Pushing It Out

I was weak this week.
Not physically weak.
Not mentally weak.
Just weak.
Everyday I had good intentions.
To clean the house.
To do the laundry.
To mow the lawn.
To cook fancy dinners.
To write a hilarious and witty blog post.
To edit the rest of our family photos so I could post them.
To figure out how to make the pictures on blogger bigger.
To run farther.
To run at all.
Instead I did none of those things (and I am not kidding when I say I didn't clean my house- heh), instead we went to Kelowna for a few days to visit Grannie.
And shop.
And go to Starbucks.
Very important.
Now, its the end of the week and I am feeling the wrath of not doing any of those things.
Its only acceptable to wear dirty underwear clothes for so long, then it just becomes gross.
So besides this morning when I did go for a run (mind you it was 1/3 of the length we usually run and it ended with a billion calorie delicious coffee and slow walk home), I stayed home and worked.
I made some head way.
The house is *partially* organized and a lot cleaner than it was yesterday.
The laundry is *mostly* done.
The lawn will be mowed tomorrow.
We ordered pizza for dinner.
I am FINALLY updating my blog.
I cant figure out stupid photoshop, so the photos have to wait.
And like I said, I did run.
So I was productive.
But days full of work are BOOOO.
I don't recommend it.
Lesson learned.
Unless at the end of the day you see some serious results.
Maybe tomorrow, I will see more.
Because my mom is coming for the night.
And if she expects dinner, then she better start earning her keep.
Shes a champ at the housekeeping thing.
She should have my tiny house whipped into shape in no time.
It was nice to see this hanging on my cupboard when I got out of the shower this morning.

a very thoughtful note from my running friend, Stacey

Little things like that, make it easier to do crappy things like stay in the house all day, when all you really want to do is go outside and drink beer play. I am happy to have such great people in my life.

Now, onto Maizey. People, she is a moving. She can get from here to there in no time flat and all with the push of one big toe and the pull of determined little arms. Seriously, she does a weird little yoga leg move and just...goes... fast. And with authority. Nothing stops her. It wont be long before this scoot turns into a crawl.
*note the big toe on the back foot.


She is finally better. Maybe not 100% yet, but still wayyyy better than she was even just a few days ago. We are so over this being sick.
She started sleeping on her belly. (while we were in FSJ actually). I found something a little un-nerving about the whole belly sleeping thing. But she seems fine, so I'm over it.
She hits things away when she doesn't want them.
She screamed for an hour when Grannie tried to put her to bed, while Brian and I went out to a movie. It finally took a car ride to get her to go to sleep. Atleast I got to finish the movie. Heh.
She wants to feed herself things. She sometimes bites her fingers in the process. Then she cries.
She follows me around doing the scooting thing. I kicked her over by accident today. I felt bad. She cried.
It has been confirmed that yes, she is in fact, saying 'whats this'. She a genius.
She always wants Brians hat, but the second she gets it, she chucks it, and Missys got an arm on her. Its almost as though she knows its rude to wear your hat in the house.
She gives kisses. Big, slobbery, open mouth kisses. I love them.
She smiles, waves and laughs at herself every time she looks in the mirror. She knows shes cute.
And last, but not least...girl is finally getting some tub to her. A nice little plump belly. She one day wont be happy about that, but for now... HUZZAH!!!

Happy Mothers Day

My mom sent me this in an email the other day. Thanks Mom, I love you!

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "Its ok honey, Mommy's here"
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who cant be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
And that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world" and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who tell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again "Just one more time"
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons how to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home, or even away at college or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
This is for the mothers whose children have gone astray, who cant find the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of school shootings, and the mothers of the those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good mother anyway?
Is it patience? Compassion? Broad Hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in the heart? Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2a.m to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2a.m when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home?
Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... and for mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us.
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray and never stop being a mother...

"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall"

Wicked Stupid Or Wicked Smaht??

Long post disclaimer: don't read if you don't want to. its long. 

I was given many a sideways glance when I told people that we were packing up our two babies and taking them on a thirteen hour road trip. I was told I was crazy, good luck and asked if I was looking for some kind of punishment for something? I, on the other hand, wasn't even a little bit worried. Maizey has been on countless road-trips, sometimes with both Brian and I, once with my mom and a few just her and I. Corbin has made the six hour drive to Pemberton to visit his grandparents numerous times, starting at just a few weeks old, and he always does fine. Plus, he can be entertained, quieted and calmed with the mention, promise and delivery of anything food related. So, last Saturday at 4:23a.m Ang and I loaded her truck with suitcases (her two to my one), play pens, sleeping bags, pillows, toys, coolers of food, road trip music and cameras to begin the thirteen hours of driving. To say the least, it was a piece of freaking cake (mmm... cake). Our babies are pretty much professional road trippers now. They know that crying is to be kept to a minimum until within 10-ish km's of proposed stop. They know that crying does not get them taken out of their seats. They know that crying only makes the music be turned up louder. So in turn, they did VERY little crying... so little in fact, that I even hopped in the back to see what was going on, only to find Maizey quietly playing with the tag on Mildred. They were unbelievable. We made three stops on the way there, once for a bathroom break, once for fuel and once for coffee. There were no unscheduled stops. Period. We saw tons of wildlife, including a Grizzly Bear and  a Wolf besides countless deer and elk, some baby sheep and a dead moose. We made it in thirteen hours exactly, almost to the minute (we can thank Ang and her heavy foot for that, since she didn't let me drive even ONCE!!!) so it was actually eleven hours of driving, two hours of stops.

It was SO great to see Andrea and her little family. Its been eight months since we last saw Andrea, Natalie and Cade (they were here in Revy visiting when Maizey was born) and its been almost three years since we saw Ryan. We got in some serious catching up time. Its hard to plan too many activities when you have three kids that need afternoon naps, so we tried to get out every morning and do something, then the afternoons were spend visiting and letting kids sleep. We did a lot of sitting around, laughing really loudly about old times, playing our old theme songs on repeat (Six Pack Summer, When The Sun Goes Down, Here For The Party, etc), drinking beer, staying up late (well later than normal... its all relative) comparing parenting techniques, tips, advice, and really just loving having the A-team back together. It was super relaxed which was exactly what we all wanted and SO much fun!

Maizey was sick when we left and didn't actually end up getting any better, so after a particularly bad night of only about half an hour of sleep, I took her in to the walk-in clinic. The doctor said it was a lung infection and prescribed some antibiotics. (see next post for details on follow up...) After struggling through the night, we had decided that maybe it was time to cut the trip a day short and start heading home. It was sad to be cutting an already short trip even shorter, but its hard having a sick little one when you are away from home and we thought it would be best to get home and help her get better.... The trip home was not so breezy. Maybe that's what happens when you leave at 11:15a.m rather than 4. And when you only plan on driving five hours, but at the five hour mark change your mind and try to muscle through the other six. And when you have gotten about 3 hours-ish sleep between the both of you. Maybe that's what happens. The whole way it was... well its only 5:00, we can make it to Jasper... well its only 250 more km's to Lake Louise... if we can make it to Lake Louise we might as well go all the way to Golden... well its dumb to stop in Golden, we might as well just go all the way home. That's when things got bad. It was dark, both kids didn't want to sleep, there was a semi going 20km's/hr and passing on a double solid (Ang) incident at the same time as there was a screaming (Maizey) incident at the same time as there was a puking (Corbin) incident. Then there was a screaming at the same time as the "I lost our dog" phone call. There was a tuna sub game (played by Corbin) while *someone* tried not to throw up at the sight of it. There were some good times on the way home, but right now, the bad ones are much funnier to think about. They are what made our trip home *memorable*!!!
Just a side note - We decided that Ang and I are pretty much perfect road trip partners. We like the same driving snacks and music. We both like to sing. We like to make fun of Karen *the GPS*. The last 18 km's are painful, we know this and relish in it... errr, I mean go cuckoo and laugh A LOT. Starbucks stops ARE important, as is busting a nut on the middle of the icefields parkway to chance a second glimpse at the wolf.  (both things our husbands would find not important and/or not do). And pretty much, how many other people can you spend 26 hours in the car with in one week and still want to hang out the next morning at 10:00 (which is what we did)?? 

Our trip to the North was, besides the walk-in clinic issue and the mis-haps on the drive home, a great success. We will totally do it again, maybe in the summer months so there is less chance of snow while we are there, but for sure we will do it again. For now, we wait until Canada Day long weekend to see our favorite little Doherty family again!

Ang and I getting read to go.

(many many more pictures to come but they are on three different cameras, so we need to get them all together first!)