hello monday

hello monday...

hello bright early morning [meaning spring is COMING SOON = happy dance]

hello random accidents that test my patience...

hello the memory of last night's visit with a faraway friend & her lil man [along with lil man snuggles = precious!]

hello 22 week mark come and gone...

hello full tummy from mom's group this morning...

hello great group of ladies to chat & learn more about at said mom's group

hello naptime - i am going to take FULL advantage of you.

hello again monday. how is yours?

Following and liking

Just putting a shout out to all those blog followers... do you mind clicking follow on the right hand side if you don't already?!? --------->
Also, another blog that I write at the Tiny TreeHugger blog, a follow there would be great too!!
One last request - can you like Tiny TreeHugger on Facebook too? Thanks so much!!
I usually 'follow back' too so if you read/comment and I don't follow you, let me know ;)

Answered

The other day I asked if you have any questions and now I will answer them :)

Lori from In*His*Hands asks me: What are some of your big dreams?
I am a HUGE dreamer so this is an awesome question. For one, I know it takes a lot of hard work & $$ to put some of my dreams into action so they will stay that way, just dreams, at least for now. My babies are young [and so am I!] so I am not in a rush to do anything big...

One dream - to own a coffee shop of my own. In the back corner could be Tiny TreeHugger's shop and on one side can be a gated play area for the kids to run around and the mom's & dad's can sit on tall stools around it to keep an eye on their kiddies and just try to enjoy their coffee or frappucino...

Another dream - to get country property so my kids can have the space they need to run around and not worry about a car driving by too fast running them over... We would have some chickens, cows, a few quads & a hot tub & pool. Something like that.

Andrea from Lifesong asks me:
What is your biggest regret?
No regrets. Many mistakes along my journey but all of that led to this day. And this day has ROCKED.

What are your Top 10 favorite board/card games?
1 - Quelf, 2 - Cribbage, 3 - Rummy 500, 4 - 21, 5 - Blokus, 6 - Backgammon, 7 - Kings in the Corner, 8 - Big Boss Little Boss, 9 - Salad, 10 - Mexican Train.

What is your favorite kind of cookie?
Monster Cookies

What are your Top 10 favorite TV shows?
1 - Big Bang Theory, 2 - General Hospital, 3 - Ellen, 4 - Off the Map, 5 - Survivor, 6 - Big Brother, 7 - Friends, 8 -  sometimes Desparate Housewives, 9 - sometimes Grey's Anatomy and 10 - sometimes How I Met Your Mother. I honestly only have about 5 shows set to record each week so this is a tough question for me!

Who is your biggest Hollywood crush?
Brad Pitt, Gerard Butler, Keith Urban [he's country but Hollywood too since he's married to Nicole Kidman] & James Franco.

What is your favorite kind of sandwich?
Quizno's Chicken Alfredo with a bit of extra sauce. YUM.

What time do you usually go to bed on weekdays? On weekends?
Depends, lately it is between 10 & 11, but on weekends could be 12 or as late as 2ish.

Melissa from Simply Sweet Sydney asks me:
Who inspires you?
Jesus. I want to be more and more like Him everyday. He was the most perfect human ever created, THAT'S inspiring.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
With all four of my babies in school! Honestly, by then, either with a super successful business or on my way into the school system like how I originally dreamed many years ago [although not to be a teacher, but to be an Educational Assistant]... there I go dreaming again!

If you could live anywhere, where would you choose?
Ideally in a nice warm sunny place where I would have to travel many hours during winter break to have that *white christmas* and to bring all my family and close friends there [to the warm sunny place]. But in reality since that will never happen, would LOVE to live in the country close to hear but not any further from the city...

What is your favorite memory?
That first kiss on my cheek from the husband that made me think *hmmm this could turn into something more than just a friendship!!

What was the best book you ever read?
Bible. All other books flood together and it's hard to choose any other one!

What is your worst personality trait, and your best?
Jealous/envy/grudge holding... Forgiving, faithful, loving...

What do you treasure most?
Material item - my laptop [it's my connection to the outside world & many friends & family & my work!!] Not so material item I treasure most - my relationship with Jesus and my family...

Have your read the bible cover to cover, and if so what is your favorite book in the bible?
Not exactly. More like in bits and pieces but I am following along with the same Bible in a Year Reading as this blog. Only a week behind which will catch up soon if I keep reading twice as much each day! My fave book [today - because it very well could change...] has got to be Proverbs.

wordless[ish] wednesday

love catching moments like this when boy3 sits down all by himself with a book :)

Ask Me

A few lady bloggers I read once in a while are asking their readers if they have an questions for them. So I am going to join in and ask YOU too. Do you have any questions you want to ask me? Go ahead. Ask! I will answer in another post...

What if we believe we have all we need?

This recent A Holy Experience post spoke to me. Go read it...

" The needs of our day are great but our God is Greater." - Ann V.

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8)

things i've learned

some random things I learned this weekend...

~ five in one room is REALLY difficult for me. especially when boy3 is sick & feverish, boy1 sleeping beside boy3's playpen and complaining about the noise/crying, but boy2 slept through it all - until i grabbed milk/water for boy1&3 then boy2 wanted water too... it was a loooooong night.

~ american's have automatic offsides [ie no chance for players to come back across the blue line, if the puck goes in and the players are offside, whistle blows - don't worry I didn't understand offsides until a few years ago so I don't expect you to understand what I just said!]

~ american teams we have played against tend to play the body first before the puck aka they are ROUGH.

~ young refs need help and cannot possibly see all that goes on during a game, and it sure looks lopsided when we get the most penalties...

~ I have NO pity for the husband who stays up with the other hockey parents/dads until 2am. I love my sleep & know I will not function normally if I don't get my sleep, so I went to bed by 10!

~ it is not wise to try to have a decent sit down meal with a sick, cranky, tired toddler.

~ it IS wise to take your time strolling in target with a boy[1] while the rest of the fam are in the van, either napping or waiting on their promised cappucino and nibs...

~ again - VERY wise to take your time strolling whilst kid free in the non canadian store especially when the perfect birthday gift for a far away friend...

~ no cooking all weekend is GLORIOUS and I should really make that happen more often...

~ advil does wonders for sick & feverish toddlers. by mid morning he was active & running around like normal...

~ you can get quite the workout in the pool holding the squirmy fish like almost two year old!

~ continental breakfast with waffles are an awesome start to the day... paired with coffee and yummy sausages.

~impatient parents in the continental breakfast line behind me are annoying, especially when they try to cut in ahead and are on the opposing team smack talking us. [then proceed to lose against us later! ha! so there...]

~ 1/2 hr or NO naps are not long enough for boy2&3's busy day...

~ it's great to get away, but it's just as great to come home...

All in all, our extended long weekend was great though not quite over yet! Looking forward to enjoying Louis Riel Day [Manitoba's Feb long weekend!] with family :)

[PS boy1 won two of their three games and got a silver medal! they all had fun and will go into playoffs with their heads held high! best of 3 start Tuesday...]

1000 gifts

time to reflect on the 1000+ gifts we have been blessed with since last time...

recorded shows to keep a boring evening interesting....

kitty cuddles...

freshly clean diapers...

fast forwarding thru commercials...

pause...

fully functional camera that captures moments that may be forgotten...

no plans on a stormy blustery evening...

learning to interpret new words an almost two year old speaks to you...

['sit' in toddler terms is actually 'sit' unlike preschooler terms 'fit']

a delicious valentine's dinner enjoyed by all 5 of us with barely a bite left over...

 our canteloupe who's heartbeat boy2&3 & I heard earlier this week...

after much patience an ultrasound date to see this little one.

warm days that make you forget it's still winter...

inhaler's that do their work when they need to.

cancelled playdates that bring more cuddles with sick boys & much needed naps.

indie biz starting up with business stories!

dreams of growing [not just my girth]... and continuing to learn.

[#93-109] more gifts here.

there's only one...

Lord, You are my Prince of Peace
But this war brings me to my knees
See, there's a table You've prepared
And all my enemies are there
But where my Shepherd leads
Where else can I go?
Who else fills my cup 'til it overflows?
There's only One who never fails... 

God's Design

[wordless-ish wednesday]
after yesterday's all or nothing post, it's time for something a little more light hearted... this was on the neigbour's snowbank after some wind had it's way with the exposed dirt... with as much snow as we have had so far this winter I am amazed that there is any dirt showing at all in our yards! but of course, after the last few warm days I see more 'mud' patches... a promise of a wet and muddy spring on its way!

we are battling another round of boy2 being sick. he seems to get the worst of it with coughing fits, fevers, inhalers and hard work breathing... it's trying at times when he needs a bit more attention, then boy3 feels left out and decides to get into trouble again and again. feels like a winner for the greatest mommy award again. my kids don't usually get into things like that!! but he has proved me wrong. oy.

I'm a wreck. Emotional.
I cry at any [awkward] situation lately. In church. Sitting here at the computer. Even reading a touching story by another blogger who is watching her grandfather die...
And I cry when I don't want others to see me crying.
A friend is going through something unimaginable today.
Another friend is hurting because she is having to play the waiting game. Make that two friends waiting, no there's more than two...
Yet another friend is, ...well ...I'm not sure, because she more than likely doesn't want to talk about it and I don't know how to ask in an appropriate way.
So tears stream down my face.
I pray for those hurting and in need of it.
I know the suffering of others won't last forever but the here and right now HURTS. I pray for them to be comforted... I pray that I can be there for them if & when needed... I pray that they can keep taking one day at a time, one step, one moment...
And I cry because I hate seeing others in so much pain...
And I blog about it so that you might pray.

Chicken Soup Stock

I have a freezer full of a few chickens & a turkey. It doesn't stop at just cooking them to eat. It is totally worth it to make your own chicken stock! Good for soups & replaces the powdered chicken OXO that is full of who knows what...

This is what it looks like doing it's thing in the pot...

All you need is:
Bones from 1 cooked chicken [okay to have some meat on it too!]
Enough water to cover the carcass of the chicken.
2-3 Bay leaves
Pepper & Salt to taste
2-3 Carrots, peeled
1 Onion, peeled
2-3 stalks of celery
optional - savory, parsley

Throw it all into your pot to bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours. You can also put all of this into your crockpot on low for 8 hours or overnight. Let cool and put in fridge overnight. Separate the bones and veggies from the stock juice. Discard the bay leaves. You can puree the veggies and mix into the stock juice or as I did last time, I chopped them up to put into our homemade chicken noodle soup! I put into 1 cup containers to freeze and use when needed...

Linking up with:

lil tidbit...

noticed someone googled funk rock review & landed on my website so i did too and THIS POST is on page TWO! [the bottom of page two but whatever...] still cool either way :)

kinda makes my day! just like how monday was a super awesome day, so many things about it. everything for the most part went smooth... hmmm but then today - well it just didn't start off so well. something to do with a certain almost two year old thinking the kitty litter box was a sandbox. ew. nuf said. mother of the day awarded here for that one.

wordless wednesday

wordless wednesday

i am absolutely in love with this shot...
[19 weeks]

with one change...

with one change comes many others...

one small step for man... one GIANT leap for this mamma to three [almost four]

THIS POST HERE is what the fork in the road was about.

the biz [Tiny TreeHugger] we have been working on for two whole years is about to change. change from TWO Pams to ONE Pam. to be exact - this Pam - me.

one direction in the road was to both sell and move on, the other direction was to keep it as my own - and so i chose the latter... kind of goes with my word of the year because this will be NEW to me, a NEW direction.

so life will get busier. but i am so excited to see where this is going to go, and how it's going to go... and how we are going to make this work for us... but no matter what happens i am going to have this lil ole blog to fall back on, AND i have a God that is going to walk me through this step by step by step, and awesome friends to pour my heart out over coffee with, and continuing this business & making it grow is just a great bonus :)

and so the journey begins!

Mango & football

Two weeks ago, our baby in utero was the size of an onion.

Last week the baby was the size of a sweet potato [18 weeks]...

And this week, at 19 weeks - apparently baby is the size of a mango!

[both photos from here]

It's is pretty interesting knowing just how big this being is inside me... and can't wait until the moment we get to see his/her on the ultrasound screen [hopefully soon! because we don't have a date for that yet]. Before we do go I think I will put up a poll to see your guess if it's boy or girl!

Anyone partaking in Superbowl festivities today? We are happy that it works out after boy1's tournament to head out to a friends to watch [well reality is that the boys watch the game and the girls watch the kids & play games... QUELF here we come!]

beautiful blue

thursday there was the most gorgeous beautiful blue sky in the afternoon on our way home...

it honestly took my breath away [and then all but an hour later was covered by clouds again!]

 

and i think i really need to find a different layout to make my pictures bigger! doesn't do them justice to have them so small...

indie business 3.0

i am SO excited to announce the continuation of my plan to NEVER.STOP.LEARNING.

i am taking indie business workshop!
taught by Leigh-Ann of Freckled Nest [also local pegger]
& Lisa of Lisa Leonard Designs [linked to her before, she has an awesome blog & creates amazing hand stamped jewelry]
& Jill of Lune Vintage [another pegger!]
super excited to learn more and just see the areas where Tiny TreeHugger [and any other parts of my business life] can grow, improve & just be BETTER :)

if your interested check this out or click the button above!

L.I.G.

Letting it go...

This can be taken so many ways...

A while back I attended the funeral of an older man from our past church and it was unfortunate, but that was when I actually learned more about him than I had when he was alive. He left a legacy for his wife, children, grandchildren, many friends and acquaintances.  Most importantly, he changed his life from what it once was and looked towards Jesus and called Him his Saviour and friend.

One point he wanted to stress before he passed on, is to LET IT GO. What was in the past is in the past and stays there. You may not always forget it but in order to fully move on, you must let it go.

To me, this means not dwelling on the mistakes that have been made. Ask for forgiveness, then move on. It means leaving those people in the past who have not kept up their side of the relationship, in the past. Moving on. Letting it go.

Another great lesson he passed onto his children - NEVER.STOP.LEARNING. He went back to school after retirement and got his Masters Degree! He didn't slow down even in his end days...

This is a great legacy to leave and I am striving to make this part of my life.
To NOT.GIVE.UP.
To NEVER.STOP.LEARNING.
& to LET.IT.GO.

& as I learned lately from smartwomaninstitute.com ...

be scared and DO IT ANYWAY!
[not that I'm scared of things all the time, just the odd occasion when something new comes along or there is a new path to be taken...]

basket of cloth

some of our diaper stash :)
a mish mash of everything...
Green Acre Designs, Fly Baby Designs, AMP One Size, AppleCheeks, Rocky Mountain, Swaddlebees, Blueberry, Thirsties Duo Diaper, Baby Kangas, Bumgenius, Knickernappies, WeeHuggers, and last but not least MonkeyDoodlez...
I often think of de-stashing and going with only one or two or three kinds, but man it's SO hard because I love em all...
[edited to add : this was not THE cloth post that I mentioned here in case you were wondering!]

gifted wednesday

a not-so wordless wednesday of gifts...

cinnamon buns - YUM

a month of blogging - DONE. next time i will aim for a smaller time period because i can't handle the 31 days in a row - perhaps 14 is better?!?
[thank you scheduled posts!]

a sick mamma who was UBER thankful her mamma visited when she did...

...and looked after the kids in the evening & next morning for this mamma to get her rest & energy back

...a decision MADE. stay tuned because you will all know one day too!

...first BACK AT IT pre-natal/pregnancy workout in a while. thought it was a lame pre-natal pilates workout vid doing it but it ended up making me actually feel an hour or so later what i had been toning in that workout... hmm how bout that?

...always thinking of blog posts in my head during the day [just need to write them on paper to get it to blogpublish!] and CAN'T WAIT to finish up & publish the cloth diapers post. it'll knock your socks off & make ya think... i'm sure of it.

the gift of no internet or phone today - meant three loads of laundry washed, dried, folded & put away, along with dishes completed, and so much more done.

new fave show Off The Map

latest fave snack of yogurt & Special K Satisfaction cereal [instead of granola!] - even the kids are lovin it...

[#82-92 and more]