#35- Long Days

So much for 8 degrees today, maybe without the windchill and if the sun was out. Maybe then. Hah!
I don't like complaining about the weather, but with Eric working longer shifts, being able to go for a walk to the park without everything being wet or too cold is a necessity for my sanity these days.
We were rather spoiled a few days ago I guess with a perfectly sunny, spring-like day, gorgeous weather, kids played at the park and we all got some sun and fresh-as-it-gets-in-London air. 

Long days these are...Isaac has been waking up earlier and earlier it seems. Today was better, 7am; but he wakes up in the worst of moods. I don't know if he is not feeling well lately or if it is just the beginnings of the 'terrific twos'. 
The latest has been SCREEAAAMING fits. We just came back from story-time at the library (I thinking maybe he just needed to get out of the house and be around other kids) and all was well until it was time to go and he had to put down the toy trains...and, oh heavens! the screaming! And even though most of the people in the small library were parents, its still quite embarrassing. you know everyone is watching you to see how you will react. And I can just see the moms whose babies are still little and sweet thinking "tch tch, MY sweet little snootie won't ever turn out like THAT little boy. His mummy must not understand just what he needs". Yes...I remember thinking that too...
I maintained my cool and took him right outside to put on his coat and boots because screaming and flailing in a library while trying to dress him is not good for anyone.
We are yet to see full-blown tantrums, but he's come close. My ears are currently ringing and I fear for poor little Rosie who just hunkers down and flinches as he screams. There is not always a reason, lately though it has been over EVERYTHING, if I say no, if I take him to the potty, if I give him something he doesn't want, if I turn my attention to Rosie. (Surprisingly, he doesn't do it when I put him down for a nap or to bed, in fact lately he's been rubbing his eyes and saying "Mama. I'm TIRED! Tired, mama!" Probably from all that screaming....)
Yes, yes I know, all part of finding his voice and expressing his individuality; I got it. It's still frustrating to no end!
We've tried many tactics, but most things just cause him to do it more, especially saying stop or pleading that it hurts our ears, I admit I even smacked his hand once. And oh that look...
My neighbour (3 kids under age 8) advised I simply put him in his room and let him scream till he is playing quietly. This has by far been the only thing to do. Though he rarely gets to the point where he plays quietly, and even when he does within a half hour of being fine and happy and out of his room, he starts it up again! I know it's an attention thing more than anything, or just pent up frustration, but it still has to be dealt with, and trust me, after a certain number of hours is very, very difficult to ignore completely.
It's trying times with Isaac right now, and hard to see him going through at the same time as hard for me to deal with! I get very frustrated at Isaac, but at the same time feel bad for him, especially when I lose my cool or raise my voice or just ignore him when he seems to need guidance because I'm afraid of losing my cool.
I look at Rosie and think "ah those were the days! So easy and blameless!" haha. Every reason Rosie is difficult is because my lack of attending to her needs. I can't say the same thing about Isaac, even when all his needs are met, he can be difficult.
I'm just repeating myself now. 
Anyway, under all this he is still of course a wonderful, sweet boy, he's doing so well with others and playing with his sister, and learning new things. He is also starting to show me more affection which is really nice, for awhile there he had 'given me up' you could say and become quite the daddy's boy, and while he still is, he seems to be really enjoying time and wanting time with me more and not just because he's whiny or tired.
Anyway! That's a rant. If any of you reading this have had similar experiences with your toddler, (especially ear-piercing screaming) and have any ideas or advice, they would be welcome!
Currently the house is ever so still as both babes are napping, a good break for me to start again when they wake up with renewed patience!

A friend recently said something along the lines of this to me the other day..
"So, I didn't know you actually don't DO anything all day..."


The only thing you can say to that is a good hearty laugh.

#34- Photo-shoots!

One of Isaac's FAVOURITE things to do is jump on our bed!! Perhaps we shouldn't let our children jump on the bed...
or the couch...
or on us...
but he just gets so giddy and gleeful about it, plus he can do it for MINUTES on end, so whatevs for now. Hah.
Anyway one day he was doing this and Rosie was just as gleefully watching him (she loves laughing at Isaac) and I was trying to get a good action shot; which turned into a family photo as I discovered I could take multiple shots at once with the camera, (another one of Isaac's favourite things is looking at himself. Whether in the mirror or especially on a camera.
So we had fun doing that. And here's some of the results, soooo cuuuute, now if we could only get Rosie to smile at a camera...

#33- from the last couple weeks...

Date night thanks to our great friends to see Treasure Island the play!

We've been busy busy this month! So instead of a boring blurb, here's a better blur!

This shot is real. He's actually sleeping. (erics not)

Nature walk with Christina!

No caterpillars to stomp this time...

Bath-time buddies!

I moustache you a question...will Eric be my valentine? (he said yes)

Rosy Red Cheeks!

giving attitude already!!

"return the lid to me!"

#32- Sirens

I grew up in the country. We never had a 'real' farm but had just about every animal at the same or different times as one would have on a farm.

The cow pasture was my playground and the swamp was my backyard; My neighbours were Mennonites or farmers.


I never ever thought I would LIVE in the city, maybe hang out there for a year or so. But here I am, going on 4 years in London (4 years!!) and no reason to leave other than my sentiments. 
As I write this, there are sirens blaring a few streets over. In the country when you hear a siren it is a rare thing indeed, and you usually check in later on your neighbours because who else would sirens be going for?
We live very near a main st in London (Oxford baby) and so it is not uncommon to hear sirens. I imagine my children are used to the sound, just as I was used to hearing coyotes or crickets.
The very thought of THAT makes me want to pack my bags.


Sirens always bother me, as they should I suppose. I notice them most when someone in my home is missing, usually Eric off to work or with friends. Every time I think 'what if he was so close to home/or just leaving home, and something happened? what if those sirens are for him?' And these thoughts are irrational and of course never true. But that doesn't stop one from thinking them. and I can't stop worrying until he is home.


Living in the city feels like a constant reminder that the world is not safe. (Of course that is probably the most negative way of looking at it as most of you are thinking right now.)
Even in the suburbs when I used to work there it never felt safe, maybe crime was low and people were rich and had everything they needed, but a deep sense of insecurity and dissatisfaction was in the air and I felt it constantly.
I mourn the thought that my children might not experience what its like to live in the country, to not know how to work an iphone or prefer roaming the hills over technology any day. To know how to spend a whole evening reading a book or making an igloo. And not because you have to!
The option is there of course that we COULD just pack up and move, work inconveniences aside, nothing is demanding we stay here...
But then...there is our community of friends, our church family, neighbours, that cashier who knows my kids and I and we always share a smile.
There's the daily opportunity of loving a stranger. Of being a light. Of putting yourself out there, taking chances...getting out of your comfort zone, practicing self-control when the world is at your fingertips, truly search out and ground yourself in who you are and what you want for your family rather than having it so easy and taking it for granted...
And not saying that you can't do these things in the country, but from my experience, it's a lot easier not to.
Perhaps God will keep our flighty souls here in London for all our days. Perhaps a few years, we can never know, only be willing to go.
Or stay.
I suppose we can't really leave a place until we desire to stay. Otherwise we have not learned what we needed to while we were there.
I like to think at the end of these hard days, when the new chapter opens in the Kingdom, I'll live in the country with my chickens and my sheep and my cows. And I'll know all my neighbours by name, far and wide.

But for now, I need to be here.
Maybe before the need for sirens.

#31- Five Months!

Rosie turned 5 months old on February 2nd, Happy almost-half-year lovely!She has 2 teeth, can roll both ways, can squirm her way to a toy nearby, loves to reach and grab things, likes to claw! (note her face in the pictures!) Is very nearly ready for FOOD! she is just obsessed with the idea watching us eat. Soon girly! Lately she's been very vocal, she has such a shrill little squeak! It's adorable really. But not when its close to your ears:)

With all this movement discovery, her sleep patterns have been mixed up a bit, and she gets frustrated by staying STILL, but otherwise she is doing great and sleeping pretty good. She loves watching her brother and exploring on her own, but she definitely looks like she cant' wait to get going as fast as Isaac!Here's some pics I took on the 2nd, she wasn't in the mood though so they aren't very good. more to come!

#30- Point to ponder

I receive daily marriage tips via email and this one stuck out to me, not just for marriage but in many other aspects as well. 

"Author Stephen Covey tells the story of a teacher that uses rocks as a part of a teaching. 

He starts with several big rocks and puts them in a jar.  

He asks the class if the jar is full.  Many say yes, but then he starts pouring gravel over the big rocks and it filters in.  

He asks the class if the jar is full and they begin to catch on.  It's not full.  

The teacher then pours in water.  What is the point of this demonstration?  Someone suggests that there is always room for more in your life.  

Eventually the teacher makes the point that if he hadn't put the large rocks in first there would have been no room for them.  If you make a place for the big stuff first, the little stuff will naturally filter in around it.

If you will make time and room in your life for the most important things first, your life will have the direction and meaning you want it to have.  Don't let your days run away with you without a little planning.  Plan for time with your husband."http://www.the-generous-wife.com/

I do find myself sometimes putting the big things on hold, maybe because I know they will be there for me when I come back, maybe because I care too much about who will take care of the little things, but this 'parable' holds very true when I think about my own experiences. 

It's not just saying they are your priorities; your 'Big Things'

It's making that an action.

Desire does not lead to action, you must make a decision.