Getting the edge

Last night Ken brought home two box sets of CDs.  Both of them were Tony Robbins sets.  I have started listening to one of the sets (Get the Edge) and after the first session I’m already feeling PUMPED (or ‘juiced’ like Tony would say).  Ken and I have been looking for a way to improve our life- not improve it, wrong wording- but make it more meaningful and live every minute to the fullest.  I know my life has been stagnant for far too long.  Just living day to day like a zombie never reaching the next level.  I’m tired of it and I want to make positive changes but I didn’t know how, until now.  These cds are just what we’ve been looking for.
I’m telling you, the man definitely has a way with words.  If you have any way of getting your hands on a copy of ‘Get the Edge’ or "Personal Power" I highly recommend it. 
Guess what my family is getting for Christmas?? 

Just kidding!! (sort of)

Hugs and empowerment,
~jen

Nothing Like a Nano to make a girl happy.

The logo I created:

The generous payment

I’m in love.  Oh Happy day.

Houston, we DO NOT have a problem.

Yesterday was our check up with Dr. Steinbok at BC children’s Hospital.  They said his head has shown a vast improvement  according to their measurements.  Dr. Steinbok seemed quite surprised himself at the results.  Ken and I asked about the ridge that is forming on the top of his head and the appearance that his forehead is bossing again but they reassured us that it is completely normal for the type of surgery they performed.  His forehead is growing but at a slower pace than the back of his head which is now expanding at a fast (and normal rate) and this makes the forehead appear smaller.  Once he has hair no one will have any clue about the ridges and funny lumps and bumps underneath-  the key phrase being ‘once he has hair’, that may be a while.
    The only troubling bit of news was that they may have to perform surgery again before he starts school to close his soft spot.  Sometimes it doesn’t grow completely over and they have to bring a piece of bone from somewhere else to close the gap.  I know, we’ll cross that bridge when (and if) we get to it  but  it was a bummer, none the less. 
    On the bright side- Nolan Cut his first tooth, the bottom left (his left) one.  My baby is growing up!!! He’s been eating vegetables and fruits along with his pablum, he’s getting really good at being spoon fed too.  He’s sitting on his own for longer periods of time and is starting the baby ‘push-ups’ that lead to crawling.  I can’t believe how fast this little guy is growing, I really can’t. 
    Paige is also growing up.  She asked her dad if she could go and see the ‘Catain’(Captain) of the ferry yesterday.  When the Captain was free, She was paged over the ships loudspeakers and she not only got to meet the captain but she also was able to steer the ship!  And yes, I forgot to bring the camera- Shoot me.  I don’t know where she got the knowledge about captains and that the ferry even had one… but by golly, she impressed me.  Also, lately she’s been making up her own songs and singing them over and over ad nauseam.  I won’t comment on her lyrical skills but some of the melodies have been kind of complex which makes me wonder if I should be starting her with some sort of music training.  It’s crossed our minds before…

Well,  I have a busy night unfolding before me and my daily chores are falling behind…
until next time,
~jen

He said, She said

Me: "Was I high maintenance?"
Ken: "You are anti- maintenance."
Me: "No, but back in the day (before kids) was I high maintenance?"
Ken: "No, Not you, definitely not you"
Me (thinking): "Coool."

the tattoo chronicle

Here is the slide show of Jojo’s tattoo…
It looks great and I’ll take another photo of it as soon as I can get Joe to stand still long enough.

JoJo and Misty…

Our newest guests have arrived, My little (but still bigger than me) brother Joe and his girlfriend Misty.  It’s Misty’s first time out to the island and it’s Joe’s first time to our new house.  They like it all (as if there was any doubt?!).  Soon after they arrived yesterday, Ken ushered them out to see Corb Lund and ‘the Hurtin’ Albertans’ playing at the Queens.  I stayed home with the kids (which is OK by me) but I heard the show was great and Ken got Corb to sign a CD liner from ‘The smalls’, one of his previous bands.  Upon seeing the CD liner he said "This is Ooooold!"
    Today we sent Joe out for his very first Tatoo, he wants a cherry bomb of some design.  I’m having Ken take pictures of the progress and I’ll be sure to post them here when they get back.  I think Joe will be able to handle the pain Okay… I think.
    Anyway, I have to say thank you to them for the wonderful gifts that they brought for the kids.  Paige is absolutely in love with her ‘Fur Real’ baby bear cub and mini princess Dora.  Nolan will be enjoying the clothes, because by golly, that kid needs ‘em! 
    I also have to give a Shout out to Great Grandma Jeannie for sending the great package for the kids (when it rains it pours!!).  Nolan recieved his quilt, it’s awesome and Paige will be wearing the band new- hand made- panties in about 7 years.  :0)  Thanks Grandma- Paige is creating her own personalized thank you card as we type this out.
I should run and finish a few things around the house before everyone gets home. 
I’ll blog with pictures again later!!
~jen

artistic update…

I recently went in and added a few new pieces to my EBSQ portfolio.  If you’ve been to see my portfolio before, please check it out again.  If you’ve never been- WHY!?!  Check it out, let me know what you think.
I was at the chiropractor yesterday and when Mr.Dr. Reed (it a husband and wife office) found out I painted he asked if I had ever painted murals.  I have done one in the past but I could easily do more. He wants to paint a mural on the kids room in the chiropractic office.  I am going to mention to him that I would love to work up a layout for him if he is serious about  it.  I would kick ass at that and it would be some nice spending money for me too!  I wanted to update my online portfolio with some children level artwork so he could see it and get a feel for the type of work I do.

I am going back into the office today, so I’ll let you know how it goes. ::fingers crossed::
~jen

Recent discovery of the repulsive sort

Lately we have been living with a non stop stench.  We narrowed down the source to the wall in which our pocket door to the bathroom in located.  It smelt like the most horrible rotten garbage you could ever imagine.  I bought several different varieties of room deodorizers and even some fancy incense from India- nothing helped.  That wall is connected to our garage which is also ripe with garbage aroma on most occasions so we thought the source had to be the garbage can.  We bleached out the garbage can for several days… Still no stench relief.
  Yesterday Ken went into the garage to find the source of the offensive smell.  Not long after he started looking he found an old set of plastic drawers that I used to use to hold my potatoes and onions.  Apparently when I decommissioned it I forgot to remove the onions.  They had rotted to the pure liquid stage.  Ken nearly vomited several times while trying to clean it out.  Poor guy. 
Guess what??  The stench is gone.  My sister will be happy to know this.  Since she lived with the stench during her entire visit here, she knows exactly how bad it was.
My stench for today was when I placed my coffee in the microwave to warm it up- not thinking that the cup is NOT safe for the microwave.  It melted, and the fumes of melted plastic nearly brought on a migraine.   I’m pretty chapped because I LOVED that cup, and it came with the mini coffee maker that Suz gave me.  Drat it all again.
OH well, on to the next stench…
~jen

Gosh, I love my kids.

Do you ever have epiphanies?  I had one today.  Suddenly it came over me just how much I really truly love my kids.  I have had this epiphany a few times, mind you, but sometimes a Mom can get caught up in the feeding, laundering and discipline and forget just how precious her little ‘charges’ really are (at least this mom can).  I caught Nolan looking at me tonight and he had such a look of admiration (as only a 7month old can) I nearly shed a tear.  Paige had a particularly wonderful day today- playing with all of her toys, by herself with the occasional shout of "I Love you Mom (or Dad)!" heard coming from her bedroom.  Today was a wonderful day.  I had a nice long nap with Nolan while Paige played and Ken rested in front of ESPN.   
I was having trouble feeding Nolan earlier.  Since we started spoon feeding him he has gotten really good at grabbing the spoon out of your and and throwing food all over the place.  Paige asked if she could feed her brother and thinking that Nolan wasn’t really interested in eating I said ‘Sure!" 
As soon as Nolan saw his sister manning the spoon he opened wide, like a baby bird and just let her shovel the food in.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!   Paige was doing really good with the spoon too, she barely dropped a spoonful of food on his bib.  It was the cutest thing to witness, I wish I had a bloody video camera for moments like that.
Last night Nolan noticed the tag sticking out of the back of my shirt.  The kid nearly sprinted over me to get his little paws on that tag.  Of course once he grabbed the tag he wanted to eat the tag- which involved a lot more climbing on me.  He is growing way to fast, where has my little baby gone???  Now I have a 22 lb little big boy! That sits on his own! And eats real food!  It’s crazy.  We are going to Vancouver Children’s hospital on Monday the 26th for Nolan’s follow up with the Neurosurgeon.  We are all praying everything is fine dispite some weird ridges that have appeared on his head.  Please be normal, please be normal….
Anyway- I’m going to go and hit the sack but not before i check in with my sleeping angels.
I will try hard not to Hug them, sprinkle them with sugar and eat them whole.
~jen

Sick and tired once again.

I hate to think of myself as a whiner but you know what?  I am.  This week I managed to contract Ken’s cold and it seems to be sapping my strength on a daily basis.  I want to bitch and complain but what good would it really do????  This is my blog so I’m going to whine a little because, well, I can.  But for the next little while I’m going to make an effort to stop complaining so much.  This will mean I will be trying to change several generations of inherited genes but by golly, I’m going to give it a go.  Sometimes, if you pretend to be happy, before you know it, you actually are.  So that’s the grand plan for the next week (I’ll reevaluate after 7 days and track my progress)… stop bitching and moaning about stuff nobody cares about.
This ought to be interesting.
~jen