Happy Easter from the Egg Family!

Meet our Egg Family!

Baby Stinkbreath - This egg is an evil space alien. He has one eye, 2 feet, and one very large hand protruding from his foot. He is going to destroy the whole egg planet.
Her name is Kimmie. She is the hottest egg eva', nevertheless she will probably crack due to the evil scheming powers of baby stinkbreath.
Gerardo - is a lonesome, but sophisticated buisnessman who lives in an apartment by himself. He's looking for a date.
Miss Yokelmire - is an eccentric, fun loving Mom.

Wendy - Loves to shop, her favorie color is pink and she's an eggstraterestrial!

Happy Easter From the Egg Family, also from Ben, Taylor, Tannis, Mc Kenna and I!!!!

A Valentines Rock Out!

Upon my arrival home from work at about 8am on valentines day I was greeted in the street by my daughter's music. Not unusual. Avril Lavigne's "Hey, Hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend" was being belted out in the way only distorted computer speakers could manage on their way to being blasted to smitherines. It was one of those belly laughing, doubled over moments when Ben greeted me at the door with a shout: "Taylor is listening to this song..... and it's not very VALENTINESY!" Who would've thought that a four year old could be so astute, all day we were tutored about our actions having them labled as valentinesey or not valentinesy. At least we have one day in our house when the kindness police are on our side, it's usually such a lonely task... THANKS BEN!

River
This is a metaphorical poem Taylor wrote for her dad in English.. she's SOOO smart.

River

My Dad is the river
The soft smooth flow
Of calm and alming
That makes one smile

The vigorous rush
Determined to be somewhere
Faster and faster
Never stopping

A current that pushes you
Places where you don't kow you could go
And you scream because it's hard to swim
But all of a sudden you arrive and you're happy

A river that is hard to swim against
And will never change it's direction
A river that knows it's purpose
And never stops flowing

A river that gets frozen over
And you think it's only ice
But there is so much life and activity underneath
It's just hidden for a while

A river that makes sure
If your arms are tired
All you have to do is float
And let it's current carry you

My Knight in Shinning Armor

Space Ranger BennieJ

O.K, so my Knight in Shinning armor declares himself a space ranger, has a paper towel "mask", carries a flipper slash sword, and swears he won't defend me - even if the alien forces are closing in (heck, he won't even open his eyes!)... I think he's really dashing, and at least he's having fun... outside! Yes this is the kid who just a few weeks ago announced that "actually mom, I am allergic to fresh air" geepers, what a goof! Man I love that guy! Even if he won't protect me... I was responsible for reducing his weapon choices from sword slash killing implement to well.... a flipper. But what if the alien forces had eggs????

So, although I am on the fly and don't have much time I just had to tell you about these strange new creatures that have invaded my house. On a particularily warm September afternoon, just around 3:30 after a quiet day where the house remained strangely still, four smiling, bouncing, energetic creatures came through my door, I have taken to affectionatley dubbing them "the backtoschooligans". Let me take a moment and describe each of them to you, as their traits are unique to each individual beast.
backtoschooligan #1 seems to be the leader of the pack, she claims to have spent the day at a place called High School, I beilieve that must be a place that demands a little more maturity than low school, yet induces some minute bit of humility as well, perhaps because as she tells me, she is one of the youngest peers at this place a position wich is looked down upon by the elder students. She comes in the door regaling us with tales of 80 minute classes, trying to stifle a smile around her awkwardly braced teeth. She has embraced her new culture with a vengence, staying organized, keeping a positive attitude and all the while twirling around the house in various strech positions, and dance moves while listening to Miley Syrus videos on YouTube.... Strange indeed!
backtoschooligan #2 Talks non stop, it must be an aquired skill quite usefull as most elder of her Middle school. At times her prose flies by so quickly it would take a super-hero listening device to determine the exact structure and message of the verbal flyby. She is animated, noisy, smiley, and compasionate as she often has sought out others less blessed by the social "butterflieness" she possesses. I'm not sure if any work actually happens at this place she calls middle school as most of the verbal excitement (that I can understand) includes stories of friends, teachers lives, plans for socializing, clothes, plans for clothes and back to friends again... these subjects repeat with great frequency and varied volume throughout the afternoon and evening until she finally colapses into her bed at night.
backtoschooligan #3 Is a little more subdued although he also regales us with tales of the middle school. He is quite enamored with this woman he calls "teacher" perhaps it is a bit of a crush. "Our class is getting a bird", "she raises dogs", "she has a chart on the board", "she lives next door to Carson", are phrases that repeat over and over with a slight sly grin. He is energetic, and enjoying his time at this place called middle school also telling us about cross country teams, and intramurals, oportunities to build friendships, enhance skills, and bleed money out of us like stuck pigs, but we love it. Often backtoschoolagin #3 disapears for hours on end to bike, hang out at friend's houses, get slurpees, and play ball in the drive way, nevertheless he always returns in time to torment backtoschooligan #1 to some degree.
backtoschooligan #4 Is a little more tempermental, he enjoys his new playschool, the beginning of this school journey as long as his mother is within arms reach. If she disapears from his line of vision he responds with whining, crying, gnashing of teeth, yelling, kicking and more heart wrenching tears. I watch this scene as little as possible as tears blur my vision. Tears still fresh from leaving backtoschooligan #1 at a place where the boys aka. men have facial hair and drive themselves to school. These transitions are fun, but they are tough!!! Once home backtoschooligan #4 is hesitant to show the picture he painted or admit the fun he had doing puzzles, playing in the water table, the dool house, the play house, drawing pictures etc. although I am aware that he has done these things with great enthusiasm when not too many were paying attention.

All in all these are quite enjoyable creatures and I think I'll keep them. Their feeding is relatively simple, their care is enjoyable, and they give FANTASTIC hugs, I just hope they don't sprout wings toooooo fast, because I don't know if the gutters can handle my tears, super proud, yet nostalgic! Hope you're all enjoying this new phase as much as I. Now, I'm late for work, no time for spell check... SORRY ! and tomorrow is VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

poor, poor kitty

Our poor little kitties had to go to the vet and it is official. The little white one is forever christened... "handicat". Unfortunately, (maybe because mom was so young.. and a tramp) he was born with a few serious handicaps, he still can't walk, his legs are completely splayed. It is really sad to see him roll around on his tummy although he does seem quite content. His brother is quite normal but doesn't seem want to assume any responsibility for his well being. All jokes aside, the handibus is going to cost us a fortune. J made a comment that if only we could change his sexual orientation, we could possibly get government funding for his care and feeding, alas... we will wait and perform much carefull physiotherapy on the kitten.. the kids are still holding out hope. PLEASE DON't BE OFFENDED! I just couldn't stop giggling at the poor kitty's expense.. honest the only time he's unhappy is when we're giving him his medicine!

BBQ Time!

I am so excited! Finally we have a BBQ! About a month ago our BBQ bit the dust, and cooking...like real cooking in the oven has been an ever-lovin' drag with temperatures that don't go below 28 degrees! So, yesterday J and I finally found ourselves faced with a few moments together and decided to go out to purchase a new BBQ. We began putting it together at about 6pm.

About 10 to 15 minutes after this picture was taken my help was enlisted.... About 10 minutes after that J got hit in the head with a leg from the BBQ, said a bad word, and disapeared into the basement, probably a wise choice, although this meant....the job was left to me. A little bit of a problem, since BBQ set up is clearly a blue job. Nevertheless, I took it on like a champ! By step 7 I was a little bit frustrated, I was, however pleasantly surprised to read step seven which said.. and I quote... "pour yourself a glass of wine".... honest it did ;-) So, in true trooper fashion, I carried on. By 9:30, after dis-assembling the BBQ a couple of times to backtrack, stifling a few expletives, enilsting the help of several innocent passerbys:-) (could you just hold this for a sec...) our BBQ was finished.....

hopefully you are suitably impressed (insert oohs and ahhs here)

nevermind the fact that there are still a few leftover parts, I believe that the legs, yes, the very same ones that smashed into J's skull, are on backwards, which I discovered at the very end when I needed to put on one last piece, but I am NOT dis-assembling that freaking thing for all the tea in China! I'm pretty sure that those legs have a mind of their own anyhow, I'm not tempting fate.

Dinner guests arrived at 9:30ish, and dinner was served at 10:00pm... J BBQed steaks in the pouring rain, and in the dark, after he emerged seeminly unscathed from the basement :-) We had a really good time with Kalie and Kevin and I think the kids will be talking about their dinner in the middle of the night for a while. Thankfully, C was in much better spirits AFTER he ate. Earlier in the night he was threaghtening to go and knock on the neighbor's doors until someone fed him something that wasn't the unsuitable leftovers from the fridge.... thankfully we filled his belly and everyone was safely tucked in by 11:00.

He Put a Song in My Heart!

I heard a new song last nite, Tim (our pastor) had mentioned that we were going to be singing it on Sunday when he asked if I wanted to sing on the "worship team" (funny phrase I'll address some other time!), anyhow, I looked it up so that I would know it.... I love it! Wow, what fantastic lyrics! Here is the link if you want to listen to it:

http://www.espew.com/cgi-bin/play.cgi/1281865

and, here are the fantastic lyrics that I speak of:

Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring

Every creature unique in the song that it sings

All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.You are amazing God

All powerful, untamable,Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow

Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light

Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night

None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name

You are amazing God

All powerful, untamable,Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

You are amazing God

So... here I am trying to focus again in the midst of chaos. God is the centre, where I want to be, even when chaos reigns supreme and my house looks like the scene of a ... get ready for it DALE......a cataclysmic apocalypse! Isn't that a great phrase, Dale writes about heavy smart people stuff in his blog...http://dcaffeinatedpickler.blogspot.com/ Mostly I just use him and his knowledge for the big words :-) Just joking, he actually writes all sorts of fantastic stuff, sometimes even stuff that I can understand :-) Regardless, that one just got me, I'm going to say it all the time for anyone who cares! Anyhow, speaking of focus.... I need to deal with life.... the house is quiet...scary...I have 3 kids at home... where are they??? Searching for the missing week old kitten... how does a family loose a baby kitten??? We have company coming tonite for the bonfire that is not really a bonfire because of the fire ban... disappointing. Regardless, I am sure if they came to our house in it's current state they would be disgusted. I believe I just wiped pb off of my computer tower...ewwww, there are three different puzzles on my kitchen floor and an unidentified substance in my sink.... therefore, I must go... clean, cook, mother, and perform other such wifey duties... (whatever those might be???) Jamie is finally home for two days... hooray! Two parents in one home... why is that such an anomaly around here?? So, before I get distracted once again.....(oh look.... shiny:-))I shall bid my computer adieu.
P.S. anyone have any ideas on where to find a missing kitten??.... I'm not even kidding!!! Really, suggestions would be welcome! We can't find him anywhere!!!!

The Eyes, Who I want to be, and a Funny Story!

The Eyes!

So, the one thing I didn't expect from this weekend was the "eyes". Everywhere we went, and everyone that we met was wonderful. Let me just get that out of the way, and say that really we had a fantastic time. Nevertheless, I couldn't get it out of my mind that everywhere we went, people were curious. Who was I? How had I turned out? How did I measure up? Did I bear any family resemblance? I too was looking at them and wondering some of the same things, and when I wasn't wondering about them, I was wondering what they were wondering about me:-) That part was emotionally draining and has caused me to do some heavy duty thinking about who I am, where I have come from, and what I want people to see when they see me and my family. Therefore in true Bonnie fashion I have devised a list. This is not a complete list, but it is a beginning.... So, for this Tuesday, that is all I have to say about that. Feel free to hold me accountable when my actions don't measure up to my goals, but go easy on me... I don't take criticism well:-)

Who I want to Be: part one - the first 5 off the top of my head.

1. Godly - I want to teach my kids to put others first and love God and others above all else. whew... that's a big one.
2. Priorities - I want my family to know that they are my priority.
3. Time conscious - clearly, this is not my strength, here i sit blogging when I should be snuggling, so... moving on....
4. A good friend! One who listens, and cares!
5. Healthy. I want to be the kind of person who grabs an apple, I want to teach my kids to love the good food God gave us and to take care of their bodies. Therefore, tonite, I made salmon... first time for everything... it was actually pretty good, healthy even....

So... Off to make bedtime snuggles a priority..... Sleep Tight!!

WAIT... FUNNY albeit gross story first!

The scene... B on a ride all by himself at Calaway!!! What a big boy ... we're so proud!!! The ride is finished and B is dismounting and.... wait for it.... chewing?!?x?! I rush towards him pandering him with questions.. "What are you eating?What are you eating?What are you eating?What are you eating?" to which he patiently responds.... "a cracker"! Seriously, can you get anymore gross than that??? So, to random kid who lost his cracker on the boat.... we found it :-)

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Summertime and the livin' is easy!

Check it out People! Have you seen this stuff??? I believe it was invented in heaven!

I am in love with summer, I am in love with sun. I truely love the color that the sun brings to people's cheeks, the feeling of the warm rays on your skin, the way that my stretch marks and cellulite, just seem to fade a little bit while my skin morphs into it's warm, bronze hue. I am nevertheless in all my vantiy....willing to acknowledge that the sun can be dangerous, therefore I, like every other guilt driven, determined mother, face summer head on armed with my arsenal of goopy sunscreen, hats, waterbottles and various other beach-like paraphanalia ( as beachy as we get here on the praries that is :-) . Every year the scenario at my house gets a little bit uglier as I wrangle, wrestle, bribe, and threaghten all who dare to forget the Slip, Slap, Slop motto. Slip into a t-shirt, Slap on a hat, and slop on some sunscreen. Generally there is a great display of flexibility and determination at my house when it comes to the slop part, they don't enjoy the goop, I don't enjoy the goop. Honestly, the bigger they get, the harder I fall as I chase them down unmerciless in my rampage, avoiding the goop at all cost, pinning for my miracle cure that will eventually turn me into a weathered, leather skinned, wrinkly old lady. Now that I've set the stage we can let you in on the GREAT NEWS!!!!!

WE HAVE DISCOVERED AEROSOL SUNSCREEN!!!! Unbelievable! Why did no one tell me about this sooner??? NO MESS, NO GOOP, NO RUBBING IT IN, JUST SPRAY!!!! I AM NOW FREE TO ENJOY THE FINER THINGS OF SUMMER...without alerting the WWF first :-) So, In honor of this fantastic, wonderful, new to me invention here is my list of summer stuff!

An ice cube melting in your hand

Lemonade Stands

Fluffy clouds

Mr. Turtle Pools

Sprinklers

Swim Passes to the Local Pool

No School

Holidays

Flowers

BarBQ

Bare feet!!!

Roll Kuchen... that's got to be a post of it's own (coming soon!)

An ice cold beverage

Campfires

Fresh Fruit

Evening Walks/Runs

Late bedtimes

Late rising times:-)

Coffee and the Paper in the morning with sunbeams in my window!

SLURPEES!!!!

Ben has one more to add.... Playing with great friends!

Now it's time to head to bed so that I can enjoy that morning sun. Tomorrow we're going to the pool after church... shhh don't tell the kids, it's a surprise! I'm packing the sunscreen! Well,it's been a long hot day, but suddenly I don't feel quite so sticky and icky, just a little more sunshinny!

Proud Mama

Every now and then we have those moments with our children when we just sit back and smile! Today I was going to a movie with a friend and because of circumstances, T#1 was going to come along and enjoy the fun. I asked T#2 to babysit her brother (she had already been doing just that for the better part of the day), and in return I offered to take her to a movie with a friend on the weekend. She agreed without complaining and we had a really fun evening. Upon my return home T#2 asked me if it was alright if she invited her sister instead of a friend, because she knew that her sister was really dying to go see Nancy Drew. Can you believe that??? She wants to take her sister who already went to a movie!!! It's unbelievable no arguing, no... it's not fairing... just plain sharing and consideratness (is that a word???) Who knows. Anyhow, I am proud of her! Nice Job Bear! I think I'll pitch in for popcorn too!!!

Uncle Ben's Quote of the Day

Ben: "Daddy smoked the plants again mommy"

Me: "Pardon me Ben?"

Ben: "Daddy smoked the plants again mommy"

Me: "Pardon me Ben?"

Ben: "mommy, smoked means water - Daddy smoked the plants again"

Me:..................... mommy collapses in a hilarious heap ontop of T#1, T#2, and C laughing histarically, and later goes on to explain to the addamant four year old that no, smoked really does not mean water... he's still not going for it. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 19 degrees C. Probably J should smoke the plants yet again :-)

The Menu:

Tarragon Roasted Salmon with Sour Cream Dill Sauce

Wild Rice

Spinach and Gouda Stuffed Chicken

Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Onions

Sesame Mandarin Spinach Salad

Japaneese Cabbage Salald

I tell you it is really nice to start work once the sun is already up. Today since we were catering a wedding through the bakery I started work at 9am as opposed to 3am. Wow!! I feel like a million bucks! The wedding was outside and all the dishes were disposable. The bride's sister was taking care of dessert, therefore, once the items listed above were consumed we were out of there. Not only did I get to be a good employee, by feeding the natives and satisfying their gourmet palates, but also I was home by 8pm - I may have heard tell that I am not surpassing the mark as complete failure on the mother front. It is amazing how two days home from holidays and I'm convinced that I am forever going to be confined to mother-guilt purgatory for the rest of my life. Who said juggling work and home were easy???? Today though, when I came home, the house was in a relative state of assembledness (?), and the children were waiting with fantastic tales of Settler's Days activities.

Today is the day our town celebrates it's.....uniqueness, settlerness??(hmmm), well , I'm not really sure, mostly I think it's an excuse for the adults to act like children, and the children to run into the streets chasing after candy.






J drove the rescue truck in the parade..........HOT!!! The children are still regaling me with tales of magic shows, candy, balloon animals, and face paint. Have I mentioned what awesome big sibblings Ben has??? All in all, it has been a fantastic day all around, I shall snuggle all children to their respective degrees of boundaries :-) and go to bed satisfied. Tomorrow am is a community worship service which should be fun for all. After that we are having some company over for a bonfire. Mostly people that J knows from the fire department, and some other friends so... if you are up for a wienie roast... come on over!!!

The Graduates

So.... First off! T#1 has officially completed Grade 8 .This is her Certificate of Recognition for her accomplishments and contributions in Choir, Cross Country, Handbell, Track and Field, and Drama! Way to go Taylor, we're proud of you! No more middle school.

Secondly... C is now officially finished

Elementary School! Congrats.. he is on his

way to Middle School!!! Connor is currently celebrating this milestone by having a homework burning bonfire with all of his friends.

I, am ready to do some fun summer stuff with the kids.... first stop Fairmont B.C.!!! I can't wait! Two more days till we leave on official vacation.