This morning I was thinking about what I was doing around this time last year. Many of you know that my hubby and I started our own residential painting business last January and kicked off the new year with a Groupon. So around this time last year we were swamped with emails and phone calls from hundreds of people looking to get a good deal. It was seriously overwhelming, and a little bit scary. We had no idea what we had signed up for when we did that deal with Groupon!
Now here we are a year later and things are much different, Dan is back in school and things with the business are not quite on the forefront as they were last January. We are still maintaining the business as a source of work while Dan is in school (it's awesome to be able to set your own schedule and find work as needed) but his primary focus right now is getting some courses so that he can apply to the Nursing program this coming fall. Say what?! I'm going to have a nurse for a husband?! You may think- strange I think- kinda hot. Ok and that's all I'm going to say about that. But really I'm pretty excited for this new venture. It has been a long journey for Dan to find a career path that he feels strongly about and I think we finally have success. I love and appreciate my husband and all that he has done to support and provide for our family. But he has always been searching for that something he would love to do. He is really passionate about Fire fighting but that industry has become increasingly competitive and a highly sought after position- so it's still a dream but one that we don't have a huge amount of control over the success of. In any case I'm happy that he is happy and that he has decided to go back to school.
In other news if you haven't already heard we're expecting our third child. It's something exciting that we are looking forward to this year. I am 12 weeks today and had my first prenatal check up. Everything was same old (I`ve heard the spiel twice before) but I did get to hear baby`s heart beat which is pretty exciting! It always makes the pregnancy more real for me after I hear the heart beat. Before then it`s just kinda like, well I feel sick, I`m tired all the time, my pants are getting a little tight and I'm eating like a horse but I don`t really feel pregnant! But today I definitely felt pregnant and am starting to look that way too. Showing way earlier than with the first two, I guess that`s what happens third time around. I am also excited for our ultrasound in 6 weeks and we can find out baby`s gender! Any guesses? I'm trying not to think about until I get the ultrasound but it's not too far away now, so maybe I can think about it a little bit!
I had other things I was going to write about but I'm running low on steam so I think I'm going to sign out for now. But there will be more to follow. Hopefully I'll get the goals up by the end of this week.
Good Night- Jordan
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Once Upon A Dream
I don't know about you but I have always been a dreamer.
There are things that I have dreamed of since I was a young girl that I still fantasize about today.
Though I know that most of these dreams will never be fulfilled, ie. becoming a big Broadway star, as I have come to accept the realities of life, I still like to think about them. Most of my dreams involve dance and performing as a professional artist. I often look at many of my friends who have become successful in their professional dance endeavours and feel a little pang of jealousy. While I am thrilled for them and the success they have found but I feel a little bit sad that I am not also sharing in the journey of success with them.
My biggest dream in life was to be a ballerina. A dream stifled at the early age of 8 when my ballet teacher explained to me that it was too bad that I had flat feet and bowed legs because I showed a lot of promise. My parents were encouraged to put me into orthodics (arch supports,) which they did, but it was already much too late. For those of you who know little about the ballet world I'll simplify things by saying that there is a very specific body mold that dancers must fit into in order to achieve success as a professional dancer. Never the less I was not deterred in anyway because I simply loved dance way too much to give it up. I continued to dance and pour all of my time, life and energy into it.
I decided to pursue a university degree in dance where I met with a lot of other challenges and nearly bowed out in defeat. But I somehow managed to pull through and graduated after 4 very trying years. During this time my flat feet became a larger problem than they ever had been and I spent several weeks barely able to walk let alone dance. It was at this time that I really accepted that it was unrealistic for me to try to achieve success as a dancer in anyway shape or form. There were other factors that contributed to these feelings too but there is not need to get into the "abuse" that I suffered at the hands of my university dance teachers.
In the end I realized that my love of dance would continue to be a love and passion that I could share with other young students rather than on stage with audiences.
And so I come to another dream I have had since a child, which was to be a dance teacher. I'm glad that I was able to achieve this dream as it made the other impossible dream that much easier to bear. I truly love to teach dance. Probably because it is something that I really really love. I can't explain to you why I love dance so much, other than that I do. It's like a part of me that must live, and I feel so despaired and unhappy when it is not a part of my life. Teaching dance has brought me great joy over the years, and this is what leads to my other big crazy dream.
I have always, always dreamed of owning and operating my own children's/youth dance company. Not a school (though this could possibly one day lead to such an institution,) but a company that serves the purpose of exposing young dancers to the professional dance industry, allowing them to work with professional choreographers and travel and perform all over the world. To me there would be nothing greater than to share my passion for dance with young dancers while also producing shows and creating new works to enrich both the lives of the performers and the audience members.
Sigh. It's a big dream, but one that I hope to achieve someday. There are many dance companies in Canada but not many children's dance companies. I know that there is a place for this and in time and in the right season it will happen. I just need to figure out HOW to make it all work! It`s been a dream that has been in my mind more recently in the past year or so than it has been for awhile and I am really making it a goal this year to stop putting it on the back burner and to start doing some work to get this project going. I`m not sure if it will happen this year or in 3 or 5 but I do know that I am actively pursuing the information and such that I need to find a way to make this dream a reality.
I hope that I will have new information to share about this big scary project as the year progresses. Where there is a will there is a way! Right?!
What are your big dreams that you've turned into realities? Give me your inspiring stories!
Jordan
There are things that I have dreamed of since I was a young girl that I still fantasize about today.
Though I know that most of these dreams will never be fulfilled, ie. becoming a big Broadway star, as I have come to accept the realities of life, I still like to think about them. Most of my dreams involve dance and performing as a professional artist. I often look at many of my friends who have become successful in their professional dance endeavours and feel a little pang of jealousy. While I am thrilled for them and the success they have found but I feel a little bit sad that I am not also sharing in the journey of success with them.
My biggest dream in life was to be a ballerina. A dream stifled at the early age of 8 when my ballet teacher explained to me that it was too bad that I had flat feet and bowed legs because I showed a lot of promise. My parents were encouraged to put me into orthodics (arch supports,) which they did, but it was already much too late. For those of you who know little about the ballet world I'll simplify things by saying that there is a very specific body mold that dancers must fit into in order to achieve success as a professional dancer. Never the less I was not deterred in anyway because I simply loved dance way too much to give it up. I continued to dance and pour all of my time, life and energy into it.
I decided to pursue a university degree in dance where I met with a lot of other challenges and nearly bowed out in defeat. But I somehow managed to pull through and graduated after 4 very trying years. During this time my flat feet became a larger problem than they ever had been and I spent several weeks barely able to walk let alone dance. It was at this time that I really accepted that it was unrealistic for me to try to achieve success as a dancer in anyway shape or form. There were other factors that contributed to these feelings too but there is not need to get into the "abuse" that I suffered at the hands of my university dance teachers.
In the end I realized that my love of dance would continue to be a love and passion that I could share with other young students rather than on stage with audiences.
And so I come to another dream I have had since a child, which was to be a dance teacher. I'm glad that I was able to achieve this dream as it made the other impossible dream that much easier to bear. I truly love to teach dance. Probably because it is something that I really really love. I can't explain to you why I love dance so much, other than that I do. It's like a part of me that must live, and I feel so despaired and unhappy when it is not a part of my life. Teaching dance has brought me great joy over the years, and this is what leads to my other big crazy dream.
I have always, always dreamed of owning and operating my own children's/youth dance company. Not a school (though this could possibly one day lead to such an institution,) but a company that serves the purpose of exposing young dancers to the professional dance industry, allowing them to work with professional choreographers and travel and perform all over the world. To me there would be nothing greater than to share my passion for dance with young dancers while also producing shows and creating new works to enrich both the lives of the performers and the audience members.
Sigh. It's a big dream, but one that I hope to achieve someday. There are many dance companies in Canada but not many children's dance companies. I know that there is a place for this and in time and in the right season it will happen. I just need to figure out HOW to make it all work! It`s been a dream that has been in my mind more recently in the past year or so than it has been for awhile and I am really making it a goal this year to stop putting it on the back burner and to start doing some work to get this project going. I`m not sure if it will happen this year or in 3 or 5 but I do know that I am actively pursuing the information and such that I need to find a way to make this dream a reality.
I hope that I will have new information to share about this big scary project as the year progresses. Where there is a will there is a way! Right?!
What are your big dreams that you've turned into realities? Give me your inspiring stories!
Jordan
Thursday, January 3, 2013
A Bit From the Holidays
Well the holidays are officially coming to an end and I have to admit that it's a little bit sad. I've really taken a break these past two weeks and it has been nice to be simply lazy! I've just sat back and enjoyed not having to work, prepare lessons, not having to drag the kids out to run all the various chores and errands, I pretty much stopped doing laundry and housework (what's that?!) and spent many an hour sitting on my butt doing what you could call nothing. Thank goodness I have a great husband who has been filling in for where I have been seriously slacking! I'm certain my house, children and husband will all be happy to see me make a come back as I've really let things go around here. Normally I'm pretty good at staying on track even over the holidays but with being pregnant I really just took the time to relax while I had the chance.
However next week it's back to reality- grocery shopping, cooking meals, cleaning up after the kids, doing laundry and back to work too. Normally I'm pretty excited to go back to real life but right now I'm just enjoying my freedom a little too much. Oh well all's well that ends well.
So before I get completely off track I just wanted to mention a few things that I/my family got to enjoy over the holidays.
1. Boxing Day Shopping!!! I have to admit it has been a few years since I had a really great boxing day shopping extravaganza, but I was fortunate enough to get one this year for a number of reasons. One- I had two extremely generous mall gift cards from my boss and competitive dance students which made it financially viable! Two- my kids are finally past the nursing stage, I think the past few years I had one or the other who was still breast feeding leaving me unable to leave for too long. Three- I have a great hubby to stay home with the kids who allowed me to disappear for the day even though Marshal was throwing up and sick. And four- I had a great shopping buddy to go with! Rachel and I woke up bright and early and got to the mall around 8am. We were able to enjoy 6 blissful hours shopping to our hearts content. You might think I'm crazy but I really do love to shop, it brings me so much joy, and when you're not really spending any of your hard earned money and everything is on sale, who cares if you have to wait in line for 45 minutes! It's just a means to an end. Seriously a highlight of my vacation.
3. Les Miserables- It's such a fabulous musical and such a fabulous movie. My husband was even willing to go and watch it with me though he didn't really enjoy it, as musical theater is just not his cup of tea. But he went anyway and that's what's most important to me. It has been a long time since I saw Les Mis, and truthfully I have never actually seen a professional production of it (though it is something I plan to do before I die!) But it was just fantastic. It's such a great story and the performances were terrific. A highly enjoyable night out.
4. We took the kids skating! And by that I mean we attempted to take Marshal skating while pulling Cohen around the rink on a sled. It was actually pretty funny because I think Marshall assumed that the skates had some sort of magical powers that would lead to him just moving along the rink with no effort on his behalf. Haha. Lucky we brought a little chair for him to hold onto and then we found one of those ice bars to help new skaters. It was pretty cute as he tried to walk on the ice, after a little while he got bored and decided he'd rather go play on the play ground. Which we did for awhile. It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy a beautiful day as this was after about a week of being stuck in doors thanks to freezing cold and illness.
5. New Years Eve Dinner- We went out for Chinese food with our friends Barb and Jordan (her husband, yes we have the same name.) It was a bit of an ordeal getting us there as Barb made reservations and then we had to move them back a few times as Jordan (her hubby) kept being delayed in his return home, but we eventually got there and it was completely worth it! I love Chinese food and it's been a long time since we went out for it. It was a great evening- great food, great company and great way to spend New Years Eve. After stuffing ourselves to the brim Dan and I went home and stayed up to ring in the new year, something we have sadly not done in the past few years. I know it sounds pathetic but once you're parents you get boring fast and sleep is always much more appealing than staying up! Anyway I was determined that we would actually stay up this year and so we did. And by this I mean that Dan stayed up and watched a movie while I fell asleep. Then about 10 minutes before the countdown I woke up and we tuned into City TVs countdown and drank our Martenillis at midnight. I know you wish you were as cool as us!
6. Lunch Date with friends- we had the pleasure of going over the Glenn's house as a family and having a lovely lunch date. The kids played, the adults ate and we all had a delightful time. It was fun to hang out with these "old" friends or ours. Any they really aren't old friends as we are still friends with them, but we used to live in the same apartment building so we saw each other all the time. Of course we have both since moved on, once our families started to grow, so we don't see each other near as often anymore. It was fun to get together and hang out!
And I think that's all I got for right now. It wasn't a super exciting holiday but is was a nice one. I'm thankful for the break and the time I have had to spend with family and friends.
Jordan
However next week it's back to reality- grocery shopping, cooking meals, cleaning up after the kids, doing laundry and back to work too. Normally I'm pretty excited to go back to real life but right now I'm just enjoying my freedom a little too much. Oh well all's well that ends well.
So before I get completely off track I just wanted to mention a few things that I/my family got to enjoy over the holidays.
1. Boxing Day Shopping!!! I have to admit it has been a few years since I had a really great boxing day shopping extravaganza, but I was fortunate enough to get one this year for a number of reasons. One- I had two extremely generous mall gift cards from my boss and competitive dance students which made it financially viable! Two- my kids are finally past the nursing stage, I think the past few years I had one or the other who was still breast feeding leaving me unable to leave for too long. Three- I have a great hubby to stay home with the kids who allowed me to disappear for the day even though Marshal was throwing up and sick. And four- I had a great shopping buddy to go with! Rachel and I woke up bright and early and got to the mall around 8am. We were able to enjoy 6 blissful hours shopping to our hearts content. You might think I'm crazy but I really do love to shop, it brings me so much joy, and when you're not really spending any of your hard earned money and everything is on sale, who cares if you have to wait in line for 45 minutes! It's just a means to an end. Seriously a highlight of my vacation.
3. Les Miserables- It's such a fabulous musical and such a fabulous movie. My husband was even willing to go and watch it with me though he didn't really enjoy it, as musical theater is just not his cup of tea. But he went anyway and that's what's most important to me. It has been a long time since I saw Les Mis, and truthfully I have never actually seen a professional production of it (though it is something I plan to do before I die!) But it was just fantastic. It's such a great story and the performances were terrific. A highly enjoyable night out.
4. We took the kids skating! And by that I mean we attempted to take Marshal skating while pulling Cohen around the rink on a sled. It was actually pretty funny because I think Marshall assumed that the skates had some sort of magical powers that would lead to him just moving along the rink with no effort on his behalf. Haha. Lucky we brought a little chair for him to hold onto and then we found one of those ice bars to help new skaters. It was pretty cute as he tried to walk on the ice, after a little while he got bored and decided he'd rather go play on the play ground. Which we did for awhile. It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy a beautiful day as this was after about a week of being stuck in doors thanks to freezing cold and illness.
5. New Years Eve Dinner- We went out for Chinese food with our friends Barb and Jordan (her husband, yes we have the same name.) It was a bit of an ordeal getting us there as Barb made reservations and then we had to move them back a few times as Jordan (her hubby) kept being delayed in his return home, but we eventually got there and it was completely worth it! I love Chinese food and it's been a long time since we went out for it. It was a great evening- great food, great company and great way to spend New Years Eve. After stuffing ourselves to the brim Dan and I went home and stayed up to ring in the new year, something we have sadly not done in the past few years. I know it sounds pathetic but once you're parents you get boring fast and sleep is always much more appealing than staying up! Anyway I was determined that we would actually stay up this year and so we did. And by this I mean that Dan stayed up and watched a movie while I fell asleep. Then about 10 minutes before the countdown I woke up and we tuned into City TVs countdown and drank our Martenillis at midnight. I know you wish you were as cool as us!
6. Lunch Date with friends- we had the pleasure of going over the Glenn's house as a family and having a lovely lunch date. The kids played, the adults ate and we all had a delightful time. It was fun to hang out with these "old" friends or ours. Any they really aren't old friends as we are still friends with them, but we used to live in the same apartment building so we saw each other all the time. Of course we have both since moved on, once our families started to grow, so we don't see each other near as often anymore. It was fun to get together and hang out!
And I think that's all I got for right now. It wasn't a super exciting holiday but is was a nice one. I'm thankful for the break and the time I have had to spend with family and friends.
Jordan
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Welcome 2013!
Well its a new year and time for a new take on blogging. I have to admit that things really fell apart last year and I'm feeling sad that I missed keeping a record of so many memories :( However it's a new year and time to make some resolutions to improve so I'm here and hoping to do much better this year. I've decided to make my blog private so that I'm less focused on trying to please the crowd and more focused on just keeping track of everything that is happening in life. This likely means that the quality of writing on my blog will diminish significantly, as I focus more on simply sharing the facts so that I don't miss the moments.
And for mow just a few notes about Christmas while they are semi fresh in my mind.
Dan participated in an EMR course the two weeks prior to Christmas. The course was full time for two weeks and was incredibly intense. He was at school all day, would get home have dinner, help get the kids ready for bed and then be studying all night long till 11pm and sometimes later. I'm pretty certain that I went to bed alone every night while he was in the course :( At the end of it all he passed the course with great success! And finally we were able to have him back, thanks goodness! Problem was that he finished on December 21 so it made Christmas seem a little sudden for us.
Despite all when Christmas rolled around 4 days later we were ready to rock and roll and had a lovely day. Marshal woke up bright and early as always and came into our bed to snuggle. After a half hour or so he kind of realized that it was Christmas and wanted to go down stairs to see if Santa had come and eaten his cookies. It was so cute to see his little face when he looked at the empty glass of milk and half eaten cookies. He said something like, "Santa come, he drink the milk!" He thought it was just great and then when he turned around and saw the play kitchen that Santa brought for him he just walked over to it and started playing and exclaimed, "My kitchen, he bring my kitchen!"
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| The boys on Christmas Eve. |
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| Marshal with his kitchen. |
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| Having fun opening gifts. |
I forgot to mention that our morning also consisted of getting the turkey in the oven! We decided to split the cooking between my mom and us, and by that I really mean my mom and Dan. Dan has turned into a real master chef lately and saw a cooking show on turkey dinner so he decided that he really wanted to do that this year. Thanks goodness because I wasn't up for that job! He did a fabulous job of taking care of that turkey and also cooking some other dishes later in the day.
Anyhow back to our Christmas day. After we were all sufficiently fed and gifted Dad and Mom headed back to the apartment to get the food in the oven while Auntie Rae and Aeron stayed to hang out with the boys and enjoy Christmas day at our house. We had a pretty lazy afternoon, watching Christmas movies and just chillin.
Dinner was at 4ish and it was a delicious feast! We had turkey, ham and roast beef (don't ask it's a Jamaican family thing) along with mashed potatoes, yams, homemade rolls, rice and peas, stuffing, carrots, beans, asparagus and cranberry sauce! Yummy yummy in my tummy. Everyone indulged until they could eat no more! Later a few of us managed to squeeze in some pumpkin pie and other treats but there was very little room.
And that pretty much concludes our Christmas day adventures. Food, family and fun are really all that are necessary to have a splendid holiday and we had a terrific combination of all three!
Now I'll try to get on here tomorrow night to talk a bit about the rest of our holiday break and some of our goals for the new year.
Jordan
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Kindred Spirits
I'm sure that many of you are familiar with Anne of Green Gables. As a young girl I was an avid reader and certainly spent a summer or two with my nose pressed depp in the pages of this beloved Canadian children's series. I truly loved Anne and all of her dramatic ways, and in particular I always admired that special friendship that Anne and Diana Barry shared.
I think it's rare to find a friend who will last a lifetime. A friend who will always be there no matter what. A friend who understands even when all is silent. Someone who you can simply be yourself with, no airs, no pretenses.
I have been blessed to find such a friend within my short life.
14 years ago on the first day of second semester in Grade 9, I sat in Mr. Dundas's English class and moved a backpack out of the way for a girl who was on crutches. I didn't know it at the time but that girl would become a friend like none other. She would become my kindred spirit.
I wish I could remember more clearly how our friendship began, developed and grew. But I now have, as evidence of its greatness, a friendship that has lasted for exactly half of my life.
In the 14 years that I have been friends with Kathy we've had some ups and downs. We've also lived very far apart for longer than we lived near one another. Yet still we are connected in a way that I cannot really explain to another except to say that we are kindred spirits.
I'm not sure exactly what it is that binds us so closely. I mean when we were in high school we were opposite in so many ways. She was (still is) a blonde while I'm a brunette. She loved dogs and I was terrified of them. She was on the swim team, I didn't (still don't) know how to swim. I was great at French, she not so much. I was a bit of a shy, quiet, nerdy nerd while she was more popular and outgoing. She had her share of boyfriends, I only looked from afar. She had her license and a car, I didn't even take my drivers test until I was 18! Clearly we were from two different ends of the spectrum, but that backpack brought us together and something made us stick together.
My friendship with Kathy has gone through so many different stages and variations over the years. We were inseparable in high school, constantly chattering about boys and fashion. Talking on the phone and planning what we would wear to school based on the weather forecast for the week. We would watch movies and have sleepovers. We were mallrats. We spent hours doing our hair and makeup and picking out just the right outfit to go to dances and church functions. We did everything together.
Then I moved away to university and our friendship took a back seat. We still talked and saw each other when I was home. But I'll be honest and say that our friendship wasn't quite what it used to be. Still, through the 4 years that I was away even though we didn't see each other often when we did get together we could always pick up exactly where we left off. It was never hard, there was no effort required and it didn't seem to matter that we hadn't talked in months, it still felt as though we had seen each other just yesterday.
After university I got married and of course Kathy was my maid of honour. There was no other woman in my life that meant to me what she did. She and I had been through thick and thin and the 4 years of high school and 4 years of university had solidified our friendship for good.
Marriage was a whole new adventure for me which also took me even further away to the other side of the country. Again our friendship took a bit of a back seat and we were considerably less involved in one anothers lives than we had been previously but we still always had that special connection.
Now here we are 6 years later and in the past 6 years I've seen her only a handful of times. Fortunately I just had the chance to spend the weekend with Kathy. She flew out here to visit me and the boys and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend to spend with my best friend. I can only hope and pray that we continue to share this special friendship in the many years that lay ahead. I am so thankful to have such an incredible friend. We truly are kindred spirits.
Jordan
I think it's rare to find a friend who will last a lifetime. A friend who will always be there no matter what. A friend who understands even when all is silent. Someone who you can simply be yourself with, no airs, no pretenses.
I have been blessed to find such a friend within my short life.
14 years ago on the first day of second semester in Grade 9, I sat in Mr. Dundas's English class and moved a backpack out of the way for a girl who was on crutches. I didn't know it at the time but that girl would become a friend like none other. She would become my kindred spirit.
I wish I could remember more clearly how our friendship began, developed and grew. But I now have, as evidence of its greatness, a friendship that has lasted for exactly half of my life.
In the 14 years that I have been friends with Kathy we've had some ups and downs. We've also lived very far apart for longer than we lived near one another. Yet still we are connected in a way that I cannot really explain to another except to say that we are kindred spirits.
I'm not sure exactly what it is that binds us so closely. I mean when we were in high school we were opposite in so many ways. She was (still is) a blonde while I'm a brunette. She loved dogs and I was terrified of them. She was on the swim team, I didn't (still don't) know how to swim. I was great at French, she not so much. I was a bit of a shy, quiet, nerdy nerd while she was more popular and outgoing. She had her share of boyfriends, I only looked from afar. She had her license and a car, I didn't even take my drivers test until I was 18! Clearly we were from two different ends of the spectrum, but that backpack brought us together and something made us stick together.
My friendship with Kathy has gone through so many different stages and variations over the years. We were inseparable in high school, constantly chattering about boys and fashion. Talking on the phone and planning what we would wear to school based on the weather forecast for the week. We would watch movies and have sleepovers. We were mallrats. We spent hours doing our hair and makeup and picking out just the right outfit to go to dances and church functions. We did everything together.
Then I moved away to university and our friendship took a back seat. We still talked and saw each other when I was home. But I'll be honest and say that our friendship wasn't quite what it used to be. Still, through the 4 years that I was away even though we didn't see each other often when we did get together we could always pick up exactly where we left off. It was never hard, there was no effort required and it didn't seem to matter that we hadn't talked in months, it still felt as though we had seen each other just yesterday.
After university I got married and of course Kathy was my maid of honour. There was no other woman in my life that meant to me what she did. She and I had been through thick and thin and the 4 years of high school and 4 years of university had solidified our friendship for good.
Marriage was a whole new adventure for me which also took me even further away to the other side of the country. Again our friendship took a bit of a back seat and we were considerably less involved in one anothers lives than we had been previously but we still always had that special connection.
Now here we are 6 years later and in the past 6 years I've seen her only a handful of times. Fortunately I just had the chance to spend the weekend with Kathy. She flew out here to visit me and the boys and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend to spend with my best friend. I can only hope and pray that we continue to share this special friendship in the many years that lay ahead. I am so thankful to have such an incredible friend. We truly are kindred spirits.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
A Slice of My Insanity!
A little bit about the insanity that has become my life. Here's what a typical Wednesday looks like lately:
7:00am- Woken up by Marshal coming in my room to snuggle in bed.
8:00- Beaten up by Marshal's tossing, turning and kicking
8:15- Begrudgingly roll out of bed to act like a responsible mother...
8:30- Cohen wakes up (if he hasn't already)
8:30- Feed the little monsters breakfast which includes a ridiculous amount of yogurt, cereal and scrambled eggs (what the heck am I going to do when they're teenage boys?)
9:00-Wash Marshal off (a hose down would work nicely)
9:05- Wash Cohen off (more hosing required)
9:10- Sweep the floors
9:12- "Mop" the floors (thank goodness for my Rubbermaid easy spray "mop" which I use about 20 times a day!)
9:15- Change the nighttime diapers
9:20- Wrestle the children while attempting to clothe them for the day. This usually includes showing Marshal every shirt and pair of pants in his closet while he rejects each and every one of them and then simply forcing him to put something on while I threaten to leave the house without him to run errands (I know that's horrible right! Sometimes I just lose my patience!)
9:30- Plop the kids in front of The Cat in The Hat while I take a shower (again more evidence of being a bad mother but how else am I supposed to keep them in one room while I shower?)
9:45- Do my hair and makeup so I feel somewhat like a human being
10:00- Wash the dishes, maybe clean the counters (if I'm lucky)
10:15- Attempt to turn off the tv while Marshal screams and tells me not too.
10:30- Get out the door to go for a walk
11:30- Return to the house with yet another unwilling Marshal because he would rather stay and watch the diggers all day (do you see a pattern here- this kid is seriously giving me a run for my money!)
11:45- Try to throw together some sort of a lunch
12:00- Feed the kids (potentially, and fingers crossed Cohen is napping as a result of the walk)
12:30- Clean Marshal off
12:35- Sweep the kitchen and mop the floors again
12:40- Try to do some emails (personal, work, church and business) Marshal usually plays in the playroom while I work.
1:00- Try to think about what I need to teach at dance tonight. Marshal still playing in the playroom. Cohen wakes up.
1:30- Do choreography for classes (if necessary) Marshal and Cohen play, Marshal and Cohen fight!
2:00- Try to be a good mother and interact with my children.
2:30- Realize I need to do some laundry and throw in a load.
2:45- Put together some sort of a dinner (casserole or if I was smart I already did a crockpot in the am)
3:00- Try to clean up some of the disaster that has befallen our entire house
3:30- Pack up my bag for work, get changed to go teach dance, hopefully Dan gets home now!
3:40- Play with kids a bit
3:55- Leave for work
4:10- Get to work
4:15- Teach ballet to a very enthusiastic bunch of 7 year olds!
5:15- Leave work
5:30- Get home eat dinner that Dan cooked (after I prepared)
6:00- Clean the kids off
6:10- Sweep and mop the floors yet again!
6:12- Wash the bath tub (fun fun)
6:15- Bathe the boys (thankfully this is Dan's job)
6:25- Wrestle them into their pjs
6:30- Dan puts Cohen to bed
6:35- Grandpa arrives to hang out with Marshal
6:50- We finally get out the door to head to the church
7:15- Arrive at church to teach the you their cultural celebration choreography
7:30-Work with the youth aka run around the church like a chicken with its head cut off making sure all youth know what they are doing as they prep for a big celebration at the end of October.
8:30- Finish teaching the youth
8:45- Leave the church and go home
9:00- Get home and finally sit down on the couch, realize that I totally for got to switch the laundry earlier!
9:01- Switch the laundry
9:02 Turn on the tube and watch the X Factor!
11:00- Get ready for bed
11:15- Go to bed
(oh wait a second I completely forgot about dirty diapers in there, plus attempted potty time too!)
SLEEP!
Wake up ...and Repeat!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
The Changing Family
Well I'm attempting to return from my blogging hiatus. I'd love for you to believe that I'm truly coming back to the world of regular blogging, but I really can't make any promises right now seen as my life has taken a turn for the busier! I'll get into the details about all the exciting new things I'm up to in my next post, but for right now I've got something that's been on my mind.
Let me start by saying that I have zero intention of offending, hurting or criticizing anyone with this post topic, it's simply an issue I've been thinking about and would love to hear other women's feelings on.
The topic I'd like to discuss today is children and families. The other night Dan came home from work and told me the client he had been working for that day was the father of 13. He is a much older man (in his 80s) so all of his children are adults now, but I couldn't help but feel amazed that this man had 13 children! In our society families of 3 children get labelled as large, and generally people are both shocked and amazed if you have more than 3 children.
However it was not so very long ago that the family was much larger. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have 5 or more children in a family. Now, I realize that our social culture has changed quite dramatically over the past century. I'm no sociology or anthropology expert but of the many changes, we have seen the role of the woman change extensively, contraceptives have become readily available and the rate of marriage has steadily declined. I'm aware that all of these things have serious effects on the number of children that families choose to have. And yet I wonder why exactly they have had such a significant impact?
Why exactly are women choosing to have such dramatically fewer children?
Again I just want to reiterate that I have zero intention of offending anyone. I am well aware that we all have the freedom to choose how we live our lives, and we all have our own issues/life factors that come into play when we make the truly significant decisions regarding our families. As a woman in today's society I truly feel blessed with how much is available to me. I went to to university, have worked and continue to work (part time) at a job that I love, while also getting married and becoming a mother. I know that I have been fortunate to have these things in my life. I know that there are many other women in a similar position to my own and many in other very different ones.
Bringing this back around to my real question about why the number of children per family has decreased so significantly. I personally feel that we live in a world that facilitates the role of the mother. For example, we have grocery stores- most of us don't have to grow or harvest our own food, raise our own cattle and churn our own butter, we make a weekly trip to a store and purchase all the items we need for the week. We have cars making it easy and time efficient for us to get around. We have disposable diapers (I know many choose to use cloth) but seriously even the cloth diapers we have today seem way easier than those of the past. We live in homes that many of us feel are too small, but lets face it there is nothing wrong with kids sharing a bedroom! We have baby food on the stores of our grocery shelves and if your really feel better about making your own I'm certain you have a blender or food processor to do so! So all in all (in my humble opinion) we are pretty lucky to be mothers today.
Now trust me even though we have so much it is still hard to be a mother and I am in no way diminishing what mothers do and the sacrifices we make. I know just how hectic it can be to get to the grocery store and load up the cart when you have a ticking time bomb in the shape of a toddler helping you to push your cart! I'm just trying to point out the benefits we have.
So with all of this and all the things we have that do indeed make our mom jobs easier- why is it that we now have an average of 2.9 people per family and more couples without children than couples with children? See 2012 census details.
I am really very curious as to why we are having less children. Is it that we have less time, don't have the patience of our fore-mothers, have other things to pursue, feel that it is more important to be able to afford to take our children to Disneyworld and other exotic locations every year, simply don't want more kids, are physically unable to have more children, or just want to be able to enjoy our own life without the added stress of sleepless nights and dirty diapers?
For whatever your reason may be I get that it's a personal one and am not asking you to delve into your personal pockets for me. But if you do have an idea or opinion about this topic that you're willing to share I'd love to hear what you have to say.
I'm not sure how many kids you have or are planning to have but doesn't 13 just seem extraordinary! I don't think many of us will make it that far but maybe over time we will see an increase in the size of families again. Who knows! For what it's worth even though kids are a TON of work they are also a TON of joy!
Jordan
Let me start by saying that I have zero intention of offending, hurting or criticizing anyone with this post topic, it's simply an issue I've been thinking about and would love to hear other women's feelings on.
The topic I'd like to discuss today is children and families. The other night Dan came home from work and told me the client he had been working for that day was the father of 13. He is a much older man (in his 80s) so all of his children are adults now, but I couldn't help but feel amazed that this man had 13 children! In our society families of 3 children get labelled as large, and generally people are both shocked and amazed if you have more than 3 children.
However it was not so very long ago that the family was much larger. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have 5 or more children in a family. Now, I realize that our social culture has changed quite dramatically over the past century. I'm no sociology or anthropology expert but of the many changes, we have seen the role of the woman change extensively, contraceptives have become readily available and the rate of marriage has steadily declined. I'm aware that all of these things have serious effects on the number of children that families choose to have. And yet I wonder why exactly they have had such a significant impact?
Why exactly are women choosing to have such dramatically fewer children?
Again I just want to reiterate that I have zero intention of offending anyone. I am well aware that we all have the freedom to choose how we live our lives, and we all have our own issues/life factors that come into play when we make the truly significant decisions regarding our families. As a woman in today's society I truly feel blessed with how much is available to me. I went to to university, have worked and continue to work (part time) at a job that I love, while also getting married and becoming a mother. I know that I have been fortunate to have these things in my life. I know that there are many other women in a similar position to my own and many in other very different ones.
Bringing this back around to my real question about why the number of children per family has decreased so significantly. I personally feel that we live in a world that facilitates the role of the mother. For example, we have grocery stores- most of us don't have to grow or harvest our own food, raise our own cattle and churn our own butter, we make a weekly trip to a store and purchase all the items we need for the week. We have cars making it easy and time efficient for us to get around. We have disposable diapers (I know many choose to use cloth) but seriously even the cloth diapers we have today seem way easier than those of the past. We live in homes that many of us feel are too small, but lets face it there is nothing wrong with kids sharing a bedroom! We have baby food on the stores of our grocery shelves and if your really feel better about making your own I'm certain you have a blender or food processor to do so! So all in all (in my humble opinion) we are pretty lucky to be mothers today.
Now trust me even though we have so much it is still hard to be a mother and I am in no way diminishing what mothers do and the sacrifices we make. I know just how hectic it can be to get to the grocery store and load up the cart when you have a ticking time bomb in the shape of a toddler helping you to push your cart! I'm just trying to point out the benefits we have.
So with all of this and all the things we have that do indeed make our mom jobs easier- why is it that we now have an average of 2.9 people per family and more couples without children than couples with children? See 2012 census details.
I am really very curious as to why we are having less children. Is it that we have less time, don't have the patience of our fore-mothers, have other things to pursue, feel that it is more important to be able to afford to take our children to Disneyworld and other exotic locations every year, simply don't want more kids, are physically unable to have more children, or just want to be able to enjoy our own life without the added stress of sleepless nights and dirty diapers?
For whatever your reason may be I get that it's a personal one and am not asking you to delve into your personal pockets for me. But if you do have an idea or opinion about this topic that you're willing to share I'd love to hear what you have to say.
I'm not sure how many kids you have or are planning to have but doesn't 13 just seem extraordinary! I don't think many of us will make it that far but maybe over time we will see an increase in the size of families again. Who knows! For what it's worth even though kids are a TON of work they are also a TON of joy!
Jordan
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