Lighting it Up

 

 This time of year is always hard for me because it is dark so early. By the time it is 4pm the sun is setting and the house is beginning to get bleek and shadowy... I am not a fan of the dark.

I have found that one thing which really helps me is having varying lights around my house where I am. So this year, as well as the candles I light on my kitchen island, I also purchased a little pre-lit Christmas tree.

Some of you may be thinking this is a little early but it works at keeping me happy and not depressed. This bit of Christmas cheer and ambient lighting has added excitement to my days.

The boys are pretty happy too. They got to decorate it (several times over) and it is just their size. Even Ewan threw an ornament onto the tree and it stayed there (unfortunately he moves too quickly for me ever to catch a photo of him that isnt a blur).

I have to avoid puting any balls on the tree that are breakable because Ewan is obsessed with balls. When he sees them he lights up and wont stop hurling the tree to the ground until the ball is in his hands- a few little balls met their tragic end this way.

How do you like Matty's inside out shirt?

 

Christmas has arrived in this here home. I just couldnt wait another moment. The real tree wont be here until next month but this little addition works for now.

Home Day

 

Today was a much needed stay at home day. Since Tuesday I have been on the go with the boys with appointments and meetings. We were suppose to go out again today but I thought it best to stay put.

 

I've been doing a bit of schooling with the boys at home (the picture up above is of our books) so I thought today would be a good day to try and make it a bit more creative. It was a huge success.

 





 

We did stickers. I managed to get Levi to put all of his stickers on the lines to create a diamond on one of his shape pages. He really enjoyed this activity. Matthew enjoyed sticking all his into his new sticker book.

We finally did a full calendar time. The boys loved singing all the songs and talking about the date.

We also did the weather frog and the boys loved getting the frog dressed into the right clothes for the weather.

Other than that, we did cutting and pasting. I separated a paper in 4 and made categories and the boys had to find the right pictures to glue into the categories.

We used playdo tools and hid pennies in the dough. They had to roll out the dough and find all their pennies.

We ate snacks and had our quiet time... it was really the perfect day.

Matty is doing well and hasn't complained about pain much at all. He really wants to remove his bandage to take a look but we aren't going to do that. The doctor is meant to deal with it- thank goodness. It is making activity time a bit frustrating for him though. He can't quite hold a pencil properly or get a grip on scissors.

Tomorrow we are off again for more fun. They are not fresh and ready for it since we had a wonderful day at home.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I read that book on my flight to Calgary and today Matthew was the one in striped pajamas. There were not very many other similarities than that.

We took off from the house early enough this morning to get to the childrens hospital for our 2 hour pre-op wait. After a short while they called Mattys name and they got him changed into a pair of striped pjs. He almost had pink but then they saw it would be too small. Yellow was much nicer for a little boy.

I shouldnt have worried about having all the activities I had because the waiting room had toys and crafts, movies and friends... We even met Papa Rick, a man who does activities with Matthew every Wednesday. He was a welcome familiar face.

Matthew was incredibly brave until he was wearing the mask to put him to sleep. He started panicking and it was so hard not to cry. In the middle of his panic he passed out. Seeing his body go limp and his eyes roll back was so hard. The moment I stepped out of the room I let the tears fall.

It wasnt long until they were back telling me he was in recovery, everything went well and I could see him once he woke up. I kept praying everything would be the best case scenario. The procedure included removing his thumb nail, taking a swab of the wound underneath and removing the ingrown nail that was stuck. They told me if there was no nail there, he might never have a thumb nail again- this would be the worse case. Thankfully he already had one growing. It was just to frail to help the rest of the nail grow out. My prayer was answered-we have the best case scenario.

So, recovery begins. I must admit I was thankful we were scheduled to go in November first since Halloween was the night before. All three boys got into their costumes and went to a few doors to collect some candy. Since Matthew was so excited for trick or treating he never even thought about the surgery until we were already there getting into our new clothes.

So tomorrow may be back to a new normal- its been an incredibly busy first week home. I guess that is the kind of life we lead right now though.    

Back to Life as I Know It

Well, My plane landed Sunday morning at midnight and we didnt get home until 1:00. I couldnt fall asleep right away and the day started smoothly again at 6:45. Matthew saw me first with an enthusiastic hello and then Levi saw me and gave me a huge smile and hugged me. When I went in to Ewans room, he just stared at me. I think he was a bit confused who this new person was getting him from bed. I could just hear his thoughts:"Now, this isn't who has been getting me every other day... hmmm?"

 

I used presents as incentive to get the boys to eat breakfast at an unusually quick pace- at least for them- and then I got to unpacking and handing out the goods. They were so excited about every single thing. It was like a crazy hurried Christmas morning. Everything came to church with us and helped them remain distracted during the service.

Today is back to normal life. I must admit that the time change as well as readjusting to home has caused me great fatigue but one that comes after a much needed refresher. Dave headed off to work this morning and wont be home until the boys are sound asleep so it is back to mothering in full force.

 

Today we have already enjoyed ourselves- reading and even playing. We started our day with our bible reading and then they launched into some good old movie watching- I can't seem to stop them since they've learned to turn it all on. I started right away on the laundry- a task I fear I may never get on top of since the weather we are experiencing is not conducive to quick drying of wet laundry. Once that was hung I had some time. I decided to show the boys how to use the toy airplane I brought home for Ewan. Now, this may seem like a normal thing to do but I am not one who usually sits down and PLAYS with the boys. Today was a break from the ordinary.

I showed them how a plane gets taxied and then drives down the runway until it is fast enough to take off. I also showed them which people did which jobs on the plane and they actually stated to play purposefully. I got so into the game, Matty and I even built a car and airport so the people would have a place to wait for their plane. It was quite nice.

Since then our day has been filled with snacks, reading, playing and more laundry. Dinner will be something simple since Dave wont be home and the boys dont like to eat anyways. Then for the clean up. I actually managed to clean all the boys rooms and the spare room today- it's rare it is that easy. Thats a quarter of the house at least!

I decided to try making shapes with the pancakes- an idea Tara's mom gave me to make eating more exciting. I did a few which was enough for the boys and they really were thrilled!

 

 

Today is our last peaceful day for a while. I hadn't realized just how hard it is to keep a quiet week. Hopefully I will have a chance to post again. If not, my intentions are good. 

Almost Home Again

This is taken in Okatokes. A true foothills kind of scenery.

I can't believe that 10 days are almost up! It has flown by but I am also so ready to get home and see my men. I miss them all a lot but have enjoyed this time away immensely.

Vanessa took me downtown yesterday and I am sad to admit I have no pictures. There was one great opportunity to get the building while we were entering the city but then we were on our way down the hill and my chance slipped by before I got my camera ready.

We saw a few really cool shops but it was cold. We decided after a few stops to head somewhere a little warmer and so I finally got to experience Anthropology. May I just say that it is one of my favorite   stores? So many cool things.

By the time we got home we were wasted. Vacationing really lets your body realize how tired it is. I woke up this morning and I still haven't been able to get going. I was going to head out for a bit on my own and I can't seem to move very quickly.

Tara will be home after lunch. Maybe by then I'll have gained some energy.

I'm not sure if you'll hear form me again while Im here in Alberta. If not, I'll catch you back in Ottawa.

I look at this picture and can't believe it was our camera that captured this. So awesome.

Winter Wonderland

Before I head out on my first adventure alone on Calgary roads, I thought I would share this photo with you.

This is out the back door.

Welcome to Calgary!!!

We got 20 cm of snow the other day and last night it threatened to start again. It doesn't appear much was accumulated though, thankfully.

I had another picture to show you but can't seem to rotate it (seems to be the silly issue I keep having). Either way, I think you get what I mean with the quantity of snow.

A Quiet Day

Today I thought I would have a quiet day. This weekend was a busy one full of fun things to do but as everyone left for work this morning and I slept terribly again, I figured a nice clam down day was what the doctor ordered.

We took so many pictures that I thought I could share a few more of them with you.

This picture is one of the first scenery pictures I took. I got it while driving. I love that the rockies are in the back, the foothills in front and then the valley in the foreground. It was Friday here and you can see the sun was out, it was warm and the sky was mostly blue. The next day was a different story.

These three mountain peeks are called the three sisters. See all the clouds? The snow was falling by the buckets here. It was beautiful but terrifying.

 This is a hotel!!! And it is only part of it. The castle stretches on and on and on. You can get lost inside it. We brag about our Chateau Laurier in Ottawa... Im afraid it fades in comparison. We took pictures of us sitting in the sitting room of the bathroom. I wont post them, however, because we don't look terribly flattering. Im going to chose to be vain here :)

 Both of these pictures are taken at the falls right down from the hotel/ castle. Every time we tried to throw the snow it got clumped into balls and poor Tara had fleece mittens on so it mostly just stayed stuck to her mitts.

 I couldn't get over just how stunning the snow was on the orange leaves and the red berries. Winter seems to have snuck up on these beautiful plants.

In this picture you will see it is not snowing and I am wearing my spring jacket... We are just about to enter Banff national park and the weather has not yet changed on us. I think I may have to retire that jacket for the rest of this trip.

Finally, I thought I would let you see just how much snow is falling. We were just walking back to the vehicle to get going and this is what we were walking in. Cars were having trouble stopping in the sleet and it was much colder and quite wet. I just feel like Christmas is around the corner.

Today is back to normal for the Fritzke household so everyone was up and out of the house early for work. I've had breakfast, done a whole Beth Moore chapter in my Esther book and am now posting for you all.

My Tummy has been a bit upset since I've changed my diet a bit while being here... I think I will have to be a lot more careful because already I am itchier than I've been in months and my tummy has been rebelling on me a bit. Thankfully I have my allergy pills and ample time to rest. I may just go and watch a movie now.

Tomorrow I plan on braving the Calgary roads and drivers to find my way to some shops and sights and on Thursday Vanessa is going to take me downtown ( I am incredibly grateful I wont have to go on my own). I'll be sure to keep you posted on the events here in the West.