Monday, October 31, 2011

A Very Harry Halloween!




Happy Halloween all, it has been very Potter-ish around here!  I did not get  a photo of our "HP/Deathly Hallows" Jack-o-lantern, but here are Abby and Mina in costume, (that would be Ginny and Arnold the pygmy-Puff). The picture does not really show the tie, headband and co-ordinating nailpolish, the wand or the robe.  But, you get the idea. Mina's fluffy vest is rather simple, but it was a last minute costume switch (she was going to be a skeleton until Abby decided she should be a pygmy-puff.  Luckily, Mina was more than happy to agree.)   Abby spent much time trying to get Mina to sit on her shoulder.  There was also a themed dinner, with mashed potato ghosts, orange/purple jello, and deviled eye-balls.  And I hand piped no less than 60 gingerbread skeletons for the class parties.  This stay at home mom stuff is getting really fun, now that I am not in agony.  Sadly, only 2 weeks left then it will be back to work for me.  I always thought I would go insane if I did not get to work, but it turns out that this is not the case.  I am actually really enjoying this.  Alas.  Now I know what I am missing. 

Also pictured is Mina's first day of school, and mom baking bread with the girls.  They had a great time!  Clearly, I will never get a commercial kitchen license, as our baking practises are rather unhygenic.  I have no idea why Mina has no clothes on.  I was in a post surgical daze, that is my excuse. 

Monday, October 24, 2011

Another Gem

Mina: "Mommy, let's play castle.  Abby will be the queen and I will be the princess.  Daddy will be the King."

Me: "And what will I be?"

Mina: "Mommy, you can be the cook-servant."

thanks. 

As as side note, Martha Stewart always has really good hair.  Doncha think?

Monday, October 10, 2011

My sweet 4 year old...

On a Sunday Morning, getting ready for church. 
"But Mom, really, please, I have never been naked at church before!" ~~Mina

In other news, she is slowly loosing her innocence.  As much as I love seeing my kids grow up, learn things, go to school and make friends, it tears my heart apart to see them being subjected to the world.  Mina has a hat, well, one of many, and it is her yellow kitty hat that Granny made,  It has cute little ears on it.  She Loooooves this kitty hat, and wears it often.  She has me stuff the ears to they don't flop over.  She wears this hat to church and to bed.  One day, she came home from school with the yellow kitty hat in her backpack, and told me she would not wear it anymore.  Because Eli was laughing at it, and trying to take it away.  Eli!  You stealer of childhood! You breaker of a mother's heart!  So, since that day, the beloved kitty hat has sat alone in the bin.  Very very sad.  It is the thing about school that I hate the most.  I wish I could forever cocoon my children so that they could always be pure "Äbby"or pure "Mina", without all of the influences of the Eli's of the world.  (It kind of makes me think of the plan of Salvation in a way, and how HF must have felt about sending us down here and watching us grow up...)   Today the kitty hat, and songs about farting.  Tomorrow, well, I hope my girls are strong enough to love what they love, and be true to themselves.  I hope the kitty hat will be dusted off and worn proudly again. 



BTW, Happy Thanksgiving!  gobble gobble. 

Friday, October 07, 2011

The Things I Have Lost

Well, today I took off the remainder of the steri-strips from my tummy.  And, it turns out, not only have I lost 60 + cm of small intestine, I have also lost my belly button.  Very unsettleing. 

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

I'm Back!

Well, I'm sort of back.  Recovering from a major abdominal surgery is a big deal.   I can't even imagine having a C section and having to go through the recovery from surgery, plus the usual post natal problems, plus a new baby.  My hat goes off to any woman who has had to do this.  And to those people who have "ëlective"surgery, well, you are plain crazy, IMHO.  Real life surgery is nothing like hospital experiences on TV.  No hottie doctors, the rooms are ugly and old, and there is always a room mate.  The only people who get private rooms here are people with super bug infections, or people who are dying.  In my case, the room mate was Sophie.  An elderly native lady who had her foot chopped off.  She was very hard to share with.  She kept her TV on all the time.  Even at night.  That is when I would muster all of my strength to cross the room, turn off her TV and move it out of her reach.  She blamed the nurses.  ha, take that Sophie.  And the food is just as bad as you have heard.  But, I did discover something about myself.  I have inherited a strange behaviour from my Grandfather.  In his fridge, in the butter and cheese keepers in the door, he always had a huge collection of individually portioned condiments.  Ketchup, salad dressing, soy sauce, you name it.  Well, by the end of my stay, I had nearly filled the top drawer of my bedside table with individually portioned condiments.  I just could not bear to toss them, they were still good, and maybe I might pack one in my lunch for work one day.  But then, I envisioned my grandpa's fridge, and all that mustard falling out every time you opened the door, and I threw them all away.  Just like that.  There are many things to be said about a hospital stay, and truth is, I could complain all day about it, but really,  I am just thankful to have it over with.  I am slowly getting better, even though my feet and legs are still ridiculously swollen, I can eat, I am not throwing up anymore.  I hope to start gaining weight, I am going to get a second medical opinion on managing my Crohn's, and also visit a naturopath.  And, I am going to start juicing, once I am able to go grocery shopping. 

Another thing about going through this experience, wow, people really care.  I have had so many people helping in so many ways.  I am thankful and blessed to have so many people, friends, family, co-workers, who are looking out for me.  Today's task is writing out thank you cards!