Still Alive!

Hey everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. Ours is still going today as Ken has today off from work too, woot! At the moment he is still asleep and Ariel has just popped out of bed and is going potty. So things will be rolling soon enough. Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Its been a crazy week of continued hacking and sneezing. Ariel and I seemed to take another dip on the way to recovery. Every time I thought we were getting better, one of us would have a terrible night. The worse one for me was up at 3am being sick in the bathroom, ugh. Not fun.

Friday we headed to the Good Friday service in the beautiful sun. It was a gorgeous day. Other than church that morning, we didn't do anything else. Ken did some work on projects and Ariel and I hung out, hacking. Lovely.


Saturday morning Ken only had an afternoon class to teach so we got up early and went to Ikea to pick out a new desk for our computer that would be moving downstairs. Of course we had to have the $1 breakfast, Ariel enjoyed her fruit filled pancakes. Yum.


We found the desk right away after we ate, since I had been looking online for sometime. We paid and scheduled it to be delivered on Sunday, which shocked me that they would do it on Easter Sunday. Either way, it was perfect as Monday we could move the computer and then the youth would come and take the old desk to the garage sale. I love it when a plan comes together. (Insert cheesy A-Team music here).

Ken left for work and us girls didn't do much. I was zonked and Ariel just watched all the Easter cartoons on Treehouse. That evening while Ken and Ariel played, I was watching the first half of the season finale of Project Runway Canada (love it!) When it was over, I was watching the channel that tells you whats on I saw something new and froze.... I typed in the number and *poof* there it was! THE FOOD CHANNEL! I eeked and Ken came running, only to roll his eyes, haha. I had been joking for months that all I wanted for my 30th birthday (which is in a 3 weeks) was the food channel. It had only been available through our cable provider if you had digital. Well, we only had basic and one extra package, I had cancelled everything else since we didn't use them, a waste of money really. I couldn't justify getting digital either at this point, I really didn't care and it would raise the cost. Blah. Well apparently they did some rearranging and added several new channels to the basic line up... including FOOD! I kept telling everyone I got my birthday wish, such a dork I know.... but I am in my glory. Happy Birthday to me! Haha.

Saturday night Ariel pretty much coughed the whole night, it was terrible. She never woke up, but it kept us up, so the early morning wake up call for Easter breakfast with the family was a little rough for us. However, we got all pretty and went out with smiles on our faces into the dumping rain, haha. It was wonderful to see everyone, and even Uncle Bill and Aunt Penny who were passing through on their way home from Mexico.


The marshmallow tree they had, I may need to try this next year, as Ariel was taken with it. Hee.


After visiting and stuffing our tummies, oh it was so good, we headed off to church. Ariel was holding her own pretty well at this point, but the lack of sleep the night before was taking its toll of me. I found myself struggling to stay wake, which I hate feeling like at church, Easter morning especially! Everything was so pretty and blooming.


Ariel and Mommy!


Up at the front there was a beautiful vase. On Good Friday, we had all left a 'broken piece' up at the cross representing us and what we were giving to God to take away so we wouldn't be burdened with it. On Easter morning, the pieces had been made into a vase, symbolizing how brokenness leads to new life through Christ. Wow, very powerful and such a visual symbol to everyone.


The kids then got to go up and place flowers in the vase...


... Ariel on her way back from placing her flowers. My big girl!


Pretty vase!


We stayed until it was almost noon, but left before the service was over, which kinda sucked. We had a delivery coming between 12-5 and had no clue when it would be coming. Plus I was nearly out of it and needed to rest. We came home and shortly after wards we had a buzz at our door with Anna bringing us some paska! Oh what a wonderful blessing, I didn't have energy to make any this year and thought we would miss out. That loaf was our lunch and was pretty much gone by the end of the day.


Shortly following our little lunch, I fell asleep on the couch... and I have no clue how long I was out but it was MUCH NEEDED. I woke up a little disorientated, but after a snack felt good. Ariel had a nice long nap too, so the sickies were catching up on rest big time.

During my nap the desk was delivered in its big box of pieces. Woot. The moment I was strong enough, I got to work putting it together. Ariel my little tool girl, helped until I had to call Ken to take her since she was starting to get in the way. It didn't take long to build, but would have been even easier had I not had a baby belly in the way, haha. Ariel came down when it was finished and was 'oh Mommy, its beautiful!' Haha, she is such a sweet thing.

Well, Ken is up and made us some pancakes, so I am going to have some breakfast... and maybe catch the cake competition on tv. Hee.

Happy Easter!

I owe you all a big post, so stay tuned for that. Until then, enjoy our card we made this year. Blessings!

Oh Baby and Oh No!

Thanks for the concerns about my pain in my leg and butt. I think I figured it out, as it is now gone!!! Yay! I had been wearing my boots that were really cheap with little support (that of which was practically non-existent now) and when I did, that is when the pain seemed to show up. The next time I went out, I wore my sneakers, no issues, then my berks, again no issue. Soooooo, I am not sure why I didn't think of it earlier, since I have bad feet in general. This is something I use to struggle with for years, cheap shoes and pain. Hence why I have been wearing berks so long, they are great and my feet love them. Yay. With the sudden change to good weather, I plan on throwing the boots out, they aren't worth it, plus they leak now. Blah.

Also, Ariel and I are still on the mend. Still hacking and coughing, oh so lovely. My migraines are gone, but the cough and terrible sounding voice have replaced it. I was greeted with a 'hello sir' tonight when I answered the phone, gack! Hoping we are all better by the weekend, as this is getting REALLY old.

Now the fun news, we had our first ultrasound today! Yay! No gender peaking yet, they won't tell you anyways, so silly but true. We have 2 more weeks to wait, and after seeing just the first glimpse of him/her on the screen, I know the wait is going to seem that much longer. Baby, and I mean just ONE baby, thank heavens no surprises there, haha, was a wiggle worm much like Ariel was, making the tech really have to work. I won't be surprised if we have to go back to get more pictures, since she did say some might not be clear enough for the doctor's liking, but we shall see.

Without further waiting, please meet our second baby, lovingly called by daddy as 'bump', haha.


We think just from the profile that this baby looks more like me, where as Ariel was a splitting image of Ken. Looking forward to the 3D one to see more details like facial features. Whee!

When Ken, Stella and Ariel were finally allowed in to see baby, it was very exciting. Ariel was in awe of the baby, and asked where it's house was? Haha. Baby even seemed to wave to her at one point, as it had its arm over its head resting, much like I do. Haha. Ariel always had her feet crossed like me when I relax, so its fun to see the little differences.

We celebrated with some ice cream from Dairy Queen on the way home, after a quick detour to drop something off for Kara. Ken commented that this time he feels more at ease, like he knows what to expect. With Ariel it was all new and somewhat stressful and he was always nervous. I think I will always have some nervousness, since I am carrying a person inside. Either way, we are very thankful for the God's hand over us during this process. Oh, and we saw an eagle after the appointment too. Hee.

Now on to the not so fun news. Ariel is determined to give me more gray hair before I turn 30 in a few short weeks. The past few days while I have been really sick, she has found several ways to keep her self entertained, that had me shaking my head. First it started with her finding my new cross stitch beads I ordered to finished my Easter project. I had them up high, thinking she would not even acknowledge them, haha - my bad! She opened them up on the stairs, and I spent a good 30 minutes on my hands and knees searching for them. I found enough to finish my project, but the carpet kinda sparkles a bit when the light hits them. Guess the vacuum gets to eat them. Blah

Then came the iron! Yes, the iron. Ariel had seen me earlier in the day iron her skirt, so last night she got the iron from the storage room, plugged it in and had pulled a skirt and top out from her drawer to iron!!! Thank heavens we realized what she was doing before anything bad happened. She is just so quick and smart, that I think I will have to really watch her that much more closely. It doesn't help that I am sick and not on my 'A' game either. I think she knows it too. Blah x 2

Finally, (yes there is more) this morning we had in my opinion the worse one yet. Yesterday afternoon we painted our toes for Easter, since I couldn't get a pedicure before then. I had bought a bright pink to match my dress and painted our toes. Ariel was thrilled and showed anyone that would listen. That night she scuffed one and the polish came off. I told her in the morning I would fix it. Well, today as I got ready, she was still in her pjs watching some cartoons. I would check every few minutes and she was a lump on the couch like usual. The last time I checked, I nearly fainted.... I saw an empty nail polish bottle laying on our COUCH! I don't think my feet touched the stairs as I dashed down. There sat Ariel, with a look as if to say 'whats wrong'. My mouth dropped as I saw the clear polish bottle empty and several pools on the couch. Then I saw a few spots of pink, but the bottle was empty... where was the rest... oh ARIEL!!! She had painted her foot pink... not to mention her pjs.


I scooped her up and got to work cleaning. I had to use the polish remover on her to get it all off, and all she kept saying was she was trying to fix her one toe. Sigh... The couch I somewhat managed to clean, but I ended up flipping the cushion over, so we only have one side left, haha. The pjs were lost, and into the trash they went, thankfully she was wearing really old grungy ones since I haven't unloaded her laundry basket in her room yet.

I told Ken what happened and he said just to throw all my polish away, that it be cheaper to go to get my nails done than replace furniture, haha. So that ends the past few days of excitement and acts of destruction by a two and a half year old. Blah x 3.

However, as bad as she can be, she is still a sweetie, and I had to end with this video her her doing the jumping song that she didn't do at church. Haha. Enjoy and good night!

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Palm Sunday!

Whoa, I forgot we were a week away from Easter! On our way to church, we pass another church and on the sign it says 'Palm Sunday service today', and I was dang, I totally lost track that it was this week. So we zipped home for the camera since Ariel would get to be taking part in the celebration.

Managed to get a few pictures, its always hard when the kids are practically running, haha. Here is before the parade started and is when Ariel had a palm branch and was very excited to get started.


Then someone was offering ribbons to wave as well and lets just say the palm was not that exciting anymore, haha. Here she is with her next 'handlers', haha. All the older girls love helping with her, so she gets passed around a lot.


Then sitting up front waiting for the song to start.


Ariel of course had not been learning the song with the older kids, so when it came time for them to sing, she was more interested in watching them than doing the actions. It was pretty funny to see the girls trying to get her to jump, but she was just taking it all in. Its funny, when she sees the video now, she jumps along. What a nut!

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Rest of church was great. We had another musical guest and he, Roy and Dave did a wonderful song together. I was feeling a bit gross at one point and had to go throw some water on my face. I caught a bit of the bug Ariel had, blah. Its nearly gone, but the constant blowing of my nose makes me woozy. I can't seem to win, haha.

After church we had lunch and decided we had to finally go and take the pictures for our Easter cards since we were really running out of time. I wanted to do them outside this year, and after a week of bad weather, today was finally nice enough for Ariel to wear her dress out (plus she was well enough to do so too). We got a great shot and I will post it next Sunday, although I admit I had to photoshop it a bit to get the best end result since the subjects weren't close enough... that is all I shall leave you with to guess what I mean. Hee.

Going back in time to Friday, we missed coffee party due to both of us being sick, boo! Stella was nice enough to bring a doggy bag of goodies, but my tummy hasn't been that eager to eat them, so I think Ken lucked out this time. The rest of the day Ariel and I rested. I fought 2 straight days of migraines, and let me say, its not fun. I finally realized I had a sinus blockage or something. Chewing seemed to help keep it away, so I tried to eat small snacks all day, or chew gum. Still waking up with them, hoping tomorrow is a new day.

On Saturday we had breakfast with Dad, Rita and Katie who was visiting. It was a beautiful day and we went out for a walk on the paths near their home. Ariel was doing well until she tried to run and got into a coughing fit, poor thing. So back into the buggy for her, and things were great. Did managed to get a cute shot of her all bundled up.


Katie and Ariel had a fun playtime together. At one point Katie was tracing Ariel on a large sheet of paper. The look on her face just cracks me up, lol!


That evening I made 2 pans of meatloaf, on suggestion from my Dad when I asked what I should make Ken for dinner. Must be a man's dream meal because Ken was really excited when he heard. Haha. Its my mom's old recipe, and so yummy and moist, I hate dry meatloaf. Needless to say we ate it all weekend, and there was much rejoicing.


Well, Ariel fell asleep at 730pm tonight, after a long busy day. So Ken's been working on animation and I have been resting and bathing my sore leg/butt. I am not sure what I did, but I have a very sore, deep pain when I walk. It comes and goes and frankly I hope it goes soon! I hate it. Very uncomfortable, blah. In positive news, I feel my little baby more and more these days. Looking forward to seeing the first glimpse this Tuesday and then in 2 weeks we find out the sex! Eek! So get those votes in. Ok, I am off to bed, good night!

Rain and Colds

Well the past few days have been a blur, as they usually are during this week. Thank you all for your kind words both here and facebook, they mean a lot.

Lots has been happening, so I am going to go back to Tuesday to catch you all up. That morning Ken woke up with a nasty backache and overall gross feeling. He decided to take a sick day and stay home to rest. Worked out well, since Ariel and I were going to my doctor's appointment in Richmond with Stella. We picked her up and arrived right on schedule at 1030am... however, they weren't so much on time... it was 2 HOURS till I got in to see the doctor. Ugh.

During the wait, Ariel was fantastic, I was so proud of her, and thankful for Stella's help being there to mind her. They went and got me a snack which was nice when I was nearly ready to pass out. Finally I got in to the office and my doctor tells me a 3rd year medical student would be helping her out today. Ok, seems fine by me.... until I remember I needed to have a pap done. Ugh. So she does my blood pressure, it was perfect (amazing since I was really nervous now at that point, haha) We listened to baby's heartbeat, which was thumping away at 160. I never get tired hearing it, hee.

Then came the dreaded pap, and let me say this, I am all about doctors needing to learn to do these things, but pregnant woman are sensitive enough without constant prodding down south. After 3 failed attempts and me wincing, my doctor stepped in. Thank heavens!!! I was pretty sore afterwards, and my doctor was sorry for that. I smiled holding back tears, it really hurt. I just wanted to get out of there, it had been too long of a morning. After wards things were fun, off to have lunch at the mall and pick up my Fleetwood Mac tickets, woot! I have them in my hand, oh so pretty!

That evening I was starting to feel really sore again, and took a bath to try and relax. Sadly, it didn't help much so I just went to bed and thankfully in the morning things seemed to be better. One thing that helped me smile was my goofy girl in her new Olympic shirt from Nana. She loves the Quachi pictures all over it.


Next morning Ken was still under the weather and took another day to rest. However, I had Chels coming to clean the house, so when Ariel and I left for the cemetery, Ken joined us, which I must say was really nice. Picked up Stella and met Nana, Papa and Aunty Penny and Uncle Bill there. Penny and Bill were on their way to Mexico, and were kind enough to join us. We left some white roses that Ariel placed, although it was tricky this time since she asked where Grandma was... never easy. I know it will come with time, but its hard knowing she isn't going to know her, but only through pictures and video.


After staying just a few minutes, the cold and rain were too much and we got back in the car and went to lunch. Kara joined us for lunch which was nice, so we had a long table and it was very nice to visit and get warm again. We said our goodbyes and I got Ken home to rest. His back was still causing him a great deal of pain, still not sure if its a bug or if he pulled something. My poor boy.

While Ken rested, Ariel helped me make some soup for our play date the next day. We made a chicken and rice soup recipe I found on the Pioneer Woman's page. I love her stuff, so yummy! Ariel was starting to cough more and I was wondering if maybe she was getting sick, ugh.


My pretty spring flowers from Stella, thank you!


That evening, Ariel had a rough night. She was up on and off from 2am with coughing fits that made her cry, and then a fever. I cuddled her in bed so she would sleep, but every so often she would look to me and ask for water. So it was a rough night for us.


In the morning Ken headed back to work and that made Ariel that much more upset. She cried for him as I called around canceling our playdate and lunch with our friends. Poopy. Oh well, we will try again. I needed to go out and do a few errands, so thankfully Stella came by to watch princess so I could run out without having to drag Ariel along. When I got home Ariel was asleep on Stella's lap, my sweetie, I wish I could make her feel better sooner.

I brought some movies from the library for Ariel, so while she watched them, I did some baking. I made some of Nana's famous scones to go with the soup I made yesterday, which was for the playdate but is dinner now, haha.


Then I tried a recipe I found online here and made chocolate hot cross buns! Oh, these are worth making, soooooooo good!


Well tonight is the big ER sendoff. I can't believe I have watched that show for 15 years! It started when I was in grade 9! Yikes, and I wonder what will happen to my Thursday nights... I guess time will tell.

Nine Years

Vickie Lynn Worth
1955-2000

I still miss you Mommy.

I was trying to figure out what to say, and the only thing that comes to mind are lyrics to the Fleetwood Mac song 'Landslide'. I think lyrics can mean so many things to people, and for some reason these ones hit me hard this year. Perhaps it is because I am turning 30, and feeling like I am saying good bye to my 'childhood' in someways.

It took me so long to deal with the loss of my mom, and I think in some ways I still am. I find new ways to look at things, ways to grow and ways to grieve. Perhaps with the coming of a new child, I feel extra sad this year. Another little one she won't hold... but yet she is holding that little one now as they grow inside me... at least that is how I always seem to picture it.

Like Ariel's pregnancy, the eagle has been a daily reminder of her presence like a guardian angel. I haven't noted it until now because in some ways I am still amazed by such a simple sight, that comes without fail when ever I think about it. Coincident? I think not, I don't think that way.

So today its been nine years... and I will think of this song, and remember her.

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life

Well, Ive been afraid of changing
cause Ive built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
Im getting older too

Oh, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down

If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well maybe the landslide will bring it down


Love Jay