I read a quote the other day. I cant remember where I saw it, but in light of the recent snowstorm it got me thinking!

“There is no bad weather, just bad clothes!”

This is VERY true, isn’t it? I unfortunately am one of those people who won’t go out in the rain unless I absolutely MUST! I don’t know if it’s because I think I’ll melt, or because I know what the rain does to my hair, or simply for the fact that I don’t like the feeling of wet pant legs sticking to my calves!

This quote makes sense though. As a person living in southern British Columbia, I need to start living with the rain instead of hiding from it, otherwise I will never be as active as I want to be. I would much prefer to walk outdoors rather than be in a dimly lit gym painted in horrible colours staring out the rain streaked window at the passing cars. However,when the time comes and the rain is falling, my brain comes up with every excuse in book to not go outside. I’d like to say that these are the days that I grab my water bottle and towel and head to the gym to use the treadmill, but lets be realistic here shall we?! If there is anything I dislike more than the rain it’s the rec center here in Hope. Many of the people that frequent it have no gym etiquette and its full of old creaky dirty machines and rusty dumbbells. Ugh!

I have decided to take heed of this wonderful quote. I am planning to buy a pair of rainproof pants and pull out my rain jacket and throw on a hat and start hitting the pavement. Once I’m out there I enjoy myself, it’s just getting out there that is the challenge :)

“Carpe ‘pluvius’ diem” ~ ”Seize the rainy day!”

Things are FINALLY starting to feel back to normal! Joshua has been back to school since Monday. He is feeling a lot better and finally eating more again :) It frustrates me how some kids can be. His first day back to school a boy in his class felt it was necessary to tell him that he sounded like a girl. I was SO frustrated. Joshua was already bothered by his new voice and kept saying he sounded weird. He was just finally beginning to forget about it until he went to school :( Home-schooling is so tempting sometimes. Especially when I think of how badly bullying screwed me up!

Now that Joshua is back in school I am starting to get back into a routine. I have been craving going for walks and moving around some more. Not to mention the many cupboards I want to organize and the many boxes I need to go through!

This weekend is going to be so much fun! I am so looking forward to it! My Mom and I are driving down to the Americas to spend the weekend with my sister and Olive!

This weekend will consist of: My adorable neice, painting nurseries, laughing, decorating, walking to the town center, shopping, steak crustini and family time :)

My goose-bump has turned a nice shade of yellow… This excites me because it means it’s going away! Yay! It is probably the dorkiest injury I have ever had, other than the time I accidentally got my finger tip stuck in the fan of a blow dryer puncturing the tip beyond repair!

Who says housework isn’t dangerous? Mark and I were working on re-doing Joshua’s room this past weekend. Mark was vacuuming the floor and the puppy (who turns into a lunatic when the vacuum is running) started chasing it like a nutcase. He decided it would be a good idea to clamp his insanely strong little jaws onto the metal bar part of the machine. Mark proceeded to use all of his force to lift the puppy up into the air while clamped onto the vacuum pipe. He wanted to see how strong Sparrow really is. I did not realize that this is what he was trying to do and proceeded to reach over and unlock the dogs jaw. (Thinking Mark was trying to get him to let go.) Just as I released his jaw Mark pulled up with all his strength and @#$wham^%$!!! Metal pipe to the face! I dropped like frickin Humpty Dumpty!

I have never been hit in the face, other than when Joshua was very young and used to bump my nose with his head…I cried like a little baby and thanked God that I was never a fighter because shots to the face effing hurt! LOL. The pipe hit right over my eyebrow and diagonally across my cheekbone. I am SO thankful that it missed my nose by millimeters! I definitely would have ended up with a broken schnozz!

Needless to say, I have learned my lesson. I will never use a vaccuum again.. they’re dangerous! I always knew housework was bad for your health!

Don’t be fooled by the innocent little smile! There is an evil beast lurking within!

Wow.. it has been a draining couple of days! We have been waiting for the past 5 months for Joshua to get his tonsils and adenoids out, as well as get his tongue tie snipped. Thursday was the big day!

Joshua didn’t really understand what was about to happen to him, so he wasn’t nervous. All he knew was that the Dr was going to put a mask over his mouth and he would wake up and his tonsils would be gone. We got to the hospital at 9am for check in. His surgery was scheduled for 10:30. The nursing staff at Chilliwack Hospital was great! They were so friendly and thankfully everything was on schedule. Joshua got all gowned up and we watched kids TV in the waiting room while we waited to be called.

At 10:30 on the dot the nurse called his name. My heart had been pounding all morning accompanied by an extremely nauseous tummy :( It was time.. we sat down with the anesthesiologist and answered some questions. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t think that anyone was allowed in the OR, but they asked me if I wanted to go in with Joshua and hold his hand while he went under. I was so relieved because I couldn’t imagine leaving him at the door. I would have been worried that he would be so scared going in alone :( The nurse warned me that when he finally reached the “sleepy” state he would start to panic and thrash around etc.. she said it was perfectly normal and it happens to everyone, but that he wouldn’t be conscious a this point (this was news to me.)

I held Joshua’s hand as we walked into the OR. He wasn’t showing any signs of nervousness yet. He looked so small and skinny in his gown and hat. The nurse told him to climb up on the table. He laid on his back looking up at the ceiling. The room was so cold and stark. That’s when his nerves kicked in. It was so difficult heartbreaking to see him lying there. He was trying so hard to be brave. He stared up at me with his big brown eyes (tearing my heart out) and I smiled at him and held his hand. He smiled back at me, but tears started welling up in the corners of his eyes. They started spilling over and running down the sides of his face. It was literally killing me! Silent crying is so heartbreaking! It took everything I had to not start crying in front of him, but I didn’t want to scare him anymore than he already was. They held the mask over his face and he breathed in and out …..and then the part the nurse warned me about happened.

It was the WORST thing I have ever had to go through with Joshua! It looked like he was having an epileptic seizure! He was lying there quietly then next thing I knew he was arching his back and his eyes were bulging out of his head and rolling back. His hands were like claws and he was gasping. The memory of it is traumatizing :P I started backing away and the nurse said “No Mom, stay with him.” I was just worried I was in the way. It was so hard to see, but the fact that it made it easier on Joshua made it all worth it. The Dr walked me to the waiting room and said it would be about 45 minutes.

The time went surprisingly quick. A nurse came and told me he was in recovery and that I could see him. I don’t know why, but I didn’t think that he would be in such rough shape. The nurse told me that as he woke up he had tried to breathe through his nose, but it was full of blood from the surgery. He started to panic and by the time I got there he was sobbing and hyperventilating and making weird honking noises. He was inconsolable. He kept saying his tongue was itchy because it was frozen with local anesthesia. He kept trying to scratch his tongue out of his mouth. He was sooo thirsty, but they couldn’t give him anything yet. The nurse gave him a sedative and finally after a half hour he had calmed down. Its so hard seeing your child like that. I can not imagine what parents of chronically ill children go through. To have to be in hospitals on a regular basis and see their children go through this on a regular basis. They must be superhuman. Finally he was able to have a Popsicle which helped quench his thirst.

We were moved into a day care room with a DVD player. We had to stay another 4 hours.. UGH We watched “All Dogs Go To Heaven”, “Milo and Otis” and part of “Toy Story” time draaagged. We finally got to go home around 5 o’clock. Now hes on his 4th round of antibiotics since December 1st (and hopefully last).

Its been a tough couple of days for him. He wont eat anythign. He has had a half a bowl of Kraft Dinner and a popsicle. Hes going to wither away to nothing! The Tylenol doesnt seem to be helping :( It worries me because the Dr said the 3rd to 5th day are he worst for pain. I guess we will see how it goes. I will just spoil him with snuggles and kisses. I am happy elated that this is over for the most part! I hope he never needs another hospital visit for a very long time!

I am feeling super emotional today :( My little baby Boo Boo has to go in for surgery tomorrow! He is getting his tonsils and adenoids removed as well as getting his tongue tie snipped. I know its a routine procedure and everything will come out perfectly fine, but I am sick to my stomach thinking about how I am going to feel when they wheel him away on his hospital bed! I know I’m going to be a blubbering fool! I wonder how his voice will sound when its all done? He has had gigantic tonsils for years and his voice has never sounded clear, like he has marbles in his mouth. I am looking forward to being able to understand him!

I made the mistake of looking at his younger pictures in my Facebook albums. Maybe its my frazzled nerves about the surgery..or the fact that I have been dying for another baby and have been unsuccessful at making one over the last 5 months.. but I totally choked up! I just stared at his dimply little face and his big chubby cheeks! He looked so innocent and squishy! I remember the way he talked back then. Everything he said ended up sounding like a question :)

I am pretty sure I had the strangest, but most adorable little boy on the planet! He spent every weekday of his first few years with Grandma while I was at work. This created an obsession with cleaning! He was OBSESSED with vacuums! He even got a handheld Dyson for his 3rd Christmas and he was so happy elated! It beat out all of the toys for his favorite gift! I remember waking up one day when he was just about 4. He was standing at the side of my bed in his tighty whitey’s beaming a giant grin at me! “Come see what I did Mommy!” My heart fell into my stomach! Being a heavy sleeper I was afraid of what I was going to find as I followed him out to the living room! My fear turned to laughter when I saw that he had slid the couch, love seat, end tables, coffee tables and 6 foot fake tree into the kitchen and rolled up the 5x7 rug and moved it into the kitchen as well. He had then proceeded to sweep and Swiffer Wet-Jet the ENTIRE laminate floor! He was so proud, it was awesome

Another one of Joshuas obsessions was mowing the lawn. He would get so upsetirate if we showed up at “Gwumpa’s” house and the grass was already cut. Joshua and Grandpa are best buds) I loved watching him holding the lawn mower handle with Grandpa and do the whole front and back yard.

The oddest obsessions of my little guy was when he would carry a tin of Tim Hortons coffee around all day long. He would sniff it and close it back up, take it to the dinner table with him. Then there was the jeans fetish. He would carry around a pair of his jeans like a blanky..lol he would sleep with them and everything. If you tried to take them away all hell would break loose!

It kills me that he is going to be seven in April! I miss my baby. I wish so hard that I can have another one soon so that I can enjoy my little big man and get a baby fix all at the same time. It needs to happen! I need some new cheeks to squeeze and to smell that powdery baby smell.. its killing me!

He is growing up way too fast! I miss my little chubby cheeked, big lipped boy with his dimples and soft curls :(

Well, four and a half months have passed since I decided to start blogging again! I had intentions to do it regularly because my sister has an amazing blog that I absolutely enjoy , make that CRAVE, reading on a daily basis! I actually get agitated when there is nothing new there for me to read!

I have been hesitant to blog because my mind thinks “Why would anyone want to see into your head? Why would anyone be interested in anything you have to say?” At first I listened to my mind, but now I am blocking out the negative talk. I really dont care if anyone ends up reading this at all! It will serve as an excellent journal to look back and reflect on the things we do and the changes we make!

When I logged in and read the first and only entry that I have written in this new blog of mine, I felt a bit like a failure procrastinator! I don’t even remember writing about all of these things I wanted to try! I have pretty much done none of what I had planned. Lack of confidence has kept me from trying my hand at furniture creating. Lack of the need to stuff my face with the extra calories from sweets has kept me from baking..

Its crazy.. I am lucky enough to be a stay at home Mom, but it feels like there is still no time in the day! With the recent addition of a furry little child to the family, it seems time is even more sparse. I knew a puppy would involve some work.. I just didn’t realize how much! Hes a sweet pup though, we named him Sparrow because most of our menagerie have names that have to do with nature… River, Rocky, Badger, Bug… He is a Pit Bull, Lab, Shar Pei cross and he is FULL of piss and vinegar!

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to use my time more wisely. The last three weeks I am happy to say I have been doing a pretty good job of it! I am finally getting into a good routine of balancing my time between dealing with the puppy, cleaning, prepping meals, going for walks and exercising, and spending quality time with Joshua reading,colouring and using play-dough etc. Its a great feeling! Now I feel like I need to start making time to try something new! I still want to try my hand at making simple furniture pieces. I also have the desire to start learning about landscaping and gardening so I can make our yard a beautiful paradise that we can spend a lot of time in this coming Spring and Summer!

On that note, I better get off of the computer and get something done! The sun has peeked out just for me today! I better take advantage of it!

Today is my little man’s first full day of elementary school!

Part of me is feeling the loss of my “baby”. The other part of me is jumping for joy! Imagine the possibilities! I can maintain a clean house, start a new blog, go to the gym, bake cookies! I am also feeling obligated to start a new hobby. After all, I now have a bit of free time to fill!

A friend of mine showed me a website that I find really inspiring. It was created by a stay at home mom who decided to try her hand at woodworking. She maps out the projects step by step and makes you feel like “Hey! I can DO this!” The furniture she creates is beautiful! I want to try to build the Farmhouse Bed.I think it’s gorgeous! It is just so out of my comfort zone to attempt something like this, but I am going to do it! Maybe not right away, but I WILL attempt it in the near future! It would feel like such an accomplishment to look at the finished product and say “I BUILT THIS”  I am really looking forward to trying new things and making use of my child free days :)

The rain is holding off so I think I will head out for a walk in the crisp autumn air. I LOVE fall with a passion. It is my absolute favorite season. I often forget that fact during the summer when everyone has sun kissed skin and everything smells like coconut. Then the first day of school rolls around and you can suddenly smell the autumn in the air. The sky is a more brilliant blue, the breeze has a little bite to it. I can not wait for the leaves to begin their change into crimson and yellow crunchiness :) *sigh*

Enjoy your day! I’m going to!