Tuesday, June 28, 2011

how funny roo-roo is...

Today on our way to the spray park, A was talking about patio furniture and how "our daddy made ours we didn't have to buy it!". Then roo goes, "really ashur, really? wow, that's SO awesome....so awesome" VERY emphatically, ha ha.
As we were walking from the spray park to the van he was lingering behind...and A and I were almost there....I said "Roo, where are you?"...he answered, "I'm right here mom! I'm here with my hat(as he swings it around) just looking at the clouds!! (looking up into the sky)....ha ha
THEN on the drive home...he says "MOM, look at THIS!" as he throws his hat behind his seat as hard as he can: "look! it disappeared!" LOL...
what a funny guy!!:)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

My Ca-Razy Saturday!!!:)

The thing is....I don't really even know where to start....I guess we'll start BRIGHT and early in the morning. 
Our AWESOME (and I mean awesome) exchange student Laurence had to go home yesterday. It was so sad to see her go, because she really was fantastic. She cleans up after herself, appreciates everything we do for her, does everything without being asked and LOVES playing with the kids...she even ASKS us to babysit....seriously it was like HEAVEN having her here the last month, and we would have been SO happy to have her stay forever...literally, forever. 
Okay, so enough of my ramblings...she was leaving SUPER early. JD and I are NOT early risers...at all. We woke up at about 4:30 to help her get her things together and say good-bye...the plan initially was for me to drive her to the airport, but I was ridiculously tired, so my hunny drove her instead. He got back shortly after 5 and we went to sleep for a bit, in between the kids getting up a couple of times.
JD was supposed to work that day...so we waited for the call, but alas, no work. This was kind of a blessing, because we knew what a crazy busy day it was going to be right from the onset. He headed to one of 4 moves that were happening that day (yup, 4!!) with A, so that I only had to take roo on my adventures. 
I went to a ton of garage sales, and then a shoe/clothing sale in someone's house...that was super packed. I waited in line for EVER to pay for the ONE $6.00 item I had in hand. 
I drove home quickly, as I was late for picking up A....luckily the move went smoothly, so they were already home when I got back. 
The lunch, nap times etc. At 1:00 I was supposed to be watching a friend of mine's little boy. His older brother was supposed to walk him over to the nearby church, and then he'd walk to our house. I waited a while, and no show....so I waited a while more...still no show. I start panicking a bit...no too much though...and try calling an assortment of people trying to track him down. After 3 hours and 45 minutes (mostly of calling, waiting and driving around) I got in touch with his brother who said matter-of-factly, "well, i just decided to take him to so-and-so's instead"...what? Okay...whatever...at least he's alive, right?
Then starts the evening from....hmmmm...okay...you get the idea. Our OTHER exchange student is from Nigeria. She asked if she could throw a birthday BBQ at our house....I agreed...with much emphasis on the "no alcohol" point...and she conceded. 
So, party time rolls around...and no one shows up. No one at all. Except for the poor photographer. She tells him that Nigerians are always late so he comes back 1.5 hours later...and he STILL was the first one. 6:30 rolls around...and finally people start filtering in. By 7:00 (4 HOURS after the start time) most of the people were here. 
I can't really explain the LOUD mass CHAOS that then ensued. It was mostly good-natured fun...just REALLY LOUD fun. I'm sure that all my neighbors thought I was completely NUTSO with all 20-30 student-aged African's over at my house hooting and hollering. 
There was one pretty MAJOR fight...in which one very large man had to CARRY a girl (kicking, screaming, punching and swearing) down the block to calm down for a half an hour. She cam back in crying and apologizing on her hands and knees...and promised that it wouldn't happen again. 
What can I say I'm a sucker nice. So...I let the party continue. 
I was slightly worried when 8:30 was getting close, because the hubby and I had a date planned...and the party was STILL going strong. Initially I thought the date night would be fine...because if the party had in fact started at 3, it should have died down a bit for us to leave.
Well...there was a knock on the door...and I'm thinking it's probably the police? ha ha...coming to shut down our chaotic party. 
BUT no...it was the boy I was supposed to babysit earlier and his 2 sisters....saying "Hi, we're here!"....um, you're here? what? The guy that was dropping them off (and in the midst of driving away as I ran after him, lol) said that he was told by the older brother that we were watching them for the night. 
Um, nope. WE actually have 35 loud and out-of-control Nigerians over...and we are supposed to be heading out for our date in 15 minutes!!! 
We made a few calls, to no avail..and he ended up taking them back to his house to figure things out...phewf. Oh wait, NOT phewf....I STILL have a CRAZY party going on, and my 12-year old babysitter MIGHT get a little overwhelmed by it ALL, ha ha.
I told our student to make sure that everyone stayed outside the WHOLE time...or downstairs. I told her this NOT ONCE, but 3 times. When we left mostly everyone was downstairs...excpet 6 or people playing a board game.
We left ours sitter....setting them up in our room, so it wouldn't be so crazy...and assured her that they were all going to be downstairs. 

When we got home she told me that little Roo had an awful time going to sleep...because after we left ALL of the partiers came upstairs and STAYED there THE whole time!! What?! Such a SIMPLE rule...honestly I was about in tears by this point...I felt so bad for our little sitter. 
I talked to our student about it, who reassured me that they were "quiet"....well....a normal person's LOUD is her quiet voice...and with 20+ of them? YA RIGHT!! 
One other little thing...my non-outdoor pillows were left outside, in the rain. Most of the mess was cleaned up by a friend...but a TON of bottles, napkins and dishes were still out in the rain today....fun fun. 
Well...that's it...NO more parties. I'm just not very good at confrontations...or I could have made them move the party elsewhere a LOT earlier. 
That's my rant....sorry for all of you actually read it all the way through....ha ha...I probably sound like a crazy person...but it was a pretty awful day. 
Today was MUCH better...and no more student parties...THAT is for sure:)
Roo and I's conversation this morning when he cam in to cuddle me after he awoke:
"Your hair is Beautiful....it's so beautiful!"...then I respond, as per usual..."you are cute!"...him: "no, you are cute!"...me""you are the cutest"...him... "You're the cutest!"...ha ha...this went on for a while..and he said something really adorable at the end, but I can't recall, because I was way too sleepy! lol


As we were at church he looked up at the roof and said, "Jesus lives, Jesus lives"...I then asked where it was that Jesus lived..and he replied, "above the airplanes!"....awww...so sweet.


Lately when he wants something he asks "please...pretty please with a cherry on top?", while motioning with his hand the putting of a cherry on top of something, lol.

Friday, June 24, 2011

gotta love cutie-petootie kiddos...

R usually wakes up in the morning and bounds into our room...well, the other day he made a pit stop before coming in to wake us up. He ran into the room as excited as could be, eating a frozen eggo in one hand, and holding a freezie in the other. "Hi mom, hi dad...I got a freezie and an eggo!" Yay for bottom-freezers, lol.


This morning when he awoke, he cuddled with me in bed for a while, playing with my hair and saying, "it's beautiful! bea-u-tiful!"...ha ha...what a cutie.


A and I spent some quality time this afternoon going over his letters and numbers, practicing tracing and drawing and recognition. He is doing really well! By the time he starts "real" school...he'll be a pro!;) 
I know I already said this, but he passed swimming lessons...which is a BIG thing...because this level was tricky...at the end of the next one he'll have to swim 5 meters unassisted, and he's almost there:)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

It's SUMMER time....whhhheee....

Okay, so I am an AVID supporter of summer...GO summer
I hope that this change in temperature and precipitation is long-term. I've heard rumors that THIS years summer is supposed to be the HOTTEST and driest summer EVER for this area...will it be true? We'll see
THIS summer...we plan on doing a TON of fun things:
-go to SWIMMING lessons (A just passed his class today and we are SO proud of him:)
-go the SPRAY park a LOT (as soon as I can find a good mosquito repellent, lol)
-spend a TON of time at the playground (we HEART probe school playground)
-go on a LOT of day trips/hikes (Waterton, Milk river, Drumheller, Calgary etc.)
-A is writing this with me and he says "make a LOT of juice"
-spend a ridiculous amount of time in our backyard(with all its new patio furniture glory...and new sweet BBQ)
-go garage-saling...woot!
-visit with both of our families (the hubby's parents get back from a 18 month hiatus in CHILE....aka a mission for our church)
-probably have a TON of parties, cuz that's what we LIKE to do
-wait oh so patiently (hmmm....?) for certain THINGS to happen in our lives (job, baby etc)


SO pretty much...just ROCK the summer!! 

Monday, June 20, 2011

To my STUD of a HUBBY....

I sure love you. 
I love everything about you. 
Even the annoying things...you wouldn't expect it...but I love them too, because they just make YOU more you. I love it. 
I love that you are a GREAT husband and FATHER
You love our kids SO much...and are always working with me to try and parent them as a TEAM...which I love. They LOVE you to bits and pieces...which shows what an AWESOME father you truly are. 
They ask about you when your away...even if your only gone for a few minutes...they run out the door to hug tackle you when you get home. They LOVE to play with you. You guys have made some pretty awesome TOYS and FORTS
Like last week...when A really wanted us to build him a rocket ship. You guys drew up the plans together, bought some wood, and made the BEST rocket ship ever. 
Speaking of building...your bragging material. You are SO handy...and so great at building/fixing anything and everything. I LOVE that about you. Like last week when you built me my awesome patio set last week...I was in love:)

I LOVE how frugal you are....and that's not a bad thing...you are GREAT at saving money, and just great with money in every aspect. 
Although its been tough this last little while, with little work and such, I have always known that you would do whatever you can to provide for us and our family. That always give me the hope and peace that I need to make it through tough times like these.
I can't say enough good things about you...your humor, your dedication to church and family...and all that you do for me and for our family. 
It amazes me. 
You amaze me.
I love you. And you love me...and I always know it. FOREVER.
The End. 

My hate-hate relationship with running...

 Roo was a little stinker this morning and decided to wake himself up WAY to early for his own good...or mine :)


Apparently he desperately needed "bologna and yogurt"....seriously child? Just go back to sleep....that's what daddy and I wanted to do at least. 


We tried to reason with him, to no avail...thus the morning was much to early for me. My hubby, being the fantastic wonderful and amazing person he is (I'll post more about that later in my ode to father's day post, he he) took the boys this morning so I could attempt to fall back asleep. 


Your probably reading this thinking, "what the heck does this have to do with running? I'm only interested in the running part...so get on with it!" Well....let me tell you....


I try for a while, pretty much unsuccessfully as of yet, to fall back asleep...BUT am still SuPeR tired...oh yes...that tired. 
ALL of the SUDDEN (because that's how most cRaZy thing happen these days) my FANTASTIC(well, up till this point at least) roomie Naomi (can I call her roomie? I think so...lol) BOUNDS into my room (yup, literally BOUNDS)...begging me to go running with her. 


Wha-what? Running? Do you know who I am? Are you some alien trying to abduct me or something? Cuz I'm pretty sure I've made it very clear that I AM NO RUNNER. As surprised and ahem...agitated...as I was...she somehow convinced me (does it count as convincing if they never give up or leave your room, but literally drag you?) to GO running with her. 


This is where the REAL fun begins. 


I find it amusing when people say they are "BAD" at running....mostly because I know what truly being "bad" at running is...and very few people are that bad....fortunately for me, I am one of those very few


A lot of my friends have offered for me to go running with them: "No really, its just a jog, we walk most of the time...don't worry, I'm out of shape too...oh yes I'm a terrible runner...I concur, I can barely run UP the stairs too"...really? REALLY?? I doubt it


Soooooo.....back to me and my horror. I've always known that when people try and convince me to run with them, reassuring me that they are terrible runners, that it must be somewhat of a lie. If they really were that terrible, like me, they would not even come up with the cRaZy idea to run...
they would sit at home on their couch, eating potatoes...and getting fat. That's what I do, that's what true run-haters do.


    But somewhere in between the bounding, excitement and convincing me of her hatred of running...I conceded. So, we set out. 
        I run REALLY well at the start....I'm feeling good, no sweating, no tears, no puke....I can DO this...I CAN!! Oh wait, we have't even passed 2 houses yet....oh....no...it's starting...my hearts pounding....my head is getting dizzy...my LUNGS collapsing!! 4 houses in...okay...I'm done. 


You may think that I'm exaggerating to make myself look bad? Oh no, trust me...I'm not. 


If any of you know whereabouts I live, I can give you a better idea of how far I got. 
Around the corner (1 house)...continuing down the main street (oh, passed another house)...crossed the next small street 
(2 more houses)...and I'm WIPED before I even reach that little field. 
Being the crazy, awful, awesome(?) friend that my friend is, she encouraged me to "power walk", when I mostly just wanted to saunter (who am I kidding?) LAY down and DIE


BUT....I kept going...walking/slowly jogging/sauntering along....all the while dying inside and out. 
A few times I just gave her permission to run ahead somewhere far off, and then back to me again. I'm fairly certain that she could have been running circles around me the whole time we were out....literally, circles. Although she reassures me that that isn't true (hhhmmm....)
I had this awful taste/smell/feeling in my mouth and whole esophagus like I was going to up-chuck...it was awesome...super awesome.
Somehow, still unbeknownst to me, I made it home....half dead, gasping for air, possibly dry-heaving...but I made it.


I'm guessing I ran for a TOTAL of 3 or 4 blocks.....hmmmm.....no, maybe 1 or 2. 


So running...it hates me. I hate it. There is no love...and I doubt there ever will be. 


BUT, I know that I need to get in shape, and that sitting on the couch eating potatoes and getting fat is NOT the best thing for me...so I will continue to RUN/die (which one will happen first? I'm curious to find out).
My goal is to be able to run all the way from my house down to the end of the street(not back...just there...I fully plan on crawling back).


It may take me MONTHS, or maybe years....we shall see
So, if you see my heaving and gasping on the side of the road next time your out (I saw 2 people I knew today....uuugghhh)...don't worry about me. 
I'll be fine, or not.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

"children of the force field"

As we were reading scriptures yesterday to the kids....well reading is a lose term, as I just say the phrase and they repeat it...anyways, I read: "...and the children of Israel." A then repeats: "the children of the force field"....I guess it kinda sounds the same? bahahahaha.

In other news, the rain has cleared up momentarily...so my hubby has been able to get in a few good days work, which is really nice. 
I've had a lot easier time being patient and just waiting four our "timing" to work out....I know its only been a few days, but it feels like my attitude on the whole thing really has changed. I feel way more hopeful and upbeat. Its been a good week so far. 
I still have this  crazy itching to move somewhere insane....but my hubby isn't completely sold on the idea...yet, ha ha. He said that he needs to stay here and apply for jobs for at least a few more months, before we give up and move to some crazy land. 
We are thinking(a.k.a. me, my wishful thinking, and a teensie bit of the hubby too) that we'll wait till sometime in October....and hope that he gets a job by then. If nothing is happening in the job or baby department by then...then we may just book it to another country for a while. 
I know my last post on moving somewhere crazy was all about moving to an island...but I've broadened my horizons a bit and am now looking at Europe, Thailand and New Zealand as well. 
Although it would be really nice for my hubby to find good work....I almost think that moving somewhere amazing would be much better, ha ha. We could come back just in time for summer next year, and he could do concrete for yet another summer, ha ha. We shall see....we shall see.
For now keep your eyes peeled for any sweet job postings...and send them our way! :)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

This weekend was really nice. We spent the whole weekend together as a little family, an did a lot of fun things...like building patio furniture (thanks to my hubby, pics are up on FB), re-staining and sanding old folding chairs, garage-saling for hours etc....LOTS of fun to be had this weekend. 
I have to say that the nicest part for me was my little chat with the hubby. My last post was about it, and it went so well. Ever since we've talked its given me a lot more perspective...and its been easier for me to be patient and hopeful. I hope this lasts;)
In other good news...its not supposed to rain all week long, and JD has work scheduled for every day! Lets hope that works out, because for the last month, he's only worked twice...so working 5 days out of 5 would be fan-freaking-tastic!!(fingers crossed for that)
Some exciting stuff happening for my brother and his fam too, as they embark on "real" life! They got a good long-term position, and get there VERY first house on June 25th!! SO excited for them! (and was maybe a teensie bit jealous that we are NOT in that phase yet). 
Have a great week guys! Pray for sun!!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

some light at (not) the end of the tunnel...

As I've previously mentioned, I've been a little down lately, especially the last few days...until last night when I had a great talk with my hubby, that really cheered me up. I was actually planning on my next post being called "well at least I'm not dead yet"...and being all about how much worse of I would be if I were dead, so I shouldn't complain to much about my trials...ha ha..that's about all the good I could see at that time. 
My hubby....he is pretty much like a robot, a well-oiled and working machine...an incredibly logical, relatively unemotional and incredibly efficient robot. Things just don't bother him. Nothing bothers him. He doesn't need job fulfillment to be happy, he just enjoys life all the time, no matter what he's doing. When problems come up that bother me, they don't bother him at all, because he just thinks about them logically and knows they will go away sometime, so why worry
I wish I had that attitude. talking to him last night did give me a small dose of his attitude though, and I have been rejuvenated in my desire to try and stay calm, patient, and try and make my will in line with the Lord's
I know that all my desires are righteous, and that they are the desires that I am supposed to have right now...I just need to focus more on the timing....the timing needs to be in the Lords hands as well, and I need to be okay with that....more than okay with that. 
Once I figure this all out, and how to completely absolve my will to His, I think that all my trials will melt away....and I'll find that they weren't even trials to being with, just little tests for me. 
I hope that I can find ways to do this...and become more laid back in every way, like my amazing hubby is. He really is amazing...what would i do without him? I don't even know. So yes, I am glad I'm not dead yet, ha ha.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I'm feeling a little disheartened today...well, this week in general. Maybe its partially that all of my cool plans for decorating outdoors look like they aren't going to come to pass by tomorrow night for the bridal shower; or maybe its that this stinking rain won't go away for my hubby to even work a few days a week; or maybe its because I'm getting antsy about us finding a new job, a real career; or it could be the impatience of waiting for a baby....who knows. Whatever the case, this week has been hard. 
There isn't really any reason for this to be the case, because our life has been like this, with all of these problems and concerns, for a while now. Everyone has trials...and this is ours for now. 
Maybe I need to learn patience, enduring trials with grace and faith...who knows...I guess I should start learning whatever it is, so life can move on. 
Here's to hoping the rain goes away, and the gloominess and disheartenment(?) does too. 

Monday, June 6, 2011

somebody please stop this rain...

I REALLY need this rain to stop...normally I wouldn't be one to complain about it, because I am a HUGE fan of puddle-jumping. Apparently its good for the farmers fields too, ha ha....but puddle jumping is pretty sweet. We go to several indoor playgroups, and swimming lessons throughout the week, so my kids wouldn't die of boredom if it kept raining....and face it, no one likes to hang out with a whiner, its just not fun...so, back to my original thought, I usually don't complain about the rain. 
BUT...I am now...and I am begging, literally, for it to stop. JD has only worked one day out of the last 3, due to rain. We host exchange students for extra money, but we only have 2 right now, and I just found out we are only going to have 2 next month 2....which means he actually needs to start making some other money really soon. 
The seond reason, and probably seemingly a lot more silly....but still just as legitamite to me, is my fantastics friend Naomi's bridal shower on wednesday. I have it all planned out, and it really will be amazing, if the weather co-operates. I'm planning candles in mason jars, hanging from trees, archways, garden benches, loads of flowers, and really great food.....ahhhhhh.....its perfect in my mind. So yes, this rain needs to stop....pray for it!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

If I were to move to an island...

So, if I were to move to some random island...my top picks would be:
1) Cost Rica- because its beautiful, I found relatively cheap monthly rentals, and its easy to get a visa to work there for 90 days at a time (thats probably the biggest reason- most of these choices are based on price and ease of working there). Also, they have reasonable flights...like $2700 RT including taxes for all 4 of us. 
2) The US Virgin islands- the main perk here is that its owned by the US, and since my hubby is american...we could move over there and work right away. Another plus is that many of the island, if not all, are English speaking. My worry about other islands is that we wouldn't get a job unless we were bilingual. I've looked into St. Croix and St. Eustatius within these islands, and they both look amazing. The flights are pretty good here too, and rentals would be affordable. I'm just not sure how easy jobs would be to come by on this island, or any.
3) Puerto Rico- Same as the last one, this is owned by the US....so ease of working there would be high. This one I don't feel is as appealing as the other 2, and I'm not even sure why....I guess just what I've read online. 


If we did something like this, it would be awesome to stop somewhere beautiful on the way too. This is what I've found: THIS deal through aircanadavactions.com makes the flights for 4 TOTAL $740 RT....aMaZiNg!! (June 18th-25th and only if the kids are under 12 though, but works well for us!). If we went here I would stay at THIS resort. Partially because it looks SO awesome....but also it is inexpensive. Everything would be included, entertainment, water sports and food. The first 2 kids are free to stay, eat and play....which is again fantastic for us....and if you book it online through that site, you get a free room upgrade. That all-inclusive resort would be a total of $924 for the week (6 nights, 7 days). 
....which would be a grand total of ......$1664 for an all-inclusive vacation for a family of 4!!! Awesome, huh. 
I would be ALL for going, if it weren't for the current exchange student that we have right now...she won't be leaving us until June 25th....so here is to hoping that another deal like this pops up later on in the summer months! :)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

This will probably come as no surprise, but I get bored easily....I crave change. It seems like most of my posts are about this, but its true. In my dream life, JD would have some amazing job where he gets to travel all over the world, and we would come with him. If the kids were in school, we would just home-school or cyber-school or whatever we needed to do. 
That would be the life. I would love it. At least the way I imagine it, I would love. 
I watched the movie "Eat. Pray. Love." today....BIG mistake...I already have the travel bug...and it did NOT help...its even worse now....mmmmm....doesn't Bali look amazing? Living in a beautiful forested area, beside the beach, with a house with no walls...overlooking the awesomeness. I just checked the flights though, and its a little bit too much to fly all 4 of us there....so, not happening for a while. 
I often think it would be awesome to move to a random island, and live there, just working enough to pay our bills while we are there. Its more than a thought actually, I've looked into it a lot. Most people just laugh when I say that I want to do it...but I'm serious. So don't be surprised if in a few months we just get up and move somewhere amazing....it may happen.