Bike Trip

Joel and his buddy Cody in the bike trailer about to go on a bike trip around Fish Trap Creek.

Both boys holding up their helmets so that they could see. Soon after this shot, they were holding hands while trying to prop up their helmets with their free hands. So cute!

2 weeks away from her due date and out biking! Just about killed her! Do you think she's trying to induce labour or something?

Happy Mother's Day

This is something I came across today and it brought me to tears. (dang pregnancy hormones!) But I think it speaks so well to so many.

An Open letter to Pastors on Mother's Day

Originally found at: http://messymiddle.com/2012/05/10/an-open-letter-to-pastors-a-non-mom-speaks-about-mothers-day/  

"To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you. To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you."

I would love to add, "To those who treat others children like they are your own, we thank you."
This past year, I have been truly blessed by friendships with people who take care of my son as if he was their own child. They teach him, laugh with him, snuggle him, discipline him, play with him and love him. They all have a unique way of interacting with him and its a beautiful thing to see. They have a way of drawing out a part of him that we as parents can't. Its awesome to see him discover new things with all of you. There are times as a mother that you feel as though you can't give another ounce to your child because of exhaustion, but there are our friends picking up the slack when we can't. We have been so encouraged this year. We have felt your love, your support and your prayers. This Mother's Day, we salute you. Thank you for being there for us, for Joel and for our family.  You guys rock!

When the best of intentions are foiled

I had some great intentions this morning.
I did a load of laundry and hung it outside.
I had prepped lunch early so we could go to the playground and spend the maximum amount of time there.
I was about to text a friend to join us at the playground so the kids could play together.
Then these little words spoiled it all: Its raining!
No playground. No time with friends. Laundry still hanging outside, just getting a bit wetter. Sometimes things like that just happen. We really can't control circumstances. But we can change our attitude about it. So instead of worrying about wet laundry, I'm leaving it outside hoping that the weather will change. Instead of playing outside, the kids are playing animals in the living room (and loving every minute of it). Instead of seeing friends this morning, they'll be here in the evening for dinner and the Big Bang Party.

I guess this is similar to waiting for our baby to arrive. We have the best of intentions. We can choose the "perfect" day in which we would love our new baby to arrive. But its not always the best day for the baby, or the day that God has chosen. We would love to see this baby arrive early, so that Grandpapa can come and visit on the long weekend and see his new grandchild. We would love to have a week or so of recovery before he arrives, to adjust to this new life. We would love this baby to arrive early so that our friends who are leaving for the Philippines can meet our new arrival.  We would love for the baby to arrive so that we can all be at their commissioning service. But we cannot predict or control when we go into labour. I would love to know for sure when it happens. So that I can be at home, without River and with a sitter for Joel close by. But alas, that is not to be. When labour hits, it hits. When this baby decides to arrive, it will arrive. Whether its 2 weeks early or 10 days late. The greatest intentions are just that: intentions. But I can control my attitude about it all. I can choose to think positive. I can choose to have many contingency plans in place for when labour actually hits. I can remain hopeful that the baby will arrive early, but continue to be realistic and know that I will probably be overdue. So for now, I will continue to live life as normally as possible, praying regularly for the safe arrival of our second child.

For Future Reference...

Joel, cucumber slices belong in your mouth, not in the toaster.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

One small boy. One open car window. One unadulterated session of glee. 

The wind in his hair. Happy dance in his car seat. Squeals of Wheeeeeeeeeee!

It really doesn't take much to make this boy happy.

Fort to Fort Trail

On Saturday, we went to Fort Langley and walked the Fort to Fort trail.

9 km of pure joy. Okay, that's not really the truth. Amanda was dying from some intense contractions courtesy of the walk. But on the upside, the baby did drop and nestle itself low in her pelvis. Although that is slightly painful when trying to hike up some of those killer hills.

Joel enjoyed some barefoot time on the side of the road. Okay, the reality is that we wanted to keep him in the stroller as long as we could (since it was getting late) and that meant he needed his shoes and socks off. It was getting chilly, but this kid loves to be barefoot. He was content for most of the walk back from the Fort and definitely enjoyed his time away from the stroller.

We even told him to play in traffic (something my mom constantly told me as a child). We didn't think he would listen! Luckily there were no cars and my mom has a swift response.

Is she nesting or just plain squirrely?

She started packing stuff away, but its not for winter-its for our next baby (still a month away from the due date). Since Sunday, when this "nesting" instinct hit, she has been on a bit of a food preparing rampage. In the 3 days since, she has made 24 loaves of bread, enchiladas and a large lasagna. On top of the all the goods that she has made in weeks previous, our freezer is stocked. Then add all the stocking up on groceries that she insisted that we do, equals one full house.

Add to that, all those little things that pile up on your to-do list that never get done and we have been two busy people. The home birth supplies have been gathered, the bench fixed to prevent Joel's fingers from being squished, bikes repaired (sorta), ink for the printer for those baby announcements, batteries bought for all those baby contraptions that suck power and a new wet bag for all those dirty diapers has been ordered.

We are now ready to have this baby, or a zombie apocalypse....whichever comes first.

Oh wait! We still need to: insure and air care the van, plant seeds for the garden, buy Mother's Day and May birthday gifts, finish the final bits of our purge and strip those cloth diapers. And last but not least, we still have bagels, granola and pizza to make. Hopefully not while she's in labour-especially not the bagels!

Amanda's terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day

Yesterday at church, the book "Alexander's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" was read for the children's feature. Today, I feel as though I might be living one of those days.

10:45 AM Peeled myself off the couch, so that I could use the facilities and then go and prepare lunch for River, Joel and myself. I was planning a lovely grilled cheese sandwich to go with the Broccoli Cheese Soup that was sitting as leftovers in my fridge. I was very excited about the soup and sandwich....a total pregnancy craving.

10:46 AM While relieving myself in the bathroom, I hear this horrible crash, followed by shattering glass and a wailing child. Knowing that my beloved pot lid just broke and Joel was in the midst of shattered glass, I began screaming for him to stay still and not move. Did I mention yet that I am currently suffering from a cold that has rendered my voice pretty much useless? So trying to scream with barely a voice for a 16 month old to not move....yah. That didn't really work well. I quickly finish my business as thoughts of a young child crawling through shards of glass, bleeding from every orifice filled my mind. Luckily, he was so shocked by the noise of the glass shattering, he hadn't moved. I quickly made my way through the glass tsunami to Joel, picked him up and assessed the damage.

10:48 AM I'm yelling at River to not move, as he was trying to pick up shattered glass that happened to make its way all the way from the kitchen into the living room where he was playing.  All the while, trying to console a screaming one year old and remove little pieces of glass from his hands. Luckily there was no blood and no cuts. Just shards of glass covering his hands, which I quickly washed off.

10:50 AM Joel is still screaming, probably startled by the noise of the glass shattering and his mother's response. I barricade Joel and River in Joel's bedroom with the baby gate and attempt to clean up the mess. But Joel's screams are too much for this woman, and her child takes precedence. I distract Joel with toys and attempt to go back to sweeping up the glass chunks.

11:00 AM I spend a few minutes sweeping up the large chunks of glass, going back and forth between cleaning and consoling a child. I finally realize that Joel is not going to calm down until he has my full attention. But I'm in a bit of a time crunch since River has to leave for preschool in an hour and we still need lunch. But we can't have lunch until all the shards of glass are removed from the carpet and lino. Literally, the pot lid spewed itself in all directions and no where was safe for the kids except Joel's room. So, I let my child wail. And I cleaned. All the while wondering if I should call someone to help me.

11:05 AM I pull out the vacuum and start the long drawn out process of vacuuming up shards of glass. Side note: the vacuum does not suck up chunks of glass which happened to be all over the carpet and refused to be swept up. Time seems to fly by, Joel seems to scream louder and the glass doesn't seem to be going away.

11:18 AM I finally ask River to clean up the toys that are all over the living room, with specific instructions to shake all the glass out of them first. Yep.....a 5 year old shaking out glass chunks onto the carpet. I'm carrying Joel, just to shut him up while I continue to vacuum. Did I mention that I'm about 6 weeks away from delivering my second child? This isn't an easy task without a leech attached to you, let alone with one crawling all over you.

11:20 AM I get things under a bit of control and strap Joel into his booster seat. (Basically, vacuuming and caring a child is a bit of an impossible task this far in my pregnancy). The last bit of vacuuming is done (which pretty much involved a deep clean of the entire house....an upside of the whole situation perhaps) and I attempt to get lunch for the kidlets.

11:24 AM I've pulled out whatever leftovers I have on hand and prepare to feed the kids. River gets leftover salad, his favorite..NOT! and Joel gets some apples to keep him happy. I try to make a bit more substantial lunch for the kids....a quick sandwich for River and Joel and a nice BLT for me.

11:38 AM I finally sit down after preparing lunch and encourage River to keep eating his veggies quickly since we have to go. He puts a bit of veggies on his fork (mushrooms.....what are those he asks?) and puts it in his mouth. Then the gagging begins. The fake puking. And all the while, I'm telling him to just swallow it down (he's eaten mushrooms before and liked them). Its just one of those antics hes pulling to get his way. So I'm firm with him...and he gags. Then the cough/vomit/gag turns into a semi spew and I now have mushroom spit all over my sandwich. Awesome!

11:43 AM Things calm down a bit, and I tell River he has to finish his last bite of veggies before he can go pee. (that was my first mistake) But he had an empty mouth and we can't waste time....we only have a few minutes before we need to go and he still has an entire sandwich to eat. So, in goes the veggies as he runs off to pee.

11:46 AM "Oh no!!!! I did something bad!" River says. I'm thinking he has spit out the veggies, but no.....there is pee ALL OVER THE FLOOR. He attempted to pee in the toilet, but forgot to lift the second lid. So, now there is pee all over the floor, his pants and my bathmat. This sends this pregnant woman into gag fest, as I try to remain calm and get him to clean it up, all the while trying to keep my lunch in its proper place.

11:53 AM Clean up of the pee finished. Lunch nearly complete. A mad scramble to change Joel's diaper (luckily no poop!), get kids shoes and jackets on and out the door. Try to clean up lunch quickly, so that I can come home and have a nap after dropping off River. The other upside of the whole situation: the vacuum is still out, so lunch cleanup was a breeze.

12:00 PM Out the door and on the road to school.

12:20 PM Nancy (River's mom) comes out the get River. She asks how the day was. I said it was okay. He had a 1.5 hour nap this morning (good) and not so good since he peed his pants. She does a quick inspection and realizes that he is soaking wet and we don't have back-up clothes. Then, my day changes again. Can I take him home, wash his clothes and hang out with him all afternoon? NOOOO! But yes! The upside: 3.5 hours of extra money. A free load of laundry and a Starbucks as a bribe from Nancy. The downside: another child for a few extra hours, a harder time putting Joel down for a nap, having to do laundry instead of taking that nap.

3:00 PM Here I am, no nap under my belt and pretty tired. River in my bedroom watch Mythbusters. Joel sleeping. And a strong desire for chocolate cake. Perhaps, the day wasn't that bad, now that I'm a few hours removed from the chaos. But I still miss my pot lid. And I think I'll make that chocolate cake....perhaps after I fold that laundry. Maybe after that nap.

Puddle Jumping

The other week, we had a crazy rainstorm. Okay, really its B.C. It had been raining for days and the kids were driving me crazy. So, one afternoon I suited Joel up (complete with rain pants) and took him outside. I sorta expected him to stay in the parking lot, jump in the puddles and then go inside. But Joel had other plans.

He took off down the sidewalk (and finally I just let him in the huge puddles on the street). But just as I did, the rain came pounding down. And a few seconds after that, it came even harder. I'm just in my shoes and rain jacket and I was soaked in seconds. Dan even took this nice video (from the protective cover of the parking lot) of me with this sad face saying in a mopey voice, "I want my rain pants."

But I couldn't leave Joel alone outside and he was having too much fun to take inside. Plus, I was drenched and it really just wasn't worth putting on rain pants anymore.

So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! I just HAD to teach Joel the art of puddle jumping. He definitely was giggling the whole time. And then tried to copy me. But he doesn't know how to jump yet, so he basically walked into the puddle, kicked the water a bit and got out. It was hilarious! The one puddle was so deep that it was up past his ankles. But he didn't care.

He loves being out in the rain, and even more so loves being out in the puddles. When we came in,  I was drenched from head to toe, as was Dan who finally succumb to the rain and took pictures for us. Joel, on the other hand, was relatively dry. His hands and face were frozen, and his shirt was wet (apparently his jacket leaks). But it was a fun afternoon in B.C.'s famous rain storms.

Good-bye Kraft Canada, Hello Whole Foods!

When I was learning to cook, I turned to those free Kraft Canada magazines for inspiration. I was desperate to learn (we had to eat after all) and my mother was in no position at that time to teach me. So I read the recipe and made numerous dishes that we survived on for months, perhaps even years. It was so easy to adapt recipes for the meat or vegetable I had on hand, with their handy "choose this meat/veggie" and add this boxes.

But I have turned over a new page in the cookbook. Or perhaps just removed a few pages from my repertoire. You see, Kraft Canada has this insatiable need to use its own brands to make meals. Which means that cream cheese, salad dressing and any other Kraft product often stars in the meal. But they really aren't that healthy or tasty. They were good for that stage of my life, but its time to say good-bye Kraft Canada and hello whole foods.

I have learnt to adapt recipes and make them healthier by adding spices and broth, instead of salad dressing. I have learnt to exchange cream cheese for a healthier white sauce. I have slowly over the years learnt to bake bread, starting with a complete white loaf and then transitioned to a whole wheat mix with flax and oat bran. And just recently I have grown my own sourdough starter and made sourdough bread.

I have changed from throwing cream cheese into everything to making my own ricotta cheese and yogurt. Perhaps in the coming future, I will try my hand at making my own cream cheese. I have changed from opening a can of high-salt chicken broth, to simmering chicken bones and making my own homemade stock. Meals take a lot longer to prepare. But they are definitely better for me. Perhaps because I can usually pronounce all the ingredients that I'm putting into the meal. Or perhaps its because I know what I'm putting into my mouth.

Now don't get me wrong and think that we are some hippie folk who eat crunchy granola all the time. Because that is definitely NOT true. We both have a sweet tooth and enjoy baking delicious goodies. But we also have those special "conveinience" foods that we still enjoy. In fact, one lady at Dan's work often comments that "it must be slim pickings in the McCrimmon household" when Dan takes a can of Chef Boyardee to work. But oddly, we do enjoy that barf in can. We enjoy Cheese Whiz and the occasional laminated cheese slices.  We still enjoy a good mushroom/tomato soup straight from the can. My pasta sauce is a mix of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, rather than made from fresh tomatoes (probably because fresh tomatoes are rather expensive). We still have a lot to give up if we were to be considered complete hippies. But that doesn't change the fact that we one day dream of having our own chickens and being able to buy a half cow at a time. 

We are constantly learning of more things every day that we can make ourselves. Some of them have significant cost savings and taste good. Those stay in our lineup (like chocolate syrup for example). Others, just take too much time to make, like homemade pasta and are reserved for special occasions.  Other things, like refried beans, didn't quite taste the same homemade and we have reverted to buying it canned (although, we will try a new recipe in the future and see if that changes things). Its been this slow journey to refining our tastes and eating habits.

But just a short time ago, I went through my cookbook and ripped out all those Kraft Canada recipes that we never make. It was liberating. I replaced them with recipes for whole foods, like sourdough bread, yogurt, and ricotta cheese. Dan and I have felt that this has been a slow transition, taking almost 6 years so far. And every few months, another thing changes and we refine our lives again. This has been a good change for us and we've enjoyed the journey and process its taken. Plus, we now eat much healthier food....or at least food with ingredients I can pronounce.