bits and pieces

Last night we took Liam and Simon to see Toy Story 3. It was only Simon's second movie in a theatre (the first being "How to Train Your Dragon"), and it was both boys' first 3D movie experience. To say they enjoyed it would be an understatement (except for the part where the toys are facing a fiery death in the bellies of the landfill... although Liam assures us that he knew they'd be okay). 

Simon loves the three little green aliens and can often be heard repeating the word "Da-ddeeeeeee" in the same kind of creepy monotone they use. It's funny though.

Less funny (or more funny depending on if you're me or Peter) is when he shouts, "GET OUT OF MY BUTT!" For those who haven't seen the movie, it's a line spoken by Mr Potato Head (you know how they open up to store all their accessories?) near the end of the movie. Of course my kid had to latch on to that particular sound bite.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Because of the recent smokin' hot, 100+ degree, swimsuit/pool weather I decided earlier this week to do some not-as-routine-as-it-should-be swimsuit/pool-type hair removal-type maintenance. You follow? Good. So with six kids here this week, personal care time has been at a total premium and thus my need for speed and efficiency... and my unfortunate decision to use a new razor. 

Being an adult woman, and having been at this type of grooming for a few years now, you'd think I'd know better. You'd think I'd know how my skin -that sensitive skin- would react to a new razor. But no. I was blinded by the shiny packaging and the promise of a sharp, exacting blade.

(sigh)

I don't know if it is all the blade's fault or some combination of heat, humidity, and the friction caused by the elastic on certain unmentionables... All I know is what I have now is not so swimsuit/pool ready. Not so pretty. 

And this is certainly one "area" of my life (double entendre) that I will not be photographing.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

There was so much that we did in May, June, and now the beginning of July that I haven't blogged... not even Liam's birthday! I might just have to accept the fact that I don't have enough time to type out a long/thoughtful/funny/sentimental/informative post for every moment of our lives. Pictures alone might have to do. 

So expect some picture heavy, light-on-words posts in the near future.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

As I type this, Peter is likely on the phone for a final interview/conversation/question period for a new job that will mean some huge, HUGE changes around here. Like uprooting-our-whole-family-and-home-and-moving-to-another-continent kind of huge. 

When this opportunity came up, it kind of freaked me out, but seemed like the chances of Peter being offered the job were relatively remote. When, after the interview, it appeared that his chances might be better than we thought, we started reading up on the country in questions and became more and more intrigued and excited. Now if he doesn't get it we'll be a bit disappointed.

Not too disappointed though. Or at

We love our friends here and our life and our new life-changing deck (that I've alluded too, but still need to properly photograph).

Now Peter just needs to wrap up the conversation AND CALL ME ALREADY!

(They'd better not just be sitting there talking about soccer and the World Cup final... speaking of which, what a boring game, eh? Neither Spain nor the Netherlands seemed good enough to be there. Super anti-climatic end to the tournament. *yawn*)

7 things about me

1. I was a voracious reader as a young girl, spending my babysitting money (I started babysitting at the age of nine! Can you believe it? I'd never leave my kids in the care of a nine year old!) on books from The Babysitters Club series or books about horses. I'd come home from the mall on a Saturday afternoon with two or three new books and often have them read by the end of the weekend. These days, the list of books I'd like to read/re-read is getting longer by the week. (le sigh)

2. I was a band geek. A serious band geek. I played alto saxophone. I played in the one of the high school wind orchestras (which is just a way of trying to make "high school band" sound fancy) and one of the school jazz bands. THE TOP ONES, at that. I was also a part of a community band. In its hey day, this organization was recognized by Canada's Governor General as the "citizenship machine of Canada" and HOW CORNY IS THAT. I was a member of the concert band, jazz band, jazz combo, and within the marching band (yes, marching band) I was at various times either in the auxiliary percussion (ie, xylophones, marimbas, tympani... I'm not making myself sound any cooler, am I?) or the cymbal line. Yes, I played cymbals. But only in marching band, the rest was all saxophone, all the time.

(Except for part of one year when I was convinced to give the oboe a try. Mostly this was for image purposes, as a band just didn't look complete without an oboe. APPARENTLY. They went so far as to schedule and pay for private lessons with local legend and published Canadian composer, Elizabeth Raum, who told me I'd have to file my front teeth down if I wanted to be a SERIOUS oboe player. Um, oookay. What I didn't tell her was that I only agreed to play the oboe because it let me sit closer to my friends during practice... and because the maker of the oboe given me shared a last name with my crush at the time (who I ended up marrying, so good thing I liked the name!). Aren't teenage girls silly things?)

My older sister and I, circa 1996. (Yeah, that's right, I got a cape. 

Cause I was part of the drum line. And drummers need capes.) 

3. During college, my older sister and I were in a ska band. A Christian ska band. We even recorded an album. STOP LAUGHING. It was fun. I'll have to dig up a picture from somewhere...

4. I have a irrational fear of sharks. I grew up in a COMPLETELY LANDLOCKED province, yet I am terrified of sharks. Like, I feel ill just thinking about Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Click through to that link and look at the ad. Two seconds of that has my stomach in knots and my throat tightening up.

This image freaks me out,

even though I know it's just a dolphin.

This one actually makes me teary and faint-feeling... 

EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IT'S COMPLETELY FAKE.

5. We've been living in this house for over a year and a half and the only things up on the walls are a world map and two maps of Southern Sudan (both in our bedroom... I know, romantic), and a ceramic gecko that Liam made at a birthday party just before we left Calgary. There happened to be a nail already in the wall in our basement bathroom, so we stuck it up there. There are also a few homeschool aids (calendar, weather chart, numbers to 100, etc) and an advent calendar leftover from Christmas. AND THAT'S IT. Sad. Gee, if only I had a few pictures of my kids or knew someone who could take some... 

6. There are two food items that I refused to eat as a child and now, as an adult, really love. The first are olives, which I didn't try until our trip to Europe in 2001, and didn't fully appreciate until our trip took us down to Argentina where there are olives on/in EVERYTHING. I love them now. The second item is avocado. I still don't like guacamole, but I adore avocados. In smoothies, salads, dips, spreads, on crackers or toast... mmmm. Looooove 'em. 

7. I've never tasted beer. I'm pretty sure my Canadian passport might be revoked if the authorities ever read this blog, but it's true. After 12 years of community and school band AND BOTTLE DRIVES TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT, my mind just can't erase the smell of old, stale, months -or even years- old beer. *shudder* Sorry, but beer stinks.

Thanks, Tia, for tagging me with this meme (over a month ago now, I think... do I get a prize for being last to finish??). For my part, I would looove to read seven new things about the following seven blogger (in no particular order, of couse):

• my sister Lynette (who has -I think- the only blog out there on becoming a funeral director... and it's pretty good WHEN SHE ACTUALLY BLOGS)
• my sisters-in-laws, Susanna (who innocently suggested on day that I start a blog and unleashed a monster *wink*), Sara, and Kristi (whose blogs I won't link to prior to asking if they actually want a hundred strangers visiting)
• and now a few of my favourite Ottawa bloggers: Julie from Thoughts of a Smother Mother (because she actually seems to participate in meme... ha! how's that for pressure!), the pie-making phenom (or at least soon-to-be-phenom) Lynn from TurtleHead, and Kym from Relishing (whose writing is so poetically beautiful I sometimes have to take a little moment to myself after reading... even if that moment is to try to pretend that I understood it all)

I live to make your life easier

It's that time of the year again. The time of the year when my mom starts badgering and threatening us daily for our Christmas lists. In order to make things that much easier -Look! Pictures! And helpful links!- I decided to put together my list here for my mom (and the rest of the world) to see.

In all honesty, I'm just so excited to be going back to Regina for Christmas FOR THREE WEEKS that I don't even care much about gifts. I'm just going to enjoy being back home with my mom and sisters and brother-in-law and my awesome nephews. There will be a big gaping hole when my dad should be, but it will still be soooo good to be back.

However, for those loved ones who insist on getting me a gift, here are some things to chose from:

A camera grip like this one from Vistek or any other camera store. I did just see a tutorial for making one over at photojojo, however I lack some of the key hardware pieces and -more importantly- I lack the time to make one myself. Any of my friends and family (or loving blog readers) should feel more than welcome to make me one. Just kidding. Seeing as a strap like this is only in the $20-$25 price range, I'm not entirely convinced that making one would vaux la peine (be worth it).

I would dearly, DEARLY love an external flash someday. I've had the chance to play with Nikon's Speedlight SB-900 a few times when I've rented one for various photo sessions, but as of yet just can't justify the $600 (CDN) price tag. I realize that there are less expensive models, but I found this one so easy to use. So intuitive. And it has some features that I really like and see myself using all the time.

I understand though that in these tough economic times, Santa will not likely be dropping a $600 flash down my chimney (if I even had a chimney), so my second choice is a flash diffuser. There are many out there, but the one I've decided on is sort of softbox for on board (pop up) flashes. The problem is that it seems to only be available on ebay. At $20 (US), it's a much easier pill to swallow.

Next on my list is something that I consider more of a NEED than a WANT. You see, I'm wearing the same nursing bras that I used when I breastfed Liam OVER FIVE YEARS AGO. In the six and a half years since his birth in 2003, I have been breastfeeding for well over half of it. 48 of the last 78 months. The equivalent of FOUR YEARS SPENT WEARING THE SAME THREE NURSING BRAS. Not even three. Since the mysterious disappearance of a wire from one bra not long after Andrew was born, I've been down to two. One, the soft, comfy, stretchy one that I sleep and bum around the house in is so threadbare and battleworn. It should really be put out of its misery. The other, a padded, underwire bra that I wear when not in the comfort of my own home, is beginning to show the signs of repeated washings, ie. it somethings looks like I'm hinding a couple dinner rolls in each cup.

Because it's been so long since I've shopped for nursing bras, I asked the ladies on Twitter what brands they would recommend and it seems that the concensus is either Bravado Designs or Nummies Bras. The reason I've been so hesitant to buy a(ny) new bra(s) is mainly because I have NO IDEA what size I would be. Depending on the time of day and how recently Andrew has eaten, I'm sure I vary between an A and a D cup. I'm not joking. I don't want to be lost inside a bra at one moment and then spilling out the top of it a few hours later. So if anyone knows how to go about being fitted for a proper nursing bra, or could recommend a magical one that grows with you throughout the day, I'd love to hear.

And in the "Pretty and Sparkly" category, I'd love some new earrings. Since I got my hair cut, I've been much more inclined to decorate my lovely lobes. Unfortunately, I only have a small handful (read: three pairs) of earrings to chose from. I've only had my ears pierced since 2007, so my collection is pretty non-existent. I saw some really cute ones at the Stella and Dot trunk show I went to at Melanie's house. I particularly liked this pair and how you can change the look depending on where you place the hooks and how many links you hook on to. These turquoise ones were also pretty fabulous, although I'm not sure I could pull them off.

Happily, I'll be receiving some awesome-looking silver earrings from Cylene's etsy shop muffin top designs. We did a trade for some blog re-design work (I gave her a cool blog and she's sending me some cool earrings!). If you're interested in handmade jewelry at excellent prices, you're sure to find something in her shop. I looked through all her pieces when I was trying to get ideas for her blog design and was really impressed. Her stuff is all formed and soldered by hand, so it has a cool rustic look without looking... old, if you know what I mean. If I didn't still have chubby postpardum fingers, I'd be ALL OVER her stacked copper and silver ring set. Luckily for you, my lovely readers, she agreed to send along an extra pair of earrings for me to giveaway. Although I'm not normally a fan of giveaways, I love handmade and I love supporting local artists, especially those who are also working moms. Cylene's blog is not only (now) lovely to look at, but it's also fun to read, full of pictures of her sweet baby girl, design, and other etsy goodness.

And if I'm going to go to the effort of doing my hair, putting earrings in, and wearing a nice bra, I should probably do something about the sorry state of my makeup bag. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think the mascara I have is at least, at least, three years old. Don't they say you should buy a new tube every three months?? Cause I'm waaaay passed that mark! Because I'm a glutin for punishment, I decided to look up my current mascara in the Skin Deep database. I was pleased to find that my current brand contains ingredients that are linked to:

• cancer
• developmental/reproductive toxicity
• violations, restrictions & warnings
• allergies/immunotoxicity
• Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
  Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes

Nice, eh? Although we went all natural with our other personal care products 2+ years ago, I wear makeup so rarely that I hadn't really bothered to look into it more. MIS-TAKE. SThis lead me to look into so more natural, eco-friendly mascara options. According to Natural Living for Women, hundreds of years ago mascaras were made with waxes, oils and pigments, and that natural mascaras are returning to those bases today. Honeybee Gardens Truly Natural Mascara in Espresso looks nice.

Also on my list:

• stainless steel or stoneware muffin tins and cookie sheets (so I can get rid of my non-stick version)
• some sort of chunky knit sweater like this or this
or this
• a jewelry box (possibly my dad's old one)
• a lens cleaner kit of some sort
• a breakfast tray (for all the breakfasts in bed that get served around here. *snort* Actually we do eat breakfast in bed on special days -birthdays, mother's & father's day, etc)
  

Hopefully this list will make Christmas a lot easier and less stressful for my mom  my husband  my kids  Sara  Santa.

(Even though Peter is sitting next to me giving me a hard time about this list, guess who's going to be furiously checking this post when it's time to shop?? Yeah, HIM.)

TWO!

This last week, I was given two blog awards. Two. Awards! TWO!

What is a blog award? I'm not entirely sure, but it sure does make me feel special, so I will gladly accept!

The first is from Mama Jade at Strained Peas and the second is from Elizabeth at Confessions of a Working Mom. I'm thrilled that you'd think of me, and a little bit... well, really? Me? *blush*

Mama Jade's award came with a quiz and since NaBloPoMo is kicking my butt  sucking my brain out my finger sapping any creative writing juices, I figured I would take advantage of this excuse to not have to write a proper post (thanks again, ladies). The trick is that you can only use one word to answer each question. Those of you who know me AND HOW WORDY I CAN BE will recognize what a challenge this will be. But I'm up for it.

The Survey
1. Where is your cell phone? dead

2. Your hair? messy

3. Your mother? strong

4. Your father? missed 

5. Your favorite food? chocolate

6. Your dream last night? dragonslayer

7. Your favorite drink? OJ

8. Your dream/goal? travel

9. What room are you in? family

10. Your hobby? photography

11. Your fear? criticism

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Africa

13. Where were you last night? bed

14. Something that you aren’t? organized

15. Muffins? please!

16. Wish list item? camera

17. Where did you grow up? Regina

18. Last thing you did? breastfeed

19. What are you wearing? pyjamas

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? none

22. Friends? appreciated

23. Your life? content

24. Your mood? lazy

25. Missing someone? horribly

6. Vehicle? van

27. Something you’re not wearing? makeup

28. Your favorite store? Vistek

29. Your favorite color? orange

30. When was the last time you laughed? recently

31. Last time you cried? remembering

32. Your best friend? Peter

33. One place that I go to over and over? Regina

34. One person who e-mails me regularly? inlaws

35. Favorite place to eat? anyplacewhereIdidn'tcookthefood (that's one word, right?)

Thanks again, for the bloggy love, ladies. Hopefully I'll find time to pass on these awards later this week.

is aging gracefully still "in"?

At 3:45am this morning, I was wakened by the sound of little feet walking quickly across the hardwood laminate flooring in our room.

It was Simon.

Simon has NEVER gotten out of bed before in ALL of his 32 months. (I know. Hard to believe. But for all his crazy-making, he does stay in bed once put there, which I consider nothing short of miraculous.). I jumped out of bed, thinking something must be really wrong, but he simply said, "I pooped." and then, "I hungry."

I took him by the hand and lead him to the bathroom to change his diaper. Except he wasn't dirty, just wet. Although I was slightly annoyed to have been jarred out of my slumber for only a wet diaper, I was impressed that he'd woken up for it. That he'd even NOTICED.

Baby steps.

We then headed to the kitchen where I got him a glass of water and banana to eat. So I found myself sitting in the dark, at 4am, having a snack with my two year old. Then it hit me...

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Happy 30th Birthday to me!

The big 3-0!

For a rare treat, I thought I'd show you these gems:

Commence oohs and ahhs. I was precious.

Although it feels a bit strange to say that I'm thirty... I'm thirty? Really??... I'm handling it fine, thankyouverymuch. No crisis. No meltdown. No wailing and gnashing of teeth over the few grey hairs who have made an appearance or the baby crows feet (chick feet??) that I see when I look in the mirror. I'm okay with it. REALLY.

I've earned my stripes, like I've earned the scars, wrinkles and grey hairs. I've EARNED them. Long ago, I decided to age gracefully, so hopefully now that I'm beginning to see the beginnings of the signs, I'll be able to embrace aging as easily as I was able to embrace the idea of aging.

*Gifts of chocolate and lemon meringue pies will be gladly accepted. Email for address.*

(Where does a thirty year old getting dreads land on the "embracing aging spectrum"?? Not that I've done it yet... the discussion is ongoing.)

retrospection and prognostication

Dani from Postcards from the Mothership posted this meme (I don't even know what "meme" means) on her blog today. I thought I'd play along:

15 years ago today I would have been:

• um, fourteen and in grade 9 at Thom Collegiate in Regina
  
• newly single after breaking up with Ryan (aka, Ol' Daddy Sizzleguts who comments here sometimes) with whom I remained friends (and in fact we recently had our first playdate with our two boys... is that weird?)
  
• listening to jazz and the Beatles and wearing baggy jeans, bowling shirts and too much plaid - (sigh) ah, grunge.
  

10 years ago today I would have been:

• nineteen years old and completing my first year at Canadian Bible College
  
• having daily pity parties because Peter was going to be gone tree planting all summer
  
• starting a job search that would eventually lead me to work with my mom at SaskTel, the provincial phone company
  

5 years ago today I would have been:

• in Calgary, at home on maternity leave with 10 month old, Liam
  
• looking at housing ads so we could move out of the condo we were renting and into a real house (with a yard) so I could open a dayhome and not go back to work
  
• working at a gym and in better shape than before getting pregnant (another sigh)
  

1 year ago today I would have been:

• counting the hours til I could test to see whether I was pregnant (with Andrew)
  
• slowly, nervously packing
  
• hoping and praying for Peter's secondment to come through so the government would pay for our move to Ottawa

This year I am:

• looking forward to warm weather and being able to spend lots of time in the (newly fenced from last year) backyard WITH a garden to work in
  
• hoping to improve my photography skills - hopefully with a new lens... or two.
  
• so excited for Peter to be done language training and to find out what his actual job will be
  

Today I:

• am blindingly tired
• will enjoy using my clothes line and drying my clothes in the bright spring sun
  
• am missing my son and my dad
  

Next year I hope:

• to be less tired
  
• to be more organized
  
• to be completely out of debt
  

In five years I hope:

• to be living in Africa
  
• to have one more baby naturally and to have adopted (or be in the process of adopting) a child or pair of siblings
  
• to be homeschooling my then 10 year old Liam (sharp intake of breath)... 7 year old Simon (chin quivering)... 5 year old Andrew (eyes misting)... and any other additions to our family *see above*
  

about me

Welcome to my blog!

(cracks fingers to warm up for the flood of inspiration that will ultimately follow)

And?





*crickets*


Nothing?? Nothing.

(sigh) People are TOTALLY going to want to read this blog.

Why is it that I have such a hard time with these? Maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist that I know I'll never be happy with it even after the 100th edit. Maybe I'm suffering from flashbacks of all the testimonies we were forced to write in Youth Group growing up ("I grew up in a Christian home..."). Maybe it's the pressure that people may make their decision about whether or not to come back based on how clever I manage to come across in this post (HA. Is this thing even on?). Maybe I'm afraid that any effort I make to try to make my mommy life sound exciting will come off as trying too hard.

Or maybe sitting down to describe myself will confirm what I already suspect... that my life really ISN'T all that exciting...

But isn't it? I guess it depends on your definition of exciting.

Last May, with two days notice, my husband and I packed up our (then) two boys and moved 4000 miles KILOMETERS away (this is a Canadian blog, yo). From oil-rich, ranch-heavy Calgary, Alberta, to the capital region of Ottawa, Ontario. Since Peter's job with the Canadian Foreign Service requires him to be fluent in both of Canada's official languages, he started right away into an intensive French language course. Because we wanted to immerse ourselves in the language (read: couldn't afford a house in Ottawa), we settled across the river in Gatineau, Quebec.

(For those of you not familiar with the region, there's kind of a St Paul-Minneapolis thing going on here. Except that St Paul and Minneapolis would be in different states AND HAVE DIFFERENT OFFICIAL LANGUAGES.)

Even though we're only about 10 minutes from Parliament Hill, we're technically in a parallel universe different city and province entirely. It's been quite the culture shock adventure at times.

I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure what I want this blog to be. It started out as a private family blog, but is beginning to grow into something more.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy connecting with others online. I enjoy sharing the crazy, sometimes destructive, often funny (at least in retrospect) antics of my boys, who I think are pretty great.

I also enjoy -and NEED- this blog as an outlet. Not only as a place to record the life of myself and my family, but also a place to put my thoughts "to paper".

I suppose you could describe this as yet another mommy blog. Other areas I have or hope to post about would/will include:

- spirituality, God, grief, musings on eternity and the after-life (I can FEEL my subscription numbers soaring)
- crafting (mainly my sewing attempts... I'm great at STARTING projects)
- cooking (whole foods and issues relating to Simon's many allergies)
- photography (and my half-a$$ attempts to master my camera -a Nikon D40, if you're wondering)
- life in "the Nation of Quebec" (Seriously. That's what they call it.)
- frugal living (which will be my excuse to hit up garage sales every weekend come summer! SO. EXCITED.)

Are ya hooked??

So yeah, maybe not the most super exciting line up, but I'll try to make it a fun ride. And for those who stick with me, you'll be able to follow my family when we get posted overseas... hopefully somewhere in Africa.

The name of my blog, "muddy boots", came for the lyrics of a song I listened to as a child off the album, Bullfrogs and Butterflies. The premise of the song is that there's always sunshine after a rain and that, as followers of Christ, we have a "different kind of sunshine". One of my favorite lines says,

Rain's spreading blessings here and there.
My boots may be muddy but I'm going somewhere.

Living, loving, learning -blogging?? It's all a journey. Hopefully at the end of it all we'll be able to look back and say that we were better off for it.

~ Amy