The Giving Tree

I can't remember which day this was but it was some time late last week ... I was busy cleaning so I asked Ria to get a book to read until I was done. She picked up her baby doll, got a book of choice,

propped her baby against the wall, sat next to her and began 'reading'.

Not even 10 minutes later I hear 'oh  mummy look, is Daddy'

wanna see what she was referring to?

the picture on the back of the book ... the author (Shel Silverstein)

yep, he's bald, has a big head ... has to be daddy!!!
~V

Barbie Fun

Look who's discovered a love for Barbie ....

{pic from last Wednesday ... see how far behind I am!}

Barbie is almost like a rite of passage for every little girl. I LOVED my Barbie dolls and played with them for years. I loved dressing them up. Ria was so excited when I showed her the box ... she got it for her birthday but I just now opened it up. 

The first thing she did when I got everything out of the box, was get a hair bow for Barbie ... in pink of cos! Barbie even napped with her the next few days. I'll probably wait til she is a tad bit older to get more Barbie stuff, but for now I think she is going to enjoying playing with this first one.

~V

Busy Days

There is so much I want to blog about but in between babysitting and tagging for a consignment sale, I just haven't made time to get to it, I need to and I am sure I will catch up soon. I am watching 3 kids on a pretty regular basis now.. Two of them (sisters) come REAL early and by the time they leave I am worn out and just about ready for bed! Thankfully I don't have them at the same time (though this Thursday I will ...pray for me!).

It's not been without challenges. Nap schedules are all different and I have worked it out to where I can get Judah and Ria on the same time frame, but I'm still trying to tweak Ava's schedule. Emma doesn't nap and that makes the day even longer. Apart from the napping being different, I've had to referee tons of squabbles and one little guy loves biting so much so that he took his aggression out on Ria ... my poor baby had to nurse a rather large purple and swollen wound for almost a week. She is still talking about it too

Overall though, I am making it work. I know what its like to need childcare and no matter how challenging my day can get, I think back to how thankful I was for my friend watching my kids when I was working full time so I am glad to help out their parents.
~V

So Long, Farewell ...

I don't like goodbyes or farewells or anything that deals with parting. I've done this one too many times in my life and it never gets easier. Airport scenes are my least favourite. You know how its a public place and you're trying to hold it together? You don't want to cause a scene with your big boo hooing, so you just give long hugs while holding back tears, but when you finally get to the car or on that flight, you're a basket case. I've done that a time or two. The worst part is the drive home ... the silence and the sadness kill me. J has figured this out by now. He usually (secretly) plans a fun stop shortly afterward to cheer me up if we are dropping someone of at the airport.

We've recently had to say farewell to some really great friends of ours ... thankfully no airport scenes involved with either.

About a month ago we had a girls night to say farewell to Claire. Her family is moving to Texas at the end of this month. It was a great night celebrating our friend ... there were so many wonderful memories to talk about and stories to share. We laughed til we cried, and shed tears as we listened to Claire share her feelings about their move.   

Love this bunch of girls ... always great when we can get together.

Claire, I will miss you dearly. I know first hand how hard it is to move away from family and not know anyone. Some days will be easier than others but you will always make it through each day. You are such a sweet soul. Glad we are friends, thankful for what I've learned from you and shared with you. I will miss chatting with you ... I already do. Lots of love, hugs and prayers going with you. I love you my friend.

Three weeks ago, we visited our friends Katie and Randy to bid farewell to them. They moved to South Carolina for Randy's new job. I still remember the first night I met Katie. I instantly loved her and told J we need to get together with them again. J and Randy were doing their masters and chaplaincy at the same time so thankfully our paths all crossed very often.

They were in the midst of packing when the ice cream truck came by .... so everyone took a break. It's kind of funny that Rody and Anna Kate were so excited about it and Javan and Ria were clueless. As far as they know this truck just plays music for the kids in the neighbourhood (I can thank our neighbour for that one ... Javan and Leah used to sit outside and listen to the music as the truck went by!) but now I think that charade is up!

Rody was so sweet. He kept telling Javan he is going to miss him. Poor Javan ... he's had to say farewell to a few friends over the last two years.

Katie, I am going to miss you so much. Still makes me sad that you aren't here anymore. No more last minute dinners, trips to the pool, olympic parties and so on ... oh and I've lost a running buddy. Will we ever get to do that half together ... I won't have anyone to train with now! And, no one to practice my photography on ... hahaha! What stinks is that you're at home with the kids now and so am I, but we're five hours apart:( I love you my friend and will miss you dearly.

How is it possible to be so sad yet so happy for someone ... hard to articulate but I am sad to lose out on the day-to-day of these friendships but truly happy for doors that have opened for my friends.
~V

Sunday Snaps

It was a spunky kinda Sunday morning!

post nap popsicles .... don't mind the crazy hair!

~V

Soccer Season Starts Soon!

This is the first year that Javan is going to do organized sports of any kind. Last year he wanted to play soccer cos he was finally old enough but J's lousy work schedule prevented us from doing pretty much any fun stuff on a Saturday and he definitely did not want to miss Javan's first season. So we decided to wait. Last Monday we took him for his evaluations. I know we'll have to work on him with that whole 'team sport' thing and drill it in him that he does not have to be the only one to score the goals! Typical 5yr old mentality in wanting to do it on his own:)

Now since this is our family journal, I guess its ok for me to brag on my son:) 

The kids are required to do several drills, with and without the ball and they time each drill. The very first drill he did was a sprint. I don't remember the distance but when he got done, the guy timing him looked at us in disbelief. Javan definitely did not run full speed cos he was hesitant but he was clocked at 2.2 sec. The next drill was another speed one and the distance was twice as much. He was clocked at 4.46sec. They girl doing this drill said 'wow he's fast for a 5yr old. He's the fastest one we've had out here!' I know you're thinking 'oh big deal. any kid can run.' I get it and I agree, but I'm not gonna lie, Javan CAN  run. He has some skinny speedy legs on him!

 {the 2nd drill ... he didn't go at full speed}

Jermaine did track in school and I did track and long distance in school and ran cross country in college, plus I come from a family of runners so running is definitely in his blood. Hearing someone else (a stranger) comment on how fast he really is, was pretty exciting. I can just picture Jermaine grooming him to be this track star ... won't surprise me if I find them watching videos of Usain Bolt soon!

Needless to say evaluations went well. The hardest part for me was when Javan asked if Ma and Thata were going to come watch him play. He wouldn't let it die and kept saying 'but I know Thata wants to watch me. Why can't he come?' We pretty much had to deflect the question and tell him he could tell them all about his practices and games cos the old 'its too long a flight' didn't work. Hate moments like those.

Practices start on the 22nd and his first match is the 10 Sept. We're looking forward to a fun first season of the real football for Javan:)
~V

Wrapping Up This Week in Pics

I had my hands full most of the week which is why I had no time or energy to blog so here's a photo recap:

{Judah spent a few days with us}

{Javan is doing so great on his bike ... still afraid to let him ride down the hill but it's not stopping him from asking if he can! btw he can ride standing up too!}

{and if three's company, fours definitely a crowd ... Josiah came on by too! it was fun for sure!}

{hanging out with Owa}

{Demaro taught Javan a trick or two}

{enjoying a rare afternoon breeze}

{dinner one night: spinach, cheese and caper pizza - this is definitely on the menu each week (with a few variations to keep it fun - the kids love it}

 {ria had fun twirling around in some new 'pretties' she got from Ma and Aunty Davash last Christmas and for her birthday ... they're still big but hoping she'll get to wear them in the spring}

~V

Flipping 'n Diving

Our little fish are certainly having so much fun in the water this summer ... one more month til the outdoor pool closes so we are taking full advantage of that.

my big girl ... she is doing sooooo great. will barely let us hold her when she is in the water. she jumps right in and sticks her head under water!

It's a good thing the gym has an indoor pool so we can still enjoy swimming all year long ... not sure how I will feel about that in the dead of winter but somehow we will make it work!
~V

Little Helper

I'm not gonna lie .... one of the cons of me being working at home (coming up on a year soon) is the constant cleaning and picking up. Being away at the office all day was a 'break' for me. I certainly don't get those breaks anymore. I roll outta bed and I am instantly at work, which is always work staring at me! I have really relaxed a ton and let some things slide but it's still hard. I don't like everything getting out of control and then having TONS to clean in one day. My mum pretty much rubbed it in from an early age that our house should always be clean, not because people are coming to visit but because we live in it so to me if the house is generally tidied up every day then its good. I can aim for a thorough cleaning once a week. I really wish I could having a cleaning person .... super jealous of my friends who do but let's face it, when you stay work at home, there's no room in the budget for a lot of stuff.

But, it doesn't mean my little cohabitants can't pitch in ...

I really hate the whole laundry process. It's just a never ending cycle. J is helpful with it but not when he washes clothes and then leaves it in the dryer. Lately I have been washing everything and he puts away our clothes and I do the kids clothes. One of the things I am working on is letting go of everything needing to be perfectly folded. Javan can fold his clothes and knows where all his stuff goes, so one thing I added to his chores this past week was to fold his laundry. He loves having something to do and is all about teamwork so I will still help him.

As for the other 'help' ... well thats a work in progress as you can see

She does love to dust furniture though. I should probably teach her how to use the magic eraser to get her chalk and crayon marks off from where she's marked her spot!
~V

Sunday Fun

~V