Birthday Celebrations

I need to confess something before we get into the celebrations of yesterday. When I started this blog last fall, I had said that in order to do this properly, I will present things as honest as possible. Well, my sister kindly pointed out to me that yesterday on my Facebook picture and blogpost, I failed to be completely honest. You see, I only posted pictures of myself as a child that were cute. She was quick to tell me that "cute" was not always the case for me. And she is right. So before you go and think that I was always a cute little girl :o), I better share one more picture of me, one that only a mother could love:

There you have it. The full honest roly-pudgy truth :o))

On to the celebrations of yesterday. My dear hubby had to leave early in the morning for a 4 day business trip so we woke Keziah up early (yes, before the numbers matched!! :o) so that she could give me her gift. Nathan had taken her out the other night to pick something out for me. She had her heart set on finding me a pink sweater just like hers. Well, she found it!

Oh, but wait!!! She didn't just stop at the pink sweater. Oh no. Let a 3 year old pick out whatever she wanted to buy her mother can leave you with quite the interesting gifts....especially if pink is her favourite colour!

Thanks, darling daughter!!!



Because it was my birthday, we had a treat for breakfast - one of my most favourite cereals (between this and Fruit Loops, mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmmm :o):

By this time, Lincoln was awake. I put my hat on for him. He didn't know what to think of it:

Later in the day, Keziah helped me get ready for the evening, as I was having a few friends over. We baked a Toblerone Mousse Cheesecake:

For supper, I took the kids to McDonalds. We have one nearby but we sure don't go very often. I think the last time was last summer. So it definitely was a treat!!!

After we were done eating, we spent some time in the play area. That also was a lot of fun! And I only had to climb up once to rescue Kez, who went too high for her liking.

(hmmmmm, how can I get to the very top and show my sister there is nothing to be afraid of??)

The day ended with a bang, as some of my friends came for the evening. The night was filled with chocolate, laughter and wine! Good times!! I have been so blessed in my life by each one of them.

And lastly, one of the best things about having a birthday in the Spring and near Easter, are the flowers/plants that I receive! They are all gorgeous and I love them! The 3rd arrangement is from Nathan, who felt so bad that he had to miss my birthday. It was a nice surprise when the doorbell rang!!

Here's to my 36th year.......:o)

1978

I typed in Google "What is 1978 known for" and up came quite a list, from vintage fashion, to housing prices being $54,000 (average), to famous people born that year. That last category fascinated me a bit; the site I looked at listed 33 famous people. Hmmm, that's it??! Only 33? I was pretty sure I would "know" some of them, and sure enough, I recognized some names like Kobe Bryant, Nelly Furtado, Katie Holmes, and Ashton Kutcher. But I think they forgot a few people as I didn't see any of my friends listed. And shock of all shock, neither was I!! I am not sure how we didn't get included in that list. I wonder who I should contact about this......?

Anyway, I'll get over it, I am sure. But seeing as "they" didn't include me, I'll do my own, starting with what happened on March 27th, 1978: a little baby was born, 2 weeks late, with a shock of black hair, to some very young parents. This baby was welcomed into the family by the eager almost 3 year old sister (little did she know how much her world would change because of this 8 pound bundle), and later become the 2nd oldest out of 5 children:

(not only have the kids grown up and changed since this picture...look at that house!! I now live in that house with my own family. What a difference 20 years makes to a property!!)

That black hair gave way to blonde fairly quickly....except for the eyebrows, which stayed dark much to the eyebrow-owner's dismay:

I don't remember much from my earlier years, except apparently I was stubborn, smiley, and drove my sister up the wall with my "girly" behaviour. I am not sure if things have changed 35 years later....

School started and with it came its struggles. I was not the brightest kid in the classroom, which resulted in repeating Gr. 3. It's not that I wasn't too bright....it just took awhile for things to sink in. Don't worry, I am okay with this :o) But eventually I did catch on, which was shown in Gr. 5 when I skipped a grade. That's right...I was right back with my peers again. Bouncing around like this wasn't the easiest socially, but hey, let me know if you can find anyone that can say they had a great 12 years of school without a social problem.

Although school was hard, my highest marks were definitely in the physical education side of things. I LOVED anything to do with sports and would participate in them no matter what, even if that meant passing out while running a 50 m dash due to the fact that I had popped some vertebrae in my back at a sporting event 2 hours earlier. If I had done this in Math, or Language Arts, well, I can guarentee you I would not have lasted 2 minutes, let alone 2 hours.

What I do remember a lot was my love for kids, be that babies, toddlers, preschoolers or older ones. I declared I wanted to be a teacher at quite a young age. Fast forward and by 20, I was exactly that: a teacher. Although I had always wanted to teach Gr. 3, it is kindergarten that grabbed at me and hung on to me for 10 years:

 The other thing that I dreamt of as a little girl was to be married and have children. I know, so typical, but it was true. At 17, God put my husband-to-be in my life and thankfully, he has never left!! 3 years later we were married, where we began the roller coaster ride of married life. Ah, what a blessed ride it has been so far!!

For 11 years, that dream of having our own children was witheld. I remember being in my 20s wishing for my mid 30s because I figured by then I would know where God wanted me and what He wanted from me. Looking back, I can clearly see He was showing me then already: He wanted me then and there to be a wife and teacher. It was just that every once in awhile we would toss the "adoption" word around, wishing for it to be written in the sky as to whether we should adopt or not. Those were some trying times. And so I longed for my mid 30s because I knew that by then we would have soldiered on in contentment, either as a family of two, or on the road of adoption.

After teaching for 10 years, I went back to college to upgrade, thinking if I was going to teach for the rest of my life, I might as well get the proper qualifications. And that is when the Lord decided to place it on our hearts to look into adoption. I did finish my course, but I never did go back to teaching. Not a classroom full of children, but at home, with my 3 and 1 year old, two undeserved blessings through adoption.

Having a birthday makes you reflect on how good God has been. It may seem like He has answered all my dreams as I have written them here, giving me what I have always wanted. But don't be silly. You know no one has had a perfect life, that no one has only all fantastic childhood and/or adult memories. But when I look back on the last 35 years, I can't help but be thankful. Yes, there have been some challenging circumstances (most of which I haven't even written about), but through it all, my Heavenly Father has been with me. It is Him that I give the glory to. To live for 35 years knowing that He has claimed me as His own and is my Guide for life gives me such joy, peace and thankfulness. I am so thankful for the times that He has not let me go, despite myself letting go of Him. I pray that He will continue to bless me with His Spirit, and that I may learn more and more each day what it means to live for Him.  



Psalm 28:7 -The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him. 

Duct Tape

What would we do without that stuff?? When was it invented, anyway? Who invented it? Why was it invented? What was it all used for? How did it get its name? For a quick read up on duct tape, you can go here.  I am sure the makers of duct tape never imagined the variety in which this tape has been used (Red Green anyone?). I remember it being very handy when I was a teenager, as it kept my sister's old Jimmy truck together!

I am absolutely positive they never thought it would be used for..................warts.

Some of you have noticed the duct tape on Keziah's thumbs:

Many have asked me (and her) if the duct tape is on her thumbs to keep her from sucking them. Well, without meaning to, that did help her to quit.......until the tape came off. Oh well, I am not pushing her to stop sucking her thumbs as we have more surgeries/hospital stuff to get through yet. We'll deal with that once all her surgeries are done.

But no, the duct tape was on her thumbs because her thumbs were covered with warts. Ewww, gross. I know. It started out as one 2 years ago. My doctor recommended using tea tree oil and duct tape. I tried that for a number of weeks/months but instead of getting rid of it, they multiplied!!!

Seeing as 75% of my family has warts, I turned to Google to see if I could find a way to get rid of these awful looking things. I refused to have them burned off.....she's been through enough already (and she's not done). I was not about to make her go through that. Thankfully, Google gave me an answer. And it has worked like a charm!!! Right now all the big ones are gone and there are only a few teeny-tiny ones left.

How, you ask? Well, if you are stuck with these ugly things, read on. And remember, I didn't come up with this idea.....it was through some research that I found it.

What you need is the following:

apple cider vinegar
cotton ball
band aid
duct tape

Soak the warts in very warm water, for at least 5 minutes or more:

Dry off the area with a rough towel really well. Then take a tiny piece of cotton ball and roll it to the size of the wart. Dip it into the apple cider vinegar so it is well saturated:

Place saturated piece of cotton ball onto the wart:

Put a band aid over it, then cover it all with duct tape. You do not want air to get at it.

Leave it on for 24 hours, until you repeat the whole process again. The key is consistency (isn't that the case with so many things in life??). We found that to do this routine worked best before bed, that way it had 8-10 hours of "working". Within a week, you will notice the wart becoming black. Another gross factor. But that means it is working!! Once it is black, it is getting ready to be peeled off. This usually happened after soaking it for a bit and then rubbing it with that coarse towel.

Once that black layer peels off, keep repeating the process with the apple cider vinegar until there is no bump. I did take a day off here and there as the cider can sting if there is an open cut or wound.

I'll attach a link here, which is a YouTube video of the step by step process.

So there you have it.....gross but effective! It has worked for 50% of my family. The other 25% has warts on the foot.....and it is taking quite a bit longer as they are planter's warts. Hopefully by summertime, we will be 100% wart free (and by the looks of outside, we have a lot of time yet before summer comes, so we shall keep at 'em!)

So what do you use duct tape for?!

Something about Nephews...

In the last few weeks, we've had the privilege of spending some good quality time with 3 of my nephews. These handsome little dudes are from my older sister. She and her hubby were blessed to have 3 boys in the space of 14 months. Yes, that is blessed!!!! :o)) They are now 4 and almost 3 respectively. My sister is starting to see through the fog, now that they are a bit older.

Their oldest, Conall, is 4. Keziah is exactly 9 months younger than he is. And the two boys, Declan and Calin, are exactly 9 months younger than Kez. So that means when they are here, I am babysitting a 4 year old, a 3 year old, 2 two year olds, and a 1 year old. Can anyone spell i-n-s-a-n-e?? Actually, I don't need your help to spell it because believe it or not, when they are here, I am far from insane. I know, hard to believe, but let me show you.

First off, Conall and Keziah are two peas in a pod. They have always gotten along. They are very close and love each other dearly. When they are together, it is non-stop play. They both have wild imaginations, so they are always on an adventure. I very rarely need to intervene. And I am talking about playing all day long. That leaves Keziah completely exhausted by supper. But what a great reason to be tired!!

While those two are playing, there are Declan and Calin, who are busy doing their own things. When my sister drops them off, by the time she has her shoes off, the boys are long gone, into the playroom. They are so much fun!! Here's Kez, with these two monkeys. I do hear her ask Conall every once in awhile, "Conall, which one is Calin and which one is Declan?"

It isn't until Uncle Nathan comes home that things get a little crazy. It is him that riles them all up! The next 3 pictures remind me of watching the National Geographic channel: the takedown of a zebra by a bunch of hyenas (I used 'hyenas' as you can imagine the laughter that is coming out of all 5 mouths; and as for 'zebra', well, I didn't think Nathan would want to be referred to as a gazelle :o):

But Uncle Nathan isn't all about wrestling. It's amazing how quiet the house gets when there's videos of trucks driving through mud:

It's a good thing we have that bigger table now (that's a lot of meat to cut...5 plates worth!)

A close up of these 3 boys. If you know my sister, you will see that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree :o)

Ah. Great fun, I tell you!! I love these boys like they are my own! Yes, the day is more noisy; my house is more messy; but it is so worth it as I see my sister's kids with my own, something neither of us thought would happen. We are both "older" moms (compared to those in our age group, as people in our church tend to marry and have children at a younger age) and so I see it as such a blessing that we get to battle together through the challenges of parenting similar ages. And the best is when we share our joys together. Because there are plenty of those as well!!

Partners in Crime

A couple weeks ago, I was working in the kitchen while the kids were playing in the familyroom. All of a sudden I hear:

"Mom!!!!!! Lincoln is out of his play yard!!!"

I was instantly confused as I knew there was no way he could have figured out how to climb out. Not yet anyway. But who knows??? I thought I'd better check it out. Sure enough, he was on the outside of his play yard, looking quite smug about that fact. But it wasn't his smug look that gave it away as to how he got out. It was his sister's ever-so-proud-of-herself face that gave me a clue that he actually did not get out on his own.

So I asked her to show me how he got out. She was very quick and pleased to show me.

"Like this!"

Great. Thanks, dearie. You are such a help!!!! :o)

Green Goodness!

Good ol' Pinterest. Every once in awhile, I go there and check some things out. I am not overtly crafty even though I wish I were at times. But instead of going green over all the DIY quilts, pillows, frilly skirts and scarves that there's no way I'd be able to make myself, I go to the recipes because it is there that I am most successful: in my kitchen covered in flour and melted butter, or crying my eyes out from cutting onions.

While perusing the recipes, I found some green yumminess in a cup. And it didn't require choking on flour dust! In fact, it didn't even call for onions!! It is a very simple spinach smoothie. I know these have become quite the buzz the last few years and probably a lot of you drink them. But that's normal for me......it takes me awhile to like or enjoy the "trendy" things of today. I am usually behind the times in regards to food (quinoa and sushi are still not on my menu), home decor or fashion (it took me close to 4 years to like capris. And don't even get me started on coloured denim. :o)

But back to the spinach smoothie. I think what has held me back in making them was that I couldn't quite understand how spinach worked in a smoothie. Do you wash it? Do you cut it up? Do you cook it first? Do you put it in raw?? Many smoothies I saw also had ingredients that I did not have on hand, like flax seed and whatnot, and so I would give up and not even try to make them. Until last month. And I haven't stopped making them!

For those of you who are like me, here are the step by step instructions. With, of course, a picture or two, because that's just how I learn.

Here we go, the ingredients (which, by the way, are not limited to just this. But these are the basics and it tastes great just left at this)

1/2 cup of yogurt (plain, greek or flavoured)
1/2 a banana, peeled
1/2 an orange and apple, peeled and cored where necessary (leave the apple peel on)
3-5 strawberries without green stems/leaves
A handful or two of raw spinach

(again, remember, these are just the "bones" of the smoothie. You can add whatever you want. Dear hubby likes to add protein powder for his manly muscles :o)

Dump in the strawberries, yogurt, some of the orange and apple, all into a blender. Pulse it until it can run smoothly on low:

 

Add in the half banana, the rest of the 1/2 orange and apple. Puree that. Then once all things have been blended to a pulp, add in the spinach. I do this while the blender is running.

Pour into a large cup!! You may need to use a spoon or spatula to get the last bit out. You sure don't want to waste it down the drain!!

I usually drink this for breakfast. There's just something about knowing I start the day with consuming lots of fruit and veggies. If I don't eat them this way, there is no guarantee that I will eat them in their natural forms later. Besides, who feels like peeling an orange or apple, or eat a bowl full of raw spinach around 4 when hunger strikes you in the afternoon? Not I. This way I don't have to beat myself up about the fact that I haven't had any fruit or veggies yet by the time the afternoon rolls around. Now I can eat my chocolate chip cookies or whatever guilt-free because I already have had my helpings of the good stuff.

Now, GO!! Try one if you haven't! I am sure you will enjoy this very refreshing cup of green goodness!!
 

Oh, there is one downfall. If you do make this, there is a great possibility that you will never be allowed to drink all of it yourself. Hope you are good with sharing!

Who knew green mustaches would look so cute??!