Seriously... Where does the time go?

I can not believe how long it has been since I last posted a blog ---slacker!!! ..... anyway, here are some of the things that are coming out of my fast growing little lovelies mouths these days.  Never a dull moment:)


Ashton: I think my Dad is going to take me hunting soon....
Me: Oh really?  What for?
Ashton: probably just some lizards and stuff.


Rhyse (anytime she is wearing sunglasses): Look at me... I'm a movie star!


Rhyse (whenever Ashton copies her): Stop coffing me!


Me to kids: I think I am going to buy a piano for the front room
Ashton: Yay, then we can all sing songs together before dinner every night


Ashton (reading a story to Rhyse): I used to love this story when I was a kid..... (keep in mind, he can't read either)


Ashton: Mom, all the big girls at my school just love me - one even said I'm as cute as a button


Rhyse (in the car when we are stopped behind another car): Go toopid!


Me to Ashton: I love you all the way to the moon and back and then some
Ashton: I love you more... I love you all the way to Canada

grace

Grace.... I love this word.  I love it because to me it defines my life here on this beautiful earth...

Sinner saved by grace. 

 I wholeheartedly believe this, and am thankful everyday for the grace of God.
Today however, the word Grace has me thinking of Ashton.  Recently he has been the one who recites our grace before dinner (btw, thanks Auntie Janet as we use the one that you taught us as kids), and tonight since I was at work, I did not get to hear Ashton say Grace.  Rhyse also likes to pipe in an "amen" at the end!!  Although I do love my new job as a nurse, I miss these little moments everyday that make our days so special and memorable.  On days that I do have to work, I try to pack in as much fun family time as I can before I have to leave.  This morning it was playing on the swing in the yard, and a bike ride.  I spoke to Ashton before he went to bed on the phone, and he said he was going to leave a picture that he drew on the table for me for when I get home.... I can't wait!

in the blink of an eye...

My bestie Karyn messaged me today, and said " I always thought you were crazy for crying about Ashton getting married and growing up... it all makes sense now".... Karyn had a beautiful baby girl, Charlotte,  a month ago, and I was so lucky to be able to be there for the birth of this little angel.  It truly was amazing.... When Ashton was only a few months old I looked at him and started crying as I thought to myself, one day he is going to have a new girl in his life, and I will not be his number one anymore.  I wanted him (and still do) to be a mama's boy forever, but more importantly I could not believe how fast he was growing and changing every day.  I called Karyn and cried to her about this.   Now as I think back to that day, I can not believe that was almost four years ago!!!  With my life being so crazy busy right now with far too much going on, I look at Rhyse and Ashton every day and think -  what happened to my babies?????... Ashton is at the stage where his brain is literally like a sponge and he is learning so much, and of course I am bias but he is SO STINKIN SMART!!!!!  And then there is Little Miss Rhyse - what a little lady that one is!!!  She is also SO STINKIN SMART, so pretty, so determined, and so independant - she does not skip a beat.  If there is something her brothers are doing, she is definitely right in there doing it too!
             But really.... what happened to my babies???  Rhyse is far from a baby anymore - infact, she seemed to rush out of the baby stage far faster than Ashton did.  Although I absolutely love and cherish all of the new adventures that each new stage in their life brings, I miss the baby phase, and I just can not believe how fast they are growing up.  I tell them everyday that they will always be my babies, and they will.  Yes, they both may get married one day and find another number one in their lives, but who ever said there isn't room for more than one number one?  When the time comes (in a LONG LONG time), I will be willing to share the number one spot with someone.   However, they will always be my babies, and no one can ever take that away from me. 

                 My response to Karyn.... "it flies by in the blink of an eye.... savor it"

Proud mama!!!

My little princess!!

 

Hillbilly Heaven

Yesterday was supposed to be a day for Dad and his boys.... due to what I like to refer to as "nonsense" (no further explanation necessary - for those close to us, know exactly what I mean)... I ended up being able to be part of this - and I couldn't have been more ecstatic to be going to the MONSTER TRUCK show with my two favorite guys.  Five years ago, I never would have imagined being excited to go to a monster truck show, but I was!   Ashton was so worried about missing the show that when we woke up on Sunday morning and were getting ready to go to Church, he didn't want to go because he thought that we might miss the 730pm monster truck show.  We arrived at the show at approximately 715 pm and once again Ashton was worried that we had missed the show.  He sat in his seat with his eyes peeled towards the gate where the trucks were supposed to come out.  "mom, did we miss it" he said... "no honey, they will be coming out right away".... those 15 minutes seemed like an eternity to my little 3 year old... but when they came out, the giant smile on his face was definitely the highlight of my night.  For the next hour and a half the three of us hollered and cheered for the giant trucks that raced around the tracks, did wheelies, and even crashed.  Oh, what a night!!!  Although I left the arena with a giant headache from all of the exhaust, my precious little Ashton left the arena with the biggest smile on his face that he even woke up with the next morning...."mom, can we go to the monster trucks again today?"... it is memories like these - of monster trucks - that I never in a million years would have imagined would be part of my life, but the smiles and laughter that I shared with my two favorite guys last night were awesome, and I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of it. 

p.s. my heading of hillbilly heaven was exactly what I thought I would see when I arrived at the monster truck show --- mullets and toothless smiles ---- instead what I saw was moms and dads just like us enjoying seeing their little ones (some may have been toothless) with giant ear to ear grins on their face!!
 



                                  okay, there may have been a few mullets... and a few adults who were smiling from ear to ear with less than 32 teeth.... maybe lucky if they had 15 or 20, but an ear to ear grin is priceless whether you have all 32 or not!!! 

watching the screen to see if his favorite truck won the race

Ashton reading a story to Rhyse the next morning... still wearing his monster truck shirt:)

Homesick...

I am feeling "homesick" lately... but as I think about where I am homesick for, there is not one specific place.  I think for me homesick is a general term for Canada.  I moved from Paynton to Moose Jaw, to Lloydminster, to Vancouver, to Langley, back to Vancouver, and then to Prince Albert for a majority of my life in Canada, and each one of them was home to me.  What is it about Canada that I miss so much??
- the people
- the beauty
- the healthcare system
- home made wine
- bunnyhugs rather than hoodies
- northern lights
- people who know how to drive when it snows
- kilometers rather than miles
- celsius rather than fahrenheit
- homecooked meals from scratch
- my dog Liz
- endless pots of coffee

- I could go on and on...
...........but most of all, what I miss are my family and friends... although I have great family and friends here in the U.S... my Canadian family and friends are the core of who I am.  They have been with me through my many ups and downs that brought me to this country;  they have smiled with me, cried with me, and laughed with me along the way.  This summer can not come soon enough for me to go "home".  Until then, I am so very lucky to have unlimited long distance, my dual citizen children who have learned Canadian words such as "bum", and "toque", my husband who reminds me daily of one of the reasons why I live here with his endless love and support,  facebook to see familiar faces, and of course my friends and family here in the U.S. who also remind me daily that the United States is a great country also filled with amazing people, and I am very lucky to have the best of both worlds.

Nice people make a huge difference!

Today, Jimmy and I had to deal with the I.R.S which usually is a PAINFUL process - especially when it is due to nonsense! ( I could have a whole other blog related to "nonsense", but completely not worth my time!)... today however, I was surprised beyond words when the man with whom we spoke to was the most pleasant, the most helpful, and the most understanding IRS agent I have encountered EVER!!!  What a difference it makes to deal with people who are all of these three things.  When we were done conversing with him, I knew my day was going to be a great one!  So, thanks Mister I.R.S. guy... you transformed what could have been a crappy situation turned crappy day into so much more!  After this I trekked my butt to the gym for a three mile run with my new running shoes, and had a smile on my face the whole time.  Nice people make a huge difference!!

All good things must come to an end...

 Must all good things really come to an end?  Well, yes... and no.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my month and a half break from school - yes, thoroughly.  Of course the Christmas holiday took up a major part of my break but since it is my favorite time of the year, it was worth it.  Morning coffee with my mom was another great thing about Christmas and my break.  She was here for close to two weeks, and having her around to not only bond with but also argue with is something I miss the second she leaves.   Many of my days during the past month were spent creating awesome memories with my family and friends- winter wonderland at Navy Pier, dinner at Hamada with Scott & Brenda,  the Walnut Room,  Santa visiting the Reno's house, the Dinosaur exhibit with Kara and the kids, trips to the library,  awesome Church services at both Parkview and St. Jude,  ice skating, sledding, and lots of parties with friends and family! I could go on and on about all of the fun things that we did, but my point is - the time has come where I not only have to go back to school, but now I have also added my first nursing job to my schedule as well!  This comes with mixed reviews from myself as I have been very fortunate to not have to work in the past.  Oh yes, I also need to mention how I have also decided to add on more minor thing to my plate - a marathon.  Why not, right???  I seem to thrive when my plate is extra full, and I have always wanted to do a full marathon so I have just started training to run my first marathon this May!  So here is my reasoning for my answer to my initial question... although I no longer have all the freedom in the world to soak up each day doing whatever me and the kids want, there are new and exciting things on the horizon in this next leg of my journey and I couldn't be more excited for them to begin!  We will take all of the fun memories we have made in the past month and not only create new ones, but also use them as inspiration for what the future holds!

The beautiful view from our table at the Walnut Room

Ashton made the "good list"!!

Me & Ashton at the Reno's Christmas with Santa party

Navy Pier

Rhyse admiring one of her dolls on Christmas morning

Snow Day

Hard to believe that yesterday I was outside with just a sweater on playing cars in the dirt with Ashton, and now today it is snowing like crazy!!  The magical looks on the kids faces when they stepped outside and saw all the snow coming down this morning is so amazing to me.  As adults, we tend to look at snow as simple as a pain in the butt to drive in,  but the kids.... they see it as so much more - a whole new playground for them to create and explore in!  I try as much as I can to "play" with the kids and join them in their magical thinking, but I have to admit there are times when the convenience of all of the gadgets of today's world get to me, and to the kids.  With televisions, computers, ipads, and iphones always within less than an arms reach it is simple to see why this often becomes difficult.  I have quite a few boundaries in our house when it comes to the kids and all of these "gadgets"... I rarely let them watch television, and if they do it must be age appropriate, and for a very limited time, they do not play video games nor do I ever plan on having any type of video game system in our house -- at least not for a VERY long time, they do not have DS's or whatever those handheld things that turn children into social isolates are called, and the  list goes on and on.  In all honesty many of my friends children have all of the above things in their homes and for their children, and that is their choice - it works for them.  For myself, I want my children to be as creative and magical as they can be all on their own.  All this being said, I must say that I am at fault as well - point: I am sitting here on my laptop while Ashton sits beside me and does a puzzle.  We also have an ipad that I do let the kids play from time to time, however it has to be educational games for the most part.  (I know, what a prude I am!).  I also have an iphone at my side at all times, and several times an hour check my email and whatnot... I guess my point is - how am I to teach my children to not be attached to these gadgets, if I myself am partially at fault?  So... here it is - twelve days late, but it is my new years resolution 2012- - - I am going to be less confined to a cell phone, laptop, telephone, or any other said "gadget" in the new year in an attempt to join my children in their magical kingdom, and maybe even perhaps discover one of my own!

Feeling the love!

 A few days ago I found out that I passed my LPN boards (phew!).... it has been a long, hard journey to this point but wow does it feel great! 
When I started back at school, I really had no idea what to expect - I knew that it would mean sacrifices for my family, I knew that it would mean a LOT of hard work, and I knew that in the end it would open up many new opportunities for my life.  What I did not realize is that I would feel so much love and support from friends and family throughout this journey - it has been amazing!!!
A few days before Christmas, I received a letter from the Nursing Department inviting me to join the Nursing Honors Society (can't remember what it is called - phi theta something - or maybe delta kappa something...haha).  It felt great to be recognized for all of my heard work but what feels way better is the support from all of my family and friends that I have received recently, and along the way.
 Since passing my boards, I have received so many texts, facebook messages, phone calls etc. from so many people congratulating me.  Little pats on the back like this only encourage me to continue knowing that I have such a strong support network.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart - I am truly blessed to have the most amazing friends and family a girl could ask for.

My loves...

As I reflect back on 2011, many of my most cherished moments are of course... with my children.  Rhyse turned one in the blink of an eye.  It was almost surreal when the day came - I could not believe my baby girl was one!  It seemed like just yesterday I brought her home from the hospital, and before I knew it  she was walking, talking (saying "no" like she invented the word), getting into EVERYTHING, but most of all melting my heart with daily smiles, hugs, and giggles.  Ashton also had many milestones in 2011 - started riding a two wheel bike, learned to write his name, swimming lessons, and started hockey!  He also started pre-school - at first I was not going to put him in pre-school because I felt that he did not need to start until he turned four.  In September,  I began to notice that he was getting "bored" with our daily routines and perhaps needed some new stimulation in his life.  He started the school year off late, but fit right in.  I went to his first parent teacher interview in November, and of course shed a few tears (anyone who knows me knows that this is not out of the ordinary).  It was so nice to hear his teachers tell me how much of a wonderful child he is to be around, and how loving he is.  They were also very impressed with his knowledge level, and said "it is very apparent that you work alot with him on things at home"... not saying he is a genius or anything of the source, but moments like these not only bring tears to my eyes, but also reassures me that I might just be doing a thing or two right:)
Goodbye 2011, you were a wonderful year and I do not have any  bad things to say about you -- we had our ups, we had our downs, but everything turned out perfect in the end.