Helping

Hey

So I was going to write today about all sorts of things going on in our lives right now. I figured that since it had been so long since I last wrote, it was time to update you all.

But instead, when I logged onto facebook this morning I was greeted with a request by a family I knew back when I first became a mom. We were both very young moms together and spent a lot of Micah's first year playing with them. Then I moved to the city and we lost contact, other than through facebook.

I heard last year that her youngest daughter was born at 24 weeks and has been struggling ever since. Her lungs didn't have any time to develop and so she has been fighting to breathe and has not yet left the hospital. Her family live about an hours drive from the children's hospital here and if that wasn't enough of a burden with five other children, they've just received news that they'll have to travel to another province on Monday to see a lung specialist.

This is not a well off family. They're not even middle class. This is a young, struggling family with a child who desperately needs help.

Her aunt posted today asking for any financial help people can spare. One of the downsides of being poor yourself, is that most of the people you know are poor too. I've contacted her aunt about how to donate myself, but I thought I would pass on the request to anyone else out there who might be in the position to give.

If you would like to read more about little Amy Lee, visit her facebook group here
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150526628308&v=wall

It was time

Giving

If you're in the giving mood, please visit this blog. Unfortunately this month, I can't afford to give but I'm keeping them in my reader and I'll look again in the coming months.

Spring!

It's been beautiful here all week. The snow is finally starting to melt and bits of grass and mud are poking through. It's so exciting! If it wasn't for this nasty head cold, I would have been out in it so much more. :(

Today Owen and I went to church and then we picked up our friend Victoria for a visit to the international food and craft fair. It was part of my province's multiculturalism week and it was amazing. There was tons of great food, crafts and dancing. I forgot my camera, of course but I'll include some pics taken at home of what I bought.

Owen's just finally gone down for his nap so Im enjoying the quiet. The boys get home in another hour from their dad's house and Im just not prepared! I always have such a long list of things I want to accomplish on the weekends, but I only get around to like half of it. Once they come through the door today, Im sure I'll be even less productive. But it's worth it.

One of the big themes in my life right now is about letting go. I'm learning to enjoy all that I have and the gift of each day. It's amazing how much happier I am now that I've given up trying to get everything right. Stressing myself out to keep my house clean was only damaging myself and my family. In my mind, I was doing it for them, but in reality I was taking myself away from them.

Im so glad I had the chance to learn this lesson now and not when the kids were grown.

Anyway, Happy Spring everyone! I'm going to take a nap ;)

papa

My grandfather passed last Tuesday evening in Ontario. My brothers and I got the call late Tuesday night and weren't able to get on a flight until early Thursday morning. The next few days were physically exhausting and emotionally draining as we went through the business of a wake, funeral, burial and various family gatherings. I arrived home around 1am Saturday night and other than a couple hours to clean the kitchen and grocery shop, I've been in bed. The exhaustion that Im feeling is more than trying to catch up on missed sleep or the fatigue that comes from travelling. Im trying to get back to normal, but it's slow going.

Jason's been wonderful and the kids have been surprisingly good. I don't have to go back to work until tomorrow, which is really good because I'd be useless anyway. Even the thought of having to pick up a skating helmet for Micah tonight seems so overwhelming.

I wasn't super close to my grandfather. We've lived in different provinces for over 8 years and I only visited him once during that time. Growing up though, he only lived a few streets away and I saw him nearly every day. He is the person I think of when I hear the words grandpa or grandfather or papa, like I used to call him. I named my son after him. He meant a lot to me, even though I really didn't know very much about his final years. He will be missed.

Simple Pleasures

Kelly wrote today about simple pleasures in her life, which got me thinking about what I enjoy in my every day life. Seeing as how it's 10:50pm and Im trying to do NaBloPoMo for both of my blogs this month, I thought, "what the heck? Im already listing them off in my head, might as well post them." But boy was I wrong. The first few were easy and didn't even take any effort to think up, but after 5 or so, I really had to think. Maybe it's time I spend a little more time being grateful for my life.

So the list:

Owen's smile and simple "hi!" when I walk through the door. He's becoming more vocal and affectionate and it just melts my heart!

Hugs from Micah, my oldest. This is a new, rare treat and I can't help but wonder how many more of those Ill get.

Walking into work in the mornings feeling like Im doing something good for both me and for all of those moms Im helping to give a voice to.

Reading a book or watching a movie in bed, alone.

Jamie coming into bed in the middle of the night because he still NEEDS me. I miss waking up to the older two snuggling close to me.

Sit-down family dinners

My weekly women's group

Cuddling in front of the fire with my hunny, watching tv

Jamie's laugh

A clean kitchen

A really good cup of tea

Soft, smooth hair after a good cut

The satisfaction of sewing Bunny, Noah's current favorite stuffed animal. This is actually what I just spent the last 15 minutes doing. Bunny has been sewed so many times, there isn't much left to attach the thread to! Noah just loves him so much though and I know that in the morning his eyes will light up and his heart will swell with love. Just having the privilege to sew this stuffed bunny for my kid is something so simple, yet so amazing to me.

Total time: 16 minutes

this post is linked to the mom's 30 minute blog challenge

Making the most of it

Today Im working from home, thanks to the lovely tonsil infection I can't seem to get rid of. Im not too upset about being home, I can acutally get a lot more done when I dont have to worry about driving. Instead my biggest issue is the screams and constant commotion coming from downstairs, thanks to my two oldest. See, when Im sick to the point that Im not well enough to go to work, Im also not well enough to drive all over the city. On any normal working day I spend 3+ hours driving not only myself, but all five other members of my family to their destinations. Im not about to deal with that when my body seems to be revolting. So, the kids get an extra day to their weekend and I get the fun of dealing with them.

Both James and Owen are stick as well so their actually the easy ones, needing only cuddles, juice and tissues.

I was two hours into working when I realised how silly my desk looked. Why yes, that is a light saber! And also a whole jar of peanut butter with what looks like a spoon but is actually a knife to spread the PB on the crackers, just out of view! See also, xbox game, tissues, empty coffee and coke cups and child's halloween notepad.

Today Im operating on the wise parenting philosophy of whatever works.

How's your Monday going?

links for today's post:

Mom's 30 minute blog challenge