Wren finds herself hilarious

A few weeks ago we recorded the girls playing in the bath. Wren was quite a ham that night and had lots of silly moments to catch on the videocamera. 

One of her favourite things is to re-watch our home videos. I could hear her from the other room giggling up a storm.

I had to take a picture, I almost wish I could have videotaped her laughing at herself!

Hanging large wall photos

After reading the bedroom makeover post from A Cup of Jo last year, I knew I wanted to try hanging a large family photo in our living room.

Amanda did our family photos in the fall. They were already in a nice, high resolution so I could blow them up using the Costco photo center. 

We used these instructions (from Little Green Notebook) as a guide to mount and hang the photo.

I went with Costco's poster photo print, and printed a 24 by 36 inch photo. I'm fairly sure that is the largest they can do, and then you would need to go to another printer for something bigger. But our walls aren't huge so this was as big as I felt we could go for our space.

But for our poster, it was a mere $15.99! Not bad at all.

It was a little tricky to use the scrapbook tape and lay the poster evenly on the plywood and without any bubbles or ripples, but we managed to get it nearly perfect in the end. D-rings on the back hold the whole thing onto the wall.

A really affordable way to hang a nice big piece of art or a photo in your house. I highly recommend it!

A kid in the crib

Wren was ultra tired this morning. She was playing with Ellie in the crib, and then curled up with one of Ellie's blankets and started to drift off. I took Ellie out and quietly closed the door so Wren could sleep. 

Funny.

Chemex Coffee

Have you heard of the Chemex coffee maker? Back in the fall I was on the hunt for a great gift for Kenton's birthday. I read this post from Sprouted Kitchen's blog and thought this would be the perfect, unique gift for the guy that loves his coffee every single morning, and sometimes in the evening! 

He used to always use a french press which was okay but the coffee (which I would steal a half cup of in the mornings) would have some of that trademark sludge in the bottom. With a Chemex, it's perfectly filtered and clean. I'm a fan.

 Ever since reading up on them for his birthday, it seems like Chemex's are everywhere...but they have actually been around forever!

You can find them at Crate & Barrel, or buy them at The Artworks downtown in City Center mall. 

I bought him the 6 cup version (comes all the way up to a 10 cup size).

They also have coffee makers with glass handles, although I haven't seen these anywhere for sale other than the website (which doesn't ship to Canada last time I checked). The glass handle is slightly easier for cleaning because you don't have to take off that wood collar and leather tie before you wash. 

There can be quite an art to coffee making, we are pretty basic about it, but this coffee maker is super easy to use and looks really rustic and fun on the table in the morning or serving guests a cup.

I'd say our only complaint is how quickly it cools off in the container, but really, a fresh cup right after it's made is best, right?

Maybe one day one of us will get really fussy with our coffee making, after all, we have this book to help us learn...

P.S. A friend coincidentally bought him an Aeropress coffee maker too, which is incredibly easy and fast to make individual cups of coffee. I typically leave the coffee making up to Kenton in the morning but I have managed to make my own with this when I need that afternoon pick me up.

Enjoying the small things: a birth story to read

Yesterday I read a birth story from Enjoying the Small Things. The writer, Kelle, just had her third baby and something about how she wrote this story about her new son struck a chord with me. It brought back memories of when Wren and Ellie were born.

Caught napping, so sweet. 

If you haven't already, you should read the birth story of her second daughter, Nella as well. It was the first post of hers I ever read and it was incredibly moving. The photos and emotions that she shared would likely resonate with any mother- her daughter was also born with Down syndrome which adds to the intensity of the story, photos and her experience in that moment.

Waking up from a nap. Not sure why a camera has to be in her face for it. Click!

Despite my gripes yesterday about all the "following" we do with social media, I have enjoyed reading the experiences of other women through their blogs. Blogs have opened a door for mothers especially to share with one another their lives to a certain extent and help us stay at homes feel a bit of connection, even if it's simply being able to identify with another persons words. 

We are certainly in a different era of parenthood than our mothers or grandmothers lived in with the internet in our homes. 

That ability to peek into each other's lives (the good and bad at times) maybe helps us to see how similar we all are with our joys and struggles, if used well.

I loved Kelle's photo of her oldest daughter, Lainey, sleeping with the new baby in the hospital bed- Dash all tucked into her arm (towards the bottom of the post) . However, the photo of her face captured as she holds her son for the first time is SO beautiful too. Talk about looking amazing during delivery, sheesh!

This was my favourite part of her post- I can't summarize it well so here's the direct quote:

"You know, we've come a long way as women.  Our culture recognizes and celebrates our accomplishments, talents and unique gifts far more than it did fifty years ago.  Much good has come from voices for feminism.  And today, we talk a lot about recognizing and valuing our identity outside of motherhood.  I know that's important.  I have no doubt that if I didn't have children, I would have found fulfilment and happiness in other things and I wouldn't have been any less of a woman or lover or nurturer as I am today as the mother of three.

But I can also say that I am an independent woman who is completely and utterly in love with motherhood--so much that yes, my identity is and forever will be intertwined with this gift--being their mother."

Ellie's wisps of hair by her ears are so hilarious.

I couldn't have said it better. Life isn't the same after your children are here, and it shouldn't be. Life with kids is exciting, new, beautiful, fun, interesting, thrilling, boring, challenging, and a million other things. 

My identity is forever intertwined with my children, and it's the same for Kenton. 

We have embraced that and live out of our joy for this new kind of life we have every day the best we can. We are proud and content to be where we're at. (Okay there are some days I wanna pull my hair out, okay? Don't we all even if we don't have kids? haha) 

I'm also proud and enjoy watching those around me in completely different situations (with or without kids) and how they live it out. 

That all being said, I'm going to embrace making a grocery list, shopping for groceries, and trying to stuff my kids into snowsuits for some sun and a walk today. Oh the ordinary things are so ordinary sometimes!

So go ahead and read Kelle's stories, she has a way of conveying her deep thoughts in her blog with her pictures in an inspiring way. 

Have a great weekend!

Lent

February, what a completely uninspiring time of month. Yes, there was Valentine's Day, Family Day, but other than that, it's so...meh! Despite my lack of motivation to post anything, I'm being told by a few readers that I should just slap something up anyways so they can have their daily fix...I suppose I can do that :)

Actually, I do have some inspiration coming down the pipe for a post- Kenton is almost finished a huge woodworking project for a "client". They are clients, but first they are our friends. He has worked so hard for the last few months on a piece of furniture and is thrilled to be able to deliver it to them soon!

That post is coming soon...

In the meantime, you get to enjoy some tiny baby toes...

Is anyone giving up anything for Lent? Because I'm so out of touch, I didn't know it had even started yet. Go figure.

I have thought about giving up texting, blog posting, Pinterest and the computer as a whole. All which seem sort of impossible..okay Pinterest would be the easiest but what's the point then.

I honestly think texting would be the one to toss because I feel like I walk around my  house all day with some sort of device in my hand whether it's a cell, a house phone or a baby monitor. 

But you know when you constantly check something? I am constantly checking my stupid cell phone. Some days I want to toss it into the snow and forget about it until June.

It's so incredibly annoying to feel tied to something like that insignificant.

It's probably obvious I have reached some sort of technology-annoyance peak. I've been thinking about how exhausting it is to "follow" everything. Blogs, facebook (I may check Kenton's on occasion..), Pinterest, Instagram (I don't have this, just an example), and the list goes on. 

It keeps me on the computer and maybe because it's winter it's easier to be inside and just surfing the net in whatever form it comes. But don't we all get so SICK of it??

I just feel like I'm missing out on something if I'm not in the thick of the "following" world. I think everyone feels left out if they aren't participating too, let's just be honest with ourselves.

I think it's why I deleted my facebook way back when. I wasn't "keeping in touch" with anyone, I was just mostly irritated. However, I have managed to fill that facebook hole with other internet obsessions.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. Obviously. I love texting as much as I hate it. But I feel like a need a breather. I think instead of checking my phone every 5 seconds when I have a moment of time where something isn't happening, I can just stare into space or at the wall or whatever. 

A few weeks ago I was giving Ellie a bath and Wren walked into the bathroom holding my cell phone saying "Mommy your phone texted you!". 

UGH. I don't want her thinking that is something urgent! 

A couple of moms I know from Wren's playgroup said they don't even have cell phones....and I envied them.

So on that note, as I wrote this I noticed I got a little, uh, fired about about this cell phone texting thing, haha. I'm not ranting about cell phones on the whole (although don't get me started about cell phone etiquette when out with others), just my own annoying habits. 

Maybe that is my thing for Lent. It's supposed to be something that won't be super easy or insignificant, right?

Will do attempt to give up something?

Happy Valentines Day

Wren and Ellie wish you a Happy Valentines Day...

Wren is really into every single holiday this year. Today she wore her heart shirt but put on Halloween socks before we headed out for preschool. 

She was excited to make Valentines for her classmates. (There's only 14 in the class). Dollarama has little "kits" you can buy. These ones had stickers and tiny glitter glue. Easy.

We also found Valentine baking cups, so we HAD to make cupcakes...according to Wren.

Naturally, I didn't realize we were out of white sugar before we got started and used honey instead. It kind of worked. 

She couldn't believe we could actually make PINK icing. It blew her mind...

Leftover red sprinkles from Christmas worked perfectly.

I can't wait until she comes home from school today and she shows us the Valentines she gets from her little classmates. She will be sooo happy!

Kenton and I did not make plans specifically for tonight (we don't really care if you celebrate events on the actual day), but I did stop and get us a little treat of Strawberry Lime Tempt and Chocolate Stout. 

Before kids, we once went for a nice dinner for Valentine's Day and didn't realize it was a set menu for the special night and payed an astronomical amount. We prefer to keep it low key and do something small and sweet with a drink and a movie. 

Anyone else have fun plans?

P.S. Ellie turned a whopping 10 months old yesterday!

Galaxy Land

I feel like Wren's Nana should be writing this post since she was actually there, but I'll do my best!

Judy took Wren to Galaxy land on her day off. Uncle Jordan even met up with them for a bit for a ride or two.

Nana said Wren was SO excited to get on the red plane. Since Wren turned 2 (I think?) she has occasionally visited here with her Nana & Papa since they live 2 min away and seem to take the noise and lights in stride. When they are 2 yrs old and under they are free with one adult, so naturally you need to take advantage of that, right?

I'm sure coming here on a weekday afternoon is way more tolerable than trying to come on a weekend. Yikes! 

Not sure, maybe she is stealing Uncle Jordan's nose here? 

She will be talking about this afternoon for the rest of the week :)

Monday afternoon thoughts

This afternoon Ellie and I were having a snuggle and Kenton saw the photo opportunity...

Ellie has been so sick since last week. Her and I had a Thursday night date at the Stollery emergency again when she started to show signs of getting croup- again. In a weird way, there is almost an adventurous feeling of packing up your baby at midnight and heading out on the quiet dark roads in the middle of the night. 

Obviously, I was nervous for her, but I recognized the signs much earlier than the last time and I knew that either way I wasn't getting sleep that night. 

When we got there we didn't have to wait to get in, we were the only ones there. She was seen right away (still wearing her pajamas) and given a bit of medicine. 

By the time we were heading home, I was starving and felt I had earned a stop in the drive thru at Mc Donalds. It's funny what you will do at one in the morning, regardless if you have a sleeping baby in the back seat. Before any of this had even happened, and I was sitting on the computer waiting for her to try to fall asleep again, knowing the inevitable was that we'd have to go to the hospital, and I was on Kenton's facebook and saw a group of friends were out for dinner around the same time. It made me realize (for the millionth time) how different my life is than lots of friends I have. They're out having a fun dinner, and I'm stopping at a drive thru with my sick baby very late at night. I wouldn't change it, but it's a funny thought.

This is a really good photo of us for two reasons- the photo itself is clear and nicely lit. But it has captured exactly how I look on a day to day basis. 

Being at home all.the.time. can be draining. You get sick at looking at the walls of your house, the dishes on the sink that don't go away by themselves, and you feel tired of it all. Especially in winter.

But I feel better if get up and get dressed (in real clothes, not sweatpants), put on a bit of makeup and shake some dry shampoo into my dirty hair. If I look relatively nice, I feel better. I even do this on days that I'm fairly sure I won't see another living soul except my husband and kids. I don't know, some days are so blah and weeks at home can get monotonous, but it kind of picks me up a bit. I know there's this whole "yummy mummy"movement where moms look like they're going to a fashion show when they're just at the playground which is ridiculous. There are also the moms that look like they have no will to live anymore (which might not be true but the way they look is saying it!) and I don't think that's good either. I would recommend doing something small for yourself every day that makes you feel good (even a little bit) if you are a mom, whether you work or stay at home, whatever that means for you- could be just hopping in the shower and putting on jeans. 

I am definitely looking forward to going back to work part time and having a more work/home balance for myself. I enjoy what I do and I enjoy having to "get ready" and interact with people and think about something other than what I'm making for dinner. That isn't until the middle of April, which actually is not that far away. Blogging will still happen..I kind of dropped the ball when I was working full time in between girls last time, but that was different. I look forward to continually sharing about them and what's going on with us!

Speaking of...in a post coming soon (maybe in a couple of weeks, simmer down!) I will be posting about Kenton's latest project that he's been labouring over the past several months. You may have seen a "teaser" on facebook, but I'm waiting until I can give you a photo of the finished product. It's going to be amazing :)

Ellie and Uncle Kyle

I finally got around to posting about how much Ellie and her Uncle Kyle look (or don't) look alike. I even got my hands on a few baby pictures for a complete comparison! Thank you Nana for letting me borrow them out of the baby book archives.

Here is Kenton holding Kyle who is about 10 months old in this photo. 

And Wren holding Ellie who is about 9 months old here. I have to say, we think she looks like Kyle all the time but when I see a photo of him as a baby, I don't see it as much. Weird! But you can see that the genes for substantially sized babies definitely runs in the family :)

On a day to day basis we see so much of myself in Wren, but looking back in the photos, she is also incredibly similar to Kenton. However, she definitely got the trademark Neufeld cheeks/face shape that we all know and love :)

Now, I saw this photo and just had to get it in here too. Um, how cute are these three?! So spiffy with the side parts. Jordan can still rock a snazzy vest to this day. Do you think I could find a photo on his facebook page to show you? Nope, but you can take my word for it.

So what do you think? Pretty similar? Not at all? We see a lot more Jeske in this baby, that's for sure!

Annnd this picture had nothing to do with anything but it's one of my all time faves. 

This is Kyle and Kenton acting out the bible story of "Fat Fat Jehosaphat". So FUNNY. 

Get in line ladies. Get. In. Line.

Sister Love

In my last post I was saying how affectionate Ellie is, how much she loves hugs, kisses and cuddles...

This is probably why...

There's a lot of sister love in this house...

The last 9.5 months have been full of sweet moments with the two of them...