tiffany's spot

Okay, I seem to be under some fire and scrutiny. I seriously plan on blogging again. Someday. Maybe tonight! There have been some things come and go and I've kind of missed them. Steven's grandparents were here the other night and I wanted to take a picture of them with the kids, but I forgot. The other day I was going to bring Chili over to Jan's restaurant and take a picture of the group there and post about it, but they came here instead because the restaurant is still kind of a mess [for those who don't know, it's not a "dirty restaurant" it's a restaurant under construction. she's opening anew, and redoing everything inside first. more on that later.] , Jan and I got our brows waxed and it was a very eventful and entertaining time, but I have to make sure she doesn't mind if I stick that on here, etc. Wouldn't want to embarrass anybody! Well, maybe just a little. What else? Steven's cousin Estelle had her baby yesterday. After thr...

It's been 10 weeks since Mitchell was born. It's funny, on one hand it doesn't feel like it's been that long. On the other, it feels like it's been forever since I've had 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. About the clothes; when Jordan was a baby I'd take her out of her crib every morning, change her diaper, and immediately put her into a new outfit. She had LOTS of new outfits. First babies really have it made - baby showers, crazy people who bring gifts forever, and mommies who can devote all their time and attention to the one special little person. By the time baby #3 comes along, well let's just say that if a sleeper is clean in the morning he stays in it. After all, he just had a bath the night before. None of this washing a sleeper after only half a day's wear nonsense. And outfits? Today is the third time Mitchell has worn an actual outfit. In my defense, he has some really really cute sleepers. A hint of an actual smile in this next one. He...

Lately television commercials have been making me feel guilty. You know that commercial where it shows different kids trying different tactics to get the orange juice out of the orange? One kid is using a toy hammer to try and smash an orange down onto a manual juicer, another kid is trying to crush the orange with his toy dump truck, and a few other kids had a few other interesting ways to bust into an orange. There are no mothers around anywhere. The commercial is light-hearted and fun, with the "kids being kids". It's an orange juice ad of course. There's this other commercial too, where a couple of babies (toddlers?) are eating baby food out of little bowls. The baby food is some sort of strained, green confection, and there are no spoons in sight. The kids are licking the bowls, using their hands, smearing the sludge all over everything, and making a horrible mess! In your home, how would you respond to these kinds of situations? TV moms are perfect. It's a w...

I was the biggest fan of Tennyson's curls. I loved them really. When he ran they actually bounced, when his hair was wet it went down onto his back. His hair was longer than Jordan's! But lately, it was almost getting too fluffy, long, and well, pretty. This is the "new" Tennyson: See, he even has an actual neck now! Yet, even as we are making the one son into a boy, this happens: It's not my fault! Wal-Mart doesn't have something of this quality in blue! I just know that Auntie Jan is shaking her head at this right now. And apparently, I cannot get away with taking a picture of one of the kids on the stairs without snapping one of the other. I think she was a little offended. So . . . heeerrree's Jordan!

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Remember how I said that my kids are beastly in the computer room? Well, turns out that they're at least as beastly when they're locked out of the computer room. For the record, Steven is home, and they could go upstairs and find him, they're not actually unattended (much). Tennyson is in 5 states of furious right now. I've got the computer room door shut, and he's not impressed. He's literally pounding on the door with something, I think it's a toy. The door is actually shaking in the door jam. The toy now sounds like this "it's lea... it's lea... it's lea..." instead of "it's learning time!"

Did I mention we bought a laptop? Or - to be more specific - Steven bought a laptop. Not a brand new $800 laptop (we're way too cheap), a used one off Portage Online. Now you'd think that buying a used one would be a good idea right? Except for the few "minor" issues: the battery does not hold a charge. You can have it charged right up and if you unplug it for 5 minutes (no exaggeration) the charge is GONE. If you're going to have a laptop, isn't the idea that you aren't plugged in to the wall? it doesn't have the hardware for wireless internet. I called the local computer guys. It's about $75 for that. it doesn't have Microsoft Works, or Microsoft office. Hence, no typing program. You may think these things are minor. However, once you add the cost of adding all these things to the computer, as well as what we paid for the computer, we could have almost bought a new cheapish laptop. Men. As of yet we haven't done any of these things or hoo...

Yesterday at church someone was talking about operation Christmas child. She was letting us know the little details, and the goals of the church. She then said to the kids to make sure to help their parents buy little things for the box. Jordan had been standing in front of her chair listening to all this talk about Christmas presents. Then she climbs back up, sits really tightly against me, hugs my arm and says "Mommy, I don't want to go in the box." She was very concerned. I hugged her and told her not to worry, she didn't have to go in the box if she didn't want to. The people around us had a good chuckle. Then, later at home she says to me "Mommy, Jamin calls his mom 'Mom'." I told her that was okay. She then goes on to say "I want to call you Mom too, just like Jamin." I don't know if she'll be allowed to play with that Jamin anymore. Back to Christmas child, I definitely want to do a box this year, maybe two. I wanted to l...

We had a mouse. I didn't want to post about it earlier, because mice are kind of yucky and I was afraid you'd say "ew, they had a mouse. Guess she's not been cleaning." I know, I know, anyone can get a mouse. But you know how it is. It's like lice - any kid can come home from school with lice, but it just seems so yucky. I hope my kids never get lice. That being said - if any of you ever have lice, or your kids do, rest assured that I won't think you're yucky. If you have a mouse I will not think it's because you aren't cleaning your house. The mouse had been running around in the ceiling of the basement. You could hear it scampering across the tiles. I was actually beginning to think it was more than just a mouse because it sounded huge! I think it's the cheapo tiles. That's also part of why I didn't blog about it. My readers may forgive a mouse, but if you thought we had rats? I can't count on your loyalty that much. I went t...

Note: Before I begin, I love you Lyla! This is no way should be evidence that Lyla wishes ill on her friends. lol. Lyla: Watcha doing roomie? Tiffany: Slicing potatoes for my Zuppa Toscana soup. It's to bring to my Grandma's house for supper! Lyla: Hey wait a minute! [dashes off] Try this, it's a slicer! Tiffany: Okay! Lyla: Although your perfectly safe, efficient method seems to be working, why don't you try using the potato slicer without using the thing to hold the potato? Just hold it with your hand. Don't worry, everything will be fine. (that, my friends, is some pretty blatant foreshadowing) Tiffany: Okay, since you are one of my best friends, and are only looking out for my best interests, I will abandon the use of the safety features of this product and walk the wild (and somehow more efficient) side. ***** I sliced the tip of my finger right off . I ran down the hallway, clutching my finger in my hand. There was a trail of blood all the way down the...

The other day I was sitting at the computer in the basement, enjoying a little peaceful time to myself. Tennyson and Mitchell were both napping and Steven and Jordan were upstairs, him on his way for his pre-night-shift nap and her entertaining herself. I could hear her doing something in the kitchen. The kitchen is at the top of the stairs. I heard Jordan tumble. She's fallen down the stairs before, but usually it's more of a sliding down on her back or front and not a tumble. She's never actually hurt herself much on these occasional slips down the stairs. This time though, the noise was incredible. It was so loud and it was definitely the sound of a head thumping down the stairs as a small child cartwheeled from the top of the stairs to the bottom. I jumped up from my computer as my heart stopped. I actually screamed or yelled or something as I ran through the door and around the corner. In the two seconds it took me to reach her I honestly had a mental picture of her la...

From Veggie Tales - "What Can a Baby Do?" (as sung by the baby's big sister) What can a baby do? Oh, What can a baby do? You puny pip You can't do zip But lay around and... Too small to walk Can't even talk Oh, please learn something new? I'd like a pet But what I get Is not a dog, but you! You sit and drool Oh, so not cool What's all the hoop do doo? What can a baby do? Oh, What can a baby do? I can't have fun 'Cuz I'm the one Who's stuck all day with you. I'll tell you what a baby can do! He smiles and coos. That's right, in the last little while Mitchell has mastered the smile. He's still a little stingy about sharing it, but it's there. I've always felt that babies smile at just the right time. As mommies, we spend so much time caring for a tiny person who doesn't really look at you (at the beginning), doesn't smile and doesn't talk. A newborn is kind of a lump. A very cute, very loved lump, but a little ...

I'm still full. Last night was Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma Q's house, and as always there was a LOT of food and just as much dessert. It takes days to recover. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it!) we don't have days, because we're having Thanksgiving dinner again tonight - or we are if we get invited. We know that there is dinner tonight, and we assume we're expected, but we haven't actually been told to come. It's kind of funny. We've actually almost missed a function or two to this phenomenon. We'll just show up. It seems that these days people race from gathering to gathering, stuffing themeslves and enjoying the fleeting company of family and loved ones. I wonder how many of us stop to ask ourselves what we're thankful for. I'm thankful for many things (here come the bullets again). I'm thankful for my husband. He's my everything. Together we have made a family and a life for ourselves. I love his se...

That's right. From now on I'll make the trip to Winnipeg to get the kids' pictures done at Superstore. Remember my last post about WalMart's photo lab? I made it through that experience, only to go back a few days later to get my kids pictures done together. After all, when you have that third baby you like to get a picture done with the three of them in it right? I thought so. That deal was $4.99. Pretty good eh? Only until they sit at the computer and do up a collage that you could purchase for an extra $10. Originally it was a $30 value. I bought it. Today I went to pick up Mitchell's pictures. The associate showed me the pictures I ordered. He then went on to show me a "sampler package" that they included. He pulls out a couple of extra 8x10s and a 10x13. Of course they chose pictures that I hadn't ordered in those sizes, and made them sepia and did some nice things with them. They were lovely. For only $20 more I could take those home too. Do you...

Jordan and I getting ready to go skating. Me, Jordan and Uncle Travis, flying around the rink! It took us about 10 or 15 minutes to do one lap. The entire time her legs are swinging around erratically. I think I should have let her walk around the house in them first so she could at least stand up. But, she will learn! I'm planning on going back at least once a week this winter. Maybe next year we'll get her in lessons or something, but for now I'll just be happy when she can stand.

I'm torn. Tennyson has prettier hair than me. I'm not kidding when I say "pretty." People have complimented me on how cute my little girls are. Last night we are at a house party for a relative. There were tons of people there and I had to correct a few people who thought Tennyson was a girl. I'm not necessarily offended by the mistake, I think it's kind of funny. My mom and I laugh with affection at his girlie curls. I've been pretty sure I was going to just leave his hair for a while. Lately I've been tempted to get his girlie curls cut off. Not because I don't like them, but his hair is getting pretty long. When his bangs (yes, he totally has bangs) lay forward they're actually past his eyebrows. It won't be long and they'll be hanging in his eyes. My only regret is that I'm pretty sure that his hair isn't going to come back curly. It's growing in very straight everywhere else, it's just the hair at the bottom of the...

This morning we had toast and jam for breakfast. Tennyson loves toast and jam, especially the jam. He holds his toast flat against his face and tries to eat the jam off first. This makes a mess - most things do around here! Jordan thinks this is hilarious. "Mommy, look at Tennyson's face," she laughs.