thinking about it

Poppy modelling my vintage cateye frames, love these, will have to wait to get lenses put in though.

This blog takes up a lot of space in my cluttered head. I find myself thinking of things I can write about but also about the readers. I know I only have 18 "followers" but I assume that more people read this blog but just don't officially "follow" like my Mom for instance (Hi Mom!)

I read a lot of blogs myself and I often think about their stories. Most of the blogs I follow are other Moms, some of them have children with DS and some do not. I follow some crafty ladies, some quilt y ladies, some photography loving ladies. And there are a couple of Dad's thrown in there too.

I always find these blogs so fascinating, sometimes wishing that my life were a bit more glamourous so you all would have something fab to read about other than Ds, sick kids, dolls. Wishing that I was a better photographer, heck wishing I could remember my camera so i could take more fabulous photos of my daily jaunts. but then....

I started thinking that maybe someone out in blogland thinks that I am pretty special, maybe I am one of the blogs that they love to read, maybe they think I am kinda cool, that my kids are super cute, that raising chickens is kinda fun, that I am a strong super mom.

but then again, maybe not...

but that's ok, cause I think I am pretty cool, that my kids are super cute, that my chickens are awesome and that I am a super Mom and I know the last one is true cause Poppy told me so! :)

who knew?

I posted a couple of weeks ago that Poppy was starting pre-school. This was start of week 3 and she is at home sick, not really acting sick at all, but she is and so is her sister.

But that is not what this post is about.

Last week we got a letter sent home with the kids asking that we pack a set of emergency clothes (specifically earthquake) a cuddle toy, a family picture and a letter. I thought ok... I can do that.

Wait did that say a letter?

"please send a comfort letter in case your child can not be with you in time of an emergency."

What the what? It had honestly never crossed my mind that she might not be with us if god forbid something ever happened here.

I waited a couple of days and them decided that I should pack this ziplock bag. I grabbed an outfit that she has never worn, specifically one that I am not at all attached to, a new pair of back to school socks, underpants... I didn't know what to pack as a cuddle toy, Poppy has never been attached to any specific toy for more than a day, and it had to be small. I grabbed a little chicken stuffy and plopped it in. Then the letter.....

What do you say to your child in a hypothetical emergency situation, a situation where you can not be there to comfort them. A situation where your child's teacher needs to be a stand in parent.

I told her that we love her, that we will be there soon, that she needs to listen to her teachers because they are just trying to keep her safe, and that we will be there to get her soon.

Writing that little letter was really hard. I didn't know what to say without saying the obvious, and I hope that what I said is enough. I hope that while an emergency is actually taking place the teachers actually have time and wits about them to read them to our children. That and that if there is an emergency it happens in the spring because otherwise she is gonna freeze.

Ready to GO!!!!

I have just finished a large upload to the shop, check them out.... if you want to :)

Walking with our buddies

Today we participated in our first ever Buddy Walk for DS. The weather was so nice, and we had a really good time. Instead of getting everyone to wear a certain color I decided to pick us up all silly masks! Everyone wore one but one :( boo! We only kept them on for the big picture, it was way too hot!

It was really nice to have so many friends and family come out and support us. We had a total of 26 walkers (we didn't win for most buddies) and we raised around $1800 bucks. I didn't keep close enough tabs to tell you an exact amount but it was right up there! I am so Thankful for those that gave to us, and for those that came out to walk. I am so glad that we have some many people that care about Ola and that some many of you would take to time to come out! Thanks!

I was thinking today after we got home that today was the first time I have been around other babies and I didn't try to compare Ola to them. I didn't make mental notes of what they could do vs. what Ola can't do. I just let it be. I just let Ola be. That's Awesome! :)

This is the DS doll that I made for a draw. I plan on making more of these dolls for kids with DS, every little girl needs a doll, and why can't she have one that looks like her too? just sayin..

First day of pre-school

I know this is not your typical first day of preschool shot, but she wanted to make sure I got the Dora backpack in the picture. I kept saying Look at me, and she kept swinging Dora in my face. The first day went very well, she was great and was happy to see me at pick up time to show off her artwork and grab her backpack from her hook. Today is day 2 and I am hoping that it goes the same way. The weather is a little shoddy today so I am not sure if they will be able to play outside which apparently was the big hit of the day. A little boy tried to hold her hand, Poppy doesn't quite know what to think about that. She is very cautious of little boys, and I am sure it freaked her right out!

I cannot believe my little one is already old enough for preschool.

They're coming!

Let me out!

Life around here is quietly busy right now...does that make sense? From the outside looking in, we look SO boring and our neighbors must think we are so lame. "Look at those two...never working, hanging out all day.. Slackers..." It's ok, they have no idea.

Mark has gotten his hands on a few jobs. He builds at home and then moves cabinets off site for install, so 90% of the work is done at home, in our shop, in the backyard. This is a really nice perk. He is home during the day for the emergency runs to the grocery store before dinner for ingredients, he is able (mostly) to come to Dr appointments as back up and three year old control! and mostly he is just "here", "around" and nice to go talk to.

Thankfully and luckily I get to stay home with the girls. I feel very privileged that I get to. I know there are lots of moms that would love to and can't. I feel sometimes that I need to be a super Mom to my girls because I get to be here all day long. A couple of weeks ago while we were waiting for a paycheque that was WAY overdueI thought to myself. "Self.. you have to go get a job. And... because there are no jobs in the field you were recently trained for, you will need to go be_________." I had no idea how I would pull this off. Thankfully the paycheque came and I didn't need to worry about that.

But lets get frank here... Talking to a three year old and holding a baby all day can make you crazy sometimes. There are some days like today for example when I long for an adult conversation. I wish I could hit the "power down" button just for a half hour so I could drink a cup of tea (see above photo) and go to the bathroom uninterrupted. But alas... our children are not born with power buttons, and again my tea sat unfinished this morning.

That's ok though, I miss this chaos when the girls go to my Aunts for 6 hours, I miss the surprise puddles of juice on the floor in my nice clean socks, and I miss the piles of random things all over the place. (See above photo)

I will still admit that I am mildly jealous of my hubby that gets to walk out the door sometimes. Some days you just need to escape. (See crazy eyes in above photo!)