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In which they win my heart
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Monthly Archives: May 2009
Eating paint chips, sniffing glue
I will never forget my mom telling me that she wanted to lick the chocolate brown paint, that it looked good enough to eat…
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And that, my friends, is how I feel about our renovations! We are so close to done, I can almost taste it!
But, like my mother before me, I will refrain from actually licking the chocolate brown bannister and doors.
The lowdown:
*finish carpeting upstairs and down the stairs (not my job!)
*lay the laminate in the living room & entryway (not my job!)
*finish painting the baseboards (my job…)
*cut and nail the baseboards to, uh, the walls… (soooo not my job!)
*change out the electrical switches and plugs (not my job for fear of death)
*polish the cupboards (my crappy job)
*scrub the floors (my other crappy job)
And of course, paint the chocolate brown bannister one more time. The paint is actually called “English Truffle”. Mmmmm…..
Then again, maybe I’ve been inhaling a little too much fresh carpet glue…
Blessed/perspective
There has been so much going on in our lives lately. A lot has been good, but there has been a LOT of bad luck. Ridiculous amounts. Car accidents, stolen trucks, stolen bikes, empty rental properties, broken stoves, failed exams, and more. The financial cost has been astronomical. Astro-freakin-nomical. Our fridge almost died last night, and I thought that the proverbial last straw had been laid…
But we have all stayed healthy. We are thriving. There is usually food in the fridge, but we have been so busy that we haven’t been grocery shopping in over 2 weeks and we are down to Ichiban noodles, tuna and one can of brown beans. We don’t even have a box of KD. We have tomato paste though! And 2 chicken breasts.
I did NOT have a rootbeer float and Reese’s Peanut
Butter Cups for breakfast today. Not me!
Seriously though – we have it so much better than so many people. There is so much potential hanging in our future. It’s almost frightening. We are on the up and up. You can only crash down so far before you begin to climb back up. Up we go!!
I have been truly blessed by the hardships of the past year, but especially in the last 4 months. Leith & I went from being truly carefree newlyweds with minimal responsibilities and 2 incomes to the bewildered parents of twins with one less-than-normal paycheque. Life changed drastically in the 9 months between getting married and having 2 small babeez.
Did you know that the divorce rate for parents of multiples is TWICE that of the normal population?? Wow, were the odds ever stacked against us!!
hello, handsome…
And do you know what?? We didn’t follow “the rules” laid out for making it an easy transition. We didn’t have people offer to cook or clean, nor did we ask, nor would we have accepted. Company, yes. Help, no. We gladly accepted visitors (instead of holing up alone to “learn to be a family”) and enjoyed the love and support from our families. I am so grateful that our parents didn’t coddle us and that they allowed us to exercise our independence and learn to parent on our own.
We have gone on 2 childless dates since we brought the girls home from the hospital – once on our anniversary and once on Leith’s birthday. A big no-no, apparently. We’ve never had a night without our girls, and I’m okay with that. I don’t feel any great need to ship them off to Gramma’s just yet. It’s not that I’m not ready; I just haven’t found the need. (Just wait Gramma – there’s a wedding in July and I have willingly volunteered you to keep the bugz overnight!!! ha ha ha ha). I have complained once or twice about sleepless nights, but every time I sat in that rocking chair holding a baby, I was overwhelmed with love and the blessings that had been given to me. I would not trade a single late-night moment for all the sleep in the world. Not ever.
So far, we have broken every rule for “strengthening” our marriage after children.
And yet, our marriage is stronger than ever. We have grown together in this experience. We watch DVD episodes of TV shows together on the couch. We say “thank you” to each other every day. Everyone gets hugged and kissed goodbye, every day. Arguments are not analyzed. Apologies are given. We take turns sleeping on the couch if it facilitates an apology 
We don’t buy gifts for each other on Valentine’s day, anniversaries or Mother’s day. We barely get each other cards! It’s a well-known fact that a Starbucks is worth a thousand diamonds in this house. I refuse to be the kind of wife that expects her husband to shower her with expensive gifts, flowers and chocolate. The stereotype irritates me beyond belief. The day-to-day is worth far more to me. Although I wouldn’t return a Nikon D90… I am so happy and satisfied with my family.
So bring on the rain. We can take it.
Riding the roller coaster
After months of bad luck, I am cautiously optimistic for the future. A lot of good has come in a short amount of time – a testament to the hard work I have been putting in!
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*I passed both my pre-qual exam AND my provincial! I am now applying for my provincial life license so that I can start to make a difference in the financial lives of families 
**total side note: I don’t know when to use “license” vs. “licence” and it drives me CRAZY!
*Leith’s truck is running really well. I think we have a gem on our hands, and he love it
*Everything is coming together next door. All the walls and ceilings are painted. I’m nearly finished the 2nd coat of trim on the main floor (a storm rolled in and it was too dark to finish the last 2 door frames…). All the ceiling lights are installed with the exception of the kitchen chandelier. We are just waiting to hear from our carpet guy…
*The girls have been really great lately, except for Kit-kat’s ridiculous drama queen antics and C-boo’s picky eating. They are sleeping well, playing lots and thisclose to walking. They had an awesome time playing with their boyfriend Jaxen on Monday – my friend Bailey offered to babysit while I wrote my provincial exam. Thanks B!!
*My other friend Julia also babysat for me today The girls got to play with her little boy who is 7 months old. He is such a sweetie!!
The girls got to play with her little boy who is 7 months old. He is such a sweetie!!*I have had the chance to see my good friend Cheryl 3 TIMES in the last 2 weeks We never get to see each other that often! I also got to see her munchkins today. Her little boy is growing like a weed – my jaw hit the floor when I saw how tall he is!! And her little baby girl is growing up into the sweetest little chubby-cheeked monkey. She is so adorable, all smiles with bright blue eyes Loves it!!
We never get to see each other that often! I also got to see her munchkins today. Her little boy is growing like a weed – my jaw hit the floor when I saw how tall he is!! And her little baby girl is growing up into the sweetest little chubby-cheeked monkey. She is so adorable, all smiles with bright blue eyes Loves it!!I hope that this streak continues
Happy anniversary
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Exhaustimicated Gratitudes
Oh my. I have to take a break from studying to write this, or I will forget and it will be next Sunday before I know it!!
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*All the help from our parents this weekend. We were able to get all the ceilings painted, and 2 coats of color on the walls in the duplex!
*Leith’s wrist hasn’t been bothering him as much as we thought it would. He bought a splint-style brace for it and has been doing all right. It still hurts a lot, but it’s his left hand, so it hasn’t impeded his painting skillz
*The chance to sit down with faboosh Erin and her dad to talk real estate – as in listing our property and getting the heck out of the city!! Woot! (that was for you, Dad). As a plus, I haven’t seen Erin in for-freakin’-ever, so it was doubly nice
*Beautiful, gorgeous, sunny weather lately
*A time-out to do a maternity shoot yesterday
*All the AirMiles I’m racking up by shopping at Rona for our renovations, plus double-dipping by using my AirMiles MasterCard. Hello, Starbucks gift cards.
*My monkey-butt bugz. Sweet little monkey-butts that have learned how to give kisses
*Passing my pre-qualifying licensing exam on Friday!!! I write my provincial tomorrow!!
*The chance to see my good friend Cheryl TWICE in the last 2 weeks!
*2 years of wedded bliss tomorrow I don’t know how he puts up with me!
I don’t know how he puts up with me!Bizzy!
We have the first coat of paint on the walls in our rental property. You would never know that 2 weeks ago, it was a swarming cesspool of smoking and indoor dogs. Nope! It looks pretty fabulous! We’ve torn out the carpets, primed and painted the ceilings and painted one coat of color on the walls. The baseboards are painted and waiting to be cut and nailed on. The doors have a coat of paint and are waiting for a second. I’ve bought gorgeous light fixtures (at amazing prices!!) and we have all the electrical covers. We need some doorknobs and some doorstopper sproingers, and I need to paint the window and door trim.
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All and all, we should be good to list the property by June 1st.
That’s right- listed. As in “for sale”. As in, moving somewhere where you don’t rely on tenants to help pay the mortgage, and you don’t have low-lifes stealing your bikes.
FOR SALE, people! And our side is already gorgeous from our pre-wedding renovation blitz. The other half will be stunnnnnnnning, with new appliances and everything.
That, and I figured out how to make my cabinet door pulls look much nicer- they are antiqued brass, and I tried a few other finished but there weren’t any that looked right with the stain. However, in the process of trying the others, I realized that the ugly floral pattern was not attached to the handles! The handles themselves are quite nice and simple, so I am just taken off the back plates Yeaaaa!
Yeaaaa!***
Oh, and I passed my pre-qual for my licensing exam!! I’m writing my provincial exam on Monday. I can’t wait to apply for that license and get a PAYCHEQUE. I also had another photo shoot today, so I’ll have sneak peeks up for that sometime in the next week or so.
I can’t wait to slow down, between studying and renovating. My duathlon training is seriously suffering. I haven’t ridden my bike in weeks. If it weren’t in the FOOTHILLS, I wouldn’t be worried, but those hills may kill me. I don’t want to be the one who gets off and pushes her bike up the hill!!
Have a great weekend
Overrated
What are the 4 most overrated things, in your opinion? According to writer Christopher Hitchens, those 4 things are lobster, champagne, picnics and something I’m too polite to write on my blog.
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So, since reading that, I’ve been trying to come up with my Top 4 most overrated things in the universe. I like lobster, but I like crab more. I’m not big on champagne in all it’s glory, but I’ve been known to add it to my OJ. Picnics are good, but only when there are no “S” in the vicinity. As for #4, I am so horrified that it made the list that I am obviously NOT a fan. *shudder*
But in my life, there have definitely been some big ol’ disappointments.
*Rental properties. HA HA HA!! I just had to throw that out there. Ya, the tax breaks are great, but the headaches are hell…
*These 3 sporting events: *Football, be it Canadian or American. I don’t freakin’ get it. Booooooring! *Baseball. See above. *The Olympics. I’m so, so sorry, but I just can’t get into the hype! No offense to the athletes- I do appreciate all your hard work and training.
*Pregnancy. Babeez rock. Growing them sucks.
*Post-secondary educations. Again, I’m sorry, but my post-secondary education was never enlightening, exciting or fun. And none of my educational pursuits have resulted in a stable career. I’m smart, peoples, very smart, and college failed me to a degree (ba dum bum!)
*Fancy-pants restaurants. There are very few expensive restaurants that have knocked my socks off. Most of them taste like over-priced chain restaurants…
*Road trips, unless Krista is with me
*Turning 18. Woo. Big disappointment!
But then there are things that are seriously underrated, like Bombay martinis, running and really good fish and chips. I bet you’re all craving a little bit of vinegar and salt right now
Now, I don’t know what my “Top 4″ really consists of. There are a few movies and books in there, and other experiences along the way. But I’d love to hear yours. See you in the comments!
Gratitudes – photo style:
We went camping for the May long weekend. The girls were thrilled with most parts, except the sleeping arrangements on the first night:
Mama, save us from this horrible idea!!!
A dozen or so trailers and campers:
Several ridiculously cute bugz:
The unbelievable versatility of dear Constance:
Creating a minivan playpen for bug containment:
Sippy-time:
‘Sup mama?
Gratitude that this was only a sprain, and not a break … although he is totally gimped and can’t help with the duplex renos now:
I’m not sure if you can handle Sherrie’s sexiness….:
I wasn’t going to go, but I’m glad I did. I got a nice 9.5k run in (even though I was hoping for 12-14k…). Constance was such a treat, with her mobile playground and fantastic sleeping arrangements for me and the bugz- the bunkbed we devised for the camper was NOT a hit at all, and my babeez were horridly scarred by the experience. Oops!
We came home early Sunday morning and cleaned up the house. Today I primed the disgusting ceilings next door. Tomorrow is all about priming. Wednesday is all about painting the ceilings. Thursday is all about painting. Leith is gimpy. We might hire someone to paint, because I NEED to study for my exam!!
On a non-Gratitude note, we are thinking about selling the duplex once the renos are done. Besides Leith’s first truck being stolen, someone broke into the garage on Wednesday night/Thursday morning and stole his $3000 mountain bike. I’m sick of it, he’s sick of it, and it’s not worth the tax deductions anymore.
But one with the new week
Pink happens
I read a very, very interesting article today:
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If you have time, you should read it. It’s long, but it’s definitely food for thought. And as someone who despises the Disney Princess movement, I found it to be both gratifying and enlightening at the same time.
I have a monstrous aversion to Disney Princesses and Dora the Explorer. I swear that the only reason I haven’t reinstated my cable television addiction is because of these monsters. Don’t get me wrong- I think that the characters themselves have a lot of wonderful qualities and personality traits that I would love my daughters to learn.
It’s the marketing.
The barrage of pink and purple frills that threw up at Toys R Us.
It’s the lack of choice for little girls. It’s Disney and Dora or nothing, people. I have a personal challenge to see how long I can hold out on them. How long can I go before my daughters become aware of these beasts?
And like an epidemic, it’s spread to every area of child’s play. They have all the “normal” kids toys, like popcorn vacuums and stacking rings, but now they have the “girls’ version”- all the classic toys in nauseating shades of pink and purple.
Because, you know, red, yellow and blue aren’t for girls. Duh.
And sparkles just don’t work with green.
Don’t get me wrong- I dress my girls in pink and purple. Mostly because of all the dumbazzes out there that constantly ask if I have “2 boys, or a boy and a girl??”. I get tired of saying that they are BOTH female. So, dressing them in head-to-toe pink allows me to silently ridicule the morons who think my little boys are sweet little 14-month old metros.
But I don’t have a pink stroller. I WILL NOT buy them tiaras and magic wands. I refuse to buy pink toys (although if pink happens to come with the toy, I don’t discard or punish the toy for being pink). I make a conscious effort to color-censor my children.
I want my girls to love being girls. I want them to be girly and do all the annoying girly things that I did. I want them to be so obsessed with Barbies that they develop an insane storyline from the French Revolution that results in dozens of decapitated Barbies … not that I did that…
But I want them to come by it naturally, not because it’s being shoved down their throats. I want it to be a choice.
Their own choice.
