Dear Emily. Pt 2

Dear Emily,

This is your mommy writing….

It is July 30, 2014, and it is hot outside. So hot in fact that i walked into the wrong part of an automatic door. And i just thought i heard you crying outside, when in fact you are in your bed, totally silent.

I think i am getting a little bit delusional:)
But you always love my stories about my delusional incidents….

Thank goodness…

Tonight at supper you confessed that you had a hard day. That the girls at your daycare were teasing you about a boy they thought you liked. It took every inch of me not to just give you the most detailed lecture of your life.

I restrained myself.

And just kept eating the pizza that i had made, even though i forgot to buy any toppings other than cheese. This heat wave, i tell you:)

So i thought i would just write you a little letter instead… And one day, when you are old enough, like 32 i will send it to you:)

Boys. This is not something that i was expecting to cover with you yet. You are only 6…. No boys allowed. You are only 6.

I dont know if you will know this already, by the time that you read this, but growing up, i had one agenda. Find a guy who loves me, and then i will be happy.

This started for me early, earlier than i ever imagined. I always wanted what my parents had, a strong love and two kids.
Now, looking back, i regret that i was more focused on love than on my studies.

Such a typical parent thing to say, i know…

Sorry. Kind of.

For you, i hope and pray that your life will be filled with positive influences, amazing goals, lots of laughter filled memories, and knowing that above all else, God loves you and so does your family.

And one day, sure, i pray for the right mr to sweep you away, and marry you.

But for now… Can you just be my little girl? The bright blue-eyed, strawberry wavy haired beauty of a girl that you are? You know, the one with the personality way bigger than her feet:)

I love you, i love the person you are becoming. And i pray for you every day, that you will have a beautiful childhood.

Just for now, please just be my child. Someday soon enough you will be a grown up. Just please, dont rush it.

Enjoy your childhood my girl:)

Love you,

Mommy.

Rules…

Are made to be broken… Right?

No! Whoever said that was wrong, and no kid/teenager/young adult/older adult should ever follow that crap.

So why is it that kids these days just seem to live by that mantra?

When Emily was just a little girl, i taught her three things:
1. Respect the rules and your family.
2. Regard the rules, as if your life and your happiness depend on this.
and 3. Obey the rules, otherwise this means discipline.

This worked. I had a very obedient and respectable daughter.

Until something.

I dont know if it all went south when i got sick. Or if it started when she started school. Or if both of them combined were just enough to mess things up a bit for us. I dont know.

I am not supermom. I do know that:)

This past weekend, Emily returned from a much-needed hang out with her Grandparents.  When she returned however, it was even harder to reconnect.

We had a great Friday evening, but a really hard Saturday morning. And i am not sure if it was just the tip of the berg for both of us, or what.

BUT… It ended with some pretty severe consequences.

1. All of her new gear from her holidays was put into a big black garbage bag.
2. She had to earn each and every one of those things back, by practicing the Respect, Regard and Obey guidelines.
3. To earn 1 thing back, she has to complete a chore.
4. Bedtime, no fighting bedtime, which will earn her another item.

This may seem harsh. But i have always been a strict mommy, until lately. It seems hard and exhausting to be harsh, and so i have to work on that too.

Until we figure this all out, i will have cleaner toilets and dust free tables….

But to be fair, Emily has stepped up to the plate, and we have had a great couple of days.

And as a mommy, all i can say is, thank goodness. And i have noticed:)

Thanks always for reading:)

Its Raining… Men.

JK. It’s just raining!

Man alive, yesterday morning, i was alone… I slept like a baby and just relaxed. Like a normal human being. Until the wind picked up. And then the rain started. And let me tell you, it was raining hard!

I got up to shut my window, because the sound was driving me bonkers and interrupting my sleep. Thinking that it would be over soon, i went back to sleep and just ignored it.

Then, i got up to have my coffee and go off to an appointment. And it was still pouring!

Side Note… (Mostly)…

The roof on our townhouse building was being worked on the week before we left for holidays. I was trying to be patient then, but it was like they were stomping on my head for a whole two weeks. At one point, the light shade on my ceiling fell off and crashed onto my bed. Hmmm…

The only redeeming factor is that one of the roofer guys came around every evening to pick up the debris from the day… He just so happened to be Irish. And so yeah, that was definitely the only positive from the roofing experience.

The reason i shared that, was because during the roofing exchange, they redid the drainage pipes. But didn’t quite complete them. So, during this crazy flood-like rain, there was also a waterfall right out side of our front window.

End Side Note…(Mostly) 🙂

When i finally got up the nerve to check out basement, it was too late. If this had been during The Real Flood, it would have been after Noah had loaded all of the animals. It was just pouring in through the basement window and all of the foundation. There was nothing i could do. At one point, i tried to put a bucket where most of the water seemed to be pouring in… heehee this made me laugh a bit, because, all of the water just poured onto the floor around the bucket.

Treasure in the flood.

The thing is, after the flood, after moving all of our special treasures around to safety, i found the box. The one, that my mom had started for me when i was a baby. The one with all of my report cards, class photos, cards from my mom and dad…. Baby books, letters from my teachers and friends.

You know which kind of box i am talking about….

What i was so excited to find, maybe the most excited of all to find, was my old Harmonica.

Didnt see that coming, did ya?

I didnt either.

I remember getting that harmonica from my Grandpa, i was so proud, and so terrible at it. Just like every other instrument i ever tried to play. Except for maybe the triangles…

But i feel as if this little green and metal contraption could be a metaphor perhaps….

A diamond in the rough = harmonica found during flood.

News worthy for sure:)

What shiny and positive thing have you found during a not so shiny or positive time in your life??

If i can find something shiny during #flood2014 than surely you can find something positive and amazing during this time of your life….

Just remember… Theres a hashtag for that:)

 

Thanks always for reading.

#yourawesome.

 

It’s Summer!!… Update pt. 1

Well it is the middle… almost… of July. And this is my first post sitting outside on the patio. That my friends means… ITS SUMMER!

(Ok in all fairness, it has been warm for some time now, i just have had some computer/wifi issues, so i havent been able to do this until now. What eves. :))

Heres a 6 pointer update on our summer season so far:

1. Emily finished Kindergarten!!! Man, i was so proud and excited for her. She did amazing. And what is just such an answer to prayer is that not only did she make it to public school in the first place, but she only missed two or three days of school because of illness. I am so glad that she got to experience school life, and have such a great time there. She is in a wonderful school and she learned so much during her first year there.

2. I had the chance to go and spend an evening with my Dad and my sister at the ALMA FANFARE2014 event. This evening was an event for all of the ALMA sponsered companies to attend and listen to guest speakers and eat yummy food and to network. There was a display of the different projects, one including a pencil that changes color if you hold on to it. I took a few of those pencils for Emily. 🙂 Also, i had the joy of joining my Dad for lunch the next day and listening to three more speakers. One which was about the digestive system of animals. This speaker questioned why he wasnt allowed to speak before lunch…. Hmmm i wonder..? 🙂

3. Oh Canada! For Canada Day, Emily and i ventured downtown to Edmonton City Hall. Where the wading pool and free underground parking were calling our names. We packed a picnic lunch and our swim suits and i even tried on the inflatable turtle. It was an amazing afternoon. And we even made a bunch of new friends, imagine that?! After our swimming adventure, we walked around the downtown markets and had such a great time.

4. I have completed all of my trainer sessions at the gym. 😦
This made me so sad, i was pretty mopey for a few weeks after that. Having a personal trainer is like getting a new friend for me. Now, when i go to the gym, i dont have anyone asking about my day or even telling me that i am doing something wrong. Or that i shouldnt step there, or else i might fall. If any gym wanted my opinion, it would be to include more personal training sessions in the memberships. For those people who dont have gym friends. Like me:)

5. Isabelle turned 1!! Awe, my darling little neice Isabelle had her first birthday. I cannot believe she is 1 already. I remember everything about her being in her mommys tummy and her first day here with us. She is precious and we love her so much. She is just a little bundle of complete joy, and i am so so blessed to be her Auntie!

6. We are off! To go and explore the mountians. Starting this Wednesday, we leave on an adventure. Starting with a night in Calgary, and then 3 nights in Canmore with great friends. And no, we are not camping… Followed by a few more nights in Chestermere. It is so exciting for me to be able to go on a vacation with my girl. And just to get out of town. Man, so needed:)

So there you have it, our Summer update part 1. I know that some of you are waiting, still, for a very different update. Its coming. Soon. I hope:).

For now, this is all that you get, but this is all pretty great!
Have a great Summer, and the next time you hear from me, it will be about Summer Part 2!

P.S. i missed you:)
P.S.S. None of my pictures worked… So you will just have to invision all of the above:)