the boy i love to love

me: come here bo, time for your pj''s.

(i start to pull his brown t-shirt over his head)

bo: but moooom, it's too brownie and squarey!

me: well, that's a new one.

...

what the what.

...

also, he prefers to ride his sister's pink cupcake bike

because his Diego bike is too "pumpy."

ok.

good nite

easter blessings

good friday/ saturday

we've had an incredible weekend.

i wish every weekend was three days.

and the sun.

it blesses me.

i should probably clarify "incredible."

it was "incredible" for me.

we spent the entire couple days outside.

aside from a trip to the dump and a couple trips to the de-pot.

we've been cleaning up our yard.

cleaning and organizing gary's work space.

...

funny story actually, 

i had a little tantrum 

about the work space.

when i was saying "i'm sorry" for my emotional outburst

i concluded with 

"the space is too spicy... and too squeezy for me"

- that's how bo describes buttons on his shirts and pasta.

i think gary had an "aha moment" cause he's been sweep'n up at the end of each day.

 bless his heart.

...

we've also been working on some projects.  

we've nearly sanded the second hand bunk beds i purchased with a vision on craig's list 

(almost a year ago).

i got pretty comfortable wearing safety goggles and wielding the belt sander this afternoon.

the bunk beds have kind of turned into a "do or die" situation in this house.

we curse them often

... but i'm pretty sure they'll be blog-worthy when they are finished.

we also cut 13 sheets of plywood into 8" strips.

while i was at my parents last weekend, gary pulled up our living room/ dining room carpet.  

we are going to try this out.  i'll keep you posted as i'm hoping the finished result will also be 

blog worthy. 

we have got a lot of irons in the fire right now.  

sometimes it's hard not to get overwhelmed and discouraged.  

this weekend, we enjoyed the tasks. 

we enjoyed each other and the kids.

the kids were amazing.

they played outside, along side of us.

they made up all kinds of games together

and got so totally filthy.  i'm going to have to burn their socks.

i'd explain some of their games if i had the photos to go along.

they were awesome.

like bikes-turned-goats-eating-my-shrubs-awesome.

...

here are the only photos i have 

and they are totally blog-worthy:

the beautiful boy put himself down for a nap on the nasty underlay in the carport

(can't believe i'm advertising that disaster.  it's not so bad now).

she's with me...

every step of

every day. 

piano lessons

i don't know about you, but i'm tired of looking at my tired face.

...

char and bo are taking piano lessons 

 from our friends, abby and reuben,

on wednesdays.

they love piano lessons,

i think,

because they usually end up looking like this:

ps.
my weekend at my parents was wonderful.

my tired face

i'm not sure i've sat down this week for one relaxing moment. 

sure, i have sat.

i've emailed 

i've read stories.

i've snuggled and rubbed backs.

sometimes i sit to change diapers.

i've blogged, once, i think.

shoot, i make folding laundry look like r&r

but it's really not.

this week,

my brain has been all go go go.

there has been a lot happening: 

bo's had a bad cough and

i've been to the hospital and

i've been administering puffers and motrin

and burying his snot-puke at the park.

the tire had a leaky valve,

that's taken care of now.
gary's been away.

the basement was all helter skelter after a weekend of projects,

the cat's been in heat and i've been interviewing prospective toms.

 i spent an hour of my day on monday using harsh chemicals to remove panty liners (ala-charlee) 

from the toilet bowl, basin, seat and tank.

it was like potty/panty liner art in the moment, i guess. 

who knew that sticky stuff was so potent.

every
moment
has been full.

...

i'm taking off in the morning to go to my parents.

when i get to their home, i will really sit and a weight will come off my shoulders for a few moments.

and they will love my babes

and give them chippies for breakfast

and figure out what's for dinner.

and maybe let me sleep in on the weekend. 

my dad will make sure i have coffee and chocolate

and my mom might rub my head

(hope that's not too much info).

i can't wait.

...

so goodnight

or should i say goodmorning.

signing off,

12:01am

a little monday love.

i love this lady

and i love this post.

i thought you might too.

here's to monday.
bottoms up.

"i will use my words" - bo

we have a rule in our house

in regards to tattle-telling.

it goes like this:

if a situation should so arise

where one child is having issues with another child, 

they should first try and communicate on their own.

if (better said, when) that doesn't work they should approach me like:

"hey mom, can you come help me talk to jane.  she's totally scratching all my skin off and she's trying to eat bo's bike helmet, again."  

then i will come and it usually goes like this:

me: go ahead char, talk to jane. 

char: janie, it really hurts me when you scratch me!  please stop it. 

me: janie, what do you say?

jane: sa sa chow (big eyes on me).

if jane is less cooperative, she accompanies me to the bathroom for a one on one. 

but usually, there are hugs all around.

...

the rule is "can you help me talk to (insert name here)."

it's works surprisingly well in our home.

i like it because it values communication (using our words)
and restoration.

it's about getting everyone on the same page.

there is just something about having that third party (mom) present that 

allows the interchange to be successful.

...

traditional tattle-telling, although necessary at time, has a bad rap.  

no one likes a tattle tale, right.

i think it's because it's not really productive.  

someone just gets in trouble. 

...

bo has really taken to this way of dealing with issues.  

the other day he came sobbing to me with a big red cheek.
truth be told, i was already screaming jane's name (in my head)
when he exclaimed,
"mom, i need help talking to this."
and he held up a fine,
beige
rubber band.
...
needless to say, i helped the two hash it out.
it went well.
the rubber band is in jail now.

riding on cars with toys

i classify a good saturday in one of two ways.

it is either

 a work day

or 

 an adventure day

sunday's are for laying around.  

today was a work day.

a few days ago

i read this (thank you jeremy vis)

and something inside me said 

"yes!"

to sum it up, the article states and explains 

how there is a connection between happiness and having less stuff.

i believe it.

i spent today digging though bins of stuff in my demon shop.

i've been purging, organizing, putting stuff on craigslist.

it feels good.

i feel a little happier already.

...

speaking of stuff,

the kids are sick again.

we've got coughs and goopy eyes this time - awesome.

when the kids are sick i don't feel so bad putting on show's and working on projects.  

as long as we take breaks here and there to do a little 

this:

the kids got these plasma cars for christmas and let me tell you - 

best toys ever!  

every one in the family loves them...

every. one.

don't make me repost photos from new years.

also, bodhi has a new best friend.  

we sometimes trade stuffed animals with our friend, oliver.  

he has our green crocodile (even though he really loves our pink kitty) right now

and we have the adorable stuffed dinosaur (pictured above with bo).   

love.

...

did i mention art show was on thursday?

it was 

and it was brilliant.

photo montage to come

(hopefully).  

 until then

and just in case, 

see here.

not my fluffy puppies...

not too long ago char and i got to watch the miracle of puppies being born.

it was an experience i meant to blog about right after it happened.

 that's life though.

...

my friend and my kids' babysitter, kirsten (pictured next to me below), has a beautiful dog named sammi.

my children adore sammi almost as much as they adore kirsten.

last fall sammi got pregnant (i was there for that too).

"sammi's puppies" consumed much of charlee's thoughts, dreams and play.

i was really hoping we wouldn't miss their arrival.

...

i got the call at about 8pm on a tuesday night.  char had just fallen asleep.

i was so excited to wake her up with the whisper "they are coming, let's go."

char leapt out of bed, eyes wide, knowing exactly what i was talking about. 

her knees trembled with excitement all the way there. 

we got to witness 4 puppies enter the world. 

they emerged wet and gooey and hungry.

i'm not sure char was expecting that, she had to excuse herself a couple times 

and choke back dry heaves. 

kirsten worked along side sammi until she delivered all 7 healthy pups.

i found myself doing a lot of deep breathing just before sammi pushed.

on the way home char said, "mom those puppies were really cute 

and kinda of gross.  

when are they going to be fluffy?"

 ...

now, people!

  they are fluffy now!  

and there are four left and they need good homes.  

see them here.

and maybe fall in love.

        

one day a crazy...

are you wearing your grubbies?

this is going to get messy.

...

  my house is dirty. not messy. dirty. 

and my closets, cupboards and pantries are unorganized.  

i'm hanging on to "generally tidy" and my sanity by a thread

on top of dirty, 

my carpets are urined-on, smoothie-stained and frayed at the edges where the cat has "made do" with not having a scratching post.  

there isn't a square inch of wall that isn't scratched, boogied, smudged, or cob webbed.

the kids need beds.

the deck needs a rail.

the boiler needs to be replaced.

every thing needs paint.  

and the yard -

i don't know where to begin.

it's like our needy girlfriend.

...

i like to call monday"chore day."

it's my day to stay in and "get things done" (hilarious, really).  

yesterday morning i had visions of clean bathrooms and organized closets.

i know better than to make a plan...

but i was going to feel the sweet satisfaction of getting something done. 

dang it!

i had the gumption and that's half the battle, right.

unfortunately, 

my gumption was no match for

the child pictured below.

the truth is,

i was defeated even before my gumption got out of bed.

...

 don't get me wrong, jane is incredible

and so funny and lovely.

i. adore. her.

but she is also nearing 2 years old. 

and that means she requires teaching and training. 

all. day. long.  

and i must stay calm, be firm and attend to her behaviours

(we don't hit or scratch or throw toys or throw fits, we be gentle and happy to share, we say "yes of course!" we say please and thank you. when i ask you to come here, you must obey.) 

from the moment she screams my name at 5:45 in the morning to 6:55-ish in the evening  

when i kiss her good night. 

i have to remember.  

it's good work. it's hard work. it's my life's work.

 and somedays like yesterday it leaves no time for cleaning bathrooms or organizing drawers 

or cooking dinner.

and that is to be expected.

...  

i'm normally pretty chill.  

i usually know where to focus.

i consider it one of my better assets - my chill-ness.

but not yesterday, for some reason.

 yesterday i was crazy.

i even hit a wall (not figuratively).

the to-do list above made me weep and

i mourned a clean house and the feelings of productivity i love.

some of it must have been hormonal because even now, seeing it (the list) in writing, 

a tantrum doesn't seem like the best response.

anyway,

today was much better.

i shared time in my day with women who encouraged my spirit

and

i meditated on the following.

it's my go-to.

(paranthesis) mine:

"Lord, you have assigned me my (house) portion and my (children) cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines (the walls and carpets) have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely i will have a delightful inheritance.  I will  praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence..."  Psalm 16:5-11

friday/saturday

several weeks back,

our housemate, kathleen,

purchased a private gymnastics class 

at a student auction for missions at our local bible college (aka her work).

she arranged for "our class" to take it 

friday morning.  

these photos are from the first 30 seconds.

it was kinda awesome and kinda hilarious.  

...

our teacher did a great job.

upon meeting her, 

bo said (to her face)

"you are beautiful and you are kind."

and that pretty much sums it up.

i would add creative and patient to the list, but that's just me.

...

the kids stretched with balls and did some tumbling.

 then we let them free in a large open gym with squishy balls.

charlee showed off her freestyle program 

complete with (after googling "ballet moves") something similar to a 

fouetté rond de jambe en tournant

that girl has crazy talent up her sleeve.

(she has never had a dance class in her life)

this morning she wipped out some

nearly perfect form

push-ups.

when we asked her where she learned how to do a push-up, she said replied matter of fact,

"oh, god put it in my head"

and i wouldn't be surprised.

...

here are a few additional points from our friday/saturday:

-last night, gary and i went out to dinner with friends and then sat in the very front row at the 

Fest of Fools.

it was brilliant and we are now officially in love with the Langley Ukulele Ensemble.

- the kids tasted cotton candy today for the first time.

-bo is getting more and more confidant on his big boy bike.

jane-z might actually get a chance with her tricycle. woot woot!

-gary and i (ok, mostly gary) spent a large portion of the day 

filling our trailer with branches from our yard.

-for some reason yard work makes us crabby with one another.  i don't get it.  

-jane really and truly believes she is the boss of me.

  -and then i slept through 3/4 of the movie, yogi bear.

the end.