Remembrance Day

Today is a holiday in Canada, which for Luke and me means Derek gets to stay home with us! We have already had a wonderful morning. Derek got Luke up and brought him to me to eat. When Luke was done eating Derek played with him for forty-five minutes until it was time for Luke to have a nap. And then Luke had a two hour nap! I went back to sleep after Luke ate and slept until 9am!

When I got up I made pancakes, had breakfast with Derek, finished my book and started laundry. So even though I slept in, it's been a very productive morning. I even did some vacuuming. I have vacuumed everyday since Derek finished installing the central vac. Derek got crumbs on the couch last night and I said, "you're not going to be allowed to eat in the living room anymore" and he said, "You forget, we have a vacuum now!" Well, I still don't like the crumbs, but vacuuming is pretty fun. Luke looks at me so strangely when I vacuum...it's as though he's never seen a vacuum before - oh wait, he hasn't!

Jolly Days

This weekend and today have been jolly days in many respects. In fact the only un-jolly part about it was that I discovered I have ulcers in my throat when I went to the doctor this morning. Other than the ulcers, which I've invited to dinner even though they're horrible guests, we had a great weekend. Derek got stuck in the snow on our driveway Friday evening and spent over an hour shovelling (I guess that's not really jolly, but it made it feel like winter). While he was outside, Luke and I put up the Christmas tree and strung the lights on it. Later in the evening Derek and I decorated it.

Saturday was a nice day to be home as a family. Derek finished installing my vacuum cleaner and I vacuumed everything in sight...even under the couch cushions! It was really satisfying to hear that grating raking sound as the vacuum picked up all the nasty stuff that's been on my carpet for who knows how long. Then Helene dropped off the jolly jumper that she picked up in Winnipeg.

Sunday morning, Derek assembled the jolly jumper and then went to play bass at church and Luke and I stayed home. I've just been kind of sick for several days and wasn't up to the trip out in the snow. Luke took several turns in the jolly jumper and is getting the hang of it, but slowly. In the evening we ended up having dinner at Harv and Helene's with the whole family. We planned ahead and swapped names for Christmas.

This morning after my doctor visit (and by the way, there's nothing you can do for ulcers...just wait), I went to pick up a package in Walhalla. It was Luke's second trip to the United States, and his first trip with a passport! He slept through most of the exciting stuff. We opened the package in the living room with Luke sitting in his jolly jumper and it felt just like Christmas sitting in front of the tree, opening gifts! These are jolly days.

The Silent Spitty Serpent Stalker

will be upon you when you least expect it. Trailing you around every turn. Stealthily slithering warm and wet down your sleeve, down your back, into your shoe. Unnoticed, undetected, unwarranted intruder. Embarassed passersby will point and stare and you will smile nervously confused. Until all at once you notice it: the silent spitty serpent stalker. One moment you were safe, and the next moment - it was there! on your shoulder, in your hair, on your neighbor; wet, milky, and malicious.

Yesterday afternoon the rain turned to sleet and in the evening it turned to snow. It was blowing like crazy and we got at least a couple inches. It's pretty slippery out there today though with the ice underneath. The sky is still slate gray and we have a drift of snow in front of our porch. Derek had to take a few runs down the driveway before he made it into the street, which pretty much means I won't be going anywhere today. I'm not going out there to shovel snow feeling the way I do.

Thinking I was starting to feel better was just a sypmtom of my fever. Luke and I are having a movie/nap day. All we're going to do is watch movies and sleep. Happy Friday, Happy Winter, Happy Spit.

Luke played peekaboo for the first time yesterday and really enjoyed it.



out the front window (above: this morning below: last night)

Too Sick To Do Much

I am far too sick to do much today. I officially have the flu. I wouldn't even be posting except now we have internet at home and I can post in my jammies just a few feet from my bed. Derek stayed home to take care of me and Luke. Turns out it's good he's home because we have a little crisis with all this rain. Since we don't have siding on the north wall and the rain is coming in at such a sharp angle, the water is getting in...it's seeping in around our bedroom window and the window in the basement. Hopefully he can figure it out while Luke and I take a nap.

I'm not posting a new picture today, but I don't think I posted these cute ones of Luke and Cammy together at Halloween. Hopefully we'll have new stuff for tomorrow and my body will repair itself.

Cold with a Cold

Pictures:
Ryan and Charity were over last night with their kids. Levi was born very close to Ezekiel, in February. Ryan and Derek were friends because their parents were friends and spent a lot of time together when they were little. Luke and Levi are a third generation of this friendship!

I woke up this morning with a cold, and Luke is coughing and congested a little bit too. Hopefully neither of us gets worse. After an hour and a half nap and some tylenol this morning I felt quite a lot better. And even when Luke is sick he seems to have a surprisingly positive outlook on life.

He's sitting in his exersaucer right now shouting at the tall yellow and purple toy. That's his favorite to shout at. This morning Helene came over and she and I planted phlox, lilies and my hydrangea. It is going to be really nice to have some green come up in the yard next spring. While we were out in the biting wind, Luke played nicely in his crib, and I think he even took a little nap, but he wouldn't admit it.

Yesterday was so warm, and today is frighteningly cold. Yesterday I went for a walk with Suzy in just a shirt and jeans and I even sweat a little. Today I had a scarf, toque, and jacket on and my hands were still icy when I came inside. It looks like Fall is over, and I'm glad it lasted as long as it did. But it's still hard to greet winter cheerfully this year. I'm scared of keeping Luke warm, and feeling housebound. Still, we had a gorgeous Fall, and the sooner winter comes, the sooner spring will arrive...right?

We Had Twelve Glasses

I was drinking out of a glass this morning that has an imperfection on the bottom and it is a familiar, comforting thing to see that imperfection on the bottom of the glass whenever I drink out of it. I know that glass intimately. It has been part of our family for almost five years.

I know we had twelve glasses. I counted them. I wanted to have as many glasses as we had plates. There were twelve. I did dishes yesterday and cleaned two glasses. Somehow there were still only four clean glasses in the cupboard. Two were being used.

If two were being used and four were in the cupboard that means we only have six glasses. Where did the other six go? Are they hiding? Did they go on vacation? Did they feel unloved and just leave?

It is a sad thing when glasses that are like family begin disappearing for no apparent reason, and nobody even notices the loss. I know we've broken a few...but SIX? No, impossible. I would remember that, wouldn't I? I'm afraid I am a terrible glass-mother. I don't remember when our numbers were cut in half. I haven't properly grieved the broken shards of our family.

I picked up the glass with the imperfection and looked through it to the bottom and said, "You, at least, will not be forgotten".

On a lighter note, the dirt came yesterday! I got out there this morning and played in it. I planted 45 Parade (red) tulips and 50 assorted daffodils. Luke went out with me too and fell asleep in his car seat. His toque got all twisted up. Yesterday he fell asleep with his toys twice. Normally he gets grouchy and I put him in his crib, he cries for a bit and then goes to sleep. Yesterday he just checked out in the middle of playing. Crazy kid. I think he was depressed about the missing glasses.

Dressing Up and Un-Dressing

Luke had a wonderful time dressing up for Halloween and then undressing at his Great-Grandma and Grandpa's 57th Anniversary dinner. He loved his little pumpkin hat, but on Sunday, after awhile the pants got boring. But it was fine because he had a toasty new car seat cover to sit in that is so warm he'll be just fine even without pants on! And his chubby little legs are so great to show off.

I sewed a car seat cover for Luke on Saturday, but since it sits inside the seat and he sits on top of it, there is very little room left for my chunky little monkey. Very soon we will have to be buying a new car seat...hopefully the car seat cover works in the new seat! I worked on that cover all day off and on. First I put the zipper on the wrong side of the fabric. Then I put the zipper inside out. THEN I put Luke in the seat and I could just barely squeeze his arms under the straps! oh dear. My Mom reminded me that this is why they say children are expensive...

Sunday evening was a lot of fun with the whole family. Well, all the aunts and uncles were there. Only a few of us "kids" were there. But that made it very intimate and nice. Everyone took turns holding Luke and playing with him. And I got to eat dinner entirely uninterrupted! Our family needs to get together more often so I can eat in peace the food other people made while they look after my child - HAha! It was better than that - Luke was being played with and looked after by people who love him, and that makes it special and fun.

Another wonderful weekend. Derek got lots done on the siding on Saturday and then got the vaccuum hooked up in the garage (we've still got pipes to run through the walls before it works), I sewed Luke's car seat cover, edited some maternity pictures for my sister-in-law and hung out with family. We even had time to watch a movie, just me and my husband. We watched The Life of David Gale. I would recommend it as a conversation piece-not for kids! I'm still mulling over the film...intriguing.