Sleep (?) over

So it's Friday morning, 9:18 am... what was i doing yesterday morning at exactly this time??  Well, not so sure...it was a bit of a blur, but a blur that was enhanced by two little boys who had their first sleepover at their Aunt Dell's house.  It was all a bit last minute.  I had talked to Rachel in the morning and Lauren had gone there to bail her out, watch the kids and run the show whilst she was sadly out of commission after having lost to a nasty flu bug.  I had asked if i should take the boys to allow her to get some rest but both Peter and Aaron were flatly against the idea, or would only approve if mommy, daddy and Nate came too.. slightly less like a break for Mom, little ones! 

So, i didn't think the idea would be turning into a reality, when whilst i was stirring up some yummy soup, i received a phone call from Aaron saying "we sleep at your house, Aunt Dell".  Well, this was a switch - apparently some big discussions had been occuring throughout the afternoon and now they were okay with this idea.... all until Peter stepped in the door and his face fell about 10 stories and he was very adament that he was going to go home again, with a very dark look on his face!  Hmmm...how were we going to solve this one?  Well, thankfully Aunt Lauren stayed, read some books, some cookies were offered as bribes, as was a visit to Oma and Opa's house in the morning, and peace was restored...until Aaron decided that now he was sad, and when he gets sad, he really can put it on, little stinker!  Well, we got over that hurdle as well, mostly with a lot of talking and avoidance techniques - whoever said raising children doesn't involve lots of psychology was probably totally out of touch with reality! 

Eventually, by 8pm, two little boys were ensconced in their huge air mattress bed in the library and with very little fuss or bother, were asleep fairly quickly after a few songs and hugs.  Aaron woke up around 11 for a pee, and i will say that the little arms of a sleepy nephew wrapped around your neck is a pretty nice feeling.  But yeah, sleep was rather elusive, or when it did come, rather not so deep as i'm used to....you tend to hear every little sound and when at the unearthly hour of 5:45, they were making noise, i gave up the idea of further sleep.  I opened the door, and two little faces looked at me "let's have fun, Aunt Dell".  Hmmm.... i'm not so sure my brain cells are capable of putting two words together at this point to even talk coherantly and you want to play.... hmmm.... going to be an interesting day! 
We snuggled for an hour in my bed... talking, singing and sharing stories... I asked Peter what he was going to be when he grew up and he told me that he was going to be a worker man, making buildings and bridges and towers and such.  He was also going to get married.  When i queried him as to the possible identity or location of his future spouse, he pointed to his rib cage and said "from here".  I had to smile about that one all day, apparently someone has been listening to his Bible stories. 
After a hearty breakfast of Alphabets and fruit in jello (i know, i know), it was playing with garbage trucks time.  That lasted for about an hour and then it was downstairs for us...only if Aunt Dell was there too...cause there are scary things in the basement!  We played fireman, grocery store and cranes.  They really enjoy the interaction with new toys and were quite happy down there. 

Then it was upstairs to watch some Planet Earth whilst Aunt Dell had a shower and then off to Oma and Opa's for lunch and a driveby from the very nice and accomodating garbage men, much to the boy's delight!  Aaron took a long nap after lunch and Peter went with Opa to the Warplane Museum.  Apparently he didn't want to go at first, he only wanted to see "new" airplanes, not old ones, but he was convinced at length that it would be okay to see old ones and they were gone for part of the afternoon, allowing Oma and Aunt Dell to watch an hour long episode of Emma online... yes, girl time! 
Then it was back to good old St Catharines for dinner - a very, very happy time (not!).  Three very tired little boys made for a supper that was interrupted frequently by major crisis (i don't want pizza, i want toast) and other such earth shattering events.  However, after a nice bath and some cool down time, it was off to bed for the boys... the end of our first sleep over adventure and hopefully the start of new traditions....i'd like it to be that it's not so unusual that they come here for a night and enjoy some one on one time with myself! 
Sorry about the quality of the pictures, my camera's flash does not work and the boys are in constant motion so they are quite blurry!

I've lost that writing feeling...

I've got a line from a song running through my head with some alterations .... "i've lost that writing feeling" and i would love love love to find it back again from wherever it's disappeared to.  Silly that eh?  I know it's been eons (or at least  a month) since i've last posted and it's certainly not because nothing has happened around here! 
The weekends are always busy, attending church, coffee and dinner dates with  family and friends, spending time with Timothy and exploring the cities, both Hamilton and Toronto, and learning more about each other along the way.  Pretty soon, in two weeks, it will be a year for us dating.  Hard to imagine eh?  Life has a funny way of slipping by me like water through my fingers and I turn around to see where I came from and I realize the road has already gotten a bit fuzzy in retrospect - how did that go again?  I think life tends to speed up as I age and i find myself stumbling over my memories and hoping i remember things clearly!  Oh dear, i sound like i'm heading for a nursing home here, after all, "The Meadows" is a pretty apt title for such a place. 
 I'm not being ungrateful because believe me i'm definitely not.   I am so thankful to God for leading me, us, this far and for blessing us with such supportive friends, church communities and family.  He blesses us in ways we cannot even imagine, through means we didn't think possible.  He takes two people who seem to be on such divergent pathways and brings us together to walk beside each other, to help and support each other and to be encouraged mutually.  Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles (to quote dear old Fiddler on the Roof).  At this time last year, i remember thinking "Ok, God, if your plan is for me to be single and that's what you really desire, then i think i could (finally, maybe) be okay with that."  It sure took a long time to come to that, and probably i wasn't even 100% truly sure, but maybe it took Him bringing me to that point, to usher in new directions and plans for my life.   Anyways, as i sit here this morning, after another busy but great weekend, i have to just give the praise to God and pray that He continues to guide our paths, wherever it is that He would have us go. 

Day 2

So it's been over 24 hours and we're all still alive, smiling and well fed.... no missing children, no power outages, no burnt supper, no major tantrums.  It's quiet at present, two at school, one downstairs and one in bed... so a few seconds to update on my life as a quasi-parent. 
Time schedule (sorta close but probably not really)
13:00 - turf Sara in bed...accompanied by her baby
13:30 - check emails, clean up a bit, try to load the dishwasher - hmmm, how do you work one of these things?  Thankfully the kids are pros.
14:00 - close my eyes for a few minutes until it's almost time to leave for picking up kids
14:50 - check in on Sara to find her awake and contentedly lying in bed waiting for someone to rescue her - and she gave me a big smile!
15:10 - leave to pick up kiddies - nearly take off the side mirror of the van trying to back out of the garage - alll these modern conveniences eh?  dishwashers, garages, what will be next?  I'm supremely happy they don't have an alarm system!
15:20 - Caleb and Anna reporting for duty - thankful to see both of them present and accounted for
16:00 - snack time, play time, unpack bags and talk about the day time
16:30 - TV time - time to start thinking bout supper
17:45 - Esther's home from choir and it's supper time - Spaghetti Casserole - yum! Everyone liked that and there weren't too many fights about that
18:00 - Dessert - how much can we push for?  Chocolate milk and chocolate syrup on icecream - hmm, getting spoiled to be sure!
18:30 - Cleaned up dishes, read stories, goofed off a bit
19:00 - Launching into the bedtime preparations of getting three little kiddies off to bed in a half hour - pajamas on, teeth brushed and flossed, stories read, prayers said, fish fed, teddies in bed, lights off, blinds shut... oh i know to any mom with experience, this sounds like any other night but when you're used to putting only one person (yourself) to bed, it's a change to marshall three into dream land in one coordinated effort without causing major upheavals (that's not the way we do it, Aunt Danielle) or transgressing laws - not allowed to have doors open and lights on.
19:45 - peace and calm reigns at the domicile - Esther and I sneak downstairs to watch part of a movie - nice and relaxing...
20:45 - Esther's in bed too - and lights are out and it's time to relax
21:00 - dishwasher on - to save energy...
24:00 - empty dishwasher - dry things off whilst watching a movie on my computer - who knew doing dishes could be this fun!
00:15 - to bed, to bed....
01:30 - wake up - am i late?  Nope, apparently not, back to bed, you silly goose
02:30 - is it time yet?  No...
04:30 - How about now?  Nope, still two more hours yet if you would be smart enough to take advantage of them
06:30 - Okay, enough already - i'm getting up - i'm going to regret this later but there's no point in waiting for the alarm now!  Shower... get dressed and ready to face the new day....
0:700 - everyone's awake - happy and ready for a new day - no nightmares or midnight wanderings to deal with thankfully
0:715 - breakfast, packing bags and brushing teethes
08:10 - leave for school, run a yellow light, get told off by a five year old for doing said error, and make it to school early - i was desparately afraid i wouldn't wake up or be organized enough to get this done but it worked out well!
08:30-12:30 - home again and it's playtime... in random order - reading books, playing with babies, playing with Barbies ( i do believe i've forgotten how to play Barbies - my Barbies ended up eating out of a play frying pan, working on a railroad and wearing completely uncoordinated outfits whilst wearing one skate - who knows where the second one was), marshalling little tiffs between Sara and Anna, building a highly unsuccessful fort (i'm so rusty!), dancing around the play room wearing (at various times) a fake wig, an orange hat, a huge old sweater, pink insulated slipper socks and a bandana "Aunt Danielle, you look like a prince and you have to marry me! "
12:30 - lunchtime - leftovers from yesterday's dinner, bread, cheese slices, yogurt and milk - hmmm... i think everyone should be dosed up on dairy products!
13:00 - Sara's down for a nap - she went quietly into the fray and Anna's playing downstairs...
.....

babysitting hour by hour

So, i'm sitting on babies for a coupla days... I've actually been looking forward to this for a while - my dear friends have decided to journey across the border for a few days and they have entrusted their four little ones to my care - ages 10, 6, 5, and 2.  We'll have to talk again on Saturday and see how we all survived.  But i thought it might be fun to give you an idea of my day thus far...
8:30 am - report for duty and get a run down on the last minute details - just how to open the garage door and not manage to lock myself and the children in there...
9:00 am - see Mom and Dad off on their trip and teach Sara how to drive (gotta start early)
9:30 am - line all the baby dolls in the house up in a line and feed them - it's important to get that done early too otherwise they just scream all day long
9:45 am - doodle on the Magnadoodle
10:00 am - read "George Shrinks"
10:30 am - play with the "walking" doggie and any and every other toy in the toy chest that makes noise - i sure hope these things don't go off in the middle of the night or i might just get kinda freaked out
10:45 am - send Sara on "shopping missions" telling her i need eggs and hamburgers and milk - she happily traipses down the hall and magically gets the groceries from the imaginary grocery store in the wall and brings them back to me for preparation and consumption
11 am - out for an abbreviated walk to the park - i wasn't thinking too much - everything was pretty soaked still from the downpour last night and the wind was a whole lot colder than i imagined - good thing for pockets - i guess i'm not cut out for trekking with children yet
11:30 am - eating slices of plastic pizza, listening to the incessant sounds of "she'll be coming round the mountain", "old macdonald" and other children's classics on the toys, whilst watching the fish in the tank and receiving suspicious whiffs of toxic nature from the small one in my charge... off on diaper duty...
To be continued...

Fairly Fall Day

 Seeing as i was a good girl this fall and because my parents love me and because i was kinda lonely on Thanksgiving afternoon and because it was SUPER weather and because i love the fair and because my parents are the best parents in the world and because of so many other reasons, they took me to the Rockton Fair on Monday afternoon.  Mom and I resolved to take a bunch of pictures that meant "fair" to us.  See if you agree...It's a long post so i apologize but there's some pretty neat shots in the lineup - i'd love to hear from you about which one really said "fair" to you.  I am so happy that we grew up in this area where fall fairs are such a tradition - there's always something about the atmosphere that makes me feel.... i don't know what i feel i suppose... a whole bunch of emotions..

  This was taken for the benefit of my friend Alvar... who loves cotton candy.

 The crowds were already thinning out by the time we arrived - little did we know that the fair closes at 5 on Monday - we were still wandering at 6...oops, could you imagine being kicked out of the fair?

 A riot of fall colour and shape...

 I am truly inspired and hope to enter things in the fair next year - i hope i carry through with it but i am amazed at all the truly creative people out there...

 Who can go to the fair without a bite of fudge?  This brings back so many memories - sticky fingers, the crinkle of the paper bag that it came in, the sweet deliciousness of the fudge melting in your mouth and making your teeth hurt with its saccharinity (??? is that a word - if not, i dub it so).  Dad always managed to find a knife somewhere and would cut off little pieces for us all - very fairly (heehee) doling out the bits of yummy until it was gone... ummmmmmmm

 Dad posed for me by the giant pumpkin - doesn't he look happy to be out with his oldest daughter? 

 We got there in time to watch the heavy horses - Clydesdales,  Belgians and Percherons - it totally brought me back to my childhood - the thrill of seeing their huge hooves prancing, their feathers waving in the breeze, the jingle of harness, the snorting and head tossing, the coordination of their movements - so large and yet so graceful.

 Mom is trying to pick out the winner of the Heavy Horse competitions - sadly, we weren't very good predictors - i don't think we'll take up careers as bookies...

 I more than likely have a picture of myself in the same position about 30 years ago - we loved to sit on the tractors and pretend we were farmers - i think i managed to score a really fancy lawnmower instead of a real full-on tractor but it would have to do!

 One foot, two foot, white foot, big foot, featherered foot, dinner-plate foot

 Dad looks pretty small compared to this gentle giant... these horses are immense!

 It's not a Belgian....it's a Nederlander... good strong work horse, creative and a little wild at times... make sure you keep her safely locked up in there!

 A sheep in the hood...Watch out or he'll fleece ewe and you'll be wooly wooly sorry

 A nice shiny tractor, making lotsa smoke and noise

 The lucky one who got away - this turkey was still standing when the forks and knives of the nation were placed in exhausted silence at the side of the dinner plates of Canada...Lucky fellow

 Is is Christmas already?  My first Christmas tree this year...

 The carousel - empty and ready to be packed up for another year next year

 To be or not to bee, that is the question - this little fellow is going dormant for the winter as well...

 I like it, i like it a lot...

 At the end of the festivities, the clean up begins... remnants of our obsession with food

 Unfathomable... i can't imagine... no way... people eat this???

 Apparently someone is kinda bored and waiting for the elusive last customer.. he's in his cups..

 A little bit of grease never hurt anyone right?  Indulging in a few onions rings for good measure

 The skies got dark and the sun got really brilliant towards the end of the afternoon - things had already cleared out a lot in terms of the crowds so we were left to wander the empty aisles, dismissing the carny's attempts to draw us into their games and rides and admired the skies and colours instead.

That's all she wrote, folks... just waiting for next year!

Walking through woods on a fall day

Stupid old blogger isn't letting me caption things correctly here and i'm getting a wee bit frustrated so you'll have to just simply imagine what i would say about these pics - i took a drive in the country today and snapped a few shots of "fall" as i saw it... it turned out to be a great weather afternoon contrary to what the pessimistic forecasters were predicting and i was happy to be able to enjoy a little time outside in nature, absorbing the sights, smells and textures of fall in our little part of the world

S

Add caption

Country roads...

Mists shrouding woods as i drive by

Hurrying on my way past

Dulling the colours of fall that are starting to 

peek 

through 

the 

green 

canopy

Hues of amber, emerald, orange and rust

Rain washing away the dusts of the season

Bringing freshness to a season of hibernation

Now falling lightly, trippingly, teasingly

Then falling hard, deluging, soaking

And in the mists, spears of yellow goldenrod

bring sunshine to a gray day

Swatches of red sumac spearing through the gloom

I love fall, the miracle of dying away of the old self 

And the promise of new life

Seeds to be culled and harvested, preserved and hoarded

To bring green shoots in the dark earth come spring

3:40 am

It's 3:40 and most of my faithful and not very often lately satisfied readers are tucked in their beds, snoring and snurking away, dreaming of icecream, candy, fluffy white clouds and counting as many sheep as possible, whilst here i am, sitting up wrapped in a blanket, having all my paperwork done, not wanting to wake anyone up yet for bloodwork, the little noises of my co-workers giving me clues as to their whereabouts and actions, though truth be told, the nursing station i'm at tonight is a bit of a lonely outpost, the outrider of the ward and the boundary between our world and the rest of the hospital.  Truly, it does feel as if you are in a different world here...true that we can see the weather happening around us through our many big windows but in some ways, it feels so artificial and closed off that i'm always always happy to put on my sandals and let my toes breathe in the outside air, just as surely as my lungs do a big inhale when they are finally greeted with fresh air. 
Aaah, what's the point to all this?  Hmmm... well, no point at all... should i have to make sense at this time?  Nope, i believe i'm exempted from rationality and sensibleness.  So i might babble on for a while and see what comes up from the mixed up files of Miss Danielle E. Frankenweiler. 
September is a busy month.  It's birthday month in the Mussche and extended branches household and that means birthday parties and streamers and birthday cakes by the truckload.  Well, okay, maybe not that bad, but indeed all of us girls are born in September and now young Nate has joined us, making the month even busier.  But it is fun too... time to get together with friends and family and share times together.  I was able to celebrate my birthday on Saturday evening with friends and family - bit late i know but better late than never.  I asked everyone to bring a book with them, or at least the most interesting thing they had read this year... the rules weren't set in stone, people could, if the Canada Reads pick wasn't their latest and greatest read, bring their favorite kids book or even if that was too far, the cereal package they had read at breakfast or the bottle of windshield washer fluid that they had used that morning.  I think that most of us read at least something each day and i was just interested in what my friends shelves contained and where their interests ranged.  And they were far-ranging - from Christian fiction to Nikolski, from Red Green quotes to The Glass Castle and back again.  I was happy that people were willing to share their reads and i've made myself a nice list of what looks good to read in the future.  Thanks all!   And thanks for your company and friendship.  I might be in danger of waxing a little sappy here (does that even make sense?  I have no idea but i liked the words) but i am so happy that i am surrounded by such blessing.
I sometimes fear a bit that it will all be taken away and that only then will i truly appreciate what it means to be living how i do.  I was talking with a co-worker last evening and we agreed that we are richly blessed - I don't have to stay here like my patients do, I am not facing a life-threatening illness, I am surrounded by friends and family who love me, I have a home, a job and volunteer interests to be a part of, I can bike home at the end of my night shift without gasping for breath (well, maybe not that, heehee), I love and are loved, and so often, so often, i take all of this for granted.  So i guess it's time to smarten up and start thanking God for His all-surrounding love and power, for His peace and grace He shares so freely and for waking me up inside once again. 
That's it for now since the eyelids are starting to shut operations down here...

September 12, 2011

Walk softly and carry a big stick... or something to that effect!

 So my birthday dawned with a glorious fall day and after getting my tender tootsies pampered at the nail salon, we decided to give them in all their newly lacquered glory a good work out.  We parked the car at the top of the Escarpment Rail Trail near Bernie Arbour stadium and walked all the way to just past Wentworth Street.  Quite a hike as my blistered feet can attest to.  But we were in search of a Hamilton curiousity. See, a few weeks ago in the Streetbeat column of the Hamilton Spectator, there was an article about a little mini-golf course found in the woods just off the rail trail.  My interest was peaked to be sure and i had the article hanging on my fridge just waiting for the right opportunity to check it out.  Well, Timothy was a real gentleman and seeing as he just "happened" to have the day off, we spent the afternoon wandering down the rail trail armed with golf balls, peppermints and a putter.  A rather odd combination to be sure and we did get some funny looks - what are those people doing with a golf club in the middle of the woods?   Accompanied while we walked by our serenading each other with songs about railroads (it wasn't a super long list - i was stuck after singing several kids songs, a few spirituals and the Gambler by Kenny Rogers), we enjoyed the afternoon looking over the city and seeing the fall colours starting ever so slowly.

 The "Uli" steps - an ingeniously crafted set of stairs leading up and down the mountain brow - beautifully made and super functional!

Some of nature's beauty in contrast and shadow...

A little selfie... with the course in the background - we were pretty intrigued by the idea of playing golf in the woods and i said later on that it felt like we were part of a piece of nostalgia and culture somehow..

Proof that i actually was there - getting ready for my shot - this might have been the one i got a hole in one on!  Kinda fun!  But then i muffed up the following holes and gave up my commanding lead!

Sometimes odd angles are fun right?  Check out the huge hazard in the middle of the hole!

A hole in one?  Nah, just a close up of the 6th hole - our scores were neatly tied at 16 (on a 6 hole course!)

And the day was capped off by another neat sunset... we seem to be blessed with a plethora of beautiful sky scapes lately - i'm in constant awe.  Tonight's sky was like a Claude Monet painting - simply beautiful!