febEWary

Traditionally I have thought Feb to be the worst month of the year. No longer is the snow a novelty, no longer can you ignore the fact that it is -20 outside, no longer can you overlook that you are still months away from summer.

December is OK because it is warmed by Christmas. The month just flies by. All of January seems to be a month to recuperate after Christmas and New Year's. I always start off February trying to remember that it is the shortest month of the year. Yet somehow as soon as reading week is done the month. never. ends. Every March I vow that I will be going away for reading week next year. But once again February has rolled around and I am still here.

Here's hoping for a mild February and an early Spring. Happy Groundhog Day everybody.

stumped

I have been stumped lately.

Sort of cause what I would really want to say I don't.

Like I got released from my calling last week and it feels great. Is that bad to say? People keep asking me if I am sad..... no. Not one bit. Should I be? Someone even said I should get a blessing to help me deal with the change. I thought, are you crazy?? Not that I didn't like my time serving in RS, but it was time for a change and I am more than happy to pass on the torch to people more capable, organized and energetic than myself. Whew.

Also, why do kids always prefer their dads? It sort of ticks me off. Not that my feelings are hurt, I think. But I get a little irked when Levi saves his unwanted pepperoni for his dad, and then when I eat one bite of MY last piece of pizza that I give to him- he cries and cries cause that pepperoni went to me and not daddy. Humpf. Of course I want our kids to love both parents, but maybe I want them to appreciate me a bit more cause I am the one that is with them all the time.
I am now laughing cause that is probably the problem. Maybe its my attitude sometimes that makes them not want to be grateful for me. Yikes.

I started work last week. That was odd and fun and interesting and mildly stressful at the same time. I got home and Josh had a relaxing bath as soon as I walked in the door. He wondered how I didn't need one of those everynight. At least someone appreciates what I do around here....

Lastly, Monet. For any love the boys don't have for me, she makes up for in volumes. She loves me LOTS. People always comment on what a happy baby I have and I have to laugh cause it is always when I am holding her. She is starting to really like her daddy, too, though. Her eyes follow him around the room and she will cry hysterically sometimes when he leaves the room. My challenge with Monet now is that she wants to be with me all night long. Her room is cold so I hate to ignore her when she wakes up in the night. I dont mind feeding her once at night.... but twice? thrice? After last night's opera performance (it lasted as long as an opera, believe me), I figure it is time to wean. How do you go about it? I want to cut back without cutting off. Any ideas?

schoolin'

Yesterday Levi very proudly told us that he knew how to say cool in music. Josh and I pondered on this for a second and asked him how.

He answered with a very enthusiastic, "ROCK!"

I haven't met his music teacher at school, but I think I like her.

new post

I suppose it is time for a new post. We got back from Calgary on Sunday. Being gone 3 weeks is fun but it is sure good to be home. It was weird driving home from Calgary, cause who knows??? Maybe it was our last trip back after Christmas. Strange.

Anyways, we had FHE last night and we are working on the Articles of Faith. Levi could recite the 2nd one pretty good. But this is what Enoch heard:
We believe Batman will be punished for his own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

funnies

Funny:
Enoch had his Joy School program on Friday. We went to St. Anne's, a retirement centre. At the end the singing etc., the program director went up to each kid with a mic and asked them their name, age, and what they liked best about Christmas. Some answers were "Giving Presents," or "Decorating Christmas Trees." Enoch very quickly and deliberately answered "Star Wars."

Not so funny:
Perhaps this is why when I made him put down an Anikan Skywalker action figure at Walmart the other day he bit me.

Funny:
Josh's internship is going well and coming to a close this week! One of his students recently asked him, "Where do you get your clothes? Is there a teacher store somewhere?"

Not so funny:
I woke up from an afternoon nap to Enoch's sweet face saying, "Sorry, Mommy." I got up to find a black sharpie used all over the living room wall and the computer. At least he didn't touch the screen, though!

photos

I just got my wedding pictures put onto a CD. It is sort of embarrassing to say that we got married before digital cameras were the thing. They were out there, but most certainly weren't the norm. Here are a few of my favorites.



I am sad to say that I am a few pounds heavier than those days.... but at least my teeth are straighter!

Take a guess, when do you think we were married. Don't guess if you know.

ten boom

I am reading The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. It is such a good book! My book club read it a few months ago but I was away and never got to it. It is really so good. I highly recommend it.

The book is about a Christian woman's struggle as a citizen and then a political prisoner in Poland under the Nazi regime. Realistic without being too gruesome.

OK. I need to clean my house and there is really no reason why I am writing this other than procrastination.

clean up time

We have all been home lately. Levi stayed home from school today, he's not really that sick but he has a bit of a cough and well, its -37 degrees with windchill out there. Not really worth starting the car to take him to Kindergarten.

So, the house has been getting messy. And messy for me means REALLY messy for you. Trust me, my clean is your dirty. I know this cause I learn it from your kids all the time. Don't worry, this doesn't hurt my feelings. Anyways, the place was a disaster this morning. Not only did we play yesterday, but I also dry packed 50 KILOS of skim milk powder and oatmeal, among other things. So ya, the place was not visitor friendly. I had meant to clean it last night but I fell asleep in the chair with Enoch playing on my lap. Oops. I think we both fell asleep that way.

Long story short, today we played clean up in a whole new way. We had Star Wars Lego Garbage Ships that received special chips with instructions from the Republic headquarters. Each chip had a new instruction on what to clean up (along with fighting bad guys). It was fun and I had lots of help, for once!

december

This year December is gonna be a little different than usual.

For starters, I do not have any decoration up. Not yet, anyways. With the lack of snow (until today, yay!) I just haven't really felt like it was Christmas time. I can recall 3 years ago when we were already knee deep in snow. I think my decorations were up before Halloween that year.

No tree. WHAT!, you may ask? There really isn't any room for it this year. Our main room is a playroom/living room/library/family room/office/music room. No room around here. Maybe we need a stable? And besides, even if we did have room we would need a fence around it to keep Little Mo Peep out of it.

We are staying extra long. Usually we head west to Calgary as soon as school permits, but there are so many things that need to get done around here that we are gonna stay until the 22nd or 23rd. Properly flushing toilets and doors without holes are sort of important when you want to sell your house in the spring.

Festivus for the Rest-of-us! Normally I am too cheap to go and do anything fun, but with the possibility of this being our last year in Saskatoon, I want to make sure that we go to the Light Festival and drive through the Enchanted Forest. Anyone want to come along?

No baking etc. I love treats, but I also love smaller jeans (at least I can imagine that I would). This is the only way......

I do hope to get some sewing done. I have unfinished stockings and stockings to make that really should be taken care of... Levi is 5 now, and I think it is time he should have a stocking free of unfinished edges.

There are a few hampers I have been dreaming up for other people, and I am excited to get those done up. One of them is for Joy School and I hope the kids get at least a bit as excited about it as I am.

What does your December look like?