Good times!

This weekend was lots of fun but very, very busy!

FRIDAY
- 2 cakes baked and decorated for the Neilson Grove Spring Fair
- went to the Dentist
- coffee with my mom
- 456 bottles transferred from the container outside the school to a classroom inside - I had great helpers!
- successfully ran the bottle draw game until at the bottles were gone and cleaned up
- PowerPoint Presentation created for UBC
- all assigned readings for my class read
- to bed at 1am





SATURDAY
- up at 6am and off to school at 8am - gave presentation - missed Matthew's hockey game unfortunately
- home at 5pm and left again at 5:10pm for a fun Skating and Pizza Family party
- home and everyone in bed by 9:30pm

SUNDAY
- Megan had a baseball game
- clean the house (well, tidied)
- cleaned up after Megan's bath (see the picture below - that is what happens when I get distracted reading on the iPad)
- the kids went shopping with my mom while Scott and I went out to research new vehicles for him... we've narrowed it down to either a Nissan Versa or Honda Fit.   Scott drives a lot in the city and wants something good on gas.
- took the kids out to Scott's parents in South Surrey
- attended a fabulous fundraiser for David and my sister Julie at the Tudor Pub.   There must have been over 250 people there and lots of generous donations were made in the auction room and through 50/50.  David continues to do well, minus a few seizures each day but he remains Mr. Positive and is going to beat this.   He begins radiation this week.

The base race at the end of the game is Megan's favourite part!!!

When the bath began...

When the bath ended!

Gratitude

Everywhere I turn this week the word Gratitude keeps popping up.  

~ A friend wrote a great post on her blog about remembering to be grateful, which resonated with me.  

~ Then I read a Chatelaine article about how Oprah spoke of Gratitude at her Master Class Presentation in Toronto.  

~ This afternoon I found this quote on Pinterest.

I believe the universe has been quietly talking to me this week... telling me to be appreciative of what I have... and to let go of the lists of the things I want.

Saturday Morning Fun

It is a wonderful thing when children can entertain themselves...   This is my little robot who had so much fun this morning with cardboard boxes!

Then the kids and I made some hummingbird nectar and hung out the feeder for the first time this year!  Now we will sit quietly and hope to see some winged visitors.  

I love sunny Saturdays!

Treasures!

If you don't live in Delta, you may not know about the annual Spring Clean Up.  Everyone is allowed to place whatever they don't want out on the curb.   Items such as broken furniture, old couches, baskets, electronics, sporting goods, toys, and so on are left at the end of the driveways.   I personally view the items as junk and look forward to when the good people who collect our garbage take it all away.

Many people, like my son Matthew, eagerly look forward to this clean up and enjoy searching for items they can recycle and put to good use.   Matthew happily trolled the neighbourhood earlier this week and was thrilled to find hockey sticks left out for garbage, that he could add to his collection.   He also found a net too... that surprisingly was in good shape.  

What I did not expect was a decrepit picture of a tree framed in brass from the 80's that he enthusiastically brought home and thought would look good in our living room.   It bothered me to crush his excitement, but I  had to politely say that we had no room on the walls and requested that he take it back to the curb.   Hours later I had to have a talk about lice when he brought home a bunch of ball hats that were well worn, turning brown and stunk.   My boy and his love of collections - hats, Pokemon and Yugioh -cards, hockey pucks, cards and sticks, sports team t-shirts, Smurfs from McDonalds (yep, we have em' all), and the list goes on!

I had a chuckle to myself when he called me on my cell phone Monday afternoon and asked me not to park in the garage.  He was bursting to tell me he had organized his hockey stuff in the garage and did NOT want to have to clean it up.  He begged me to park on the driveway.   Below is a picture of some of his new found treasures...   

These extra sticks and net will come in handy in June when he has is hockey themed 9th birthday party.   Yes, it is still two months away, but Matthew has already created a list of who he wants invited, written his invitations (I won't let him deliver them yet!), created a schedule of the road hockey tournament he wants to take place, and has asked me to design t-shirts for the players.   He also continues to seek ideas for his hockey cake (which I will make) on the internet.   Matthew's love and ability in sports certainly did not come from me... but his passion for planning and organizing parties - what can I say - he is his momma's son!  

Avoidance

After

Before

I think by the end of my Master's Degree I may just have one of the most organized houses around.   Avoidance of studies this past year has taken the form of cleaning, tidying, and organizing.   Today I took to the "junk" drawer... because everyone needs their pens organized, right?!   I know I am neurotic in this area!  I wish my avoidance could lead to working out, running, or something of more personal benefit.

This was last month's obsession - organizing
the closet... purses, scarves and hats!

And last week I tackled my jewelry... and categorized
my bracelets, earring, and necklaces!

Happy Easter Friends!

The excitement mounted throughout the day on Saturday and then into the evening.

How does the Easter bunny get into the houses?

Where does he live?

Could he maybe be a she?

How does he/she make the chocolate eggs?

Does he/she pop them out like a chicken?

Why do some come in boxes and not foil?

Do all children get the same amount of eggs?

What about kids in Hawaii?   They are surrounding by water... how does the bunny get there?

Is there more than one Easter bunny?

I thought the kids had exhausted themselves, but the chatter continued until way past their bedtimes.   Some parents... lucky ones, have children who when kept up late, sleep happily late into the mornings.  I am NOT one of those parents.   My children although they went to bed late, woke Scott and I at 5:40am ready to dash into action.   We tested their patience until my mom, who wanted to watch the hunt, arrived at 6:00am.   By 6:30am the kids were each counting their eggs... Matthew was working on a grand total and then they began the tradition of "fair sharing" of the chocolates.  

Next the kids helped me to finish the cake for Scott's mom's birthday.

At 9:30 am we were off to the Neilson Grove Elementary, the kids school, to participate in another egg hunt with our school friends.  Thanks to my friend Toshi for organizing this great family fun and including my family.  I know this is a memory the kids will always remember.

Later in the day at 3-on-3 Hockey, Matthew burned off all of the chocolates he had consumed earlier.  His team won and Matt scored 2 goals.   The entire team played a fantastic game!   We celebrated the win, Grandma's birthday and Easter dinner at Scott's parents.   It was a wonderful day!

Matthew is #32 - the Green jersey.

For those of you wondering how David is doing.  He is still on the mend.   He was sent home on a 2 day release from the hospital but continues to experience seizures.   They re-admitted him on Saturday evening and hope that through close monitoring the hospital staff will be able to provide answers to why he is having recurring seizures.   Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

Spring...

All week long I have toted that Friday was going to be "Operation Spring Clean" in my house.   I reminded my family members not to make plans because I had chores for them.  These past few months  I have been busier than usual, and unfortunately this amount to never having enough time to keep up with all the housely chores.  Scott does more than his fair share... I must admit I don't do laundry, as this is something Scott loves to do.   He is a pro at doing laundry, and folds better than many sales clerks.   I am very lucky in that respect.   Our place is generally tidy, but if you look closely in corners and crevices, you will see dust bunnies, evidence of children brushing their teeth on the mirrors, stains on the stovetop where things have bubbled over, and the bathrooms - well I have a little boy - enough said!

Friday morning began with Megan enthusiastically wanting to help clean the bathrooms.  She is actually an exceptional cleaner and never complains.  Matthew on the other hand, wasn't sure what he wanted to do and when presented with a few options, took his sweet time (a stalling tactic, I'm sure) to decide what to do.   Finally he reluctantly replied that he would vacuum.

It was all going well, until we heard the sound of pounding water on one of our upstairs windows.   We all rushed to see what was going on.   What we saw was Scott using his new "toy" he had purchased to clean the outside windows.   Living in a new area where there is still constant building, we get a ton of dirt build-up on our windows.   For the past two years, I have begged Scott to find  to hire someone to clean the windows.   After being quoted $150 he was thrilled to pick up a window cleaning tool for $50 at Canadian Tire.  Happy that this task was finally being dealt with, I and the kids jumped with joy.

Problem is... the kids abandoned me and took off outside to "help" Daddy!  With no help and the cooking/baking I needed to get done for dinner (we were having friends over), I managed to get just the downstairs cleaning done.

This sunshine has given me renewed energy!   The kids are also loving the extended daytime hours, playing outside into the early evening.   Yesterday Megan and our little neighbours had fun having a picnic outside and collecting ladybugs.

Today I woke up, quickly cleaned upstairs and then we all headed down to Stanley Park to ride our bikes.
I have wanted to this for so long... I can't even remember!  We had to wait until Megan was proficient enough on her two-wheel bike to ride in a busy area.   Although the park was packed, we had a great afternoon.   We stopped for ice-cream and looked at the totem poles.   The kids enjoyed the scenery on the drive home and Scott and I had many quiet giggles answering a ton of "why" questions... most were related to the Easter Bunny.

After much discussion, it was decided that Easter Bunny must enter through the front door so the kids have made us promise not to lock the door tonight!

Taking Comfort...

In life when we are stressed, scared, or worried we tend to seek comfort.   For my children, they find comfort in a hug from Scott or I, supportive words, or through crawling into bed with us in the middle of the night.   Some parents discourage this but personally I am happy to provide the needed security for them... and know that all too soon there will come a day when this will stop.  I love feeling Megan's little feet push through the numerous pillows that I love to surround myself with -  until she finds my body and then quickly wraps her legs around mine.   I can't imagine anything more complimentary than being the security for a child.

Yesterday while I was at home alone and felt stressed and worried, I sought comfort in baking.   Each Easter I bake egg shaped sugar cookies and the kids enjoy decorating them and delivering them to our neighbours.  They often like to pretend they are the Easter Bunny.   They place the cookies at the door, ring the door bell and run and hide.   This week I wasn't sure I was going to have the time or energy to make the cookies, given everything going on.   I am so glad I did make the time.   Baking is something I love to do and hadn't done in awhile. I forgot how much joy and comfort it brings me.

When Megan and her friend arrived home from the school, they were ecstatic to decorate.  Matthew was excited too... and since he was busy after school golfing and then off to hockey, him and I plan to decorate later today.   I can't wait to watch the kids do the deliveries!

David

My brother in law had surgery on Friday to remove a cancerous brain tumour.   We were all very worried and saying a lot of prayers.   Cancer is such a scary disease and the older I get, the more young people I know who are getting it.   David is only 38.   His situation is made even worse due to the fact that he and my sister are expecting a baby boy in July.   Through the family's tears of concern, David kept telling us "It's going to alright... I am going to be fine!" Not once did he ever complain or saying anything even slightly negative.   He was the definition of positive.   David has a great sense of humour and I think this has really helped him to deal with what he is going through and has supported those around him.

The surgery went better than expected.   His doctor thinks he was able to remove most of the tumour and plans to treat the outlying areas with radiation and chemo.   The biopsy came back and the tumour was a Stage II, instead of a Stage III as originally thought, which is great news!   Scott, the kids and I went and visited David on Saturday and we were shocked that he was so alert and he even joked with us.

Sunday was more difficult.   David suffered some prolonged seizures.   Apparently seizures were expected as part of the healing process but it still caused concern and worry.   His neurologist saw him yesterday and is monitoring the situation.   He still has a long way to go but I know with his attitude, he will beat the cancer.   I find myself cautiously celebrating and wondering many things...

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Can our positive thoughts really change outcomes for the better?  And if this is true, then what about the reverse?

Why haven't we found a cure for cancer?

My Grandparents died of cancer, two of my cousins have had cancer, my mom has had cancer... What does this mean for my family's future?   Should I worry?

Do I spend enough time with family?   Is my life balanced?

Although I would not call myself a religious person, I do believe in a higher power and believe that everything happens for a reason, even we aren't able to know all the "whys".   I wonder perhaps, if the situation with David is meant to remind all of us to slow down, love our families, and live each day to the fullest.   Sounds cliche, I know... but I think it just may be true.