on being chatty and brotherly bonding

today during noah's quiet time i lay down on the bed. he was in the living room playing with his legos.

eventually he came and joined me and jamie in our bedroom {where he usually has his quiet time}. 

he had lots to say.

usually i tell him it's a time to be on our own and not talking, but today i just listened and talked with him {while i played solitaire on jamie's iPad}. 

i don't even remember what we talked about anymore, but lots of it was observations and thoughts and comments about books and movies that he likes. 

he left the room at one point {to go to the bathroom} and i commented to jamie that one day he might not want to talk to me. actually, i think i said that one day he probably wouldn't want to talk to me. 

his comments and thoughts kept up throughout the day with the occasional sassy mouth {something we're working on}. i am loving the general openness of noah with me and jamie and his thoughts and creative ideas. he has a "drawing book" that he likes to draw things in during his quiet times and i'll need to post some more of his drawings on his blog because they really are adorable and funny.

after an early dinner {because i was going crazy from both him and jude complaining that they were hungry, hungry, hungry} we were all hanging out in the living room and baby B was kicking and moving up a storm! i called the boys over and lifted up my shirt to reveal my belly. noah was quite amazed at his movements;

he's punching you right there!

whoa! he's moving so much! 

and it was one of the first times the boys really saw and felt his movements. up until now they really haven't had the patience or interest {boldness, maybe} to feel my belly and wait for a movement, but tonight he was really active so it was a perfect moment for the boys to really understand that there's a person inside of me.

they both took turns trying to "listen" to what baby B was doing and saying hi to him and telling him their names. 

the other day noah and jude were with me and jude asked how baby B got inside me. i hesitated for a moment.

is this the beginning of "the talk"?

i explained that mommy & daddy decided we wanted to make a baby and then God is the one who makes baby B grow nice and big and strong inside of me.

noah looked confused.

so does how does God reach inside of you?

i told him that i didn't really know how exactly God makes human beings {or anything really!} but that He's able to make people and that He's the only one who can do that.

this set the boys off on talking about how big and strong God is. 

oh my boys. i love you so. i can't wait to add another little man to our fun and crazy family.

what's in YOUR hospital bag?

i've never done this whole "giving birth in a hospital" thing before. i never really studied or paid attention to the list of "things to bring to the hospital" on the handout from the midwives. i was really blessed to be able to have two, amazing, complication-free home births.
of course i did have to make sure i had my home birth supplies ready but i knew that if i needed something i could always improvise with what was already in the house.
not so in a hospital.
especially not so in a ugandan hospital.

so at just over 37 weeks pregnant i finally got around to packing a bag.
but first, the bag! what bag was i going to use? at first i wanted to buy a cute over night bag like this one:

source

how gorgeous is this bag? so gorgeous.

or this one. so cute. and vintage! love.

source

there are tons of places here in kampala to get good quality, second hand items and i've even seen some vintage suitcases, but ultimately frugality won out and i decided to use our carry-on size suitcase.

so.
here's what i have packed so far - i'm hoping that i don't need to add anything else, but depending on any helpful comments from you guys, i might have to!

for the mama

2 nursing bras
3 prs undies
1 pretty handmade hospital gown {from my last birth} - it opens from the shoulders and allows for easy breastfeeding access and i'll use it for pajamas if we have to stay overnight {i hope we don't!}
1 dressing gown
1 pair comfy yoga/maternity pants
1 nursing tank top
1 comfy t-shirt
1 going home outfit for me (comfy dress with a v-neck for easy breastfeeding access)
toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, travel sized shower gel & shampoo/conditioner, travel sized contact lens solution, contact lens case and new contacts, mascara, eye liner, lip balm, nipple ointment, moisturizing hand lotion, deoderant
overnight pads
3 plastic bags for bringing home dirty towels/clothes, etc.
1 head band
a few hair elastics
1 bath towel
1 face cloth
1 cooling face cloth {from Lee Valley}
my pearl earrings that jamie brought back from the philippines for me to wear home
a pillow

for the baby

diapers

wipes

small container of vaseline

sampler size container of diaper cream

3 sleepers

2 onesies

1 pr socks

1 going home outfit

3 hats

1 heavier blanket

1-2 receiving blankets

special "lovey"

sheets for the baby's "cot"

i plan on getting jamie to pack a small bag for himself with things like:

pajamas and an extra outfit

toiletries

his iPad

our cameras

a manilla envelope for any paperwork we will acquire

a pillow

cash! {we have to pay our hospital fees up front, but thankfully our insurance reimburses us afterward.}

i'm also planning on baking some granola bars and freezing them so that i can take a bunch with us as well as having some juice boxes in our pantry and some water bottles with some crystal lite's taped to them in case we want some flavour {i'm usually a straight-up water kinda girl, but ya just never know}. i also plan on buying some of my favourite crackers here to munch on {they're kinda like cheese nips} as well as making a trail mix of sorts with a mixture of yummy nuts, raisins and maybe some kind of chocolate {they have M&Ms here but also a cheaper version of smarties which i might use}. 

then i'll put all the snacks together in one bag and have it ready to go. 

you'll notice i haven't separated it into "labour" and "birth". that's because i'm hoping i won't really be labouring that long in the hospital {or at all!}, to be honest. and i'm also hoping to get in and out of the hospital as quickly as possible as long as everyone is healthy. you can google "hospital bag" and find tons of ideas on things you could bring to aid in pain management during labour. 

so that's what i've got. 

thoughts? suggestions? 

note: the hospital that i'll be delivering at does not supply pillows, sheets for baby's cot, diapers/wipes or towels which is why i've packed them. make sure to check what the hospital you're delivering at supplies so you only have to bring what you need.

one blessed mama

i'm not sure if it's some sort of instinctual pregnancy thing {like nesting} that makes me want to scoop up my children and love on them in a way that seems to say,

life is going to change for our family. it won't just be the four of us anymore. someone else is coming into our lives and he's going to require a lot of my time and energy but that doesn't mean i'm going to love you any less.


noah's been more cuddly lately. or maybe i've just been more attuned to his needs. whatever the reason, tonight while we cuddled in the dark with no power he had some questions about the baby and i braced myself for questions like, will you stop loving me? or why weren't you happy with just us? but they never come. instead questions like, will you read to baby b, too?

yes, i answer. he'll listen to the same stories i read to you and jude.


and when you and daddy got married, was i not born yet?


i say, no. you weren't born yet. you and jude came a few years later.


i love how my sweet noah is so tender-hearted. so interested in babies and kids. so thoughtful in his questions. so accepting of this new life coming into our family.

at dinner time, jamie shows the boys his wedding ring and says that the ring means that he's married to me.
jude pipes up with, one day, i'm going to marry you all by myself!

i am one blessed mama.

home

daddy's home!

8

it's apparently the time of year where lots of people get married.
my facebook newsfeed has had at least one person per day for the last week wish their spouse a happy anniversary.
today is ours.
we both forgot this morning. we groggily rolled out of bed {him because he stayed up late last night to watch the england game; me because i had a pepsi too late at night i think, and couldn't fall asleep until well after he came to bed} and went to the dining room to make some breakfast.
trevor wished us a happy annivesary. jamie said, "whoops." i said, "oh yeah." trevor and nick laughed at us.

this is us. we aren't big on making a huge to-do about dates or birthdays or anniversaries {except this year on mother's day when my pregnancy hormones kicked in and i got all sulky.}. sometimes we celebrate by going out for dinner. sometimes we have a whole day planned. sometimes we do nothing to celebrate at all. i'm not sure what this says about us but i do know that both of us are on the same page and we're okay with it. i love this handsome blue-eyed man more today than i thought was possible 8 years ago.

today is nick and trevor's last day in uganda before they fly back to canada tomorrow morning. so we're celebrating and spending the day with them. we've got the rest of the summer to spend together.

and our lives.

{also we've been watching finding nemo lately with the boys and you know that line when dorrie says to marlin, "I look at you, and I'm home."? it always makes me a bit teary. and it's how i feel about jamie. so i'm making this song our 8 year song.}




*linking up with Elaine for Miss Elaine-ous Mondays.

marriage

we had a date night last night, jamie and i. {courtesy of one spectacular kelley myles who is a genius at getting children to stop freaking out and go to sleep!}
we went to my favouritest place, mishmash. it was jazz, blues and rock night. just a chill evening where they play everything from BB King to The Stones to Dizzy Gilespie and Pearl Jam. they played black magic woman which i totally grooved to thanks to guitar hero enlightening my sometimes limited music awareness.
it was a nice, quiet night out.
{also i really like that at night, people smoke shisha and it smells absolutely delicious. the grape flavour always smells the best.}
on the drive home we talked about each other and other people and both agreed that while we could have married other people, no one would really even compare to each other. maybe that's arrogant, but i think it's probably an arrogance that more marriages could stand to have.
and it makes me happy that we're both happiest with each other.
almost 8 years of marriage {and almost 13 years together!} and we still think we picked the best.
i'm thankful to God for bringing us and keeping us together. {and for the so many people that i know still pray for us and have since our wedding day.}

*in hindsight and after someone's comment, arrogance isn't probably the best choice of words. but somehow it communicates a certain...vibe for how we feel about each other. like "we got the best out there when we married each other. sorry world, but you lost out."

when tuesday feels like a monday

it really was one of those perfect kind of days.
we didn't really do anything out of the ordinary. but we made the most of the day we were given.

i've started a morning routine for the boys where jude gets to experience "room time" and noah gets some time to play on this fabulous website called 'starfall' where he learns about letters and phonetics and whatnot.

i set jude up in his room with the toys he wants on the carpet, bring in the stereo and put on some music. then i tell him he gets to play in his room until the timer goes off {today we attempted 45 minutes. i know he can do longer, but we haven't been practicing "room time" so we're slowly building up}. today he happily played except for the part where he played with the plugs on the power bar and turned off his music. i went in and turned it on again.

noah happily plays on starfall and sometimes i'll sit with him and talk about the letters, or sound out letters and words with him and then sometimes i'll get some things done like laundry done or exercise {i've been doing these since i found out i was pregnant alternating with riding our stationary bicycle}.

then i carried out some buckets of water and some water toys for the boys to play outside with. eventually jude decided to "water the car" which led me to get some more water, some stools and some cloths for them to full-on wash our car. they loved it and spent the better part of the morning outside washing our car.

but it eventually turned into this. we're sorta doing potty training with jude right now.

noah was such a helper today, jude is getting so much better at sharing with his brother and we did a bunch of crafty-type things today. it was a good day.

i covered some tin cans in ribbon to make the boys' marker jars so much prettier. and i made a tiny vase for the flowers that the boys like to pick for me. 

oh and jamie came home with these today:

just another friday morning

so, we have this mouse problem in our house.
we've tried poison but that gives me the heebie jeebies what with us having young kids and all.
we've tried traps. no dice. these african mice are smart, i tell ya.
and finally our friend james set up these little piles of bait (i have no idea what's in them, except that he crushes up some drug that totally makes the mice chill and immobile. yeah, so now i'm not sure if that's any better than poison.) and this morning jude walked into the dining room and went straight for the corner of the room and said,

Lookit Mom! Lookit!

and i thought he was pointing to the open cupboard doors.
but he wasn't.
it was this teeny tiny mouse.
with wide open, beady, little eyes.
just sitting there.
totally drugged up.
i called my hero {that'd be the hubs} to come and dispose of it.
he did.
so who knows if there are any more mice, but thank God for jude noticing it. i would NEVER have noticed it sitting in that corner.

jamie's strawberry birthday cake

i think jamie and i have a new tradition for our birthday weeks. 

whoever is celebrating their birthday gets to stay in bed when the kids wake up in the morning and the other person gets the kids up. 

for the entire week preceding your birthday. 

i liked it when jamie did it for me so i did it for him (and now i'm ready to lie in bed a little longer tomorrow morning!)

today jamie turned 30.

i'm no longer in my 30's without him.

hurrah!

he didn't ask for much, but upon my questioning him, he requested a strawberry cake.

strawberry it is, babe.

ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 pacakge (85 g) strawberry jello

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs (room temperature)

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup straberry puree/jam

prehead oven to 350F. Butter and flour pan size of choice. i have limited options here so i chose my oval glass pan.

in a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stire the milk, puree/jam and the vanilla. set aside.

sift and whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

cream the sugar, jello and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes.

add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

add the wet and dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating between wet and dry. try not to overmix.

fill your pan(s) with batter and bake for 30-40 minutes - although if you are going with smaller pans, you will need to bake for less time. check your cake(s) at 20 minutes and once you feel it's almost ready, set the timer for 2 minute intervals.

let cool on racks for 10 minutes before loosening edges with a knife.

happy birthday to the love of my life, my best friend, fellow sojourner on this crazy adventure called life and the father to my children. 

here's to our 30's!

one

happy first monthiversary to us!

to celebrate living in uganda for 1 month we {me and the boys} made rice krispie squares with {lots} of sprinkles. i gave jude a little container of sprinkles thinking he'd pick them up with his fingers and delicately sprinkle them all over the rice krispies.

oh silly, silly me. why of course he just dumped the entire thing out in a pile on top of the rice krispies.

they tasted amazing.

then the boys helped me make {whole wheat molasses} bread.

and then i made italian ground beef and veggie soup with apple crisp for dessert. jamie even came home with strawberry ice cream so we served it up with a scoop of that deliciousness. 

and then {just now} i found out that i won a contest i entered on this fantastic kids style blog i subscribe to. 

what a day of blessings.

what a month of blessings.

mint chocolate brownies

we've been in uganda for 4 weeks today.
that just seems absurd to me.
but here we are.
this morning we were invited to a different church and so {reluctantly} i agreed and we went.
it was at 9am so that meant no big Sunday brunch. *sad face*
after about 1.5 hours of sitting quietly and then running around outside in the mud and puddles i grabbed a crying {mucky} jude and walked to our waiting taxi with noah walking behind me.
we were going back home and we would do church there.
it was a good choice. for me and my attitude and for my kids. they just can't sit still for 3 hours.

anyway so i was able to have lunch ready for the guys when they got home and i made these.

well, they were mint chocolate brownies.
they were just so good we ate them up far too quickly for me to grab my camera.
no joke.

one of the cool things about being in another country is they have food products that you can't find at home {and vice versa, usually}. the range of cadbury chocolate bars is unsurpassed. like, amazing. they've got your typical fruit and nut bar, dark chocolate bar, milk chocolate bar - but then there's things like top deck {half white chocolate and half milk chocolate}, snack bar {like a fruit and nut, but it's basically fruit and cookie - it's good!} and my favourite - mint crisp. it's a milk chocolate bar with pieces of crunchy mint candy inside. so.stinkin.delicious.
it's become clear to jamie as well as nick and trevor that the mint crisp is my favourite and it seems that they keep picking them up for me when they see them. so at one point i had THREE mint crisp bars in the fridge. then i saw these on pinterest and i knew what i would do with them.
so here's my recipe for mint chocolate brownies. if you can't find a mint crisp bar {too bad for you}, you can use whatever kind of mint chocolate bar you can find - or mint chocolate chips. but it's absolutely DIVINE with the mint crisp bar.

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 bar of cadbury mint crisp, chopped up into chunks {or equivalent minty chocolate)

blend the butter, sugar and vanilla. then add the eggs - beating well after each addition. combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt & chunks of minty chocolate in another bowl. gradually beat in the egg mixture making sure not to overmix.
pour into a greased pan and bake at 350F until sides are pulling apart from the pan.
my oven is hotter than mount vesuvius and so it took just under 25 minutes but yours may take up to 40 minutes depending on your oven. also, i guesstimated the temperature.
serve warm on its own or with a big hunk of vanilla ice cream.

also, this is a great recipe to win over a man's heart. just sayin'.

eucharisteo

upon the recommendation of a new friend i bought the book, 1000 Gifts.

i read this today at the end of the second chapter. the words almost jumped off the page at me,

...life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change.


i have many thoughts swirling in my head from this book so far.

and so i am consciously giving thanks and hope to chronicle my thanks here.

(1) foam swords found beside the toilet for it means that there are lively, active, laughing, imaginative children {my children} in my life.

(2) air conditioning on hot, humid days and a glass of coke zero chock-full of ice

(3) impromptu kisses from my almost 4 year old

(4) walking hand-in-hand with my husband of 7 years to the grocery store at dusk - still in love - casual, quiet conversation on the way there and back. (5) realizing we both seek out strangers' eyes when we're out in order to make eye contact.

i found a little notebook that is blank (with the first 10 or so pages ripped out - i can't remember doing this but it was likely me who did it) that i want to fill with thanks to God for His goodness in my life. for there is much to be thankful for.

today is funday

...but it's actually wednesday.

noah likes to ask what day it is. pretty much every single day. multiple times a day.
i don't really mind.
sometimes i just tell him straight up what day it is.
sometimes i sing it to him.
sometimes i say it in a funny voice.
he thinks i'm silly.

we went to centre island today with our dear friends, the humphreys.
we got to the island before them so we had some family time in which we enjoyed some good old fashioned swinging

(why yes i did dress my boys in the same outfit. it helps to find them in public places. i know. genius.)

(o hello runny nose!)

and of course...rides, rides, RIDES!

(even though it looks like jude was cowering, he loved every second of it. promise.)

and then once we met up with our friends there were some more rides!

(okay, so noah totally loves rides. he's SO happy!)

and we went on possibly the fastest merry-go-'round known to man. seriously. it was fast.

and apparently i took a lot of pictures. but it was good. because it's been a few days since i picked up my camera and took some pictures. and some turned out pretty good (if i do say so myself).

and it was oh-so-good to hang out with dawn & eric again. we've had some good times and memories with those two and it's sad to say good bye for who knows how long (though i hope no longer than 2 years!). 

and (last sentence i start with "and", i promise) the kids went the entire day with NO NAPS. we didn't get home until 8:40pm so it was a loooong day. but they did really well, all things considered. 

so maybe it was funday and wednesday all at once.

right here. right now.

a week and a half ago i was running when i tripped and fell.
big time.
it was more incredible than embarrassing if you can believe it.
i was shocked at how far i flew and the velocity with which i flew.
i could not have stopped myself if i tried.
because of this major wipeout (Major Wipeout! - HIMYM fans?) i've had these ridiculous scabs on my knees and my left elbow/arm. i forgot how bad a "picker" i am. it's probably borderline obsessive. is it easy for anyone not to pick a crusty scab?

just me?

okay. moving along.

today i took the boys for a bike ride in their new bike trailer that my parents bought for their collective birthdays to enjoy for this summer while we're here. it was a pretty long bike ride for someone who hasn't really done a long bike ride in quite some time. just over 10.5km. (my butt really hurts.)

i'm glad exercise is part of my life.
i want and need to exercise.
not just because i feel like i'll get fat but because i actually enjoy working my body and i feel better physically and emotionally after i exercise.

i like the length of my hair right now. sometimes when i let it air dry it looks awesome. sometimes it doesn't. (right now it looks awesome.)

on the craft docket for this week with the boys is this and this. i'm excited for both.

sometimes i feel like cramming my social calendar chock full.
sometimes i feel like hibernating.
right now? i feel like i might actually be somewhere in the middle. which is a good thing.

when the seasons change is when i find it hardest to fight materialism in my heart.

i think i'm falling deeper in love with Jesus. for me and Jesus it's always been gradual. no shocking testimony here. (aside from the fact that He chose me.)

i'm also falling deeper in love with jamie (we celebrated 7 years of marriage on saturday) and i'm so thankful to have married a man who loves Jesus more than he loves me. i'm also really thankful for God's grace and mercy to me and jamie.
we were so young and immature and selfish (okay, so i'm pretty much speaking mainly for me) and yet He has used us and changed us and held us together so that i can honestly say that i do love jamie more today than i did 7 years ago.

i am continuing to surrender my hopes and desires for what my family is "supposed" to look like and am holding my plans loosely in my upward-facing palms. i have lots of hopes and dreams and desires, but i'm learning to want what Jesus wants most of all. it's usually in this state that my dreams and hopes end up aligning with God's plans and desires for me. so good!

this is the part of the blog post where most people go back and edit and delete.
but i have many people in my life that i love dearly and haven't been able to share with as much lately and so here i am. unfiltered. unedited. this is me and my heart and my life as of recent.

fathers

To my Father,

I love you. I am so thankful for you and for the role you've played in my life. You've been a quiet constant that remained steady even during the rocky storms.
Now you are the grandfather to my children. It does something inexplicable to my heart whenever I hear one of my boys call out, "Grandpa?" (you know I'm thinking of Jude's little singsong voice when I write that, right?).
Thank you.
We (me, Jamie and the boys) all love you very dearly and are so thankful we get to spend these months with you before we leave.

last summer in Quebec with Jude.

To the father of my children,

I love you.
Jamie, I always knew you'd be a fantastic dad. I often thought you'd be a better dad than I would be a mom. You love your boys. And they love you.
You can tell the influence you have in their lives and especially Noah's as he says things like,
When I grow up, I'm going to be a Daddy and have a beard and go to work on a campus. Just like MY Daddy. Oh and I'm going to drive a car, too. 
He emulates you. He wants to be you. And I know you don't take your role lightly (as you might have some believe) as you strive to be a man who loves Jesus and loves others.
Thank you for being present.
For valuing our family above other things.
Thank you for valuing Jesus most.
We love you so much!

pretending to sleep.

wrestling time on the bed.

Dear Strangers in Paris,

To the man on the bike with baguettes in your basket weaving up and down the narrow street,

To the 2 young teen girls who did a double cheek kiss goodbye on the metro,

To our waiter wearing a black bow tie who insisted on pouring our wine for us every time we got low,

To the gorgeous woman riding a moped smoking a cigarette as you navigated your way onto the sidewalk around a bus,

To the guys who mooned us while we were on our boat tour of the Seine,

To all the patisseries with your baguettes and croissants and pain au chocolat,

To cafe patrons sitting outside with your beer and wine, smoking your cigarettes,

To French people everywhere with your adorable accents,

...thank you. You made our experience of Paris completely wonderful and unique and I can't imagine our two days in Paris any more perfect (besides for the rain and overcast skies).

these are the moments

Was it only last year that Noah was calling the tulip buds "those guys"?

How time flies.

tonight in bed Noah said to me after we prayed,

soon I'm going to grow up and be a Daddy.

And I'm going to have a beard.

And I'm going to go to work.

*pause*

And I'm going to drive a car!!!

I love how he longs to be "just like Daddy" already. These are the moments - the moments between the moments when we get to teach him what it means to be a man. And how to someday be a husband. And a father.

These are the moments.

warmth

today i wore capris and flip flops and no coat and it.was.awesome.

we all took naps this afternoon and when jamie got up (i let him sleep longest as he's in the worst part of the cold we've all been going through) he stepped outside and said,

have you been outside?

i had. just not within the last hour or so and when i did step onto our front porch it was decided.

we all tromped upstairs, the boys got in shorts and tees and we went outside.

we walked to the park and played there for awhile and not even the lure of ice cream could tempt noah away from the park! (can you tell we've missed outdoor play?)

eventually we walked 15 minutes to Licks to get hamburgers and french fries for dinner.

and noah got a free ice cream cone with his meal.

it was awesome.

seriously - awesome. i think it was like 20 degrees or something ridiculously warm. loved.it.

bring on the heat!

ps. this morning i did decide to take the boys to church but not put them in the nursery (as they both had coughs and runny noses - look at me! being all responsible-like). so we were in the worship part of the service for a bit and then in the foyer on the couches (when the boys started getting too rowdy) and then on the stage as a family while jamie spoke. 
also, i totally bribed noah and told him if he came on the stage and behaved nicely that he'd get a lollipop. well of course i let him "hold" the lollipop going onto the stage and of course he didn't want to just "hold" it on stage so there i was, opening up a lollipop on stage while jamie was giving an update and overview of us moving to Uganda. noah put on a good show and sashayed his way around the stage and made faces at our friend in the front row, but he was cute and so i was happy that i didn't have noah the grump because noah the cutie is so much more enjoyable (and funny). 
also, i totally started tearing up when jamie mentioned how we would be sad to leave the church because of the friends we had made and i had to concentrate on noah's antics so i wouldn't completely lose it. 
we are going to miss our church family here in guelph.

Dizzy Sailor

This is what happens when Daddy plays with the boys.


Dizzy Sailor from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

sweetness

every time we see Jamie's grandpa (the boys' great-grandpa) and nana, his grandpa usually hands me or Jamie a white box with a stamp on it that says

clarke's homestyle bakery

and inside are usually a few sugar cookies and always two chocolate chip cookies on sticks complete with happy faces iced on.

i usually try to limit the amount of sugar my kids eat if i possibly can, but i always save these "popsicle cookies" for them. it's a sweet gesture from jamie's otherwise stoic grandfather that shows his love and delight in his great-grandsons. 

so i gladly indulge his sweetness and let the boys join in too.