Living Loving Breathing Boys

Yesterday, was the Lift Lock Hockey Tournament… one of the few outdoor, hockey touramants there are… it required unbelievable amounts of work

100 % Canadian…

That would describe this man…

Of course, there are many other adjectives to describe him…

dedicated… he was out there… on the locks, 7 a.m. till 8 p.m., setting up, shoveling after each and every game, coaching, cheering, parenting not just his kids…

loving... despite the work he always had a moment to stop for Josh, Zach, or Tyler…

energetic… he has non stop energy…  after the day, he was going to play hockey himself…

disciplined… he is on a “diet” again… and despite the pizza, gatorade and bad food that was around him, he stuck to not eating till he could have a salad…

charming… he is such a social being despite of the fact that he thinks he is anti-social…

adorable… I mean, really, I am not even being bias, right?!!

This is the guy that I get to call father of my children, my best friend and lover.  How Lucky Am I ?

Sanj.. the human zamboni.

Wow… am I ever exhausted!

Making a birthday special can be hard work!  My Zach  would say that he had a good birthday.  Sammy took Zach to the Petes game (hockey…OHL) last night, just the two of them.  Zach was thrilled.  He adores Sammy.   He imitates Sammy as much as he can… or maybe they are just that alike.

Yesterday morning, after Tyler finished his exam, we headed to Toronto for the day.  All the boys except Jordan, who was on the Rhema hockey team and had a game out of town.  We drove an hour and half to the other side of TO to shop at Zach’s favourite store… Abercrombie Kids … there are only 2 in Ontario.

The other kids happily tagged along… hoping for some loot too.

I have 6 boys… all of them are shoppers.  They love to shop for clothes.  And… they have very good  expensive taste.

It is always an adventure to go into the mall with all 6 of them.  I am easily out numbered.  For the most part, they were good.

My Max… yes, my sweet Max… was copping some serious attitude though!  I was wondering what happened to my Max?  Where oh where did he go? Hope he comes back soon!

Then my kid  # 2 decided to join Max with the attitude.

Hum… that was not pleasant.

Then, there is Josh…  need I say more? 🙂

I am nursing a head cold.  I am stuffy, achy head and tired.  Driving was a bit of a challenge.  I was so sleepy!  (Thank you, Jesus, for travelling mercies).

We went to Whitby to Zach’s restaurant of choice, The Mongolian Grill for supper where Sanj’s family joined us.

How is it possible that 9 years ago, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy?

Zachary Thomas was causing me great pains to make his entrance into this world.  He came out like lightening… and has been buzzing around ever since.

If you have ever read anyone of my posts that I have written on Zach, you will know that he has been a bright light in our lives.  He has such energy.  He literally sparkles. He is always ready to go…  his energy is non-ending.

He embraces life whole heartedly.  He loves his brothers.  Actually, he adores them.

He never lets his size or age stop him.  If he puts his mind to something, he keeps at it.  Right now, he is determined to become a snowboarder.  At his age, it is not an easy feat… yet he keeps at it,  every time he is on the hill.  He has no trouble picking himself up and trying over and over.

Zach is a hard worker.  Since he was a little one, he loves working by his dad’s side.   He is out there, shoveling the rink, as long as Sanj is out there, from beginning to end.  He often times, tackles shoveling  the rink himself, so he can skate.

Zach loves hockey!  He loves snowboarding and skateboarding.  He loves his trick bike.  He loves swimming and playing for hours in a pool.  He loves his ATV and is yearning for a dirt bike or snowmobile.   He loves his dogs.  Zach loves being active.

Zach loves food, especially Indian food.  He loves his curries… the hotter the better.

Zachary is a very content child.   He is not asking for  things… though when asked he dreams big.  All he wanted for his birthday was a dirt bike or snowmobile!

Zach loves his family.  He is a the typical little brother that loves being around his brothers.   He loves to imitate them, despite the fact that they find this annoying!

lol

On this day, January 28th, our family was blessed with a great blessing…

Zach, we love you so much!

Dear Jesus,

Bless this dear child of mine,

What a blessing he is!  Please be with him as he grows … keep him in Your love.  Help him to continue dreaming big.  May all his dreams come true.  May his life be full of blessings… love and happiness.

We are so grateful to have him as part of our family.

Thank you, Jesus… for his life.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Zach!

I love you.

This is an older photo of Zach but just shows his personality and is one of my favorites of him.

Do you have a blog?  Do you enjoy reading blogs? If so, what is it about blogs that attract you?

My brother started blogging years before me.  His blog allowed me to peek into his life and make up for some of the geological distance that is between us.  (He lives in Maryland… and me, in Ontario).  He has a sense of humor and is often irreverent to the point of rude.  His blog was my introduction to the wide world of blogging.

After reading his blog for a period of time, I decided to start a blog of my own.

I loved the release of my emotions that came with writing.  I wrote for myself.  Then I began to get followers.  This was so flattering.  I love getting comments!  I wrote about everything, my boys, my parents, growing up with abuse, my sweet Sanj… my blog was/is random.

Over the years, I have some blogs that I follow.  I love reading blogs maybe because I see myself in so many of the normal people out there.  I see realness.   I think that there is a distinction … in magazines, so often I am reading about the rich and famous.  It is a life that is so not real in my world.  Yet when I read blogs, usually of other moms, I feel like I am usually doing ok.

So… I wanted to share  some of my favorite blogs with you…  my list changes so… these are the ones I look at a few times a week, at least.

http://theearcompany.blogspot.com is Sanj’s professional blog.  Since he is one of the smartest people I know… I am sure you will appreciate his blog.

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com…   This blog is one that I have been following for a while.  This lady was living a charmed life with her husband and children when her husband and her were involved in a horrible plane crash resulting in her body being burned terrible.  I am drawn to her page… love her courage and love for her family.

http://thepioneerwoman.com … I have stumbled on her blog… she is rather a star it seems… I love her way of writing and her photography.   I love her recipes.  She loves butter.

http://michaelhyatt.com This is a man I heard of from my brother.  He is CEO of Thomas Nelson Publisher.  I love his advice and thoughts as the pertain to the publishing world as well as the world of writing.  A lot of his stuff is so useful to my real everyday life.  I view him as I would fatherly figure …I guess.

http://www.wonderingaboutgod.blogspot.com…. My brother’s blog.

These are ones that are on my daily radar.  Listed below are ones that I read and want to give a shout out to:

thespotts.blogspot.com

mormonexwife.blogspot.com

bicklebits.wordpress.com

I hope I didn’t miss anyone that follows me regularly.

I think that for me, reading blogs is a mix of having a pen pal (remember those back in the day?), reading a magazine and peeking into someone’s diary all in one.

Have you considered blogging?   You should give it a try… but be warned, it’s addicting!

Have a great week!

Ramblings on a Sunday night…

Yesterday my hormone raging son came to me and said,  “Sorry, Mom.”

Priceless.  Life immediately becomes perfect.  What crime he is sorry for, doesn’t matter.  He is sorry and all on his own has apologized.  I love this kid of mine!

Yesterday was all about hockey… of course.  We went to Courtice for a hockey tournament.  It was snowing like crazy.  I ended coming home with Josh.  The snow was coming down so hard.  The roads are wicked.  My van, despite the fact that it has snow tires, stinks in snow.  Me, despite the fact that I have driven in snow most of my life, am petrified.  One accident, on an ice patch, 15 years ago, coming downhill, feeling totally out of control as the car slide into the tree… $3000 later, has left me scared of snowy driving conditions.

I am on a 2 lane road, coming down a hill… ahead of me I see lights of a snowplow coming straight at me.  I am braking yet worried about slipping onto the other lane.  The snow plow is not getting off my lane.  He is coming straight at me, and not at a slow speed.  I am trying to keep my panic , that I am feeling bubbling over under control.  There wasn’t even a car length between us as he finally, with less than a second to spare  he moves over.  That was on the beginning of my trip home.

Thank you, Jesus for keeping us safe.

Outside today, the temperature hovered at -20 Celsius most of the day.  It has been one of those days that we just couldn’t get warmed.  Church… lunch and then home.  Brrr… Zach went outside while Sanj was clearing the rink for Sammy and his friends.  Next thing we know, he is inside with a bloody lip/tongue.  He decided to lick the snow/ice.  Ouch!

Sammy has some friends over… one of the boys ate his rice with syrup over it.  I thought this was only on Elf.   Hum…  Definitely different strokes for different folks.

Josh has been walking around saying “Look into my uvula.”

Football has taken over this house.  The boys are all into it right now.  Super Bowl Sunday is just weeks away.  Ohhhh, the anticipation!

Zachary is turning 9 years old this Friday!  He has no clue what he would like for his birthday.  Yet he is excited about his present.  He does not like or play with toys.  His only desire is a dirt bike.  The $3000 kind.

I am not ready for Monday.  I feel like I can sleep endlessly.

Happy Sunday Night!

Do you every play grown up?

Is that a weird question?  What I mean is, sometimes I feel like I am still 30 something.  Yet, in reality I am older than I feel.

Friday night we played grown up.

We got dressed up, drove to Toronto with friends and had dinner at this crazy posh steakhouse.

Harbour Sixty Steakhouse…

Wow, the place was nice.

Everything was crazy expensive.

The waiters were just ON…  they knew the skills to wait on people!

The food was really yummy.

There was stuff on the menu that I had no idea what it said.

PAN SEARED FOIE GRAS…

Do you know what is? A fattened duck’s liver.  ($39)

I didn’t have an appreciation for it but the rest of my party loved it.  They actually delighted in it.

I ordered TRUFFLE MAC AND CHEESE ($13) as my appetizer even though it was really a side.

Mac and Cheese made with truffle oil… I didn’t even know there was such a thing.  Yes, it was yummy.

Sanj and Mark were there for the steak.

They were not disappointed.

(Isn’t he so cute?)

I am not a big meat lover… and I really have to say the steak was fantastic. ($54)

Jyoti and I had fish… and it was really good.

I had red snapper… de-boned. ($36)

This little potpourri thingy came with my meal.   It was my lemon… wrapped up all fancy, for me to squeeze so the seeds didn’t come through.

( I didn’t figure it out till after I had opened it and squeezed the lemon, seeds and all on my fish).

We had so much fun playing grown up!

I was more fasincated with the prices of everything.  My little bottle of diet coke… it was little, 200 ml… was $4.95 every time… no free refills!

There was a coat check person, the bathrooms were heated… I think the toilet seat too!  There were really napkins to wipe your hands…  that was my kind of bathroom! lol

This was the fancy doggy bag.

Can I tell you, it was such a fun night!  It was so much fun playing grown up!

It was great company too.

Now we are back to the land of being real grown ups.

Not as fun!

Today at church… God reminded me that He is faith to me… always.

I left wondering how faithful I am to Him?

I love this song… it just reminds me that I am never alone… despite how lonely I may feel sometimes.

Faithful one, so unchanging
Ageless one, you’re my rock of peace
Lord of all I depend on you
I call out to you, again and again
I call out to you, again and again

You are my rock in times of trouble
you lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is, the anchor
My hope is in You alone

I find myself forgetting that with God, all things are possible.

I find myself trying to do it all … all by myself.

I forget that no matter whether I live up to my own expectations… God sees me as a winner.

I am so glad that God met me at church today and reminded me that He is always there.

I think I was forgetting…

Today God sent me a note of encouragement … at the sports store.

I love a God sighting.

After school today, I took the boys to the mall to look for snow gear.  Right now there are great sales as every one is trying to rid themselves of the winter stock.  It’s around now that the boys are outgrowing their gear.    The three older ones all needed snow pants and new winter coats.

Over March Break, we are going to Mont  Tremblant in Quebec for a couple of days of skiing/snowboarding .  Then on the way home we will stop in Ottawa and take in a Senators game.

Since Sanj is his own boss,  there is no pay when he doesn’t work… so getting him to take off is a hard sell.  I am really looking forward to this trip.  I haven’t been to any of the other provinces so this on my bucket list.

Back to the mall… we were looking for gear… the boys taste in clothing is so disturbing to me as it seem that all the colors are of the 80s… very loud and clashy.  Yet… I am not the one having to wear it and the bonus is that I’ll be able to stop them on the hill instantly!  🙂

There was a young man helping us… well, he had actually stopped to ask Josh to get off the exercise equipment… and then ended up helping us sort through all the sizes etc.

He was one of six boys!  I asked him if his mama was still alive and well?  He laughed and said, “Yes!”

He was saying that they really gave her a run for her money…  The first 20 years he said was hard for her! lol  Now… though he said that they are all friends and love each other.   He said, “Now there are 6 wives, 6 sons and lots of grandkids… and it is wonderful for his mom.”

So, I am holding on to that … that someday there will be peace and calm… that the boys will stop the endless fighting and bickering that is about nothing at all.. and will have love for each other.

It made me feel good…. that the future was going to be OK.

I would have given him a hug, this man… as he made me feel like I could do it!  I really wanted to talk to his mom.  Maybe someday … I’ll have to shop there more and befriend him… so he knows I am not a kook and  then I could meet his mama.  🙂  How I would love that!

Thank you God, for my 6 sons.  How I love them, really I do!

Bless my heart… may it stay strong to the end! lol

I love you, Jesus.
Please be with my future daughter-in-laws… keep them in Your love.

Amen!

Was your mom a stay at home mom?  Did that impact your decision as to if you would be a stay at home parent?

On the radio this morning there was a discussion about how the parent that stays at home has more stress then the parent that works outside the home.  It was an interesting conversation…

I am not your typical stay at home mom.  In fact, I am hardly ever home.  I am always working on a project.  Or when I am not in the middle of a project, I find myself out and about doing this and that.

Then add the dentist and doctor appointments… which I usually book for the boys during the day so I can just take the one child and sneak in a lunch and that one on one time with them.

I try to meet Sanj for lunch a few times a week.  It is a guaranteed time with him alone.  Usually it is in the parking lot around the corner from the McD where he gets his salad with grill chicken… yup, every day!

Today, I decided to stay at home.  Amazing what I can actually accomplish!

I’ve done a few loads of laundry, folded, in piles, waiting  for the boys to put away.

I have today’s supper of stir-fry with shrimp ready to throw together.  I even have tomorrow’s supper of chili ready to just put into the crock pot and let it cook throughout the day.

My cleaning lady is here, so that takes the pressure of the rest of the house… which would guarantee me to be in a foul mood.

I feel so good … and it’s 11:53 am… I still have a few hours to do the errands needed.  Max is going to a class  trip for the next three days.  He needs a few things… I am so not ready for my Max to go on this trip.  The older three did it… and somehow that was OK.  Yet, now, Max, my oldest of the youngest is going.  I feel sad.  My younger ones are now growing up.  How did that happen?  Josh is getting so big and heavy that I can’t comfortably lift him up anymore.  🙁

Sign.

I have been writing.  So far 9087 words have been written.  I have to admit, it is hard going back to that time… it is harder than I thought to re-live the fear, anger and wanting while writing.

Yet… I am trying really hard to focus on the fact that God gives us what He knows we can handle.  He gave my mom the strength to live the life she did… and because of it, I am here.  If my mom  was stronger and just beat my dad up from day one of him being an idiot… I wouldn’t be here.

My kids wouldn’t be here.

Maybe my mom is stronger for living that life than walking away from it.  I don’t know.  I know that Sanj said that I am harder on my mom than my dad.  That comment has bothered me.  Yet maybe I love my mom more than my dad.  Maybe.  So maybe I expected more and needed more.

I don’t know.

Oh well… I suppose that it is therapeutic for me.  I am figuring it all out… even though I thought I had it figured out already.

Back to being a stay at home mom…  that is what I am today.

I feel good.

🙂

Happy MLK Day!

I found myself reflecting on this man and that era where so many people were so courageous.  I couldn’t help think of Rosa Parks and the courage she must have need to sit down on that bus!  I wonder if Martin Luther King would be pleased with the progress … of life today as we know it?

I think of those two men that thought dressing up for Halloween as a KKK guy leading another man with his face painted black understand what a sad statement their “joke” makes in today’ time?

I wonder if I had been on that bus with Rosa Parks, would I have had the courage to stand up for her?

I know that I am grateful for those that made a stand for my freedom.

Thank you, Dr. King.  Thank you, Mrs. Parks.  Thank you, Mr. Ghandi… and the list goes on.

Thank you to the heros that make life today just a little bit easier.

Are you a winter person?

(This picture is from last winter… I was too cold to go out yesterday with the camera).

Me, not so much!  Brr… the temperature is reading -23 degree Celsius (with the wind chill).   The men in my family spent the day at the ski hill.   It was cold!  I was ready to go to the ski shop and buy myself a pair of ski pants to wear inside the chalet!

Josh loves skiing!  He can’t get enough of being on the hill.  He also can’ t get enough of Sanj!  🙂  Yup!  He has now gone from being a mama’s boy to a dada’s boy!  He just wants to be with Sanj all the time!  Wahoo!  I can breathe again! lol

Enjoy it, Sanj!  Haha!

Today, Josh rode with me to the ski hill.  He cried the whole 20 minutes we were in the van.  “I want to ride with my dada!”

Lord, have mercy!

I was ready to beat this child!

The ski hill was quite busy despite the frigid temps.  Sanj is to be credited for the boys ability to ski.  Sammy was probably 5 when Sanj took the older boys to the ski hill.  He want alone with the boys… as I was home with the babes.  Every Sunday… he went, rented the skis, took them to a lesson and then brought them home.

Have you every gone skiing with little ones?  Then you know the prep that it takes to actually get to the hill.  Yesterday, I was watching as family friends of ours came to the hill with their 3 little ones.  They had two adults and owned their skis so they didn’t have to go through the chore of getting rentals.  It took them probably almost an hour to get everyone ready.

All the boys can ski or snowboard… thanks to their dad.

Josh loves it.  After his lesson yesterday, he tortured Sanj as he skied with him. lol

As the boys zip up the hill on the ski lift and down the hill with no fears… I am grateful to have a husband that takes his role seriously.  They all ski, skate, ride bikes… all those skills that are so easy to develop as a little guy and yet harder to pick up as you grow older.

Thank You, God,

For my dear husband that puts his wants and desires on the back burner to be dad first.
Please make my kids have grateful hearts for all that they are blessed with…

Amen