Grandpa Love...

Happy Birthday!!!!

You wear 76 beautifully!!  

Glad we were able to chat even if it was quickly and amidst quite a ruckus.

We all love you and hope you have a wonderful day.

New Engine

The bad car news... we heard from the car guy today.  He says we need a new engine.  He has found one and the owner has agreed to sell.  How kind.  Any opinions on our situation would be very helpful.  We left the car in the shop over the summer so he could troubleshoot any impending problems.  He had it 7 weeks.  Then 3 weeks after we returned the engine started making funny noises, Carl brought it straight home, we had the mechanic come the next day, he found there was no oil in the engine.  NO OIL!!  In your opinion do you think the mechanic should take some responsibility on this?  Or do you think that after leaving it with the mechanic to troubleshoot problems that we should have checked the oil level within 3 weeks of having the car returned to us.  Obviously from my tone I am quite frustrated by this mechanic but could really use input from anyone that knows more about cars than us.

The good news... We have finally transitioned the kids to their own room :)  They start off there every night anyway.  Kaia quietly wakes up at some point every night and comes into our room, gets herself a pillow, and cuddles up with me.  I love it.  Then later each night Theo wakes up, realizes he is alone, and screams his head off until someone comes and rescues him from under the mosquito net.  Not quite so nice but a little endearing.  

Well... last night Carl fell asleep with the kids while putting them down to sleep.  So when Kaia woke up she was already snuggling a warm body and didn't have to come find me.  When Theo woke up he also found companionship close by and didn't have to scream for rescue.  So I...

 ... slept in this large bed that usually fits four, under my glorious down comforter, and with every single pillow all to myself all night long.  You'd think it was my birthday or something!

 And today was Kaia's day off school AND our first official craft day.  Claudia and I are hoping to set aside one day a week for kid and adult crafts.  Today was poorly planned but the kids did each make a rockin' picture frame of pink glittery satiny material.  Could it be any more girly?  Next week we are dreaming of making little concrete leaves to decorate the table and use as small bowls.  Ambitious?  Maybe but Claudia is the craft queen!!! 

Spiderman

So life is S-L-O-Ho-Ho these days.  Still waiting on word about the car.  So glad Amy is here or I think I would have gone mad ages ago.  Today I hitched a ride to the stationary store and the veggie stand.  Exciting times.

This won't come as a surprise but Amy and I did have time to upgrade Pray's snorkel mask.  Carl is a touch jealous.  We also made fresh millet bread, and homemade mac and cheese with garlic almond green beans for dinner.  The house smells lovely.

Housemates

So it is official.  We have new housemates.  Since Amy's apartment's owner took away her furniture we just couldn't stomach sending her home to eat off the floor.  So the office is now a bedroom and the laundry room will soon be a sitting room.  Our dream is for an adult sitting room with a puzzle and the nice speakers.  Hopefully the paperwork will all fall into place and they will be on to the States in no time... but until then we are thrilled to enjoy their company.

 We have modified Kaia's snorkel mask.  It was my surprise for her when she came home from school and she was thrilled.  For about 30 seconds anyway. 

 And Theo is having a blast with Pray around.  Here they are playing ball DURING breakfast!  He would never get away with that if it were just us!!  Only poor Theo can't find the ball.

K-A-I-A

A nice weekend for recovery ...
 

 Daddy and Theo sleeping away the flu/cold/fever - whatever the heck it was ... Daddy is feeling much better now come Sunday afternoon and more importantly Theo seems to be too!

Amy took this nice shot of Mommy and Theo on the yoga mat ... can you figure out all the legs and arms and whose is whose?  Haha!

 

 Kaia and her sidewalk chalk art ... self portrait?  Mommy?  a Grandma?  her school teacher?  You decide ...

Saturday saw us lying around relaxing on the front porch - and we turned to see this!!  Kaia writing her name!  First time I have seen it so clearly ...!

 and after one or two lessons from Mommy about the proper order of letters ... this is what she produced Sunday morning!  Her parents are sooo proud! 

Snorkel Masks

 Carl is sick and our car is still in the shop.  Immediately after the Eid our power went out at 6pm yesterday night and is already off when we get up this morning.  So things are back to pretty well normal.  Our friend also lent us her car for the weekend again.  We are so blessed.  She and her husband and daughter came to drop it off as the sun was setting last night. We enjoyed a few drinks in the setting sun and then an impromptu dinner.  It was lovely and a whole lot more relaxing than the staff party we were supposed to go to before Carl fell ill.

 Another Theo and PJ morning.  Amy came over for an exercise dvd.  Theo spent the time following Pray around, bringing Amy toys, and reading.  Bad news though... he got shy after I took this shot and tried to cover his face.  We may have a photo avoiding shy streak coming guys.

 Then as a craft we made these.  Can you guess what they are?

 

That's right.  Snorkel masks.  Kaia wants to decorate hers with colors and pink glitter so she knows which one is hers.  Pray says he will know which one his because it won't have all the glitter, it doesn't need to be decorated.  Clever fellow.

 

And after a long day of play they watched a few So You Think You Can Dance auditions.  Immediately Pray was right out in the middle of the living room imitating the contemporary and hip hop moves.  Kaia ran off to get dressed to watch.  So typical.

Back home

Hello beautiful people who read my blog (or peruse it for cute photos).  After a 3 month hiatus I am back at the keyboard.  Thank you to those of you who harassed me to post, I love that you like my blog enough to do so.  I would be nothing without my fans.

We have been back for 4 weeks now.  Our power has been worse than ever with losses of 10-17 hours a day not unusual.  We are in a power streak right now though... 36 straight hours!!!  Why do I feel like we are going to have to pay for this good fortune later? So all this power was very persuasive in getting me back to the keyboard but also it helps to have something fun to blog about...

This was my yesterday.  Our car is in the shop AGAIN!!!  It really is terrible.  A good friend was going on holiday and was kind enough to lend us hers (also AGAIN) and I got it stuck in the road.  A tiny road that I drive on all the time, it didn't even cross my mind there could be a problem.  But the weather is so dry these days, and the dirt so fine.  From ahead on the road I had no idea that in this section there was just a a foot deep of fine powder.  Her car is just enough smaller than ours that it couldn't handle it.  Any amount of pushing or rocks for support do nothing because the dirt is so fine that as soon as the tires turn the just dig in deeper.  

Claudia tried to pull us out with rope and the rope snapped.  A kind stranger stopped and tried to pull us out with a proper towing rope but it also snapped!!  So he layered 4 layers of proper towing rope and slowly pulled us to safety.  Good timing too because I was just about to start to panic.  Notice Theo sleeping through it all in the back seat, thank goodness because if he had gotten out I don't think I could have ever gotten him clean again.  I have to say... I am not in the mood for any more car drama!!

My brothers and I with my grandfather.  Approximately 1980.

And 2011.  

This blog entry wouldn't be complete without a tribute to my grandfather.  We saw him over the summer and it was a wonderful visit.  He is 89 here and we were so lucky to visit on one of his 'good' days.  Although we can't be certain that he knew who were were for the entire visit, in my heart I am sure he did at some points.  The best part was watching him with his great grandchildren.  There was so much joy in his eyes as he interacted with them and watched them play.  Definitely one of the best memories I will have of him.  

He has been ill and I knew when we left that there was a good chance it would be the last time to hug him.  I thought I was at peace with that and that I had done a good job of appreciating our time with him. But it turns out I hadn't prepared at all for his death a few weeks later.  It has shaken me to the core and I so regret not being able to join my family in celebrating his life and saying a final goodbye.  

I imagine he is now in heaven with my beautiful grandmother.  He no longer has to carry the burden of age and illness and can be the strong and capable hero that I remember him to be.  I am so lucky to have had them in my life and am so grateful for all the love and memories that I will always carry in my heart and will forever strive to capture and pass on to my children.  

His passing has also reiterated, once again, what we felt so strongly over the summer... that the love of our family is so important for Kaia and Theo as they grow.  Especially as children when their ideas of love and happiness are being developed, the memories of their family not only help shape them but will carried in their hearts forever.  

Our return home also brought new life.  We are 3 chicks richer.  Mama had 3 eggs hatch successfully.  We have since put a few eggs under Legs but all of her eggs cracked.  Kaia loves the wee ones and spent the first week cuddling them.  Theo isn't quite as gentle or nurturing but he loves them too.  They have grown substantially in 4 weeks and Mama just started laying again so I can finally have my first taste of her eggs :)

Kaia and Theo are finding more and more in common.  The mornings are their best times.  Kaia likes to make sure he is fed and warm.  And what does Theo do?  Well he lets her.  Sometimes anyway.

Grandma Love... the sprinkler is a huge hit.  We are the only family I know of that has one so it is lots of fun to pull it out.  Also a lot easier than filling up the pool for 5 minutes of entertainment.  As you can see the water pressure isn't exactly as good at in Canada but some days we can get a few feet out of it.

Theo enjoys it most when he can balance his ball right on top of it!!  Look at him admire his hard work.

Kaia is in school 4 full days a week now.  It doesn't really feel like it yet since we have been really busy but Theo and I have a lot of time to enjoy together.  He is at an awesome age, loves to perform, and is so interactive.  A great time in his life to be able to focus so much attention on him.  Here he is admiring some bug or something.

And here he is very proud that he could climb UP the slide.

Carl had a 4 day weekend for the Eid and since we were fortunate enough to have a car we went out to the reserve for lunch (Roxanne do you remember?).  We also did shopping, a nice lake walk, some exercise dvds, an afternoon at the garden cafe, backyard camping, and a night of making smores over an open fire.  Always nice to have a holiday even if it is just after the school year started.

A few Kaia-isms I have been accumulating:

• I noticed 3 bug bites on Kaia's hand and ask what they are from.  She says a mosquito.  I ask where the mosquito was, worried it were under her net at night.  She sequentially points to the 3 bites saying, 'it was here, here, and here'.  Well of coarse, silly me.

•  Kaia getting me 10 basil leaves from the yard.  She counts 1-2-3-4-5-6 and asks how many more.  I say you still need 7-8-9 and 10.  She plucks one more and counts 10.  

I say 'you have 7' 

She says 'no, this one is10' and holds it up

I ask 'can I see 7-8- and 9?'

'0h' she says 'I don't have those'

And a few Theo-isms:

Theo can now say mama, dada, kaia, and pray 

Hiiiiiiii and Byiiiiiiiiii loudly and repeatedly to anyone coming or going

pleesh when he wants something and

NYO!!!! when you want to change his diaper

bi-ey for his binky before bed, ba for his bath,

and he will repeat the last word of half your sentences. 

It won't be long before he is spitting out 'I love you Grandma!' over skype :)