Lovely Night, Girls

Lastnight was great. Tiana was in town for just a day or two before a short course and another deployment with the US Navy. I am so glad we could all meet up for sushi at Festival Japan. It's been 4.5 years since she left, but it's as if no time has passed when we get together. We were also out celebrating Jessica's birthday. Girls, we must do something other than sushi next time. We must diversify our palate. I so wish that I had browner skin. The flash is bouncing off of my white skin. Ick. You are blessed, Tiana.

Otherwise, the week has been slow. Eric was out of town for a while and I got a head cold. Oh - and the laundry pump broke and flooded our basement. Thank goodness for good friends who helped me out in a pinch. I hate breathing through my mouth while I sleep. BIG pet peeve. The boys are good. We went to see the Ottawa Puppeteers Group yesterday. They performed 'Stone Soup' and a few other fables. My parents bought the old farmhouse on Manitoulin Island lastweek. They'll be moving at the end of next month - probably. AND we are finally painting and updating the house a little. It's about time. Nina tore the wallpaper off my front hall last fall. The plans are there - we just have to get it done.

So much to say...

Easter Weekend is over. Here's the recap. We all drove up to Barrie Thursday afternoon. When we got out of the car along the 400, we could not believe how cold the wind was. And then there's the snow. Barrie is known for snow, but it didn't stop for days. We hadn't had such a snowfall in Ottawa this entire winter. Unfortunately, I didn't plan for blizzards. No boots, mittens, or hats. Oops. We got to spend some time with the in-laws and a lovely visit with Jen C. and the kids at her mom's home in Barrie. She's becoming larger with child and due to have another babe in...??? (I don't remember).

Eric and I got a night away. Yes, just the two of us. This is an event worthy of record-books. We had a wonderful time. We checked into the Westin Trillium House at Blue Mountain village. It was nice and they still have ski runs open. Can you believe it? Skiing or snowboarding on Easter Weekend. Not I, though. This was a spur of the moment thing and I was not equipped for a ski weekend. We didn't ski, but we certainly spent some time in the outdoors at 'Le Scandinave'.



The baths were excellent. I loved the hot pools, the Norwegian steam room but did not love getting into the cold pools of water. Eric was crazy and got into the 51 degrees Fahrenheit pool. Yikes. It was great sitting in the hot pools of water with snow falling on your face. Lots of fun. It reminded us of Sorenson's cabin on Lake Temiskaming where DW introduced us to the tradition of 'Russian slapping'. There was absolutely no slapping going on this weekend.

The next day, we travelled from Blue Mountain to Cambridge to see Jason and Julie's new home AND to eat an Easter dinner, of course. Plus, Grandma and Poppa Jakob had our children so there were many reasons to hook up in Cambridge. Eric and I stopped at a small teahouse in the village of Hillsburgh. It was great. I had a cucumber sandwich with butternut squash soup. Classic tearoom fare.



We had a fabulous day at Julie and Jason's home. The kids had an Easter Egg hunt outside and then the traditional Easter meal of steak. The night was pretty rough. Konrad vomited at 3am (too much chocolate, too little food).

THEN we travelled to Dundas to visit my sister Lisa and family. We had a nice visit and ate the more traditional meal of turkey(the most traditional being ham or lamb, I suppose). The dinner was fabulous... altogether yummy. The best part was... I think we'll be buying a new dining table soon. Our table is something of a hazard. I apologize to my friends before sitting to eat, just in case the table spontaneously collapses onto their kids. Once Eric saw Lisa's table, he decided it's time to buy a new Mennonite-made STURDY table from St. Jacob's. Let's hope we get this table in the house before there's an accident.

THEN, we drove home. We made it from Dundas to Ottawa in less than 5 hours. The kids were asleep within the first 5 minutes. Eric and I talked most of the way home - we even argued for about 45 minutes. At least it helped the time pass - even arguments are welcome if they pass the time.

Happy Easter to all!!!

Happy Fool's Day!

I haven't updated for two whole weeks, I think. Not much happens, though. Eric's parents were in the Honduras. They had a great time - Klaus did some zip-lines that were super-long. Heather enjoyed being pain-free for the week. Eric's in Florida right now golfing. Nice for him. I'm here with the kids all weekend. We're starting to get bored. We have routine during the week but the weekend can be a little long. I'm glad that Tandice and Jessica came over Friday night. We're getting pretty excited about France. Speaking of France, Angelina is in Paris this weekend with Cecile Mines. An impromptu trip to paint Cecile's friend's new apartment in Paris. The perks of being an esthetician, I suppose. Reminding me, that Eric went winter camping last weekend in Val-des-Bois. They all had a great time and there was still lots of ice and snow for skiing around the lake. My biggest concern was their toilet situation. I don't want to go up there next month and find treats underfoot.

I just found out that 12,000 people wrote the exams for the foreign service recruitment. That's crazy. I can hope for the best but I have absolutely no expectations. I've been working with a new trainer the last couple of weeks. We're doing hour-long sessions and she is kickin' my body. Afterwards, I am sore for 2-3 days (but loving it). I meet wth her every Monday morning - I tried to do some push-ups Wed morning but my chest was still pretty sore so I gave up. My weight is still decreasing BUT I must remain vigilant. I need to keep calorie-counting just as a measure to ensure that I'm not overeating (or eating the wrong foods). Food can be very deceiving but yummy.

The kids are enjoying their swim classes. Dovercourt is a wonderful recreation facility. They are both enjoying playing outdoors again. There's only so much one can do in the wintertime. Now that the snow is gone, they can pretend to fish in the ditch, play basketball, ride their trikes, play hockey and golf. It's great. I'm loving it. I can't wait until I can start gardening.

And the winner is...

For all the poker players out there, here's an entry for you. I've never played poker ... before last Friday night. Eric and I went out to the Stevenson's, not knowing we were in for a poker showdown. Of the six playing, only one had ever played poker before. I can understand how people want to keep playing just one more round, hoping that the next hand will be fabulous. And the winner was.... ME!!! Well, technically I won but realistically I'll let Jeremy hold the trophy. He was dominating the game until the very last hand when we put everything in - all or nothing. I won the hand so therefore I technically won the game. I wouldn't want to brag on a technicality, though.

More on the games - Eric is doing an NCAA basketball pool. So far, Brant Caughill is in the lead but I'm faring well considering I absolutely do NOT follow college basketball. OTHER than the Carleton Ravens who just won their 5th straight national title. They're a good team. The only game we went to this season was their game against an NCAA team in the pre-season. It was close.

Otherwise, the RS Ensemble performed Saturday night without the violin (hope you're better, Jess!) AND I think that we did alright. We were a quartet and the piece repeated without giving me more than a beat's rest. This was problematic the second time through when the spit build-up started affecting the positioning of my mouth on the flute. We did well, though. The RS Anniversary Dinner went well, even if I nearly had a meltdown moment. Once the meal was served and we had performed, all was well.

Here are the pics of the day. I think that kids could live in laundry hampers. The boys read books together, make forts out of them. We even found Anders nearly asleep in one.



Here's a lovely picture of Konrad last Sunday. We were in Wal-Mart looking for a belt. Sounds easy, but I'm not a lover of Wal-Mart and I quickly give up searching. As we were walking down the aisle, Konrad starts blurting out indistinguishable sounds to a male employee. Apparently, Konrad was trying to yell out 'Belt - I need a belt' to the employee. Konrad explained that he needs a belt to keep his pants up. The employee was so nice - he took Konrad to the boys department and helped him choose a belt, a tie, and a shirt. Those other items were not on our shopping list, but that's okay. While Konrad was dressing Sunday morning, he was so proud. He took extra care to comb his hair properly and strutted around the house like a preening peacock.

Bring on the Ketchup!

Dinner. We need to eat it. Some people prefer the grab'n'go, for some it is a sensory feast. Recently, I was eating dinner at a friend's house. She had made a wonderful stew the night before and it tasted wonderful. It had such great flavour and was delicious. The kids were eating something else and partway through the meal, the kids wanted ketchup on their dinner. Ok, I know that kids like ketchup. (We usually reserve ketchup for grilled cheese.) Then, both adults proceeded to squeeze ketchup all over their stew. I couldn't believe it. I then pronounced them the official 'Ketchup Family' (or 'famille de ketchup'). I had never seen anyone put ketchup in their beef stew before. Perhaps there is another family out there who squeezes ketchup on meals such as stew???

Another dinner. The stew was so good at the 'House of Ketchup' that I decided to make it. We invited some neighbours to enjoy dinner with us. The guy told me that his wife wouldn't be home for awhile but he and his son would love to join us at 6:00. I also invited their son over to play for a bit prior to dinner. As soon as his son comes over to play, I notice him driving away. He calls me from his cell phone at 5:45 reporting that he needed to run an errand and to start dinner without him if he was late. Dinner with the neighbours began to unravel in my mind. An acceptance to our dinner invitation was looking much more like we were being 'stood up'. All's well that ends well. Both he and she came at 6:30, we ate dinner, and had some good conversation. Although, I don't think that my stew tasted as nice as the 'Ketchup Family' 's stew.

We're Healthy! - I Think.

I think we're healthy. Konrad hasn't had a fever all day today although he is tired. As for myself, I'm feeling much better. The doctor prescribed some sort of medication for a bacterial sinus infection (my head killed!). Firstly, the pills were huge. Once I saw how big they were, I called the pharmacy for a change. My parents can attest to the fact that I have always had trouble swallowing pills. Some of the most traumatic memories from childhood include ingesting medication. Methods my mother tried was ... mixing it with jam, mixing it in a strawberry milkshake. Any way you mix it, it's always gross. After having both my legs surgically broken and realigned, I stopped taking pain killers 7 days after the surgery. I think that my mother felt sorry for me when I couldn't sleep because it hurt so much. That surgery really was painful - I had morphine shots every couple hours for 3 or 5 days (I can't remember much from that time). That's how reluctant I was to take pills.

Back to the present - I returned to pick up my smaller pills later that same night. All was well until a couple hours later. I laid in bed with intense gastro pain and nausea. Apparently these pills have side effects. I'm coping. It's better than having a terrible headache.

We're on the mend.

Updates

So, here are a few updates and photos.



Konrad is growing taller every day and doesn't have very many pj's so I decided to sew him some flannel pj pants. I made a matching pair for Anders. They're actually pretty simple to make - good thing for me!!! As for the other photos - Konrad loves his Leapster from G-ma and Poppa Jakob. We had to set time limits for a couple months but he's starting to diversify. The poor boy is sick right now. He hasn't eaten for 2 days, has a fever and brings up anything he tries to eat or drink - even the tylenol or advil I give him. Don't worry though, we're taking good care of him. The picture below shows Anders doing something he absolutely loves right now. He loves playing with animals. He'll do it for a LONG time.

You may have noticed the new items along the tab on the right. I've included a meal section. Since I am trying to cook lower calorie meals and am actually cooking good quality meals much of the time I thought I'd share. I like the recipes from the 'Crazy Plates' cookbook.

Oh - and in response to D's blog, my movie is Easy Rider and my leader is Mother Teresa.

Wish us health!

Oscars and the Glamorous Life

Lastnight, Angelina and JLW came over to watch the Oscars. I can't believe how late they run!!! Eeeks. The Gosling family were there - Mandi, mom (forget her name - oops), and Ryan. (Mandi - if you somehow read this blog, call me. It's been a long time since we've talked.) The girl hasn't called me back yet, so I am employing all methods of communication. Lastnight, we saw the glamorous. Today, while I spent 2 hours scrubbing and scraping my floors, I thought of this. My life didn't seem very glamorous this afternoon. Probably the opposite. My kids are always throwing food around so there were lots of remnants stuck to the floor - strawberry, cucumber, marker, and the gooey sticky bits that can no longer be traced to a specific food.

I talked to Eiryn last week. She thought it was interesting to note that a married mother of two young children is travelling to France with a girlfriend this Spring. It gave her hope that life does not end with marriage and children. I suppose we all have a hand in creating the life we live. I don't mind leaving my little ones with Dad and the Grandparents for a couple weeks. Eric has left me with the kids for a week nearly every month since Konrad's birth. BUT I have accepted many 'un-glamorous' changes in my life. That's okay, because it was my decision and who really wants to mess up your kids? I'd spend the rest of eternity hearing about it or feeling guilty about it. Besides, my window of opportunity is small - I am not pregnant or nursing a baby right now. Time to go to FRANCE!

'Ur Ine' Trouble!

What's with the title? Well, tonight we had a notable event. Eric was putting Konrad to bed tonight while I folded some clothes in the living room. I hear Konrad crying, and crying - crying loud. After awhile, I decide to check on the situation. I go in the bathroom to inquire - 'What's going on?' Eric tells me - 'I peed on Konrad's head." How does this happen? Who does that? Eric explained that they were both urinating in the toilet at the same time. All was well until Konrad slipped and nearly fell into the toilet THUS the urine on the head. Poor Konrad was traumatized. Truly.

About the pictures -kids love playing in boxes and yes, my shirt is on backwards.

We had the sushi feast of Queens on Friday night. More sushi than my eyes have ever seen! And the cake made by Michelle and ... (French people who own Sucre et Sale) was absolutely yummy! Happy Birthday Angelina!!

I helped out with a 'Tarde Latina' lastnight. It was great fun. We had food from Colombia, Mexico and more. It was fun using my limited Spanish to cmmunicate with others. I love doing that. I only wish Adriana was still around to enjoy Tarde Latina! (miss you!)

For those who read, feel free to comment if you wish!

Valentine's Day - a non-Holiday?

We celebrated Valentine's Day this week. Maybe I'm just not in the mood right now, but Valentine's Day seems to be a manufactured holiday. What are we really celebrating? Being in love with someone? Familial love? The idea of being in love or being loved? What happens if there isn't a romantic love in your life? Does that make you feel lame? I hope not, because people ought not to feel lame just because they aren't in a relationship. I remember the days prior to marriage - I did not have a boyfriend most years. I actually broke up with guys the week or two before the day of 'love'. Since marriage, some V-days have been ok. Eric was out of town for a couple years in a row so we didn't even see each other on V-Day. This year, the kids and I picked out a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Eric. Then we went out into the snow to eat big bowls of Vietnamese soup (pho). It's Eric's new obsession. He ate it twice so far this week. It was nice to go out together but not terribly romantic. Besides, if my mate truly cares for me, I would expect the dishes to be done and demonstrations of true love on more than just one day a year. I guess our notion of 'romance' changes as our lives change. As we grow older, the true and effectual things matter more than infrequent big productions to prove our love to each other. What will romance be when I am 73? Someone who will bear with me as I develop Alzheimers. That's love, true love.

Besides the non-event of Valentine's Day, life is good. Konrad is growing super-fast. He often rushes around the house cleaning everything he can find. At times, he has this inner need to clean everything up and cannot go to bed or watch a movie before everything is picked up. Even in my bedroom. You'll se him carrying laundry to the basket, moving shoes, coats, bags and toys to their rightful places. He is also obsessed with numbers. He can play with a calculator forever. He needs to know everyone's age and compare everyone's age, counting to 200 or rattling on about being 41 inches high... I thought it was weird at first, but it's probably a phase and I should nourish it just in case he ends up being a mathematical genius.

Anders is lovely. He's starting to speak and can understand complex instructions. I wrote exams for the entire day last Saturday - not fun. AND I did book my flight to Paris as well. I read your blog, JLW and I agree - if we can live with our husbands for this long, we can remain friends after 2 weeks of travel. It's gonna be great. I can't imagine what it'll be like to be without children for 2 weeks but Im sure I'll make every minute count. I already have plans to read a book on the plane, study metro maps, ooohhh, springtime in France. Can't wait.

p.s. The picture above is where I'd rather be right now. It's been freezing cold for too long and I am in serious sunlight deprivation. The picture is from our holiday a couple years ago when we rented a place on the ocean in Mexico. It was gorgeous, peaceful and WARM.

Spelling Errors

I am so embarrassed by spelling errors. I, who received certificates forbeing the Queen Spelling Bee of 155 Huron St. Yes, I see that in the previous post I used 'their' instead of 'there'. I can't imagine why I would do something like that. Sorry, folks. I've let a whole nation of believers down.

Another remembrance. I was mentioning that I am currently counting every calorie going in my mouth. Well, I called Eric on Friday to find out when he'd be coming home and to report on my eating habits. He was stuck in Cobourg with the madness that followed the fiery inferno on the 401. In order to keep himself from falling asleep, he started munching. (History - Eric's mom is very entrepeneurial and bought 20 cases of Christmas gingerbread cookies for nearly nothing and claims to be re-selling them. Knowing my mother-in-law, she is probably giving everyone within a block radius enough cookies for the whole year.) Eric starts eating these cookies to cope with being stuck for hours in Cobourg. In the spirit of counting, he decided to count the calories - he had already eaten 5000 calories worth of gingerbread cookies. His daily total - no idea, since he was still hours from being home. Gotta love gingerbread!!!

I Can See It Now...

We have purchased a property in Val-des-Bois. It's a lovely piece of land on a small, private lake. It's beautiful. This year, we'll be enjoying the space for swimming and camping while we prepare for building. The building will probably be done over a period of a year or two. We're trying to find plans for a medium-sized cottage/cabin for our own use and for a rental. It'll be really nice to spend time their with the boys - fishing, swimming, hiking. Just down the road, there's a tubing hill as well. It's pretty close to Mont Blanc and a few other ski hills. When we went to sign some papers a couple weeks ago, the local restaurant, gas station and convenience store had not one car in the parking lots. All snow machines (commonly referred to as 'skidoos') or ATVs. I made Eric sell his 4-wheeler last summer so we could purchase a nice snowblower. A good switch if you ask me.

We hope to share this nice place with our friends and family (that means you, of course - no one else would look at this blog). Right now, it'll be a campout but one day I hope to have all the comforts of home (washing machine, internet hookup).

Ok - nothing to do with this entry BUT I just have to say that Eric put me in charge of taping the SuperBowl so he can have a midnight Superbowl Party at our house. This event usually causes me anxiety since I know that I'll probably be awake most of the night listening to men scarf down meaty sandwiches while watching football. Anyway, we're nearing the end of the second tape and I decided to edit the commercials. Only, I got carried away with this blog and kinda forgot to record once the game started. I remembered, jumped to record and not two minutes later a huge touchdown was scored. Whew! I would have suffered much wrath had I not recorded that touchdown. There would have been many groans in my house at 2:00am.

The Simple Life

Who woud have ever thought that I would succomb to the simple(r) life? I do believe it has happened, though. A friend called me this week and asked, 'what's up' or new, at least. Of course I said, 'not much'. I thought about this. My calendar is full and I am usually tired - and what's up. Well, this is my life in between exercising 4-5 times a week, the calling, the kids, the dishes, the laundry. All too domestic for my liking but I have succombed. I've discovered that living in a mess stresses me out too much. Life goes along a lot smoother now - perhaps this is because Anders is finally sleeping through the night occasionally. I haven't lost as many pounds as I would expect given my trainer's intense need to punish SO - I am counting calories. Everything that enters my mouth is counted. I haven't gone out to eat yet - which will be interesting because who knows how many calories would be in the yummy sauces. If my goal caloric intake is 1200-1300, I'd probably have to starve all day in order to eat the yummy saucy dinner. It's been going really well the last 3 days - I've chosen yummy meals full of goodness and even had a couple homemade cookies after tallying the totals at the end of the day (of course I counted those calories, too) AND Eric and I have decided to be more fiscally responsible. Not only am I counting the calories, we're counting every dollar and cent. Let's hope that these experiments give results!

p.s. Sorry about the boring post but once again, this is my life - the simple(r) life.

Do meat-eaters go to jail?

This is Konrad's question of the day. I made my boy a lovely wrap for lunch filled with ham, lettuce, tomato, cukes and cheese. He asked me if there was animal meat in his sandwich. "Yes." Konrad replied, "What kind of animal?" I told him, "pig". Of course I had to pick all of the meat out of his wrap. We then had the talk about omnivores and carnivores. People are omnivores because we eat both plants and meat. Konrad asked me, "Do meat-eaters go to jail?" I explained that people who eat meat and people who eat veggies go to jail - not because of what they eat but because they've broken a law. The verdict is - no. Meat-eaters don't go to jail.

Who is Older? Jesus, The Prophet or Santa

Hola everyone. Today Konrad's question was - who is older - Jesus, the Prophet or Santa. I decided that Jesus is definitely older. Then follows the question - how old is Santa? Hmmm... I said about 150 years old. I'm not sure when Saint Nicolas lived or where the name Klaus came from but 150 sounded good.

My rant of the day - What's the deal with public service employees who are on leave (moi) not having access to internal job postings. I called the public service commission, publiservice, searched the internet. Nope. Not happening. I don't really like the idea of asking people to take time out of their busy day to send me emails, either. What a conundrum. I may go back to work this year but am dreading going back to the same position I had before leaving. I know that I cannot be the only government employee (on leave) wanting access to these postings. Ugh....

Otherwise, Eric's around this week so things are a little more relaxed around here. I had some nasty but necessary doctor's appointments. Further details are not suitable for the world wide web. It's all part of reforming my body - fixing it up before it completely implodes. Our TV busted lastnight. That really sucks. The technician won't be out until Friday morning. We've had it less than a year and it is under warranty, so let's hope for the best. I kinda like having theTV on at night after the kids are in bed and I'm updating my blog on my computer. Even if I'm only watching re-runs of Alias and The National. It's finally freezing here. I'm not a lover of the cold, though. I don't like winter sports due to th fact that I have been cold my entire life and I find it difficult to do anything when my hands and feet are numb, ready to fall off. ANders' molar is FINALLY poking through. This tooth has taken a month of pain, swelling like I've never seen before inside a mouth, and general grumpiness. I am so glad the end of the terrible teething is nearly over. And lastly, I got a wonderful, huge hug from Konrad today. It's rare that he wants to sit on my lap and hugme for so long but I loved it entirely. Yay for the great parenting moments!

Which is Stronger - a Door or a Skidoo?

Christmas was good. It's always so busy with travelling and the dinners. We left on the 23rd of December and celebrated Christmas at the Jakob homestead. The boys loved everything about it - the cookies, the fun gifts, and then more cookies. Specifically, the gingerbread people and reindeer. Konrad helped Grandma make these cookies the previous weekend and would sneak into the front room alone so he could nibble on their limbs. One time G-pa Jakob walked into the room seeing two little feet sticking out from under the chair. When G-pa asked whose feet were sticking out, Konrad replied 'They're not Konrad's'. Upon inspection of the tree, Konrad had eaten a little bit from every gingerbread cookie.

When driving to the McCartney Christmas gathering Konrad asked which is stronger - a skidoo or a door. I decided that a skidoo was stronger since a skidoo could go through a door at top-speed. Mi madre made the fabulous plum pudding which I took home with me. Ken made the pies this year. Yummy. Everything went really smoothly and nothing crazy happened with all the kids being together. I guess that's because the Laughlin kids are getting older and watching out for the little ones. Missed the Radcliffe family, though. It was the last McCartney Christmas in Codrington. Next year will be much different. So those were the holidays. We had some nice dinners with friends, a very lovely wedding reception, 2 hours shopping for underwear at The Bay and saw 'Night at the Museum'. A good movie for kids of all ages. And a great NYE party at Nina's. Pate and foie gras for all!!! (Happy Belated Birthday)

Diamonds and Carolers

Eric and I went to see Blood Diamond last Thursday night after a work Christmas Dinner. I am familiar with the smuggling of diamonds from Sierra Leone to Liberia by the rebels. In 2000 I attended a lecture organized by the Cdn Institute of Int'l Affairs about this subject. The author had written a report on the effect of diamond smuggling on the war in Sierra Leone. After watching the movie, I felt stupid that I hadn't abandoned everyday life and become involved in helping those who have suffered in some way. But, I suppose that if these victims had the chance to raise little ones in peace, they would leap. Anyhow - the movie. Well, I'm not sure whether I can recommend everyone go to see 'Blood Diamond'. I was sobbing through parts of the movie. I have seen documentaries and movies about genocide - seen terrible things, but I felt that if people are enduring these things, I should be able to witness what is happening. If everyone turns their head, it will never end. Maybe I was emotional because I am a mother now and view the world a little differently. The use of child soldiers was the most troubling part for me, I think. These kids grow into adults and will remain broken forever. One interesting point in the movie was when the rebel commander begged for 'the' way to get out of the country - that he had already been in hell long enough. Even the perpetrators were sick of their existence. Bottom-line - the movie was good and worth seeing if it prompts one to be more aware.

On a much lighter note - We had bathed and dressed the kids for bed when a mass of 40 people carrying lanterns came to our door. No, they weren't coming to chase us out of the neighbourhood - they were ... carolers! It was amazing. They filled our driveway and the road.
This picture isn't that great but it was amazing. Lots of fun and Christmas spirit.





Here's also another photo of our nightly routine. I tuck Konrad into his bed and as soon as we're out of sight he sneaks into our bed. Problem is, he doesn't come alone. He brings his bear, puppy, baby, teletubbie, drink, books to read, pillow. He sets himself up completely. So, everyone night I come to bed and find a sweaty little body in it. We move everything back to his bed and repeat the entire procedure the next night. He's so cute when he's sleeping, though, isn't he?

Parties Galore!

Before I get into the parties for little ones, here's a phot of the Jakob family at the Nativity Pageant. That's Konrad on a real live donkey. Both he and Anders loved the sheep, goats and other animals. That's why I go out in the cold to watch the Nativity - the animals!


The first party (for kids) - As payback to Angelina for hanging out with my Konrad so much, I invited she and kids over for dinner. It was a nice evening. Dinner, stories, and dancing! The Putamayo African Playground album is great for some true dancing. Good times.




Second party (for kids) was Konrad's Christmas Party for little boys today. We had a great lunch, watched the Polar Express and made Christmas cards. Our Christmas miracle was - no fights. Five children and no fighting or yelling. Lots of fun playing. Can you imagine? They all sat on the same couch without incident. Miracles.

Damon and Konrad were MIA so I went up to the bedrooms to look for them. They had turned off the light in Anders room (dark, dark room), were both underneath Anders bed and were playing with a flashlight.

Surprise!!! Wicked photos!!!

Thanks Cairine for the great photos. I didn't want to leave anyone out so I've posted a ton of photos. Enjoy!!!

Of Toilets and Popcorn

Firstly - I don't think I'm going to get any Wicked pictures, so - here's the rundown. We all had a great time watching the fabulous show, then we ate great thai food (a first for Lisa). It was great to see family and friends and I think we may do this more often (not difficult since this was the first time). J LW had to hobble around a bit and I'm sure the car ride back to Ottawa was not easy but we made it.

Once back home, I woke up Thursday morning to a blocked-up toilet. Eric was on his way out for a trade show in Montreal lasting until Sunday night so he was not very helpful. I didn't even bother calling in a plumber because I wasn't home during for any length of time (We do have 2 other toilets in the house). Days go by, Eric comes back - we decide to call a plumber. He comes in and spends an hour trying to clear the toilet, takes the toilet off, shakes it around - everything. He tells us we'll have to get a new toilet. Who knew? He came back a day later to install the the new toilet. He smashed the old one to see what the stubborn block was and it was.... a cap for a baby bottle. It was never budging. I wouldn't have believed that one would have to buy new toilets because kids stick things in them but now I know. Now I know that kids have hidden costs.

A week ago, Eric and I went out to dinner and a movie with some friends. Eric was in Montreal but he sat down just in time to eat the steak medallions I'd ordered for him. Nice dinner, other than my friend, AR coughing up a fish bone. Eric got me a big popcorn at the movies (actually, it was a medium but it really was rather large). I enjoyed it for awhile then passed it to Eric or put it down - I can't remember. Later, I looked around for the popcorn to munch on it and it was gone. Not a trace. Someone took my popcorn and ate it. They must have. We looked in the entiresection - no big bag of popcorn. I thought this was pretty funny. Someone wanted popcorn so bad that they snatched it - ok with me because I had eaten my fill and there was LOTS left.

A week has passed since then but I honestly don't remember anything happening. We got cold weather finally. A little severe on Friday. The wind was crazy. We brought the kids to see the Nativity pageant with live animals and a creche display. Very nice. Christmas is around the corner!!!