Miga

This is Miga. She is a 6 month Standard Schnauzer that we got at the end of November. She is the absolute best dog!! She still obviously has her 'puppy' moments but she is calm and gentle, and so caring for the kids. They just love her to bits. Alex is getting really good at 'handling' her when she gets a bit rambunctious. Treats are always giving out by Tao... she gets her to sit and shake a paw before handing over the milk bone. Manny always races to the kennel to let her out after we get home.



Cyril says we had to 'work on him' for 6 months to break him down to the idea of getting a dog.... but he is so in 'woof' with her. It is so cute to see him talking with her and showing her some love. I love it!!

Happy Birthday Tao!!!

Happy Birthday Tao!! I cannot believe it has been 3 years since we were blessed with our sweet girl. xoxoxox

I Got The Call....

So it is probably most parents fear to receive a call from the school telling you that your seven year old just got into an altercation with another student. You get this pit in the middle of your stomach and a lump in your throat. What happened? With who? Who started it? When did this happen? Is he hurt? On route to the University Hospital Emergency? Bleeding from the head? What's broken?
It just doesn't sit well until you find out that your child is back in class without a scratch.

Then after a brief feeling of relief you wonder about the other kid..... is he broken? Oh my goodness was the fight with a girl?

No, no. Just listen to the vice principal tell you that your son was "sobbing to the point that (he) couldn't understand what he was saying", "scared of what is no going to happen to him". Poor kid. He has never, ever been in trouble at school, he's never seen the inside of the principal's office and I don't even think he has had to sit in the hall for mischief!
According to the VP, Alex claims the other kid(who turned out to be boy, thank goodness) just came over to his posse of friends and asked who wants to fight. So Alex "presented himself" and they went at it. After talking to Alex, he claims he was defending his friends and just sticking up for himself....but really, I think he just wanted to drop the gloves, and rumble.
So did he just forget about the flashy, neon construction vests out supervising the playground? Did he know that the stricter Principal had left hours earlier to go home, sick?
Honestly, I don't know what was going through his mind when he made the decision to fight. All I can do is hope that he makes better choices when he feels angry like he did today. It's just so out of character.... kids are strange.

I love fall... when I can forget what follows it

Today I just have to write about how gorgeous it is out there. It's about 5 degrees C and there is the warmest sun filling my kitchen.


Yesterday we all went to the river to bask in this warmth and everyone agreed that it was an awesome afternoon... something we just need to go out and do more often. This really was an odd year for September/ October weather.... with freezing cold and snow coming sooner than usually and gypping us of all the fall colors and beauty. The leaves went into shock up there, waiting for the cool air to transform them. Instead we are left with dark green dead leaves hanging on with all they have left. So I completely missed taking the wonderful pictures in my backyard of the kids rolling in the yellow, orange, and red leaves.
Now that Halloween is over the flyers that litter my mailbox are filled with Christmas gift ideas, holiday decorations, and there is red and green everywhere. I am getting excited for the Christmas madness but not for snow and cold. Today is just perfect.... and I am not going to spoil it by thinking about wind chills.

Christian Upliftment School- Kampala,Uganda

More pictures of Sydla in Uganda. This school is trying to raise funds to buy land adjacent to the school so that housing can be built for those children who have lost their families. Please help if you can.

When somethin' is itchy... scratch it.

There is one thing that I learned early about parenting and that is no matter what you do in the naming, nurturing, feeding, bathing, holding, medicating, dressing, safety measuring, financial investing, soothing, etc, your child, there will always be many, many people who have a big problem with the way you're doing it all. Along the way Cyril and I have figured out what really works for our family without thinking too much about how we may be perceived. After all, we know our kids more than anyone else.

This brings me to the point of this mess of a story.
Day 1 of our last vacation up to Anglin Lake- Horseflies and mosquitoes are fierce, downright mean, picking on our poor skinny Manny. Don't they know that he swells up like crazy after being bit and refuses to kill anything!! Even ruthless insects!! We slather him up with sun screen and bug spray and get him out in the tube behind the boat. He's a great sport.
Day 2- Manny seems to have been attacked in the night. The spots are everywhere. By midday he is laying on the couch, under a blanket, cause he's got the chills. Tired and itchy. Starting to be a bite suspicious why Manny has so many more bug bites then everyone else.... Hmmmmm.
Day 3- Manny's spots are blistering, he is running a fever and we are well stocked with calamine, Tylenol, and colloidal oatmeal bath powder.... the chicken pox are even worse the bugs. Can't sleep..... too itchy. Too bitchy. Did I mention that by this time Tao is noticing some itchy spots all over her cute body too? Must be bugs bites, think happy thoughts.
Day 4,5,6- Tao and Manny were such troopers. Manny and I stopped counting at 256 spots( not including his butt, scalp, inside his mouth, and back of the legs). Tao wasn't hit as bad but every time Manny needed relief, Tao did too.
Day 7 through 11- much, much less itchy. Much, much less bitchy. And Manny celebrated a big fifth birthday! Off to Emma Lake we go.






I guess that wasn't the real point but a point none the less. The real point is that back in the beginning of July our Alex had a bit of a rash on his neck, below his TMJ. It started out looking like a patch of eczema but over the course of 3 days had developed blisters on top of blisters. And of course you don't rush to the doctor when your oldest of three gets a small rash below his ear. So on the 4th day we go, only to be told that it is poison ivy.......or........ shingles. In either case we can do nothing.... but if it is shingles and you had come in the first 72 hours we could have treated it and it would vanish. Dammit.
So we skip the last day of Vacation Bible School and take the weekend to re-cooperate. All is well. Pledge as unfortunate family vacation and chalk it up to a inconvenient part of their youth.

BUT........ why is my 7 year old developing shingles, and why does he worry so much? Why does he grind his teeth so loudly that it wakes me up from down the hall and why does he flail and have arguments in his dreams? He thinks long and hard about everything but gets distressed if he doesn't have an answer. He tries to control every situation he is in and has even mentioned that he supervises the kids at school during recess to just make sure they are playing safely. Why? He thinks and thinks, and thinks. Is Alex going to be prone to developing shingles when he is under a lot of stress? What was he so stressed out about, he's on summer vacation after all?
So here I have a little boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders and I don't know how I have let this happen, or what to do for him, or how to stop it from happening to the other two.

Is there ever a time in a parents life that they realize that they may be doing things all wrong? Like freaking out about germs, or bike helmet safety, or the nutritional content of every meal digested. And being overprotective and paranoid about coaches, teachers, neighbors, and God knows who. Has anyone ever had that moment where they know that parenting really just isn't working out? Seriously. Despite all the care and love and discipline that you invest in these little people, things can just go terribly wrong.

I post this question only because I am wondering, not cause I'm ready to throw in the towel. Nope, not me. I'm going to stick this one out and see.

Ahhhhhh, I feel itchy just thinking about it.

Playing For Change

My girlfriend Karen just sent me a video that she found and I just love it. It stops after about five and a half minutes so take time to watch it all the way through. With every new country comes another shiver down my spine.
First go to the bottom of this page and pause my playlist( big green pause button).




Thanks Karen!!!

The typical 4 year old asks over 400 questions a day!

We cannot believe that another school year is nearly finished and summer holidays are shaping up to include some great camping trips, vacation bible school, a wedding, a french festival, a few birthday parties, and hopefully some heat!!!
With spring in the air, all this talk of the summer agenda reminds my children that 'We have to go get the trailer from the storage barn!', 'When are we going to get the trailer?', 'Where is the trailer?', 'Is it summer or spring?', 'Can we pack our bunk beds in the trailer?', 'Don't forget to pack our bikes in the trailer!', 'Where do our bikes go in the trailer?, 'Can we get a dog so we can take it camping?', 'Don't forget our Webkinz and blankets in the trailer..... and our swim suits, life jackets, kleenex, and marshmallows. And when are we going to get the trailer anyways?'. (NOTE: This is just a sample of the daily questions I get about the trailer!!!) Manny and Tao remind me of all the things that I need to pack and what cannot be left behind. In fact Tao thought that the computer desk chair that I am sitting on should go too.
I must say that I am looking forward to waking up in the morning and not having to scramble to get lunches organized, homework packed, or to remind Alex a dozen times to 'eat', 'hurry up', 'brush your teeth', 'get your shoes on', 'GO...your bus is coming!!!'. It will be so nice to eat our breakfast on the deck and take the morning in instead of cruise past its glory.... until the questions start once more!

He picked me....

So you just have to love when all is right in your marriage with the man that asked you for forever. I'm feeling all gushy and happy inside cause on Monday Cyril and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. It seems like we have been in this thang called love for so much longer then that.... mostly because we have been neck deep in the parenting role and haven't realized that eight full calendars have been flipped in the process. I am just loving that there is hockey to entertain my hubby right now because I am so busy with my indoor coordinator stuff and school committee.... plus we are renovating our third level to make Alex a new bedroom. It just feels really good to be rolling along together.... and we wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Oh The Places I'll Go....

Though I am a woman –
I am smarter than you give me credit for.
I read, I write and I listen.
I observe and contemplate.
I research and dig for truth.
I am opinionated and bold.
I am informed.
I am aware.
Though I am a woman.

Though I am thin –
I am obsessed with my body.
I study myself and critique my imperfections.
I wonder if I’ll ever be satisfied.
I hide myself in baggy clothes that feel safe.
I obsess with what I have and haven’t eaten.
I can never run or work-out enough.
I fight the demons in my mind and memory.
I wish my body were different.
I wish I were stronger.
I wish I could find peace.
Though I am thin.

Though I am a mother –
I have a mind that is engaged.
I see a world beyond my four walls.
I am made up of layers that you have never seen.
I hold onto dreams that are not fulfilled.
I want to believe in my value and worth.
I work hard and am creative.
I know I am often wrong.
I fear I am failing.
I fear I am not enough.
I fear the future.
Though I am a mother.

Though I follow God –
I am not a right-wing fundamentalist.
I can see the world through someone elses eyes.
I don’t always know what I believe.
I have ideas that don’t always fit.
I color outside the lines.
I believe that faith can exist outside the church.
I respect the thoughts of others.
I want to live like Jesus.
I think that doubt is not the enemy.
I embrace ritual, tradition, and story.
I choose to love my neighbor.
I choose to keep walking.
I choose to have hope.
As I follow God.

This amazing poem was written by a lady named Karla for a lady named Joyce. It was written perhaps to cheer up the lady named Joyce, but what, in fact, it did was forced a lady named Sherri, that's moi, to reflect on the bigger picture of what it is to be a Mom.
The facets of every woman's lives are immeasurable and each one has its merit. Throughout my life I have taken different roles, some by choice, others by chance, and I want to think that I am handling them all the best I can. With each role comes responsibility and commitment, expectation and opinion, from myself, those I love and those I haven't come to know.

Parenting is a priority... and how could it not. I adore that I have been blessed with great, healthy kids. They are my everything. I will be the first to admit that my role as a Mom has really overshadowed my thoughts about how my other roles work into the equation. Being a stay-at-home Mom hasn't got me engaged in corporate public relations or coffee break chats. I miss being an employee with non- child related responsibilities, 40 hour a week schedules and deadlines that have you working in your sleep. I remember being a dedicated employee, I had good work ethic, I was great to work for and with, and I paid attention to detail( I am a Virgo after all). Sometimes it feels like something is missing.

As I am writing this I see that perhaps not a lot has changed. I still possess these magnificent qualities... I have had to adapt them to being at home with my kids however. And I won't be home forever. As soon as Tao is in school I'll be looking for work!! Oh the places I'll go.....
I am a woman. I have multiple roles that don't define me. I am valued in each role but my value as a woman doesn't change as my roles change. This poem isn't strictly about motherhood but for me... this is the place that I am concentrated right now.


Nice.... isn't it. What does it do for you?

Apac School in Uganda

We are so thrilled to be sponsoring a little girl named Sydla Agono in Uganda( she is the cutie in the pink shirt). Now she will have the opportunity to go to school, own some supplies for school and a uniform to wear. She is 5 years old and lives with her hard working mother and 4 siblings. Her mom works in a stone quarry but cannot afford to put all of her children in school. She appears to be the youngest of her siblings so I can't wait to hear how happy her family will be for her. I wonder if the older kids have gone to school.

This is the best $35 I have ever spent!!! Sydla will get to go to school for a year on only $35. I bet if every person skipped the McDonald's drive-thru and sponsored one child for a year on the $35 that they would spend getting clotted arteries..... the Apac and CU Schools would be packed.

If you are reading this and are just a tiny bit curious about the Christian Upliftment School in Kampala, Uganda you can check our the website:

http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/index

The Apac School is a sister school that has been built in the village Apac, just north of Kampala, and they are adding classrooms as funds permit. Their website is:

http://www.apacschool.com/

So we have made some school and hygiene kits and I inquired as to where I should send these and the Coordinator for Canada lives in Montreal and is traveling to Uganda in July and has offered to take them with us. BONUS!!! Now I know that they will actually make it there and Kate is going to take photos and video of Sydla when she receives our gifts and letters!! I can't wait!!!

My 80 year old self

"My back is pooched" I hear my four year old holler from the bedroom. I wonder where he got that from??? Yes that has sneaked out of my mouth a few time in the last oohh, say seven years or so.
Pregnancy did a number on my low back and pelvis, particularly the last pregnancy with Tao. I had to wear a wide strap around my pelvis just to keep it from splitting apart. Anyhow... the decision to not have any more children seemed like a logical choice. So I have been going to gym for nearly two months now under the direction of my chiropractor and exercise therapist. I figured that losing a good 10-15 pounds would do the trick but I am sort of thinkin' that it is going to take some more fine tuning. My back really never feels 'great'. I have trouble lifting my kids, esp. Tao on and off the potty 37 times a day.... and a roaster out of the oven for that matter.

So I have been taking Tao( and sometimes Manny) to the gym in the mornings and they visit the daycare, which we refer to as 'playschool'. Tao is absolutely in love with the place and talks about going just about every minute that she isn't actually there. I think I am liking that part the best. I feel really good about leaving her with the great women who run the place and get a good workout in at the same time. My back is feeling a bit better though I think I have a ways to go. In the meantime I think I'm going to shop online for a nice solid cane!!

Valentine Lovin'

Valentine's Day! You either hate it or you love it. You either feel it or you don't. I am usually into feeling it but after hearing my husband complain year after year of how overdone and materialized it is... I tend to lose my inspiration. This year, just days before Valentine's Day, Cyril starts to complain that there is 'soooo much pressure' on Valentine's Day, there is just not enough time, and he just isn't coming up with anything 'good'. I try to keep my cool but inside he has really hit a nerve! I simply tell him that the only 'pressure' surrounding Valentine's Day is the 'pressure' that he puts on himself, and it's not like this is the first EVER Valentine's Day. I mean it is clearly stated exactly 2 weeks into February on every calendar ever printed! Please don't try to say that this day has 'snuck up' on you. So, I say, you can either figure out a way to tell me how wonderful I am or don't bother; but what you can't say is that you didn't have time, or money, or lack of ideas, or blah, blah, blah. Like I said-- you either feel it or you don't.

I should start out by saying that I have never been the kind of wife that expects (overpriced)flowers and chocolates and fancy dinners and all the frills and stuff. I think one of the best things that Cyril has done for me on V-Day is write little messages on post-it notes and put them all over the house for me to find after he had left for work. Note: I was pregnant with Alex.... first born... over 6 years ago!
In Cyrils' defence I must say that he does buy me flowers when I am sick, or before my first triathalon, or for no reason what-so-ever. I can't make him out to be totally unromantic and cold. He really does show his love and commitment to me in other ways... but Valentine's Day is his chance to just lay it all out there!



Soooo...... I hear Cyril wake up with the kids sometime around 7:30 on Saturday morning so I naturally roll over in hopes to catch a few more zzzz's. Then just after 9 am my lovely family wakes me quietly and pass me the menu featuring the Valentine's Day breakfast items for me to check off. Then they all leave and tell me to stay in bed and they would return in a half hour. They all file in after working hard to make my breakfast together, the kids were just so excited to do this for me and Cyril had a big happy smile on his face. This is what it is all about!! We took the kids swimming that afternoon and I made Alex his favorite supper, shrimp stir fry. Cyril wanted to have a chocolate fondue with me after the kids went to bed but we decided to introduce the kids to fondue..... they loved it!!! What a great Valentine's Day!!

Importance of Time

So lately I have been completely entangled in the careful planning and execution of an elementary school dance, crafts, concession and silent auction. It is over and the night went off without a hitch... just I had prayed for and lost sleep over. The children had fun(from what I could tell) and the parents seemed happy with our parent council's efforts.

This is my first year working with fellow parents to better the environment of our loving kids. We have a great school with fabulous teachers and our council has some strong spirits.... me included. Why you ask?
A new personal goal became clear to me last year after attending a Discovery Workshop with World Vision. The workshop was designed to make us reflect on our time and the availability for volunteering. It was there that I had an 'AHA' moment. The WV coordinator was discussing how stress can affect our time and the symptoms of unhealthy stress. An example that was used was that if you are given a task by your boss at work but not given a deadline to complete the task you will more than likely put off doing it. If your boss gives you a deadline to complete the task, there is a healthy stress added( the deadline) so you will be more apt to complete it.
I realized that because I am a stay at home Mom and have been for nearly 5 years, that I haven't had that healthy stress of a deadline or a commitment(outside of the home/ kids stuff). I have to add that after getting home from the World Vision workshop and revealing this revelation to my husband he states, " So do you want me to tell you that the floors need to be mopped by Friday?".
My answer was of course "No".

What I realized was that with being home full time I had stress- stress of school schedules, busing issues, shuttling, lunches, fundraising, grocery shopping, cleaning, homework, cooking, laundry, yard work, shoveling crappy snow, food and drug safety, WHMIS, etc. There was/is never a deadline. This is just the stuff that I prioritize and re-prioritize over and over throughout a typical work week. It all just needs to get done. Have I worked into getting around to cleaning the caked- on dust off of my bathroom fan? Nope, just haven't gotten around to it ( and so NOT a priority).

So after nearly no thought, the answer was clear. I needed to get out of my house and have some responsibility for something other than my family..... though I can't let it overshadow my family.
I quickly became a WV Special Events volunteer and more extensively became the social committee chair for my son's school parent council. The latter is a huge commitment and most importantly, has deadlines!! I think that it has been really good for me to lose sleep over something other than how my son got slashed in face with hockey stick at school last week while watching some students play shinny outside his bootroom!! Good times.
My next goal... get to bed earlier. All these deadlines are keeping me up too late!!

Soap in my mouth....blah!

'Hate' is one of those words that I try to teach my children to use wisely. I try to give them many other options like, for example, " My brother is driving me crazy so I am going upstairs for some alone time" or "I don't care for these pants because the button is too hard to fasten and I prefer snap closure so I don't pee myself ".... okay that is a bit much but you get the drift. It doesn't sound too polite when you hear some 4 year old rant about how he 'hates soggy cereal', 'hates the crusty boogers that get stuck up his nose', 'hate the way his Lego creations keep falling apart', 'hate how it is too windy outside', and on and on it could go. My kids are very good at "using their words" and they try to describe how they feel instead of just muttering a 'hate' phrase.

So all of this rambling gets me to why HATE came up in the first place.

I HATE WINTER!!!

There is not one thing that I like about it. I don't care for the constant chill I have in my back. I don't appreciate having to dress in 4 layers of clothing and having to start the vehicle 10 minutes before I want to go to the store for milk. The sound of my chapped hands touching my cozy yoga pants is as bad as finger nails on a chalkboard. I find it a hassle to have to remember each and every school day ' Does Alex have his ski pants, toque, gloves, and should I attach the shitty ass hood that snaps half ass to his winter parka.... and should he have a sweatshirt on under his jacket, what is the wind chill, should I wrap a scarf around his head four times? And is the damn bus going to even run today?". I don't enjoy walking or jogging or snowmobiling or snow shoeing or dog sledding. I have zero desire to ice fish or snowboard or ski. I don't even really feel good about making a snow angel in a fresh blanket of snow because I know that when I stand up there will be a little bit of snow that falls down the back of my neck and runs down my shirt... ruining the entire experience. I find it insane that we paid $240.91 in the month of December to heat our home during the longest cold snap in over 50 years. I am about to go squirrely!!
And don't get me started on all the people who have just returned from their hot winter vacation down south near the equator. Even worse are the people who got in on some smokin' deal and are getting ready to escape in the next few weeks. I would rather not know about it.... thank you and have a pleasant holiday.
The bitterness of this cold weather is taking its toll on my perspective... I am usually pretty cosure about the extreme temps. I laugh at those stories about how ignorant foreigners think that Canadians plug in their igloos. Like really.... it's not that bad!! Yes it is... and I don't like it one bit.
So I am sorry, children, for using the very word that I don't want you to use. Spring will come..it always does.

I have been tagged!

I'm IT. Here are '16 Things About Me'. If you read this and wanna share please leave a comment so I can learn more about you too. If not, well I still wanna know something!!

1. Geocaching is my new favorite sport( if you consider walking around aimlessly following the coordinates on a GPS a sport). We learned about it in Cypress Hills last summer and plan to leave a few caches this summer. The only downfall.... it's a bit tricky in the winter!

2. My kettle is boiling as we speak. It's tea time! I am a true English limey. I take after my Nana and Mom. Red Rose Tea is always fully stocked in my pantry. I don't drink coffee... ever.

3. I used to be a welder at Flexicoil. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. I love to work with my hands and working with tools is an absolute high for me. I built everything from centre sections, hitches, wheel standards and pins( all parts of a cultivator). I loved that job!!

4. My second son was nearly born in a tent, while on a camping trip. My water broke in the middle of the night while camping north of P.A. He came 2 weeks early and was delivered by a couple of nurses. Needless to say we were unprepared! I owe my husband and Mom !big! for cleaning the sleeping bag and air mattress.

5. I love word puzzles, sudoku, scrabble.... anything that prolongs the onset of my dementia!

6. Although my teaching days are over... I really miss instructing Massage theory and practical. Adult education was a really unique and challenging opportunity. So different from being around kids all day. Reminds me.... I need to book a massage!!

7. I love music and love to dance even more. I have tunes in my head all day long. I am so glad that my kitchen doesn't have windows that face my neighbors because they would think I have lost my mind... I 'cut the rug' when I cook just about every meal.
I have fond memories of playing my Mom's old records as a kid. I used to beg my Mom to stay home on Saturday morning to watch Casey Kasem's American Top 10 instead of hustling off to league bowling. Seriously... I had a bowling coach when I was 11.

8. I am fearful of dogs. My in laws vicious beast attacked me a couple years ago and I have been so scared ever since. My husband reminds me that they sense fear... but I can't be assertive around them. I just turtle if I hear growling and see massive canine teeth.

9. It's my dream to write and illustrate a children's book. I don't know when... but one day.

10. My husband and I have 3 Godchildren. Maeve in Alberta, Mathieu in Tennessee and Charlie in Saskatchewan. We are so blessed to have these kids in our lives... they are very special to us and we don't take this role lightly.

11. If my house was on fire and I had to get one possession out( besides my family) it would be.... all the old photo albums I could carry, as well as my laptop full of photos.

12. I don't want this to come out wrong. I like to walk in the evening when people have their lights on but haven't closed their blinds for the night. I don't stop and peep or anything, I just like to see the layout of their home and see how their home is decorated. I love interior design more then snooping on peoples evening habits!

13. My deepest regret in my life is that I didn't travel to a poor country to offer humanitarian aid before I got married. I do hope that I am able to do this when my kids are older. I really have a longing in my heart for this goal.

14. 14 is my favorite number. It was my number on my jersey when I played senior basketball through high school. Go Crusaders!!!!

15. On a hot summer day my favorite thing to eat is nachos and homemade fresh salsa and drink beer. I can't wait for summer!!

16. The most influential and memorable person from my past was my Gramps. I was beside him when he died and closed his eyes for him after he took his last breath. And even though he has been gone for over a decade, I think often of his impact on me as a kid. He used to play with my long hair by twirling it around his huge chubby fingers... I could have sat in front of his big brown chair all day. He just did things in stride instead of rushing through life without thought or focus.
My Gramps had his own repair shop and had a motto that he 'could fix anything, even a broken heart'. He would putz around in his little shop every weekday.... he made loads of house calls to desperate folks who's washing machines wouldn't spin. He was brilliant for only having a grade 7 education and honored our family more than anything. I try to live a life that he would be proud of.... I miss him dearly.

Saying Goodbye

I first have to sigh and take a big breathe as I want to get this right. I thought I was ready for this but clearly it is hitting me harder than I thought it would. Some of you will appreciate this more than others and I welcome you to leave a post if I drudge up any repressed feelings from your souls.
I have taken apart my babies crib for one final time. It happened yesterday while my husband was out, at my request, in -30 degree cold to purchase a mattress for a bed that we bought months earlier... knowing this day would come. I was very excited to get Tao into her new bed, to prepare the bedding and rearrange her pretty room. Then when I saw my little lovebug laying under her flannel sheet and cozy duvet in a bed 10 times her size... it saddened me. There is no going back.
Our family is now complete... and growing. And again I am reminded of how time just keeps ticking and no matter how much you live in the moment and try to reflect daily on your graces, time has its own agenda. We bought that crib new from Sears nearly 7 years ago for our first angel, Alex. He was 26 months when Manny was born and moved out of it into a big boy bed just in time. We didn't take it down during Manny's transition to the bottom bunk when he was 28 months either. So that crib has been a solid piece of our home for nearly as long as we have lived here. I am going to miss Tao calling for me to come and get her after a nap, standing in the corner of the crib all smiley and disheveled. Today she just walked out of her room and stood at the top of the stairs and smiled proudly saying in her cute Tao voice " Big Seep Mom!".
That crib was an expensive and hugely important purchase for us as new parents and now it is history. So my kids are growing up, and I am sad about that.