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A Day in Our Life #11

7/29/2015

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Today I want to reminisce about days gone by. Specifically May long weekend...this year. It was 30 degrees. Now, even though the snow is long gone and summer arrived (and left), it already feels like fall is upon us. But May...May was beautiful, hot and just what we needed after a long winter.
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In May, Xav was also sleeping through the night. He decided to stop that. At least for now. But he still is a charmer.
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Ysabeau was also playing nice in May. Unlike this month. Which normally looks something like this.... (yes that is the faint blue outline of a pacifier in the background. It looks like we are not going to break the habit anytime soon).
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Right now I am going through mega gardener's guilt. I know its harvesting time. But its cold, and windy and raining.  I intended the garden to be a permaculture oasis. Instead it is more of a overcrowded invasive species botanic garden. I didn't plan on the kids when I thought about the garden. People can rave all they want about "food not lawns". But the reality is grass makes sense for kids. 
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There is a glut of berries out there (as well as dandelions, thistle and other fantastic weeds). I've got lettuce and rhubarb and probably some herbs that some natural medicine aficionado somewhere would die for. But I just don't care. Instead, they will all fall to the ground and I will promise to do better next year. 

Right now, any adventures into my backyard mainly consist of hanging up, or taking down, ridiculous amounts of cloth diapers. As my sister says, we are just dripping Granola. But if I were truly Granola, I would be harvesting those Haskaps. 
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Happy Feast Day for Grandparents!

7/26/2015

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Today is the Catholic feast day of St. Anne and St. Joachim. Who are they? Mary's parents. Not Peter, Paul and Mary. Rather, the MARY (of Mary and Joseph). As far as parents go, they likely had there struggles. Teenage pregnancy. Trusting a daughter who said that she is bearing the Son of God. 

I could imagine some easier things to deal with than that.

However, the Catholic Church offers St. Anne and St. Joachim as patron saints of Grandparents. 

We have some pretty amazing grandparents for our kids.
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These ones are our British connection. 


Grandpa is full of energy and silly fun and always makes sure we have something interesting to do (and on schedule). Never a dull moment.


Grandma is a true caretaker and educator. She knows all the songs and rhymes and has more than enough patience to take the time to read and show how anything is done.  She is always one step ahead of the rest of us, knowing what we will need before we even know it ourselves. 
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Poppa and Nana. Love them. Always there when I hit rock bottom. As grandparents they are amazing. Ysabeau loves skyping with her Poppa and Nana (and Loki the cat - not in picture).  

Despite needing a new hip, Poppa jumps off the back of boat in the middle of lake because Ysabeau wants to swim.

Nana provides a wealth of resources from just wise mothering to creative and educational apps and books for the kids. 

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Grandma Francine and Grandpa Rick. Our Whitehorse helpers.


We are lucky to have grandparents for our kids close by in the Great White North. I can't count the amount of times that Rick and Francine have come at a moment's call because I have Zumba, or just need help, or a break from the kids. 


Mom is our landlord--and a great one at that. Hopefully that is some protection from eviction.


They also cook some mean dinners. Thank God. 
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I am so grateful for all these grandparents (parents to me) that I often forget to ask for help from St. Joachim and St. Anne. I have been blessed above and beyond. Not all (just one actually) of my grandparents are Catholic but they infuse so much depth, moral courage and love into our life. I think they would appreciate this prayer none the less.


This Universal Prayer For Grandparents was composed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 for the Catholic Grandparents Association.

PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardian of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of live without end. Amen!

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Some pictures of Ian's and my grandparents.
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A Day in Our Life #10 - And then there was Xav

7/26/2015

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So I guess I like stripes. Does it make him look thinner? Just kidding- I  LOVE his chubbiness.

Six months of Xav! Ever so slightly different than his sister - and not just in the circumference of his thigh.


Before I had him I always wondered what it would be like to have children. I have heard people say that it can feel like more than just doubling your off spring. Something like 2.5 times more work. I have heard it is immensely easier because you have done it before. 

Its probably a bit of both. 

Today - its more work. Maybe because he has decided to start waking multiple times a night freaking out for his lost Soother. O Soother- Where art thou? We created two monsters in the Soother department. Oh well. There are benefits. 

Xav was a trooper on our latest trip. He held up better than me on some very long flights. I think priority boarding is more for the melting down parents than for the kids. His smile truly does launch a thousand ships. He melts hearts from grumpy old men on the bus to stressed out air stewards. 

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    Wife, mother, and many other things when the occasion arises. Needed a place to collect my thoughts on family, God, Catholicism and time. (Read More)

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