Popsicle

The cost of one little plastic popsicle maker thingy: $1.99
The cost of real fruit juice to pour into popsicle maker thingy: $2.39

The first popsicle of the summer: Priceless






"Cheeeeeese!"

Have a fabulous long weekend everyone!

A Day for Mothers

I think it's possible that the months of March, April, and May will always be bittersweet for me. I remember things from these months that will always stay with me, things from that time - you know, THAT time, the hospital time. It continues to astonish me how the memories cling and remind me of darkness, of hope, of exhaustion, of fear, of the beginnings of a deeper love than I had thought possible.

Mother's Day, 2006. My first as a mother. Sitting in church and receiving that rose, the token gift that every woman receives in a church service on Mother's Day. Every woman receives a gift (and I'm pretty sure all churches do this) because someone realized that the day set aside for Mother's can carry a lot of pain for many.

Mother's Day, 2006

I clutched that rose like I was hanging on to a life raft, the prick of the thorns emphasizing the chant in my head - "I am a Mother, I am a Mother..." It didn't feel real. The nurses were really sweet that day - they made footprint and picture cards for the moms. I sat in the glider chair beside my boy's isolette and stared at that little footprint...hoping and wondering about future days.

Sunday was my third of this particular hallmark holiday - I received the obligatory (much treasured and incredibly cute) scribbly card, made with help from Daddy. I had a wonderful breakfast made by Daddy. And this year they handed out gerber daisy's in church. I display that in front of my kitchen window, thinking of the first time I received a flower that held pain, that first Mother's Day. I look at it and remember how that felt, and my heart breaks for Moms out there that are feeling that pain, the moms that didn't get a chance to receive a scribbly card, for the moms who cannot be with their children for the special occasions, let alone for every day life.

Though new and wondrous memories are forming with each new day, I will always remember.

Really, how many times and in how many different ways can I say how much in love I am?

Well, he's two.

It's true what they say - that kids become more fun, that their developing personalities become more impish and adorable and stubborn and dramatic as time passes. And oh! the drama a two year old can create. And oh! the passion and conviction the emotions bring. And oh! the crying and screaming and arching and kicking. And oh! the amount of times I've counted to ten with my eyes closed. But really - what am I expecting? He's two. He's learning to be.

I've been reading (again) the Barbara Coloroso book, "Kids are worth it!" As unimpressive as such an obvious title might sound, the book holds many gems. It contains a lot of common sense in written form, the first point being respect your kids. It's the only way that they will respect you. When disciplining, maintain their dignity and maintain your dignity.

The longer that I am a parent, the more I am learning how different parenting styles are, and more importantly, how every kid reacts differently to said parenting styles. I'm also learning how important respect is in a parent/child relationship, and how much WORK this takes. It is all worth it. Every minute. So far, I've learned that Lucas is an intense, sensitive child that loves to explore and really hates to be interrupted. He knows what he wants and is not afraid to let me know too. Not that I like placing labels on my child, but learning these things about him encourages me to seek out discipline methods that will speak to his personality.

It's difficult. Sometimes I haven't a clue what to do.

Sometimes I stand there counting to ten, eyes closed, hands rubbing my temples. Sometimes I count to ten in a whisper, only to hear Lucas whispering along with me "One, two, free..." Sometimes I look down and he grins back up at me and chortles heartily before running away. Most of the time I can't resist laughing right along with him.


He's only two now. This is the only chance he gets - it's the only chance I get. May the impishness continue!

Where to start?

I can't believe how badly I've neglected this poor blog. And now I hardly know where to begin. Do I even remember how to write? All of the blogging ideas that I've had over the months have flitted into the blue skies, into the landscape we've been working on, into the pots of soup I've cooked and sinks of dishes I've washed. The fact is, life is not very dramatic right now, a fact that I'm very grateful for, but doesn't make for the tear jerking writing that you all tell me you come here for. So...as I find my new footing in this rather calm life I'm living, can you live with the happy posts? Who knows how long it will last, but while it does, do you want to hear about how we're handling temper tantrums and potty training?
I'm pretty sure that I can come up with more interesting topics than that, but right now I'm just closing up "Hotel Colin and Leanne" (the littlest hotel in town) and relaxing after 10 days of (superfunintenselovely) visiting with Grandma and Grandpa from Manitoba. A quick visit with Jenivere and Jesse in the couple days that Grandma and Grandpa left town completed the hotel feeling.
We had fun. It was all fun, and great to see people we love dearly. I will leave you with a few pictures that I managed to take amongst all the activity.

Lucas and Silas on the *free!* swing set from freecycle. Did I mention it was free? Did I mention that I love free things?


One of the only pictures with Grandpa. Lucas would sit with Grandpa for a long time, reading books, looking at pictures on his camera, etc. But as soon as I would try to take a picture he would pull the 'slinky' routine and arch away as fast as possible. This look is the 'pre-slinky' look. What a monkey.


Lucas learned quickly that Grandma's suitcase had fun things for him...like cookies and books. Here's Grandma and Lucas reading and eating cookies.


Another 'run away' routine.


The new water and sand table at Silas' and Ikey's house held a whole new world of textures and fun. It was so nice to sit outside this afternoon and let the kids get all wet and sandy while Leah and I tanned our pasty legs.


There. I've plunged back into the blogging world, and hopefully will be able to start commenting more on your blogs too.

A plea for patience...

Well, it's been a week since I left that wimpy teaser of a post...and time has still not been on my side. So...this is for my loyal readers, who continue to check back to see if I'm still alive. I leave you with a few pictures and yet another plea to have patience with the blogger in me. I have posts brimming and swimming in my head, just waiting...brewing...

A couple of weeks ago Lucas and I were lucky enough to go visit Kyra's Nana's farm.
Both were a bit unimpressed with the rainy wagon ride - though the looks on their faces are pretty priceless.


The chicks were...well...a bit smelly, persistent and peckish. But cute. Lucas was awestruck and very excited.


Lucas loved loved LOVED the cow. He loved to stick his fingers in that poor cow's mouth and nose. Blech! He laughed and laughed until the cow nipped a bit too hard on his finger. Then Lucas stared that cow down, not saying a word, not crying...just staring. He still blew kisses and said "night night, bye bye cow" when we left. I guess that means all was forgiven.


Now I need to get to bed - it's my LAST DAY of work tomorrow (well, until September)! Bring on the summer!

Still here...

A great event took place at our house this night.

A pee pee in the potty! YAY!

(All right. Now my blogging hiatus is over...stay tuned for more.)

"Happy Oheo, oh-o"

Lucas has now been completely familiarized with the birthday rituals of our culture. He walks around singing "Happy oheo, oh-o" frequently, he identifies "bayoons" with pleasure and asks for "cake?" with a toothy smile. Mostly he just likes to lick the icing off the top.



Lucas and I are at the tail end of our antibiotics, his for a "bulging" ear infection and pneumonia, mine for a nasty case of strep throat. The last few weeks have been exhausting, the worst was worrying about a 103 degree fever and listless baby. We were so relieved when he wanted to play again. The day of his birthday was the first day he wanted to walk around, so we layered him in rain gear and showed him some of his presents:




Our preparations for the party motivated us to do some needed spring cleaning. Colin really likes the pink rubber gloves.



The kids had a great time playing outside, even though the rains decided to come after I begged them not to. There was a reason we wanted a June baby! (Grin).




After the fun and games outside, everyone piled into their collective high chairs and ate a toddler feast:


Gifts were opened and strewn about, a little wrestling with "Unca Bent" got everyone extra hyper, and then the guitar from "Unca Pa-ul and Unca Jon" came out for the sing along.



It was all completely fabulous.