Life with Kids

We recently came into a new role: Parents (okay, only for a week). We had Cypress and River for an entire week non-stop while their parents enjoyed the sun in Palm Springs. It was an enjoyable week, once the children realized that you should SLEEP at night. The week was filled with momentous occasions. We watched the gold-winning hockey game and the closing ceremonies of the Olympics with the kids. We had a picnic in the living room, enjoying pizza and chocolate milk while we watched the closing ceremonies.

One day, we went into Vancouver for the day. We rode the sky train and sea bus, getting to see the Russian Tall ship as it left dock. We visited Lonsdale Quay, Northern House, and the un-lite Olympic Cauldron.



That same evening we went to our friends new condo. Things took a little turn for the worst while we were there.

Pictures truly do say a thousand words! But we must add that there is more to this scene than meets the eye. What you cannot see from this angle is the other half of that brand new roll of Toilet paper that is currently residing in the toilet bowl. (we were lucky that it flushed!) We must also mention that the children broke a cat toy rumoured to be invincible, stole money (2 cents!) and a cat toy. We are sorry Colin! But if that's the worst that happened, there must be lots to celebrate!

Discovering new foods was the highlight of the week. River surprised us by eating foods with no complaints, including this fish stick! We thought we would have a fight on our hands to get it down his throat, but the fight was to keep him from eating Dan's fish stick. (a nice fight to have, if you ask me!) All in all, it was a good week, full of fun and laughter and the occasional scream in the middle of the night.

Life Lessons for the week long parents:
1. There is nothing more startling than getting woken up from a dead sleep by a blood curdling scream let out 10 feet from your bedroom by a 2 year old at 2 in the morning. (except when its followed by puke, but that's from another time altogether).
2. Making children clean our their own soiled underpants is great incentive for potty training. As is the cold shower that follows.
3. It is surprising how far children will walk, when push comes to shove. (leaving strollers at home does that to a child).
4. Positive attitudes go a long way to make boring activities enjoyable.
5. Children SHOULD learn what stranger danger is, especially when they make friends with any one they meet. (hi Yuko, Christa and Joe!)
6. Being a parent has its ups and downs. But facing them with laughter makes the situation a bit funnier.

FREEDOM!!!

It is a momentous occasion for us! For the first time in 6 years (for both of us), we are DEBT FREE! Say good-bye to those student loans, because they are GONE! We are super excited and feel that we have moved up in the world, from broke to poor. We have stuck to a budget (and still will), got Dan through school and paid off the debt aggressively. Now we can start saving...

Bagels

Little did I know, but you can hand make bagels. I was fooled by others who said it was too difficult and boiling them was not worth the effort. But, I found a recipe on http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ and tried it for myself. They are super easy (well, easier than bread) and soooo yummy. I love that I can make any flavour I want and any size that I desire. These are way better than anything I've bought in the store (can you tell I love food sans chemicals?). Plus, this recipe makes 12 bagels at a time and for less than half the price of 6 store bought bagels. Yummy!

Broccoli....and lifes little lessons

Yesterday, while I was in the grocery store getting some veggies and elderly lady came up to me while I was getting broccoli and said, "You know, you can eat the stem."
Well, whadda ya know? Someone else knows my secret! (okay, its not a secret. Its a widely known fact.) I let her in on another one of my secrets. When you cook the broccoli, you can use the water to make soup!
I know this woman was trying to be helpful and spreading her knowledge. But does she know who I am? I am a home cooker! I make as much as I can from scratch and reuse as many elements of my meal as I can. I try not to waste anything. I reuse water from potatoes to make buns. I eat the broccoli stems. Tonight, I used my roast beef water to make gravy, borscht and beef-barley soup. I used one roast and I'm getting at least 4 meals out of it, plus a meal of leftovers for Dan. I make bread, buns, bagels on a regular basis.
It was a nice piece of advice...one that someone else's Grandma taught me a decade earlier. Perhaps another random Grandma will teach me something I didn't know. I love your little bits of advice.

An Olympic Journey

On Friday, we braved the sunshine (so tough!) and headed out to Vancouver with the children. We took the sky train in from Surrey and got to watch the enthusiastic faces of two young ones first ride on the train. We went to Robson Square in hopes of catching the BC Pavilion during a quiet moment. But the hour long line up deterred our efforts, as did two screaming children. Consolation prize? Toddler hockey. Not really making up for our saddened hearts, we also went to see the Olympic clock and wait in line to get our photo with the Bobsled (more child meltdown ensued....explain patience and waiting your turn to a two year old whose used to getting his own way....) Using our trusty Starbucks map (with a few Olympic additions... the Starbucks sign completely obscured Robson square...), we made our way to Pacific Center's Igloo and polar bear display. We went inside to use the facilities, and found a much less busy bobsled that we could climb into. Coming out, we went to the Salish carving demonstration, where we met some "friends" from the parking lot at King George Highway. We bummed around, taking in the sights and sounds and various smells of Robson Square before we headed home. In the parking lot at King George, we were stalked to our car by hoards of drivers, vying for our parking spot. We ended up parked between two rather large trucks, both hogging the lines on the wrong side of the spot, rendering us all but immobile. We shimmied our way into the SUV, having to throw the children in through the trunk and buckling them up from behind. We narrowly missed both trucks in our efforts to back out of the spot....needless to say, both will need to adjust their mirrors. (thanks Dan for moving them!) We made it home, with two quiet children (okay, they were sleeping) and a nice sunburn as a souvenir. Oh those elements!

An Olympic Journey: in photos!

How lame is that?

My slippers match our furniture! Thanks to Grandma Neuman for the homemade slippers and Dad Dueckman for the chair and ottoman! Perhaps our family is conspiring against us.....its all a little too matchy matchy for me!

There is nothing sexier.....

....than a Dan in a kitchen. Yep. It's true. After almost 3 years of marriage, it still makes my heart pitter-patter and my stomach growl.

A moment of Patriotism

This past Friday, we got the opportunity to hold the Olympic Torch (not on fire) at Dan's work. Some lady, did a presentation about her experience as a torchbearer. It was a neat experience and pumped us up for the opening ceremonies later that evening.

We sat together on the couch, in awe of what we saw on our television. In a moment of patriotism, we stood in our living room as the national anthem was sung. We watched the many nations come out, guessing which country they were from, as the French name was pronounced first. We proudly watched the Georgian team walk by to a standing ovation to a crowd at BC Place, in honour of their fallen comrade. We also stood for the Olympic anthem, which was a bit disappointing as we only understood a few of the operatic lines that were sung. We enjoyed the theatrical element of the opening ceremonies. Although, true to prairie fashion, their segment was repetitive, long and boring (in a phrase, describing the prairies to a tee). We laughed at the hydraulic failure during the most important part of the ceremony; the lighting of the cauldron. We were impressed by the choices that the Olympic committee made for flag bearers and Torch lighters. We loved the Aboriginal elements, and were impressed that those dancers kept on dancing for over an hour as the countries marched by. Three and a half hours later, we finally turned off the TV, after enjoying a free night of exciting Olympic coverage.

The Russians AREN'T coming!!!

Thursday 11 AM: Arrive at ARC with children in tow, with hopes of seeing members of the Russian Figure Skating team. We stand in line. Make way up to special viewing area. Hopes dashed. Practise cancelled due to Russians going into Olympic Village.

Thursday 3:50PM: Arrive 10 minutes before practise is scheduled to begin, in order to get good seats. We stand and wait. And wait. And wait. Hope is fading along with energy levels and patience.

4:32 PM: Must leave to pick up children's mother from school. Still no skaters. Told there was a mix-up and practice starts at 5pm. Amanda starts to wonder if the Russians do free childcare.

5:13 PM: Arrive with children and mother, eating McDonalds french fries (since any other fast food wouldn't be allowed, as they aren't official sponsors). Finally see Russian figure skaters. Only to see the pairs team leave the ice and see one man remain on ice. Children loose interest in 0.5 seconds. Dan and Amanda are too exhausted to move. They watch skater (and children).

Hopefully, we'll see the torch. The first time we go. And the only time we go. Maybe the children are bad luck......