The Sick Wars

At the end of last week I had really started to feel a bit of a cold coming on. All weekend I tried to ignore it and went about my business. Obviously my determination alone would keep the sickness at bay, I would not give in to a weakness like this. I'm tough like that. 

Fast forward to Tuesday, Ben is gone to a conference for two days, Aubrey has school/dance, our house has no food, and I am in need of a doctor. Since I am clearly superwoman I arranged for my Mom to pick Aubrey up from school, dashed into Red Deer to a walkin, got a prescription for a sinus infection (F*$#), whipped through the grocery store, got Aubrey picked up then dropped off again at dance, then ran about making a gourmet (ok it was chill) dinner for my family.   And don't you worry I did this all with a big smile and super happy….

Fast forward again to tonight. It's now been almost three days of meds and I feel worse. All day I have felt the weakness that is a sinus infection take me over. Surprisingly this has decreased my mood slightly. 

Then on top of it all BEN starts in with a man-cold. First it was a few texts telling me he wasn't feeling great. These generally followed a text where I told him I didn't feel well. I had a lot of time on my hands today, the girls were easy peasy, but this left time to stew. Jump ahead now to Ben  walking in the door…"oh man hon I don't feel good…" sniffle, sniffle, cough cough. 

This is where my eyes narrowed, breathing became a bit rapid, my head snapped up from my super non-geeky crocheting, "Quit trying to steal my sick-thunder Ben!".  He laughed. He actually laughed at me like this was a joke.  

Then he started in on questions about how my sinus infection started, "did it feel like this…" "did you have a runny nose…".  The eyes narrowed further, this guy was obviously not getting my irritation. "Ben you have a cold, I have an infection which is obviously worse. Quit trying to be sicker than me!"  Then I walked myself to the bath and told him to enjoy making supper :)

Week #4 of Life at Home

This year I am making my countdown towards thirty. I'm not sure how I skipped from being 21 to almost 30…but I did. After my 29th Birthday Ben and I had in-depth conversation about what this year could look like. We usually do this together after each others birthdays.  For me I knew I needed to work my way out of some ruts, but also learn to push through discomforts. 

Pushing through discomfort is a really big thing for me. I have based many choices (more than I care to admit) on the fact that I may be uncomfortable, embarrassed, fail, the list goes on and on.  

Now I am a bit over 6 months away from my Birthday only to realize I have been half assin' this promise to myself.  Thankfully January has been different. This month Ben and I have made decisions about our family, I've joined an amazing circuit training class, and push myself in personal growth everyday. 

AND get this, last week I started crocheting. My sisters and I like to mispronounce it, say it more phonetically, you know to make it still sound like we have some coolness left in us and that it's just a geeky thing we thought we would try. But I, the girl who was given 'special projects' in Home-ec instead of sewing because I was so terrible, am a crocheter!  

Just imagine what next month could bring!

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Character... (and week #3 of pics)

I love books. I love movies. The characters I tend to really love are ones with characteristics I wish were stronger in me. So living in my bubble I assumed it must be like that for all people. Until my children came along and kind of upset my thinking. 

See, Aubrey fell in love with the character of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Well the problem with that is, she kind of is like Belle. I read a character description of Belle tonight and it describes Aubrey quite well.  

Then I thought maybe Aubs is just weird and it was a fluke for her. Until this last week. Elise had a rough week, sick, teething, all that fun kind of stuff. In desperation one day I got out the iPad, showed her three options of movies, she picked Brave.  I didn't think much of it then. Until she sort of became obsessed. She asks at least a dozen times a day for a 'yo' (thats how she says show). Finally I went and bought her a book about Merida, which seems to mildly satisfy the addiction. 

This is her 'Mom pleeeease a yo?!' pose.

I kid you not, the description I read of Merida could easily be written about Elise. Now I kind of feel in a dither. 

Fine I'll read a book.

Where along the way did I step off the track? Or maybe I stepped on the track, one that so many people do.  As i think back to some of the characters I really love in books and movies, I feel like the qualities I admire in them (yes you can admire a fictional character) are ones I maybe had and lost along the way. Probably due to the fact I spent a large majority of my time worrying that I fit in, or didn't draw too much attention to myself, or was terrified I would fail miserably at life in general. 

As I inch closer and closer to my 30th birthday I realize how ridiculous I have been. Wasting time worrying about most things out of my control.  So, maybe the next step is to step off the track and see where it takes me….

Week #2

Aubrey and Elise are big story tellers. The imagination that sparks out of them each day never stops surprising me.  One minute I can be watching a ballet about a girl who wants to go to a grand ball, the next it's a story of magic that most people can only dream of. 

Before I had Elise (also while she was an infant), I used to do a lot of painting projects with Aubrey. Once Elise was old enough to participate it came to a quick end. Elise was has a lot more spunk than Aubs did at that age. A painting project meant spending an hour getting it off my chairs, walls, garbage can, her hair, face, legs, I think you get the picture. 

This week I decided it was time to branch out and try again. I am so glad I did. Elise loved every minute of it, she even ended with barely any on her. And Aubrey created stories with her paintings in a whole new way. 

Aubrey has a really great story about her painting. In the end it was an Angel who was guiding three golden stars. Actually I am not doing the story justice, she explained it all to Ben when he got home, luckily he caught it on video :)

Lisey really thought that painting was hilarious. She finished in about ten minutes, then sat there eating a cookie chattering away at me. 

Elise and I have two hours, twice a week where it is just her and I. During our time alone we do a lot of reading, snuggling, playing with dollies. It's all very exciting especially when you don't have to worry about sharing!

I kept trying to talk to her while taking this picture, she got very frustrated and told me "shhhhh, baby night!". Which obviously means 'lady be quiet my baby is sleeping'!

The look she gives me when she doesn't like an answer I give her ;)

Week #1

I was looking for a way to make sure I kept my camera out this year. Last year I found that I would go hard, then not touch it for a month. So, I decided that I needed a plan. I looked around at some of the 52 week challenges but was not keen on taking on a theme each week. Instead I am doing my own thing. 

Every week i will be posting either a picture or pictures that show a week in our life. It will definitely be a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. Hope you are all prepared :)

Week #1....Fun in the snow!

The girls waiting on Lukey to shovel a path. 

Such good buddies. 

Finally in!

“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix