Date Update

Rob and I had a wonderful time on my all-day birthday date...despite the fact that we had one of our worst nights with Joshua EVER the night before (growth spurt? teething? constipation? all of the above? We may never know). On our way out of town to the city we stopped at Superstore and bought a 2L bottle of Pepsi and some cups and used that as our fuel for the day. We consume very small amounts of caffeine on a regular basis so this did the trick!! Here's Rob and I at the Forks doing our very best not to look completely zonked:

We ended up looking quite psychotic. This one was a bit more normal, though it was still pretty sad how hard we had to try to make our eyes look fully open:

We bummed around the Forks for a while...

...and then had a "more-fun-than-tasty" lunch at a restaurant called Beachcombers (we had a lot of fun, the food wasn't as great as it could have been.) We sat side by side in a booth facing the restaurant and analyzed a table full of people we were convinced HAD to be teachers out on a lunch. I wish we would have asked. They just HAD to be teachers.Dessert: FUDGE. Enough said.

We tried to go outside by the river but it was way too cold!! BUMMER! Even the birds were looking chilly:

Here's Rob contemplating how much fun we were having. It was so refreshing to have a day to ourselves.After that we got down to business and went SHOPPING!! Rob was such a trooper. He waited patiently while I tried on every single shirt in the mall (and bought NONE...is it just me or is it next to impossible to find something semi-modest that also doesn't show off one's post-second-pregnancy puddle of a stomach?) The best part of the shopping trip was the bathing suit. I found a suitable bathing suit at one of those over-priced swim stores (man I hate swimsuit shopping!) but decided to put it on hold. It was $84. Next we went to Sears where they were having this "one day only" sale...and in the middle of this rack...da da-da DA! The exact same swimsuit...for $47!!! That felt like a blessing straight from the Lord! We were stoked. I got a bunch of other stuff I needed (shorts, a hat for those mornings where the hair ain't workin', sandals, etc...) but no t-shirts. So I guess I'll have to go shopping again. SHOOT. :)

We were definitely pooped by the end of the day but like I said...what a wonderful date. It's so great to realize that you still love hanging out alone, that you can have a blast and laugh together without your kids, and that you're still in love...nearly 6 years and 2 kids later.
Thanks, God.

Singing 'bout Tomorrow!!

My sweet husband surprised me yesterday by leaving me an early birthday card when he went to work. He told me I couldn't open it. Later when he knew I was out at the church, he left a phone message letting me know that I COULD actually open it whenever I wanted to. I have a few kinks left in my ability to delay gratification, so I had the card opened by the time Rob's phone message was finishing up. :) Inside was some cash. Quite a bit of cash, actually. The card said, "This is only half your present." I figured (with joy!) that the money was for me to go buy some badly needed clothing, but had no clue what the other 'half' was. When Rob came home he told me that yes, the money IS for clothes. The other half is that he took my entire birthday (tomorrow) off work, arranged for my mom to take care of the kids, and he's TAKING me shopping for the day...lunch at the Forks included. I AM PUMPED. An unrushed shopping trip?? UNHEARD OF! All day alone with my best friend?!? SWEET!! I feel so blessed.
p.s. thanks, Mom and Dad Balfour, for pitching in!!
p.p.s. I just discovered the joys of Adobe Photoshop today. Call me a Neanderthal. Here's a couple more photos. Then I'll quit. I promise.

Ellie's 2 year photos

So while I was fooling around with Joshua's four month photos I decided to attempt some '2 year' photos of Ellie (instead of good ol' Walmart which didn't go over very well last year). This was a LOT more difficult than I expected!! TWO YEAR OLDS do NOT know what it means to sit still and smile (it takes a lot of tickle threats and balancing objects on one's head.) Somewhere at the back of my heart I have this pipe dream of becoming a qualified photographer for other people...but I don't really know if that will ever happen. In the meantime, I practice on my kids. Which is why the mass quantities of pictures.

So if you're tired of the same old stuff...skip on to the next blog!! These guys are all I have to practice on.

Happy Four Months, Joshua!

(As always, Mama celebrates by going camera happy.)

Almost-Milestones

Joshua has adopted this garage-sale-find giraffe as his new favorite toy. It seems to be a source of inspiration to him...he's working real hard to learn how to roll over, usually in the effort to get a good grip on the giraffe to give it a good chomp on the head.

Note Ellie using the opportunity of me being distracted by Josh's almost-roll to call some foreign country.

Got it!

Ellie teaching Josh how to call long-distance.

Josh is quite happy to be sitting as much as possible these days..though I think it will still be a couple months before he can do it on his own. He often tries to do sit ups while he's laying flat on his back. Before we know it he'll have abs of steel, like his Auntie Leila.

And in other news...I am officially calling Ellie POTTY TRAINED! I still need to remind her to go, but now instead of pooping in her panties (unless we're quicker than her and run her to the potty)...she tells us, "Ellie poopy in panties" with a big smile like it's a joke. And we say, "Gotta go to the potty?" And she RUNS there yelling all the way and we have success!! She has very few pee accidents. So now she only really needs diapers for nap and bedtime and the occasional long outing! I'm so thankful that this turned out to be a lot easier than I expected...we were eager to start saving money on diapers. Thanks Lord!

Watcha Readin'?

If you were to come into our master bedroom right now, and somehow found the grace to look past my unmade bed, the earplug on the floor...the used diaper tossed into the corner of the room in the middle of a recent night...and the pile of baby clothes waiting to be organized...and decided to examine the books on my night table, you'd probably be able to pretty much guess where I'm at in life right now. This is what you would find (I find it impossible to read one book at a time):

1. "Love is a Decision" by Gary Smalley...learning to love unconditionally.
2. "It's Not About Me" by Max Lucado...self-explanatory!
3. "The Bathtub is Overflowing but I feel Drained: How to Defeat Mommy Stress." By Lysa Terkeurst...again, no explanation needed!
4. "Have a New Kid by Friday" Dr. Kevin Leman ...such a good book! Every mom should have a copy! Teachers too!
5. "A Season of Grace" by Bette Nordberg. A novel - really easy, enjoyable read.
6. The Bible. Enough said.

There's me. How about you guys? What do the books on your night table say about you?

This already seems like a distant memory...

...even though it was just last week.True to form, Manitoba Spring Time fooled us into believing it was here to stay. I don't know why we are so gullible. This happens every year.

Today it is disgustingly cold and dreary outside and reminds me a lot of Vancouver in winter.
BUT there are fluffy little birds on my patio and the ice has melted off Ellie's sandbox so there's still hope. I'll keep you posted.

Wordless Wednesday: Lazy Afternoon Lap Time

Another practical use for your ugly papasan chair:

Get daddy (or some other willing soul) to take you for a ride.

It didn't make it onto Joshua's "things that are fun" list (like belching and puking), but he'll learn to love it.

Warning: potty language is used in the following post!

This weekend we had a small victory in the war against diapering two children (as opposed to just one): Ellie had her fifth poop in the potty! There are probably several of you out there who understand just how excellent it feels to make this announcement. Peeing, no sweat. We have Ellie in panties most of the day now and she's had 4 accidents but most of the time she's pretty good about depositing the pee in the appropriate facility (who wouldn't want to pee in the potty for a tinkle treat?) Poop, however, now that's another issue altogether. At least 3 of those five stickers you see above were from Rob or myself grabbing Ellie and RUNNING lightning speed to the bathroom just in time for the turd to fall into the can. But hey. This Saturday she got fries and a date with Daddy. And now she wants more.
To be continued... :)