Keeping the Kidlets Busy

Take a Walk With Me

Brought my camera along with me as I walked to pick up the kids from school this afternoon.

We've had a string of grey and rainy days, so it was refreshing to see the sunshine and not having to bring an umbrella.



Here I am, looking a little like a Barbapapa in my 3/4 length coat.



How is it that I'm having my first tea of the day so late in the afternoon???



Once while passing this driftwood fence, Blaise looked up at me and said, "Mom, this fence is very old."



I absolutely love this beautiful row of houses.



One of the neighbourhood cats.

(The school bell rings and kitteh takes off running.)



My beauty and her saxophone, which she promptly asks if I'll carry.

(I do, and it's heavy.)



My boy proudly showing off the gourd he got from his teacher.



Crunchy leaves under our feet as we head home.

Beautiful breeze. Scents of leafy earth. Kids giggling. I'm comfy.



Thanks for following along on this happy, ordinary Fall day. :)

My Happy Place

Life has been a whirlwind lately.

We found out we're moving.

I was away at a conference for a week.

The kids were sick while I was away. Both of them.

Jason received a call to assist in Slave Lake for 5 days.

One kid was sick again just before he left.

We had a significant and symbolic Sunday Service while Jason was away.

We're still packing, packing and more packing.

And preparing for a garage sale.

The interior of our house is "in slings" as my Mom would say.

Boxes. Paper. Piles of stuff.

What to keep, to sell, to throw out.

Wondering if our new home has air conditioning as temps there hit 30 degrees today.

Trying to do all those "one last time" events that can only be experienced here in Alberta.

Book hotels for a 5 day journey through 4 provinces. By car. With 2 kids.
And 2 cats who haven't travelled since they were brought home as kittens.

The kids are asking lots of questions about our move. Mostly out of excitement, but there are a few anxious moments as well. Trying to make them a priority out of everything else that's going on.

Redirect mail. Cancel phone/cable/internet.

Process relocation paperwork. (And there's a lot of it!)

Arrange for carpets/furniture/ducts to be cleaned.

Battle allergies.

Goodbye breakfasts to attend. And lunches. And dinners.

(People have been so kind!)

Scheduling time for the kidlets to spend with their friends.

Inform the current school. Inform the new school.

Tie up loose ends. Personally. Professionally.

So I go to my happy place.


Well, not literally.

Not as in a location, but in the comfort and security that our family's trailer brings.

Because one day in the future, we will all be gathered at this trailer.

Amid the trees and sun and sand and lake.

Sandcastles, beach floaties, nature walks, BBQ suppers with pie irons for dessert.

Kids tucked into their sleeping bags each night, giggling while watching "The Little Rascals" (they're favourite camping series) until they drift off to sleep.

And Jason & I will be just outside by the romantic glow/scent of a campfire and citronella candles, sipping out of our ginormous camping mugs filled with tea or flavoured coffee.

Maybe then we can debrief about these past months of craziness.

About where we've been and where we're going.

Planning for the future. Praying.

Or maybe we'll just sit in silence and listen to the sweet sounds of nature at night.

But for now...

Back to today and its to-do's and the memories that they will once be.

Weekend Fun

My new favourite photo:


Love the colours in these pictures. Click to enlarge.


Good times, great weather, beautiful smiles.

Happy Mother's Day

After 15 years of the same old/same old,
I got a complete set of new everyday dishes for Mother's Day.

How June Cleaver of me to be happy over a gift like that!

But I did pick them out.

After having my eye on them for well over a month.

They have big mugs that I can't wait to have a cup of tea in.

I love my new dishes.

Okay, not looooove them.

But I definitely love these two characters...



Thank you, my sweet kidlets, for the incredible joy you bring to my life every day.

I'm SO proud of both of you!

And I'm so proud to be your Mommy.

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Happy Mother's Day to our Moms/Nannys/Grandmas!

We are blessed to have all of you in our lives.

Nightly Patience

A warm bath followed by fuzzy pj's, a sweet bedtime story, quiet chats about the day's events, snuggles and cuddles, prayers, and then the silence that follows as they drift merrily to SleepyLand.

I cherish this bedtime routine.

It calms me.

I, then, get to sit with my hubby and sip hot milky tea while we chat about our day's events, usually in the living room with only 1 lamp on for ambiance.

So peaceful.

So comforting.

But then there are most nights.

Multiple calls to get the children into their pj's.

"Brush your teeth!" for the 100th time.

Finally getting them settled into bed - sometimes a whole hour after after the initial bedtime call.

"I forgot to get a drink!"

"I forgot to get you to sign _____ for school!"

"I can't find Gravy!" (Gravy is a stuffed Lion. Don't ask.)

The bedtime story is rushed, if read at all due to time.

One child is caught playing with their Leapster, which they sneakily hid under their pillow.

The I love you's aren't said as tenderly as they should be.

After all, it's now almost 2 hours past their bedtime.

These are the evenings when I flop down on the couch once the silence of slumber has finally won the battle of the "I can't sleep" war and I feel I have earned the Worst Mommy of the Year award for not having more patience.

But I know my kidlets.

And I know that they don't do well outside of a solid sleep routine.

They're cranky and irritable. (Aren't we all when we lack sleep?)

So - a message to my children, in years to come when (hopefully) they'll be able to read the many, many words that their Mother has rambled in this blog:

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My Little Darlings,

Putting you to bed at the end of an energetic day (and they all are at this stage), is completely for your own good.

As your parents, we are trying to give you the best head start on the next day by ensuring you are well-rested.

You may not recall bedtime always being a peachy event in our household.

But the moments of the 1st scenerio in this post - that do occur from time to time - I am learning to savour as some of the best in my life.

And even when bedtime doesn't go so smoothly, I'm learning to take heart.

Because, eventually, I pop back into your rooms to check in on you both - and you are fast asleep.

With your angelic faces and long eyelashes and bare little toes and quiet breaths.

And I kiss your cheek or forehead (each one of you, every single night!) and thank God for giving wonderful you to Daddy and I.

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Praying for patience.

Image source.

So Funny

Every now and then in my blog-hopping ventures,
I find a post that makes me laugh so hard and relate to so vividly,
that I just have to share it.

Here's today's example:

Top 10 Reasons Why I Can't Decorate My House

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Image source.

Laundry

I have lots I'm hoping to accomplish today, and putting away the laundry pictured above is one of the items on my task list.

I took the liberty of cheering myself on with some good laundry quotes.

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“I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?”

- Author Unknown


“Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour.”

- Author Unknown


“Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.”

- Jerry Seinfeld


"I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby."

- Nancie J. Carmody

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Happy Tuesday!

Happiness

So stop waiting until you finish school,
until you go back to school,
until you lose ten pounds,
until you gain ten pounds,
until you have kids,
until your kids leave the house,
until you start work,
until you retire,
until you get married,
until you get divorced,
until Friday night,
until Sunday morning,
until you get a new car or home,
until your car or home is paid off,
until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter,
until you are off welfare,
until the first or fifteenth,
until your song comes on,
until you've had a drink,
until you've sobered up,
until you die,
until you are born again
to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy...

Author Unknown

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Image source.

Today's Special

"I hope Bria stays faithful to God all the days of her life,
because I don't think I want to be in Heaven if she isn't there."

- Doug Butt (Bria's Poppy)

March Break

Posts may be few and far between this week, as our kidlets are off school on March Break.

So far they've had a pyjama day, where they basically flaked out on the couch watching "Shark Boy & Lava Girl" 4 or 5 times in a row. Today, we're hoping to take them to a matinee. The weather has been icky - very overcast and the snow that's left is more like white ice. Going outside to play hasn't been very fun. Hoping to go for a walk when the sun eventually comes out, as the forecast is predicting.

Can't believe April is just around the corner. Yay!

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Image source.

Last Game

Team "Sharks" and The Blaiserbeam
had their last game of the season this past weekend.

Cheers
to all the fun, new friendships and memories made over the past 6 months!

Cheers
to finally getting to sleep in on Saturday mornings!

Great job, Bear.

Growing Up

My baby girl will turn nine in a few weeks.

But, it's easy for me to forget all that when I look back at pictures like these.


Here she is at three and a half.

We spent a portion of tonight filling out invitations to her birthday party so that she can hand them out at school tomorrow.

I remember all the birthday parties of years gone by and her excitement over each one.


Some have been spent with family, others with school friends.

Always lots of pictures taken.

(I'm a little obsessed that way.)


Each year I get sentimental over another year passing.

I hum "Slipping Through My Fingers",
and weep thanks to Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia.


(This photo above? She still makes that face.)

We've made a lot of wonderful memories in only 9 years.

Each stage she goes through is amazing with new experiences
and lessons learned.

And the same goes for me, as I have one year left before motherhood of a "tween" officially begins, and I continue with my (sometimes) struggle to let go a little more each year.


"A daughter is a bundle of firsts that excite and delight, giggles that come from deep inside and are always contagious, everything wonderful and precious and your love for her knows no bounds."
-- Barbara Cage

Love you, my girlie. xoxo

Spring Things

Sabourin ramblings peppered with beautiful pics
that speak to me of Spring.


On Monday, we reached a high of +7 which has resulted in lots of melted snow and squeals of utter delight by fellow Albertans.

Our kids are very excited about going to see a play on Friday through their school.

I'm annoying my Hubby right now by chewing ice.
I like to chew ice.
He does not like it when I chew ice.
I've just stopped.
It's all good.


My Hubby is competing in the Provincial Shotokan Karate competition on Saturday.

I will not chew ice while he is competing.

Bria received a certificate today for scoring 100% in the school Spell-a-Thon.


I'm excited about trying a few new recipes.
Will post pics when I do.

My Cricut machine is broken.
I'm waiting on a brand new replacement.
Provocraft has been very accommodating.
I miss the creativity that I could be doing right now with it, tho.

I'm finding the month of March to be very whiney and irritable for me.

On a high note, Starbucks has cakepops.
I recommend Rocky Road if you're finding yourself in need of a chocolate fix.

Our kids are off in another week for March Break.
I don't have any plans for them yet.
(I'd better get on that.)


Thinking about subscribing to Netflix.
Any comments - yay or nay?

I recently bought the kids Easter outfits with Christmas gift cards.
Good deals at The Children's Place right now.
(If this were Twitter, I'd type #swag)

Our cats are psychotic.
This is a whole blog post on its own.

Hubby is singing Let Your Backbone Slide by Maestro Fresh Wes while practicing his "heian nidan" for Saturday.
(I think I'll chew some more ice...)

My glass of water is now empty (literally and metaphorically) and I'm off to bed.

Happy Soon-2-B Spring!

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Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4.