Is there anything in Life.....

On Heather's website today people are talking about Is there anything in my life that I wish I could go back and do differently? I generally subscribe to the philosophy that all things happen for a reason and I love the life I live now so probably not. That being said there are a couple of things:

1. Wished I had traveled more through school exchanges when I was in high school. In hindsight there seemed to be lots of opportunity to do it. I did travel a bit after college and before having kids, but it will be a while, and much more expensive to show myself and my family the world. You just gain so much appreciation for life and the human race when you travel, wish I knew that back then.

2. I wish I wasn't such a pain in the ass when I was a teenager. Sorry Mom and Dad. Sometimes I remember what a pain I was and am embarassed. Sorry Alexis I was mean to you and never should have been. I hated being a teenager and I think it showed in the way that I acted.

What about all of you, is there anything in life that you wish you could go back and do differently.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

E-mail

I love e-mail. I use it all the time. I feel weird if I don't check my e-mail at least once a day. Sometimes on Saturday I don't receive any e-mails and I find it to be a little sad. E-mail has done some great things. I have a better relationship with my dad because of it. When I first moved out west my dad and I use to send e-mails to each other to stay in contact. I remember the first one I got from him I wasn't sure who it was. He signed it with one of his nicknames and it took me a couple of reads to figure out it was my dad. From those e-mails we became very close. Also I can stay in great contact with lots of my friends who live far away. I even prefer e-mail to the phone, then people can respond when they are ready to rather then immediately. I'm sure it also has to do with my geekness as well. Yesterday I had to step out of my comfort zone and call someone I had never met before and ask them to do something for the students. I would have much prefered to e-mail it.


That being said someone sent me an e-mail recently that made me feel like the size of an ant. I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose but the exaggeration they put in the e-mail played on my insecurities and now I'm feeling like I need to do something to help my problem. What is my problem you ask? You all know..... I am a horrible writer. I think I can write from the heart but, I can not write a professional document if my life depended on it. Spelling, grammar just not my forte. My question is how does someone get better at writing professional documents? Is it practice makes perfect or are there just people who are born to care religiously about these things? I don't want to become a perfectionist, if I did there would be no blog, because I'm sure my posts would never be good enough. But I would like to become a better, more professional writer.

Till tomorrow

Jenn

Newest Hobbies

Lucas has a variety of new favorite things to do. The first thing is jumping. Or yumping as Lucas would say. He love to jump and land on his bum. He finds it especially fun if he can jump on the couch and the landing is really soft. At that time he'll even lift his arms like he is jumping in a pool and doesn't have a care in the world. But he will still jump on the floor, he's just a little more cautious.

His next favorite thing to do is go down to the shop. He is defintly going to take after his Dad. Love to turn, turn, things. Loves to say "Dad make" when he points to the table. Or say "sitting" when he sits on the table. Going down to the shop lights that kid up. Hopefully the next kid I have will like shopping or it's going to be a lonely 10 years while the boys are in the shop. =)



We had a great weekend with him. He learned to say Oscar, while we watched the Oscars. This evening we headed over to Grandma and Pop's house for a great lamb dinner. When we got home Lucas started saying Huma, which I think is his new word for Grandma. Add that as well as farmer, neigh, vacuum and talking to the list. What a smart kid Darryl and I are raising....

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Good For A Laugh!

I laugh everytime I see this!

Jenn

Aunite Lexy

This week we have had the pleasure of having my sister around for the week. Lucas loves to scream when Alexis is around. The first day he was kind of shy around her but after that he loved playing with her. Whether it was playing cars in the tub or running around screaming, we all have enjoyed the extra company.





As you can see Lucas is enjoying his Auntie (although he still can't say her name =). Yesterday he colored ducks with her and she taught him how to say heart.



Here she is teaching him how to hitch hike. Although I don't think she's ever hitchhiked in her whole life. =)

Today we headed up to Kensington to get the excellent cupcakes from Crave. On the way home Lucas fell asleep in the car and when I picked him up to bring him inside he woke up. Now he's been laying in his bed for half and hour talking to himself. I'm debating on when to get him..........

Anyway it's been great to have Alexis around. It's funny when we lived in the same city we saw each other once a month. Now that she lives in another city, when she comes to see us it is such a treat and we spend lots of time doing fun things. Yesterday we saw the movie Catch and Release with Jen Garner. We both love Jen Garner, I even love her even more now that she is the best mom. The movie was quite good. Although I cried through .... most of it. But a good release.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Words

Yesterday when Lucas and I went to the immunizations they asked how many words Lucas can say. I wasn't really sure so tonight Darryl and I (and kind of Alexis, although I'm sure we kind of annoyed her a bit) made a list of all the words Lucas knows. Here we go:

1. all done 2. Anna 3. banana
4. bird 5. bread 6. Broom
7. brush 8. bubbles 9. Bum
10. Bus 11. button 12. Bye
13. Car 14. cat 15. Choo-Choo
16. Clarke 17. clean 18. coke
19. cookie 20. Cool 21. cracker
22. cup 23. Dad 24. Dark
25. Doing 26. down 27. Dude
28. eight 29. elmo 30. Emma
31. Fan 32. farmer 33. five
34. fork 35. four 36. Go
37. Going 38. Gone 39. happy
40. hey 41. Home 42. Hot
43. juice 44. ju-jube 45. kitty
46. Lady 47. Light 48. Lighting
49. mad 50. Matt 51. milk
52. Mom 53. money 54. More
55. nine 56. nut 57. off
58. oma 59. on 60. opa
61. outside 62. Pat 63. Pee
64. Pepper 65. Pet 66. Please
67. Poo 68. Pop 69. Potty
70. puppy 71. rat 72. running
73. Sally 74. shake 75. Shauny
76. Shop 77. suckie 78. tea
79. Thank You 80. Tigger
81. Torin 82. tub 83. two
84. up 85. water 86. we will
87. what 88. Winne 89. Wow
90. Yucky 91. Yummy

If anyone knows any more please add them.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

25 Percentile

After writing as somewhat sad, but honest monthly newsletter to Lucas yesterday he has been the best kid today. We went to Chapters and had hot chocolates and played with Thomas the Tank. Then we headed over for Lucas to have his 18 month immunzations. He was so great. The nurse was very impressed with how many words he could say. As a parent compliments about Lucas make me shine.

The nurse says to me, Do you read lots of books to him?
Jenn: Yes
The Nurse: I can tell, he knows so many words.

Lucas is taking after his Dad's side of the family when it comes to his height and weight. He is in the 25 percentile. It looks like his height genes may come from Darryl's side of the family and not the Opa side of my family. Either that or he is due for a growth spurt sometime soon. But he is the right weight (23 pounds) for his height (31 inches). Lucas was very good for his immunizations. He didn't cry for his first needle and stop crying soon after the second needle. Especially when he saw the Smarties. I did give him a little Advil before hand. It seems to be working as he was quite happy through lunch and while watching " Itining".

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Monthly Newsletter- Month Eighteen

Dear Lucas,

On Sunday you turned 18 months old, I have been a little late in writing this post as it has been a hard month for both of us. I didn't start these newsletters until the really hard part of the newborn part was over so most of the newsletters have been quite happy. Not that this one is going to be a downer, but things are changing for us. I guess it's just been a month of highs, but also a month of lows.



You have been sick a lot, but I've realized that is normal for toddlers. You've had puking sick, mystery sick and cold sick. And that's all in a month. I am definitely looking forward to the spring as I'm hoping the sickness won't be as bad. It's hard when you are sick. Mostly I just feel bad for you. You are so lethargic and not the bubbly toddler you normally are. It is amazing the difference between you normally and when you are sick. Although it's been hard I do enjoy all the snuggling we do when you are sick. We also seem to watch lots of TV when you are sick, so you are becoming more familiar with Dora, Toopy and Bino and Barney.



The other difficulty thing we are running into is you have been testing your boundaries. We are entering a stage of parenting that will not end for many, many years to come. Someday when you read this as a teenager or maybe as an adult I'm sure we will have many more stories to tell about testing your parents. The last couple of nights you have gotten up at some point, cried till we went in to see you, then stood up and said "all done". You point towards the door like you are ready to go downstairs. We have done a variety of things, pick you up and brought you downstairs, laid on the floor waiting for you to fall asleep or rocked with you in the chair. I'll keep my fingers crossed for tonight.

The other bad habit you have developed is throwing things. I feel like we tell you 10 times a day not to throw things. I have some reading about it and they say it is normal. I also know that I need to set limits for you so every time you throw I do tell you to stop it. Sometimes this makes you cry, sometimes you give me a sly look and then smile. When you do the smiling it takes everything in me to maintain my serious face and not laugh at your cuteness. But hopefully you will learn soon that throwing is bad, so I don't feel like a broken record.



On the flip side of all the bad stuff there has been some really really great things as well. You are starting to get jokes when they tell them on TV or movies. You laughing is great. You are doing it all the time. Either your dad or I will make a funny noise and you will laugh. It is the cutest little baby laugh. I'll definitly have to tape it and listen to it all the years of my life.




With understanding all things funny has come your vocabulary. You are a mimicker, which is great. I can't believe all the words you say. There are probably 3 new words every day. And sometimes it's not repeating the words I just said. Some times you come out with things that someone has said at some point. For example the other day I took you upstairs to change a stinky bum and you said "dark" there were no lights on and you knew it was dark. Of course as soon as you had a new diaper on I ran downstairs and went into the computer room where Darryl was and turned off th lights so you would show him your new word. He was pretty impressed too. Plus all the words you use to sign you can say now. I am amazed with how quickly you are picking up language.



The other great part about you growing up is that we can do more fun things together. We tried baking this month and we cook together all the time. You like to try to make up your own concoctions of food. Often we will give you two bowls of different stuff from dinner, and you love to mix them together. Plus add a little bit of your milk from the sippy cup and you have created your own dinner. We still love running around in the park, or eating ice cream at the mall.




I love you Lucas. More then I ever thought possible.

Mommy

Big Belly

Another great thing about living in Alberta. Today is a holiday!!! Happy Family Day everyone. I've enjoyed spending it with my family.

Here is a cute video of Lucas showing off his big belly.



Till Tomorrow, and I have to take Lucas for his shots.

Jenn

Another Cool Thing About Alberta

This week I drove to Lethbridge (unfortuanlty not for another BNL concert). I did some lectures at the hospital there. On the way I enjoyed the scenery.





I didn't take the pictures. I kept both hands firmly on the wheel. But found these from flickr. They are wind generators. Southern Alberta is expectionally windy, so it can generate alot of power from that.

Till Tomorrow (and hopefully a funny video this weekend)

Jenn

Review On The Concert: Chantal Kreviauk

Last night, for Valentine's Day, Darryl took me to the Chantal Kreviauk concert. It was great. She has an incredible voice. I'd put her on music from this site, but she is not available. If you have never heard of her before I would recommend these songs: Baby Before You (which is about meeting her husband) and/or In This Life (about unconditional love). Last night when she played In This Life, I cried. It amazing how life music can really make me tear up. This songs now makes me think of being a parent. And how much you love your kids. The best part of the concert was for the first song of the encore she came out onto the stage and had no microphone and just her acoustic guitar and sang the song Far Away. It was a cool experience. The other part I thought was very interesting was her band consisted of her on the piano, a cellist, a violist and a drummer. No guitars.

I am also dying to hear how the Barenaked Ladies concert in London went tonight. I'd love to hear reviews from Lori, George and anyone else who went.

Till tomorrow

Jenn

Things are Looking Up...

Well after the snow has fallen for the past 4 days straight it will probably stop in the next 12 hours or so. Emma is do looking forward to the snow stopping so that she doesn't get frostbite on her bum. She can't even squat to pee without her bum being totally immersed in the snow.

Lucas is feeling much better today. It's amazing how he is a totally different kid when he is feeling better. We've had a really fun day. Lots of laughing, although also some crying. He is very into throwing things. I'm not 100% sure how to disiplince a 18 month old. So far I'm sternly (sometimes yelling) " NO THROWING", and take whatever he threw away from him. This makes him cry till I distract him with something else. Part of the problem may be he woke up at 5:30 this morning, so it may be some fussiness as well.




Here are some funny pictures of Lucas eating. We've moved Lucas from his highchair to a booster seat. It's weird to sit across from him while eating. It's also funny to watch his eating habits. He really likes to dip food, so ketchup and sour cream meals are his favorite. He also like to add everything to one dish. As you can see from the pic's above he is adding a can of peaches to his alphagetti. He quite liked the combination.

Till tomorrow

Jenn

Sickness

I didn't know that one of the downsides of having a toddler was they get sick alot. I read quite a few blogs with parents of toddlers and it seems every week one of the children is sick. This week it's Lucas. The other really difficult part of having a sick toddler is that they can't really tell you what's wrong. Lucas cries and I know something is wrong but I don't know what it is. He woke up this morning with a rash on his body put I can't seem to put all the symptoms towards one problem. I did take him to the doctor today, so hopefully some of the test she did will show something, or maybe not and it's all unrelated.

On a better note. I did organized something last week that I thought would be a big waste of time. I was trying to be politically correct (although it took a couple of times to be properly politically correct) but still thought the students would think it was stupid. But oh no, they loved it. It was super successful for everyone involved. I love it when that happens.

Till tomorrow

Jenn

Review On The Concert: Calgary

So after sleeping over at my sister's house in Edmonton (and quizzing her on her anatomy for a midterm...hope you did well) we headed back home to see the show in Calgary. Tammy and I wrote down all the songs we could remember from the night before and she continued to tease me about looking for all the hospital (clinics, St. John's Ambulance's) in Edmonton so I would know what fellow staff members were referring to in meetings. We also chose which songs we hope they played tonight in Calgary. That included Maybe You're Right, Crazy/Fox on the Run, Bank Job, Take it Back, Break Your Heart, Enid, Falling For the First Time, Alcohol. We thought we should make a list and tape it to their buses. For those of you reading who know more about the BNL life then I do, would that ever work?

After a quick dinner with Lucas (who was really missing his mommy) we headed out to pick up our friends and head to the concert. Our seats were not as good this time. We were in the 100's, but way at the back. That being said there was a section where Tammy and I could dance, jump and sing our hearts out. The other thing that surprised me is that we were could see everyone coming and leaving on the floor, and there were lots of people leaving from the floor. Is that normal? Proably 10-15 people left at some point in the concert.



It was also a great show, although they did more of their lesser known songs. Which meant lots of "somewhat" fans, were not really into it. I was hoping they would do more from their newer albums. Here is the set list:

One Week
Old Apartment
Ablib
Sound of Your Voice
A
Straw Hat
Wrap Your Arms
Too Little Too Late
Lovers in a Dangerous Time
Baby Seat
Too Little Too Late
Down to Earth
Enid (acoustic)
For You (acoustic)
Some Fantastic (acoustic)
Wind It Up
Angry People
Pinch Me
Maybe You're Right
Falling for the First Time
It's All Been Done
Brian Wilson
---------
Easy
Million
---------
Good Boy

They did lots of adlibbing today as well. Talking about a restuarant they went to where Ed had bacon wrapped corn. Making fun of Newfies, Ralph Klien, Mentioning how Regina rhymes with a female part. Lots of good stuff. You could also tell what a good mood Steve was in, lots of kicking and crazy dancing. By the end of the concert Calgary was totally into it. After Angry People, Pinch Me, FFTFT, IABD, Everyone was banding on the grounding hoping it would not end. I was so so happy when they did Maybe You're Right. If anyone knows the song (and I'll put it on the music player in a day or so) there are horns at the end. Instead of the horns, they sing the horn part. It's so great!! Steve really belts it out, it brought tears to my eyes.



It was such a great way to spend two days. Although I think I may be too old to be a groupie. As I was pretty tired today. On the way home Darryl pegged Tammy and I and how we feed off each other when it comes to BNL. If she starts jumping I start jumping. If I'm clapping she'll start clapping. If she bought tickets to 10 concerts, I'd be right there with her going to all of them. Part of the reason we love them so much is that we connect through them. We have our song, which is a BNL song, Brian Wilson. Anyway it was a great concert and such a great experience to share with my best friend.

Till Monday

Jenn

Barenaked Ladies 311

Barenaked Ladies 311
Originally uploaded by doug [formerly doc].

Review On The Concert: Edmonton

After a whirlwind two days I realized I don't think I could ever be a groupie. Although two concerts in two nights were fun, I am enjoying being a home sleeping. =) There is part of me that would love to travel to Lethbridge tonight, but I don't think my kid would be very happy about that and as we talking about last night, he is the chain around my neck. =)

So on Wednesday Tammy and I drove and sang our hearts out through some not so hot weather up to Edmonton. http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif We got their and headed to West Edmonton Mall, hoping to see the Ladies in an arcade, but not such luck. We got Alexis and went to Earls for dinner and then took the train to the stadium.

The opening act Tomi Swick was quite good and a couple of songs are on the radio, so if you are heading to the concert I would recommend getting there in time to see him. He also does a couple of covers of Graceland and Don't Let Me Down. Our only question was did he perform in his socks? In the end we were pretty sure they were just white, very bendy shoes. Tomi Swick reminded Tammy of Tom Cochrane. A similar voice and hair. Plus his guitarist looks like Hyde for that 70's show. Some of the songs are sweet and some are rock and roll. Again a good opening act, one of the best I've heard in a bit.

Our seats in Edmonton were great even though they were in the 200 section. There was an ailse behind us so we were able to stand and dance the whole time. And we were quite close to the side of the stage. With all our standing and dancing at one point I was waving like a crazy lady at Steve and he gave me a nod. Tammy thinks I'm crazy but Alexis and I know it to be true.

It was a really great concert. The crowd was so into it and they played lots of songs that most people knew. Here's the set list (not in perfect order):

One Week
Old Apartment
Adlib ( about Edmonton and the coldness)
Sound of Your Voice
? ( I think a sweet song from Gordon)
Alternative Girlfriend
Box Set
Who Needs Sleep
Too Little too Late
Never Do Anything
Shopping
Lovers In A Dangerous Time
I'll Be That Girl (acoustic)
For You (acoustic)
Get In Line (acoustic)
Adrift
Angry People
Pinch Me
It's All Been Done
Brian Wilson
Encore One: Easy and Million Dollars (with tomorrow at the End)
Encore Two: Call and Answer

Again it was a great concert. They also did an adlib about the Edmonton Zamboni. They were very into it and Tammy and I were surprised that Steve sang so much as his voice had been bothering him. It was so good to see them perform live again. You can always tell they are having such a great time on stage. The only thing that I was disapointed in was that they didn't play more from the new album. Plus I really wanted to hear Maybe You're Right. But there was always tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll love you tomorrow, you're always a day away!

Man that Steve can sing!

Till the Calgary Post

Jenn

I Should Be Cleaning.....

Just a couple of quick things and then I'll leave the post for today. I will write an extensive review of the concerts and the reason I am still glowing. But I need to clean first.

The answers to the x-ray questions:

First one is a snake, The second one is an MRI of a baby. Not twins, just one baby. The third one is chest x-ray with implants and the last one is someone having a barium enema and they have a classic "apple core" sign, which is indicative of colon cancer it is on the left side of their bowel.

Lucas missed his mommy while I was traveling over the province. He is now sick and getting some extra sleep. Hopefully he will be feeling better this afternoon when Oma and Opa are here.

Till the next post and an extensive review.

Jenn

Emma, the Great

Today we headed out to do some errands. Groceries (thank you 10% off Tuesday), Walmart for new bum cream and the pet store to get Emma some new pet food. The guy at the Pet Store obviously loved pets and he was trying to pet Emma. Well Emma is not a big fan of strangers and really really doesn't like male strangers. Her tail was between her legs and she was shaking, but this guy kept trying and trying. I don't think he even noticed there was a cute little toddler with us too. He left and came back with some treats, which did not impress Emma either. After a bit Emma did smell his hand and let her pet him. But the poor sales guy really had to persevere. He just didn't give up. But the time we left Emma was quite happy to be back in the safeness of her car.



I am so excited. tomorrow I get to be a groupie, so you probably won't hear from me for a couple of days while I travel across the province following my favorite band. =). Also good news for all my readers. I have downloaded Firefox 2.0 that comes with a Spell Checker, so my blogs are automatically spell checked.

Till Friday

Jenn

A Talker with A Big Belly

Lucas's vocabulary is really coming along. It's amazing how each day 3 new words come out of his mouth. Often they are words that only his parents understand, like eomo, is really Elmo, or S@#$ty is really Sally (the porshe). But still I can't believe how fast it is coming along. Yesterday he added pepper, please and cracker. Although I am so proud of him, it also makes me a little sad that he is growing up so fast. It is nice that he is starting to use his words a little more to communicate. Like now I know if he wants juice or milk, rather then offering them both and him choosing.



We also went tobaganning on Sunday, which was fun although exhausting. Lucas and I went on a very tiny hill but he didn't want to climb up the hill so I had to carry him and the crazy carpet up the hill. After 10 times I had enough of the "weeee" so we headed home and I was sure to have a nap that afternoon.



The other new funny thing he is doing is sticking out his big belly. It started this weekend while we were having dinner at Grandma and Pop's ( he is also saying Na,na, which isn't quite Grandma but we are living with it for now). He started bending his back and sticking out his belly. We'd say "big belly big belly" He'd laugh, we'd laugh. Maybe you had to be there. But it is funny.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Till tomorrow

Jenn

Lucky Girl- Video

Recruitment

A part of my job all week has been recruiting for students to come into the program. SAIT was having an open house today which allows anyone to come and ask questions to the staff and students about the programs they have there. Here are some of the most common questions and some cool x-rays for everyone:

1. How hard is it to get into the x-ray program?

It is very hard. There are 350 qualified people who apply for the program and we only have 24 seats. Many people apply for a couple of years before they get in.

2. How dangerous are x-rays?

X-rays are dangerous. We train our students to be very radiation safety concious. That being said. Smoking one cigarette has a great chance of giving you cancer then one chest x-ray. And you get as much radiation on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto as you do in a chest x-ray. So generally the benefit outweighs the risk.

3. What's the difference between a regular x-ray and a CAT or CT scan?

Basically x-rays take 2 demensional images and CT scans take a cross section of your anatomy. CT's give alot more information (although a lot more radiation). Think of your body like a loaf of bread and we can slice it up and look at each piece of the bread.




4. Is this a good job?

I think it is a great job. If you like working with people. You are on your feet all day. There are a variety of areas in the hospital we work in (i.e. the Operating Room, emergency room) There are also lots of differnent area's you can branch into (i.e. CT, mammography). You make good money for a two year program and are very close to guarenteed a job when you are done, because most cities are in dire need of health care professionals.

Here are a couple of cool x-rays for you: Can you guess what they are or what makes them cool?






Till Tommorrow

More News

Well about a month ago I talked about how I don't discuss the news very often, but I am going to discuss it here again.

Today while driving to work I heard the story about the parents in British Columbia who gave birth to sextplets at the beginning of January. These parents are Jehovah's Witness and do not believe in blood transfusion. The babies are not doing well and need blood to survive. In fact two of the childrne have died already. The goverenment has stepped in and have given 3 of the 4 surviving babies blood transfusion. Some resports are saying if the goverenment could have stepped in sooner the other babies could have survived as well. The parents are quite upset about the blood transfusion.

I find the whole story a little unbelivable. Ever since having my own child I have a very hard time understanding how any parent would not do whatever necessary to prevent something dangerous to happen to their children. Whether that's getting a blood transfusion or preventing them from hurting themselves. I can't imagine any parent leaving their children, unless they know it's the best thing for them. I can't imagine any parent beating their children. You love your kid so so so so so much. I would do whatever it would take to save my child's life. You need my kidney, a lung whatever, please take it. Neverless a blood transfusion which is so simple.

Although I have some spiritul beliefs, I can't imagine having so much faith in something it would prevent me from giving Lucas something that would save his life. Does anyone else have any experience with this? I am glad the government can step in during these extreme situations.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn