Just for fun I thought I would post this picture of Emily. I am trying out my new blogging app. Hopefully it will work!


Please don't look too closely at emilys outfit. She is wearing her favourite skirt paired with her new black soccer shoes ;)

Going Private

I've decided to make this blog private.

There are certain issues/life events that I don't ever speak of on blogger or facebook since you never really know who is reading your blog/facebook page. I don't like to post pictures of others or their children on my blog since I know it is viewable by the public. I think going private is a smart choice.

I don't have any regular blog readers that are strangers to me (that I know of) so I won't be excluding a reader. Or if I do, I guess that's the whole point of going private, right?

That being said.... don't think I'm going to reveal some exciting secret on here :) I'm just talking about every day things like when Justin is away overnight or something along those lines. Things that I wouldn't want just anyone to know.

So if you'd like to be added to my blog reader list please leave a comment with your email address. The comment section will not be public. Only I will be able to see them. Don't feel pressured to leave some witty comment along with your email address..... just the basic info is fine ;)

I'll be changing the settings in about 1 week.

Quotables

While speaking to me, Jacob accidentally burped mid sentence.
I asked him "Jake, what do you say after you burp?"
He answered with "Ummm... I burped??"

After ongoing stomach pain I told Emily we are going to cut out dairy products to see if it makes her stomach feel better. I told her she might have a milk allergy.
That evening I overheard her speaking with my mom on the phone -- "Grandma, I've been sneezing a bit lately. Mom thinks I'm allergic to milk"

Emily, after hearing about a contest to win a princess prize. "Mom! Can we please enter this? I would really love to win one of five Rapunzel Prize Packs!"

And Heather VMS, this one is for you....
To describe something that smelled quite awful Emily said "That smells as bad as a bunny covered in rotten banana peels".

6 Months

When Mikayla was first born I didn't "recognize" her. She looked a bit different than all the other Pennings babies that have been born within the last decade. Maybe it was the Naves side coming through.
But now and again I see Emily in her. A few weeks ago Bethany posted a picture of her rolling her way around the living room and the resemblance shone through. And now again I see it.
I tried to find a good comparison picture, but this is the best I could come up with. I have a picture in my mind that would show the similarity a bit more but I can't seem to dig it up!
Anyway, what do you think? Do they share similar features?? Can you tell they are cousins?

Half Dutch

The other day I was baking boterkoek for the very first time. Emily asked me what I was baking and I explained to her that I was making a type of cake for dad.
We've never formally told Emily that Justin is Dutch. It just hasn't really come up! So I explained to her that Opa and Oma Pennings and Papa and Gramma Haveman came to Canada from Holland and they had children who had children... so and so forth....
She then said to me "so then I am Dutch, too".
I told her "Well, you are half Dutch. I am not Dutch and so you are only half Dutch."
She paused a moment, furrowed her brow and said "Mom, that is NOT fair. I want to be WHOLE Dutch."
We then had another simple and brief explanation concerning genetics - which she understood surprisingly well - and she paused again.
"Okay, fine. I'm half Dutch. But is Jacob half Dutch too?" she asked.
"Yes" I said "He is half Dutch".
"Good. If I am only half Dutch he better be only half Dutch, too."

Then she walked away.

Apparently being Dutch is better than being English. However.... a few days ago I made boterkoek, yesterday we had nasi for lunch, and tonight we are having boerenkool for supper. Maybe I can be an honourary Dutchie ;)

Can you relax in a messy house?

After putting a first coat of paint on the bathroom today I decided to sit and have a coffee and just relax before I started cleaning the rest of the house. *I always find that when I work on one specific project (like re-organizing a room, doing a seasonal clothing switch etc) the rest of my house ends up in chaos. When I stop the unconscious picking up/tidying up of toys, dishes, garbage I really notice just how much of a difference it makes! * Anyway, once all my painting supplies were stashed away until tomorrow I was tired and a bit sore. I put the coffee maker on in my messy kitchen and went to the messy living room to flip on HGTV. (Watching other people paint their entire house in half an hour always gives me motivation!)

But once the coffee had perked and I had a DIY show picked out I just couldn't sit in the mess. The crumbs on the counters..... The trains, planes, and automobiles scattered on the living room rug.... The plate with sandwich crusts left on the table. Ahhh!!! It was driving me insane.

So I set my oven timer for 10 minutes and got to work. It's amazing what you can accomplish in 10 minutes when you set your mind to it. I was even finished before the timer went off!

And then I could relax - truly relax..........

I always hear people say (and I've said it myself to new moms especially) "the mess will wait". And it's true. It will wait. But how do you feel while it's waiting for you??

Ta-Da!!

I've always wanted to learn how to sew. It's been on my "to-do" life list for a long time. And after learning that a lovely lady from our church offered sewing classes, I couldn't resist.
I had such a great time making my first project. I had never touched a sewing machine before, so I was quite a novice. (I still am quite a novice ;) )A bobbin?? What is that?? And to me? Threading a sewing machine looked as complicated at nuclear physics.
But Joan was patient and kind and explained everything to me (sometimes twice or three times). And she gave us cookies and tea - an added bonus!!
So thank you, Joan, for helping me check off this to-do item. I had so much fun and can't wait to sew again. I have been scoping out our house for a good sewing spot and I have two places I plan to commandeer as soon as I buy a sewing machine.
Justin is supportive of my hobby choice. I have never cycled through hobbies, so I don't have a bad track record. This past week he planned his work schedule around the nights I was at sewing class and was home on time to watch the kids. Thanks, honey!! He thinks sewing is a practical skill to learn and I can't disagree.
So without further ado, here is my very first sewing project.
Don't look too closely at the stitches -they may not be completely (hardly) straight in some areas. (I would try to keep up with Megan and her sweat-shop pace and then I would veer off course. So I stuck with my slow and steady "cha-chunk........cha-chunk........"rhythm and was able stay straight(er) ).

BEFORE:
AFTER:


This bag was made for Emily. She is going to use it to carry her piano books to and from lessons. It was hard to find the outer material as it needed to be stiff. I fell in love with the inside material and the bright blue was about all that would match. Emily loves it and is looking forward to using it this afternoon.

How do YOU do it?

My friend Belinda blogged about a recent trip to the library. If you would like a good laugh, go here.
And I was going to ask this question in her comments section, but thought the more advice, the better. So I'm going to ask my question here.

What do you do with your loud, crazy, demanding toddlers when you take your older kids to the library??

I have been wanting to take Emily for quite a while. Especially now that the library has had a facelift. But I avoid it because of Jacob. I just know he will want to run through the aisle of books and ask to look at each book for approximately 1.3 seconds. It will be all but impossible to stay with both kids at the same time. And the stroller has become a thing of the past.... instant screaming when he sees the thing. Oh, and he's loud. REALLY loud.

So what do YOU do? What's the tolerance level (from the library's perspective) for noise from little kids? Any good advice or tricks?

I know Emily would love the library. She is big - HUGE - into books and reading. Hopefully, with some advice from you, we will be perusing the books soon :)

Let it snow

The kids and I couldn't resist going out to play in the soft, fat, slowly falling snow flakes this morning. Once we were out there the wind picked up a bit and now we all have very rosy cheeks. But this time I was a bit smarter and convinced the kids to go inside BEFORE their hands, ears, and feet became so cold that they burned as they warmed up inside (we had many tears a few nights ago after staying out a little too long)

Even our barn cats like the snow :)

Catching snowflakes on her tongue.

Our new roof (even though it's covered with snow!!). Please excuse the Christmas wreath.... it will be down soon!

Overdue for a post

I've been neglecting my blog lately. Although I have not been neglecting other people's blogs oddly enough ;)

I guess there hasn't been much to blog about around here lately. Over the last few months we had a new roof put on and there has been some progress in the bathroom. My father in law has installed a beautiful marble shower and it is completely done! As long as you don't mind stepping out of a shower onto dirty ply wood it's ready for use. We haven't used it yet as there are no bathroom walls, no floor, and no hooks to hang towels or robes or anything of the sort. But it's encouraging to have something in that room that defines it as a bathroom :)
That's really been it for the house renovations. Justin has been crazy busy at work leaving hardly any time for work at home. And when he is home sometimes the kids and I would rather live with studded walls and subfloor and be able to hang out with him instead of the other way around. The kids are only little for a short time - we have the rest of our lives to work on the house. That being said, I would LOVE some bedroom walls.... really.

The only pictures I've snapped over the last little while have been of the kids. But who doesn't love kid pictures, right??
So here are some:

Emily has been spending a good chunk of her non-school afternoons up in her room laying on her bed "reading" books. A skill learned during rest time at JK I believe. This time never coincides with Jacob's nap, sadly for me! So maybe it is also her way of getting away from her annoying little brother ;)

We've been trying out some new hairstyles. Emily's hair is looooooong so I figured I might as well try to embrace it's length and have fun with it. These are two of the hairstyles she picked from YouTube. I'm definitely not a hair person, but I am learning. Slowly.


We had one REALLY sick week over the holidays. We were all a bit under the weather with the kids taking it the hardest. The best indication Emily is sick? She naps. This day, she napped 2 hours on the couch. We are all feeling much better now, although Emily still has a bit of a cold.

Jacob is still Jacob. Loveable, funny, happy, rambunctious. He is such a joy to have in our family. We tried potty training for a few days over the holidays. It didn't go very well and resulted in him falling apart into tears whenever I asked him if he had to go to the bathroom. So we will wait a bit and try again. Jacob is still in a crib and I don't dare move him out of it. He LOVES his crib and it's so convenient to plop him in bed and walk out of his room every nap time and bed time. Until he starts to climb out we will leave him be.
I had been worried about his speech development and took him to tykeTALK a few weeks ago. The very lovely speech therapist told me I had nothing to worry about and he is doing fine. She will call us in about 6 months to make sure he is progressing, but as for now we don't need to worry.

What do you get when you mix one oreo cookie, one cup of water, and one little boy? Mess.
This is a picture that Emily snapped of Jacob last Sunday. I thought it was cute :)
So that's it for life around here. I have been busy with Nursery stuff, Meals on Wheels organization, and I just recently joined the Hospitality committee. Next week Joan teBokkel is going to attempt to teach me how to sew. I hope I can catch on quickly, I would LOVE to know how to sew.

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays and were able to spend some time with family and friends!

Shabby Apple Giveaway from Better After

The title says it all. I would love to win this dress. I LOVE Shabby Apple stuff, but buying online dresses is risky due to sizing and fit, and sometimes expensive to ship. But if I won one for free :)?? That would be fantastic.


Click here to enter for yourself. (Or feel free to NOT enter so my chances of winning don't decrease ;) Just kidding..... kind of.