born this way

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

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...  

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

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???

'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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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?!?!?!

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

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...

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!!!

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...

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...

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

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...