What I'm loving today.....

1.) Making my kids mickey mouse pancakes for breakfast, and them thinking it was the greatest thing ever.

2.) Listening to C and his big cousin S play together, and dress up as Indiana Jones and Superman.

3.) Buying C a new board game at Toy's R Us, and realizing at the till it was 50% off.

4.) Both my kids falling asleep on the way home in the car, and carrying them into their beds. (and both of them not staying asleep - but that doesn't belong on this list....)

5.) My husband hooking up my clothesline while I was out!!

6.) Hearing a new song on the radio that I absolutely love.

7.) Not feeling so tired by 2pm that the only thing I can think about is sleeping.

What are you loving today?

Quick Update

This summer has been great, awesome, wonderful so far. After getting through that awful moving/renovating/moving again, exhausting slump, I feel like I am back! And it is summer! And life is good.

So what have we been doing? BBQing every night possible, going to the beach every day possible, and getting into a nice groove. C completed a week of morning day camp last week, and next week he will be in swimming lessons.

John and I went away for the night earlier this week to Harrison Hot Springs resort, and it was so nice. We spent all of Wednesday beaching, going on a boat tour, and going out for Thai food. Getting upgraded to a huge suit, and taking full advantage of their awesome outdoor pools. My cousin spent the night at our house with the kids, and they did really great! I was mostly concerned for N, but of course she slept better than she every does for me. We returned a short, but still fantastic, 24 hours later - and later that day we picked up our two Japanese students who are staying with us for a total of 10 days.

Tomorrow is day 4 of their stay, and I am really enjoying having them at our house! I didn't know how it would be - and I would do this again in a heart beat. They are gone usually from 9-4pm, and then we spend the evening together. They are the sweetest girls, and are 14 and 15 years old. I have been having lots of fun taking them out after dinner to different places in town to see what life is like in Canada. Tomorrow they have a day off from school and touring, and we will go to the zoo and to a few family events. (My grandpa's 85th birthday!). It is great to have people here - especially when John is out in the evenings. Tonight we chatted and made origami together after the kids went to bed. It was a really great time. They were curious when I would do their laundry - as in Japan, their mother does their laundry every single day! Oops! I will be doing that tomorrow as well. ha.

The last two days me and the kids have been at the beach. Friday with friends, and today with John! We went back to Harrison today- and it was so great! C had a blast after he made a few friends, and N was a dream. She was getting a bit fussy (we got their around nap time....) and I put her in the stroller, walked her down the road, and within 10 min. she was fast asleep. She then slept in her stroller for almost two hours and we enjoyed the beach. Awesome!

I am excited for what the rest of summer will bring. And the best thing about the end of summer is FALL!! Oh, how I love fall......

Find of the day

I love a good thrift store find - and when I spotted this little treasure in the basement of the local mcc shop, behind the swinging doors reading "staff only".....I nicely asked the man how much for that one?! He said $12. I wasn't sure. It was very dirty. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I would regret leaving it behind. So it came home, and with a little bit of elbow grease, it cleaned up very well! And, well, you can see what Miss N. thinks of her new toy bench! She climbed on and off that thing all afternoon.

Work in Progress.

Kitchen/eating area:
Turned into desk/pantry area:
(oh, we have come a loooong way....)We finally bought/put up the shelves above our desk area!
Now I need to fill up the photo frames,
and arrange and rearrange everything until it's good.
But I thought I better show you now -
before I start on the next project,
and this whole desk area gets full of clutter =)

baby

I had to document this. Little girlie's first baby. Well, she has had a baby doll before, but not like this. She saw it in the store today - and immediately wanted it. I handed it to her, and she clutched that baby doll so hard. She even did one of those toddler shakes as the hugged the baby so tight.

She proceeded to kiss her baby. And give it more hugs. With the cutest little smug grin on her face. We brought baby home, and she has been close to N's side ever since. So sweet.

My boy is back!

Oh, it's been one looong week. My happy-go-lucky, hyper, talkative boy has been gone. He was replaced by a sick little boy who couldn't seem to say anything in a tone that didn't sound like the worst whining you have ever heard. The kind that makes you want to pull your hair out. A boy who needed naps at the weirdest times of day, sometimes till 7pm, completely screwing up any kind of regular bedtime. And one who wouldn't eat anything due to a tummy ache. Oh. What a week.

He got an ear infection. Which lead to antibiotics. This lead to a very upset stomach. And no eating. So out I trotted to the health food store to get him a pro-biotic. Hoping that would cure the tummy aches. After no reprieve after a day or so. Off to the next doctor we went. Now he's onto new antibiotics, and today for the first time. He ate! And he acted like himself. It was such a huge relief.

Being a parent is hard. Especially when your kid is sick. And the whining....OH the whining. You try everything in your power to be sympathetic to that fact that they are feeling rotten, but all you want to do is punish them for being so ridiculous. Finally he is better. And now if he is being ridiculous, at least I know it is just because he's three =).

The big old bus that could.

I really like change. And it's a good thing - because this year we have made enough chances to last most people a decade (or two). But sometimes life is just like that. At least, sometimes our life is just like that. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

For the past four years, in the background of our ever-busy lives, my husband has been running a party bus company. It all started when he was offered a "free" bus from his home church. As my dad says, "sometimes you pay too little." Well, in this case, we paid too little. A lot of money went into this old bus to get it back running. And let me tell you - the time and energy that my dear husband put into that bus is unbelievable. I like to think of myself as a person who has some sticktoitiveness, but I honestly would have given up over a dozen times. Perseverance should be his middle name. Getting a bus on the road for passenger transport is no easy feat. Especially if you want to modify the interior, etc. But after jumping over every hoop and hurdle thrown his way, the bus was in operation.

It started out slow. Like most businesses. A buddy booking it here, a youth group there. But he plowed along. With some Facebook advertising and good web browsing search results, the phone began to ring. And over the past year, business has picked up. And now, well, business has really picked up. For example, he has been out every night this week, with at least one job, sometimes two.


My husband is now a full time business owner. It still hasn't really sunk in. We are gearing up to get 2 more vehicles to add to the fleet in the next months. It is exciting - and I am under no impression that it will be easy. I grew up having a dad who was always a business owner. Hours can be long. Months can be good and bad. But just knowing that he built this company from scratch is so rewarding.

He had a dream. Worked ridiculously hard. And now - it is becoming a reality. And I am so proud of him.