The Good Things and a great deal

After a week of complaining posts, I realize that I live this wonderful lucky life. We had a great time last weekend. Our friends came over and the boys played like crazy. We had fun talking with our friends. And although the boys are up and down there are still lots of ups. They make us and each other laugh all the time. Here are some photos and video to highlight that.....

And as Lesley requested here is a website with an amazing deal. My sister sent me this link for 38$ glasses, which includes lenses!! She has ordered some and they looked great. Even if you need a backup pair.

Smiling for the camera, as always.
Hanging out with Auntie Lexie

Our photo alphabet, Here's the letter A. Can you see it?

Last week Grandma found a ladybug out front of the house. So even though it was -22 today, there is hope for spring.
Love and cuddles.




Till Tomorrow

Jenn

So Sad

Well I've spent most of the day reading, listening and watching to all the news about Steve leaving the Barenaked Ladies. I am not surprised but I am very sad about what has happened. When I say I'm not surprised, I certainly noticed something to be off on the cruise. Steven was late for shows, didn't participate in the banter as much and spent lots of obvious time with his girlfriend. I thing Steve has grown away from the band. And although I'm not happy about it and thought it was something they could get over. I'm not surprised that this is the outcome.

The sadness comes from never hearing those Steve songs anymore. Not hearing the back and forth banter from Steve "the man on my right" and Ed. I'm glad we heard Break Your Heart on the cruise and Asleep at the Wheel.

I have hope though, hope that the foursome will be great. Hope they will make great music and their stage show will be great. Even on the cruise there was alot more interaction with the "backies". Plus Kevin did a lot on the Snacktime album and that is one of my favs. So yeah... hope that it will still be good.

I'm still having trouble getting on side with the Steve music. I still feel kind of mad at him. Mad for growing away from the band. Grow, do stuff, but don't leave. I don't think he'll find the chemistry that he has with Ed anywhere else. But I think in a while I'll probably be able to get on side with it. Just not right now, still disapointed with him.

Till Tomorrow, and a wonderful happy post with lots of pictures. I promise

Jenn

Donuts

Today I grabbed a donuts from Lucas Timbits (which for my American friends is like a donuts hole). It was a honey dip and seemed a little stale, although it had been sitting out all day. As I popped it in my mouth and started to chew it, I felt a little gush in my mouth. Then I realized it was not a honey dip, but a powdered donut. And what I was tasting was the strawberry filling in the middle Lucas had licked off all powdered and then put it back.

A lesson to a mother who tried to snack off her kids.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Parenthood

Both children are sleeping and I have a moment to myself with some tea and a moment to write.

I don't know what has been going on with Lucas but we are having such a hard time with him. I was hoping to teach him that when he is good he gets rewarded so we went to the toy store and got him a toy. Then today we went to the grocery store and he expected to get a toy. The problem with him lately is that when he gets upset about something he get over the top crying can't catch his breath upset. As we were leaving the store he tried to jump out of the top of the cart and it pushed me over the edge.

This parenting thing is so hard. I completely understand how parents can lose it and spank there kids. I didn't hit him, but I was looking for anything to snap him out of his crazy crying.

This getting upset and not being able to control his emotions has become a daily thing. I just don't know how to teach him how to express what he wants without getting so upset. Or how to teach him to do what we ask and if we work together rather then always trying to go against us his life will be easier. I need to get better at this. I need to find a way to deal with this stage.

Is this a normal thing for a 3 year old? How do you teach your kids how to deal with there emotions?

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Get to Know More about...... Darryl

I'm feeling at a bit of a blank on which to write, so I saw a couple of meme on Facebook and thought it would be fun.

He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Survivor, Lost, Legend of the Seeker or Who's line is it Anyway

You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Some sort of vinagarette

What's one food he doesn't like?
Oh, that is a hard one.... Beets, he doesn't like beets.

You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Red Wine

Where did he go to high school?
Montcalm

What size shoe does he wear?
9

If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Tools

What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Some sort of fancy meat. Not just turkey or chicken. But sun dried tomato and basil turkey or herb spiced chicken.

What would this person eat every day if he could?
jujubes.

What is his favorite cereal?
Mini Wheats.

What would he never wear?
Costumes.

What is his favorite sports team?
Calgary Flames

Who did he vote for?
Not sure... or not saying

Who is his best friend?
Chris

What is something he does that you wish he wouldn't do?
Leave the garbage without a bag

What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
leave my wet towels on his side of the bed.

What is his heritage?
Canadian

You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Cheesecake with cherry pie filling.

Did he play sports in high school?
no, he was a bike rider.

What could he spend hours doing?
playing computer games (with Chris)

What is one unique talent he has?
He is quite good at almost everything....

Then there was this one... which is about both of us.

How long have you been together?
Married for 8 years this May. Together for almost 15

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
A month...

Who asked whom out?
He asked me

Whose siblings do you see the most?
We probably see my sister more, but talk to his sister more.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
I think having a newborn was the hardest on us.

Did you go to the same school?
At one point, but not at the same time

Are you from the same home town?
Kind of. I moved to his hometown when I was 10.

Who is smarter?
Darryl.

Who is the most sensitive?
That is a hard one. I think me, but I'd like to know what Darryl thinks.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Edo Japan as a family. If it's just the two of us probably the Keg.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Italy

Who has the craziest exes?
We don't really have exes as we met when we were so young.

Who has the worst temper?
Definitly Darryl. For those of you who have not heard the scary voice be glad. Darryl's step father heard it the other day through video conference and he swore to never get on Darryl's bad side.

Who does the cooking?
Both of us. Maybe 60% me, 40% Darryl

Who is the neat-freak?
Neither.... I'm good at overall cleaning. He's good at in depth cleaning.

Who is more stubborn?
Again a hard one. I guess me. Again Darryl what do you think

Who hogs the bed?
Neither of us. We both love to strech out when the other is not there. But both try to not cross over our "rungs".

Who wakes up earlier?
Me. Darryl LOVES to sleep in.

Where was your first date?
Skiing. On the Boler Bump.

How long did it take to get serious?
Years. But we were teenagers. Once we moved out West I knew he was the one.

Who eats more?
For sure Darryl. He can eat a house. But ask who has the higher BMI, it's me.

Who does the laundry?
Me. Sometimes he helps fold while we watch TV.

Who's better with the computer?
Darryl. It's his thing. Although I have converted him to a mac user.

Who drives when you are together?
Again it's pretty equal. If the driving conditions are bad. Usually Darryl. But it most often depends on which kid we grab. Nathan's car seat is on the drivers side, so who ever put Nathan is his car seat drives.

Till Tomorrow

Monthly Newsletter Month- Forty Two

Dear Lucas,

This week you turned forty two months old. It has been a month of great highs but also great lows. You are becoming more and more fun, but you are also testing a lot. It almost like the terrible threes are coming out.



I came home from the cruise and loved hearing your voice. While away I really remember what you looked like, but forgot about the sound of that sweet voice. Ever since coming home I have been playing music I heard on the cruise non stop. I'm amazed at how quickly you pick up on the songs. There is a Great Big Sea song and you picked up on the chorus so fast.



You continue to get so smart. You want to know what all words mean. You also love counting. You count everything. You can count up to twenty now, although not really past that.



Your favrotie movie of late has been Mamma Mia. We watch it probably once a week. You know most of the songs from it (we also have the soundtrack). Anyone who asks you about it, you are always sure to tell them you like it becuase it has no scary parts. I even bought you the Madagascar movie but you'll only watch it to a certain point and then it get scary.



Your relationship with Nathan also has it's ups and downs. You love to make him laugh and do it often. But you also make him mad when he is doing something you don't want him too. You guys often put your heads together like you are two bulls fighting. For the moment, you win everytime you are stronger. Then he crys and you apologize.


You are also starting to learn how to use a computer (really just the mouse). But you love to watch Daddy play racing games downstairs. With my computer we go to websites and you play games on those websites. Mostly it is just clicking on something. But it's a good skill for you to start to learn. Plus all the games you play on it are very educational. Speaking of games, on of your favorite things to do is mazes. You love to do mazes. I bought a book at Costco of mazes and I can't believe how good you are at it. I don't know if that means anything for the future, but you are a maze champion.



You are also getting better at playing board games. Which thrills me to no end, because I love playing games. Sometimes we follow all the rules and sometimes we make up our own. We have one game where we put monkeys on a bed and then push a button waiting for them to jump off. Really that is the funest part of the game, so we often just play that part of it.

Well Lucas I do hope things improve for us. It has been a challenging month with your rollercoaster moods. But i'm hoping it is just you testing the boundaries and that you will realize they don't change if you say please 17 times before the thing you want but I won't let you have. Or that crying hysterically won't make me change my mind.

i love you, and I always will

mommy

All for a Lizards Eye

Lucas/Darryl has this little lizard that I gave to Darryl years and years ago. It is purple and filled with some sort of small beans. Lucas has quite taken it to it (this week). He seems to pick a new favorite stuffed toy every week. So he took it to Lesley's house on Wednesday and one of his little black eyes fell off (they were kind of precariously sewn on). Luckily they found the eye and the lizard came home in a plastic bag with his eye. The next day Lucas asked for the lizard to sleep with, so before I was suppose to go stamping I thought I would glue the eye back on. I have a hot glue gun in the "junk" drawer but when I opened the junk drawer I saw the krazy glue and thought it would be even easier.

So I took the crazy glue out and put the bead between my fingers and squirted a little bit of glue on it. But I couldn't really see the glue. I expected it to be like hot glue and be quite thick, but it's not. It's really runny, so I squirted more because I couldn't see it. Next thing I knew I really felt it between my fingers, I guess I had squirted a whole bunch on my fingers. Then I tried to get my fingers apart, but they were really stuck together.


So I called Darryl, and rather then laughing (which I expected he would have done) he went to find how to get them apart. So if any of you stick your fingers together with crazy glue, the trick to get them apart is nail polish remover (or anything that has acetone.). So after 20 minutes of soaking them in nail polish remover, they came apart (although the bead/eye was still stuck to them). While we are waiting for them to come apart, Darryl says to me:

Don't you remember when I used crazy glue, I put gloves on.
Jenn: yeah, but I thought you were being kind of ridiculous.



In the end Lesley's goo gone got the bead off and I have not tried to get the eye back on. He is now a one eyed lizard.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

mpoweredmarketing

A good friend of mine Kim has launched her new business and it is for women who have a small business and would like some help with marketing. I know this is a mommy blog and lots of women read it and thought this may be of interest to some of you.

There does seem to be a insurgence of mothers who are starting their own business so there can be some flexibility with hours and family can fit in with our " entrepreneurial" side.

If this may interest you check out her website or her blog.

Till Tomorrow and the latest stupid Jenn trick =)

Jenn

Why I Love Lucas... Reason 12,356

So Lucas and I have been talking about the cruise and when I hear a song on the ipod I tell him about what it was like in concert. Ed sings it, or John sings it (the Weakerthans), or Alan sings it (Great Big Sea) and some highlights about the song.

Last night he wanted to turn of the light in his room for a concert. I was the singer, Darryl the drummer and Lucas played the guitar. We danced our bums off and played in our band.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Nathan's Monthly Newsletter: Month Ten

Dear Nathan,

This week you turned 10 months old. I feel like we are in the prime of babyhood. You smile and laugh all the time.

One of the things I'm coming to notice about you is that you seem to be quite musical. You love to sing in the mornings. Of course it's not real words, but it's all different notes. You've also taken to "dancing" to the music. It's mostly just bopping your body to the beat, but you love music and are quite good at keeping the beat. Along with the singing you are babbling a lot more now.



Your teeth are also coming in fast and furious. Which makes it tough becuase when you get the runny nose I'm not sure if this the teeth or a cold. The other cute thing about the new teeth is that you love to use your tongue to feel the new teeth.



Generally you are a very easy going kid. Pop had surgery this month and we were all so impressed with how well you did. The day of the surgery we were up so so early and there at the hospital for the whole day. You charmed so many people at that Foothills. You napped well in the stroller and seemed to take it all in stride. You put a smile on Pop's face when we brought cookies to them the next day and them moment he opened the container you lunged for them.



You also seem to gravitate towards all things "trouble". More-so then I remember with Lucas. You are already an expert at all the buttons on the DVD player. And then other day my sister e-mailed me back questioning so crytic reply I sent her. I said I had no idea what it means. Then I put two and two together and realized it must have been Nathan pounding on the keys. He wrote Auntie Lexie his first e-mail. Here you are getting in trouble with Lucas.... again.


Well happy guy, I hope you sleep well tonight. But if I need to hold you for most of the night again so you can breathe, I will.

I love you, bub bub

love mommy

Ships and Dips

Well here is the expectionally long post about my vacation last week. It was so incredible. It's taken a while to put together and I had to get a bunch of pictures from Tammy. She took pictures of me and I took pictures of her.

Definitly one of the best vacations I have ever been on.... for so many reasons. Here are some of the highlights.


Waiting in the airport
Our boat
Once we got on the ship, and can you see Miami in the background. At this point we still didn't have our luggage. But things were looking up. We were there, on the cruise, in the heat. We had also just met Steve. =)

Here we are watching the Barenaked Ladies sailaway show. We saw 3 more shows that night. We saw 20 concerts in 5 days.

Including the amazing Sarah McLachlan.... who sang Darryl and mine song... Ice Cream.

Weakerthans concert. It was freezing cold. Really really cold. There were only about 25 people outside (Dave Foley being one of the them). But there we were untied in coldness and love of music.



Great Big Sea concerts. They are so full of energy and so happy. After the first show we were exhausted from all the jumping and hands burned from all the clapping. Tammy swore, no jumping or clapping at the next concert. But you can't help yourself, so there we were jumping and clapping our asses off. Favorite songs, River Driver, Lukey's boat, Scolding Wife, Excursions Around the Bay and this one (a slow version):




And here is the audience getting so into the clapping.



Famous people. I think both Tammy and I were so star struck. Once Tammy and I were headed to the washroom and as we rounded the corner, bam there was Ed practicing his guitar while waiting for the elevator. I'm sure we stood there for a minute while picking up our jaws off the floor.

Here are a big bunch of the famous people.




Here's my new best buddy Kevin McDonald, from Kids int the Hall. We could have been related with the matching curly hair. He loved the Mountain Goats and I am a new fan, so he would let me know the titles of all the songs. Or while we were watching the Weakerthans, he leaned over and told me he was sad during the song Plea for a Cat named Virtue, because he cat had recently died. See, new best buds. =)





Barenaked Ladies concerts. We were so lucky to see these guys perform everyday. For 5 days in a row we were fortunate enough to see them perform. I have highlights from each show, The Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel, Break your Heart, Last night I heard the wolves.




Being reminded of my kids through song. Whether is was Steve singing When you Dream or Jim singing Pollywog in a Bog. I love that music reminds me of them and that they love music as much as I do. Everytime I heard the Weakerthans do Tournament of Hearts I thought of Lucas and his favorite line from that song, "right off no never ever, never ever"



Laughing with Tammy. There are such funny things that happened (that are not that funny when I tell other people) Top-AZ and talking to Strangers about the schedule. We laughed so hard our abdomen hurt and tears were running down our faces. I had such an amazing time with her.


Being taken care of. People made my food. Made my bed. Cleaned up after I ate. Cleaned up my towels off the floor. Poured my wine, left chocolates on my pillows. People got me desserts from other restaurants and there was hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE, so my hands were always germ free.
Look at the size of this lamb chop. And look at my excitment while eating it. Plus I also loved that we could order a bottle of wine at dinner and then carry the bottle of wine out of the restaurant with our glasses and finish drinking it at whatever concert we went to next.


We also had lots of fun dressing up for our theme nights. Here we are as flapper ladies, which more people participated in then 80's night. Plus my dress fit much better then the very short 80's dress.
Which I did wear shorts underneath because it was too short. Tammy kept laughing becuase evertime I stood up you could see my shorts. Don't you love the white jewelery.?

The last couple of days it was cold. So so cold. I bought a Key West Sweatshirt. People in Key West had touques on. This was the second worst part (the first of course being losing the luggage).

Our other stop on the boat was in Cozumel Mexico. We decided to go to the ruins, which were interesting. But what was the most memorable was all the lizards. They blended in so well with rocks that everytime they moved we would be scared out of our wits. And they were everywhere.


I may post some videos later this week.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

The first couple of days

Well I thought as Tammy is busy doing yoga with Jim I would post a quick note. Things so far have been quite the adventure.

Here are some highlights:

When going through customs Tammy spent a lot of time at her desk. I was worried they were getting her in trouble, but the guy was venting to her. She picked the wrong desk....

Air Canada did not tag our luggage properly so when we landed in Fort Lauderdale, our luggage was still in Atlanta. It was bad. Luckily everyone was quite nice so we have lots of T-shirts for Darryl and Pat becuase the airline and the cruise line both give you "care" packages when this happens. Luckily after our first (of many) BNL concerts it was in front of our door. Tammy and I were both a little hysterical when we saw it. A little crying and a little laughing.

It is so incredible becuase as we are walking around on the boat.... bam, there Jim. Or look two table over from us the lead singer from Sloan is eating breakfast with his kids. When we got on the boat we met Steven page (who got so skinny). And I was so shocked I just kept shaking my head. We didn't get a picture with him or anything. But I'm sure we will.

The being on the boat part is a little strange. Although I haven't had much to drink, it feels like I am a little drunk all the time. Tammy and I have walked into each other a bunch of times.

Anway, I'm head to have a shower and eat the breakfast someone else has made for me. I spent the morning working out at the gym. Yeah for me time.

Till next time.

Jenn