Grandma is with Jesus

Today is my Grandma Voth's memorial service. It feels so strange not to be with our family today. Times like these are hard to be living far away.

My Grandma's journey on earth ended this past Tuesday. The news of her death came as quite a shock to our family as she wasn't sick at all. David and I are so glad that we were able to see her while we were out in BC. Little did we know that those last hugs, conversation and "I love you's" would be our last. My grandma passed away peacefully at home, at the age of 82, sitting in her favourite chair. She lived a full life for the Lord and leaves behind a great legacy. It's easier for me to say good bye knowing that grandma is with Jesus. My grandpa passed away about 18 years ago so my grandma has been alone for a long time. Even in the sadness I can't help but smile as I imagine my grandma reuniting with my grandpa in heaven.

My grandma was an amazing women. I don't remember ever hearing her complain or being negative. She was always smiling and ready to chat. My grandma loved to talk and share the latest condo and family news. I've never known an elderly women as classy as my Grandma Voth. She always looked nice. Every day she would put on a coordinating outfit (skirt, blazer, matching necklace, earrings, etc), do her hair, wear a little make up, etc. She always wore some kind of heels. Even if she wasn't going anywhere or expecting anyone to come over she always dressed up. She figured you just never knew what each day held, so you better be ready just in case.

As a child/ teen my memories of going to my grandma's house always included grape or orange pop. If you went to Grandma's and got carbonated pop you considered yourself lucky. Most of the time the pop was flat and so you knew that some of the other cousins must have been over for a visit recently. My grandma was never much of a baker but she always had little store bought glazed or powdered donuts, cookies and bugels on hand just in case. As kids we loved going to my grandma's condo and riding up and down the elevator. Other highlights included searching for the cat that was always in hiding (I think I only ever saw it about 5 times in my life), swinging on the porch swing, looking at Grandma's most recent puzzle, hearing her play the accordion, etc. Each Christmas I would look forward to seeing what kind of clothes grandma knitted for my Barbies. As we got a little older grandma occasionally made us cousins clothes. The funny thing was that grandma often remembered us and our size from the year before, therefore the clothes were almost always too small. These are good memories and smiles for me.

As a grown up I admire Grandma's handiwork and desire to help those in need. She recently knit a ton of scarves for the people of Vancouver during the Olympic games. Through the years I can't even imagine how may blankets and pieces of clothing she has knitted. I have several special crocheted blankets that she has made me through the years. My grandma could see a picture of something and recreate it with ease. One of her favourite things was going to Value Village and finding a garment or two and then redoing them to suit her perfectly. Each one of her blazers (and she had A LOT) had a different broach pinned on. Each set also had it's own set of jewelry to go with it. I have often thought that my ability to look at "trash" as see it as "treasure" and then make the transformation, has come from my grandma. In the same sense, I've always thought that my creative side comes from her as well.

My grandma loved visiting her condo friends in the social room and took part in weekly puzzle evenings for as long as I can remember. Just last month when we went to visit her she showed us her latest puzzle. The puzzle inside the box was totally different than the picture on the box making for quite the challenge. Grandma loved the news and made it her business to always be informed about what was happening around town and the World. My grandma also loved to write. She kept a detailed daily diary each day for as long as I know. When I would call or visit her she would often end off the conversation by telling me that she was happy that she had a little something special to write in her diary that evening.

My grandma will be missed by our family, her friends and all those that knew her. I thank God that I come from a family with amazing grandparent role models. I have been so blessed; I will always remember my grandma. She was one incredible woman!

Loving his Food

Calvin is a happy little eater. These days I have found a new appreciation for baby cookies, as they entertain Calvin and allow the rest of us to eat in relative peace. I took this pic yesterday after dinner. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw his messy happy little face. Even Sarah was cracking up with giggles.

Calvin is also really good with the sippy cup already. He enjoys drinking water with all his meals now. The hard part is keeping his cup away from his big sister who sneaks away with it the first chance she gets. There's something about his baby things and food that is very appealing to Sarah. Some days I prepare double the sweet potatoes, peas, etc so that she can have her baby food "fix" as well. Oh well, it's the way it goes.

Serenity Now

Sitting on the front porch of a tiny Greek restaurant (on the island of Corfu, Greece). Eating the most delicious fresh Greek salad, pitas, tzatiki, chicken, etc. Warm weather, slight breeze. Totally peaceful. No where to go and nothing to do, just enjoy the day. Take me back...yes please! One day honey, one day...

I am generally a happy and content person. Life is good, I am blessed beyond words. I adore our children and love them to bits.

That being said, I think it's safe to say that any mother out there will agree that there are moments where you feel like you're losing your mind. It's hard not to feel frustrated, irritated, and even angry at times.

Sarah is a sweetie, but she has a very challenging side to her, I'm sure this comes as no surprise. She is strong willed, determined and isn't afraid to show her emotions (all of them). Since Calvin is on the move and standing along furniture he is also falling a lot more. This equals much more crying in our house. Getting him to nap has also been much more challenging due to all his new skills.

Lately I find myself often thinking of the "before children" days. I wouldn't change where we're at for anything. Everything is a season. However, I think back on those days fondly. I am so... glad that David and I had lots of time together before we had children. Even more than that, I'm glad that we made the most of our time and created lots of amazing memories together. The photos in this post illustrate where I find my mind wandering to these days... can you blame me?



Ahhh...Venice. Days spent walking the little streets and bridges. Exploring the town and peeking into shops along the way. Amazing gelato. Enough said.

The best part of all, experiencing it all with the love of my life, David. Great conversation, wonderful adventures and so much fun. One day, probably quite far away, we will get away again (just the 2 of us). Every couple needs a holiday from their kids, we are no different.

In the meantime we have our memories. I will let my mind drift to the islands of Greece, the streets of Venice and the parks of Paris. Through the crying, the tantrums, the really early mornings, etc, etc, I will find my serenity now.

Standing Tall

Over the weekend Calvin went from occasionally trying to pull himself up on his crib to pulling himself onto EVERYTHING all the time. Yikes! Even with his crib lowered he is easily able to stand up. This isn't so fun when trying to put him down for a nap, since he just stands up right away (followed by crying). Calvin pulls himself up to the couches, chairs, stools, you name it and he can do it. That combined with fulling crawling everywhere makes for a very busy baby boy.

Calvin sharpening his teeth on the coffee table (poor coffee table). I love how this photo has Calvin's reflection on the coffee table.

Calvin's new favourite thing to do: Stand and hit the top of the coffee table. Sarah was watching Shrek in the background, to explain the music. Calvin is learning how to follow a beat.

Sarah and her Baby

Yesterday I stayed in the car with the kids while David went to get something in the grocery store. Since Sarah was being sweet with her doll and I had our little camera in my purse I decided to have a mini photo shoot with her. Precious moments.

Stickers

Like all kids, Sarah loves stickers. Every couple of months we get the sticker pages from Disney DVD club (trying to get us to buy). I always let Sarah play with the stickers and have some fun with them. This morning she thought it would be fun to sticker up Calvin. He didn't seem to mind. Thankfully the stickers are pretty cheap in quality and therefore didn't stick very well, therefore no crying when I pulled them off his hair. Funny kids, rarely a dull moment.

Standing

This is how I found Calvin after his morning nap. So cute and proud of himself. Yikes, looks like it's time to drop the mattress again! This little boy has started pulling himself to standing on everything possible the last few days. Life just keeps getting more interesting and busy. This also means more crying since he falls often, good times.

Littlest Pet Shop

The other day our neighbour girl was cleaning out her closet and brought over her large collection of Littlest Pet Shop toys to give to Sarah. You never know what kids are going to like. Well, this one seems to be a hit! She loves all the little animals (there are over 20 of them) and all the moving parts on the set ups. Even Calvin seems to be enjoying these toys.

In the News

Today David was in the local St. Catharines newspaper. He may just be in the background, but he's there. The article features Megalomaniac's wine variety, Homegrown. David said the reporter came to the winery to get a photo of John Howard (the owner) and the wine, however John Howard insisted that David be in the photo as well.

Here's our first newspaper cliping for his "wine" scrapbook, pretty exciting!

Happy Sunday!

The Case of the Missing Yams

Sarah is constantly taking things and "hiding" them on us. I once lost my keys later to find that she had put them behind the couch. David is forever looking for his extra cell phone/ alarm clock, etc.

The other day I placed a couple of yams on the kitchen counter as I was getting ready to make more baby food for Calvin. A few minutes later I went to get the yams when I realized that they had disappeared. I immediately asked Sarah what she had done with the yams on the counter. She would just look at me and shrug then babble something that I couldn't understand. I looked in all the usual places and several others, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I was soon imaging the yams not being found and later creating a terrible smell somewhere in our house. Had to find the yams!

About a half hour later it was lunch time, so I thought I would give it a break and start getting the kids food ready. I opened the microwave to heat up the leftovers when I saw the yams just sitting in the microwave. What a little stinker!

The microwave seems to be one of Sarah's new favourite places to hide things. I found her doll in there later the same day. I was just glad that I found the yams after all.

My Loyalty to Lego

As a child, early teen and teacher I loved lego, still do. I was the one that would occasionally play lego with my students on inside days since it was just more fun than going in the staff room. Therefore it's no question that I hope that our children also love lego/ duplo. I'm not just talking about building blocks in general, but LEGO. Sarah received her first bin of lovely Duplo from Michael and Rebecca when Calvin was born. As Rebecca as the same love for lego/ dulpo as I do. Sarah loves pulling the bricks apart and is starting to enjoy stacking them together.

This morning while we were on our morning walk we stopped at the tiny local thrift store, somewhere we haven't gone to in nearly a year. I was thrilled to have found this great bucket full of actual real duplo for just $2. No fake Mega Blocks here! I have to tell you that I hate Mega Blocks. I'm all for things costing less, however I still appreciate good quality (especially in toys). I would rather get a great quality item second hand than a new cheaply made one.

While walking Walmart (yep, we still do that), David often talked about getting Sarah some duplo. However, it was actually the dreaded Mega Blocks he spoke of. I explain how we will only be buying our kids real duplo/ lego. I know it's much more expensive, but we'll find a way. My siblings and I would play with our lego for hours on end, one of our best toys for sure! David didn't really grow up with toys, so he doesn't understand this Lego vs Mega Block issue at all. Instead he just thinks I'm a little crazy and a bit of a Lego snob. Perhaps I am. Anyways, today I was happy to add to our Duplo collection for cheap. Let's hope this is the first of many similar lego finds to come in the years ahead.

Disclaimer: I did find one single Mega Block piece in the tub. However, I assure you that it's been removed.

Puzzles

On Saturday the kids and I went for a little walk to hit up a couple of garage sales. We scored 5 wooded puzzles for $1 total. Sarah has been enjoying playing with the puzzles while we've been in the house. I'm amazed how fast she is at each one. Once she's finished she moves it to the side and grabs the next one in the pile.