Wednesday 28 December 2011

Dear Jacqui,

Okay, so at first I thought "why does Jacqui have a picture of a potatoe in the oven?"  Is this what her MIL served for Christmas dinner?  :)

But now...

What the bleep!? 

Way to go!  (Umm... Brad that is)

Yay!  Yay!  Yay!  Can't wait to hear all about it... except not really ALL... just MOST.  I am so happy for you friend (and somewhat wonder if that means I will have my own announcement next week... being life doubles and all)



Did I mention that I am thrilled for you?!  'Cause I AM.

Love, Jen


Sunday 11 December 2011

Christmas

Dear Jacqui,

This is what discussions about Christmas look like at our house.

Me - "Hey Zach... Do you think it will be fun if Auntie comes to our house & we decorate Christmas cookies together?"
Zach "Yeah... but it would be more fun if we went to Noba Scoship for Christmas."
Me - "Oh... well I think that Nova Scotia is a bit too far for us to go to for Christmas... And Evelyn is actually going to be in Ontario... What if we convince Daddy to take us to E-town instead?"
Zach - "Yeah... or maybe he could just take us to Ontario."

Love, Jen

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Pickles served with a side of Nuts.

Dear Jen,

The creativity of three-year-olds never ceases to impress.

Idea #43 for getting Zach and Evelyn back together: "Mommy, our house is very cold. Zach's house is warm. I want to live at his house."

Now wouldn't it be hilarious if, while we were moving there to be in your warm house, you were in the process of moving here so Joel could go to school in Nova Scotia! That'd be a real pickle, that'd be.

Love,

Jacqui

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Baby Poop and Chicken Coop (my new blog name?)

Dear Jen,

You know how I like problem solving? Well, today my baby afforded me yet another exciting opportunity to problem solve. Although I'm not so sure I like it very much anymore. See, after supper today I thought to myself, "Gavin needs a new diaper." So I brought him into the living room and took off his diaper. But as I was getting his new diaper ready he took the opportunity to excape into the hallway behind me! "Oh shucks," I thought, and slowly gathered my diapering supplies to follow him into the dining room. Before I could get there however, he began crying and freaking out. As I entered the dining room I saw that he was standing on the wicker-based chair with his hands on the table, looking down at his feet and crying.

It took a moment to realize what I was looking at.

And then I screamed, "BRAD!" because you see, Gavin had POOPED all over the wicker based chair.

The wicker based chair.

It was awful. I told Brad to pick a task and predictably he chose the baby. So I was left with a chair covered with soft squishy baby poo, which was oh so impossibly intermingled into the weaves of the wicker.

Fortunately I thought pretty quick on this one: took it outside and power sprayed the daylights out of it. The chair is now drying on the porch.

So gross.

In better news, we got our first egg today from our chickens! Yay! Here it is:
Isn't it pretty?

Although there is one little problem with it. Evelyn discovered it here:

But the chickens are supposed to lay here:


So Brad went to the feed store and bought some fake eggs to put in the nesting boxes. Supposed to give the chickens the idea I guess. We'll see if it works! In the meantime, we have a beautiful, smooth, round-ish homegrown chicken egg!

You guys definitely have to visit someday--if only to experience the awesome chicken coop in person! In fact, I bet if you told Zach about that, he'd get even more excited than he is about Mickey! Just sayin'!

Love,

Jacqui

Monday 28 November 2011

You are loved...

... and you are missed.

Dear Jacqui,

Today is the kinda day that we especially miss you guys... the sunny kind of day... the sunny kind of day that is fun to spend with friends.

Walking home from the park...
Z - "I miss Evelyn."
Me - "I know buddy..."
Z - "An' I miss Gavin... An' Masen misses Gavin."
Me - "You're right... Masen probably misses Gavin."
Z - "An' I miss Jacqui"
Me - "Yeah... me too."
Z - "Mom?  How 'bout if our daddy goes to school and we go to Noba Scoship too?"



Love, Jen

P.S. I saw your FB status... if you feel like you are even slightly in a funk... even in a "I'm so tired I smell funky" kind of funk, call.  I will sing for you or something ;)

Friday 18 November 2011

Taking out some valuable ME time.

Dear Jen,

You may or may not be vaguely aware that I severely injured my foot Wednesday night--like, thought it was broken, got out Brad's air cast, hopping on crutches bad.

Don't ask. Let's just say it involved undeserved violent actions toward an innocent solid wood door caught in the middle of the action. Important word here being solid.

Anyway, so that night I was up for several hours writhing in pain, unable to sleep, until Brad had the brilliant idea to get me some acetamenophine from the bathroom. So I was pretty tired the next day.

Which is why I had a nap. It was excellent. I felt simultaneously like a bus had hit me and like vomiting for a couple hours afterward, but once that passed, I felt great (except for the still-injured foot)! Better yet, I managed to get to sleep by 10:00 that night. Yes, I was gearing up for the most excellently energy-filled Friday ever!

Except for one thing:

Gavin.

Gavin woke up randomly at midnight that night. The whole affair from recognition to hoping he'd fall back asleep to acceptance to wrapping and rocking him to getting back into bed only took about 20 minutes. But with all that extra sleep under my belt, my mind was far too active to drift off again. I was AWAKE. I tossed and turned for a couple hours, thinking about all the different crazy scenarios I could plan for the birth of my next child with the absence of midwifery care where I live. When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I got up, found my journal, and wrote in it for the first time since three days before I moved.

Side note: I try to keep up on journalling for posterity, but since Evelyn stopped taking naps, pretty much every entry is written on a night when I for some reason am up at 3 am and can't sleep. This is now officially the only time I have to myself!

After I finished writing, I decided to flip the pages back and read.

And now, finally, we arrive at the point of this post:

Dated Saturday, June 11th: "It has been a Chiasson-filled couple of days, and it's been lots of fun. Yesterday was, of course, running day. Jen and I started week 5 of our 13-week training program, and although I doubted, entirely intimidated by the hefty "day1" requirements, we did it! Great success! I just have to keep reminding myself that the program was very carefully designed specifically for non-runners. Plus I've been told of others who have done the program. So it can be done. All I have to do is one day at a time!
The run almost didn't happen--it took us over a half hour to get started because of awful kids. But we persevered and prevailed!

Jen and the kids came over after (yucky day--again I might add) and we had lunch and got changed and I turned on the feed of Brad's convocation LIVE! FROM ABBOTSFORD RECREATION CENTRE! Which, by the way, was so  awesome because the first part was boring speeches, through which I mostly chatted with Jen; and then after she left there was the presentation of all the Science students, through which I mostly cleaned up; and then I sat and watched Brad's teacher walk up to the podium wearing a Harry Potter scarf and cloak and carrying a sorting hat, then announce the first graduate, "Bradley Alexander the Great", then watch Brad step into the light holding a "HI MOM" sign; and then for the rest of it I posted a photo of me watching Brad on the computer on Facebook. I love live-streamed convocations!

Anyway, today we went to the zoo with the Chiassons, which was plenty fun, Great times! After we all came back for (if I may say so myself) a delicious meal of burgers, oven-baked fries and pineapple, and strawberry rhubarb sorbet for dessert. I was very pleased with our meal!

It was a good day, and the kids were good for most of it too."

I thought that might be a fun read. I can see that day at the Rotary Trail so clearly--like it was just five months ago...

Love,

Jacqui

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Happy

Dear Jacqui,

I bet you were wondering what happiness looks like when you are chatting with a good friend...

"& I love YOU Evelyn!"
"No really... YOU hang up!"
Well... now you know.

Love, Jen

P.S.  You really are my life double!  I actually have taken a dance video for that same reason, but have yet to edit & upload it.  Way to be me, friend!  :)

P.P.S.  Those jerks probably don't even remember the password.

Edited to add...

Okay, I finally DID look at that blog... Sad.  Very sad indeed.

dearjen.blogspot.com

Dear Jen,

Have you ever checked out the blog holding our namesake hostage? It's kind of annoying because there are only three posts ever, all from December 2002. But then, it is also incredibly depressing--you probably shouldn't. Although knowing how thorough you usually are, you probably looked at it the day this blog was made...

Love,

Jacqui

PS I really think you should make a response video to my dancing kids one. Then I'll video Evelyn dancing to Zach dance to her dancing, and then you can make another one of Zach dancing to Evelyn dancing to him dancing to her dancing, and we can just continue back and forth through the years. It could be truly epic.

Sunday 6 November 2011

Dance Party

Dear Jacqui,

Aren't you lucky you get to "play" me?  I mean, imagine if you had to be Joel or something... that'd be way more lame.

Speaking of Joel, he had his first "real taste" of "Life Without Evelyn" on Friday...

I had Joel's laptop in the kitchen and was checking Facebook.  (It's crazy how interested I can still be only having two friends... although even when I had 100 or whatever - it was still you & K I was most sincerely interested in... but anyways...) I see that you posted a little video of E & G dancing, so I call Z to the kitchen to watch it with me.  (Side note - oh.m.goodness - Could Gavin BE any bigger!?  What the heck are you feeding him?  I swear if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it!  AND what a cutie... I almost can't handle myself!)  Okay <ahem> back to the story...

Zach comes in, gets up on a chair and pushes his face up so that it is almost touching the monitor.  Evelyn is dancing on the screen and Z brushes her image with his thumb.  Moments quickly pass, when Zach cries out "Mom!  Quick!  Put some music on so I can dance with Evelyn!"  Always up for a little dance party, I dash to the radio and whisper a prayer of thanks when one of Z's favorite "dance songs" is on.  (Since I know you are dying with curiosity, I'll link it up)

The next three minutes (or thirty-three... whatever) are spent "dancing with Evelyn"... calling to her image on the screen... encouraging her to twirl... mimicking her... and showing her Zach's our moves.


Joel observing the whole thing leans into me and says genuinely, "That may actually be one of the saddest things I have ever seen..."

I take a deep breath and respond seriously, "No... it's actually way sadder when they play 'hide & seek' on Skype"

Whatever. This just increases Joel's willingness to send me on a February Extravaganza.

Love, Jen

P.S.  If you really valued our friendship like you say you do, I think you'd spring for a fireplace... just sayin'.

Friday 4 November 2011

Your Life as a Sitcom

Dear Jen,

Just now Evelyn was standing in my empty flour bucket (which unfortunately was emptied half-way through making bread--during Gavin's nap, which means no running out. DOH!) asking if I could give her a ride. When I explained that I was not strong enough, she replied, "Dsoel is. Dsoel is drong enuf."

Which reminded me: One of Evelyn's favourite pretending games is to pretend that one of us is Joel, and one of us is Jen. And then we go about living life and running errands. It's like a really great sitcom! Sometimes she plays Jacqui and I get to be Jen--and then Gavin of course would be Zach or Evelyn. She tries to insist that I refer to Gavin by such designated names, but the problem of course is that Gavin doesn't know that is his new name, so it doesn't really work all that well.

She likes to do that, or listen to Sharon, Lois and Bram.

Kids.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

A Tale of Two Friends

Dear Jen,

I know I promised a blown-up photo of Zach and Evelyn put over the fireplace in my living room.

But you see, I haven't got a fireplace.

And besides, I frankly don't have the funds to pay for a photo to be blown up--that stuff is expensive.

Considering the evidence, I hope this will please you:

This is not a set-up--it is a photograph of how things are legitimately arranged (when not torn apart by a certain grabby-hands baby). I swear.

Love,

Jacqui

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Twice

Dear Jacqui,

Well, I guess I posted it twice... once for me, once for you (if you insist!)

I certainly wasn't suggesting that you look like that when you run... nope  -NOT AT ALL.  I was sending you a little pictorial of myself so you wouldn't miss me too much.

Love, Jen
Dear Jen,

 Exactly.

Did I ever tell you that is precisely the reason it used to be so difficult for me to exercise in public? I was pretty sure all the cars were staring at me and seeing that.

P.S. Two months and counting from the last time I went running. I am officially a failure--and I still think about it a lot. It plagues me. Square one in the spring!

Monday 24 October 2011

We're that kind of Special.

Dear Jen,

Today is a big day--if you operate on the metric system. Or, according to Brad, if you believe in statistics.

Apparently, if you make it to five years, your marriage will probably last the test of time.

Apparently.

So today, I got up at 6:00 with Gavin, who was (as is his habit lately) inconsolable for a good 30 minutes before I finally plunked him into his high chair and slapped some yogurt and banana in front of him. After a while I forced Brad to get up so I could have a shower alone while he watched the children. Once Brad got up, I had a shower with the children (alright it's not that dramatic. They have a separate tub--because we're fancy like that). Brad rushed off to school, and I didn't see him again until he came home at supper time. We ate our rushedly-made pita pizza, read scriptures, did After-Supper-Cleaner-Upper to some tunes (my sister's excellent idea), had a fun little Family Home Evening, rushed the kids up to bed, and then Brad sat down to study up for his calculus midterm while I did the dishes.

It was a really special day.

If you haven't figured it out yet, today is our 5th wedding anniversary!
Aww!

Okay I won't fool you into pitying me much longer. We decided to celebrate on Saturday because of Brad's big calculus midterm tomorrow. And Saturday was an excellent day. I know you'll love to see all the details, so I will share my anniversary day in photographs.

First thing, we checked out the "yard" sale going on at the Catholic church behind our house (which we discovered because when I looked out my window in the morning I could see the sandwich board advertising. Very convenient), from which we scored several excellent items, including, most excitingly, a rug for our cold bare livingroom--for only $20!

Then, because the weather was looking decent, we thought we'd check out the Five Islands area on the Bay of Fundy with the kids. This proved an excellent move for our anniversary celebration day, as everything hinged on the children being bedded by 7:00 pm sharp.
Great success.

So, after feeding the children a hasty McD's supper and whisking them off to dreamland, we began our special night. We got all dressed up, and headed downstairs for our candle-lit dinner of take-out pizza.
We bought dollar store candles, and Brad made a fashionable candle holder--or as he describes it, "functional".

Once our gourmet dinner was cleared away, we began our artistic renderings. I copied a photograph; Brad pulled his from his imagination.
You wouldn't believe it but we actually got those canvases (and paint and brushes) from the DOLLAR STORE! Incredible, I know. (Note: this is our living room wall. Hangin' 'em proud).

Finally, and I am sorry to say I have no pictures of this, for the product in question is already devoured, we gorged ourselves on Rolo ice cream (disappointingly few Rolo pieces--and the packaging even advertises  that it is "jam packed") and watched a movie from the cozy warmth of our bed.

Although not technically our anniversary date, that was a pretty excellent and special day! Not bad, hey?

Oh! I must add one post note though: today was special, but for an entirely unrelated reason. I had my first playgroup today, and guess what! Not zero, but one friend showed up! I would call that SUCCESS. Added bonus: She has two children, both five months younger than my own. So great to have a friend for Evelyn to play with!

Hope you had a good Jacqui's Anniversary Day. I checked my mail today, but that present you sent me hasn't arrived. I'll look out for it tomorrow.

Love,

Jacqui


Wednesday 19 October 2011

Something's Bugging Me

Dear Jacqui,

So I ran 5K tonight with K... you'd be proud... 'cept for the part where a bug flew in my mouth.

If I was with you, I would have induced vomiting in the grass until that sucker came out.

Because I'm still getting to know K, I coughed politely and then swallowed the little guy down.

Then I came home and "chased" it with smores... one for each km I ran... minus one because 5 don't fit on a plate.

So 1 bug + 4 smores - 5K = ???  Now that baby "lypo" isn't sucking the life out of me 3-5 times a day, I have to keep track of these things.


Love, Jen

P.S. Wanna meet in Mexico for March break?  Might be cheaper than meeting up in Winnipeg... just sayin'.  :)

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Two Seconds

Dear Jacqui,

I have only two seconds before baby wakes up & MIL comes looking for me.  (I'm pretending I need to 'work it out' in the basement bathroom so that I can have two seconds of privacy before 'day three' commences... who am I kidding?  "Day 3" started two hours ago!)

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!

You rock!  I love everything about it!  & I think you should have a job in PR (& propaganda)... you are such a wordsmith, that I wanted to join the group.  (Although it could also have a little something to do with missing you guys... hard to say for sure)

It is also ironic that you did it today... I spent the same (local) time here this morning wondering if I should put our group on hiatus... maybe that will also be something we can talk about and you can convince me that I am only being hormonal and irrational.

Did I mention that I'm pregnant?

Just kidding!

Nope... I'm just hormonal and irrational for no good reason.

I sure miss you... especially on Wednesdays... and Fridays... and all the other days ending with a 'y'.

Ahem.  Okay... back to that hormonal and irrational thing...

I hope your group is amazing and FULL of 3 & 1 year olds... and somewhat 'normal' adult conversation.  (Although in my opinion, if anyone needs to make friends on the internet... just kidding.)

Okay... that was like six minutes... any second you-know-who's gonna show up with more toilet paper...

Talk to you soon!

Love, Jen

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Babes with Babes Truro Branch: Yellow Band Babes

Dear Jen,

Well, I finally did it. I got my act together and made a Babes playgroup! I tried searching for one, and found only a "moms" group, whose function appears only to be to inform moms about organized activites around town, and their sign-up days. Useful, indeed. But not a playgroup. I also thought for a while that the local non-profit-run Maggie's Place playgroups would suffice, and I had only to wait it out a little until I made some friends. But then I realized a couple things: I like the outdoors, and Evelyn needs friends now.

So this morning as I lay in bed listening to Gavin cry on and off for an entire hour (I am devoted to not getting him up before 6:00. I even resolved to get up with him at that hour and feed him cow's milk downstairs instead of bringing him into bed to breastfeed him. I have this wild hope that if I treat him more like a toddler then he'll start acting more like a toddler and sleep till appropriate hours of the morning. Updates to come on that one...) I had an epiphanical moment. I realized that it was time to make the Facebook group, and it was time to advertise on Kijiji. I spent that hour considering the day and time, and fleshing out all the dirty little details.

Alright! So here it is: Yellow Band Babes with Babes Check it out! You should be soo proud. I've stolen the format of your excellent playgroup and adjusted it to Truro life--adding what I felt was one really excellent element: the yellow headband. It's a good idea, right? I love it. It's not like I have to wear a uniform or stupid hat or nametag, and yet it stands out from a distance. I am very pleased with it.

Also I am surprised, because wonder of wonders, in this little ol' town of Truro, I appear to already have 60 views to the ad--which I posted hours ago--and already have six members signed up on FB. I just know you're beaming with pride right now. I am too. I finally did it! Although something else I've learned from my first-hand experience with Babes Chilliwack is never to have very high hopes for people who say they're attending something on Facebook. It's meaningless till they show up at least twice in a row. But six people--surely at least one of them will come! And this is only today! I have at least a week till we do this thing. It'll probably explode like your first group you made and I'll have this big annoying problem of having a giant virtual group of people who I've never seen in person or some such.

Well, I'll complain about that in a blog post when it happens. Right now I'm living in the clouds! Yay I feel so proud and pleasantly shocked at the speedy response! Now just pray that another 3-4 year old shows up for my poor dear Evelyn. And I guess after my first park playgroup next week it's on to phase two for me (gulp): NETWORKING.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Don't Kill the Messenger

Dear Jen,

Ok bad news: Brad says plants don't really like being moved. Something about light and dark preparedness and recognition, science blah blah.

However, he ALSO said all in all it probably won't do too much harm! So...if you want, you can just keep on keeping on.

Have you considered knitting little Iggy a sweater for winter?
It would be just...so darling.

Monday 3 October 2011

Day 38 - Iggy Part II - Your Questions Answered

Dear Jacqui,

I will confess that I ever so slightly like moving Iggy around the house because:

1) It makes me feel useful
2) I can see the back of the planter without turning him away from the sun.

Now you know all my secrets.

Love, Jen

Sunday 2 October 2011

Day 37 - Iggy

Dear Jacqui,

So I'll be completely honest about the plant...



Alive & well-ish!  I think he misses you.

Although let me tell you... this is much like (what I imagine) having a puppy would be like.  I spent most of the day moving Iggy all over the house chasing the (what is becoming less & less) sunlight and praying that he doesn't die.

He starts over on the kitchen table and then slowly creeps over to the side table beside the fridge until he ends up in the living room waiting for the afternoon sunshine.  I've been trying to prepare him for the months of gloom that lay ahead, but he has already been through so much, I just don't want to break his spirit. 

On more than one occasion, I have had to get back out of bed when I have realized that I didn't move him out of the living room and back to the kitchen table before going to bed... Once I even awoke in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep without checking that he was in position for the morning glory.

I've even started leaving the blinds open over the patio door so that Iggy doesn't have to wait on me (just God) for some golden goodness.  AND I've worked it into my weekly routine (read: "on my calendar") when to water him.  I pray for him, sing to him and regularly swat away well meaning fingers.  He is practically my third child.

Anyways - just to clarify - I'm not OCD or anything about it...

***

Time is an interesting thing... In someways it feels like it was just yesterday we met at the park and our kidlings were tearing through the puddles together.  In other ways, I feel like we have been friends forever.

Wasn't it a great summer year though?


Love, Jen

P.S.  I'm so glad that you gave our SDS a name... Oh yes, I am taking it one step further and giving it an acronym!

P.P.S.  Really, really great year!


Saturday 1 October 2011

Life Goes On

Dear Jen,

As I am listening to the October General Conference of my church, I am suddenly reminded that last time we had General Conference--almost exactly six months ago--I was visiting your church with you and your family.

What a different time! Incredible to think of how much has passed since then. We started our Scripture Discussion Series (that's right--it has an official name, with caps and everything); we began suffering through that running program together (you being the ONLY reason I ever did something as outrageous as that); we started seeing each other practically every day (best every days ever); you moved to a detached house; we went to summer camp together; our babies turned three; we met tonnes of new friends at playgroup; we made each other sappy parting gifts (how dead is that plant right now? Be honest!); I moved...

Life moves quickly! Sometimes too quickly, sometimes not quick enough.

Strange though.

Love,

Jacqui

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Day 32 - How come you don't wear earrings when you go to play group with me?

Dear Jacqui,

I am of course way too organized and perfect to relate to most of your post, but I will say this:

That sucks.



Love, Jen

Monday 26 September 2011

Fatal Error--done with pizzaz

Dear Jen,

Take yourself back to this past Wednesday, and imagine me getting up with a sense of great purpose and importance because this is the day I take the children to Maggie's Place playgroup. I've re-checked the information ten times: it's at 10:00, at "Village Fire Hall" in Bible Hill--a five minute drive away. So as we all know, that means that I've got to book it from the moment my feet hit the floor if I hope to be only five minutes late. I tell Evelyn that we're going to playgroup today, and so now she's excited too.

Gavin doesn't know or care.

I'm so on top of things! I get the kids breakfasted, dressed, teeth and hair brushed (and do it all again for myself--yes that's right, I even remembered to brush my teeth!), pack up my shoulder bag with diapers, water, and back-up snacks (in case their idea of a snack is three cheerios and an ounce of punch), put shoes on my daughter, earrings in my ears (just for a little pizzaz for my debut into Truro society), pick up the baby, and head out the door at 9:55.

This is setting up to be an excellent morning.

We drive up the winding road to the location, which I find without incident, and park in the lot. I haul out my children, walk to the building, and am greeted immediately by a lady at the front desk. I say to her, "I'm looking for the playgroup?" To which she responds, "Oh yes, they usually have that here." (this is the moment I become a bit wary) "Let me go check." She speaks to a lady in the room behind, and comes back a moment later. "Playgroup," she says,

"Was yesterday."

DOH.

Yes yes, I am a dufus. I checked ALL the details ten times, it's true--made sure this playgroup said "Drop-In, no sign up required!"; double checked that it was a 10:00 start and not one of the 9:30 ones; googled the address twice; and I am so sure, looked at the day!!! Where did I go wrong???

It was all very disappointing. I had even put on an outrageously colourful and questionably-matching outfit for the big day...

The silver lining is that there was another playgroup of equal distance from house in the opposite direction on Friday. So we cut our losses and spent the morning at the Victoria Park playground (where Evelyn incidentally found a three-year-old boy to play with for most of our visit there--about which you could tell she was ticked pink. Especially when she started making farting jokes which the boy laughed at. She was greatly pleased. Ah how she misses the glory days with Zach!), and went to playgroup on Friday instead.

So how was playgroup do you ask? It was alright. Picture an elementary school gym FULL of various types of toys: building toys; train toys; animal toys; baby toys; dress-up; puppets; balls; kid-sized school bus-shaped tents--and activities: colouring; gluing; jello-painting; laminated papers with velcro shapes (good idea for a quiet book!). Gavin spent the entire time toddling from station to station--he was so overwhelmed with stimuli! Evelyn found a princess dress and spent the rest of the time prancing around in it, urging me to participate in various games with her. My only complaint is that it is so large it becomes very easy to find yourself in one of those situations where you are entirely alone in a room full of people. You just have to think of it like a park, I guess: if you find yourself next to another mom, think of some unoriginal line to strike up a conversation, and hopefully she comes back next week!

This Wednesday I'm going to the fancy sign-up-on-a-week-by-week-basis Maggie's Place Proper playgroup, which is sign up because the space is much more limited. I am very interested in going to that one. Maybe I'll even venture to wear earrings again. Also I can easily walk to this one, so that's nice!

Oh! I also just thought of something else: we got our first Truro-addressed bill! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??? Time to get a library card! Yay!

So...rainy season still holding up back in the 'Wack?

Love,

Jacqui

Thursday 22 September 2011

Day 27 - Awkward Defined

Dear Jacqui,


In an effort to be a better me, I've been spending my time re-evaluating JenC v2.7 to see what improvements could be made for the quickly approaching release of JenC v2.8.  Mostly I've been bemoaning my messy house, crappy meal planning and lack of individual quality time spent with the kidlings; but I also been reminiscing about all the cute little things I used to do when I only had one child and a bit more of my sanity.

With resolution to give the illusion that I am restoring some of my sanity, I decided to do a little "grandparent project".  (Practically "Mommy of the Year!")  As such, Z & I have spent oodles of time this week creating crafts, ordering pictures online, waiting in line at Walmart, addressing and stamping envelopes, etc, etc, ETC, only to realize the picture I chose...




... while extremely adorable, contains graffiti that leaves me feeling a little...umm...not so sane.

Do you see what I see?

No, no - not the spray painting on the yellow slide.  (I actually cropped most of that out before printing)

Look closer.

Closer... closer... you might have to click on the picture (but trust me - you wouldn't have to if it was printed off and in a cute frame in your living room)

Yep!... That's it.

A little female anatomy carved in right by Masen's foot.

Who does that?!

Ummm... Awkward.

Love, Jen

Monday 19 September 2011

Dear Jen,

THIS is Victoria Park.



Well, a piece of it, anyway. It's pretty big and diverse. Not bad, hey?

Friday 16 September 2011

Inspiring Words

Dear Jen,

That is awful--really really awful! I wish I was there so I could be of real use to you for once! Return the favour that you did for me a thousand times! I can vividly imagine your body's agony as it lies on the bean bag chair with the toddler poking at it--maybe shaking just a little from exhaustion. I remember those moments and they were absolutely terrible! And poor little Masen. Well, at least with the chicken pox he'll be immune for LIFE, right?

"Always look on the bright side of life..."

*pathetic toothy smile and a weak thumbs up*

Please call and complain away if tomorrow is as bad if it will ease your burden a little. I would greatly enjoy listening to your laments! I have in my day called my mother on several illness occassions to wimper pathetically into the receiver, just for a little pity and understanding. It did wonders to my morale.

"Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend--I'll help you carry on..."

Here's a little inspiration for you:




Ok so while you listen to the soothing serenading of James Taylor, I will tell you about my exciting couple of days. I did not wind up going to the playgroup. Mostly because my cold got to such a peak that I hardly could talk, and I thought this was not a great way to present myself to strangers with whom I hoped to become better acquainted. No, instead I spent my time fruitfully going to thrift stores to look for some very key pieces of furniture which we were missing, and which were hindering the further unpacking of my house. The trip was highly successful! We found a hideous but comfortable couch set (there's a smaller one too!),

 a terrible looking but large and sturdy dresser (which I have since repainted--using paint my landlords left in the closet from when they were upgrading the house),


and a collapsible place-saver table to tide us over till we can attain my parents' 8-foot custom-made table, at which point it will retire as a very useful window-front table upon which we probably will place some nice plants,


ALL FOR UNDER $100!

I feel very proud. And exhilirated. You've been buying only used for a few months now--isn't a good find so very exhilirating?

Brad also managed to find an assortment of entirely mismatched wooden chairs to accompany our table, for $10-$20 each at a cute little antique shop. Perhaps I shall take a picture of those too sometime. Maybe once I get my parents' table and laithe the legs and repaint that forest green to a nice robin's egg blue.

Anyway so that's what I did on Wednesday instead of Maggie's Place. We also visited the library, which was a big hit with the kids, but which I will not be returning to until I can get myself a library card and actually take out books. My mother asked why it mattered, and I explained that without a purpose there, visiting the library becomes simply an exercise in chasing Gavin around, since his favourite activities are climbing on the table and removing toys and books from the shelves to throw them on the floor.

But it's about two blocks away, so I will definitely be returning frequently.

Tomorrow we visit Victoria Park. Probably I will be returning with pictures. I spoke to a very nice lady at a used clothing store who told me they have two playgrounds there, and a pool, and a spray park, and that's on top of the trails and waterfall and other facilities. I'm looking very forward.

Well, good luck with your night my friend. I bet you're starting to get nervous right around now. Have you asked the doctors about Codine for babies? Sure makes adults drowsy!

Day 22 - Wish you were here

Dear Jacqui,

Well, after M only sleeping 20-45 minutes at a time for the last 48 hours and then refusing to eat for the last 18, I am thinking that perhaps the song in my previous post is actually for me.

Do you know how much heavier a 24 lb baby is than a newborn baby?  And how much louder they are? 

I was thinking this morning as I tried to catch an 18 minute nap in the bean bag chair with Z poking me all over playing "doctor" how if you were here I would dial your number, and grunt one word into the phone...

"Come"

Instead, I've yet to find enough <quiet> moments to myself to call anyone much less put together some time to "chat".  And I would feel guilty and ridiculous if our second time actually talking since you left was me lamenting over my exhaustion and crappy circumstances instead of being a supportive "you can do it" friend.

Although supposing I "got over that" and it wasn't bedtime for you now, I think I call and say this, "Come  I'm tired, I'm going to lose it  Come  Please feel bad for me  Come  Now please keep Zach on the phone for the next 18 minutes while I collapse into this bean bag chair without him poking at me while simultaneously praying that this is one of Masen's 45 minute stretches.  Come"

You are missed.

And I am pathetic.

Love, Jen

P.S.  How was Maggie's Place?  Have you thought of trying "Meetup" to see if you can find a Mom's group there?  (While this is partially just a lame attempt at making this not all about me, I do actually care.)

Now to go listen to the song and cry...  (Here is the "official" music video) 

Day 21 - Seeing Spots

Dear Jacqui,


Well, I think I win the award for most ridiculous sicknesses for one adorable baby.  Seriously.  That "Ginger Gene" has been nothing but problems and it is making me a bit crazy!

After our second bout of "Hold me all night because I have a fever of 104" in 8 weeks, I made an appointment with good ole Dr. W for today.  Fortunately he wasn't actually there and I got to see Dr. B instead.  Not so fortunately (or maybe fortunately depending on how you look at it), Dr. B looked at Masen for 1.6 seconds, called the nurse, dictated a memo and sent us straight to the ER.  He actually even offered to drive us!  Anyways... 8 hours, 6 needle pokes, 3 attempts to get urine, 2 chest x-rays, 1 toddler and 0 bathroom breaks later... (okay... you're right, I'm exaggerating... Joel came & got Zach after 5 and a half hours... it was only me & M there for 8 hours... I'm totally beefing up the story for sympathy) and Chicken Little has Chicken POX. (Did I mention the hundreds of little spots that appeared while we were at the hospital?)

Oh yeah, and a UTI/possible kidney infection... no biggie.

So we go back tomorrow for round two of injectable antibiotics. (For the infection... not the pox)


Yay us... or not.


Lovin' the blog header by the way... you open our blog and BAM there we are, my quasy eye & everything, smilin' right atcha!  Never noticed the power of that thing until you stuck it in black and white.  Thank you for doing that... Woot!  (That is a sincere "thanks" followed by a sarcastic "woot" in case you were confused.)

So, back to your message -  I noticed in you posted "Zach" right up in there with "Sister Coleman"... is that your secret way of telling me that Evelyn actually hates Zach?  Come on now... this is bloggy land... be honest!

But more seriously, poor girl!  I can't even imagine how tough that must be for her and how tough it must be for you!!!  (I feel like a crazy person each time Z asks for E and that is our only big change!)  But, you can do it!  You can make friends!  You are funny, smart, crafty, brave, charismatic and you have charming children. (& I am not hitting on you!)  It is tough and awkward and uncomfortable (which basically is the same thing as "awkward" but whatever) but it is so worth it!  Think back to when you reached out to Carolanne... that really changed everything!  (For you AND for me!  You are the first friend I have had in my entire "mommy hood" life that I didn't pick for my kids!... although E & G were definitely "perks"!)  Take it as you are ready... expect some quietness, but be prepared for some greatness.  His grace is sufficient for you!  Do I need to sing a song for you?  ;)



Love, Jen

P.S.  I've heard that before and I love it!  Have you heard "You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are.”  Ummm... ouch!

P.P.S.  Masen has woken up twice in the time it has taken for me to type this message... I see another long, long night ahead of me!  Pray for me when you wake up... It might give me a few hours of sleep before Chillville's dawn!

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Cracking the Code

Dear Jen,

Just try and remember that uber friendly Jen is only annoying to YOU--and probably because it tuckers you out. I'm tuckered out just thinking of all the polite conversation I'm going to be forced to have with other adults! I'll be honest--I've been to this one park a couple times, and saw other moms there, and thought, "I'm just too tired today." and then consciously entered avoiding-eye-contact pretending-to-be-attentive-to-my-baby mode. If I fail and our eyes do meet I might give a little smile. But the problem is my brain is so exhausted I have nothing witty to break the silence with. So I don't.

WHAT? I'm unpacking. You don't even know what it's like. ;)

I can't believe I just emoticon-ed a blog post. Shameful. Why isn't there a "sarcasm" button up there? It should be right next to B for bold I for italics and U for underline. S for sarcastic!

Anyway, I have a sad story too. First I'll say that on Sunday Evelyn complained of a headache, and went so far as to ask daddy for a blessing to make it go away. We realized that the headache was from new experience overload stress. She had a really rough time at church this week. Her fever didn't help, but she also really hated the new environment. The next day, after insisting for weeks that she hates Sister Coleman (her Chilliwack nursery leader), she said to me, "Mom, I just want to play with Zach and sister Coleman because I like them!" It was her desperate plea for normalcy and familiarity. The past few days without internet or phone were particularly difficult because Evelyn would constantly ask me to talk to Zach on the phone! Today she had a break down because she decided that her new queen sized bed (that the landlords left for us) was no good and she wanted her old bed.

Moving is rough on kids! How did my parents do it so many times?

It's alright though. I am making progress on cracking the Truro code--finding out all the hot spots. I have a lead: Maggie's Place! Looks like it's got a similar mandate to Family Place, although they only have a playgroup once a week. Whatever, good enough for me. You have to call in advance every week to sign up though...and it's tomorrow...but I'm hoping to get in! Also maybe these people can tell me where some more parks are, because I have only seen that one, and it is no good for mr. Gavin.

Anyway, I find this exciting! Plus I joined a Truro mom's group on FB. I'll be the 9th member, and it isn't a playgroup, but people post info on community programs for kids and such. And maybe I will connect with playgroup-interested parties on there, who knows! That's how I learned about Maggie's Place, as a matter of fact. Very promising!

I'm trying very hard to use my new-move energy effectively this time around. I know in a couple months I am likely to run out of steam and go into a funk for a few weeks. I'm hoping that maybe if I work really hard at meeting people and familiarizing myself with my community right now that I'll eliminate the funk period. Another place on my hit list is the library--which incidentally is just a couple blocks behind my house!

I'm trying to stay positive, Jen. I feel like this move could be smoother than the last if I work hard. Wish me luck.

Love, Jacqui.

PS I heard a good piece of wisdom yesterday: If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything!

Friday 9 September 2011

Day 15 - I'm Back

Dear Jacqui,

'Member that physco I used to be?  The overly friendly one who felt the need to stalk unsuspecting Mothers with young children in hopes of coercing them into joining my Mom's group?

Yeah?  Well... she's back... Umm...  I mean - I'm back.

And frankly, it's exhausting.

I noticed you "left" the FB group... not that I blame you.  15 million updates from an overly zealous mother is likely a little more than I can handle... and I'm her.

Speaking of the Babes, we got together on Wednesday and it was nice... Nikki asked how you were doing and I (embarrassingly) got a little choked up.  Who would have thought I was such a lush?  ('Cept when I looked up the definition of the word "lush" it said "one who becomes intoxicated after a few drinks and flirts with everyone"... so maybe I'm not a lush... or maybe this is my cry for help and you'll never know it)  

Or maybe I just mean "gush".

Or maybe I just mean "ridiculously emotional".  Whatever.

So, we sat around and talked about how great you are... how hard it is to move away... sent you a bunch of well wishes... and then I changed the subject before I said anything too ridiculous.  Anyways, you are great and all, but I am handling this with the same grace I handle PMS... or pregnancy... and I need to PEP UP.  Not that Zach crying for half an hour saying that he knew that Evelyn didn't live here anymore, but he just wanted to visit her makes me handle things any better... Nor him waking up the in the middle of the night crying for an hour citing the reason as "missing Ebawyn".  


Anyways.  Back to my point...


It's true.  I'm coping the way I know best...  chasing people around pretending to be complimenting their 22 month old's intelligence as they absent-mindedly munch on grass and then saying things like, "Sven - what a wonderful name!  You are just too cute little Spent... I mean Sven... lovely name!  Rolls off my tongue!  Sven, Sven, Sven!"  Ugh.   

Ugh.  Ugh.  Ugh.

Anyways.  Be glad you moved... She is super annoying.

Love, Jen


Thursday 8 September 2011

Day 13 - Off McDonalds

Dear Jacqui,

 I will never, ever eat at McDonalds again...


...and at the very least if I do, it won't be the McNuggets.

"It's coming out of me like lava"...  and "I (practically) shat on the road"... seriously... almost.

Love, Jen

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Day 12 - Alive & Well (?)

Dear Jacqui,

So you made it hey?  What's a lengthy journey without a bit of a story?

Although I am wondering if all this adventure seals the fate of NS being your final destination.


Zach had a brilliant idea today when he suggested moving play group to Nova Scotia so that Evelyn could attend.  I'm all for it.  Do you think there is any chance we can make it there in 13 or so hours (minus time change and 10 hours of sleep?)  Oh, and I'll need a few minutes to put together a bit of a snack.  What do you think?  Possible???

I almost mangled myself today playing with Zach on the swings.  You know that "fly on your tummy" thing that Z & E do???  Well, let's just say it's not for grown-ups.  (You can file that in your back pocket until the next time you feel tempted to pretend to be a toddler and then thank me later for saving your knees from a near death experience... Probably not as near-death as your traveling experience, but a valuable lesson none the less.)

Supposed to be 30ish all week... just sayin'.

Today was our first real live day of no fwiends.  No E-town, no daddy days, no cousins... just us.  Sad, sad, day.

BUT - as it turns out, I am ridiculously productive when I have no fwiends and my husband isn't a student.  Pictures of my kitchen, children's room AND master room to come.  (I know, you can barely contain yourself)

Although I'd rather continue to live in a disaster zone and have fwiends... just sayin'.

Missing you - fwiend.

Love, Jen

P.S.  I am logging off to watch Hoarders.  This is what my life has become.
P.P.S.  I am canceling cable tomorrow.  Stop the madness.





Monday 5 September 2011

"When I was your age..."

THIS TRIP will be one of those things that goes down in the history of my family, retold over and over till it becomes Alexander lore.

DEAR JEN:

I can absolutely believe that Edmonton was unbelievably cold. Because the day (Tuesday) I drove to Calgary to catch my plane, I left Lethbridge a hot, sunny, cloudless paradise of 30 degrees and drove into the darkness and gloom of a rainy, windy, cold-as-a-Chilliwack-winter hell of 10. And we had elected to go to the zoo.

That was a big waste of $70. 

Good thing my gramma [indirectly] paid for it…

Speaking of wasting money, I did the tally today and so far, in spite of the cost of two brand new tires, a tow, and whatever charges come tomorrow, we are still ahead of what we would have paid to rent a U-Haul. Of course that's just ahead financially speaking. It doesn't take into account shortened lifespan due to stress--although going with U-Haul has practically guaranteed mental anguish itself, so perhaps that's a moot point. Anyway, point is that was my terrible segue into letting you know that today, after getting its third flat tire, and having yet another section of the buckling plywood hacked away with a hammer to keep it OFF that darn tire, our entire WHEEL flew off the trailer as we raced on the highway toward Riviere-de-Loup (you can look that up). It was shockingly uneventful--we pulled safely to the shoulder within two seconds--except for the fact that we were by all definitions of the word 

stuck 

on the side of the road, right in the heart of Quebec.

The upside of this story is that I finally had the opportunity to practice my french, which is felicitous because I had just been lamenting that I probably ought to admit to myself that whatever french skill I had as a youth is most probably gone, and will never come back. But you see the police officer that came over to check on us called a tow truck, and the mechanic who came to tow us was as marvellously UN-bilingual as they come. So in my skillfully broken french I became the saviour of the day as I translated between my husband and this kind and knowledgeable man. 

The funny thing is when I later tried to order a few simple items at McDonald's in french, I failed pathetically, although the gracious cashier allowed me to fumble along, only jumping in helpfully when things became hopelessly confusing.

But that's off-topic. Point is God works in mysterious ways. Perhaps this entire ordeal was to provide me with an opportunity to see that I still have as fabulously weak of a french vocabulary as I always had, and not one word less! Except for "hammer"--I forgot that word. But in a strange turn of events Brad knew it (marteau).

Hopefully that's not the only reason for this shebacle. Because that is some point He's making. We lost our wheel at 1:00 pm, and we are still hanging around at 8:00--because it is, gloriously, LABOUR DAY! Why does no one work on Labour Day? It's not even a real holiday.

Seriously.

Oh well. At least my three-year-old didn't jump into a pool with her only pair of pants on 30 minutes before I had to leave and then pee in her brother's diaper, making it necessary for me to take her into public wearing a gender-inappropriate diaper so I could momentarily break my year-long oath of not buying anything new to give her some pants to wear to meet with her grandparents. Can you imagine???


I'm not judging, Jen. I just want that to be clear. I'm empathizing (I just had to change that from "emphasizing", which would have completely changed the meaning of my sentence. I guess Brad has good reason to tell me he'll be mad if I'm not in bed by 8:30. That's right! I have a curfew).

Anyway, don't worry. Our kindly french mechanic from the quaint and appropriately-named town of Saint-Alexandre assures me that the whole thing will be an easy fix, and he can certainly get us another eight hours out of that thing.

Eight hours! Eight hours! C'mon little chicken-coup-to-be, that's all we're asking!

I have this incredible lack of stress and worry, so I am certain all will be well--especially with all the fervent praying we'll be doing before going out tomorrow!

Updates to come!

Love, Jacqui.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Day 5 - Off the Wagon

Dear Jacqui,

I bought something on Tuesday.

Something new.

The worst part is that I didn't even enjoy it.  Zach was naked... Masen was crying... I was trying to decide if I should just buy the cheapest thing, or actually find something I liked... while trying to get the "one best deal".

Let's back up a bit...

Tuesday we went to meet up with some of our old Babes at my friend Carrie's house.  After everyone left, I decided to stick around to spend a bit of time actually visiting with her.  (Hard to do in a group)

Her yard locks, so we were inside with the babies, (watching through the window) while Z & her daughter played in the yard.  A bit later, her husband comes home and starts putsing around outside - presumably watching the kids.

Let's back up a bit more...

Did I mention it was flippin' cold in E-town?  Like freezing at night and 10ish degrees during the day?

Did I also mention that I am irresponsible and brought along no pants for my children so I was forced to go to the Village to buy them each a pair?

Did I also, also mention that there were actually no pants in Z's size, so I had to buy him a pair of jean overalls which in my head he would love although they made him look completely ridiculous?

Did I mention he hated them and screamed like a maniac every time I put them on him?  (Which has nothing to do with the story, but I thought you'd find interesting...)

No?  Well, now you know.

So Z is playing in the back yard in his dorky jean overalls, and Carrie's husband is outside.  I (because I can't resist myself) peek outside to see Z running around.  In the pool.  Full of water.

Did I mention that we were supposed to meet my parents for dinner in the Park? 

And that we were 30ish minutes from where we were staying? 

And that I didn't have any "back up pants" ummm... anywhere?

No?  Well, now you know.

So, I take his soaking wet jean overalls off and stick them in Carrie's dryer... not really considering that there is no chance in the world that they will be even slightly dry in 30 minutes.

While I am doing this, Zach lays down in the pool, soaking his gonche and shirt.

I take that off him, stick it in the dryer and put Masen's diaper on it sans liner.

He pees.  (I cry)

At this point there is no way that I will be able to go back to where we are staying to change him and then make it back for dinner with my parents.

There is also no way that his clothes will dry out.

I also have no more diapers for Masen.  (In my head, Z would wear it until his gonche was dry and then I would still be able to put it on M... gross I know, but seriously, what were my options?!)

My insecurities creep up and I start wondering if Carrie is secretly happy that we moved away so that she doesn't have to regularly deal with us, or if she is just happy that it's my kid... this time.

Carrie interupts my mind-babbling by handing me a Princess Pull-Up which Zach is all too happy to wear and (oh, so thankfully!) a "back-up" diaper for Masen.  (Then she says "don't worry about it!  Just glad it's not me!" which makes me want to hug her)

I put Z's hoody on him.  And his crocs.

We head to the mall with 6 minutes to spare.

Children's Place calls my name.

My senses are ignited as I breath in all the fresh fabric, and finger the soft cotton.  Color surrounds me.

I feel conflicted as I decide what to purchase, all the while completely conscious of my Princess Pull Up Prince running around in his crocs and hoody.

I settle on a pair of navy blue sweat pants and a t-shirt and wrestle mixed emotions about buying a rain jacket for next year.  ('Cause by the time he wears it, this whole "buying nothing new" thing will be done so does it really matter?  Ummm... yes... yes it does.)

As I pay the lady, my elation ceases and I am left feeling forlorn.

My only consolation is that I ignored all burning desire within me and didn't purchase Masen a matching tshirt. 

Does that counteract my initial (essential!) purchase?

Or should I have just taken him to dinner in the hoody?... And pull-up.

Love, Jen

P.S.  Would a video of me listening to the song make it sincere?

P.P.S.  I brought you back some apples from E-town.  When should I bring them by? 

Monday 29 August 2011

Day 3 - On the road again...

Dear Jacqui,

I have about 36 seconds to write this and then delete all evidence of my secret blog from my MIL's computer, so this will be brief.

Once we passed, I actually tried about 546 times to call you... mostly to make fun of you... possibly to make plans to meet in Banff...

But between Brad not honking and your not answering, I figured this was phase two of "the shun"... (phase one being moving across the country, phase three being removing me from FB) so I resolved myself to a life without the ALX family.

Once in Calgary, I mentioned to my Aunt that maybe, just maybe, I would secretly find out where the Kern's lived and try to meet you for breakfast.  (By "secretly", I actually just mean "call you & ask")  but then I talked myself out of it thinking that it was best to not to interfere with your schedule or confuse the kids too much.

NOW, I so very much wish that you I would have been more persistent in trying to reach you or the you would have called me on Saturday/Sunday... I could have helped!  My aunt actually gave me four new tires for my van... (not that I know much about tires, but in my head I could have given you two)  AND - I would have been delighted to take you & the kids up to Lethbridge and save you the torture of the Hound.  (As a matter of fact, the drive back by myself - ('cause in my mind, I left my children in Calgary with my aunt) may have been the most glorious time of my life... a little radio... a little chocolate... I love it!) 

Regrets, regrets.

Okay, so now that I realize we are just in phase one of the shunning, I will follow my instincts and stalk you to the end.

Love, Jen

P.S.  It seems you have put a whole new meaning to the phrase "Truroton or Bust"...
P.P.S.  More seriously, we'll keep praying for a safe trip & arrival.

Our Less Than 25% There Adventure

Dear Jen,

As I sit here relegated to my grandparents' living room waiting for Ev to fall asleep (it's 9:00, and I'm thinking this may take a while yet), let me recount to you my oh so exciting adventure of the past couple days.

First let me say that I told Brad like six times to honk at you when you passed us on the highway in Banff, and for some unknown reason, Mr. Horn-happy over-user just stared dumbly back at me as though I wasn't saying anything at all. And then when you were finally out of sight and I questioned why he did not honk, considering how much he loves pressing down on that horn, he had the audacity to tell me that I didn't say it soon enough. No word of a lie, I first requested it as you were passing us, then again when you were merging in front, then again several times as you inched further away.

Honestly.

So the excitement actually started within probably an hour of your passing (no no, I'm going to leave the phrase just as it is). We were climbing yet another tall and long hill, inching slowly toward the top, and just as we reached the crest, where the large "WELCOME TO ALBERTA" sign proudly stood, we suddenly felt that the road had become very uneven and bumpy on one side of the car. Brad urgently instructed me to check the tires out my side view mirror, and lo I beheld a smoking, flopping, wobbly mass of black spinning pathetically where our trailer tire should have been.

So we stopped.

Yes indeed, the tire had blown and the metal frame was bent. Alright, cool. We have a spare. So Brad unloads the entire back seat area, pulls up the seats, and finds: no jack. Yup! Ok, so we need a jack. Well, while we're figuring that out, we may as well detach the spare. Brad grabs the ratchet, puts it on a bolt, and quickly discovers the next blow: our ratchet is too big for the bolts! YARG! So here we are, children crawling around in the dusty gravel, our belongings strewn across the side of the road, our mattress that had previously been strapped to the front of the trailer and resting on the spare was now loose and diagonally resting precariously close to the open road, and us with no jack or ratchet. It was a great 40-or-so minutes! A construction guy holding a sign came and talked to us, but since all he had was a sign, he was useless to us. A bus stopped just before the Welcome to Alberta sign but only for a moment, then sped off. A minivan even pulled off the road just ahead of us, and the passengers walked back toward our vehicle...then without even glancing at us, walked past and toward the Welcome to Alberta sign. Brad had to catch their attention to ask whether they had a jack, which they did not, so they took a few pictures of the sign and then left.

I don't want to kill you with suspense/worry for too long, so here is the riveting end to our tale: we managed to locate a permanent marker, and armed with this, Brad tugged Ev's mattress from inside the canoe, wrote the words "PLEASE HELP" (keepsake!) on one side, and wedged it under the ratchet straps on the back of the trailer. For several minutes it was altogether unsuccessful, so it occurred to us to have a family prayer. We did, and then within less than a minute, three bikers stopped to help, then an SUV, then a car, then a van. With everyone's supplies gathered together, we were able to get the spare put on our trailer and back on the road for the final leg within 20 minutes.

We were going to stop in Banff for some leg-stretching play, but the kids got enough fun climbing the monstrous dirt hill which bordered the road and throwing rocks into the forest below, so we (as Brad likes to say) "gunned" it to Calgary, where we arrived, all told, at 9:00 instead of our intended 6:00. Children were in bed, left-overs were in the fridge, we felt exceptionally disappointed, but this is life.

Plus they pulled everything out and cooked us fresh burgers right then and there. The Kerns are amazing.

The lasting consequences of this mishap are that we decided we must not take any more chances and get new, stronger, larger, higher PSI tires (and a jack!), which meant that Brad would stay in Calgary all Sunday instead of travelling to Lethbridge with the family. I'm not sure who was more disappointed between my gramma and myself, since this also meant I had to take the Greyhound alone with my children for 3.25 hours, but my gramma keeps insisting that she will never see Brad again (presumably because she will die before she ever gets the chance. Good thing she believes in an afterlife or she'd be inconsolable).

Surprisingly I survived (although this experience has strengthened my resolve to dope Gavin up with Gravol before the plane), and the visit thus far has been quite nice. I even got to see my uncle Dwayne and his new fiancée (which is a big and exciting deal in my family) who travelled down from Calgary for the evening. Ev played with my young cousins till dusk, and the living room was loud and alive with the boisterous conversation of the adults. Tomorrow I go to the park with my sister and her best friend who has a daughter one day younger than Gavin, and it should be altogether pleasant once again.

I still don't feel like I'm moving, since mostly we have been visiting with friends and relatives. It's been good, and I hope it continues to be so.

Also I hope our little SUV that could makes it across this entire country! Here's hoping, and good luck husband!

Friday 26 August 2011

Day One... Kinda

Dear Jacqui,

So I remember when I was anticipating our move out here from E-town, I had complete anxiety about how I would I would feel when we finally had to leave.  I worried that I would make a fool of myself saying "good bye" to friends (or acquaintances... did you know I was so sensitive?)  or that I would cry so hard that I wouldn't be able to see the road.  I even wondered if when it was actually time to leave if I would be able to go through with it.

And then... nothin'.

No tears, no grief, no excitement, no rush of memories... no nothing.

At the time, I wondered what kind of heartless animal this made me that I could drive away from our entire extended family, all of our closest friends and everything familiar without so much as a glance back.

Now looking back, I realize that it was pure exhaustion from the act of moving that swept the emotion right out of me.  (Possibly much how you're feeling today?...)  The loss came much later as the excitement wore off and the loneliness and unfamiliarity set in.

I'll be honest that this morning as we saw you off,  I did brave one last glance back.  And as I looked back and saw you & your precariously loaded trailer in front of your yellow house, I was filled with sorrow for our loss.  Loss of friendship for Zed & Ev... loss of friendship for McG & MC... loss of friendship for us.  One tiny cry escaped from my throat.

"Are we sad, Momma?" asks Zed sounding more concerned than a little boy should.

"Yes Zed... we're a little bit sad."

"We're sad that we won't see Bwad or Jacqui or Ev or McG?"

"Yes... we are sad that they are moving away and we won't see them anymore."  I blink hard and cough.

"Yeah..."  He sounds deflated.  A moment passes and then he speaks up with a bit more pep, "But Momma... Jesus isn't sad."

"Ohhh... Jesus isn't sad?"

"Nope... Jesus isn't sad because he gets to go with them.  Jesus can go with you when you move from Chillville to Noba Scotia."  He does his "Zed laugh" and smiles bravely.


Water to my soul.

So Jacqui... while I have been secretly plotting our (unrealistic) move to Truroton, Zed reminded me of something.  While our friendship and the love between our kidlings is completely irreplaceable, the void your move leaves us with is filled by the Maker of the Heavens.

And as I try to rid myself of selfishness and take my eyes off myself for a moment, I pray that you will sense God's presence with you from here to "Noba Scotia" and let him be your "all" in these next few months of uncertainty.  He loves you.

You will be are missed.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
~ Matt 11:28 ~
 
You have made known to me the path of life; 
you will fill me with joy in your presence...
~ Psalm 16:11 ~



Love, Jen

P.S.  What's a little "stalking" between friends?  You call it "stalking", I call it "growing our friendship"...

P.P.S.  You are right about the "JC" thing... I am that holy.

P.P.P.S.  Note to self - criteria for new last name...
1) Easy to pronounce
2) Does not rhyme with the first name of any of our family members
3) Two syllables long
4) Starts with the letter 'C'