first comes love...

we have not had our wedding photos on display in our new home. we used to have a montage of 4 photos displayed in our bedroom at our old house. these days that frame sits with the rest of the "where or do we hang these pictures now?" area.

i was 23 when we were married. i had just graduated with my B.Ed. and Kristian had a semester left before he was awarded his B.Sci. in Engineering.

my engagement ring and both of our wedding rings were purchased from the money obtained from an insurance settlement. good jobs were rare at that time. i had a degree and no contract with a school board. instead i was making $7 per hour with the YMCA child care. i also continued to work as a waitress at the University making the same wage without tips. as in, tips were not allowed to be given to us.

i still remember trying to figure out how we were going to put gas in the car to spend Christmas with my family. and that was the least of our problems. the month before Christmas we didn't even have enough money to buy presents. or food for us. it seems like so long ago. we used our wedding gift cards to buy presents that year. the rest of the money went to food and gas. Kris' brother taped a $20 bill to a big rock (old joke between the 2 of us!) so that we could go to a movie.

at the time, photos of a day etched into our memories were at the bottom of our priority list. enlargements were never done. all we had were 4x6 proofs.

i still have my dress and all the rest of the wedding outfit. the dress was purchased off the rack at a discount. the veil was handmade by me. no jewelry except earrings purchased at The Bay. my only indulgence were the hand gloves.

16 years later those details are not important.

now my outfit makes me laugh. i was the size of a toothpick when i got married, so it no longer fits. even my feet have grown! only the gloves still fit. so apparently it was worth it to splurge on something i will only wear once but never outgrow?



Kiara has been nicknamed 'Princess Tiara Kiara'. she was delighted to try on this special dress.

i hope to take photos of her in it as she grows.




she looks so regal.



we rarely see this dignified side of her.



adorable.

i told her that she is allowed to get married once she can fit into that dress. i wonder if she will remember that comment.

the kids also had fun looking through the photo album from our photographer. the wedding album i wrote in. they thought Daddy looked funny in his "big, round" glasses. Aidan reasoned that it was because they did not know how to make them smaller back then. too funny.

we chose not to videotape our wedding. if we had, it would have been on VHS. a tape we couldn't watch right now.

we were surprised to receive a cassette tape of the ceremony. which we could listen to in the car. or on one of the kids' players (and run the risk of getting wrecked!).

oh, how time flies!

anticipation

the sun has been shining for a few weeks now.

do i dare say that this spring, the weather seems to be more normal?!

in the past few years, we've had a few super nice days....then the weather starts to act like fall....with strong cold winds and dark clouds. sadly the weather just couldn't turn back to sunshine and get some good, long-standing warmth back! making us endure some long and yucky summers.






i've been looking at some summer photos from years past the last few weeks. talk about entering nostalgia....oh. my. realizing how much our kids have grown in the past few years. given the number of outgrown clothes....bags of new and bigger sizes coming into the house...this is no surprise. the surprise is in looking back at great memories.

i am so thankful for the number of photos we have. there are still other memories that don't have a photo to go with it. i love looking at the kids expressions. the smiles. the grumpy frowns. the ecstatic grins.

we are coming up to our 2 year anniversary of our "big move". i see it as a major landmark for the kids. Aidan's move from preschool to kindergarten. Kiara's move from being just a toddler to a preschool kid. at the time THREE years old seemed like such an old age.....now it just seems so young! one of our new neighbours had just had a baby when we moved in. she is now 25 months old. it is still shocking to all of us that Kiara was only 8 months older when we moved here.

i am a completely visual person. i really have to see it myself in order to understand. {one of the reasons i stayed far away from any scientific field!!}

to see this little girl and think of her as a baby....then to look at my big girl and think of her as a little girl. and to realize how little she was when we moved. comparing what our wee neighbour is doing and what Kiara was doing that summer. then to think of the changes in the next few years. this "baby" will be out on the walking trail with the rest of the girls and playing together happily. {well....as happy as kids can be for periods of time!} at that time it won't be as obvious of the age gap between them.

it makes me thankful for the different activities we all did together. especially when i think back to how busy the days were!

randomness

this poor blog gets so neglected these days. sigh.

there were TWO hills of snow in our backyard for the last {and final!} part of winter. hills? hmmm.... no. MOUNTAINS!

it was the best part about the winter. it's doubtful {i hope!} that we will have sled-worthy hills in our backyard again.

but then the snow melted.

the worst part about winter in the prairies....i've always said...is the kids get all excited thinking about snowmen. however the snow is so dry that putting a snowman together takes patience at the best of times. other times it is not even possible.




initially i had no idea why they had scattered the snowman hat and buttons on the pile of melting snow. then i actually looked at it from the right angle. my kids are hilarious!! this is so definitely going in their scrapbooks. {when i have the courage to scrapbook winter again.}

don't you love how there is a bike in the photo as well? only in Edmonton.



the kids are outgrowing bikes like pants these days. Kiara took a trial run to see how she would do without training wheels. if she could have focused, that would have helped. it also didn't help that she hit the brakes whenever Kris let go of her!

it is kind of interesting. Aidan totally breathes cycling. Kiara enjoys it. just not to the same level. in this way, the kids are the mirror images of their parents.



this was the nasty surprise of the season. note that we did put on a plastic bark protector. never would we have guessed that the snow level would be so high and cause some issues.

the culprit? Killer Bunny!



they didn't just rip off part of the bark. they ripped the trunk to shreds!

bunnies are no longer considered cute and funny in our home. they now get yelled at and run off the property. ha!

what is with the bunnies down here? we always found a bunny in our central city yard....never did they do any damage. it was the squirrels who caused the problems. maybe we need more squirrels?

so much for getting a few apples this year. i told Kristian that it would probably bear terrible and sour apples anyway. that stopped his tears for a few hours.

since this is just a random post. here is a total change in topic...



2 months ago i spent a day putting a scrapbook class kit together. Kiara was home. she wanted to help. actually she was a great help. i had bingo numbers and pins and brads for her to sort, then put into bags. it was awesome! for both of us. she got to practice counting. and sorting. then she had the fun to put it all into bags for me. she must have worked for an hour on it. i could have done it in less time, but i was beside her working on other parts of the kit. in reality she totally saved me some time.

it was a massive kit to assemble. Kristian and Aidan - and Kiara again - helped me a few days later with the rest of it. apparently they enjoyed it. Kristian and Kiara enjoyed it enough to help me last month. you can see the pile of filmstrip ribbon that was waiting to be cut and added.



this time around, the work for Kiara was much less. i think she knew it.



i do think she loves this embellishment as much as i do!

i thought i had created a simpler kit to assemble. sigh. so far from the truth. but it was fun to have help. it's fun to chat and let my family share in my work.


i am FINALLY taking time for myself to exercise. i find it hard to believe that i once had the strength and endurance to run a half-marathon. complete short triathlons. never fast {right, Carol!} but at least i could complete them...and manage to improve a bit. i have joined up in a Core Strength and Balance class. i should have been doing this long ago. better late than never! now to add in the running.

i was pretty good when Aidan was younger. it was Kiara who hated being squished inside the running stroller. it came to a point that i dreaded taking them out....it was not a matter of "if" there were tears....it was always "when".

my last run with the two of them had me at a poorly planned night race at Hawrelak Park. Aidan wanting to run, but totally slow. Kiara screaming. then Aidan screaming when i told him he had to be a passenger. i ran half the distance, with several runners lapping me. then discovered that all 3 tires were out of air. how i missed that earlier, i'll never know. surprising how i found that discouraging?! it was a course that involved 2 laps around the lake. i stopped halfway. i was nearly out of energy and completely out of patience!

in all the irony...it is Kiara who will point out my jiggles.

ancient

....had to start with a photo of Kris....only because he just celebrated his birthday! wink!




doesn't it look like this dinosaur is about to nibble on Kris' ear?

a brand new dinosaur exhibit just opened north of the city this summer. we finally made it out! maybe one of the last "nice" summer days?

it was worth the trip. the only drawback to the day is that hundreds of other Albertans had the same idea. it definitely became quieter as the afternoon went on.



long necks?



there is no exaggeration when i say that the kids spent HOURS trying to dig up this artifact. they plan to bring shovels next time. ha!



the dinosaurs are attached to motion sensors. with the crowds, it was impossible to know when or where you have to be to start them. however, they are on set cycles. you could visit every day and see different movements each time.



the dinosaurs inspired the kids to act like dinosaurs themselves. complete with roaring and claws.

there was no tricking the kids that the dinosaurs would eat them! they assured us that it was impossible for them to be alive, and that it was just a fun park.



we did find some live creatures. i was too slow, but a little wood mouse ran out from under this bench when the kids took a break. it came out....stopped.....took a look...and ran back to it's hiding place. no chance that it took a second look! not that the roaring and yelling helped either.



baby dinosaurs!



clever. Kiara enjoyed this the most.



this was entertaining for all the ages of kids!



the only moment for a group shot. at least all the faces are visible.


it was a fabulous afternoon. everyone slept well that night! with happy thoughts. love nights like that.


i had read that it was intended to stay open throughout the winter as well. i am very curious as to what their hours will be and what their exhibits will do. i could see us heading back out in the spring for a fun day outside. however i think the summer months will be amazing. it isn't limited to just dinosaurs....they have combined the trail to also include fabulous information about the Boreal Forest. a good surprise.

i had heard good and bad reviews of the park. when it came to the negative comments, i had to wonder what it was being compared to. i simply could not agree. in fact i wonder if they went to the same place. anyone remember what the Tyrrell museum in Drumheller started out like? exactly. besides, this park allows the kids to interact at a level that they are at. we did not do it that day, but there is even a dinosaur the kids could ride! our only complaint...and this may be in the works...it would have been awesome to have a cafe with 'dinosaur bones' or 'terradactyl eggs' or 'long neck fries'.


too bad our city playgrounds and parks could be more creative in including interesting sculptures to climb, i think it would be very inspiring to many kids.

then and now

the day before school started, the kids and i took one last summer fling. we met some friends at a corn maze halfway between our homes. the kids are still pretty young for a corn maze...but the other activities kept them interested for the day.


the last time we went, Aidan was Kiara's age. some days i wonder if Kiara will ever get out of her 'trying three's' stage. then it helps when i recall the 'fantastic moments' Aidan gave us at the same age. he had loudly and tearfully protested leaving the car to come and play. neither of us can remember what exactly he had a problem with.

this time, there were no tears. just happy, happy, happy children!


this was then...


Kiara was not even two years old in this photo.


this is now....


she still loves to jump. but i cannot believe how much she has grown!!!


this was then...


it is true that the second child is eager to grow up quickly. at least in our family. we rented a wagon for her, but she was so desperate to walk with the big kids. we allowed her to do this in the kids maze.

this is now....


no problems keeping up at all. in fact, it was amazing to see exactly how independent she has become. a typical parent moment - happy and sad, all at the same time.


i wrote about our trip on this blog post....just over 2 years ago...read it HERE.





why is this ride not in every park? recycling. unique. entertaining. definitely not expensive. the only drawback is that it requires 'human power' to keep it moving. now that i get more than 5 hours of sleep at night, a little physical exertion is necessary! laugh!!



the barrel train!



driven by a man with a corn cob hat. it tours the outside perimeter of the maze. which suddenly seems very small.




i just love this photo! one day, i want a family photo of all of us doing exactly this. how fun!



i am sooooo blessed to have the most amazing friends. Stacey has been an awesome supporter and co-conspirator of mine for several years. it was no coincidence that we both had our first babies only 17 days apart. it was a sad day when she told me that they were moving away. even sadder when they locked their house for the last time. i still remember it raining the day they left. we had their daughter and Kris drove me around looking for the last garage sales of the season. i got some great deals that day, but not enough to cheer me up.

i mentioned to Stacey that the summer just went by so quickly and i was disappointed that we didn't get out and do more things. she quickly reminded me that we were kept busy and did some new holiday travels that we did not do usually. she's right. perhaps it is just that we were having so much fun, that i was disappointed to see it end.


reading the entry from 2 years ago...i shared a bit about scrapbooking. here i am today with a new class being designed and taught each month. more time to scrapbook. less time spent actually shopping, yet spending more time at the store! lots of new products arriving that still make me swoon. i like where i am at right now. the past two months were very slow with lots of the customers busy on holidays and not spending time with paper, photos and glue. but i had a full class last week with some new faces. all at different levels of scrapbooking. my favourite part! i learned that one of the girls has a blog...and came across this post from her. check her out. and leave a comment. bloggers blog for ourselves. but comments are always appreciated!

okay, got to go. my youngest and i have a day to ourselves. lets hope the weather is as nice today as Environment Canada says it will be!!

in his eyes

Aidan said to me on the way to the bus stop today:

"Mom, i know all about how to use my camera now. i know all of what it can do."

i am so not surprised.




his face has that concentrating look like i get when i'm taking the "perfect shot".



not too often do i post a photo of myself here.



an action shot. supper right before soccer this week.



stuffies dangling from the staircase. artistic? scary!



we had some neighbours over for supper one evening. too funny that he didn't come outside to take the picture.



this one REALLY IMPRESSED me!



so did this. they found some gigantic mushrooms near our house. i wonder what kind they are?




we also did some group shots with the timer. if it hadn't been for my camera strap, this would have been THE BEST photo of the day.


there were plenty more photos of toys and Kiara dancing. some self-portaits. even a lifestyle shot of his room....real life too. he did not bother to tidy it up before taking the shot! he does talk a lot {any idea who he gets that from?!} and we hear a lot of what he thinks of life. but it is fun to see what is important in his day too. it would be tempting to send the camera with him to school and see his day from his perspective.



i just finished a layout of Kiara from 2008. we were so glad to close the door on 2008 and welcome 2009! it was one of those years filled with far too much sadness and grief. it has been hard to scrapbook some of the photos that remind me of the pain. but we're moving on and finally able to celebrate the joy that the year also brought. finally. anyways....back to the point! if you think i ramble when i write, you should watch me ramble when i'm working on a layout! the kids change in leaps and bounds some days. and sometimes the growth and changes are so subtle that it is only visible in photos. thank goodness for photos!! when Kristian saw the photo of Kiara he didn't recognize her at first. here are a few that i took of her that same day. it's so easy to forget how little she was. to think she was just learning how to blow bubbles....now she is nearly ready to ride a bike without training wheels. the title on that layout?

"if only time could stand still for a moment...."

so true. at times.

joke is on me!

would you believe i had to bribe our children to come INDOORS a few days ago?

i'm a little cautious when they are in the backyard alone. i don't have to sit outside with them and watch them every second anymore. however i am not comfortable working in a part of the house where i can't see or hear them.

it was quite windy this week and neither of them actually wanted to ride their bikes for long. although they are thrilled that the snow has pretty much melted. just a few piles that they can shovel and move to another area. the sandbox is also a big thrill again.

basically all the toys that they haven't seen since October are new again!




we have had this little car since Aidan was 20 months old. it was second hand. that first winter we actually brought it into the basement so that he could play during the winter. i have a few photos from 2 year old Aidan and 4 month old Kiara sitting together on the seat. Aidan has the wheel and Kiara was content to sit beside him and let him decide where to go. not much has changed. i can picture them in 13 years {gasp!} doing the same thing with a real car.



this car was used for a lot of their imaginary games this week. i don't usually play a part in those games. but i hear a lot of interesting material! if they can write out these stories as well as they can act, then we will have many years of entertainment on our hands.

this has been a fabulous neighbourhood for spring. we have yet to make it to the park. however the back path is kept clear of snow, so it is ready for bikes quite early. the yard even has a slope so that the water drains properly and in good time! maybe tomorrow will find us spending some time at the park. this will be the first year that i should be able to sit off to the side for most of the playtime with a book or magazine. it could possibly be my new addiction! i can't see much complaining about that from anyone either. yahoo!!



given it was April Fool's Day today, my joke started early. it was not my brightest moment when i decided to put the kids' easter treats in my closet. nor to leave them there after Kiara discovered them and tried to open a package already. you know what's coming. you may recall this event.

last night had me working downstairs and Kristian upstairs. Kiara managed to sneak past him with a bag of their easter treats. at 10:00pm Kristian discovered Kiara nearly finished an entire chocolate treat. a hollow tinkerbell that was nearly her size. at 10pm. that is 3 hours past the time we tucked her under her covers for sleep. this added more sugar into her system than she has ever had before. not to mention the lack of sleep.

again, i was very excited with the products and ideas i had for the next layout class at Urban. i was anxious to also put the assignment away and spend some family time this weekend. with glee, i worked hard on the page last night. then i crawled into bed at 3am.

Aidan was up at 7:30am and in a totally happy mood. and he was humming the Star Wars theme song while he ate his cereal.

happy Fool's Day to me!



knowing Kiara and i needed sleep...i begged him to be quiet. turned on the laptop so that the could play games. i also turned on the iMac so that he could pick an iTune show to watch if he got tired of games.

it could have been a terrible joke. thankfully he was very respectful of our moods and sleep needs. most likely he was thrilled to play computer games uninterrupted for a few hours!


supper is about to be eaten and the tears have been very minimal with all things considered!


phew!


**added: no photos of the unfortunate chocolate incident this time! shucks!!

a little something

this is the blog that my friends and family read to hear updates on our little family and to see recent photos of all of us. or mostly our babies!

so this lovely group of people are not always aware of what is happening in my creative or hobby side of my life. which is fine! scrapbooking is not for everyone (sadly!).

so many scrapbooking magazines were not able to weather out the recession. this one is home-made here in Canada. i figured it was a good place to start sending some of my pages to get published.

i had 2 published in their winter issue. then i had 1 published in this spring issue.



this is for our Danish relatives! you know who you are!! remember the oldest buildings we have here in Edmonton? this photo was taken at the park that has some re-creations (and some real ones too) of those "old" buildings.

i sooo did not want to cut up that background paper. i also struggled with what part to cover up with my photo.

it is hard to believe that the photo is nearly 2 years old. those munchkins really are growing too fast. so hard to not get a good photo of them at the park too. i wish it were open year-round.

and that is all. sunny days are in the forecast. so are quieter days. maybe this will mean my camera comes out of hiding more often? i hope so!!

boogabooga!

last weekend we took the family out for some noodles. after we were done i realized that at some point i either lost part of my tooth or a filling. no pain. just not nice and smooth like the rest of my teeth.

a few days later i celebrated my birthday. with my tooth still not intact. apparently my teeth are not getting any younger.

today was the earliest i could get the damaged tooth repaired. i was NOT excited. i do have a great dentist. i taught two of his four children, so we know each other rather well. i would say that i got along rather well with their family too. unfortunately for all involved, i have had some not-so-great experiences with other dentists when it came to repairing my teeth. we'll just leave the rest of the details out and say that it was a bad memory that i have tried to forget. fortunately i have not needed dental work that required me to have freezing or require 10 fingers to be inside my mouth.

i was prepared for today. i bought an i-book. i practiced positive thoughts. i smiled. crossed my fingers. and toes. prayed for Christ to return. either way i was also betting that i may no longer hold any positive opinion in this dentists' eyes!

i was WRONG! didn't need the i-book. it was over so fast! i did not cry or bite any part of a finger. i rocked. turns out i have an awesome dentist!!!

now, let me jump ahead....(because my dental experiences is not the point of this post!)


after lunch i told the kids i had a special movie to watch with them. they love that. then i added that i had gotten it from my dentist. to which Aidan responded, "i guess you were a good for him then." i think the kids may be disappointed with their next visit when they only get dollar store type prize!

i would highly recommend buying this dvd for any kids you know. (it was easily understood by our 3 year old critic and enjoyed by this 'much older' viewer)

we laughed so hard!

my dentists' brother, Rich Milner is the author of the stories. i think it was 2003 when Rich disappeared on a hiking trip. after his presumed death, David and his family decided to publish these cute children's stories that Rich had written for his nephews and nieces. "The Adventures of Marty the Monkey and Gerard the Giraffe." now they are putting the stories onto DVD.

they have also developed a website: www.boogaboogaland.com

here is a review i found about the first dvd in the series.

each video/chapter is based on a parable from the Bible. a new character is introduced in each successive video too. if you go to their website, you can read the titles and summaries of each of them. not all of the stories have been produced yet. i believe a new dvd is set to be released next month. or you can read some more details here.

Amazon.com is selling them as well as some local retailers. it will be a series that we will be adding to our collection without doubt.


a side note for us Canadians....pay attention to the bus driver in the first story. he uses the word, "eh?" and he has a maple leaf on his sleeve. i got too caught up in the other stories to watch for little details like that!

had to share

i was going through photos tonight and came across these....



for a few of his cards, Aidan set up an assembly line. these cards turned out very cute!


Kiara became master of the stamping! until i caught her using black ink....then adding some of my light pink...oops! she also really liked using the paper punch too. i can't wait to see what she starts putting together next year. the difference between her first cards and the last ones she made this year were incredible.


for one week i had 3 different projects going on and basically took over the kitchen table. it would normally be large enough for all of us, but these weren't my personal projects. there was no way i wanted to take a chance of an accident happening!! however Aidan was in the mood to do his own projects, so he found space on the floor. i love how he spread out all of his supplies like this. once in awhile, Kiara joined him too.

really, i think they prefered the floor...but that had to end when my projects were done. and i also had to ban stamping while working on the floor. we had some close calls!


the happy part of the day was the afternoon. everyone was feeling healthy. {that's a happy moment right there!} the weather was super nice. {also a happy moment in itself!} put all that together, and we had two very happy children playing happily outside. add in one happy mother who also got to get some fresh air. yup. happiness all around today!



my goal has been to de-clutter. i started with some furniture we weren't really needing anymore. furniture Kristian had been begging me to destroy! so i started my relationship with Kijiji and sold it. nothing like trial by fire. i think i priced it just a tad too low....the interest in our junk was absolutely crazy. {and so were some of the people interested in the stuff....if you what i mean} however no Lego will be sacrificed in the de-clutter. all will be saved! much to the relief of everyone. the same goes for my scrapbooking supplies. we want to maintain the happy mood...heehee

happy halloween

halloween day was a MEMORABLE day!

i didn't get a chance to sleep in. Kiara woke me up at 7am when she had a bad dream. those kinds of a start to the day are never good. we had decided the night before that we needed to make a good effort to getting our H1N1 flu shots. the clinics opend at 9am. after Kiara woke me up, i figured i may as well get dressed and get out the door. by the time i drove through the Starbucks drive through and bought my venti non-fat latte and oatmeal, it was 7:30. and the line up was longer than i could have guessed. fortunately there were several nice people nearby to wait with. honestly, it is amazing how much you learn about a stranger in those kinds of situations.

an hour later, the line-up had doubled. it completely disrupted service at the local gas station. almost everyone had picked up a coffee. Tim Hortons, Second Cup and Starbucks cups overflowed the garbage cans. i guess the pandemic and local immunization clinic has been profitable for some businesses. by the time we reached the doors at 9:30 the local bank set up some tables for donated coffee from Starbucks.

the scene inside the clinic is one i doubtfully will forget. it seriously seemed so outdated from the kind of environment we have grown accustomed to. a lineup that snaked around one corner of the room. a view of every single immunization station. adults who hate needles, laying down as they recover from their shot. children screaming in terror and crying after the poke.

by 11am i had called my husband to come with the kids and join me in the final line. altogether they had to wait for 45 minutes. the kids were stressed by the environment and also filled with some nervous anticipation. that last 45 minutes felt the longest!

but we managed to be healthy on the same day and get the shot over with. i was very proud of my kids and their bravery. after the shot was over, our nurse gave them some licorice and that brought their smiles back. as promised we stopped in at the bakery below for another well deserved treat.

by mid-afternoon all of our arms were tender and we felt tired. Kiara announced that she was not going to be getting another needle. she knows that there are plans to go back in three weeks for a booster shot. i may need to promise a pony for that one!

then we had to make it through the rituals of Halloween night! for the kids the last 2 hours before trick-or-treating felt like days!





Kristian made a special meal for the kids.

the three of them joined up with another neighbor and they treated around the neighborhood together for about an hour.

i stayed home, wore my witchs' hat and passed out candies. there are some really cute little kids in this community that had the best costumes. it was a pretty relaxed hour for me. i even managed to clean up the kitchen and sweep the floor in between trick-or-treaters! the irony of wearing a witch hat and using a broom on halloween night gave me a private laugh during that time. some things you just can't plan!





in all the rushing before they left to go treating, i forgot to take photos with some daylight. so here is the post-walking photo. Aidan told me later that they saw lots of Transformers and Princesses out that night. Star Wars was a popular costume plan.

they did have their lighter winter coats squished under their costumes. and mittens kept their hands from forming icicles. fortunately they are quite lean, so after all the stuffing they actually looked like average weight children!

by the time photos were done, they were anxious to take off their costumes. they both had glitter in their hair, so we hustled them off to warm baths. it probably felt good after been out in the chilly evening. then the evening drama really began. Kiara started coughing and Aidan was loudly complaining of his stomach hurting. i had mentioned earlier that both myself and Kiara had a strange flu with fever, chills and nausea. i guess it was now his turn. except we also now had the H1N1 vaccine to complicate things! for sanity, we treated Aidan's grumbles with gravol and ibuprofen. daddy hung out in his room while he listened to the tales of winnie the pooh, and eventually he fell asleep. he slept very well, probably the drugs and drama of the day contributing to that. Kiara kept coughing and also ran another fever. these days, those symptoms tend to spark fear in mothers. she got some decongestant and Tylenol. however, she woke me up nearly every 2 hours. once was for asking me to cover up her teddy bear.

this morning, both kids woke up rather happy and hungry. however we've had ups and downs with their health. Aidan definitely has the flu that took me down. Kiara, it is hard to know. she is pretty content and just keeping a low profile. the TV has been working as a great distraction. normally they average 30 minutes a day, so this is quite out of the ordinary. i know they are not feeling well because neither of them has any interest in looking through their treasures of candy from last night.

i'm dealing with it all rather well. i am glad the initial immunization is done. i know they won't be fully immunized until they get their booster in 21 days. however they will soon have 87% immunity and their bodies are already at work making antibodies. it's hard to know what Kiara has, but she seems to be doing well at fighting it. looks like we'll have another quiet day at home tomorrow. after this weekend, i think we all deserve a relaxing day!

last winter we seriously had 4 months of illness. we did have a few days' break in between.....but it went on forever! none of us are wanting to repeat that. so far, we are not off to a great start.

other things are keeping us smiling and encouraged. we'll keep our focus on that.

scavenger hunt

it was an average fall day on Friday. except if you looked closely. the irony of patches of snow on the ground and green leaves remaining on the trees. somehow the rainbow of yellow, orange, red and brown leaves missed the party this year. there were a few....but they were few!


early this month, Aidan brought home two sheets of homework. one was a calendar with a mix of seasonal and learning related challenges. the other was a scavenger hunt designed for fall. we would have done it long ago, if it hadn't been for the icy cold, 80km winds we had before the snow came. while i was still waiting for the perfect fall photos. we went from +30 degree CELSIUS days to ZERO degree CELSIUS days!


BUT on Friday, a warm front rolled into town. not great for those fall photos, but fine enough for the long awaited scavenger hunt. the kids were armed with paper bags. i had the master list and the camera. we were hopeful!



the temperature was 11 degrees C. just cold enough for us to stay cozy in our winter coats.

i love that this forest is a short walk from our house. no car or seatbelts required. no strange people...just parents, kids and cool runners or cyclists. phew!


one of the items was to find an INSECT. those ladybugs are tough! we found 3 of them. and one spider.


usually i am the only person carrying my DSLR camera. except this walk. we ran into TWO moms who had a wagon of photo gear, 4 kids and 2 cameras with lenses and flashes to make me green with envy! it was actually entertaining to my 2 kids and myself to listen to other moms repeat the famous photo phrases, "look at the camera!", "where is your nice smile?", "cooperate please!", "just one more" and "good, good, keep that pose"! the best part was hearing someone else say it to their own kids!!


and just to make sure my kids knew i loved them and still thought they were fabulous posers....we lost the jackets for 10 minutes and took some posed photos.




we managed to find ALL the items on the scavenger list. success!

i got some terrific photos. yippee!

now if i can just get some great family photos this weekend....with pumpkins? or something that resembles the fall....