Some Days

Some days are made for being productive.

This morning I went to the fabric store and picked up enough to make 26 more magic bags.  I have a number of covers on hand, but have completely depleted my stock of cloth for the inside bags, and have only one completed bag on hand.  Now I have (more) stuff to work on during nap times.  Nolan was an angel while we were out, and I got the car washed and bags dropped off at the Salvation Army store too.  This afternoon I wrote a batch of thank yous and made up a batch of new cards... feeling very productive today.

Some days are made for sitting at home all day, stuck under a sleeping baby.

Nolan was a bit sick over the weekend with a stuffy nose - it made it hard for him to sleep laying down at times, and I sure didn't mind holding him while he slept!  Last Thursday we had a day full of outings, which meant he had multiple short naps and kept getting woken up, then his cold set in - Friday was a wonderful day with an empty schedule, and I didn't leave the house once.  Saturday and Sunday were more of the same, with only a supper at the in laws to get us out of the house.  We even missed church on Sunday - I haven't been there in 3 weeks with a trip to Winnipeg, M's soccer tournament and sick boy!  Next week??  Hope so.

When Monday turned into another home day, I was ready for a Costco outing with the boys in the evening, and ready to hit the shops this morning.  It sure is nice when there's nothing on the to-do list as important as spending time with the baby.  I am loving my new role and every moment with this little guy.

Some days you just have to brag about your kids. 

All the French kids in M's school had to write and present speeches, and the top few from each class then had to present in front of all the french kids.  Madeline was one of the ones from her class picked, and from the all-school presentations yesterday, she got top marks and now goes on to compete against other school's students next Tuesday.  She was really hoping she wouldn't be selected, but I guess her nerves didn't do too much harm to her presentation skills.  I'm pretty proud of her.

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I'll leave you with a few shots of Nolan.  (Is this maybe the only reason I have readers lately...?!)  These are all from last month, and are all photos I took with my phone then sent to Sean.  I think he likes getting a little bit of Nolan in the middle of his day.

Speaking this morning...

... at the Ladies Coffee Connection at our church.  Pray for me!  :)

I'll be back later today with a story about our Christmas tree.

A Catch Up Post

A morning with room to breathe and catch up.  Lovely.  High on my priority list is catching up with you, so let's jump right in!

The Scrapbooking Retreat was a nice weekend away with lots of pages accomplished, and hours spent with friends.  I am photographing them right now and finishing up a few details on some of the pages as I go, and should have them posted for you today or tomorrow.

Baby is 30 weeks along and growing nicely.  Ten more weeks only till we get to meet!  I am still feeling fine, but am noticing that it is harder to bend over as easily.  It is also time for wearing winter gear, and my jacket and coat, while still able to do up this week, will not last me all the way through.  I am looking online for used ones, but may splurge on something new if I have to.

Madeline and I took a trip to Winnipeg last weekend and had a good time.  Often when we go it's for a holiday and we spend most of the time with family, but this time I planned to fit in a few extra days and made plans with friends a month in advance - it was good to see Melanie and George and Jen and MaryAnn and catch up with them.  One of Madeline's best friends from her class here moved to Winnipeg the same day that we drove out.  They got to have a visit and a sleepover on Friday, after Nicole's first day at her new school.  I know it helped M to see her again so soon, and hopefully it helped Nicole's transition, too.  Then on Saturday night she had a sleepover at Granny and Papa's (or at my place, as she calls it) with Grace, a friend from church there - it's funny to think she has friends there other than her cousins, but it's good.  The women's event that we actually made the trip for went well.  I spoke twice during the day and think it was well received.  I also sold my magic bags at a vendor table and made some good change, which was a nice extra.

A funny story from our trip - when we were packing up, my brother had just changed Z's diaper and made a crack about how back in the day he would have tried to hide it in our bags...  The first snow of the season came as we were driving home, and didn't make the roads too bad, but did lengthen our 6 hour drive into 7.  M was sleeping when we arrived, so I told her not to worry about unpacking, but to go straight to bed and look after her bags in the morning.  Can you guess what she found in her bag as she unpacked, looking for something to wear to school?  Yep - Z's dirty diaper, which had smelled up the entire thing.  She of course had taken all her clothes with her and ended up wearing the same thing as the day before, since it was the only thing that didn't smell.  It was all quite funny, really.  Her comment?  "Uncle Clayton, you stink!"

That's all for the moment, but watch for more posts coming soon!

Just Another Sunny Day

A little bit of bad, but mostly all good today:

I found a dead bird on my porch.  I heard a thump and though the mail had come (and that the letter carrier had slammed the lid harder than usual).  Then later I heard the mail come and figured the first thump was a bird.  It was - and when I went to get the mail, there was a perfectly beautiful (other than the lifeless factor) specimen.  I used a plastic bag to gather it up without touching it and took it out back to the ferryman (aka the dumpster).  I wondered, though, after, if the bird's family and friends will be looking for it - will they wonder where it's gone?  Should I have left it there for a while so they would know and have closure?  Hard to know how deep birdbrains go.

Tonight is our 5th pre-natal class.  Half done.  If you live in Regina and plan to have a baby sometime, I'd recommend taking those through the Y - Sally Elliot is educational and entertaining.  Baby has been moving lots lately - it has been hugely fun to feel and watch, especially playing games with him/her.  When we push in, (s)he nudges back in the same spot.  We generally all hang out on the couch after supper and play with my belly.  I made a trip out to Thyme this morning to do an exchange - I will be happy to have another pair of pants to wear!  I have a coupon for there for next week (spend $100, get $50 off) - I'm looking forward to getting a pair of jeans and some t-shirts.  Basic everyday stuff.  I got a bag of maternity clothes from a friend, which has helped; if anyone else has an item or two to share to get me through the next three and a half months, I would be glad to borrow.

Today I went on auto pilot twice and made the wrong turn - on my way to get M for piano I turned to go to work.  On my way to pick up M from piano, coming from a different direction, I turned to go to work.  You'd think I missed it today or something!  I took the day off, partly to use up the vacation days that I never end up taking, and partly so I could camp out at a coffee shop and write my talk for the Women's Wellness Day in Winnipeg on November 5.  If you live in Winnipeg, call Maranatha Evangelical Free Church to get tickets for that.  It sounds like a fun day, (don't worry, it's way more than just me talking), and it would be great to hang out with you!

We had our first small group last night.  We enjoyed the group we were in last year, but because of scheduling changes, we ended up joining a group with some of our other friends.  One couple we know quite well, one couple we know half of really well, and one couple has just been acquaintances till now.  We are looking forward to hanging out with them this year.

You know what I am looking forward to??  Like, a LOT?  Pumpkin pie.  My own homemade pumpkin pie.  I think I might make that tomorrow.  I have pastry ready because I made Sean a birthday apple pie last week (it was so-so - I used ready made filling from the Bulk Barn and it's not near as good as my made from scratch pie, in my opinion), and I got all the ingredients, so now it's just a matter of getting it made.  We've got two family dinners this week, and I'm taking the potatoes (the yummy make ahead cheesy ones) to Carla's, and a lazy perogie casserole to the Ward's.  That means I can make a pie and we can eat it all ourselves.  :)

speaking...

I spoke today at the Ladies' Coffee Connection at church. My faith story. Made lots of people cry. Sorry about that...! I thought I'd just get up there, read it off and get it over with. Yeah, right. God hits the cry button and off I go, but it's honest emotion, and I'm sure it moves people. I'm not doing it to manipulate people's emotions, but it does work that way! Glad it's done. Hope it made some people think. That'll be the Holy Spirit's job now.