The good ol' hockey game

Two of my favorite things about Josiah are that he has a great imagination and he loves sports. (Just two of many things I love about him...) These two attributes combined lead to what we call his "constant commentary." From the time he wakes up in the morning until he goes to bed at night (and likely while he sleeps) Josiah has imaginary sporting events going on his head, and he commentates them off and on throughout the day. (Mostly on...) I've learned to tune him out, but since he does require affirmation that we've heard every score and player and penalty and team he's just updated us on, I've gotten in the habit of saying, "Oh yeah, really?" pretty much all day. The sport rotates between hockey, football, and soccer for the most part, but the idea is always the same. He tells us which player he is and what team he's on and what team they're playing and what the score is and who got what penalties and he insists that we tell him who we're cheering for. This does not necessarily have to be the team he's playing for, but we have to remain consistent at all times. For example, yesterday he presented me with probably the 38th scenario of the day and asked me if I was cheering for the Oilers. I distractedly said yes, and he reminded me, "Mom, you never cheer for the Oilers." I tried to think of a situation when I would, but he was right, so I had to admit I had been distracted, and of course I wasn't cheering for the Oilers. =)

Anyway, yesterday was such a fine display of his full-blown imaginary gaming, that I thought I would share the play-by-play with all of you.

As you may have noticed from an earlier post, Josiah just got new roller blades, so he was outside playing hockey while Abby and I watched from the driveway/front steps/flower beds...wherever Abby led me. This was how we watched the events unfold...

Standing proudly for the singing of "Oh Canada." (But not actually singing because he had noticed the night before at the beginning of the Canucks game that most of the players didn't sing...)

The main action of the game. Full of muttered play-by-play, "Sedin passes to Sedin. Down the ice to Naslund. Into the attacking zone goes Trevor Linden......"

The cheer. (Though at this point, he scored with an imaginary puck- he alternates in and out using real or imaginary pucks.)

Line change. That's right. I wasn't sure why he kept going to all the effort to get to the stairs for a few minutes- there's a bit of an incline there, which isn't easy to maneuver when you're new on roller blades. I asked him about this and he just said to me, "Line change, mom." "Of course", I said, trying to hide my smile.

Skating out on the ice as he's announced the first star of the game. He did this very humbly as if he's always the first star- which he is. =)

In the dressing room, where he goes after every period and at the end of the game after being announced first star. I asked him what he was doing in the garage. "Are you done playing hockey?" I asked. No mom, we're just talking to the coach. Then I hear him muttering quietly, "Yeah coach, I know. I had a good game......" Again, humbly accepting this praise. =)

What a kid! He's awesome.

Grandma & Grandpa

Isn't it awesome that we keep getting to post about special times with special people? We had another great week, this time because grandma Shannon and grandpa Larry came out from Calgary for a visit. It was so nice to show them where we live and catch up with them again in person! I'm sure they're tired out from all the play-with-kids time, but it sure is a welcome break for us to have other people around to pour some extra love and attention on our high-energy offspring! And I'm sure they're more than happy to do it. =) It was great to have them here!!

Josiah was the fortunate recipient of 2 pretty awesome presents while grandma and grandpa were here: the roller blades seen in this picture, and a set of junior goalie pads, with blocker and glove seen in many future pictures, I'm sure! He's been playing with nothing else since he received them. "Look at me, I'm Roberto Luongo!" he says. Good timing, what with the constant hockey games being broadcast in our house these days...

Mom took this picture of Abby and I. I have a few of Josiah & Dwayne playing hockey that I will post in our next installment...

Easter gathering and new explorations

Well, these postings are getting pretty sparse the last couple of months... Things are pretty busy, especially after a couple of trips over spring break and now spending lots of time learning my new job. I'm loving my work, by the way. It's fun for me. =) But, it is time consuming since I'm still new to it and it takes me a while to finish an order.

Anyway, I just wanted to put up another extended family picture. We had Easter dinner here yesterday with Nana, Papa, GG, auntie Cheryl and uncle Zach, which was really nice. Josiah hunted for Easter eggs after his afternoon rest, and we've had about 45 follow-up egg hunts since then... He really enjoyed it. =)

Abby's crawling up a storm. And now she pulls herself up on everything. I find that's such a big corner to turn. People always say that once your baby is walking they get into everything, but I think it's once they start crawling and pulling themselves up! Nothing is safe anymore... I have to be pretty observant these days. No more running to the other room while she sits and plays with a few toys. It's fun though. She is so excited to explore every room and drawer and cupboard. Not to mention all the fun she has grabbing whatever Josiah is playing with... He's been mostly patient, but he's having to learn to put his valuables (ie. his pack of Chilliwack Bruins hockey cards) up out of Abby's reach.

An unexpected return trip...

So, I've been meaning to post for a while about my new venture, but haven't had a chance to get to it. I'm starting my own business! Wow, eh? Who'da thunk? =)

Colin & Tasha were out here for their snowboarding trip in January and Tasha mentioned that she was hoping to train an employee to work for her in her digital retouching business. She wasn't talking about me at all, but it piqued my interest. I was sort of disappointed because I thought it was the kind of work I would have liked to do, if only I still lived in Selkirk. I love working with pictures, it would have flexible hours working from home, a good employer...=) To make a long story at least a little bit shorter, a few things fell into place over the next month... Tasha was still looking for someone and we figured we could work together even long distance thanks to many wonderful advances in technology! I would need to be with her in person to get some condensed training in Photoshop, but lo and behold, Spring Break was approaching. Dwayne had 2 weeks off, so even though we had a trip to Kelowna planned during the first week, we still had a whole week where Dwayne could stay home with Josiah and I could go to Selkirk to learn the ropes, with Abby in tow. (She's still breastfeeding, so I didn't think I could leave her behind...)

To make another part of this long story shorter, we decided it would be mutally beneficial if I started my own business and Tasha hired me on a contract basis. So, since I won't be making over $30,000/year (this year anyway!...) I don't really have to go through the hoops of licensing a business and such, so I pretty much just say I have my own business...and it comes to pass... I never knew it could be so easy. =)

Then, as the trip to Selkirk was approaching, Abby started weaning herself, against my wishes. =( She had pretty much cut out her 2 daytime feedings and was down to just morning and bedtime. Dwayne bravely made the suggestion that I leave Abby at home too and just go by myself so I could focus on all the new stuff I had to learn instead of worrying about Abby's schedule and who would watch her and what not. So, after 24 hours of internal debate, I decided to take him up on his offer! Oh man, it was almost as good as an all inclusive vacation! Travelling on an airplane, by myself. Sleeping through the night, and past 6:30am. Eating peaceful meals (which were prepared for me, and FANTASTIC, by the way.) =) And, I loved the work I was learning, to boot. I stayed for 3 nights and I think we managed to cram everything in that we needed to in the time we had.

As an added bonus, I got to connect with old friends. Tasha and I met Lorena and Helen for dessert, which was so awesome. It felt like I had just been there last week. Then I got to meet my friend Kelley for breakfast and it was sooo great to see her again in person. (I had my camera in my purse and everything, but forgot to take a picture of Kelley and I...) =( I also had fun just seeing the old, familiar sites of Selkirk again. =)

So, it looks like I'll be working 5-10 hours a week for now all from our newly decked-out office in the basement. We've got our PC, plus new iMac, plus the new 20 inch cinema monitor for the Mac all sitting on our desk. I'll have to post a picture of that on as soon as I get around to actually taking that picture...

I'm a little worried about adding new work to an already full life with my little family. I know I will have to use a couple of my evenings that were once free-time to do work. I may have to use a few hours on a Saturday now and then too. But, Dwayne has a great job which usually gets him home around 4:00. So, once I know what I'm doing, I will probably be able to fit in a bit of work in the hours when he's home from work while he plays with the kids. Plus, Dwayne's mom has graciously offered to come one day, maybe every other week, to watch kids while I work for a bit. So, that will hopefully help protect my down-time a bit, which will in turn protect my sanity, which we all know, is pretty essential to a happy family all around. =)

It is an amazing opportunity though. I'll work for Tasha for as long as she'll have me, and then, should she ever decide to move on to something else, I'll have the equipment, training, and experience to be able to work for any photographer from home doing their retouching work. So, although I wasn't planning on going back to work for a few years, it seems like this might just allow me to work from home for quite a while if I want to, which is what I was hoping to find down the road. I'm really grateful. And, I've already been working a bit (you'll be happy to hear, Tasha) and loving it. It's instantly satisfying to see the "before and after" of pictures I retouch! Maybe it will even improve the quality of the pictures I post here, so you can all see how I'm doing!

Hansen/Meisenheimer getaway

We just got home from a 3 night stay with Mom & Dad H, Cheryl, and Zach at Manteo resort in Kelowna. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo together and had a FANTASTIC time! It was pretty chilly while we were there, so our activites were mostly indoor. We pretty much spent all our free time swimming in the pool or playing games in the condo. It was perfect for us though. A bit more tennis or bocce ball would have been nice, and maybe a golf game for Dad & Dwayne, but we'll save that for some summer fun. This was full of good family bonding, and it went by way too fast.
While we were all swimming in the pool, I had one of those rare moments where I could stop and just enjoy my kids and then I wished I could preserve them in their present state forever. Those moments are rare because of two facts. One: I'm usually quite preoccupied with just feeding, cleaning, clothing, and occupying my kids. Two: Much of childhood seems to be about learning the next thing, and I'm always so excited to see what my kids are learning to do and be. I don't take as much time as I wish I would to revel in their 9-month and 3 year old-ness. (Or whatever the current age might be.)

So, there we were swimming and Josiah was having sooooo much fun. He was jumping and dog-paddling and getting piggy-backs in the water from everyone. He was talking and singing and having a grand old time. Abby was sooooo cute in her little pink and orange bathing suit. (I'm a sucker for little girls in bathing suits! I think they're the most adorable things.) She was pretty nervous, so her tiny little hands were clutching my neck and her tiny little feet were wrapped tightly around my rib cage. We just bounced gently around the pool until she relaxed and started kicking and splashing and even smiling a little. They are so AMAZING. They are healthy and beautiful and smart. They are a joy to parent. =) Aren't vacations great? =)

Grandma Norma's visit

Grandma Norma came out from Regina to visit at the beginning of March. It is always so awesome to have family from afar come and be near again! =) Josiah almost didn't want anything to do with me for a couple of days knowing he had grandma to play with and help him instead. Dwayne's parents came out for lunch and a visit one day, so Josiah even got to play Uno (his new favorite pasttime) with 2 grandmas!
We had our fair share of rain the last month, but there were some nice chunks of time while Norma was here to sit out on the deck and go for a walk down by the Vedder river. It was sooo nice to catch up! =)

If life were a race...

The other day when we were driving to preschool, Josiah asked me, "Mom, how old will I be when Abby is 80?" I said, "You'll be 83." Long, contemplative pause from Josiah....... "So, I'll still be winning," he declared, quite satisfied. It made me laugh. Wouldn't it be awesome if, on Abby's 80th birthday, Josiah gave her a hug and kiss and said, "I'm still winning?"

Celebrating a decade with some thrills

"The Wicked Twister"

"Millenium Force"

"Raptor"

"Magnum XL 200"

"Top Thrill Dragster"

"Top Thrill Dragster" on the way down...

These are just some of the amazing rides at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, voted the best amusement park in the world in 2006, for the 9th consecutive year! 9th year! They have 17 roller coasters in all! 17!

Plus 11 other thrill rides. "Power Tower," "Skyhawk," and "MaXair" to name a few. The droppy, twisty, swingy kind of rides. 11!

Plus Soak City- the outdoor waterpark that boasts 12 waterslides and a wave pool all on the beaches of lake Erie.

Plus Camp Snoopy with rides and entertainment galore for kids. Dwayne and I plan on steering completely clear of Camp Snoopy. Completely!

"What's this all about", you say? Why am I telling you about the best amusement park in the world, you ask? Because Dwayne and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this summer, and we're ringing in the next decade with a bang! We're leaving the kids with Nana and Papa, getting on a plane to Cleveland, staying for 5 glorious nights at a quiet, kid-free bed and breakfast in Milan, Ohio, and spending 4 fun-filled days at the best amusement park in the world! (Did I mention it's been voted the best in the world? For 9 consecutive years! By who, you may ask? Amusement World- the biggest amusement park fans/experts around. So it must be true.) =)

Our tickets are booked. We leave on August 11th and return on the 16th. We're more than a little excited. About the rides, certainly. But also about the uninterrupted sleep, meals, and conversations! Oh bliss! Cedar Point, here we come.

Check out the website. www.cedarpoint.com

pigtail

I was finally able to get Abby to sit still long enough to get a tiny little hair elastic wrapped around her little tuft of hair. She looked so cute. She reminded us of Pebbles.

Neighbors

This is Josiah out playing with our next door neighbor, Elera. She just turned 3 in January, so they're very close in age. Despite the fact that Elera is very girly and Josiah is very boyish, they play super well together. There is a little boy named Caden who lives a couple of doors down who Josiah and Elera like to play with too, although he's not out as often. Whenever Josiah hears any kids outside our living room window, he runs to look outside, and if it's Elera or Caden he's ready to head out right away. It's nice because he doesn't need our encouragement to go and join in- he takes the initiative now. He's comfortable with them and they have lots of room to ride and run around. He's growing up. Pretty quickly.

first swing

Abby had her first swing ride, close to a month ago now, but I've been delinquint in keeping up my blog lately... We don't have any parks nearby with baby swings, so this is the park near nana & papa's. I think she was more interested in watching Josiah go by on the swing beside her than in enjoying her own experience. Older sibling adoration, I guess. =) She did have a good time though.

Burned

This is a shot of poor Josiah's blistering hand about 24 hours after he put his hand on the glass cover of our gas fireplace... Poor boy! Our fireplace has a thermostat instead of a switch, so you don't just turn it off and on. It goes off and on by itself depending on what you set the temperature at. I noticed the fire had been on and had just turned off when I went to get the door as a friend of mine and her kids were coming over. I came up to our living room and Josiah started wailing and walking toward me from the fireplace holding his hands. I took him to the sink to run it under cold water and gave him a cold cloth to hold on it for a while, but I really didn't realize how bad it was for about half an hour. He would stop crying for a minute or two and then start howling again and shaking his hand. To be honest, I thought he was overreacting... (Feelin' like mother of the year now...) Aaaanyway, we gave him a bowl of cool water and he pretty much kept his hand in it for 4 hours straight until bedtime. He managed to fall asleep holding a cold cloth. Then in the morning, it looked like the picture above! I felt so bad for him. Once I saw how bad it was, I felt like I should have gushed over him more, but what can I say? I underestimated the damage. I'm still not sure what he was doing when he touched the fireplace. He's never touched it before. I have a feeling he unintentionally put his hand there when he was getting up on the hearth to look out the window and watch our friends arrive. Regardless, he emphasized quite strongly at supper that night that he would NEVER touch the fireplace again. Then he added that sometimes the oven gets hot (we've warned him of this too) and he will NEVER touch the oven! So, lesson learned I guess.

To further add to Josiah's drama, he's had a terrible bug of some kind and now he's developed croup again. (He had it a couple of times when he was younger.) So the last couple of days have been pretty bad for him. He sort of protects his right hand like a wounded animal and he has these terrible coughing fits where he sounds like a barking seal. Funny thing is, he's a real trooper- he really never complains. I'm sure I would be whining much more if it were me! Dwayne and I agreed yesterday that he was our hero for the day.

They belong in pictures

Okay, so I think our kids provide pretty good raw material for photographers, because they're so cute, but honestly, I can never get their pictures to look like this! Isn't Tasha fantastic?!? In her words, "These were just some fun shots before bedtime." Really, because you should see the pictures I would end up with if I was taking "just some fun shots before bedtime?!" Anyway, I know I'm biased about my kid's adorable-ness, but I think these photos look like magazine ads. =)

PS. Please note the extreme cuteness of Abby's lone tooth...=)

A Doerksen visit

We are fortunate to live by mountains, both because they're beautiful to look at, and because it means our friends want to come and snowboard on them! That meant that we got to host Colin & Tasha on their annual snowboarding trip this year! Yay! So while they may say they came out to do Whistler and Mount Baker, deep down they really came to play games. =) And play games, we did. Some Settlers, some Carcossonne, some Goa, some Rook. Good times! (Except maybe for Colin, who didn't really win anything.) =)

Anyway, it was so good to connect with them again in person. And I loved that our kids got to see them again too. Josiah still talks a fair amount about Selkirk and his friends there, so it was nice that he got another good dose of old friends.

Siblings

I love watching my own children developing a friendship with each other. I know it's early...and we already saw our first glimpse of future blowups this weekend when Abby grabbed a pair of headphones Josiah was holding and the pulling and screaming began...but the flip side of that coin is a future relationship that's grounded in many years and experiences shared. It's so exciting to see.

Boldly approaching the slopes

I just wanted to say that Dwayne tried snowboarding today with the grade 7's and 8's and I'm so proud! He broke his leg skiing in grade 5 and has pretty much sworn off the slopes ever since. (And who can blame him?) However, skiing happens to be one of the sports I most enjoy, so we've never been able to do that together. So, since he had to go with his class, it was free, and he got lessons, this was a great opportunity! He felt much more comfortable and in control on a snowboard and loved it. Now he's already planning our future skiing/snowboarding trips as a couple and as a family! Awesome!

What defines you?

I was reading something in my devotional book the other day that got me thinking. It's been on my mind so much, that I thought I would post about it! I'm going to rant, so if you're short for time, don't bother reading this. =)

The reading was about mothers and their children and some of the debates that have been raging over this relationship for the last half a century or so. There was a small comment in my book that talked about how for decades women have been warned against letting motherhood "define" them. I thought about it further because that's a phrase I've heard tossed around more than a few times in my adult life as I've been in contact with lots of young women talking about their futures and what they hope and dream. Many of them would talk about having children, but would often throw in a comment about being sure to keep up other interests so that they wouldn't "just" be mothers. They feared being labelled as just a mom or defining their identities too heavily based on motherhood. It's funny because no one ever seemed too concerned about being "defined" as a daughter or a sister or a teacher or a student or a soccer player. And rarely do I hear about men being warned before they have children, "Dude, make sure you don't allow yourself to be too defined by fatherhood. Remember, you're more than just a dad!" It's something pretty specific to motherhood.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unaware of the ideas behind these comments. Women don't want to be underestimated in other arenas, for one thing. "Yes, I'm a mom, but I'm still capable of this job or that skill or I'm still interesting and funny and smart." I get that. Moms have a stigma and lots of women are scared of being perceived as boring or incapable of much else besides diaper changing.

But, you know what? Every role we fill defines us at least a bit. I'm going to be different because I'm married. I'm going to be changed by my siblings and my friends. I'm going to be identified in part by the jobs I have or have had. And let's be honest, motherhood is defining. It's consuming like no other role we fill. I read a quote by Danielle Crittenden that said, "This is motherhood's greatest joy and darkest secret. Suddenly, you can't stop thinking about your child." Many women are fighting against, what I think, is an innate desire to nurture our children.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that our children are the most important people in our lives because I still believe Dwayne is my biggest joy, priority, and commitment. (It's just that he can dress and feed and bathe himself, so for a few years, he gets less intense attention!) =) Also, I'm not saying that we should be so consumed with our kids that we don't pursue those other interests and take breaks and what not. (I would never, never say that. In fact, if you can babysit my kids, call me any time. Any time.) But here's the bottom line from me today. These days, I spend most of my time being referred to as mommy. I am capable of lots of other things besides what I do in the physical tasks of parenting. I am interesting and funny and smart, and if you don't think so then who are you and why are you reading my blog? I am a mom- that's part of my definition. =) And here's why that's so great:

Emerging Talent

Everytime we take the camera out Josiah insists on taking a couple of pictures himself. Thanks to the beauty of digital photography, we can indulge this request without wasting "film." =) I think he's got a gift... You can see here how he managed to catch Abby and I at our best...=) This is actually an improvement over his earlier works, as you can actually see part of my face and we're amazingly centered!

Another snowfall

Beautiful things in our backyard: snow, trees, our children... Josiah was pulling Abby so carefully so she wouldn't fall. It was so sweet.

More random Christmas pictures- a little late

Table Hockey- the true meaning of Christmas, according to Josiah. Yes, he knew we were celebrating Jesus' birthday, but every day of advent when he moved that little snowflake to the next day on the calendar, he let on what he was really looking forward to...December 24th, when he was going to play table hockey at nana & papa's.... Seen here playing with GG Marshall. =)

Pretty picture of Abby & nana.

Josiah playing with his new Leap Pad.

Abby & mommy on Boxing Day

A post-Christmas game of Manila. Very fun game- except that Cheryl always wins!