Christmas

We had a good Christmas this year. The kids make it so much more exciting and fun. Gwen is the age where she can really get into it, and she had lots of fun opening all her presents. She liked everything she got (and everything that Oliver got as well!), and insisted on playing with everything, one after the other. Santa (aka Brad) visited my parents house on Christmas Eve. When Gwen saw him, she ran to Babi (her great-grandmother) to hide from him. It was pretty funny. As soon as Santa started handing out gifts, though, she was right there to get hers!

We also went to visit Brad's family. The 8 hour drive turned into a 9 1/2 hour drive there and 11 1/2 hours back! It was horrendous! Not good driving conditions at all, especially with 2 little kids. But we had fun visiting with everyone, and the highlight was going for a sleigh-ride at Keith's farm.

Shopping with the kids

The other day, we went to Linen's and Things because the store is closing down and everything was on sale. Of course, it was pretty crowded in there, as is usually the case in most stores close to Christmas. Brad had Oliver in the stroller, and I had the cart and Gwen. At one point, Gwen decided to go with Brad, which was fine. He told me he had her. I was a couple of aisles down, so couldn't see them. Well, all of a sudden, across the store I hear a little voice shout out 'TOO MANY PEOPLE'! and then "MOM, WHERE ARE YOU? TOO MANY PEOPLE'! I went out into the main aisle, where I could see Brad and Oliver, but no Gwen. Of course, we do the quick exchange of 'I thought you had her' before Brad went to get her. The problem was that when Brad went to get her, he left Oliver in the middle of the aisle, all by himself! (I was still a few aisles down at that point). Geesh! I guess losing a child in a store is bound to happen at some point, but really, just because one is stuck in a stroller, don't leave him to get the other one! I guess that was the panic talking. Anyway, it was more funny than worrying, and Gwen handled it well -- she didn't start crying as many kids would. She just came back with Brad carrying a little book that she had found on her excursion.

Halloween

When I started up this blog, I had a bit more time to actually write things down! Anyway, I know this is a bit late, but here are some pictures from Halloween. We took Gwen and Oliver to the mall for trick-or-treating, and I think Gwen enjoyed it. She was saying trick-or-treat to get candy (although fairly quietly!), and was holding up her pumpkin bucket. As you can see, she was a unicorn -- she loved the costume so much that the first thing she said when she woke up for the two weeks leading up to halloween was 'me wear pony'. It was very cute. Oliver was a puppy. They both helped Brad carve the pumpkin. When Gwen pulled out some of the pumpkin 'innards', she made the classic 'gross' face. Oliver, however, had no such complaints. He first reached one hand in, and then put the other hand in a was squishing the 'stuff' in his hands. He would have crawled right in the pumpkin if he could (wait a minute, he kind of did!).

Time

It always seems that there isn't enough time to do everthing I want to do. Now that I am working, I have even less time, although I am enjoying the work. It is nice to get out and do something different -- it gives me a break and gives me a chance to talk with other adults. I think it really is true when people say that mothers (or whichever parent stays at home with the kids) have the most difficult jobs, because you never really get a break. And time to yourself? That is a faint memory. So is having nice, peaceful, quiet. You get used to being tired all of the time. But it is also the most rewarding job. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I think having kids makes you young again. You get to experience everything again as if it was the first time. And they change so much. There is never a dull moment with kids! Days are filled with them learning new things, even if those new things spell trouble. A big smile, laugh, or hug from your kids is the best thing in the world. So, although I don't seem to have time to do the things I would like to do, I will try to enjoy every moment I do have.

Burrs!

Is it just me, or do there seem to be way more burrs this year than the last couple of years?!? Indy is like a burr magnet -- I watch him running in the tall grass, and oh, there he goes, straight for the huge burdock bush! I've found four different sizes of burrs on him, from the small blueburrs right up to the big burdock burrs. They get especially badly tangled in his underarm fur, his chest, his tail, his wild ears... I might as well just say everywhere! And they seem especially prickly this year as well! The licorice and burdock burrs get stuck in my fingers when I pick them out. I feel I spend just as much time picking burrs out of his fur after a walk as I do walking! I feel sorry for those of you with more than one long-haired dog. Pharaoh doesn't pick up any burrs at all (thank goodness!).

The Fight

Okay, so I'm not that familiar with the world of 'fights', and by that, I am talking about people duking it out in the ring. I've watched the Olympics (obviously), and the fights seem fairly tame, with protective equipment worn and not a lot of blood to be seen. Well, my brother has been training in mixed martial arts for the past few years, and he had his first fight on Saturday. I honestly couldn't even believe he was going to be doing that, but I guess if you're training for it, that's what you do! Both him and his wife enjoy it. I personally did kickboxing for a while, but never had the intention of actually fighting someone. I was doing it more for the exercise -- and it is great excercise. But back to my story. I didn't actually go to the fight, and now am glad that I didn't, because my brother was knocked out and sent to emergency with a broken jaw and split eyebrow. I guess they were in a clincher (sorry if that's not the right term) on the ground, the opponent somehow broke out of it and came crashing down, full force with his fist, on my brother's face. He was knocked out for a couple of minutes, but luckily no concussion! Just thinking about it makes me cringe! I can't imagine the pain he must have been feeling! You know, I watch this kind of thing in the movies, but never imagined my own family to be participating in it! I just hope nothing worse happens to him in future fights, but I guess if you do this kind of sport, you have to accept the fact that you are going to get hurt at some point. If nothing else, it was a good learning experience!

The *fake* cougar

Sometime during the summer, a cougar was shot by a landowner and given over to Fish and Wildlife. The cougar was stuffed and put on a wall mount, and Brad had to transport it from Lethbridge to the Pass. Well, he decided to stop at home to show Gwen the cougar. It was pretty funny -- he had it standing in the back of his truck (he has a topper on his truck, so you can't see it until you open a window or the hatch), and when you open the window, you see this cougar face looking out at you. Well, I think I have a very strong flight response, and despite knowing that it was in there, I still screamed when Brad opened the back hatch. Gwen, on the other hand, thought it was great and wasn't scared at all. So, I decided to get the dogs to come look at the cougar to see what they would do. Pharaoh was pretty much just like Gwen -- curious (or clueless!). But Indy! Geesh, he must have my strong flight response! I don't even think he really saw the cougar, but as soon as he smelled it, he ran back into the yard, tail between his legs, and wouldn't come out again. It was pretty funny!