A new friend of mine asked me how Nathan and I met and I thought it would be a good idea for a post ...
We were actually set up by a mutual friend. A guy I went to church with (Mario) and Nathan played on the same hockey team. Mario brought Nathan to church one Sunday to check me out :). Then Mario invited me to come watch one of their hockey games. I went and was introduced to his friend Nathan. I didn't really think anything of it at the time because I was enjoying having recently become single. It took a couple of months for Nathan to get the nerve up to call me and ask me out for coffee. And it was very unlike me to say yes to a guy I barely remembered!
But I did say yes and we went to Manhattan's restaurant for our first date. I actually remember hoping that I wouldn't have a good time because I was enjoying being single. But, obviously I enjoyed myself a lot! We absolutely hit it off right from the start. I was 17 (fairly close to 18) and he was almost 19 when we started dating in January of 1995. We knew very quickly that we would get married. When I re-read the Valentine's card I gave him merely weeks later, I can't believe what I all wrote in there!
We were engaged in November when he proposed to me at Manhattan's, and were married the following July - 12 wonderful years ago!
I love him more all the time - I am blessed to be his wife. I am a stronger and better person because of his love and encouragement.
These are the lyrics to the songs sung at our wedding.....
Years From Here (4PM)
Standing here face to face, I feel my heart overflowing with love and emotion
The moment you took my hand, there was no doubt in my mind about our future
I don't need a crystal ball, through your eyes I see it all
Years from here, we'll look back and treasure
this moment forever inside our hearts
And from here to there, we'll make a million memories
that we can share years from here
I can promise you this with every breath I take, I'll live to love you
I'll go above and beyond to give you everything that one man can give you
I know we've just begun and the best is still yet to come
Years from here, we'll look back and treasure
This moment forever inside our hearts
And from here to there, we'll make a million memories
That we can share years from here.
The Smile on Your Face (Alison Krauss)
It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll [always love] me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me where ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
All day long I can hear people talking aloud
But when you hold me near you drown out the crowd
Old Mr. Webster could never define
What's been said between your heart and mine
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll [always love] me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll [always love] me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
[ ] lyrics changed by me
I know I also changed the lyrics to that crystal ball line but I can't remember it exactly right now!
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
PushUp Update
My abs are so sore. Seriously.
Pushups affect your abs much more than I thought they did. On Day 1 of my workout I had a really hard time doing the situps after the pushups. Today, for Day 2 - my abs hurt so bad I literally could not do the situps at all. So, I will wait till my abs have recovered a bit, and then I will do 1/2 the situps and see how that goes.
My armpits hurt too of course. Ugh - this is gonna be hard!
Each workout is 5 sets of pushups. Day 1 you rest 60 seconds, Day 2 you rest 90 seconds, Day 3 you rest 180 seconds (or more if needed), then it starts over again at 60 seconds. Today I did 10, 12, 8, 8 and then the max you can do - which was 14!!!! Go me!
Pushups affect your abs much more than I thought they did. On Day 1 of my workout I had a really hard time doing the situps after the pushups. Today, for Day 2 - my abs hurt so bad I literally could not do the situps at all. So, I will wait till my abs have recovered a bit, and then I will do 1/2 the situps and see how that goes.
My armpits hurt too of course. Ugh - this is gonna be hard!
Each workout is 5 sets of pushups. Day 1 you rest 60 seconds, Day 2 you rest 90 seconds, Day 3 you rest 180 seconds (or more if needed), then it starts over again at 60 seconds. Today I did 10, 12, 8, 8 and then the max you can do - which was 14!!!! Go me!
Monday, 24 November 2008
Menu Monday
2 posts in 1 day?! Pick your jaw up off the floor and read on...
OK, so I've decided that I have to get back to menu planning because it's just ridiculous to wait until 4:45 pm every day to decide what to make for supper that night. I've done it for 2 weeks now and I'm going to start posting Menu Mondays! (I think you'll notice we tend to have the same boring things over and over again :)
Monday - chicken and mushroom sauce over noodles, peas, garlic bread
Tuesday - wrenikje (perogies with cottage cheese inside) and sausage
Wednesday - tacos
Thursday - hopefully a quick restaurant meal - we want to go see "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (the kids will have babysitter food - either pizza pops or sandwhiches)
Friday - homemade pizza
There ya have it. OK, I know I didn't do Saturday or Sunday - but hey, 5 out of 7 ain't bad!
And, yes, I am making those perogies from scratch myself - I'm pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself :)
Now, I better get defrosting that chicken....
Edited to add: we ended up having chicken fingers and fries instead - kids request. I tried a new chicken finger recipe and it was awesome!!!
Here it is...
1lb chicken breast (I just used 2 large ones)
1/2 cup flour seasoned with paprika, oregano, pepper, italian seasoning, seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups corn flakes processed in the blender along with a little more of the above spices
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp oil
Flour the chicken, dip in egg, roll in corn flakes. In a skillet on medium high heat, heat margarine and oil. Fry chicken for approx 5 mins on each side. If you can't fit all the chicken in at one time, reserve some margarine/oil for the 2nd go round otherwise the 2nd batch won't taste quite as good/unhealthy. You could also bake these for a healthier version - but they won't taste the same! :)
OK, so I've decided that I have to get back to menu planning because it's just ridiculous to wait until 4:45 pm every day to decide what to make for supper that night. I've done it for 2 weeks now and I'm going to start posting Menu Mondays! (I think you'll notice we tend to have the same boring things over and over again :)
Monday - chicken and mushroom sauce over noodles, peas, garlic bread
Tuesday - wrenikje (perogies with cottage cheese inside) and sausage
Wednesday - tacos
Thursday - hopefully a quick restaurant meal - we want to go see "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (the kids will have babysitter food - either pizza pops or sandwhiches)
Friday - homemade pizza
There ya have it. OK, I know I didn't do Saturday or Sunday - but hey, 5 out of 7 ain't bad!
And, yes, I am making those perogies from scratch myself - I'm pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself :)
Now, I better get defrosting that chicken....
Edited to add: we ended up having chicken fingers and fries instead - kids request. I tried a new chicken finger recipe and it was awesome!!!
Here it is...
1lb chicken breast (I just used 2 large ones)
1/2 cup flour seasoned with paprika, oregano, pepper, italian seasoning, seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups corn flakes processed in the blender along with a little more of the above spices
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp oil
Flour the chicken, dip in egg, roll in corn flakes. In a skillet on medium high heat, heat margarine and oil. Fry chicken for approx 5 mins on each side. If you can't fit all the chicken in at one time, reserve some margarine/oil for the 2nd go round otherwise the 2nd batch won't taste quite as good/unhealthy. You could also bake these for a healthier version - but they won't taste the same! :)
New fitness goal
Since giving birth 10 months ago for the fourth time, I have managed to shed most of the baby weight I had leftover. I've lost about 20 lbs and have only about 6 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight. However, I've been at the point for about 2 months now already. Part of the problem? All my clothes fit again. Huh? How is that a problem you ask? Well, it's harder to be motivated when one of your big motivating factors was to be able to fit into your pre-baby clothes!
So, I'm making a new fitness goal - I found The Hundred Pushups Training Program. Now, I have to admit I'm rather out of shape at this point - something which is rather unusual for me actually. I have been committed to exercising about 5 days a week for about 10 years now. During the summer my exercise takes the form of hour to hour and a half long walks pushing a heavy double stoller with my best friend Candace. For some reason though, I just haven't managed to get myself back into exercising indoors after the weather made these outdoor walks rather unpleasant. And since I was only walking in the summer and not weight training - well, let's just say that I felt my pushup test was rather pathetic. I did the initial test which is basically just doing as many full body pushups as you can with proper form.
I did 11.
Now, I somewhat regretting pushing past 10 because that means my training program is starting off a lot harder than it would've been if I had done 10 cause I made it up into the next category! Argh! Anyway, today was my first training day and I am committing to going through the program and I'm making it public so I have some accountability!
I'm adding an extra challenge though - I'm also going for 100 situps (using the Bender Ball I purchased which makes them really hard!) . I'm using the same program to work up to this goal.
So, there you have it! Go me!
Edited to add: I am also doing aerobics every other day - and I'll likely do some lower body weight training the same days I do the pushups/situps training.
So, I'm making a new fitness goal - I found The Hundred Pushups Training Program. Now, I have to admit I'm rather out of shape at this point - something which is rather unusual for me actually. I have been committed to exercising about 5 days a week for about 10 years now. During the summer my exercise takes the form of hour to hour and a half long walks pushing a heavy double stoller with my best friend Candace. For some reason though, I just haven't managed to get myself back into exercising indoors after the weather made these outdoor walks rather unpleasant. And since I was only walking in the summer and not weight training - well, let's just say that I felt my pushup test was rather pathetic. I did the initial test which is basically just doing as many full body pushups as you can with proper form.
I did 11.
Now, I somewhat regretting pushing past 10 because that means my training program is starting off a lot harder than it would've been if I had done 10 cause I made it up into the next category! Argh! Anyway, today was my first training day and I am committing to going through the program and I'm making it public so I have some accountability!
I'm adding an extra challenge though - I'm also going for 100 situps (using the Bender Ball I purchased which makes them really hard!) . I'm using the same program to work up to this goal.
So, there you have it! Go me!
Edited to add: I am also doing aerobics every other day - and I'll likely do some lower body weight training the same days I do the pushups/situps training.
Monday, 27 October 2008
My beautiful children
Well, I'm on a roll, so I may as well keep going.
I've been wanting to take pictures of all 4 kids for awhile now. The last picture we have of all the kids together is when Olivia was 1. So, yeah, time for an update.
Plus I needed to take the older girls school pictures. Since I'm too much of a cheapskate to order the real school ones, and since Walmart keeps downsizing their package, I've been forced to resort to taking my own. They did, however, turn out very well I must admit.
I also took Jacob's 8 month picture a little while ago and ordered those. So, poor Olivia is the only one without a new picture. (She had her 3yr picture taken in June - so it's not like I don't do them!)
Here is the picture that was hardest to get - all 4 kids! Have you tried to get 4 kids ages 7, 5, 3 and 9 months old to all look at the camera at the same time, nevermind smile for it? And no fake smiles either?! Impossible I tell you! And despite complaints of knees being scraped raw by the rocks, this one turned out pretty good. :)
I've been wanting to take pictures of all 4 kids for awhile now. The last picture we have of all the kids together is when Olivia was 1. So, yeah, time for an update.
Plus I needed to take the older girls school pictures. Since I'm too much of a cheapskate to order the real school ones, and since Walmart keeps downsizing their package, I've been forced to resort to taking my own. They did, however, turn out very well I must admit.
I also took Jacob's 8 month picture a little while ago and ordered those. So, poor Olivia is the only one without a new picture. (She had her 3yr picture taken in June - so it's not like I don't do them!)
Here's our big boy!
Here is the picture that was hardest to get - all 4 kids! Have you tried to get 4 kids ages 7, 5, 3 and 9 months old to all look at the camera at the same time, nevermind smile for it? And no fake smiles either?! Impossible I tell you! And despite complaints of knees being scraped raw by the rocks, this one turned out pretty good. :)
I cannot believe how grown up my firstborn looks already....
Come now, is this not the best grin ever?!
Finally another post!
OK, I realize it's been a LONG time since I've posted. I have good reasons too, but no time to post them. In fact, I have no time to be posting period, but I will anyway - who needs sleep? It's highly over-rated.
I will make it quick though - mainly pictures. I finally took some of the girls routines to show you. This is still working remarkably well I'm happy to report. And it's so cute the way Olivia says routine. She LOVES having a routine.
Anyway, without further ado, here they are....
I can just hear her saying her routine.... "get dressed, put my clothes away, brush my teeth, make my bed, put my toys away" - she loves to tell people her routine.
I will make it quick though - mainly pictures. I finally took some of the girls routines to show you. This is still working remarkably well I'm happy to report. And it's so cute the way Olivia says routine. She LOVES having a routine.
Anyway, without further ado, here they are....
I can just hear her saying her routine.... "get dressed, put my clothes away, brush my teeth, make my bed, put my toys away" - she loves to tell people her routine.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Jacob's 6 month picture
I took WAY to many pictures of Emma when she was a baby. You know Walmart and their el-cheapo package? Well, it caused me to go picture happy. And yes, when you only have 1 baby you can go to photo shoots fairly regularly. Unfortunately, what you do for your first you're supposed to do for the rest. Why didn't somebody stop me?!?!
This is seriously how often I took Emma for pictures...... 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2yrs and then I finally did only 1 per year. Insane!!!!!!!!
But, amazingly enough I have followed through with all our kids - except I did away with the 5 month picture. I mean really, let's be reasonable here.
I have made things slightly easier on myself by starting to take some of the pictures myself. Walmart's package keeps getting smaller - and I'm cheap! :)
Anyway - here is Jacob's 6 month picture. I realize he's already 8 months, so it's time for another one..... sigh
This is seriously how often I took Emma for pictures...... 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2yrs and then I finally did only 1 per year. Insane!!!!!!!!
But, amazingly enough I have followed through with all our kids - except I did away with the 5 month picture. I mean really, let's be reasonable here.
I have made things slightly easier on myself by starting to take some of the pictures myself. Walmart's package keeps getting smaller - and I'm cheap! :)
Anyway - here is Jacob's 6 month picture. I realize he's already 8 months, so it's time for another one..... sigh
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Routines for Kids
Taking inspiration from Pam's blog and how she's such a mean mom, I mixed in a little Flylady and decided it was time to make up routines for our kids to follow. They were really excited about it. I let them pick out their colours and stuff. This is sort of what they look like - in real life there are also pink boxes around all of Emma's routine, etc. I used Blogger for Word to put my file on here so that's why it's a bit messed up. Sophia & Olivia's routines are in pictures because they can't read yet. I can't figure out how to get the pictures to work too, so I guess I'll have to take a picture of their and post it later. Here's Emma's Routine....
Emma's Routine
Monday Morning | Tuesday Morning | Wednesday Morning | Thursday Morning | Friday Morning | Saturday Morning | Sunday Morning | |||
Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | Get dressed and tidy closet | |||
Make bed | Make bed | Make bed | Make bed | Make bed | Make bed | Make bed | |||
Fill water bottle and pack lunch bag | Fill water bottle and pack lunch bag | Fill water bottle and pack lunch bag | Fill water bottle and pack lunch bag | Fill water bottle and pack lunch bag | |||||
Brush teeth | Brush teeth | Brush teeth | Brush teeth | Brush teeth | Brush teeth | Brush teeth | |||
Swish toilet, wipe bathroom mirror | Swish toilet, wipe sink and countertop | Swish toilet, wipe bathroom mirror | Swish toilet, wipe sink and countertop | Swish toilet, wipe bathroom mirror | Swish toilet, wipe sink and countertop | Swish toilet, wipe bathroom mirror | |||
Monday Afternoon | Tuesday Afternoon | Wednesday Afternoon | Thursday Afternoon | Friday Afternoon | Saturday Afternoon | Sunday Afternoon |
Go through backpack with Mom | Go through backpack with Mom | Go through backpack with Mom | Go through backpack with Mom | Go through backpack with Mom | Sweep and mop floors in living area | |
Clean out and put away lunch bag | Clean out and put away lunch bag | Clean out and put away lunch bag | Clean out and put away lunch bag | Clean out and put away lunch bag | Storytime with Emma | |
Put away backpack and change clothes | Put away backpack and change clothes | Put away backpack and change clothes | Put away backpack and change clothes | Put away backpack and change clothes | Take turns cleaning ONE of these: dresser or closet or bed or floor | |
Snack! | Snack! | Snack! | Snack! | Snack! | ||
Practice piano | Practice piano | Practice piano | Practice piano | Practice piano | ||
Do homework | Do homework | Do homework | Do homework | Do homework |
Monday Evening | Tuesday Evening | Wednesday Evening | Thursday Evening | Friday Evening | Saturday Evening | Sunday Evening |
Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom | Clean up toys and trash in bedroom |
Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow | Lay out clothes for tomorrow |
Brush teeth | Shower, brush teeth | Brush teeth | Shower, brush teeth | Brush teeth | Shower, brush teeth | Brush teeth |
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Our newest school kid!
Sophia had a fabulous first day of Kindergarten. I think she already thinks she's a pro!
How time flies!
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The first day with both of them in school. Emma was so excited to show Sophia "the ropes"! Apparently they even played together at recess time. Awwwww.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
1 Down, 1 to go
Emma started her first day of Grade 2 yesterday and she had a blast!!
Sigh, where did the time go?
Sophia starts Kindergarten tomorrow - she can hardly wait!!!!
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