Have I Told You How Much

I love shopping at Home Sense? I headed out early this morning armed with my tape measure and my trusty sidekick who is always up for my crazy adventures.....and just happens to own a truck!

After our impulsive, late night decision to sell our bed and dresser we needed a replacement. We contemplated upholstered headboards but ended up settling on a 19th century replica iron bed. It is sooo pretty and comes from one of my favourite stores, Restoration Hardware. Even on sale the bed was quite a splurge and shipping something that heavy from the States not cheap. I really liked the night tables they also showed on their website. They were aged and distressed and looked so good with the iron of the bed. But alas, my conscience spoke when I realized they were $1000 EACH!!

Determined that I could find something that was similar at a fraction of the cost led me to Home Sense. I had to laugh when I saw how many woman were there, armed with tape measures just like me! My pulsed raced and adreneline was running high while I searched for what I wanted. The thing about Home Sense is that ALL the product is on the floor and it changes daily. There is no garuntee that if you go away and come back tomorrow that you will even see that item again. Even when you find what you are looking for you need to stand beside it and CLAIM IT before someone else does. Long story short, I found one of the night stands on one side of the store and then found the other one up by the front cash area. I crazily texted my friend who was browsing around elsewhere to come help me by standing beside one of the peices I wanted. I told her to defend it like she would her children!!

We were successful and now these two pretty nightstands that look very similar to the expensive ones I coveted are going to look oh so lovely beside our new bed. Now......if I could just decide on the bedding and accessories........back to Home Sense next weekend maybe?

I love the distressed look of the wood and the dimensions will be prefect in our room.


The proof is in the receipt! No $1000 price tag here!! Which makes this lady very happy!!

So Long....................

GOOD BYE


GOOD RIDDANCE


DIDN'T LIKE YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE


YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF FIREWOOD


WITH ROTTEN MEMORIES ATTACHED


AND


SO


AFTER 11 YEARS



I'M MOVING ON................

(anyone want to buy a sleigh bed?)

Consider a donation to a great cause

Hi everyone!

I have a wonderful friend, who I am lucky enough to also have as a close neighbour. She works actively with young adults who are bravely battling cancer.

Unfortunately this age demographic is often over-looked when it comes to support services.

I had never really thought of it before but it is so true. Very young children and their families often receive alot of media attention because, as parents, we can relate (in a heart wrenching kind of way) to what parents (and their children) are experiencing. The "middle-aged" demographic, because this is the largest demographic of cancer patients, also receives alot of attention.

But where does a young adult in their early 20's turn to when they are feeling isolated? They are neither small child or full-fledged adult.

The organization YYAC or Young Adult Cancer Canada offers support for these individuals who so need to be supported. Here is a quote from their website:

Cancer is different when you’re a young adult. The first stage of adult life is usually filled with university, starting a career, buying a house, getting married, starting a family, and celebrating your independence with your peers. Suddenly, you have cancer and issues like fertility, friends, and finances take on a whole new meaning.

You have to give up your independence for a while and put that new career on hold. You find out who your true friends are because not everyone has enough wiggle room in that ordinary path to visit you or they think addressing your cancer will make you uncomfortable so they don’t know what to say.

Support groups are occupied by older people who have grown children and grandchildren, and retirement plans. They’re probably not interested in discussing your stress over paying your bills, what you should do about your education, or the possibility of not having children.

Young adults need to connect with other young adults. We do it every day; why should we stop just because we’re going through something our friends aren’t?

So this is where my friend Jennifer comes into the plan. She is participating in a fundraiser called "Shave for the Brave." She has been growing out her hair to donate and if she can raise $2000K she will shave her head completely! Won't you consider going to her pledge page

http://yacc.convio.net/site/TR/ShavefortheBrave/General?px=1001704&pg=personal&fr_id=1160

and making a donation. Donations can be in any amount and it would mean so much to me that you are helping her meet her goal. And while I pray that none of our children will ever need the services of YACC it is definitely reassuring that support exists.

Thanks friends!

p.s. sorry but the link was not working properly. If you cut and paste the link it works fine though. :)

The wheels of progress are a turning......

The majority of the framing has been completed (thanks Adam and Dad) and the pot lights have since been installed and are in fine working order. We have ordered the fixtures from Restoration Hardware and chosen some sweet tile from Home Depot. Next on the to-do list is to level the floor, install the subfloor and install the redi-tile shower base. So far we are pleased with the progress and as an added surprise Adam had the plumber run the pipes for a dishwasher in the kitchen. Yep......11 years in the house and I've never had a dishwasher. I'm so excited!! We picked it up today and Adam spent the afternoon "making space" for it. It meant I had to give up a set of drawers and 1 cabinet. I won't lie and tell you it was an easy task relocating the contents to other places in our little kitchen. But the thought of my poor dishpan hands getting some relieft will make it all worthwhile.
So that's it for now......................stay tuned!

From this...............

blank canvas we will (hopefully) create an absolutely beautiful master bathroom! We are already well underway...I'm just a bit slow with the before pictures. I have a million design decisions to make in the next few weeks which should be the "fun" part but I'm feeling kinda overwelmed with what direction to go. There are just soooo many pretty, wonderful, great ideas on the market to choose from......so stay tuned!!

and now back to our regularly scheduled cuteness

First off, thanks for everyone who cheered me up after my pity party last post. I'm refocussed and have decided to count my blessings instead of counting my worries. And so.....on with the positive!

We had such a crazy busy weekend! The highlight being Claire's new desk which she has been patiently waiting for quite some time now. I had been drooling over the ones at Pottery Barn but with a price tag of $1200-$1500 I has having problems justifying making the plunge. They also seemed a tad bit on the small side and I was concerned it wouldn't last her into teenage-hood. When I spotted this particular desk at IKEA I knew we could spruce it up to look fabulous in her room. I will proudly say that I assembled this baby mostly by myself......and have the blister from turning the screw driver to prove it. :) I think it came out great and I'm totally pleased that she now has a quiet spot to study, read and dream her dreams.

Stay tuned for before pictures of our downstairs bathroom and follow along as it becomes transformed into our master spa retreat (well, I hope so anyways).

I Feel Like...............

(image: compliments of Evan who played Scrabble with us the other night)

This about sums up how I feel today! I just haven't felt much like blogging since the holidays (in case you didn't notice). There are many things that weigh heavy on my mind and heart lately.

1. We are required to update our Homestudy with the Ministry of Community and Social Services in order to continue waiting for our adoption referral. I "want" to feel excited and joyous about our adoption but the truth is that after 5 years of heartbreak, waiting, and more heartbreak it is very hard to feel any sort of emotion. I worry that when (or if) we finally are able to complete this adoption that I won't "fall in love" with our daughter because of the disappointment I feel towards our "adoption experience." I also worry about my age (which is something that didn't concern me 5+ years ago when we began. Worry about having the energy to give 100% to another little person who undoubtably deserves the very best we can offer.
2. The money. There is another aspect to the adoption. One that not many talk about but also is concerning. The cost. It's a bit of a dark cloud hanging over our head right now and I'm looking for direction in regards as the best way to ensure that we will be able to travel and pay the remainder of our fees without incurring any debt. The countless updates we've had to do as well as the "file maintenance" fee our agency has begun to charge has slowly been eating away at the money we have saved. Also, as time goes on, flights, hotels, orphanage donations, and fees for translations and guides in China have continued to rise.
3. My work. I feel like the time has come to make a change. My daycare/preschool has been successful beyond my greatest expectations but I am beginning to feel the effects of working 11 hours a day/5 days a week. I'm feeling very run down, frustrated and eager to "regain" control over my house. I actually have dreams of having a humongous garage sale and liquidating every daycare related item! I have a potential job opportunity on the horizon that would be great but it means a significant pay cut at a time we really cannot afford to have me working less. It also means that Claire and Evan would have to be in daycare for the summer (a concept they are NOT pleased about). As a mother I am very torn between wanting to do something for myself and the responsibility I have to my children to be emotionally and physically available to them when they need me.
4. My health. As Jan 1st dawned I made the decision to place greater priority on taking care of myself. I've definitely let myself slip over the last few years......a few too many pounds have been added on, no time to exercise, letting the simplest things like getting a haircut slide in favour of making sure the kids are given all my attention. I've lost 15 lbs in almost 3 weeks and I truly feel empowered. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally thrilled with my progress but then today I made cookies with the kids and I fell off the wagon...........yep, I ate 2 cookies and a scoop of cookie dough!! I immediately felt sick (since I haven't had sugar or any wheat products in 3 weeks). But worse than the physical reaction to eating the cookies is the sense of failure I'm feeling. I know I need to pick myself up and keep going but that sometimes is easier said than done.
5. Parenting. One of the children is struggling a bit in their studies. As a parent you never want to see your child struggle................
6. Marriage. Always a work in progress and there are many days that I need to remember that: "he loves me even when he is mad at me."

So, welcome to my first post of 2012. Sorry, that it isn't cheery and bright. Sorry, that there are no cute pics of the kids. Because quite frankly...............I feel like..............

Christmas

Hope your holiday was sweet.......................

This is what happens.......

...........when you feed Evan a package of Starburst

just before you leave for the Christmas school concert

and then ask him to pose for a picture!!

Whew.....got a keeper finally!

Claire is always willing to cooperate with my photography requests!

BTW....the concert was great! The kids sang beautifully and remembered all the words for their songs. One of Evan's songs had "actions" and I must say that Evan led the class with the most animated version of "Jingle Bell Boogie" I've ever seen.......must've been all those Starbursts!

The hunt was on......

for the perfect tree and we found it at McPhersons Tree Farm! There are no fancy sleigh rides, Santa does not make an appearance and there is not a snack bar on site. But there is warm smiles, great trees, reasonable prices and hot chocolate by the fire. We made our own fun anyways, playing in the snow, hunting for the blue spruce Christmas tree that did not exist, and cheering Alec on as he cut down our tree for us again this year. Memories were made and our tree looks fantastic!!