How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways!

I have a confession to make: Prior to purchasing the acreage, I had never owned or even used a dishwasher! Shocking, I know. For some reason I've just never had one. But now that I have this appliance, I'm not sure how I was ever living without it.

The dishwasher we purchased is by no means top-of-the-line. But it works well for our particular needs. We required a "portable" dishwasher since our kitchen isn't constructed for the built-in type. But when we were shopping around for a dishwasher, we soon discovered that portables are kind of a thing-of-the-past and stores don't have many to choose from. And the one thing that portable dishwashers are notorious for are the "fake brown wood" top, which I despise. The dishwasher we bought has a white top instead of a brown one. Plus, ours is small, which means it's not taking up too much space in our kitchen. And it has a built-in water softener, which is good for our hard "farm" water. Although our new dishwasher is smaller than normal, by placing the dishes in just the right spots, I can usually get away with only have to run it once a day. Plus, it's Energy Star, which is even a bigger bonus.

So, yes, I'm in love with this appliance. It's given me more free time to spend with the people I love most. Thanks, Danby!

Here are all the details. I've highlighted the features that I particularly appreciate.

Capacity: 8 Place Settings Colour: White Description: Portable Dishwasher
Warranty: In-Home Service 18 months parts and labour + an additional 18 months (parts only) on the motor, pump, spray arm and dish rack.	Product Features 8 Place Setting Capacity Large Lower Dish Rack and Silverware Basket Dish Rack accommodates plates 11 in. diameter Adjustable Upper Dish Rack 7 Wash Programs Three Tier Spray Wash System Rinse Agent Dispenser Maximum temperature allows for sani-wash option Automatic Detergent Dispenser Low Water Consumption (Normal/Short programs) 3.8 gallons (14.5 L) Quiet Operation (55 dB) Convenient hose storage Built-in Casters for easy movement Water Softening System Stainless Steel Spray Arm & Interior Energy Star 3 Tier Filter

Dead Wheels

We purchased a 1999 Saturn SL1 back in November of 1998. This car has served us well. However, in the past year it has started to "fall apart". Since purchasing the car, we've replaced the battery(once), a/c fan blower (twice), hubcap (once), tires (2 once, 2 twice), u-joint (once), heater motor (once), ballast (once) and I think that's it. But overall we can't complain, because we've driven it almost 300,000 km. already. Most of the repairs have taken place in the last 18 months or so, with the exception of the tires. They've been replaced sporadically over the last 3 years.

Exactly one month ago today, we purchased a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins diesel truck (no minivans for us!), and this was to become our "second vehicle", for Wayne to use as an alternate to the car on the days when I need transportation. We realized the car was on its "last leg", and being on the acreage required us to think about getting something heavy-duty for numerous jobs around the place, including snow removal. We're going to get a snow blade for the front of the truck so that we don't have to rely on our neighbors to plough snow for us when the need arises in the future. We're really enjoying the truck. The back seat of the Dodge has just as much space as the front seat of our Saturn! Plus, it's got a DVD player with 2 sets of wireless headphones for the boys to use in the back seat. There is a lot less fighting taking place in the back seat of the truck than there was in the back seat of the car.

Today was a day when I needed the truck while Wayne was at work. He's working the afternoon/evening shift for the next two weeks, so the plan was that he'd take the car to work today and I'd use to truck to take Mitchell to Beavers, plus run some errands. The car started fine for Wayne, but by the time he got to the road at the end of our driveway, it lost all power and died. We're not sure what the problem is, and since Wayne needed to get to work on time, we towed the car back to our yard and he left as quickly as possible. I tried starting it again, but all that happened when I put the key into the ignition is the dashboard lit up and there was just the sound of a "click" when I tried to start it. We're not sure what the problem is, but it could be the alternator. Fortunately for us, Wayne is mechanically-inclined and if it is the alternator, he can likely fix it himself. We just need to get the parts.

I want my car back! For over a year I've lived without access to a second vehicle, and after getting the truck, I was relieved that I had some of my independence back. Now I'm frustrated because with the car not working, it may mean that we're back to one vehicle again, which means I may be stranded at times, with no way to "get out" when I need to. Plus, being in the country means that in case of an emergency, I'd have to rely on neighbors to help me get to where I need to go if Wayne's got our only vehicle at work with him.

I'm praying for a miracle with this . . . that the repair isn't too complex or expensive; and that I have some sort of transportation available to me sooner than later.

The Newest Member of our Family

This weekend we added a new canine friend to our ever-expanding pet roster.

Meet B.J., a 2-year old Golden Retriever. He's become Harpo's best friend. Harpo is our male Bichon Frise, and he follows B.J. all over the yard and they are sooooo cute together!

The other dogs have adjusted well to B.J.' s arrival. The boys aren't 100% sure about him yet, mostly because of B.J.'s rambunctious nature around them (the dog's head is at the same level as their heads, so he's pretty big for them). B.J. means well . . . he just wants to play. But the boys haven't quite figured this all out yet, and neither has the dog. We're hoping that over time B.J. will understand that barrelling over a 5-year old isn't exactly fun for the 5-year old.

We're really happy to have a big dog for the acreage. And so far, he's stayed near the house and hasn't ventured off our property. We were a bit concerned about that, but so far, so good.

Sentimental Bathroom

The night before we officially called our new house at the acreage "home", I had a tearful departure with our main bathroom at the "old" house. Strange, yes. But I have a very good reason for being emotional about leaving the bathroom behind. It holds sentimental value for us because our youngest son, Tyrone, was born in this bathroom. No, this wasn't planned. We didn't anticipate a home birth. Ty was just too impatient to have a normal entrance into the world!
I woke up at 5:14 a.m. on June 5, 2001 with a mild stomach ache. I went to "assess the situation", and concluded that yes, the baby's arrival was imminent. It was my due date, so I wasn't surprised at all that labour may be starting. By 5:19 a.m. another pain was felt, this time more intense, so I woke up my husband and I called my parents to come stay with Thomas and Mitchell. My famous last words to my mom: "Don't panic about getting here. I'll be okay until you arrive." I knew it would take them at least 30 minutes to get to our house, and we had about a 20 minute drive to the hospital. So, theoretically speaking, we should have had just under an hour to get to the hospital and have the baby. Nice theory.
As we awaited the arrival of my parents, my pain became increasingly worse and more frequent. Wayne kept saying, "If we can just get to the hospital before your water breaks, we'll be fine." Well, those were his famous last words, and about 10 minutes before my parents walked in the door, my water broke (it was clear, thank goodness), and at that point I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I could feel the intense pressure of the baby's head and I was barely mobile at this point. When my parents finally arrived at 6:00 a.m., I was in the bathroom attempting to put on a dry pair of pants, with no success whatsoever. Although I had previously concluded that I was never going to make it to the hospital in time to have this baby, I was still in denial, thinking that if I could just get these pants on, we'd make it. My mom walked into the bathroom and I said, "Forget it. I can't do this. We're having the baby here."
Prior to my parent's arrival, I told Wayne to get the What to Expect When You're Expecting book and look up the section on emergency deliveries. He got the book, found the section and read this phrase often: "If you have time . . . " and he'd reply, "We don't have time! What does it say to do next?" Looking back on it, that part of the experience was actually quite funny.
Wayne was already on the phone with 9-1-1 (or, back then for us in a rural setting it was 310-5000) when my parents arrived, and the attendant on the other end of the line attempted to guide him through the delivery process. But there wasn't time for that either. My mom and I got down on the bathroom floor and within 1 or 2 minutes, I had pushed that baby out! There's no way any doctor would have allowed such a quick delivery (more for the sake of my body than the baby's), but I actually didn't even do too much damage to myself. Tyrone cried right away and my mom wrapped him up in a towel and handed him over to me. Wayne was just about to cut off the umbilical cord (as per the instructions of the 9-1-1 attendant), but our town's First Responders squad arrived and took it from there. They were amazing people, and I'll never forget all of their care and concern for myself and Ty as he made such a dramatic entrance into the world.
Ty's Apgar scores were both 10, and we were very grateful for that. Eventually MD Ambulance arrived and then they took over from the First Responders. I had to be hooked up to oxygen and intravenous before leaving our house, but I was able to hold my precious angel the entire time. He looked like a baked potato, wrapped up in a foil blanket to protect him from heat loss.
Wayne met us at the hospital and was present for the weighing and measuring of our 8 lb., 20 3/4 inch baby boy.
Tyrone was born at 6:07 a.m. From the time I first woke up with my mild pain at 5:14 a.m. until he was born was less than one hour! Yes, this was a surreal experience, and even as I write this, almost 6 years after-the-fact, it seems almost unbelievable to me.
The birth of Mitchell was equally as exciting, but in his case we actually made it to the hospital in time for his birth. With him, I started having mild contractions (at the time I didn't know they were contractions . . . they just felt like menstrual cramps - this was my first pregnancy and birth experience--what did I know?!) at around 7:30 p.m. and by the time we arrived at the hospital at 9:16 p.m., things had progressed significantly. I was ready to deliver! He was born at 10:14 p.m. and emerged very quickly as well. However, Mitchell's birth was complicated by the presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid, which can be extremely dangerous to the baby. I'm grateful we were in a hospital for his birth. A neo-natal team was present and ready just in case Mitchell had inhaled any of the meconium, which could have caused serious breathing issues. But he was great. He was a healthy 7 lbs., 4 0z. bundle of joy! He had Apgar scores of 8 and 10, and there was no damage caused by the meconium.
So, no epidurals for me. All natural and pretty intense labours and deliveries. My doctor informs me that if we ever decided to have another baby, she'll book me into the hospital a week in advance and monitor me closely in order to avoid another instance like either of the boys' births. Apparently my body likes to go through the labor and delivery process more quickly than the average woman. Yes, it's great to not have to endure long, arduous labours, but at the same time, I would have at least appreciated a bit of time to mentally prepare. I didn't have time for any of that. And an epidural would have been appreciated too.
But, all is well that ends well. We were blessed with two beautiful, healthy baby boys despite their quick entries into the world. Is there going to be a next time? The jury is still out on that. But probably not.
(Note: My third and oldest son, Thomas, is actually my step-son. I did not have the privilege of bringing him into the world, so I can't report on his birth very well.)

Please Use the Spellchecker!

I have a theory on a person's ability to spell, which is that you've either got "it" or you don't. The "it" I'm referring to is the ability to spell words accurately. Upon reading many blog posts over the past year, one of my pet peeves has been a lack of proper use of the English language, particularly in the area of spelling. Please, why can't people use the spellchecking feature on their computers? I know it doesn't catch everything that has been spelled incorrectly (due to context issues, such as the proper use of the words they're, their and there), but it would alleviate a lot of frustration on my part, as I painfully read blogs that contain spelling errors. I have a very difficult time tolerating misspelled words, and really, it doesn't take that long to use a spellchecker before producing a final work of art for the rest of the known world to read.

In Business College we spent two (wasteful) months in a class called "Spelling." Give me a break! Our textbook was entitled, You Can Spell! This textbook was apparently supposed to help poor spellers become better spellers, but unfortunately there are too many "rules" that just don't make sense for the English language, and it was actually agonizing to watch other classmates struggle through this course, trying to use the "rules" to become better spellers. It simply didn't work. The textbook didn't work. I think the class was a waste of time. Now, having said that, I'm sure there were some parts of the class and textbook that were helpful to some of the students. But had I been a poor speller going into the class, I would have found the whole experience to be more confusing than helpful.

Back to my theory. I think a person is either born a speller or not born a speller. I was born a speller. My husband was not. He knows this, and hence asks me for spelling advice. Unfortunately for him, I'm the first one to point out his spelling and grammatical errors in both written and spoken word. But that's what he gets for marrying a Business College graduate who has an obsession with spelling. I won't go into all the gory details about how I analyze church bulletins, letters, newsletters, etc. and check for spelling accuracy. That would reveal my obsession just a bit too much.

While searching Google for a picture to post of my Business College Textbook (apparently nowhere to be found), I came across the following link to a site that will test your spelling ability: http://encarta.msn.com/quiz_36/How_Well_Can_You_Spell.html

I'd encourage you all to try it. Just for the record: I got 100%.

P.S. I don't want to make any of you feel bad if you weren't born a speller. I love people even if they can't spell. I'm not perfect either. You should see my Algebra marks! I just have a spelling obsession!

Blessed Assurance

"My Saviour and Friend" ~ Artist: Jean Keaton

"God loves to look at us, and loves it
when we look back at Him. Even
when we try to run away from our
troubles . . . God will find us, bless us,
even when we feel most alone, unsure
. . . God will find a way to let
us know that He is with us in
this place, wherever we are."
~Kathleen Norris~

My Favorite Things to Get Me Back Down to Earth

So, after yesterday's pathetic Alien post, I've received some encouraged from friends and other bloggers (via phone & Internet). Thanks, everyone. I'm feeling a bit better about things, probably because I just stayed at home today, enjoying some of my favorite things, which are:


1. The telephone. I've been encouraged by sharing my struggle with some close friends (they don't reside in my new home town), and it turns out I'm not the only one who suffers from this "Alien Syndrome" at the age of 34.


2. My new, bright, flowery, colorful tablecloth. Yes, it's vinyl. But it looks great in my kitchen, and when you've got little kids eating off your kitchen table, a cloth tablecloth doesn't work too well. I've already tried that. Vinyl is much, much easier to clean jam off of.


3. Listening to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Yes, it's a cassette tape, dug out from the archives! But it brings me back to my Bethany days, when we performed this whole program in front of a live audience and made a recording of it. The picture in the photo is from the original Brooklyn Tab album, which is what I've been listening to all day. I love it. It's put me into such a great mood!


4. Earl Grey Tea. I LOVE this stuff! I love the smell of it, and it tastes even better than it smells! For me, it's the ultimate hot drink. Partylite used to have a candle scent called Bergamot, which is the same aroma that emulates from my cup of Earl Grey Tea. Unfortunately, they discontinued the candles, much to my dismay!


5. Freshly baked cinnamon buns! This was one of my projects for today . . . I usually bake when I'm feeling stressed. Baking is my hobby, so we usually have some fresh baking in our kitchen at all times. Notice I'm baking 4 pans at once! That's thanks to my brand new LG Convection Oven, which I'm really enjoying.

So, I'm now going to go have a cup of Earl Grey Tea at my brightly-colored table, listen to Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and eat a cinnamon bun. Maybe I'll make a phone call too!

I Am An Alien

I feel like I don't belong.

In mid-December we moved to a small Saskatchewan town, with a population of about 400 people (town and surrounding area). I was raised in small-town Saskatchewan, in a community of a similar size as where we moved to. There are many similarities between the two towns and so I thought that moving here would be sort of like "moving back to my hometown." It is in some ways, but it isn't in a lot of ways. The demographic similarities and statistical data are similar, but I still feel like an Alien.

"Alien" can be defined as follows: stranger; anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found.

Yes, that sums it up in a nutshell. I feel like I don't belong in the environment in which I currently am in. Don't get me wrong. I love our house and the acreage and the peace and serenity that brings. I'm not sorry that we moved here. But I miss having a sense of "belonging" like I did in the other town we lived in. I know we've only been living here for a month, but there are times I feel like an alien, and it mostly stems from my experiences on school skating days.

School skating days have happened 3 times this month, and parents are encouraged to attend so that they can help tie skates and give assistance to the kids out on the ice if they need it. My boys need assistance, because they haven't had much experience skating. However, they are loving it. And I'm glad for that!

But what happens at the skating rink prior to the arrival of all the kids is what's really bugging me. The first day I was there, I was the one who had to make "small talk" with the other moms. I introduced myself to everyone, but only one person gave me her name back. Like, they all know who I am, but I've got no idea who they all are, and it feels like it's going to be that way forever! The next two times of going to the skating rink, I didn't say a word to anyone. No one made an effort to even make eye contact with me or even say "Hello." So, I just stood there like a bump on a log, waiting for my precious boys to charge through the door so that I could have my security and sense of belonging back. Once I saw their smiling faces I felt better and then I could focus on them and not have to worry about why no one was speaking to me.

Because of the town's small size, everyone knows the circumstances surrounding the purchase of our acreage and why it was sold (the prior owners had a marriage break-up), and everyone knows we bought the "Smith" acreage, but that's about all they say once they find out my name. I don't want to discuss the details of the marriage break-up. I don't want to discuss history. I just want to become friends (or at least acquaintaces) with the current residents of the town and surrounding area. I want to be included in conversations. I want to be known and respected. I want to feel like I belong here. But that isn't happening. I know all of my expectations won't be met overnight. But it seems like I haven't even made a single ounce of progress in the area of meeting new people or making new friends, and I don't feel welcome here.

I do realize that living in the country doesn't help. If we lived in town I probably would have at least had one conversation with my neighbors by now. But I go to help at school skating week after week, not making any progress in the friendship area. People don't seem to be reaching out. It's strange. In looking back over my encounters with other people in this town, I've always had to make the first contact. Well, I'm getting tired of it! It's not in my nature to just "barge" my way into a social circle. If I were 10 - 15 years younger, I probably would. But I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago. I used to be a lot more outgoing. But somewhere along the way I lost my confidence to be that way and seem to be a lot more self-aware now when entering a new social realm.

Why do I feel like I'm back in elementary or high school again, trying to earn the favor of the popular group? I hate feeling like this. What's wrong with me? Is it my appearance? Is it my kids? Is it my clothes? Is it my house? Why won't anyone reach out?

Oh, I wish there was some answer to this dilemma. I think I've already set myself up for defeat, and I've concluded that I'm not even going to try. I do know 2 women here (not that well, but well enough that I know their names), and they live on farms near us. But I guess I was kind of waiting for them to make the first move as far as connecting. Since that's not happening, I'll have to just make the effort to at least call them up for coffee.

I just feel horrible about myself right now and I'm not in a good emotional space, so I'll need to try when I'm feeling better about myself and life in general. Okay, now that I've let that all out, I feel a bit better. But I think I'm going to just let this rest for a while and appreciate the anonymity I currently have add up all the pros of living where we do.

But I still don't like being an Alien.

The Cat Came Back & Triscuit Crackers

Just after I posted on my blog a couple of hours ago, I was at my kitchen sink, which has a window above it overlooking our deck. The cat was there! So, I panicked for nothing and Missy is apparently safe and sound.


I love promoting new-found joys in life. My most recent find is Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil crackers. They taste amazing! I bought some at the end of December to accompany a cheese ball I was making, and now they're a family favorite. However, I've only been able to located them in one store - Zellers! I was just there the other day and bought 5 boxes. I don't want to run out of these things. I'm afraid that this is just a "trial" flavor and if the consumer's don't buy enough of this flavor, they'll stop making them at the factory. This happened to me once with a Sprite product. I'm not even sure what the exact name of the flavor was, but the label was purple and the drink had a berry flavor added to it - it was sooooo tasty! I think it was called Reprise or Remix or something like that. In any case, they stopped making it, much to my dismay! I don't want that to happen with my crackers! Hopefully some of the other stores will start selling them too. I don't do a lot of shopping at Zellers.

Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty . . .

We "inherited" a cat with the acreage. We were not advised of her name, and so the boys appropriately named her "Mischief". I call her Missy for short.

My dogs hate Missy. They torment her any chance they get. They eat her food. They bark if she comes near the door. They try to attack and chase her whenever possible.

We haven't seen Missy for 2 days now, and I'm a bit concerned. We've been calling and calling for her, but she doesn't come.

Being out in the country, and the fact that she's not housebroken (plus I don't really have an appreciation for "indoor" cats), she is not allowed to enter the house. She's strictly an outdoor kitty.

I leave food out for her every morning. Yesterday she didn't come for it. Today she hasn't come for it. The last time I saw her was on Tuesday afternoon at 3:10 p.m.

I know cats are different from dogs. But I'm not as knowledgeable about cats as some people. For those of you who have a cat, or know things about cats, should I be concerned that she hasn't come to the house for 2 days now? She seems to rely on us for food, and being that it's winter, I don't think she's doing a lot of mouse-catching right now.

My thoughts on explaining her disappearance vary. One part of me says, she's a cat. She likes to roam and be independent. She'll come home when she wants to. Another part of me suspects she's dead. I hope that isn't true, because I'm not sure if my boys could handle that news. One other suspicion I have is that perhaps she's gone off somewhere to have a litter of kittens. I'm not aware of her being pregnant, but what do I know about this? My specialty is dog pregnancies. If my suspicion of kittens is true, I'm not sure that they'd still be alive. It's been pretty cold here the last 2 nights, and I don't know how well newborn kittens would fare in this kind of weather.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on how I could get to the bottom of this missing cat, I'd appreciate it.

Ahhh.....Aveeno!

Our water on the acreage is hard. The previous owners took every measure possible to ensure that the drinking water is drinkable, and that the rest of the water is as soft as it can possibly be. But, it is still hard. The reason I know this is because: a) my hair is struggling to be as lustrous, full and healthy-looking as it used to be; and b) my skin is excessively dry, my lips are more chapped than usual, and eczema has begun to emerge on most parts of my body.

The last time I had eczema this bad is when I was pregnant with Mitchell (first pregnancy). Because I was pregnant, the doctor could not prescribe the regular cortisone treatment that she normally would have, because of the potential risks to the baby. So she suggested some over-the-counter solutions, including a product called Glaxal Base (it didn't work), and Aveeno. She also made a referral to a dermatologist for me.

I took immediate action and purchased the over-the-counter remedies, starting with Glaxal Base, followed by Aveeno. Well, Aveeno worked wonders! I was very impressed with their basic body-lotion (this was basically the only product in their line back in 1999). By the time my appointment with the dermatologist was made (several weeks later), I was happy to report that I didn't need a dermatologist anymore because Aveeno did the trick! My eczema was gone!

Over the years I've used other skin care products, and of-late I've been a Mary Kay girl. I started out as a consultant, but due to some serious family issues I was dealing with, running my own business became low on my list of priorities, so I opted to become a personal-use consultant only. This means that in order to keep my status, I have to place an order every 6 months, and evidently my status is almost null and void (I think I've got one month left before I must order again). If I just ordered the basic skincare that wouldn't set me back so much financially, but I have to put out close to $300 every 6 months just to keep my status. Right now I don't have an extra $300 kicking around to order skincare and make-up.

So, since I wasn't able to place a Mary Kay order in December and I was running out of skincare (i.e. cleanser, toner, moisturizer, etc.), I decided to give the Aveeno skincare line a try. And boy am I glad I did! It isn't the most inexpensive skincare line there is, but so far it's been worth every penny.

I've started out with the Ultra Calming line, which is specifically designed for sensitive skin. But today I found out there's an age-defying line available as well, and since I'm hitting that age where I am going to start to be considered "middle-aged" (by some people), I think that anything to slow down the aging process is a bonus. This is a topic for another post, perhaps, but what do you consider to be middle-aged? Just wondering.

The thing I like about the Aveeno skincare line is that I like my skin so much now that I could actually venture out into the world without applying foundation. That's huge to me, because foundation is one thing I rarely go without. But the Aveeno products have helped my skin so much that I don't think I need foundation. And the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion is slowly but surely taking care of my nasty eczema. Yes, slowly but surely. These products don't work overnight, but with consistent application and patience, they will do their job (at least for me they will).

Now, after that promo, I think Aveeno should seek me out for a testimonial. I love Aveeno! The products I'm currently using are listed below. For more information on these and other Aveeno products, visit www.aveeno.com

ULTRA-CALMING - A line of facial care products that release the calming properties of feverfew, a natural ingredient related to chamomile, to visibly reduce redness and calms sensitive skin for healthy, beautiful skin.

DAILY MOISTURIZING - A line of body care products that are enriched with natural colloidal oatmeal and moisture-rich emollients to moisturize and soothe dry skin...for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts.

Trying to Blog!

I've been trying to post since yesterday afternoon without success, but have finally been able to sign into my Blogger account. Were there any other bloggers having sign-in problems? I was beginning to think it was just me, my computer, our location, or whatever . . . but I wasn't able to read or leave comments on other blogger either, so I think it was a blogger problem in general.

Frustrating to say the least.

Now my post from yesterday that I so desperately needed to be written will not be posted. It had something to do with my boys being home from school for 4 days because of illness, a snow storm and/or a windchill that wouldn't allow the school bus to pick them up! It is now Saturday, and they're supposed to be home, so I'm okay with it. But yesterday (and the day before, and possibly the day before that), I was ready for the funny farm.

Mitchell (my 7-year old) requested that I post the following incident:

Two nights ago when I was telling the boys their bedtime stories, they asked for me to tell them one "out of my head." Normally I don't mind doing this, but I was so exhausted that I kept falling asleep, and the story would abruptly end, or I'd say something that had no relevance to the story whatsoever. The boys would poke me and say, "Mommy, more story. You fell asleep." Then I'd try to remember where I was in the story and continue on. Apparently at one point while I was "sleeping", I said the following: "Alaska (our dog) went down the hill on the sled, and then Mitchell decided to get his ears pierced." The part of the story that was authentic, and went with the story-line was the part about our dog going down the hill. But the part about Mitchell getting his ears pierced was not part of the story. I'm not even sure why I said that! But the boys thought it was hilarious and keep reminding me of my story blunder. For some reason Mitchell thought this anecdote was worthy to be posted on my blog, so I am honoring his request and telling you about it.

I love my boys. They are wonderful. But we all have cabin fever. Yesterday and today we've been having a new furnace installed. Yesterday the temperature outside was around -20 to -30C, so it made for a chilly day. Today the temperature isn't as low, and the work is almost done, so I'm thankful for that. It isn't too cold in the house yet.

I'm planning to post something more significant either later tonight or tomorrow or Monday . . . but I'm grateful to any of you who still read this.

Styrofoam, A Storm and Frozen Remote Controls

Styrofoam: A great packing material, yes. But horrible to clean up. As you can see from the first picture in my post, there is Styrofoam scattered all over my basement floor. The cause of this mayhem: Tyrone. Mitchell is claiming non-involvement in this, but part of me thinks he was somewhat involved. With the amount of new things we've purchased requiring excellent packing over the past couple of weeks, we've accumulated quite a bit of Styrofoam. Normally this has been disposed of in short order, so that messes like the one in the picture can be avoided. But my wonderful husband "forgot" to dispose of several pieces in our basement after putting our T.V. stand together, which led to Tyrone creating the mess. Tyrone has been instructed to clean this up, but 24 hours have passed since that instruction, and the basement remains the same. Personally I think his dad should "help" him clean it up, since he's the one that left the temptation out in the first place. I can totally understand why Tyrone has this Styrofoam fascination. It is fun to pull apart. But the fun does not outweigh the horrible challenge of cleaning it up.

A Storm: We were bombarded by a huge winter storm last night. The picture was taken this morning of our "front" yard. Our yard is completed surrounded by sheltering evergreen trees, and even with that, we've got a huge quantity of snow to plough. I can't imagine what the surrounding roads are like. The bus driver called this morning at 7:00 a.m. to let us know that the buses wouldn't be running today. I just spoke with one of the teachers and she said that only 9 kids showed up for school today, no teachers from the city drove in to work, and school is now closed until the storm blows over. I'm glad we didn't venture out to take the boys into school on our own. Unfortunately, Wayne has to go into work later this afternoon. Hopefully the storm has eased up a bit by then.

Frozen Remote Controls: Five-year olds perceive the world so differently, don't they? Last night before I put the boys to bed I was setting up my T.V. in order to record House, and I couldn't find the remote controls anywhere. I need 2 remote controls in order to record things, and there were NOWHERE to be found. I asked the boys if they'd seen them around while they were playing earlier, and sure enough, Ty knew where they were. He yelled down from upstairs, "They're in the freezer." I asked the same questions again and added: "I thought you said they were in the freezer." "Yes," Tyrone said. "I put them in the freezer."

I'm thinking, oh great. Frozen remotes. Like they're ever going to work again! I found them, rescued them from their freezing world and they actually still work. Thank goodness. When I asked Ty why he put them in there, he said, "We were playing a game called 'Everything in the Freezer'. We found lots of different stuff and put it in the freezer. That was the game."

The boys now know that remote controls (and a plethora of other things--mostly toys), do not belong in a deepfreeze!

Today has already been an adventure. The boys have no school and I had lots of plans to keep on painting in my kitchen, but that idea is now down the drain. I've already refereed 5 or 6 "fights" and it's not even noon yet! Hopefully I don't have another 1-2-3-4-5-6 Switch Day again!

I am slowly going crazy . . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 SWITCH! Slowly going, crazy am I . . . 6, 5, 4, 3 ,2, 1, SWITCH!

**Note: My title for this post comes from a song I learned as a child. You keep singing the same lines over and over, faster and faster, until you can't sing anymore. Anyone else familiar with this little tune? I've been singing it quite a bit in the past month or so. . .

I'm having a bit of a bad day. My 7 and 5 year old boys came very close to pushing me over the edge today. Wayne is putting them to bed right now (this rarely happens . . . unless I'm about to lose my sanity because of their behavior). I decided to take advantage of my freedom and write a blog post.

My new stove just arrived (yes, I've been without a stove/oven since December 20th!), and so I decided that I'd "make up for lost time" today and do a tonne of baking. I managed to accomplish that, but not without a lot of fighting, running around, beckons for mommy, overall disobedience and a lot of noise in the background all day, emulating from my children.

I started painting my kitchen last night (I wanted to paint behind the stove before it was installed). Today I wanted to continue painting, and of course I had big plans to get a large portion of this project completed. But it's a pretty big project in the grand scheme of things . . . the kitchen cupboards, walls, trims and baseboards are all getting new paint. I have a lot of cupboards, and now that I've started I'm not sure if I can endure all the work. I will do it though, because I know that the end result is going to be awesome. But guess who wants to "help" me? Have you ever worked with a seven-year old trying to paint cupboards? Not too fun. So I decided we would work on another kitchen-related project which I anticipated working on after the walls and cupboards were done, which is my kitchen chairs. Mitchell and Ty helped me with this, which was a little less complicated than the cupboards. After they had their fill of "helping mommy with her painting" they left me alone for a while.

The boys have made "forts" out of the empty appliance boxes. Cute. But along with this comes great mess, especially when they start using the Styrofoam packing materials as their swords, tools, furniture, food, and who knows what else! They have very vivid imaginations. And they also have a great ability to make a mess. (Oh, I think I mentioned that one already.) Unfortunately, they don't see it this way and protest when asked to clean up the mess. "But, mom, this is our house! We live here during the day! If we take this down we won't have anywhere to sleep or eat or play." Guess who won this battle? They did. I guess I was just happy that they weren't asking to paint with me anymore.

As I was finishing up my painting project for the day, we discovered that all three of our dogs were missing out of the porch, for who knows how long! The last time they ran away from the acreage, Wayne found them 1/2 a mile down the road headed for the highway! Today they were actually on our property, but of course I first had to waste 20 minutes of my day searching for them on the surrounding roads. I wasn't impressed!

So because of the dogs and the painting delays, supper was later than I had planned, which means the boys had their bath later, and they are getting to bed later than normal, which means Wayne and I are going to have even less time to spend together tonight than I had hoped for!

Sounds like I'm having a pity party. Maybe I am. But you'd cry too if it happened to you . . .

FOG - Following Our God

About a month ago, after attending our niece's birthday party out of town, we experienced a trip home that I'd rather forget. It was late, and Wayne was exhausted, so I volunteered to drive home. Little did I know what I was in for . . .

When we left my sister's town to go home (about a one-and-a-half hour drive), we didn't realize that there was THICK fog starting in the great outdoors. At first I thought it was just in town and perhaps surrounding it by a couple of miles. But as we kept driving, the fog got worse.

My brother and his wife left in their vehicle first, followed by my parents, and then us. Initially we were about 5 minutes behind my parents, but due to the poor driving conditions, I eventually "caught up" to my parents with my dad in the driver's seat.

The fog was so dense that all I had to rely on for guidance were the taillights on my parents' car. Essentially, I was relying on my dad to get me home safely.

Along the way there was one idiot driver who decided that we were "too slow" for him, so he passed me first, and then my dad. With the thickness of the fog, it was a pretty risky thing to do. The visibility was close to zero, and this guy was passing us! This also occurred on a road which I consider to be a "paved grid." There are no shoulders, just two narrow lanes for traffic to drive on!

Eventually I had to break free from the comfort of having my dad "in the lead", since my parents live in a different town from us. But I was grateful for the help my dad provided me with in order to safely reach my destination. We all arrived home safely, even though the entire experience was nail-biting and nerve-wracking (for me - Wayne was sleeping through most of this!!!).

Upon reflecting on this entire driving experience, it got me thinking about how this FOG-filled drive home is similar to my relationship with God.

Firstly, I must rely on God to direct me. Just like I was relying on my dad and the taillights on his car, I need God to be my "car" and "taillights." Without His guidance and direction in my life, I'm not sure where I'd be. I actually don't even want to think about how horrible my life would be without the ability to rely on God!!

Secondly, "idiot drivers" can get in my way of being able to see God's direction. I consider these "idiots" to be distractions that cause me to stop seeking God. Some examples for me are my family, my responsibilities as a wife and mother, hobbies, t.v., the computer, friends. . . whatever. Everyone has their own personal list of distractions that keep them from having a close relationship with their Heavenly Father. And I'm not saying that these things/people aren't important. They are. But they shouldn't be at the very top of my list of priorities. God should. Once those "idiots" are removed, or at least lowered on my list of priorities, it makes life a whole lot better. Unfortunately for me, these "idiots" are too frequently getting in my way of having a closer relationship with God. But since we moved to the acreage, I've been trying to re-prioritize things in my life by putting God at the top of my list in everything I do. Easier said than done.

Thirdly, I must realize that without God in the lead, life will be more of a challenge. Decisions are harder to make. Stress causes more havoc on my body. The future seems more unclear. Sin creeps in and tries to take over my life. God wants to lead me. He wants to direct my life. He is the "car ahead of me" so-to-speak.

We are all on a journey. And God is always there to guide and direct us, if we allow Him to.

Moving Day - Part Two

No pictures with this report, just an update about the rest of our move. It seems so long ago, but at the time it was pretty intense and mostly frustrating. I thought it was never going to be over!

In my post entitled, "Moving Day - Part One" I made note of the fact that the moving process was still several hours away from completion, but we anticipated that we'd be all done by midnight of the 16th. WRONG! Because of the horrible weather, and possibly because we own too much stuff, we had to spend another whole day moving. Yes, your calculations are correct and we had to complete our move on a Sunday. Tsk! Tsk! We only did this because we were desperate to get the move completed. We were borrowing moving equipment, we only had help for one or two days, and we needed to be out of our place within a couple of days after we did the big move. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about continuing the move on a Sunday, but we didn't really have a choice in the matter. And of course I underestimated the amount of time the continued move would take . . . we got back to our "old" house around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday night! Crazy! I'm not doing this again (by my choice) for a very, very long time.

After moving our belongings from our old house to our new house, I had the daunting task of cleaning our entire house (the one that we sold). The realtor informed me later that this was a big bonus for the person moving in, and it better have been a bonus! My old house has never been cleaner! I was almost envious over the fact that our buyer was getting such a clean home, when I knew that the house we had just moved into was in need of a major clean and was FULL of boxes!

So, upon arriving at our new home on the acreage, I have slowly but surely been unpacking, organizing, and cleaning as I go. We had our first guests over four days after Christmas, and that was a big motivating factor for Wayne and I to get the main floor looking acceptable. It looks quite fine now, although there is still a huge need for a painting makeover.

I love our new place, and I keep telling Wayne over and over, "I love my house, I love my house." He loves it too, but for him the outdoors is what he finds more appealing. The boys really enjoy the extra space and fresh air as well.

We've been here for 2 weeks now, and I have not regretted our decision to move one little bit!

Once I've got some painting done, I'll post some before and after pictures for you to see. I'm still finalizing my decisions on paint colors, and of course, I need the time to get started on this. The boys start school tomorrow, so that should free up some of my time during the day at least.

P.S. Christmas away from the "move/move-in process" was great! We spent a couple of (mostly) relaxing days at my parents' place. We played lots of games and ate lots. What more could I have asked for after 3 months of stress?