Farewell to Fairmont!

Today has been one of the hardest days I've had in a long time.  The funny thing is, this was all my fault!  So, Joe needed some dental work but because we are not covered here it costs quite a bit, ...which feels absurd to cough up when we have two dentists in our family that we know would do the job for a lab fee!  SO, I told Joe he should spend the money on a flight and kill two birds with one stone.  Go visit family and get some dental work done all for the same cost!  Well, he was able to work something out with Justin AND Joe's family is spending the week in Fairmont (which is something they do every year), so it is kind of awesome timing!  He just finished exams and won't hear back about a Summer-job for another week, so I kind of feel like it's meant to be!  I told him he should take Zoe because she will be free on the flight and the rest of the family haven't met her yet.  What a perfect idea!  Well, this morning as I was dropping them off at the airport, it did NOT seem like such a perfect idea!  Who am I kidding?  I've been bummed all weekend about it.  Fretting and being sad and losing sleep.  I have also decided with this trip that it's time to stop nursing her, which is bitter sweet for me.  I think I could have gone another couple months, easy, but I am not really interested in pumping milk four times a day for a week and plus she is old enough and will take a bottle of formula just fine.  But my last days of nursing her, I really tried to take some mental pictures (because no one wants to see REAL pictures of that.  Ha!).  I know every one has their opinions about nursing but for some reason this time it has been very difficult for me emotionally to stop.  It's just such a sweet and precious time for both of us and knowing that this morning would be the last time I would nurse her was really sad for me.  I don't think I cared that much with my other kids when I stopped nursing.  Maybe it was because I always felt really ready.  I guess I just got caught off guard.  I already miss her so much and I can feel such an emptiness in my heart.  Man.  It's only going to be for a week, but I promise you it hasn't even been a full day and already it feels like an agonizingly long time!  Joe asked me if I was even going to miss him, so I told him I would miss Zoe about 90% and him about 10%.  I am so used to tending to her every need, you know her being a baby and all, so I kind of don't know what to do with myself!  I've been cleaning and organizing and working like crazy to keep myself occupied so I don't cry.  Every once in a while I would see a small toy on the ground and think, "Zoe could choke on that!  ...Oh wait.  She's not here."  Or I'd think, "boys, let's be more quiet, don't wake up Zoe.... oh wait."  Waaaah!  This little girl is my life.  Actually, I have found with her gone today that I spent a lot more time loving my other three children.  I gave them a lot more physical attention as far as listening to them or reading with them or snuggling them, etc.  It's been an eye-opening change and I think maybe I needed this.  I need this time to focus on my other three kids and show them a little bit more of my love/affection and attention!

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend.  It's finally getting nice enough out to be out without a sweater so we spent some time in the back yard and I knew I would be missing my Zoe this coming week, so I couldn't resist snapping some shots of her with each of the kids (which I am sure I will come back to look at multiple times a day this week!).  I love this first one because it makes me think of Harry Potter where you can hold your wand up to your neck to amplify your voice.  Not that she needs it.  This girl can be pretty loud if she wants to!  And I know there are tons of pics with Miss Ellie, but I love each shot for different reasons.  The first one, I can't tell if she's putting her in a headlock or giving her some sisterly-love.  The second is just cute.  Love that smile!  The third one, they are looking at me like, "are we done Mom?"  Ha!  And the fourth, I love how Ellie's hand just appears from out of Zoe's chin, like it got swallowed in there or something. Ellie is finally giving Zoe the time of day these days.  She wants to make her laugh.  She tries to play with her more often.  But she will still scream at her if she is crawling towards her.  I think Zoe thinks it's a funny game to make her big sister scream.  So it happens all the time.  Haha!  The ones with Noah are just plain ol' precious.  This is totally their relationship!  He is so attentive and loving and so happy to be her big brother!  Jackson is just as equally loving and attentive, but in a different brotherly/protective sort of way.

Unfortunately, I didn't get many good ones with Jackson because he ended up wanting to take a bunch of pictures himself; One of them being this last shot of Zoe.  Not bad.  I miss this little chubby, cuddly, scrumptious, beautiful, tasty, bright-eyed piece of cuteness.  Joe is overly-annoyed with me because I keep bugging him about taking good care of her and making sure that she's warm enough and naps and feeding her at the right times and driving safe and blah, blah blah, nag, nag, nag!  I know I need to give him more credit.  He honestly is such a great father and husband in so many ways.  I know they will have such a blast this trip and although I am sad to be without them I am really happy that Joe gets to go and that everyone will get to meet my sweet Zoe!  Apparently, only Joe's parents know about it, so it's kind of a surprise which I think is awesome!  BUT, I will say that I would not be surprised at all if it slowly leaked and every one knew but acted surprised anyway.  Haha!  I will have to report on that one.  I cannot wait to see all the cousin pictures and hear about all the late-night Catan board-games, and squash tournaments and swimming and golf games and beautiful walks in the mountains... and... ohhhhhh, I want to be there!  Have fun Joe and Zoe!  You are already UBER-missed.

My Smart Boy

Cutest Noah moment: So last week Noah flat out lied, which isn't the cute part.  I'm getting to it. He said that I said they could have fruit snacks in the morning and he did not ask me anything of the sort.  I wasn't even awake! The funny thing is, he wouldn't have gotten in trouble if he had just told the truth, but he was sticking to his story like nobody's business. Joe even gave him several different opportunities to tell the truth and then asked me if Noah did indeed ask me if they could have fruit snacks. Well, he didn't. I felt so bad for him. He was ticked because Joe gave him the ultimate consequence that no boy ever wants to endure!!

That's right. He took away the XBOX for a whole day and taped this note up to remind Noah. The sweetest part was Jackson said, "I know how I can help Noah feel better. I won't play XBOX today so he won't be sad about it." Um. Sweet boy. But Noah was still mad about it and was pretty somber when it came time to go to school. When he got home, he saw that Joe's note was still up on the XBOX and was reminded of how mad he was.  So he wrote Joe a note (below) that in essence said, "Dad, I hate you!" over and over and gave it to him and walked away. Oh dear. Well, Noah knows we do not use words like "hate" so he must have been really mad.  Joe decided it might be a good idea to have some one-on-one time with Noah by running some errands with just him and I think that softened him up a bit. Noah does not do well being disciplined like this (as we can see) and responds much better to that "outpouring of love" part much better. I think he may have felt a little humiliated by the note and asked Joe to take it down and that he would still obey, etc.


Once they got back home Noah came right up to me and said, Mom, I am going to make smart choices. He then proceeded to write this note (below) for Joe saying "I'll be smart.  Love you Dad.  -Noah."  (He sometimes writes his words in the wrong order, but I think we have a general idea of what he's saying here).  It was so sweet.  He gave it to Joe and had him pin it up on his office wall (which is still there) so he can see it all the time.  All day long (and even for a few days after) he kept saying to both of us, "I'll be smart Mom/Dad" or "I'll make smart choices!"  It was so sweet to see him humble himself and feel truly sorry and want to change and make the right choices.  If only I, as an adult, could be that good at repenting and saying I'm sorry.  Anywho, this is my Noah.  Love this boy.
 
Oh, and as a funny side note, Jackson DID end up playing XBOX anyway! Haha! But thankfully by then Noah didn't mind so much and was feeling too "smart" to care.

I Have Good Boys

Noah, about a month ago I got to watch you proudly accept this award ("Respecting others and being kind to his classmates")!  You weren't the only one that was proud.  When I got a note from your teacher that you would be accepting an award, I was super excited to see what it would be for and to see your face when your name was called.  Seriously so cute!  I'm so proud of you Noah!  I'm not sure how many assemblies there are in a year, but they only call one or two kids from each class.  You are also making huge strides when it comes to your creativity.  I find you going straight to the craft drawers when you come home from school (even though you've already brought ten home in your backpack)!  You love to use lots of different colors.  So, the head will be one color and each eye or arm will be a different color, etc.  Lots of detail!  You are also getting pretty good with your spelling.  Yesterday we sat down to talk about your birthday plans (It's still a month away, but some of these school Moms send out invites a month in advance!!  What the heck?)  I asked you to make a list of some presents you might like and also some friends you would like to invite.  First on the agenda was "Lago Giz" (Lego guys).  I thought that was pretty good for someone figuring it out on his own.  Most of the rest of it I could not make out ...and neither could you!  Ha!  I have a feeling you may have gotten bored and just wrote down whatever letters you felt like.  But you sure "worked" on that list for a while!  You knew exactly who you wanted to invite.  One of the names was Samantha and although I've volunteered in your class twice I couldn't figure out who she was.  So I asked you who she was and you got all shy-like and said, "She's so beautiful" like that would answer my question.  So now I have two boys that each have a girlfriend (in fact, Jackson's girlfriend, Charlie, is in this pic behind Noah).  I think things might be slowing down between them though because a while back Jackson was feeling pretty blue so Joe asked him what was wrong and they had a man-to-man talk.  He said that he wanted to play with other friends but Charlie wouldn't let him!  Ha!  Well, Joe and I both tried to help him figure out the best way around this, which was tell her that you still want to be friends with her but you can play with whomever you want to.  It sounded so much like an actual teenaged break up!  Haha!  I didn't think we'd be having to deal with this kind of drama until much later!  Anywho, I think it got worked out so that they are still friends and Jackson has a longer leash.  Somewhat.  Let's just hope that my boys are nerdy enough that they don't have real girlfriends until they are home from their missions and then we can deal with that sort of drama then!  I think Jackson might be well on his way, if you consider a "nerd" being a smart kid.  He just got moved up to a grade one-H level for reading and is even bored with those books and ready for more difficult reading.  In fact the other day I told the boys they could choose a book from the library basket to read before bed.  I usually just put all of the public library books AND their school library books all in the same basket.  Well, I did a bad thing.  For the third time this year.  I accidentally returned Jackson's school book to the public library!  You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now!  Well, obviously I need to wake up a little!  So I asked Jackson to just choose another one and he started crying because he wanted an "information book" not a "little kid's book!"  That's right.  Jackson does not like to read for fun.  He likes to read to learn!  Every week since day one of school he has come home with books that tell us about planets, various animals and insects, geography, and the list goes on.  (Right now we are learning about Rural and Urban communities together).  It's so funny, but that kid is a sponge.  Sometimes I think he's not listening at all and then he regurgitates everything we talked/read about.  I don't think I will need to worry about his grades, so that is one thing I can check off my list.  ONE thing.  Seriously, there are some hard things that need to be talked about and one of those things got talked about on our way to school yesterday.  This has been on my mind for about a month now and I kept thinking, when would be a good time to talk to the boys about this?  Well, yesterday morning was peaceful and they were alert and actually listening.  I have learned that the statistics for the first time a boy is exposed to pornography is age seven.  This breaks my heart because Jackson is already six and I want him and Noah to be prepared for that time when it will happen.  The sad reality is that it is not a case of IF it will happen anymore, but WHEN.  Well, I have already talked to the boys about modesty last Summer, so we kind of reviewed that a little and I took it to the next step and brought up how one day a friend might want to show you a picture of a woman who isn't wearing a lot of clothes or she might even be naked.  What would you do?  etc.  So, they answered appropriately which made me feel like I was doing something right.  I also talked to them about the computer.  Lately, they've been wanting to watch more and more youtube clips because their friends at school tell them to check certain things out.  The rule is I have to watch it first and they are not allowed on by themselves, so I explained to them why.  Sometimes there are videos or pictures that are not appropriate or they have women who aren't wearing a lot of clothes or nothing and we don't look at videos and pictures like that, etc.  I hated having that kind of talk and it feels awfully young for this kind of subject matter which is sad to me, but I feel a lot better now that it's out there.  I also told them that they could talk to me or Dad any time about that kind of stuff and we wouldn't be mad.  I really hope they feel like they can talk to us.  That is the number one thing Joe and I are trying to promote in our family, being open in our communication with one another.  Hopefully Joe can be the one to deal with that, and I will talk to the girls about periods!  I'm okay with that.  Actually, our boys are just really good boys.  I hope they can be innocent for as long as possible and when they are not so innocent, I hope they will make the right choices like I know they can.

Hard Change

I did a bad thing.  I just finished reading my friend, Jody Audenart's blog post about having her 5th baby!  It was such a beautiful post and I admire her so much.  Looking at her pregnantness and hospital pictures, I decided it would be fun to look at last years posts of when I was expecting Zoe.  I didn't stop there though.  I should have.  But I didn't.  I scrolled through the last couple of years of posts.  Some posts made me laugh and some, of course, made me cry.  Especially the ones in my Terwillegar home.  There are certain things I don't miss, like the post about Spring along with a picture of a snowy backyard.  But the worst was looking back to last Summer and seeing all the fun I had with friends and family.  I miss going to Montana to visit my parents.  I miss going to Lacombe for this or that family event.  I miss my girls-night-out dates.  It made me tear up, ...and then I ate some candy.  I feel a little better.  But not.  I think change is one of the hardest things.  Right now Sarah is making plans to move to Calgary and hearing her talk about all the things she has to do to prepare to leave breaks my heart because I feel like I was just there.  The difference is, her change isn't just for two years like me.  It's permanent.  At least if I don't like something here I can say, "well, in such-and-such time it won't matter because I will be home."  I am depressed and excited for her altogether.  Leaving behind the home where you grew up and all your closest friends is so awful.  But sometimes change can bring out things in us that we never knew we had!  I remember when Jenny first moved to Cleveland and she was having such a hard time, but then all the sudden she started filling her lonely moments with doing crafts to make her house feel more homey.  I didn't know she had a creative bone in her body, and she may have never known she had that talent until it was brought out of her like that.  I also think of timid Sarah before she started managing for Home-Ed, and now she is more brave/confrontational than I could ever be.  She has so many stories!  Daily!  But she would have never known how well she could handle uncomfortable situations had she not had that job to force her to interact with awful people all the time.  That girl knows how to stand up for herself!  In fact, while we were at the MUSE concert together a week and a half ago, these punk boys were behind us and one of them put his head under our umbrella completely impeding on our personal space.  I was shocked that anyone would do that, but she wouldn't take their nonsense and told them what was what.  I'm proud of that girl.  Anywho, I guess alls I am saying is that sometimes change (especially HARD change) can bring out things in us that we never knew we had.  In fact, I don't think I would be writing this musical if we weren't living here (it's because I have no life in the evening and no TV, so this is what I DO!).  Anywho, hard times can make a person become something pretty great sometimes.  I hope that is the case for Sarah and all her friends that she is leaving behind who will indeed miss her as she is such an amazing person!  I will stop before I start to cry.  I think what I was trying to say was, as I was looking back on those fond memories, although I missed all of my friends and family and longed for them I realized that the sting is not as awful as it was last year at this time as I was preparing to leave (kind of where Sarah is right now).  Time really does heal all wounds.  It's so cliche and I hate it, but it's true.  I am in a MUCH better space now (depending on how my kids are acting that day), but of course every now and then I definitely miss home.  "Home" being an all-encompassing term to define my friends and family and all of my memories with them.  Pretty soon this will all be a distant memory and everything will change again.  I will say that one thing that has really helped me to get through this time has been my attitude.  I told myself before coming out here that I HAD to have a good attitude or this was going to be as awful as I wanted it to be.  It could be so much worse, but I made the choice to make the most of it.  Plus, when you have kids, you kind of just have to be brave and do it for them anyway!  You might as well make it a good time for yourself too.  All I can think of in my head is, "I'm so sorry Sarah that you have to go through this.  I really wish you could just jump ahead a couple years when it isn't so bad and you are in a rhythm again and the sting of missing 'home' isn't so fresh."  I know all of your Edmonton friends are probably saying they wish they could freeze time so you wouldn't ever have to go at all!  If I were still in Edmonton, I would feel the same way.  You are a treasure Sarah.  And I mean that.

I'm not going to cry.

Ah-Manga-molie!

Ever since Joe and I discovered this recipe (and doctored it a few times) we have found that any time we get a chance to have an at-home date, we make this deliciousness. We've nick-named it Manga-molie (with a slight accent and sometimes with an "Ah" in front for better flow-purposes, of course) because sometimes the avocados are too soft and it ends up getting a touch mushy, but still fresh and delish!  Well, tonight is supposed to be one of those nights where we actually get to see each other, but that darn school stuff is getting in the way of our Manga-molie night so here I sit, blogging about what I'd like to be doing while my tummy is rumbling waiting for my husband to get home from studying at school.  I am pleased to say, though, that he has less than a week before his last final exam this semester and then I have a husband for the Summer!!  Yeay!  This is truly something to celebrate.  Take that school!  One year down, One more to go!

...I might start without him and just celebrate by eating that manga-molie with Caption Jack Elliott in the book I am reading (and loving) called, "These Is My Words."  He has a moustache.  This could get messy.

Speaking of words, Jackson is all about playing on words these days.  At bed time he loves to lay down together and tell "jokes."  For a six year old I think he is pretty clever, and he says he even comes up with these on his own!  Both of his Grandpas would be mighty proud of his punny "Dad" jokes.  Here are some gooders:

"What time do twins like to wake up?"  "When?"  "TWO o'clock."

"Why do marbles roar?"  "Why?"  "Because they are M-roar-bles."

"Why do bunnies eat buns instead of carrots?"  "Why?"  "Because they're called BUN-nies."

"What did the cat say when it got hurt?"  "What?"  "Me-OOOOOOW!"

"Why does a bird say burrrrr a lot?"  "Why?"  Because it's a burrrrrrrrr-d." 

Noah's jokes are more nonsensical, but in some ways more funny because they don't make sense and he laughs so hard at each "joke."  For example, "What did the monster garage say to the monster garage?"  "What?"  "BLAHDOIHFIJBSFHBF!"  Yeah.  That's about his caliber.

Ellie is funny, without really trying to be.  She is always singing some song whether she knows the words or not, and if she doesn't she just says what's in her heart.  For one, "Better not pout, better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling on you...!"  Haha!  And then today we were watching a movie where at the end the Princess and Prince give each other a passionate kiss.  Then she turns to me and lovingly says, "Mommy, I want to give you a kiss!"  How sweet.  And then she proceeds to close her eyes all saucy-like and keeps her lips glued to mine for much too long moving her head around!  Haha!  I had to peel her off and tell her that only Mommies and Daddies get to kiss that way, and that she gets to give me (and others) short and sweet kisses.  Oh that girl.  She is going to be trouble.  What am I saying?  She already is.

Well, ...Joe still isn't home.  Manga-molie time it is!  Here I come Captain Elliott!

Zoe and Abbott

Here is the photo-shoot I was talking about with Zoe and Abbott (7.5 months and 9 months). Jenny got this beautiful red wagon for FREE and I told her we MUST do a photo-shoot with the kids. We even bought them brand new outfits, ...and maybe even spent a little more than we usually do on clothing for kids. But it was worth it to capture these. And now Zoe has thee cutest Summer dress for church! Anywho, their different personalities were so fun to watch. Abbott is so chill and Zoe was all over the place. She couldn't touch him enough, she had to eat the wagon, she was constantly talking and looking around or doing her own thing. I kid you not, Abbott sat there like a good boy and took it. He was probably thinking, "get me away from this crazy girl!" Haha! They were so cute together.

And while I am here, here is my latest update on Zoe. Important things have happened since we've gotten back from our trip, people. The girl finally said MAMMA!! Whenever I ask her to say it, she says Dadda instead and thinks it's REAL funny. She will only say it when she is really sad or really hungry. Hmmmm.... Honestly, she will say Dadda and Bah-bah on command but when I ask her to say Mamma, she just smiles and says Dadda.  It's like she already knows how to tease me.  She's just like her Dad.  He probably taught her to do that.  AND she is standing up. She will climb up on to anything she can, like the couch or a chair or her crib bars and wobble around, taking tiny steps. She is one determined little girl and has already gotten a few little owies here and there to prove it.  She is trying so hard with the stairs and I know it is only a matter of time before she figures it out HELP ME! I am definitely not ready for this, but that girl waits for no one.

Cleveland Rocks!

It seems that I am always posting these crazy-long posts with a million pictures each time I write an excerpt and I wish I could say that I am giving you a small break from all that, but alas, this is not the case.  One day I will have a simple post with one or two pictures.  But today is not that day.

Last week I got spoiled. Joe's parents came up to visit and I'm not gonna lie, I feel a touch ripped off because I love them ...and that may shock some people who do not love their in-laws. But I do.  Like, a lot.  I had planned a sister-trip long before they booked their flights to visit us and Joe and I both felt so bad because the timing couldn't have been worse for us as far as us spending time with them, ...I got a day and a half in and Joe was at the tail-end of school finishing assignments and studying for finals. Yuck. So needless to say, the grandkids had a great week spending time with Granny and Grandpa B.  In some ways though, I suppose it was good timing because I knew that I was leaving the kids in good care and I could rest MUCH more easy knowing Granny and Grandpa were there to love them and coddle them and feed them and read them stories.  Thank you so much Rob and Colette for spoiling our children and loving them while I was away and while Joe was locked in the dungeon studying!  And Colette, my yard looks stunning.  Please come back and teach me more about yard care.  I kill things.

The time came to leave my family and ESCAPE ...I mean, regretfully leave them so I could have a BLAST ...I mean... okay, who am I kidding?  I was dying for a break!  I live for these trips that somehow magically happen when I need them most with my sissies!  If only they were more often.  There is no earthly reason I would ever drive the highways of Toronto.  But I did.  To pick up my beloved sister, Sarah.  And it was worth it.  I would only do something crazy like that for her!  I made it in one piece and was quite proud of myself though.  Yeay!  We were more than happy to see each other and there may or may not have been tears.  Fine.  Sarah cried first though.  After Sarah's long 3.5 hour flight, we drove another 5 hours to Cleveland to meet up with Jenny and make our lives complete!  Sarah must really love her.  Seriously, what a trooper.  All in one day.  Yuck!
 
We were so happy to be reunited, ...but some of us not so much!  Haha!  Actually, Sarah and I were so excited to see Abbott that Sarah swept him into her arms and I came right up close and smiled at him ...and that did it.  He was NOT happy about seeing these women in real life.  Jenny might say that it was his first bought of separation anxiety but I think it was really that he wanted to keep us trapped in that darn computer.  We're scary enough via Skype, who wants to see us in the flesh?  And then Zoe could NOT be left behind so there were tears all around.  Instead of rushing to their sides to calm their troubled hearts, we set them down beside each other and whipped out our cameras instead.  You know, like a good Mom would do.  It took a while for Zoe to settle as you can see in the next couple pictures.  Or Auntie Sarah has bad breath.  Say, ...maybe that's what set off Abbott too?  Oh and you may all kick me.  I do not have one photo of Milo!  My precious Milo.  I loved my snuggle time with him and trying to get his attention and trying to get him to love me (which he did thankyouverymuch) and the walks and his pure sweetness.  Miss him so much already!
The whole five days were nonstop par-tay!  There was shopping, eating out, going on walks, yoga, pj-wearing and doing nothing, more shopping, going to see The Host (which was awful by the way.  Read the book twice and was so looking forward to it, but halfway into the movie I was willing it to end!  Blegh!  Did not translate well into a movie.  Sorry).  Basically each night Brett got home from school, we would put the babies down for bed and go out!  There were a few nights we ended up staying in to hang out and watch movies that our husbands won't watch with us or quote along with us (like, "The Court Jester" and "Clue" and "Pride and Prejudice" etc).  A huge thanks to Brett!!

 I am mildly shocked that I did not take as many pictures with my good camera, but it's because we spent so much time filming the sequel to Elf-Sarah Returns (so a lot of these are from my phone.  Boo).  For me, it was the highlight of the trip because we were constantly thinking up silly ideas and bringing this creepy elf doll everywhere with us and finding ways to film different scenes, etc. It was so fun!  Many laughs were had.  I think my favourite scene by far was filming in the bathroom.  "By the power of the elf-witch....!"  That was quoted many times throughout our trip.

 And no joke, Jenny broke her nose.  It was conference-Saturday and we were about to go out to eat lunch (promising to catch up on General Conference later in our own time) and then low and behold I see Jenny outside in the back yard on the ground holding her nose while blood is dripping down!  What the heck?!  Brett races in for Kleenex and I'm thinking this must be bad!  Apparently, she sat down on the hammock-swing and the rope had worn away quite a bit previously, so... it broke!  The wooden bar above it snapped down on her face.  When she came inside the house I couldn't even pretend that it didn't look bad.  I made a joke (perhaps too early) about how we were getting a lightening-bolt from God for skipping out on Conference when we should be eager to listen to the voice of His Prophet and Apostles.  Bad timing and poor taste Maren.  But His lightening bolt worked.  We ended up watching conference while poor Jenny iced her nose all day!  Sad.  It added to our adventures?

Unbeknownst to Sarah, Jenny and I had purchased a new FREAKY doll head to scare Sarah with ahead of time. We literally were searching online for a while to make sure we got the creepiest one.  There were creepier, ...but they were also way more expensive.  Some where going for over $100 bucks!  Don't ask me.  It was so funny though because she kept missing where I had planted it (I hung it in front of Zoe's play pen in the laundry room and I guess the laundry room itself is freaky enough, so maybe it just melded right into the scenery), so after a while I had to finally just point it out to her! Haha! Poor Zoe had to try to fall asleep to that thing dangling above her!  And then we ended up getting each other randomly throughout our time together.  Always funny.  I sent it home with Sarah in her luggage.  Have you found it yet Sarah?!
Seriously, I promise it's way more creepy up close. There are stray hairs and the eyes open and shut. It's gross. This is where Jenny planted the doll head before Sarah and I left to go back to Toronto. Creepsville. But not as creepsville as Jenny's goodbye-face in the window.

 Sarah and I went on to watch the Muse concert in Toronto. It was not as fun without Jenny, but alas, ...we still somehow managed to enjoy ourselves! Somehow. I will say this much though, our seats were not on the ground for the first time in the six years we have been going to their concerts (aside from ONE concert on my part) and there is something way more fun and exciting about being in the front row right in front of all the action.  Am I getting too old for the front row?  I decided after this concert, heck no!
 
Here's a little sample of a short little photoshoot we had with the babes. More to come in a later post.  I say "short" because it was cut off by THREE Police cars that pulled up across the street from us randomly and we thought that maybe, just MAYBE, we should probably clean 'er up and get the heck out of there!  Apparently, there was a squatter in an abandoned house across the street.  Scary.  And those were only three of the six Police cars we ended up seeing that day IN Jenny's neighbourhood.  Oh Cleveland!  One of our many adventures also included seeing a man peeing on a car in a Mall parking lot.  We thought he was breaking into the car.  But no.  He was peeing on it.  I don't know which is worse.  AND we pulled right in front of him and got to see everything.  Sick.   
I just need to say that Zoe was a dream-puff this trip.  It was actually pretty funny seeing her next to Abbot because he is so subdued and quiet and still and she was CRAZY in comparison.  She was constantly "talking/happy-screaming" and crawling over to him to touch his face/beat him up.  He was wonderfully still and she was so wiggly!  I think she may be used to having three older siblings because she was all over the place trying to keep up with everyone and talk with everyone while Abbott was like, "What's going on?  Who is this crazy cousin of mine?."  Thankfully, she traveled well and slept well (aside from TWO 6:30 random wake-ups.  Yuck.  But I got to nap later because it was my vacation!).   She managed to say "Da-da" while we were there (a first.  And Abbott taught her to say Ba-ba, which she started saying the day we got back home).  I guess she missed her Daddy.  Cute.  I missed him a little, too.  Only a little though. Thanks Joe for letting me go.  Not like you had a choice, but thanks anyway for not complaining about it and knowing how much it means to me to have trips like these.

As I had originally feared a week leading up to this trip, it came and went way too fast.  Oh the sting!  I remember thinking on day two of being at Jenny's, "Hey it's only day two and we still have SO much time together!"  Well, ...now it's all a distant memory.  Did it even happen?  I am now returning to real life and laundry and vacuuming and dishes and toilets and packing lunches and more laundry and all that blah.  Seriously, did it even happen?  I have been skipping into another world once the kids go to bed to edit our Elf-Sarah movie sequel and laugh my head off at all the out-takes and Jenny's Elf-voice random hilariousness.  What good times.  I love you my sisters!  May the next trip come quickly and painlessly.

Vegas?  Who's with me?

Visitors Welcome. Or Are They?

Why is it that some days are just really awesome, and some are plain ol' horrible?  Well, obviously, it is all dependent on that time o' the month.  That's right folks.  I am moving into my SECOND week of having my period back in full swing after the birth of Miss Zoe.  All I have to say is, my poor family.  I don't remember the last time I've yelled so much or wanted to storm out of the house over things that literally happen every day.  I am just SO done and I seriously can't handle this visitor any longer. 

I will tell you what I CAN handle though. 

A trip to Cleveland.  With Sarah.  To meet up with Jenny.  To hang out for a whole five days (with only Zoe in tow).  And then back to Toronto for a concert to see Muse.

That is what I can handle.

I have been looking forward to this for MONTHS!  Before Christmas when tickets were going on sale I somehow managed to persuade Sarah that she couldn't break tradition of seeing Muse all together, us three sisters!  We've been to their last three concerts together (road trips to Utah even), and those times managed to be some of my favourite memories with my sissies!  Well, it didn't take a lot of convincing on my end to get her to think that this was a great idea, so Sarah bought a concert ticket and a plane ticket and will be here in TWO days.  Sigh.  Just writing that out loud makes me feel nice and relaxed inside.  No kids (well only one, and she's easy).  Lots of laughing.  Probably some crying.  Talking.  Food.  Fun.  Shopping.  Did I mention laughing?  I need this so bad.  Without getting too far into it, I kind of don't have much of a life.  I am a stay at home Mom and that is exactly what I do.  I stay at home.  Joe is either at school or down studying in the dungeon, ...uh, I mean basement, all the live long day and my conversations are limited to nagging my children to eat the rest of their dinner, or pick up their mess, or stop fighting.  Occasionally we talk about video games, ponies, and loose teeth (which by the way, Jackson lost his second tooth today at school!).  You know, ...things that adult women love talking about all day long.  Anywho, today felt like an extreme low.  I've been cleaning and re-cleaning my brains out because my inlaws are coming to visit (just in time for me to leave.  Saddest day ever.  I think that's partially why I feel so sad) and Joe has been extra unavailable because... well, I guess he's always extra unavailable.  Except on Sunday.  Thank goodness.  I think my period is making it worse though.  Everything is just way harder.  I am way more needy and emotional and irrational.  It's annoying.  But to be honest, it will be nice when one day I don't have to ask Joe if he'll be joining us for dinner, or if he DOES stay for dinner, I won't be asking if he'll be mine for the rest of the evening.  I kind of hate school right now.  Sometimes it's good when I am busy with writing my musical, ...which is pretty much the way I spend every evening.  But sometimes I would like to just cuddle with my man and not worry about how stressed he must be about this or that assignment or exam, etc.  Does the stress ever end though?  Or does it just shift?  Anywho, ...super tangent.  Back to ME and MY neediness.  I guess all I am saying is I am so ready for this break.  I only wish it could happen quarterly instead of once a year.  Even that's pretty good considering we all live so far apart!  Oh no.  I am officially crying.  Gah.  Stop.

Period, you have overstayed your welcome.  Sarah and Jenny here I come!

So help me if anything gets in the way of this trip!!!!!  So help us all.