it's all fun and games: August 2008

super nate

so the pic is a week old but still he's a cutie. nate is testing out the bandanna's that we got for the kids to decorate for camp last week.

house stuff- our house in memramcook closed yesterday at 4:45. it's done. it's sad and happy and so final. but on to the new.

our new house has the plumbing done (basement) and back filled. the concrete was suppose to be done today but it's raining so it will be done next week. that does set us back 4 days. boo.

we picked out some light fixtures this morning. i am now pouring over paint chips again. i thought i knew what i wanted....but then again i am a woman. har!

chris and i were given a week-end away in a hotel for this weekend. we are leaving tomorrow morning for some family down time. we really need it. it's so important to keep the priorities in order, esp when you get so busy. yeah for a hotel, no cooking or cleaning......sorta..... 0 comments

Posted by mel at 2:27 PM

picture less

i can't post older pic's today. some reason the file won't open for me. and i can't post new pic's bec i can't seem to find the camera!

updates!

monday- we moved out of 1069 royal rd. we packed our cars to the rim and moved into jon and jess's place. btw- love what you've done to the place jess. it's doesn't scream batch pad anymore!

tues- went back last night to do the final clean and good bye. i actually cried when it was time to pull out. i could not figure out why i was crying. then the thought hit me. why am i trying to figure it out? normally, i would just cry and forget about it. but last night, i pondered about it. after much soul searching, i finally came to the real reason as to why i was so upset.

i do not do well with the unknown. i have a hard time trusting when i can't see the future. how much have i changed? i actually try to figure out why i feel the way i do. or if i feel 'off' i try and figure out why...

so then i came up with a plan. which lead to another deep thought. where does one draw the line from "thinking" to "worry". i think each person must come to their own conclusion. i am trying to figure mine out.

so, i am pleased to say that with everything that has happened over the last week. the stress, fear, anxiousness, confusion, doubt and again fear. i have only lost it 2 times! which is awesome. you should see how i am living. boxes everywhere.

so, instead of dreading and not liking the season i am in right now. i am going to learn lessons and grow and (try) to keep a good attitude.

today chris and i are meeting with our lawyer to sign the papers. tomorrow the new owners move in.

and with that i must go. nap time is almost over. ahhh wonderful nap time..... 0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:57 AM

ok, not to brag or anything. but i made these banana choc chip muffins last week. i tried a new recipe. i have never had a batch turn out so well. they were perfect. i ate 4 before chris got home. then i ate 2 more. i have no clue what i did to make them so flipping perfect. so good.

then, to thank jon for helping us move i made choc tarts with lindor choc. so good. then i remembered that he's allergic to nuts. oh, well it's the thought that counts right?

and finally. my very first evah and so incredible delightful in every imaginable way...so yummalicious that i MADE chris take it to work and give away because i lack in self control and was pigging out on this out standing specimen of pie. my first and will not be last. peanut butter pie oh my!! wonderful.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 3:09 PM

reflecting

so. i was out on a walk last night, thinking about my up and coming anni with my beloved. and that lead me to wonder where was i 5 yrs ago today? so, for fun. i peeked at my old pic's, typed in the date and volia. the Caribbean baby. yep, 5 yrs ago TODAY. i was soaking the rays with my bbf. scooter and all.

chris, i have a ? for ya. can we go again? can we? this year? oops, i mean next year??? please? say the springish...remember nate can only fly for free until he turns 2.

*i can hit chris up for anything, it's my blog*

0 comments

Posted by mel at 3:03 PM

last sunday

last sunday after church and naps we headed off to sackville, n.b to the water fowl park. for those of you who don't know. sackville is known to be multicultural. and it's home of the best family restaurant. seriously. it's amazing. we have never had a bad meal yet.

we are settling down from probably one of the most intense weeks of our married life.

we are packed. the truck pulled out thursday. fri was the first day of the camp. chris left the house at 7 a.m to get ready for it. i stayed at home with nate until 11. i was at the camp for a few hours and when nathaniel had had enough heat,i took him home. i heard the camp was a success. it's weird to not see what you planned. for this season i guess.

chris got home yesterday afternoon. he took a quick shower and we went out for a quick supper. then he spent the night working on more JUMP stuff. he then worked on a video until 2:30 this morning. its hard to see him work so hard. he's so tired.

today, we are going to church, home to pack some more. then back to town for a meeting. we are not sure when we will move out of this place and into my brother's for 6 weeks. blah. suitcase living sucks. my sis-in-law did it for 2 months. i am not looking forward to it. i don't like the unknown.

on a side note. i am sad to leave the country. it's so beautiful here. i am so happy that i was able to spend the summer here. i often get asked if i get bored living out here. no, not really. if i do, i slap on my sneeks and go for a walk. hearing nothing but the odd car, birds singing and the wind blowing through the trees. i love it.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:49 AM

taking a break

hello all.

i am giving a quick update for this week. i will be taking some time off of posting. we are extremely busy.

i had my birthday yesterday. i got some bling from chris. i have decided that i am canceling my birthday from now on. don't ask. everything seems to happen on aug 18.

we are loading the truck up tonight. then we will live here in memramcook with 1 camp table, 2 chairs and a blow up bed for the week.

this weekend is the kids camp. no, it's not planned yet. nd no, i am not sure what i "will do" with nathaniel.

chris met with the builder last night, he is so nice to work with. everything is on schedule. we have to make some decisions this week for the house.

with that i must go. if you can remember us in prayers. i am beyond stressed, overwhelmed and it's showing.

have great one everyone! 0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:11 AM

we tried to wrap nathaniel. he didn't like it so much.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 9:52 AM

sleepy dude

every time i go and check on him, he's sleeping in a different position. of course i think everything that he does is cute.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 9:46 AM

house n stuff

we have concrete and foundation!

remember to pray that the rain stays away. we do not want the wood to get soaked next weekish.

our builders are FABO! so wonderful to work with. we are able to get lots of upgrades and changes made with little effort. it's a father/son team and now that it's just and them (no Realtors or lawyers) we are able to talk/work directly with them.

i picked out my tubs yesterday. we are not going with the plumbing guy's. (super expensive) our wonderful builders are ok that we switched suppliers. so get this. my en suite tub would have cost 2 GRAND. we bought- a soaker, jet tub for the main bath, a soaker bubble for the en suite, 2 detachable water spouts, fixtures for 2500. sweat merciful dealio!

this week is one heck of an insane week. we are super busy. the moving truck was dropped off fri. we have this week to pack, fill the truck, go to the kids camp (which i haven't even started to plan yet) and be out of this house. oh, and monday is my 21st birthday!

whee! let the games begin. i feel the pressure

0 comments

Posted by mel at 9:07 AM

silly daddy

so. last sat (i know, i know. i am week late but i just remembered this morning) ok. last sat chris fed nathaniel breaky while i took a shower.

when i came out of the shower chris was laughing and said he just had one of those "dad stories" to share.

i asked chris to feed nate the last of his baby cereal ( i found it while packing oops) chris noticed that nathaniel didn't seem to like it as uch as he normally does. so chris tasted it and it tasted funny. so chris went and looked at the container.

bread crumbs. my boy had a breakfast of yummy bread crumbs and water. good job chris!

0 comments

Posted by mel at 7:54 AM

strawberry short cake

lesson learned. one can not use whole wheat flour when making biscuits. they were still yummy.
i made my first biscuit. not one of my fav's but it was still yummy.

yesterday i got inspired with a picture i found in a mag. homemade granola bars! such fun! i made a batch and forgot to take a pic. they were yummy. i am going to start making them for chris for his "breakfast on the go"

i used

raisins
peanuts
rice crisps
granola
and i poured melted chocolate to make them all stick. next week i want to try using marshmallows instead of the chocolate to make them stick and add some more nuts to the mixture. anyways, i rather fancy them. 0 comments

Posted by mel at 7:57 AM

mail day

nathaniel got some mail from his grandparents in ontario.

after checking it, eating it and flinging it around. he opened it. nathaniel said THANK YOU!

* nathaniel also got a package from swissland but due to the heat, it arrives squishy and melted, so i sent it to the freezer asap. nathaniel also says THANKS uncle rudy, aunty sarah!

house update- the posts are in! they should start pouring the concrete today!!!!!

natey news-

so, nate has been a real tiger this week. fussy, bored and general unhappy. i thought it was because i threw his routine when we were in hali last week. if he does not get enough sleep he's a mess. he started waking up crying through the night. he hasn't done that since he was 6 months. so i went poking around his mouth and voila. the back molars are coming in. top and bottom. all at once. so last night i sent chris in with the Tylenol. then i realised that nathaniel has not had Tylenol since the flight in cuba (to help his ears) and before that at his 6 month needles. he's a strong dude with a ore mouth.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 7:45 AM

swiss chocolate, concentration and boxes

nthaniel's first taste of chocolate. verdict?

he loves it. and of course it was swiss chocolate. anything is blasphemy.

nathaniel has this play toy that you move the beads through the medal rod. i always thought it was not age appropriate for him. not. i found him in his room moving the beads through the medal rods with intense concentration.

house stuff

the digging began on monday. yesterday the land was cleared and 'flattened'. today they are laying the stakes (i think that's what they are called) to pour the foundation. whee. so much fun.

i spent most of the day yesterday packing boxes. nathaniel "helped" me. he followed behind me unpacking or taking things out of the boxes. he's such a help. towards the end of the day, i know he got that i would get "mad" (fake mad) at him. he would then reach in the box (making sure i was watching) remove an object, giggle and take off with his prize. then he would stop, look behind him to make sure i was following him. so yeah, we don't get much packed when he's awake but we have lots of fun!

the weather has been so crappy this week. rain everyday. it's raining again today. one good thing about rain is that ican't go outside...which results in packing more stuff.

on the topic of stuff. i am totally going to have a garage sale or sell my crap on kijiji when we move. i think the fun part of shopping is finding that deal. the thrill of the hunt. like last week i got chris's fav soy drink for .50 each! i bought 10 boxes of it.

have a great day everyone!

0 comments

Posted by mel at 7:48 AM

big birthday boy weekend

happy 1st birthday little buddy! one year ago you came into my life and changed it forever! i can not imagine not having you in our family. i love watching you grow and change. you are the best gift to your daddy and i. we love you so much. happy birthday!

pre-party at peggy's cove.

rocky terrain

no worries. daddy is holding the stroller

watching the waves with my sis

birthday cakes!

little bear for natey

monkey for quinny

the monkey and bear together

natey seeing the cake for the first time

for fun. we baked 2 extra cakes and put both boys in the kiddie pool to have some fun

opening the big present from nanny and poppy

getting some help from uncle jon

all in all we had a great time. we kept the birthday party simple. family and cake. i wanted a small first birthday party. he's not old enough to really know yet anyways.

we did some shopping while we were in hali. we bought our new fridge, stove and dishwasher. i may regret the choice later. yep, i got the stainless steal. they just look so much purtyer than black. chris promised to help me keep them clean.

house stuff

construction started today! yeah!! i am getting excited but at the same time dreading the packing, sorting and living out of suitcases for 6 weeks. i am keeping my eye on the prize.

and with that i must get the little dude up from his nap. he's a yelling for me.

0 comments

Posted by mel at 2:06 PM

a sad day

yesterday i said good bye to my bestest bud. my beloved puppy. some people don't understand the sorrow that a person feels when they say good bye to their pet. i always knew that this day would come. i thought i would be prepared. but i was not.

this dog was not just any old dog. she was a gift given to me by my parents during one of the darkest times in my life. out of desperation, my dad broke his following vow "I will never have another dog in this house". you see, sometimes you have to do what you don't want to get the results that you desire. hu? you may ask. allow me to explain.

god used this dog to soften my heart, to slowly and painfully tear off the layers of bitterness, anger, resentment. to get me to the point in my life where i was no longer satisfied with my pitiful existence. i was simply just existing.

in stead, by using a simple dog. my heart began to open. i began to search for answers. to look at my life, how i was living. to get me to the point where i no longer want to just live this life. i wanted more.

my belle. you have been through much with me. how many times did i cry into your soft fur? thank you. thank you for always being there for me. for listening to my heart's desires, for keeping the many secrets i told you late at night, for keeping me safe many nights alone and for keeping me company on many walks.

i will never forget you bellers. i know that you are in a better place now. that you are eating steak and sleeping in the sun with chanice (and stealing her spot in the sun). enjoy yourself girl. i know that one day i will see you again.