I've been Tagged/Renovation 'major' woops

'I think' (by Leslie) but even if it wasn't 'this' Tara that she tagged, I'm gonna do it anyways... .....cuz I'm just in the mood!! For the first time since our moving day - I'm having a BAD day (actually it was yesterday). Trying to do your own renovations SUCKS - especially when you are rather inexperienced. I'll explain below:

SO for TODAY (and only today) here are 6 things to describe how I feel.
1. Tired
2. Sore
3. Discouraged
4. Appreciative (that it could be something SO much worse)
5. Embarrassed
6. Sorry

The way I have usually feel or 6 things that usually describe me are:
1. Organized
2. Thankful
3. Happy
4. Funny
5. Giving
6. Love Life

Now....who should I tag? I'm not even sure I know 6 people who blog:

Angel, Wendy, Nikki, that's all I can come up with for now.

SO....here's the Whole Story (for the first 6 ways I feel) of my major renovation WOOPS!

Yesterday was GROUT day for the tiling in our bathroom. I felt very excited that our 'most' major renovation project (that we were completing ourselves) was coming to an end! I had grouted tile before, so I knew exactly how to do this.

Grout, wait 20 minutes and wash, RIGHT?

Nope, not when you're using "Kerapoxy" (a type of grout you use to seal the grout lines in bathrooms)!!! After I waited the 20 minutes, I realized we had a GREAT BIG problem. You see, this grout dries 'gummy' then cures like a cement. So when I realized I had a problem - I really began to freak considering this was a race against time (meaning, I had to get the walls washed BEFORE the Kerapoxy CURED).

I called Jacques crying, telling him - or actually admitting to him that I had not FULLY read the instructions and now we were in a BIG, BIG mess. ("Getting Real Alert" - admitting a major character flaw - I tend not to fully read directions when working on projects) Okay, I am admitting that I did NOT fully read the directions on how to apply (assuming it was the same as other grout) - HOWEVER, on the other hand (after the fact) when we read the directions WITH the Kent store manager, it was agreed by both of us that the directions are FAR from clear.

So Jacques packed up from work immediately when I had called and and came home just before NOON to help me. He was originally heading home at noon to play a round of golf. He also went to the store to purchase many cleaning supplies like scouring pads, sponges, rubber gloves, etc.

In the meantime, he called his cousin & brother to tell them he would not be golfing. They came over immediately to help me clean the mess. Unfortunately, we did not get done in time for Jacques to go golfing. Once Nico & Yves left the THUNDER & LIGHTENING started booming & cracking. Jacques turned to me and said 'well I hope that keeps up because at least I'm not missing out on a golf game'. Man, we laughed so hard (trust me, it was much needed at that point)! Although I felt so sorry for Nico & Yves, on the other hand I was happy for Jacques that he wasn't missing out on his golf either!

Jacques and I scrubbed. We scrubbed & we scrubbed & we scrubbed. When we got tired, we scrubbed some more. When we complained, we scrubbed some more. When we were hungry, we scrubbed. We had a MAJOR race against time at this point. As we continued to work, it was getting more and more difficult to remove because the product was curing.

• 38 scouring pads later
  
• 8 hours of 'major' scrubbing later
  
• 1 HUGE mess in the tub later
  
• 1 'major' cranky boy later (our poor child was without attention for 1 day)
  
• 2 cranky, sore & tired parents later
  

We finally had our mess cleaned up. What a nightmare! We were POOPED out completely and our arms are very sore from all the scrubbing. We got showered and went to grab a bite to eat and I definitely ate some comfort food - a MAJOR plate of poutine!

Now, we have to re-apply some more grout in some places where we scrubbed too hard. AND we have to use the SAME grout - kerapoxy (the enemy). I was up most of the night worried about using this product again. So Jacques agreed to wait until tonight and we will do it TOGETHER!

I feel bad for so many things. But, I mostly feel bad that Jacques missed out on his fun afternoon of golf (that he had originally taken the afternoon off for). It turned out to be not so bad - it rained HARD with thunder & lightening for only an hour or so - then it would have been fine to golf!

Thank you honey!

DISNEY....here we come.

Finally, I booked our (long overdue) family vacation to Disney World TODAY. In fact, I JUST got off the phone and was so excited I had to dedicate a blog entry to this event!!!

We'll be travelling between Nov 15-23, 2008.

Yippy.

You can't even IMAGINE just how excited we are to finally be going considering this trip was supposed to happen LAST November!

Look out Disney World, here we come!!!

Perfect weekend....

This was the BEST weekend EVER! It was a perfect combination of everything: time with my hubby, family time, play time, adult time, etc.

Friday night - Jacques & I got a sitter simply to go out with each other - ALONE. It was a real simple evening - ALONE. That's all we wanted. We went to the USA, ate at Ruby Tuesday's (it was amazing - a nice change from all the pizza places in Grand Falls), browsed through the Presque Isle mall and got some groceries (& renovation stuff) at the Walmart. It wasn't much - but we were TOGETHER and ALONE - a perfect evening to me!

Saturday, Jacques & I worked on the bathroom (in preparation for tiling around the tub). It only took a few hours - which was perfect considering it was a perfect pool day & that Noah had gone with Stephan & Zach to a skills competition for soccer. Once we finished, Jacques went with Noah to the soccer competition, while us women stayed home to go swimming! We swam at the Lebel's until all the kids joined us. We were there until about 3:00 pm then came home to have Nico & Amy (and cutzie little Naomi) over to our place for a swim. So, in total I was swimming from around 12-Noon until 5:30pm! YIPPY! That evening we all went to the Lebels to play games - the adults only. The kiddos were watching movies, then Noah slept over.

Sunday, Jacques & I slept in a little then immediately began working on tiling the bathroom. Something we THOUGHT would only take us a few hours - but we didn't end up finishing until 7:30pm which included 3 trips to Canadian Tire for 1. a mortar/paint stir'er thingy (something to attach to the drill to mix the mortar), 2. tile 'snippers' and 3. a wet tile cutter (the best investment EVER). A VERY hard day's work - a few boo-boos, but a pretty darn good job for our first 'big' tiling job. Let's see how it works out tomorrow when the grout goes in. Next is painting, installing the new light fixture, new mirror, the towel rack, paper holder, putting the pictures up - etc. I can't wait to see the final project! I NEVER thought we could have done this ourselves!

So now we are just relaxing watching Sharkboy & Lavagirl - okay, I know - maybe not your first choice. BUT, considering Noah was SO well behaved today while we worked hard in the bathroom - we gave him first choice on the movie to watch!

This is cutzie little Naomi:





Check out (below), Naomi relaxing (note: Amy is hiding behind the air mattress) - such a cutie pie!

Happy EARLY Birthday, DADDY

I am posting this as a request from Noah.

Yesterday morning, Noah asked me if he could make a video for Daddy for his birthday.

I said 'sure', thinking that he would tell me what he wanted - but nope, HE wanted to do it COMPLETELY by himself (spelling and all)! He chose the song (which is known to be one of Jacques favourite songs), the photos and the videos. All I did was gathered the photos, videos and song into one folder. I walked him through how to do different tasks in the program but he sat at the kitchen table for over 1hr 45 minutes working on 'his' creation for his dad - ALL BY HIMSELF!

I am SO proud of him for 1. his thoughtfulness 2. his ability & 3. his perseverance in making something so spectacular!

He's growing up too fast! He SHOULDN'T know how to do stuff like this - he's my BABY!!!

Unfortunately, Noah ruined his surprise by telling Jacques that he actually made a video - so naturally Jacques wanted to see it and he LOVED it! I'm not sure any present I ever get him will EVER compare to this one! He's one lucky DAD and Noah is one lucky BOY!!

Check it out for your self...

Family pool time fun, or maybe not?

Okay, so it started out to be a perfect day! My boys were actually ASKING me to take pictures of their 'dare-devilish' throws in the pool. I thought to myself "WOW, this has never happened before" - so I got dried off, came in to get my camera and started snapping away!

It was just like when Noah was 2 or 3 (when he would say 'justA one more time), he kept saying repeatedly "Just ONE MORE TIME, Daddy, just one more". Poor Jacques, I'm sure he must have been getting tired....but we were all laughing so hard at the expressions on Noah's face as I took hundreds of pictures (168 to be exact)!

I thought we were having fun - but judging by the 'fake' smile (to my left) I think the fun was in being thrown and NOT the getting photos taken of him!!! LOL

Click on each photo. It will pop up in a new window in a larger format. Check out the expression on both Noah and Jacques faces!

Man, oh man did we ever have fun! I am SO thankful we were FINALLY able to get a pool this year!






That was until THESE photos - when you can clearly see Noah saying "MOM, NO MORE PHOTOS"! The last photo (on the right) was Jacques "brilliant" idea so I could not take their picture! Clever - but I'll still find a way!!!


Thankfully I DID take so many photos because Noah is going to make his own video using all of these photos! It should be cute.

Saturday night FAMILY fun....

...with The Lebels!



Thank you so much for inviting us to such a fun night! Noah is still talking about it and singing all the great tunes from the CD!

After "Power Lab" at their church, we invited them to our house for our 1st campfire of the season! Unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for less than 30 minutes because it started to thunder, lightening and pour rain :o(

We didn't let the rain stop us (at first)! We quickly roasted some marshmallows and hot dogs (under umbrellas) before we packed up our stuff and the fire went out!!!


Check out the rain spots on Zach & Noah's shirt!! We were all desperate for some good ol' fashion roasted marshmallows to care about the rain!!

Sorry about the blurry photo - I wasn't going to experiment while it was beginning to pour rain. I just wanted some shots for memories!!

I can't wait to continue getting to know this family - they are pretty cool. The kids all seem to get along great AND so do us adults! We seem to have many similar interests - so it should be fun!

I'm so thankful for meeting them (or in Jacques case, getting re-acquainted)!

Mom, something bad happened....

....and I mean really bad!

I'm sure I've heard this comment a hundred times before and it's always turned out to be minor stuff like, the TV shut off because we were recording a show on the PVR or the cap of the toothpaste fell down the drain or his marker went on the kitchen table or something like this.

So yesterday seemed no different when he said: "Mom, something really bad happened, and I mean really bad"

As I walked up the stairs, I could smell a VERY strong smell of SMOKE. He continued to describe what happened, "I put my paper in the microwave for 10 seconds so it would dry for Daddy's book and at 4 seconds it started on fire and I didn't know what to do so I left it until 10 seconds was up and there was a fire in the microwave. I opened the door and blew the fire out. I was so scared, I felt like I was going to throw up."

I have NO idea WHY in the world I thought this was funny but I did, probably because everything turned out okay. I was trying my hardest not to laugh and lose the lesson in all of this. I pulled him into me to give him a hug and console him. As I hugged him it was clear he was very scared. He was shaking like a leaf, obviously very shaken about what had just happened. I hugged him and reminded him of being safe while using kitchen appliances.

But let me be VERY clear that I thank GOD for nothing more than a scared little boy with a harsh lesson learned.

I asked him why he put it in the microwave when I wasn't in the kitchen with him and he reminded me of a rule I taught him (just the other day) about using appliances in the kitchen. I taught him that you must always stay in the kitchen when using small appliances - but apparently forgot to mention that an adult should be with you also when you are only 7 years old. Wooops.. ..what a bad mommy!!!

It was a good experience for him and an opportunity to talk about more safety rules like - always have an adult in the kitchen when using appliances or never put paper or metal in the microwave and it was confirmation that you should always stay near when cooking something in the kitchen - even a piece of paper.

Okay - so this IS confirmation that I am a bad Mommy!!! My next immediate thought was (as he went back to what he was doing) "YES, yes, now I can finally get my new microwave". I WANT a new microwave, but do not NEED a new microwave. Mine still works great and I've told myself that I will NOT get a new one until this one dies. It just won't give up, it's 13 years old and works fantastic - even after a piece of paper went up in flames while it was running!

New places - new ways

My biggest challenge since moving to a small and very 'primitively' green community has been learning new ways to recycle our garbage in our effort to be green.

Although our family's garbage has not been too perfect up until now, we have taken many steps to do the BEST we can considering our area's 'lack of' facilities.

We purchased a composting bin. I have been separating my garbage (wet & dry or blue & green) since my late teens/early 20's. To mix the trash with the compostable items made me feel like I was committing a crime so I just 'had' to do something! The compost bin was relatively inexpensive (around $65) and is placed just outside our garage door (in the back yard). Items that can be placed in the bin are:

• YARD WASTE: leaves, dry grass, weeds, garden plants, soft plant stems
• KITCHEN WASTE: fruit & vegetable matter, egg shells (crushed), tea bags, coffee grounds & filters.

Items that 'used' to go into our 'blue' bags (or 'dry' garbage) were items like cans, cardboard, paper, glass, etc. Since the facilities are not there, I've had to figure out ways to be the most efficient. After some research, lots of talking people in the community and driving around to different facilities (bottle exchanges, the dump, big community recycle bins, etc) to learn what could be recycled and where - we've found a little bottle exchange facility right near our house that recycles all that can be recycled. At least, all that can be recycled in our area and all we have to do is separate and physically take to this facility.

I now have designated containers for
1. compost (that goes in our compost bin)
2. paper & cardboard (that goes to the bottle exchange facilities)
3. tin, glass, plastic bottles (except for milk jugs), juice boxes, pop cans - anything that you can drink - except the milk jugs (that goes to the bottle exchange facilities)
4. everything else (that goes in our weekly trash)

I feel happy & content that we are doing our part for the environment and that Noah is learning to 'live green'. Every now and then, I have to take some 'mis-placed' trash from the 'everything else' container and place in the correct container - but eventually we will all remember 'what goes where'!

And so I now sleep with a clear conscience!

Fun & busy life!

I can't even begin to tell you how MUCH I am enjoying being at home with Noah! We are having a terrific summer! We are keeping really busy - between doing fun stuff, swimming in the pool, all of his sporting activities and working on projects around the house - but having a BLAST! Well, he may not have said that last week - his behaviour was a little 'off' and he lost out on lots! Guess that's the joy of being 7 years old, right!

Over a week ago, Noah & I (along with Zach, his mom - Autumn and his cousin - Justice) all went strawberry picking. It was perfect weather for the outing - not too hot, not too cold with a nice breeze. Noah & I ended up picking 14 lbs and eating probably 1 lb - Yummy!

The kids all got a Mr. Freeze from the owners as we paid for the strawberries. THIS was apparently the 'highlight' of his day! That was of course, next to meeting Justice (which he told me later he had a crush on!)

Later that day, Noah spent the entire afternoon with Zach's family in their pool! Another highlight! Zach and Noah get along great! We're so thankful to have found a great family to be friends with and the bonus is Zach a super nice & well mannered friend for Noah!

Check out the evidence on Zach's face that he had been eating more than he was picking!!! He was proud of it too...

More activities - swimming lessons.

When we moved here (considering there is NO indoor pool) I wondered where children take swimming lessons. Guess what - they take them in the town's only outdoor public pool. This is how it is - living in a small town! It's very strange to me (& Noah) but I guess we'll have to get used to it, right!

Noah doesn't seem to mind too much! The instructor's are FANTASTIC with the kids. In fact, I just spoke with his instructor's and they told me that Noah is a VERY strong swimmer and is doing great. I was so pleased to hear this because the last week of classes, we will miss because we will be on holidays!

Keep up the great effort Noah, we are really proud of you!


The other day, we were reading "If You Give a Moose a Muffin", [part of his "Mouse Cookies & More" book that includes 4 of the books from this series, lots of activities, music to songs (that are included on a CD that comes with the book) and cookie, muffin, pancake recipes] and Noah decided that he would like to make some muffins - from a recipe included in the book called: Chocolate MUD Muffins - with Moose tracks!!!

So we did! Wednesday's are usually library day (which we were getting ready to go to) - but Noah made a fantastic suggestions. From now on, one Wednesday is BAKING DAY and the next Wednesday is LIBRARY DAY. This works well because we have TOO MANY books, so there is not much need in borrowing too many books!

The muffins turned out GREAT - yummy!!

Noah's favourite part was licking the bowl (which he could do because there were no EGGS - which the recipe actually notes) and spatula!


More activities: Soccer

It's amazing to see the transformation from one year to the next in soccer. I'm not sure if it's because we changed communities or if it is their age - either way, it's really cool watching the little athlete's transform!

Last year, they used the orange pylons for goal posts and this year, they have real nets. Last year, the coaches refereed and this year, there are real "paid" referees. Last year, the kids just ran and chased the balls and this year, they work on plays & strategies. Last year, there were 3 or 4 kids on the 1/6th of the field and this year, there are 6 players plus the goalie on the 1/2 the field. Last year, there was no score counted and this year, the score is counted.

We are so proud of Noah, watching him work hard and taking what the coach teaches and applying it. I think this is the hardest he's ever played in his 4 years of soccer. I am certain (now) that he will always be a very "positional" player. He tends to stay in position rather than chasing after the ball or puck, what ever sport he is playing. It makes us (especially Jacques) so proud and something I've often heard the coach praise him for!


More baking - this time it was MORE strawberry jam. I found a new recipe for strawberry jam - that has less than 1/2 the amount of sugar. So I thought I'd try it out! Only this time, I had a helper.

I am so excited that Noah is showing such an interest in learning how to cook & bake. Not only because it's a great activity to work on together but also for later in life!

For our 2nd batch of strawberry jam, Noah helped to cut strawberries, mash (which he did completely by himself) and measure, pour & stir the sugar. Once the sugar had to sit for 15 minutes, his patience ran out & the novelty wore off. At this point, the XBOX looked more appealing and I lost him to the game! Then, I was left to clean up the mess! I think part of the lessons should be working neatly as well - the floor was covered in strawberry juice!!! As he was working opposite me on the island, I didn't really notice! Oh well, it wiped up!

REVISED...

Here I go again....revising my blog - woops!

Here's how it is: I can never decide which blog to post entries to - our family blog or my thankful blog. Let's face it, I'm thankful for my family. So this is how I decided to combine our 2 blogs - all wrapped up in one! Yeee! Haaa!

Now that life has finally calmed down a tad, I have time to post lots of fun stuff from things that are important to me like: things we do together, stuff Noah & I are doing on our summer vacation, house pictures (as the renovations begin), information on the planning of my mission trip, how we continue to live green, etc.

My one wish is that you begin to leave comments - it's always nice to hear feedback (even if it's about spelling or grammar errors - TRICIA, LOL!!) and I know you're reading (because you tell me so)!

Happy Reading!

Happy Anniversary

Just wanted to share my anniversary present from my honey. Eight years ago today (July 1 - CANADA DAY), I married my best friend and the love of my life. Though we've seen some tough times, we've managed to stay in love and have grown together beyond what I dreamed we ever would. Today, I am MORE in love with Jacques than ever before. I can't wait to live the rest of our life and grow old together. If you could only see him with Noah, our son, he is an amazing DAD. He's so funny, passionate and such a great husband, provider and protector. I am so thankful our 9 month ordeal of living apart is OVER!

Happy Anniversary honey and thank you SO MUCH for my gift!

I wanted to share with you my anniversary present from my honey. Meet Claudia V, we began sponsoring Claudia today, our 8th wedding anniversary! I think this is the best present I have ever received. Claudia is a 9 year old little girl from Guatemala. I am so excited, pumped and overjoyed to be doing something I've dreamed of doing for a very long time!

If you have the resources (only $35 per month), why not help a child in need. Visit the World Vision Canada website for more information. And, if you decide to sponsor a child - let me know!