Five on Friday

Or... How we gave up TV, adopted 3 cats and almost ate glass...

1. Want to know how easy it is to break a wall-mounted TV? One five year old, one heavy duty sippy cup and momma's back turned for one minute... So we've officially given up TV for the time being. Honestly it's not all bad. In fact, it's great for the kids! They are upset about not being able to have "movie nights" with the big TV but we do have the option of using our iPads to play something for them. What would be best is if we could fix this TV or get another one exactly like it and not tell the kids. David and I do miss being able to relax at night catching up on a show or two.

2. So this happened last Monday night...

By Friday we had no solution in sight, and we were leaving on Saturday, so we made sure they were stocked up with food and water and decided to just see what happened. Turns out they happily hung out at our house and when they ventured out were picked up by a neighbor who came by on Tuesday night to bring them back. When we told her they weren't really our cats she offered to take them in to a pet shelter. So we are happy that they are gone and that we found a good way for them to be cared for. While the kids had a fun time with them, they have only mentioned it once, so it seems to be a good ending for everyone.

3. I was enjoying the wonderful smell of a new chicken dish cooking away in my crock pot and when I went over to take a look realized the entire glass lid had shattered leaving tons of tiny glass shards in our dinner! Not sure how it happened, but I'm sad that my six month old crock pot had such a short life. Of course it still works and I'll be making tin foil lids for a while until I can figure out how to get a replacement. For this busy family I love cooking with my crock pot!

4. How did the babies get to be nine months old already? Seriously, someone stop them!

They are growing up so fast! Crawling all over the place, pulling up on all the furniture (and my legs) and taking a few steps holding onto the sofa. They both weigh in at 9 kgs (20 lbs) and are 74 cm (30 inches)

5. In other random news, while we were away at our church's youth camp someone decided to graffiti up our front wall. Fortunately we only have a small slice of wall since our two gates pretty much take up the whole space, and guess what they decided to use? A small piece of sidewalk chalk that was lying inside our gate. Just makes me laugh because it is so ridiculous!

So, that has been our last week and a bit. Also had our gate smashed in by a rookie driver (thankfully their insurance will cover replacing our gate), went for a 4 day camp with our church which was great, and my brother arrived to visit Brazil for the first time on Wednesday. Life is full!

An Open Letter

via

To Whom it may Concern:
Do I really have to clean the house today? You know in five minutes it will be just as messy, if not messier than before.

Why is it so expensive to fly these days? I'd really just love to hop on a plane and visit my parents for a while. Never mind how tricky it would be to fly with my two toddlers across two continents...

Speaking of toddlers, why do mine get up so early? I mean, come on, anytime before 6:00am just isn't cutting it for this mom. What can I do? They go to bed at 8:00 - 8:30...

The best gift I could get right now would be an hour to myself with a grand piano and all my sheet music. Pure. Bliss. (Or 4 plane tickets to Canada, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here...)

On a more realistic note, the phone call from the furniture store this morning totally made my day. Our new sofa is being delivered next week! One tiny little love-seat just can't fit our family any more.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Friday's Letters

Rare moment of peace. 

Dear hubby - so glad you are coming home today! It means I get saturday off, right? (and breakfast in bed? - ok, maybe that's asking too much) Dear crazy neck/back pain - you are a wonderful excuse for me to not clean the house, but the bathrooms will soon reach critical mess... Dear rice-pack - you are a wonderful aid in healing this back/neck pain. Dear kiddos - our trip yesterday to the mall was more like a nightmare, next time we are using straps to keep you at arms length! Thankfully the play place kept you occupied for a while. Dear Levi - dearest nephew, we are praying for your safe arrival into the outside world. Come quickly and safely. Your mom is a trooper for making it through almost 37 hours of labor already! Dear doctor - I am so thankful to have found you! You made a great first impression on me by taking one quick glance at the kids entry forms and calculating their age to the year, month and day. Plus, I am super happy that you speak English!

Happy Friday everyone!

Friday's Letters

Dear weather - What's up? I thought it was supposed to be spring here?!? It's too cold for our non-heated homes. Dear mystery cough - You are tormenting my little boy, not assuaged by nasal spray, honey, cough syrup, humidifier or inhaler. Please. Just. Go. Away. Dear mind - why do you always think of great posts right when I'm about to sleep, and don't have the energy to write it down? Dear Twitter - I'm the newest to join your ranks and not sure exactly what to do now. #clueless (did I do that right?) Dear hubby - I'm really not looking forward to having you gone all next week. Dear Readers - I am so sorry I had word verification on - I thought I removed that a while ago. Now you can comment freely!

Friday's Flowers

Dear Bright Yellow Flowers - you are so bright and cheerful on this grey and slightly chilly day. I love how you are an instant pick-up to the living room. I hope you last all week until I can pick up some more flowers at the weekly market. Dear Market Lady - I find it really random that I have never talked to you, nor bought anything from your stall and yet you still recognize the crazy blond-haired foreigner and ask where my little kids are. Dear Bubba - I know that whenever I find you hiding in a corner, it's because you are up to something, so it was no surprise when I found a half-drunk bottle of orange juice hiding under the table when I started cleaning up this morning. At least it was freshly squeezed and so good for you.  Dear House - could you please stay clean for more than five minutes after the kids get home from school? Dear Weekend - I am looking forward to a relaxing Saturday with the kids and no commitments. Me thinks we'll watch a movie and cook up some good chicken noodle soup and biscuits.