the mom job

Being a mom is such a wickedly amazing and crazy gig if there ever was. These kids make me cry one minute with heartache, and then practically burst with overwhelming joy. They are such a challenge, yet such a blessing. I always wanted to be a mom, and don't know what I'd do without them. They take everything that I've got, yet I feel like I haven't given enough. It's such a massive job. One that I feel like I need to improve on all the time. They thanked me today for being a loving mother, and I thank God today for giving me the chance to be one.

SOD!

Finally, after anticipating this moment for the last three years, my sod arrived, and my side yard is complete! We came a long way from this... To this.... Funny to think that two dump truck loads of dirt now sit in that space! I'm so happy it's done!!!

The fox

My niece Claire was in a drama production through her school. She played the fox from "The Gruffalo". It was a super cute little production where her sister Amy did lighting and their mom helped do the face painting and costumes. It's fun to see a little person who is normally such a quiet thing put on quite the brave performance on stage!! Yay Claire-bear! (Or should I say Claire-fox). And I was hoping I could show you some beautiful green photos from my new lawn today, but alas my turf guy stood me up. :( He was supposed to show up yesterday, and we were supposed to be rolling it out this morning. We called him 4x already and he hasn't even called to give us any sort of idea what is going on. So upsetting. I've waited YEARS for this day. :( So here is where it's at. Nice and flat. Landscape tie borders, and a rock pathway. Just missing SOD. (Check your messages, turf-boy.)

Happy May!

It made my day today when the physio and I got a 93 year old gentleman up to stand for his first time during his hospital stay. His family (two daughters and a wife) were at his side cheering him on and crying their eyes out...and I was feeling rather choked up myself!! I guess he has been really weak (congestive heart failure) and has been laying around for quite awhile. When he got up to stand, which he did really well, he actually started grooving like he was about to dance which made everyone chuckle. Ahh, it's moments like that which make my job so enjoyable. We've stood with many elderly people in their final days, and it's always so bittersweet. Most family members have a hard time watching their sick loved one laying around in a hospital bed, and I agree that they look totally different when they are up, even sitting at the edge of the bed. They look more alive. Most patients are thankful for a new position and enjoy the freedom of being able to move around (with our help). Work has been a little harder lately because the therapists do a switch between outpatients and inpatients every 6 months, and so my physio is now doing outpatients and I have two new therapists who job share working with me. They work one week on, one week off, so I have to sort of keep them filled in on what happened while they were away for the week. They also work very differently and so have different styles and priorities! On top of that, we have a first year physio student that they are trying to train! It has made my job a little more scrambled, but I'm still enjoying it. The time is flying so fast, and I can't believe it's already May. It'll soon be summer! Greg and I leveled out that second dumptruck full of dirt, and put in new landscape ties and a rock path. We are ready for the turf which arrives on FRIDAY! I'm so excited, I could squeal. I will definitely take more pictures and let you see the end product on the weekend. I'm hoping we'll be able to walk on it by the time we have Shea's 6th party. We're already planning his SHARK/beach party!!!

Meet the pets

Last week we decided we hadn't had fish in awhile and needed some more. So Liam and Riley bought a fighting fish each...meet "Swimmy" and "Sammy". They are a gorgeous royal blue and teal. At the pet store they were oohing and awwing over any other pet they saw. "Do you think Daddy would EVER let us have a hamster?" Knowing their dad has never had one, and just thinks of them as stinky rodents, I told them..."Well, you'd have a much better chance if you let mom ask him, instead of you all begging and pleading". Sure enough, dad gave the ok, and on Saturday we brought home our first REAL pet, Nibbles. Oh my goodness the boys are so in love with her! I only let them take her out in the bathroom so she can't run away, or if they put her in the clear ball. She is a squirmer...mostly cuz she's little. I think only 2 months old. So far hasn't been a biter. Thank goodness, as one of the pet stores we went to had one hamster that they wouldn't even sell us cuz it was such a nasty biter, so I got really nervous! So wish us luck. Who knows, if this goes well, we might work up to a puppy...give us a few years! The boys are seriously all joy and giggles this week with the hamster, I can't even imagine how much fun they'd have with a dog! Aww.

Side yard

We have been working on our yard since we moved in! We started by taking out some rotten decks four years ago. I don't know how many square feet the side deck was, but it was HUGE! It had layers of rotten plywood as a surface, and though the boys loved to skateboard and bike on it, it was a safety hazard (and an eyesore) and needed to go. As you can see in the last picture, it left us with a very large hole. It was maybe 4ft deep in some places. We started filling that hole with a concrete sidewalk (from another project), with clippings, etc. Last summer we found a contact who owns a dump truck and has lots of dirt. He dropped a whole load in our front yard which Greg and I wheel-barrowed to the back. It wasn't quite enough. We really wanted to level the yard back there and raise it a bit between the back deck and the pond so there wasn't so much of a drop. On Tuesday we got our second dump truck load of dirt. Greg and I have been working away at it. He mostly shovels and I'm mostly spreading and rolling and picking out rocks. I think this second dump load might just do it. Then we still will need top soil and grass...possibly some landscape ties and rocks, but I can almost see the end in sight! Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to do landscaping! We did a tiny little job in Calgary on our postcard stamp yard, but it was worth every hour of sweat as we had a beautiful green lawn in the end. I will make sure to take some pictures of the middle stage we're in here, with the hole filled. Pre-grass. Then you all will be able to ooooh and awwww with me when I reveal the final pics. Time to warm up my rice bag! Greg and I are sore!

Easter 2013

Greg and Shea went early to church this morning to do music prep, and I came later with the two bigger boys. By the time I wrestled them off the tramp, brushed their hair and forced them into their church pants and shoes, we were all in a fuming mood. Then we got to the Easter Sunday service and sang, did crafts, visited with our friends, and listened to the Easter story and we all left in a much happier mood. We are so thankful for our church, for the sunshine today, and the work that Jesus did on the cross so there is hope.

Our favorite little "Eller-bean" turned four this week. Her and I had planned her "rainbow party" months ago, and so we just had to pull it off. Her mom made her a cake that matched our picture perfectly, and I had the place looking like a unicorn had just visited. Rainbows, clouds, stars and butterflies all over. So fun to decorate for a girl! And it helps that she's such a sweetie!