating it... and i've already bought myself a few birthday presents anyways... so i'm done until christmas now... feels good...

good times to be had...

2007-04-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

so...
just started on http://www.facebook.com

really fun to find ol' pals on there or new pals...

check it out - lots of time well wasted or spent...

that's how we do it

2007-04-05T14:20:00.000-06:00

so, i did pick this team to win... as i forementioned on my blog... and i was not dissapointed with the intelligent acceptance speaches... especially noah's .... 'we're going to do it all night and all day, that how we do it, you have no idea what i'm talking about, but gainsville (florida) does...' meanwhile, his coach trying to get the interviewer to put the mike on someone else... sooooo funny... in the past few days i've said to jason numerous times... 'you have no idea what i'm talking about, but gainsville does'.... he,he

mr. most improved!!!!

2007-04-05T14:02:00.000-06:00

pretty cute seeing brandon get his award last night... his medal count has already surpassed that of my own... (which was including the medals my parents got made up for me, such as 'world's greatest daughter' or 'your teeth aren't that bad')

he was actually jealous of the runner up prize, which was a coupon for a movie rental... but then later on has come to enjoy this medal and wants a place for it in his room...

no nap for ethan...

2007-04-05T13:57:00.000-06:00

so... one day ethan never got around to his nap... and around 4:30 this is where i found him... sleeping on the floor in my kitchen.. i have never had a child fall asleep anywhere other than in their bed or the vehicle... so this was very humorous for me and not so humorous for him when i woke him up...

new family picture

2007-03-28T15:18:00.000-06:00

so, if you go to this website:
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php
you can put in your picture and it'll come back with a list of celebrities that you look like...
mine came back with a 86% match to jessica alba!!!! unbelievable... but my brother, marcus, told me that it's not really fair when it's just face shots and that it should be the entire body - whatever, marcus, your first match was some crazy old, hairy man... it was also interesting that about half of my results were oriental...
jason's was fred durst.... he also had aretha franklin
then, we put the boys in and both of their number one results were oprah winfrey!!! well, look how that face did on tv... brandon was very upset...
anyways, thought you all could go and try it out and let me know what your results were...

pirate birthday party

2007-03-21T15:04:00.000-06:00

happy birthday to you... brandon turned five!!!!

he got a party at the gym and we had pizza, pop, chips and cupcakes in the home ec. room and tag, races, floor hockey, soccer, and more floor hockey in the gym...

this pirates of the caribbean theme came from him seeing the first movie when jason and i were watching one evening and he had snuck out of his room and watched the entire movie without us knowing... the second one he saw on a hockey bus and just really loves it...

this year i actually have to throw ethan a party though - in the past i have gotten away with pretending like brandon's party was ethan's... when he says, 'when's my party?' i would say, 'oh, you don't remember that fun party we had for you' and then i'd turn the tv on and he'd forget...

actually, after the party i did have for ethan on his second birthday - which had around 10 two year olds here - i kinda decided smaller is better...

... and speaking of smaller is better, one might notice my cakes getting alot more.... lazier??? yes, i find that putting toys on a cake is very easy... and they like it!!!

when in rome...

2007-03-21T14:57:00.000-06:00

there had been a few (by that i mean one) request for pictures of this whole mid-life, 'hockey playing' craze i'm in right now... here i am... and yes, that's all me in those shoulder pads...

i played three games now and one against my son's initiation team (didn't put all the equipment on for that, but i have a strick rule of not skating without a helmet on?!?!)

i was thinking that in the community i live, the only opportunity for sports is... hockey, badminton, volleyball, skiiing, waterskiing, and baseball... unfortuneatly, after attempting all of these, i've realized why my parents encouraging me in the basketball area... i really cannot do anything else... like, not even remotely well...

i'm hoping the boys don't get anything from my personal gene pool - my family's is actually ok i think, just not mine personally...

'narnia' with the boys

2007-03-16T21:44:00.000-06:00

couldn't find a nice picture... you get the idear...

chronicles of narnia... my favorite story

i just watched this with my boys tonight and it's so funny to see the difference between the two in a movie - i'm sure some of it is age related, but none-the-less, very different reaction to it...

brandon cried when asland was killed, bawled actually, and then said after the movie that his favorite part was when asland became alive again and his least favorite when he died..

ethan said his favorite part was when they killed the lion... should i be really, really concerned at this point?!?!?

my favorite part is the conversation at the end between thomas the fawn and lucy the lil' girl... when thomas says, (referring to asland) 'you don't want to press him, because he is however not a tame lion. (and lucy says) but he is a good one'... just liking that quote... kinda reminds me of my relationship with my heavenly father, that being God...

i tried to sit the boys down and have a conversation about the allegory this movie is to the Bible story of our salvation and after my 10 minute speal... brandon says, 'that was so cool how the white witch had polar bears pulling her chariot' and ethan said, 'and then the lion died... got killed'

my birthday present - two months early

2007-03-16T21:38:00.000-06:00

my new thing in the kitchen... and yes, this is my own picture from when i made a french loaf, some cookies, daquiri's and had flowers just sitting there...

i'm loving this bosch... i've made orange julius, iced mocha's, buns, bread sticks... not dieting obviously...

and then sometimes i just stare at it and touch it... it's really lovely...

michigan wolverine's fab five

2007-03-13T13:53:00.000-06:00

ok, i found the picture of them... you wouldn't believe if i told you how this impacted my life...

i even had a huge leather michigan jacket that i wore... just horrible...

and i got black shoes and wore black socks, cuz they did...

this is when i fell in love with march madness.. also, after i had brandon jason and i got to watch the entire first round in the hospital... good times...

my favorite hockey player

2007-03-13T13:33:00.000-06:00

this lil' note is going out to my favorite hockey player... he tries very hard on the ice for a four year old boy and now has to wait until next year to resume his play on the ice...
the only redeeming factor now about the spring is that i get to coach him in ball again.. fun, fun..
brandon got his first penalty this last tournament at swift current... for body checking!!! he was so excited to get to sit in the penalty box, so that's not good... and it's all he could talk about after the game!?!?! i'll miss sitting at the rink, listening to strangers talk about the 'girl' with curly blonde hair... (that being my boy)..

March Madness Begins

2007-03-13T11:37:00.001-06:00

well, thusday is when it all begins... i had pictures of the winning team to put on here, but it just so happens that i put a new antivirus program on my computer and now i can't have pictures... have to get to the bottom of that quickly...

the winner will be... drum roll... FLORIDA GATORS!!!

as usual, i am completely guessing and wishing it was still michigan's fab five playing...

March Madness Begins

2007-03-13T11:37:00.000-06:00

26 HOURS WITHOUT POWER

2007-02-23T21:48:00.000-06:00

so, jason and the boys and i just survived through
26 hours without power.... it was funny to watch
brandon keep turning on light switches... not so
funny when our thermostat read 5 degrees...
things i learnt from the "blackout":
1) i love electricity
2) back in the day, people must have drank alot
in the evening...
3) i was not crazy to have my checklist for survival
4) i should have checked some stuff off on that
list...
5) one should own a generator

note: thanks to the brown's for taking my poor,
helpless family in for the day... with your sweet heat from the generator going...

blonde's have more fun?!?!?!

2007-02-21T12:07:00.000-06:00

so, new hair color, new woman, right??? i'm not too sure about this whole brunette thing... i feel even whiter now...

this came after going in to get more blonde highlights - i can be easily persuaded... this proves that i am not a leader... i am a follower..

and this also proves that i take too many pictures of myself

so, not sure how many months i'll stay with this color for... i do think the summer will be calling my blonde tendancies back again...

ethan told me i had red hair and that he wants dark green hair... i'm so excited for him to go to a hairdresser some day and come home with dark green hair

Double Decker

2007-02-20T11:43:00.000-06:00

so, this is what 'double decker' means in the kelly household... i'm pretty sure i grew up with sayings that no one else had and have passed this horrible tradition on to my boys...

for instance, yorkshire puddings... otherwise known as popovers... each family has a way of saying things.. mine, not so cool...

i'm not sure exactly how to tell brandon that the kids at school might not know or want to know what 'double decker' is... unfortunately, he already introduced this to one boy at playschool - i guess they went 'double decker' down the slide...

half time performance - should have been

2007-02-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

as jason and i were driving home (ok, only he was driving and i had a headache as the sun was in my eyes, none the less, we were talking) we discussed possible better performances for the super bowl half time show...

these guys came to mind and we think this would be excellent for next year - PEARL JAM... who doesn't love pearl jam - i know nickelback seems like the obvious choice, but i've heard of alot of people, including myself, who don't like nickelback, but i've never heard a person say, 'i can't stand pearl jam', never heard it...

so, i'm sure this will get into the right hands and that i'll see pearl jam next year at half time

superbowl disappointments

2007-02-05T13:29:00.000-06:00

so, i can tell you who didn't win the superbowl last night... the great steelers... and only because of a brutal start to their season...

but i was very happy to see tony dungee and the colts win... i'm neither here nor there about manning, and it's just annoying that he doesn't even show emotion or seem happy when he get's the ol' monkey off his back and finally wins a superbowl ring!!!... show some emotion!!! but i was happy for them and was wishing it wasn't raining so hard, which i think ruined the game...

anyways, that's all i have to say about it... either than i thought it was one of the most boring superbowl's i've seen, with the exception of the kick return on the first play of the game (which i failed to see anyways as i was still getting food ready)

and what's with PRINCE doing the halftime show... you can't tell me that the average football fan has PRINCE in his music collection!!! brutal... and Canada needs to show some better adds than trucks driving up mountains and turning into snakes...

there, had to be said, now i'll rest from football for awhile... on to MARCH madness soon...

2007-01-31T21:38:00.000-06:00

so, these two pictures were in a vain attempt to show a picture of myself and the kiddies toboganning... oh well, i guess now my job for the evening is to go and name all the pictures i have failed to name....

so, the idea behind the toboganning picture, if we could all just imagine that one there, is that my most peaceful moments in life... i was going to list them...

1) sea-dooing on the lake for the whole day - the feeling of being out on the water

2) being out in the snow with my boys - ski-dooing or toboganning

3) laying on a blanket on the grass - while the boys are playing in the sandbox

4) having a coffee while reading 'house and home' magazine

5) i saved the best for last - snuggling on the couch - not by myself of course!!! (that probably made my brother think that he's never going to read my blog again)

these are my moments of peace and i try desperately to have more and more of them - i really feel like life has become a competition to see who can do more and be busier... and i officially am rejecting this as a bad idea and attempting to put my moments of peace a priority

.... that is, right after i spend three hours naming pictures... cuz i really need to get that done!!

2007-01-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

so, finally, finally, finally i have published a picture on my blog - this is cause for celebration!! i thought i'd put one on of me and the hubby.... taking a picture of ourselves - i wonder where all our friends were???

i do have to say that this picture thing now opens a whole new avenue for my writing on the blog - so much more can be told through a picture than words, correct???

so, here is my new table, which i recently wrote about jason shopping for wood for this.... the picture was supposed to show up after this, but i'm not very good at this i guess...

well, i do have one more to show, but it'll have to come in a seperate post... hope the pictures really add to this exciting diary of mine!!!

2007-01-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

men and wood...

jason just took the boys on a venture to kindersly - sort of a 'right of passage' as they say - to shop for wood... they are going to the lumber yard, with a pad of paper, a pencil, and a tape measurer, and jason is going to show them the ageless art form of purchasing wood...

i believe it starts with smelling the wood, then touching it, holding it up to one's eye and looking at the levelness of the wood, and then lastly, doing some 'figuring' in one's head (and then purchasing triple of what they need)

but if more is bought than necessary, this is not a bad thing, as jason has a 'wood pile' in the quanset that he has been adding to for seven years now... i am not allowed to sort it, use any of it, or throw any of it away, as a man needs his wood pile to remain untouched...

i'm sure the boys will come back 'men' after this momentous event with their father... and probably annoy their future wives some day with wood piles of their own...

***note: jason is making me a table, so my mocking of him will stop here...

2006-12-17T23:50:00.000-06:00

in my life lately...

well, first of all, jason and i had a great trip to pittsburgh - apart from the crazy flight in during a big wind storm, it was lots of fun... highlight was when we got to watch the steelers entire 2 hour warm up sitting front row in the stadium.

we also got to see the penguins play and ate some excellent perogies and had an awesome hotel, so it was all great.

i was happy to see some other couples in our hotel, doing the same thing as us, so i know i'm not crazy for liking football - it's amazing the difference between here and there as far as women watching sports on tv and enjoying it... everywhere i went there was women talking about the 'college games' that were happening over the weekend - i thought we lived and breathed hockey here, but not nearly what it's like for football there.

also, brandon has now scored THREE goals in four games of hockey - his first goal was in kindersly and it was embarrassing cuz i started crying when he got it - and not just a little cry, but a bawling, kinda ugly cry....

i'm completely enjoying my favorite time of year - that being the christmas holidays - and did get to see the new bond movie, which always puts me in the mood for... Christmas!!! yes, i remember watching bond movies with my dad and it's such a great memory and i love bond!!!

jason and i are still married - although all this time together certianly isn't helping anything!!! (don't think i'm so horrible, he would tell you the same thing) no, we're slowly getting used to seeing each other again - at least for longer than an hour a day...

and brandon and ethan just performed in their sunday school program at church, or should i say ethan cried and brandon got embarrassed... good times and memories for both (ethan also cried when we took him to sit on santa's lap - these are the memories we like him to have of christmas)

enough with the essay i guess - i still can't figure out the pictures... next time maybe

2006-11-24T17:13:00.000-06:00

the big chill sets in....

well, here comes winter - i was just browsing the weather and it's looking nice and crazy cold for the next while here... this leads me to announce that it is only 6 more days until jason and i leave this ice cold climate for the tropical paradise of pittsburgh!!!!

ah, yes, pittsburgh - where we will come back from with a tan for sure - my brother did tell me that we are the only people he knew that would do their winter vacation in pittsburgh.

we also are going the vanier cup in saskatoon tomorrow - in minus 25 and possibility of flurries - just a little warm up for the steelers game i'm thinking...

so, being the freak that i am, i have now started my plans for pittsburgh, mapping possible routes, planning the days down to the minute - i'm sure jason will try to hide these plans before we leave.

i have the house all decorated for christmas, my christmas 'letter' almost ready, and holiday baking on its way - just want to be ready for my return home and be fully in the holiday spirit....

which leads me to say, that my husband really wants to be american... he just loves american thanksgiving - enough that he expected turkey and stuffing yesterday - and he thought we should be shopping today (as it is the biggest shopping day of the year, correct???)

brandon's first hockey game is sunday - and i'm sure that will cause me to blog more at that time... ethan has a sign made up to take to the game - it must be nice to have a number one fan (i know my mom was mine, just not quite the same thing as a sibling, or boyfriend, or even a creepy fan)

well, off to a hockey game tonight - in the bitter cold - we should all just stay at home and hibernate....

2006-10-18T14:45:00.000-06:00

puke and the sun...

so, i'm all excited because i had seven comments on my blog, and then realized that one friend left five of them and another, two... so really, it's only two comments...

for all of those slacker friends of mine that read this and don't comment - i have nothing to say to you!!!

well, two kids puking, now there's a good time. then, the sun hasn't shone in awhile and, oh-oh, the depression, i feel it coming...

so, i'm going to go outside, work my little behind off (and it is little, it's the belly and the hips that need the work) and hopefully come in all pumped up about life - that happens right???

they say when you are depressed, go work out, take some herbs (medicinal of course) and, what else tom cruise, do nice things for other people???

well, glenna still has not shown me how to post pictures, etc., so this blog is still as boring as ever...

see you all and hope i have more to talk about next time..

2006-09-19T19:34:00.000-06:00

well, back to the blogging...
who doesn't love nfl football??? today brandon and i had a work session (jason thinks i need to be doing more intellectually for the boys) and so we went over all 32 teams, what divisions they are in and who we think will win each of the eight divisions.
good times.
we did have an excellent time in edmonton, going to the waterpark on saturday for the whole day. it did not excite me at all for when the boys are teenagers... just can't stand the teenagers.
and then there are the parents at the waterpark who come in, all decked out in their fancy swimwear and then they just let the kids go and sit down and read magazines and newspapers and talk on their cell phones the entire time. it costs 30 bucks to get in!!!! are you insane???
well, those are my thoughts for the day and i'm not going to blog again until i learn how to put pictures on.. so, glenna, you need to teach me.

2006-09-08T00:17:00.000-06:00

so, i forgot how to find my own blog, so i put in crazy mom for an address and here i went to some other mom's blog and she was married to a military man in the states and her last entry was in 2003...

she wrote, 'they just announced we are going to war against sadam hussien... people are worried but the last time we went to war there it lasted 48 days, i'm betting this one no longer than 30'

wow, it was kinda wierd and sad to read.

so, today was the steelers first game and the opening day for NFL!!! so excited and i actually said, to myself, cuz no one is ever here, that I LOVE FOOTBALL. steelers won, beating the dolphins, and this was exciting.

ethan said, 'go busaburger go' and i said, 'ethan, ben rothlesburger is not playing, he's hurt' and then brandon looked at me and said, 'mom, the steelers are never going to win without jerome bettis or big ben... it's hopeless!!' i just love watching football with the boys.

2006-08-31T21:16:00.001-06:00

so, i haven't done this in awhile, and i'm sure that my many, many readers have been waiting with anticipation to see what i come up with next...

ok, well, we're still farming, i'm cooking, cleaning, yelling and 'relaxing' in the evening. yap...

it was the start of school on wednesday and although brandon is not going to school, we all got back to school outfits, just to fit it, cuz if there is one thing i want to teach to my children, it is to do whatever the tv or adds in magazines tell you to do!!!!

we have five hired men this year, so i'm cooking for 6-7 men, every other night... but really enjoying it and just running around like mary poppins actually!!!

one of our hired men, recommended to me by a certain lady friend, is quite the entertainment out in the field and here. we unfortunately have two of them stay here overnight and that can lead to some pretty crazy conversations about catholic summer camp and coffee and pancakes!!!

this boy is sweet and nice, yet has been homeschooled and is lacking a few social graces... you really need to be the bully if you choose to homeschool your kid, you need to mock them and to laugh at them and let them know when they are not funny. anyways, he comes and sits with us in the evening in his buzz lightyear pjs and likes to tell everyone at work how to do their jobs.

today, for instance, two of the hired men were in a bin shoveling out the canola, and my father-in-law gave him a broom, with the idea of him going in the bin as well... he then decided to hide first behind the bin and then behing the semi, finally making eye contact with my father-in-law and then running over to the bin and jumping in... so strange the games these men play

well, as interesting as this has been for you all, i must sign off and go to watch a few episodes of arrested development, season three...

i promise the next blog will be more interesting!!! i promise!!

2005-12-10T19:41:00.000-06:00

romantic evening with jason.... we leave our kids with the in-laws and were headed off to jason's hockey game in delisle. hoping for a nice bonding time of heartfelt conversation.

jason goes to the rink to pack up equipment, then is coming to pick me up. i get in the truck and sitting, completely squished in, are three men. yee-ha!!! now i have a two hour drive with 'Big B' (that name should say it all, but in case it doesn't, he's a three hundred pound guy who hauls pigs), Jim (65 years old and i've never heard him speak, even now) and the coach, Lynn (who just got a satellite road and all he wants was for Jason to turn the radio to maxim, howard stern, or raw dog comedy channel)

so this is great conversation for two hours and then the whole game i was dreading the two hours on the way home.

now, tell me, do i not have a romantic husband??? in all fairness, he just has a kind heart, unlike myself, and felt sorry for them and offered them a ride.

2005-12-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

potatoe salad.... some just have to have it. well, my hubby is one of those who will eat it at all costs. and now, it has claimed him twice with 12 hour fits of very violent puking.... but the love affair lives on.

jason decided to not take a lunch i had so graciously offered to make him, 'because big boys don't take bag lunches to their hockey games', so instead he dove into a 23 day old sub from 7 eleven and some 'grey' potatoe salad. quite satisfied, he topped that off with some wings later on in the evening and then for the frosting on the cake, potatoe wedges dipped in ranch dressing.

he gets home from his game around 1:30 in the morning, and is just tossing and turning, trying his best to keep all that good nutrition in his belly. finally, the battle ends at 4:00 am and the whole house is woken up to what we all believe to be someone stabbing him to death. this continued, on the hour, every hour, until i took him at 5:00 the next evening to the hospital for a gravel needle. it had to be done, there was only so much puking i could listen too.

i do feel sorry for him though, cuz i was not very sympathetic, seeings how he did bring this on himself and forced me to take two kids to church by myself.

i also have concluded that men are horrible pukers.... they think truly that they are going to die, like puking alone has claimed millions of lives and they are next. he gets the usual 'i puked for three months with brandon and three months with ethan, don't even tell me you can't move!!!'

i know, you all feel sorry for jason and want to come and pamper him because he deserves better!!! i've heard it before, from the nurses at the hospital to everyone i know.... don't even tell me!!

2005-11-18T14:38:00.000-06:00

afraid of the wind... anyone else? very, very afraid. both my boys are sick today, it's very windy, and jason is leaving tonight to play hockey... i'm already anticipating being afraid. i know, get over it, but this fear of wind has been with me ever since as a young gal i watched that horrible movie twister - brutal.

anyways, had a very exciting experience with my eldest, brandon, at his little 'canskate' practice. he skated by himself across the width of the rink!! very exciting.

i just had my first basketball practice yesterday - sr girls - and boy was it fun. and embarrassing. of course i'm like the fat mom there trying to run with the girls because i need to loose the baby fat. i would tell them to run say an eight (eight lengths of the gym) and i would jump in for the last four or two and they would all still beat me... after which i would yell at all of them " who here has had two babies? i didn't think so... i'll talk to you after you give up your body for two snotty nosed boys!!!" and then, during any drill if i was demonstrating something and messed up, i'd just say "two babies!!!" i'm sure they all don't think i'm pathetic. i just like to try to inspire in my coaching role!!

talk to you later...

2005-11-12T23:28:00.001-06:00

if i could have my dream occupation (other than this dream that i'm living in as we speak!!)... definitely like a pastry chef or some sort of chef at a nice restaurant. love to bake. it's a little embarrassing because my only audience today was ethan and i had to bribe him with smarties to watch me bake. i put all the ingredients into little glass containers and then told him how to make the world's best oatmeal cookie!! he then started hitting me with a wooden spoon.

i also find that jason never can complement me enough on my baking or cooking!! poor jason... i know you are all thinking it. he and my brother ryan and brandon came home after watching a football game and i had clam chowder, carrot cake, cookies and surprise spread for them and jason might have said thank you twice... i told him ten times would be acceptable!! poor jason!

2005-11-12T23:28:00.000-06:00

2005-11-06T23:57:00.000-06:00

ok, so jason went hunting the great 'moose' and i'm stuck at home with two boys for four days. and i'm still up at quarter to twelve, just putting the final 'touches' on my ladies meeting agenda for tomorrow night. yes, i'm the kelfield ladies group president... need i say more. we're doing the cs lewis book mere christianity - amazing. just reading about love being an act of the will, not a feeling, which is really good to read when your husband leaves you for a moose for four days.
so, my last blog (jacqui loves it when i say that word) was about how your past affects you so much, but i just learnt at sunday school today that "you are not a product of your past, but a product of Christ's work done for you on the cross" ok, so that means we need to start our thinking at the cross i guess.
i didn't feel like i'd win any awards on motherhood today - when jason was leaving church today to go hunting, i got like this panic attack, kinda started into a pretty horrible crying session, and quickly grabbed my kid's from my mother-in-law, bribing them both with halloween candy, and left the church bawling!! i'm sure that wasn't at all scary for my three year old and one year old boys!! oh well, i have to keep thinking that God gave me kids for a reason, not just as some cruel joke to show how inadiquate i am.
better go, this could be one ugly mother dropping her kid off at playschool in the morning. it's yellow day - very exciting, i'm thinking about putting on candice's bridesmaid dress to drop him off - i'll think a little more about that.
HOORAY FOR THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS but boo for my poor PACKERS

2005-11-01T14:31:00.000-06:00

when you live somewhere, no matter how big or small, i think you sorta start believing that your way of life is 'normal' or the right way, but it's always good to see other ways of life, get out of your own situation for awhile, so you can learn new things.
i went to three hills and calgary this weekend and, man, city life is different. just so many young people without kids and always on the go. staying at home for an entire day would probably send someone to the nut house, where i can stay home for 2-3 days without venturing out of my yard.
it was interesting though, because i do believe still that there is a difference between male and female - talking to my friend stacy - and it's undeniable that the way you are raised affects who you are, now matter what!!
women have been raised to see their dad's protecting and taking care of their moms and men have been raised seeing their dad's provide and protect. it's in your brain. BUT i do know that jason does alot of things he didn't grow up with, so change is possible, but it's just that, CHANGE. a man is not naturally going to clean up around the house or make a meal and a woman doesn't want to take the garabage out or scrape the windsheild or unclog the sewer. these things can change b/c jason does get up the kids in the night or change the odd diaper, but it hasn't happened naturally - only with nagging in the beginning!! it just made me think to not be upset that jason doesn't want to to "womanly' thinks naturally and to appreciate the change he's been willing to undergo.

2005-10-27T10:33:00.000-06:00

well,
jason is finally done harvest - he might custom combine for a guy next week, but that's it. now he has a
ton of grain to get rid of.
so, he took the boys to the farm this morning and i get to have a coffee, some banana bread (i know, i used
to gag at the sight of a banana) and spend some time on the computer. nice.
i was watching oprah yesterday and there was the author of the book 'a million little pieces' which i now want
to read. oprah has a way of making you want to do what she is doing. this author was addicted to alcohol and
drugs and said that during his rehab he went with the motto 'hold on' he says that every addiction, whether it
be food, chemical, or alcohol, is emotional and that if you are feeling an emotion it will make you want a quick fix to make the emotion go away, but if you can just hold on through that emotion, you can conquer your addictions.
so mine is food - ya - and when i'm bored, lonely, thinking i either had a crappy day or a good day and wanting a reward - i go for the halloween candy or a pepsi (ya, it's pepsi now)
so now i'm trying to 'hold on' we'll see how that goes.
he also said that when he was little, he would watch his parents at parties and notice that when they drank, they would become happy - so he started to link drinking to being happy. makes me wonder how many little kids out there are recieving the wrong message - that drinking leads to happiness. kids can pick up on things like that at such a young age.
well, gotta go do some mom work - iron, vacuum, dust - and then reward myself with some halloween candy!!

2005-10-21T13:32:00.000-06:00

brandon is going to be playing hockey this winter - we'll see how that goes. he is going to be on a pre-intitiation team (probably spelt that wrong) that is sorta like when your boyfriend gives you a pre-promise ring!!
anyways, we're pumped about it. i think it's a league where they tape a stick to their arm and they all push a chair around!
jason wants to fill our quanset up with water to make a rink... sounds like a foolproof idea to me.
ethan can throw a full size football up into the air and catch it... something i still struggle with.
well, i have to go cook a meal for the men in the field (me and martha)
i thought today, here i used to want to be a lawyer and now i clean, do laundry, cook, clean and nag. what has my life come too!?! they say that being a mom is the hardest job... it's because it's a constant battle to stay sane. jason says it's the highest calling a woman could have (he just wants me to make a good supper)
last night two hunters from utah stopped in... we live on a farm and no one 'stops in'... so of course i met them at the door with a gun. it's so wierd that just 6 years after being in college i am talking to hunters about duck and geese flight patterns and am showing off my husband's dead deer head while he is out killing another helpless animal that i will have to eat!! crazy what you will do when you fall helplessly in love.

2005-10-20T22:49:00.000-06:00

my kids are insane!!!

ethan is my youngest and he has these big brown eyes that he knows how to use. we usually start the morning with him crying, then i try to bring him to my bed, then he usually hits me with his huge melon and we get up. then he throws most of his breakfast on the floor or hides it under his tray. the rest of the day is a struggle for power between him and I - and he is the one with the big brown eyes so you can guess who wins that battle.

today brandon was at a buddy's house and when i went to pick him up, he yelled at me, hid under a bench, ran away from the car, and then was crying so hard on the way home he threw up in the car. GREAT!! i put him in his bedroom and called jason at the farm and told him that when he got home, he had to think of a good punishment because i just wanted to strangle him!! i think the Lord was helping me to stay calm and not go into the room! i was so humiliated because every mom wants to think that they have things under control, but i don't and i fail and it's just a day by day journey i guess.

i was on the internet looking for hotels in vancouver to go and visit jason's sister angie and mike and their two kids, but then i got distracted by cruise vacations in the bahamas... oops!!

so long,...

2005-10-14T20:12:00.000-06:00

ok... this is what jenny is doing and i wanted to be able to comment on her blog, so i had to open one and here it is. i thought i'd try it, but the last successful diary i had was when i was dating jason and that is just so embarrassing that i don't know why i am doing this.
something on my mind over thanksgiving and during harvest here is everyone thinks that they are the busiest person on the earth and that no one has a tougher life than they do - including myself.
i'm trying to figure out how to tell people what's happening in your life without sounding like you are the only one with a life.
well, i have to go, have to make supper for 5 men for tomorrow night because i have to take two kids to a wedding by myself and then clean a 2000 square foot house that has four sinks that my husband finds a way to shave in every one!! (see, i don't think i'm busy!)