secret resolutions

does anyone else do this?

it feels similar to when i make a list and have some things i can cross off right away.

ie today's list could be:

- get Isla ready for daycare
- feed Megan
- blog
- get dressed
- look at paint for Isla's room
- tidy
- maybe go to the Restore or Ikea


you know... it looks like i've accomplished something already today

(which frankly speaking, getting one girl off to her day of fun 

and feeding the other one is an accomplishment!)

anyway, where was this going?

oh right, secret resolutions.

well, it kind of goes with the whole resolution of getting out more with the girls (which isn't so easy to keep with -30 celsius windchill... this doesn't mix with newborns---or with me)

but i also wanted to resolve to get out more on my own.

i had been tossing around the idea of cross country skiing

my family did it a lot when i was little, but it's not something i've really done seriously in probably 20 years.

so a couple of weeks ago Maryann and i went to look at used skis at Trailhead... apparently they only sell them at the end of their rental season--which makes sense, but is a bit of a bummer.

so with lots of giggling and a poor young sales man (who was so nice and unfazed -mostly- by our giddyness) we proceeded to try out and by brand new equipment!  

and on Monday night we did our first real ski.

we went to Gatineau and skied into a little cabin for a dinner.

Emma got us all together, Annie picked the route, Maryann provided the car and i drove.

it was so so so so nice.  and i was so happy.

and not entirely too sore the next day...

just my fingers, elbows and left big toe.  i have no idea why.

so secret new year's resolution was to start cross country skiing.

check.

ps. 

apparently skis are fit based on weight now and not height. this was a sad discovery, 

however our lovely little salesman showed us the first pair of skis which were between 100 and 130 pounds 

and said "this is probably right"

Oh Pat... you've obviously helped ladies purchase their first skis before ;)

it's a new year!

wow.

2013.

it's funny to watch old tv sitcoms from the 80's where they think that by this time we will have hover-cars and robot butlers and all kinds of crazy "futuristic" things.

not so much!

i've been working out a small list of resolutions in my head, mostly i like to pick fairly achievable ones as i like to cross things off my lists :)

so in no particular order, here are some:

1-to finally stop biting my nails for good -- disgusting habit, even more so when you are a nurse. blech.
2-to go outside with the girls in the winter! -- this is tricky for me, i don't like being cold and it seems like a tremendous amount of work to bundle up 2 littles when i don't want to be outside in the first place!
3-to get back into cloth diapering -- i was a cloth fiend with Isla, and i had a pretty decent start with Megan, but kind of fell off for awhile (mostly they get cleaned and then live on top of the dryer for weeks at a time!)
4-to sew some things -- really i just want to sew, anything at all.
5-to read 40 books this year -- as mentioned here.


so, those are a few of my resolutions... do able, but i also know that i have to be intentional about them all.

i like that.

{books read in 2012}

this year, i was keeping track of the books i had read (they were in my side bar)
i made it up to 38, which considering i was pregnant, had a 2 year old, and a new baby, is pretty impressive i think!

I am almost done another one, but considering today it the 31st, i don't  think i can make it to an even 40.

i could maybe make 39 by the end of tonight, but it would be pretty near impossible, so i'm happy with 38.

my friend Stuart made a resolution last year to read a book a week (or 52 books in the whole year... i don't think it actually has to be one a week)

i'm not sure i'm going to be able to make it to 52 this year (still have a 3 year old and a fairly newish baby after all!)

but i'm going to make it my goal to get to 40 books this year.

i'll keep track in the side bar again like i did this year :)

my top picks from this year:

The Parenting Book by Nicky and Sila Lee
Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa Terkeurst
Fire in the Bones: Bill Mason and the Canadian Canoeing Tradition by James Raffan

it's funny to me that these are all non-fiction books, because generally my favourites are always fiction.
i guess it was a different kind of year :)


Here is my full list from 2012:

1-Elizabeth I
2-The Virgin Cure
3-Because of Winn-Dixie
4-Owls in the Family
5-Anne of Ingleside

6-The Parenting Book

7-The Making of a Nurse

8-Fire in the Bones

9-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

10-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

11-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

12-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

13-Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

14-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

15-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
16-Death Comes to Pemberly

17-All Creatures Wise and Wonderful

18-All Creatures Bright and Beautiful

19-The Magicians of Caprona

20-Witch Week

21-The Lives of Christopher Chant

22-Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci

23-The Night Shift

24-Little House in the Big Woods

25-Howl's Moving Castle

26-Fantastic Mr. Fox

27-Charmed Life

28-No One is Here Except All of Us

29-Five Bells

30-A Recipe for Bees

31-Conrad's Fate

32-The Pinhoe Egg

33-The Gilly Salt Sisters

34-Ru

35-Heaven at Home: Establishing and Enjoying a Peaceful Home

36-Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love

37-Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions

38-The Snow Girl

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

we have had a lovely little holiday

we spent time with family and friends

we gave

we received

we feel full

thank you Lord for family and friends and love and laughter and life.

thank you that you sent your Son for all of this.

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross and that this is what you came to do:

to bring us into a relationship with you.

Amen.

Day 19: myself, a year ago

(can you believe how small this tiny is?)

wow.
a year ago seems like a crazy amount of time ago!
i probably either just found out, or was about to find out i was pregnant with Megan!
i had a fresh new one year old on my hands and I had been back to work for a couple of weeks.
what a difference a year makes!
now i have a 2 year old, an almost 4 month old and i have been on mat leave for 5 months
(seems weird considering i was just back at work at this time!)

we had just moved into the Dearing's basement
were getting used to life without Olivia and life with 5 other people ;)

Isla had just started walking more than crawling!

whenever i watch videos of Isla from a year ago, i'm almost uncertain as to whether it's the same girl or not!

Day 16: someone who inspires me

last year i posted about Isla inspiring me to be a better mama.

well this year is similar theme, but the person who inspires me to be a better mama, wife and friend is my friend Sarah.

Sarah has 4 children... 4 very young children.
She has a very happy home, her kids love each other, they are obedient (and they are cu-ute!).

She loves Jesus, loves her husband and loves her kids.
She cares about others and is a blessing when she shares or speaks.

She keeps things real, but is always looking for the better.


When I had Isla, I found it surprisingly easy, like I had found my calling.

I never expected anything different with two.

Two was very different than one. To be honest...having Megan threw me for a bit of a loop.

I found myself becoming a mama that I wasn't so proud of.

I was yelling a lot, I was disorganized and felt overwhelmed and was very easily angered.

I decided to spend a morning with Sarah, just to pick her brain about how she makes her little brood work.

Sarah offered a listening ear, she offered some advice, some books to read, and what she has found to work.

I went out of there feeling loved and filled with confidence and peace.

Sarah makes you feel so welcome and like you are worth listening too.

one thing stuck out to me like crazy, something that I have been thinking about since that morning: Sarah's cell phone buzzed at one point shortly after I got there, she then picked it up without looking at it, turned it off(!) and did not look at it again the whole time I was there.

I think that right now, in our culture we are pretty used to cell phone's and we don't really take not when we or someone else answers a text or phone call right in the middle of a conversation, but let me tell you, it is significant when someone does NOT answer it. It made me feel like I was the most important person and that whatever I needed to say or receive in that moment was her primary focus.

She does that with her kids too. She loves each one as they are and considers the heart connection with them as one of the most important parts of being their mother.

I want to be like that.

sarah blogs over at Snailskin
she blogs about Jesus, family and real life.

Day 14: style inspiration for the season

I loved last year's smallish style so much :)
I've been working on a few new ones, so without further ado,
here's another edition of "i wish they made that in my size"

smallish style fall

Dress: Striped Dress, H&M, $17.95
Bag: BDG Buckle Tote, Urban Outfitters, $58.00
Scarf: Men's Plaid Flannel Scarf, Old Navy, $18.94
Boots: Distressed Riding Boots, Forever21, $47.80
Socks: SmartWool Women's PhD Snowboard Medium Knee High, SocksAddict, $16.77

original smallish image pulled off of Pinterest

but is from the Australian clothing company:

Country Road