I’ve been told.

I have been instructed by Suz to BLOG while I’m in ALberta on vacation.  I promise to try my best peeps!  I’ve just finished loading up the Santa fe, Nolan is sitting in it watching a DVD (those car DVD things are AWESOME) and I thought I’d take a moment to burn some music and write a little bloggy before i head out to pick up Paige from school.

Update for you all, I don’t have an ulcer.  What I do have is reflux.  One more thing I inherited from my loving dad.  Yes, so I may have to be on acid reducers for an extended period of time, perhaps my life, considering that I have experienced this pain on and off since high school.  I’m happy that it’s all under control now.

Anyway I should get hustling…

Will blog again soon!!

~jen

Sing your heart out.

I don’t normally watch programs like this but I happened to catch it the other night while Ken was watching it.  America’s Got Talent.  I caught a fella named Cas Haley singing a track originally done by The Police.   All i have to say is WOW.  When ever he comes out with an album, I’ll be the first person on iTunes to download it.  Check him out for yourself:

I would be amiss…

I was just sitting here today and realized that in my blogging laziness I neglected to announce my dear husband’s birthday, AS WELL AS pay him tribute on fathers day.  Of course we celebrated but I just forgot to blog about it.  Shame on me.

If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time you already know how I feel about my husband Ken, but for those of you who don’t- let me explain.

I don’t deserve this wonderful guy.  I really don’t know what I did to earn the chance to spend my life with him, but believe me, I count my blessings every day and twice on sundays.  I mean, the guy is human and with that comes the slight imperfections that we all have, and those make us interesting and unforgettable.  He loves his family dearly and it emboldens me daily to try better than I did the day before-  Just to make him happy and proud of me and to thank him for being such a steadfast, loving, dependable and incredible presence in our day to day lives.  His constant quest to better himself is also an inspiration to me and I have many times grasped hold and gone along for the adventure with and I will continue to do so as long as I am able.  His constant presence by my side has made me feel loved beyond compare and I hope that in some way I have been able to provide a shoulder to lean on in his times of need.

He’s a great BBQ grill master.
He can fix ANYTHING with MacGyver like skill.
He can clean the house like nobody I know.
He works like a dog with very little sleep.
He can find KILLER deals on anything you need.
and makes Excellent french toast…

What more can I say??

There is no ending to amount he gives of himself, above and beyond what is expected.  He’s my hero, and he is our children’s hero. 

I don’t know if you were aware.  I don’t know if he was aware…

But he is, and I Love him more than any of these words could say.

A loving wife,

Now and forever,

~jen

Once a week habit…

It looks like blogging has been demoted to a once a week habit these days.  I’m not going to apologize because sometimes it just works out like that. 

So here’s the scoop on what I’ve been up to. 
I’ve been spending a lot of time with my beloved doctor- we’ve been assessing my health lately which has involved a lot of trips to the lab and blood draws.  It turns out that not only am I carrying extra weight but the consequences have been High cholesterol and possibly even type 2 diabetes (verdict is still out on this one).  Which, if left untreated for any longer could turn me into (my docs words) A ‘ticking time bomb’ at risk of a heart attack.  Yes, I have been freaking out a little.  So I’ve been doing research, trying to eat better and get my body moving.  How did I let myself get this bad… I don’t know.

Also there is my constant companion,"the pain".  My doc sent me for an upper gastro intestinal xray last week.  This has got to be one of the world’s grossest tests.  They make you drink a thick chalky fluid and do an xray of your stomach as the stuff goes down.  I’m telling you it was all I could do to muscle past the gag reflex.  The doctor kept telling me, drink it steady and quickly until it’s gone!  He couldn’t possibly understand how gross that stuff was.  It was cool to sip the gross stuff through a straw and watch my oesophagus and stomach on a screen hanging on the wall- it helped distract me from the gagging.  Anyway, the results came into the doctors office today and they called me to arrange and appointment.  They only call if there is something to discuss… so I’m hoping that the news is good, and I do have an ulcer.  Sounds funny to say but at least there will be some medication she can give me and I will see and end to all of this pain.  I have compassion for any of you people out there who have had or currently have an ulcer- the pain is all encompassing at times.  Also, the ulcer was probably brought about by my over use of Ibuprofen.  So keep that in mind next time you’ve got an ache or pain… I know Tylenol blows but it’s gentle on the stomach.  Take it easy on the Advil!

Kids say the darndest things only a Mother could love.

Lately my kids have been quite full of beans (by ‘beans’ i mean ENERGY).  I’m guessing it’s a mixture of the extended sunlight hours, a growth spurt and the crack that I sprinkle in their oatmeal.

When they aren’t running around like children with their heads cut off, they are badgering me with very grown up conversation.  for instance:

Nolan: Mom I have a boo boo.
Me:  Oh, why do you have a boo boo?
Nolan:  BeeeCAUuuuuse, I have a boo boo! (put a lot of sing songy extra effort into saying ‘because’ and you’d have it about right)

This kid is not even TWO and a HALF yet!!

Paige told Suzanne and I that she was going to be a model when she grew up because she can stand like this (see photo) for a long time.  Wha- Huh??

We are really ready for summer holidays to start so we can go gallavanting across the country side.  I’m particularly excited to see my family because it’s been over a year!

also, onto other news- I recently had some tests done to get to the root of my strange pains.  After a talk with Suzanne I think we are pretty dang positive that I’ve got an ulcer.  The next batch of tests will tell for sure, but I’m pretty positive.  Since I read up on ulcers and have followed the instructions on how to avoid the pain- i’ve been pain free.
I’ll keep you all updated on the tests!

sorry for the hodgepodge post but there you have it…

lotsa love,
~jen

Damn the facebook!

I know what your thinking… Where the hell have you been???  Well, I have only got one wordto say, well two words that are smushed together… Facebook.  What a great little thing but a realy time sucker at the same time.  It’s allowed me to touch base with relatives and friends I haven’t seen or spoken to in years.  What is facebook you ask?  Go and check it out for yourself because it’s too hard to explain in one sentence. or even two.  Sign yourself up, search for some friends and try not to stay up too late.

In the meantime, I’m going to upload more photos to my flickr site. 

Between now and then I’ll also try to write a post about all the clever stuff my kids have been saying… I need to get it in type before I completely forget.

Until then,

~jen

My little gal is growing up.

My little princess came down with a bit of a bug tonight.  Really bad timing for her too, she had planned to go to Elizabeth’s new house and play with Polly pockets and possibly run through the pool.  I gave her a bath, She up-chucked a few times and finally passed out.  Poor girl.

The day started out so much happier.  I asked her if she wanted to go and get her hair cut, she was way passed due and frankly i wasn’t in the mood to tackle her and try to shampoo the sunscreen out of her hair and then tackle her again to try and comb it.  So off we went.

Check out the photo set here.

Of course as soon as I started to get photos of her getting her hair washed Nolan bit his tongue and proceeded to make a huge scene for thirty minutes.  He was inconsolable until one of the pretty stylists came up and offered him a lolly pop.  He’s a sucker for the ladies, that boy.  Anyway, you get the idea.  She was really happy with her new hair cut and asked me how they get her hair so nice.  I replied "They BLOW DRY it! With a brush!".  Hopefully she’ll let me continue with it… time will tell.

Taking my 5 year old to a Salon… seems so grown up but she really seemed to fit in there like the little princess she is.  It’s great being a mom to a little girl, I’m so lucky.

~jen

Clarification on the update

Okay I forgot to give details on the bumper bump I had with the Santa Fe.  I simply rolled into a smaller Honda while at an intersection (many thanks to the fact that I’m now driving a standard).  My rear bumper has some scuffing that you have to look hard to see and the Honda had some gouges and scuffs thanks to a silly plastic plate holder mounted high on the front bumper.  I have been without any type of accident for a long time and am sending many thanks out to the universe that this was small.  When I’m driving with good company I become a little distracted (right Tanya, Jess???)… I’ve definitely got my "listening ears" and "Looking eyes" on these days.

My new wide angle zoom lens arrived today, and it’s sure nice.  I previously had a 50mm ‘prime’ or ‘fixed’ lens before so all the zooming had to be done with my feet by walking closer or farther away.  It’s cool for portraits but if I wanted to get an entire body in a shot with background it involved me being about 3/4 of a mile away.  This lens is mucho better in that respect.  I’ve got soooooo many photos to upload to flickr it makes me light headed to think about it.  I will be sure to let you know as I go along, I’ve been adding new stuff just about everyday.  I wish i could be that disciplined with this here blog!

Well I should run along- the kids are enjoying the HOT day outside and I think I’ll join them.

Take it easy folks,

~jen