before and after

Here are some 'before and after' pictures of our house. My dad and I spent a good two weeks (and I spent about a week more after he left) stripping wallpaper, repairing walls, prepping for paint, taking down walls, stripping more wallpaper and finally painting pretty much the entire main floor of our house. It was A LOT of work and while I admit that I was maybe a little naive as to how much would it would actually be, I'm still happy to report that we got what I wanted done in the two weeks I had set aside for it.

Vergil spent that two weeks in August working and doing pretty much all the moving from our apartment to the house. His back still hasn't forgiven him for all those boxes and stairs. On the bright side, now that my dad and his tools are all back in Edmonton, Vergil has had a lot of fun taking advantage of Canadian Tire's awesome tool sales. So far, we've acquired a mitre saw and stand and various wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, etc., etc. He's definitely becoming really handy - and he certainly needs to be! We have to build a small fence across our driveway yet so that we can pen our son in a little better. We don't live on a really busy street, but its busy enough that it would be really nice to be able to keep him in the back yard a little more.

Anyway, on to the pictures.

Front of our house before:


And after my dad hacked away the forest covering it:



The front entrance before - note the carpet, paneling and chandelier:


And after we removed the paneling, carpet and chandelier and painted:


The living room before:


And after:


The dining room before:


And after we removed the half-wall and got a new light fixture:


The master bedroom before:


And after removing the wallpaper and getting new window coverings and light fixture:


The spare bedroom before:


And after:


The second spare bedroom before:


Transformed into Malakai's room after:


The pink bathroom before (the wallpaper was white, but there was Pepto-Bismal pink paint underneath):


I'm actually impressed with what I was able to do with this room:


Back entrance before:


And after the psychadelic wallpaper was removed (the paste left on the walls nearly killed us, but we got it done):

three more sleeps

And we get our house! That is so hard to believe. I'm leaping back and forth between feeling excited and anxious about the whole thing. There are a lot of things I really love about my apartment (the location, mostly - we're within walking distance of a huge variety of amenities), but there are certainly a ton of things I'm looking forward to about having our own house (having my own yard, not sharing hallways with my neighbours, not having to worry as much about volume levels, more space for all our stuff).

As with most momentous occasions in my life, this one happens to fall right in the midst of about three other major commitments that I am trying to juggle at the same time. I have a huge project for work whose deadline of September 1st is coming way too fast. I'm teaching a class for the fall semester at my school starting September 8th, and church stuff is all kicking back into gear again. Needless to say, I wander around most days with a sense of impending doom lined with a significant amount of positivity and excitement. I confess that it's exhausting to feel so ambivalent.

Oh, and just to ice my stress-cake, my laptop (AKA the source of all the information that runs my day-to-day life) decided it had enough and went and died on me this weekend. The motherboard finally coughed its last few miserable breaths and since it would actually cost me more to have it fixed than to buy a new computer, I believe that's what we'll be doing in the near future. So, if you're reading this on Facebook, that's why I've been MIA the last few days and will remain so at least until after the weekend.

Anyway, I just wanted to update anyone who cares about what's going on with us these days. Now I'll go back to trying to hack away at my to-do list...once I remember what was on it. I had it all written down on my computer...

too muggy to think straight

I'm trying so hard to be productive at work today and I managed pretty well up until about an hour ago. It's been rainy and muggy all day and I feel like my synapses have slowed to the point of inactivity. I don't even know if I can string together enough thoughts to make a cohesive blog post today.

I was really hoping writing this blog would kick start my brain into getting some of the things done that I wanted to do, but it's not really working. I can't even kickstart myself into writing much of a blog. Not a lot new has happened recently in our world, which doesn't help matters much.

Kai and I have been frequenting the wading pool down the street a few times this week. That's been a lot of fun, though I do get the sense that he would definitely benefit from some structured swimming lessons. Not that he's afraid of the water, he just seems to have lost the ability to instinctively know to hold his breath when his head goes under water. We did a bit of a face plant into the pool the other day and I think some water went down the wrong tube. Kai was a little shaken up, but recovered pretty quickly after a rest on our blanket wrapped in his towel and a few Goldfish crackers to take his mind off things. He's a really good sport that way. He rarely lets a failed attempt or a stumble or an initial shock hold him back from trying something he wants to do a second or even a third time.

He is certainly developing more of a mind of his own about things, though. Food, for example, is an area that started out really easy but has turned into a bit of a struggle with Kai emphatically turning things he doesn't want to eat away. At this point, there isn't much use in trying to force him or even to reason with him to eat a few pieces, so I just let it go for the most part and offer him other things instead. I also discovered recently that we've already roamed into the realm of too much snacking ruining his appetite. Funny how fast he went from a bottomless pit to a guy with a certain sized stomach that doesn't enjoy being overfull. Granted, 99.5% of his snacks are fruit, cheese and crackers, so I try not to feel too terrible if he doesn't eat as much at supper as I might like him to.

I have to say, though, having a child with strong opinions about food sure does deliver a blow to one's self-esteem as a parent. Especially when that child is obsessed with French fries. Yup, I have that kid. He'll even stop eating what he was happily muching on if I mention French fries out loud at the table. It's awful, really. Oh, and he could eat ketchup with anything - or nothing. He loves it on its own, too. *Sigh* I know no one's ever died from eating a lot of ketchup, but I used to shake my head at people who needed to cover every meal with it. That's what happens when you judge people, you know - your judgements get revisited on you through your children. :)

Anyway, that's enough of that. A mundane, rambly post for a hot, muggy day. Anybody want to bring me a slurpee? Maybe a sugar rush could shake my fogginess loose. Or how about some ice cream?

thursday thirteen

I was sitting here racking my brain for what I should even title this post when I remembered that it was Thursday. Hence, I shall try to overcome my writer's block with a list of things the dela Rosa's have done so far this summer and things we will be doing.

1. Went to the zoo for the first time. It was a lot of fun, actually. Kai enjoyed looking (and yelling) at all the animals.


2. Went to the beach. We went on a Monday morning, like first thing, so we had the whole place to ourselves. We almost got two hours out of Kai, so I think it was a success. He really enjoyed splashing in the water.


4. Dealt with our first playground bully. Some 6-year-old plowed over Kai on the slide and gave him quite the shiner. Not cool.


5. Went to Kai's first Goldeye's game. Actually, that's not entirely true. We tried to go to his first Goldeye's game, but in addition to it being Father's Day (we let Verge get in a round of golf), I also really wanted Kai to squeeze in his afternoon nap. By the time they were both ready to go, it was 3:30 and by the time we got there, the game was already over. Oh well, we ended up going for supper with Kai's godfather, Eugene, and Kai did learn how to drink from a water fountain.


6. My friend Sheri is back at work, so we get to look after her daughter, Arielle, about once a week.


7. GNF went through its first of hopefully many healing prayer days. It was an amazing time of just connecting with God for a specific purpose with a group of people. I think a lot of amazing things have already come of it and will continue to come of it!

8. As of this week, my dad is officially retired! This is pretty amazing considering he was supposed to retire two years ago and we were starting to wonder if he ever really would. Congratulations, Dad (and Mom for officially hiring him to your 'Honey-do' company! LOL)!


9. Saying goodbye to my sister Breanne and her fiance, Adrian. We were lucky enough to be able to have both of them on loan from Edmonton for a year and next week, they're headed back. I'm sad that they're not going to be as near anymore, but I know they'll come visit as often as they can. At least, they better, or the guilt trips I shall send them on will be massive!!


10. Moving to our new house. Only 50 days to go! Check out the awesome backyard for Kai to run around in!


11. A week at the cabin with my parents, sister Sheri and niece Jayden! This picture is from our vacation there last year.


12. Breanne and Adrian's wedding. They are getting married in October and I'm hoping Kai and I can be in Edmonton for at least a week before the nuptials. Unfortunately, Vergil won't be able to come out for that long - he'll probably only be able to be there for the weekend of the actual wedding, but I'm looking forward to some time in E-town. This picture is from my wedding, but it's one of my favorites of me and my sisters. Actually, I have a better one just like this but I can't seem to find it right now...


13. I don't have anything else specific - just looking forward to enjoying the fact that summer is finally here!

my good excuse for not blogging recently

I was out hunting all May. After 14 sightings and two misses (one so narrowly I could hardly stand it), this is what I finally bagged:



I was convinced this one was going to elude me, too, but I stuck to my guns and with a lot of luck - no, 'luck' isn't the right word; I think it's better to say that Providence saw fit to grant me this little looker.

It was too hard to lash it to my hood, though, so we figure we'll just go to where it is. ;)

quest for contentment

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:11-13

Some days I envy my poorer Christian brothers and sisters in countries and situations less fortunate than my own. For some reason, they appear far more content with their circumstances than I am able to be. I claim contentment with my life all the time, but am I truly and honestly content? Don't I want a house and a yard and more things all the time?

Yes. I do.

So what does it mean to be content, whatever my circumstances? How do I shift my thinking, attitudes and desires so that God is all I truly want and need in my life? I complain about consumerism all the time, but I think my old adage hold true even in that situation - you hate the most the thing you do yourself.

I'm not obsessed with things, I don't think, but I will admit that I fit in well to North American life and all it's capitalist foibles.

The trouble is, I don't actually know what to do to change. And the truth is, I'm not entirely sure that I want to.

long time, no blog

It's been a long time since I last posted. Truth be told, recent circumstances (which I am not at liberty to discuss on-line, so please don't ask), have caused me to lose some of my taste for this mode of communication. It feels a bit like I've unintentionally put my foot in my mouth once or twice and I'm left feeling like I just don't know what's safe to write about any more.

The part of me that wants to believe that there's at least a little bit of basic good left in everyone wants to buck up and plug on, but the rest of me screams caution. So I will exercise both parts and try to find a good balance for myself and this blog.

Balance and trust (in God, specifically) both seem to be the lessons I am trying to learn this year and boy, they are not easy. They both really feel like a massive re-programming of my brain and my entire approach to life. While in reality, my circumstances, though different than they have been in the past, have not really changed at all - I'm still not in control of 99.9% of the things I believe myself to be in control of - I now have deliberately let go of, oh, I don't know, like 2.2% that perceived control. Doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal for me. Unfortunately, I know that one of my next big hurdles is further accepting death and loss. By that I mean that my grandparents are now all well into their 80s and I know that every year they're still around is a supreme blessing.

But I don't want to end this blog on a sad note like that. I have been on a bit of a mission to encourage people to reduce their tolerance for negativity. Not that I want everyone to force themselves and those around them to be superficially happy or unrealistic about life, I just feel that we have a choice about how we view and interact with the world and those around us. We can choose to dwell in negativity or simply acknowledge it and find positive ways to deal with it and move forward. That's not an incredibly accurate way to flesh out that particular worldview, but I'll leave it at that for now.

I'll also leave you with this - a picture of my son laughing hysterically because we were laughing hysterically at his hair:

random prose

Though trees are still bare and skeletal out my window
The wind is beginning to lose its bitter edge -
Mellowing out, blowing with the promise of more warmth to come.
Chemical reaction of ice to water to steam
Offer a slow, silent education to anyone bothering to pay attention.
Gray sky blends in to the gray earth
While green patiently waits its turn.
But I'm not so patient waiting for it.
No subtlty to the seasons here -
Each asserts itself with a swiftness and force
Leaving me reeling in shock and awe.
Looking forward, always forward,
Praying away winter's reluctance to really leave.

thursday thirteen

I had trouble even coming up with a topic for this list, so we'll see how it goes today.

Thirteen things I would like to accomplish this year:

1. Do something with my Mary Kay business. Specifically, hold one class/facial a week.

2. Organize two retreats and two seminars for the leaders at GNF. Well, technically I only have to organize one retreat. The other is already planned, I just need to encourage people to go to it.

3. Hear Kai talk.

4. Find Vergil an awesome job not in retail. Don't ask me what that looks like yet!

5. Finish at least one of the stories I've been working on for years and years.

6. Go on more dates with Vergil.

7. Participate in the church healing/renewal project the GNF elders are starting up.

8. Find two new elders by the end of August.

9. Make more nutritious meals.

10. Find a way to tithe more than just my time.

11. Get a pedicure (or two).

12. Have a clothing exchange party. Or at least purge some old clothes.

13. See spring! Man, it's been a long time locked in this bi-polar winter.

Whew! I did it. See, it makes me and Kai happy! :)

de-cysted

So I had a successful surgery yesterday. My awesome OB-GYN, Dr. Hooper, performed a laproscopic left ovarian cystectomy at about 11 am yesterday morning and I managed to leave the hospital by 7pm that night. I'm recovering well - just have some soreness at the incision sites and some general cramping in my belly, but the Tylenol 3s and naproxin are doing a good job of keeping those issues at bay. Unfortunately, I have to avoid any heavy lifting for a while and I can't drive for two weeks. Poor Kai's not going to be too impressed with me this week, needless to say. He's already a little annoyed at my avoidance of picking him up. Verge was home today, so he did all the lifting for me and tomorrow I just have to get us through the morning and then my friend Sheri is coming for the afternoon to help me out. Thursday Vergil closes, so he'll help me out in the morning and then my sister is coming over in the evening to help me with bedtime. Friday I have some offers of help from some other friends and family, so I think we'll survive this week anyway. Hopefully by next week I'm feeling better and can do a bit more.

Anyway, that's just a quick update about where I'm at with all of that. Hope everyone else in blogger-land is doing well.

appointments and such

I don't really have much to blog about today, but it's been over a week since I last posted, and I'm trying to post at least once a week, so I feel like I need to write something.

I guess it's been fairly uneventful around here lately. I'm settling in to work nicely, now I just need to make the effort to squeeze in a Mary Kay class once a week and I'll have accomplished my career goals for the year. I work out twice a week, am involved in church elder/leadership stuff a couple times a week, see my one set of grandparents every other week and the other set once a month and try to see my friends in six month rotations. Sounds kind of pathetic when you write it out, but it works for me.

We have had a lot of appointments in the last couple of weeks. Kai had his one-year appointment with his pediatrician and got his measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox shots. He wasn't a fan of the needles, naturally, but recovered well and hasn't had any ill effects yet. He also sees his eye doctor tomorrow. You might think it a little early for an eye doctor already, but I was wearing glasses by 18 months, so it's actually not as ridiculous as it may seem.

I went to my dentist yesterday and had a pre-op appointment with my obstetrician for my ovarian cyst removal which will happen next week Monday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you may remember how just before I went under anesthetic for my D&C after my miscarriage, the obstetrician mentioned I had a cyst in my left ovary. It's a dermoid cyst and while it's not very big (only about 3cm in diameter), my doctor and I agreed we should probably deal with it while I'm between pregnancies and while it's still small enough to have removed laparoscopically.

Anyway, that's about all the news I have for you today, I guess. Kai's molars are coming along nicely. The bottom two are all the way out, but the top ones seem to be taking their sweet time. It's not pleasant, but the sleeping has got a little better again, so that's good.

And as always, a closing shot of Kai for your enjoyment.

totally jinxed it

'This isn't as bad as the first round of teething'. Famous last words. Sleep this week has been a precious commodity and we are not getting enough. Kai's been waking up screaming several hours into the night and trying to comfort him is all but useless because as soon as we go into his room, he refuses to go back to sleep in his own crib. And even if we do take him to bed with us, he tosses and turns and can't get comfortable and ends up sleeping horizontally between us with Verge and I perched precariously on either edge of the bed.

I feel bad for him because he looks like he's gone a couple rounds in a boxing ring and lost the fight. His poor face is all puffy and red and he's got big dark circles under his eyes. He's drooling again and his nose is so runny I can hardly keep it clean, which, of course, makes his nose and upper lip crazy raw. He's definitely got four molars that have cut through the gum, but I'm thinking there are more on their way out. He doesn't like me touching his gums much, though, so I can't be sure aside from all the other symptoms he's presenting.

I really will be glad when this whole teething thing is done with. I know it's part and parcel of having a baby and Kai's not the only one to ever have gone through this, but it pretty much sucks all the same. Especially because I don't deal really well with sleep deprivation. And I only realize how poorly I deal with it after I've been totally frustrated and ticked off at Kai three out of five nights this week. I know it's not his fault that he's in pain and can't sleep, but sleep deprivation is definitely a kind of torture for me and I do tend to blame the person inflicting it on me.

Ah well, as with everything, this too shall pass. I'm just praying I don't snap before the end!

reorganization

Of my time, to be precise. I'm officially back at work and I lucked out in that I only actually have to go in to my workplace one day a week. The rest of my hours I get to do from home, which is quite the blessing, I have to say. Now, however, I'm trying to figure out what the new balance of my routine is going to be. It wouldn't be so difficult except that we (the elders) are in the middle of making some biggish decisions at church, so that has been consuming a lot of hours lately. We have some really amazing things coming up in the near future, but also some big decisions to make, so it's exciting and slightly anxiety producing at the same time.

Anyway, I've only be at this a week, so I'm still trying to figure out how it will all play out. I'm not too concerned yet, but we'll see how it goes.

Vergil is also back at work in a new location, and it seems to be going really well so far. We would still really like to get him out of retail this year, but for now, his situation is much more tolerable. Even enjoyable, I think. He's also joining a gym, at both my and his doctor's recommendation, so that'll help improve his overall outlook too.

Malakai has already accomplished his 2009 goal of walking - he's a regular pro at it already and it's definitely his preferred mode of transportation. Unfortunately, he's also cutting molars so that's made him a little on the irritable side of late. Strangely enough, I thought molars would be worse than his first set of teeth, but so far it's been a lot easier. I'm not sure if I'm jinxing the whole thing, but his sleep, while not as good as it had been, has not been affected to the extent it was the first time around. He still sleeps 8 to 10 hour stretches before waking up briefly for some food and a diaper change and then usually sleeps at least two or three hours more after that. So that's good news, anyway.

I don't have much more to say for now. Here's a picture of Kai with a little faux-hawk I managed to give him after his bath. It makes me smile that he's slowly acquiring more and more hair!

happy birthday, Malakai!

Well, here we are - our baby's first birthday. Crazy. I don't even know what to say about today, but that's probably because I keep this blog and have already said everything I've wanted to say so far about being a parent to an amazing little guy. We are counting our blessings today, that's for sure.

People have asked me whether I'm sad that he's not a baby anymore and I have to admit that I'm not. He was a sweet baby and I do like looking at the pictures of when he was small, but it's so exciting to watch him grow and learn and interact that I don't really want to go back to him as a newborn. But I guess I've never been much of a 'baby person' - I like to be able to interact and get feedback from my interaction and it's hard to do that with a newborn. Needless to say, we're not looking to have a second for a while yet - Kai is a bit absorbing right now and I couldn't imagine bringing another baby into the mix yet.

Speaking of whom, it sounds like the birthday boy's nap is over so I'd better go get him up and ready for his day.

for a laugh

Here's a chuckle to start your week.

time for reflection

And a few viruses. Vergil's been off for a week and a bit to relax and refresh. I mentioned a few posts ago that one of our 2009 goals was to get him out of retail. Turned out he needed to be away from it a little sooner than we'd thought. He's still employed, but will likely be moved to a different store after this little break. It's been nice having him around, but I do feel a little off of the well-structured routine Kai and I had developed. Both Kai and I getting a nasty stomach flu this week didn't help much with my feeling of...well, it's hard to nail down exactly what I'm feeling. I've been in conversations about my own job future as well recently and I think subconsciously I'm a little more stressed out about everything than I'm ready to consciously admit. Crap. I think I just consciously admitted it. :P Anyway, I know all is in God's hands and he's never let us down yet and there was a reason we chose Matthew 6:25-34 as our wedding passage, but it's awfully hard to just let go and trust sometimes.

That pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks at our place. Good, but in a slightly unnerving state of waiting.

On the bright side, Kai's birthday is coming up and it should be a really fun weekend. I'm going to be totally overwhelmed by all the stuff that's going to go on, but he loves crowds and having new audiences, so I think he's going to have a blast. He's walking really well now and it's slowly becoming his preferred mode of transportation. Granted, this new skill is making changing him incredibly more challenging, but otherwise, it's a lot of fun. He's looking more and more like a little boy all the time and less like a baby. Which is why I love bath time because his naked rolls are still awfully cute!

Anyway, that's all I really wanted to say today. I have heard that this flu is making the rounds, so I hope everyone else is staying as healthy as possible.

Till next time, stay cool everyone.

getting better every day

And yes, it makes me very excited.

happy new year

It's another year and I can hardly believe how fast 2008 went by. I find it incredible that this time last year, I was counting down the days to being done work and giving birth to Malakai. Now he's almost a year old and I feel blown away by how blessed I am.

We have two sort of 'resolutions' this year, though I prefer to call them goals, since resolutions always seem so easy to break. The first is to get Vergil a job out of retail. We're just kind of done with all the stress that retail brings and I think this is a good year for change. Now, whether that means he gets a new job or I get a full time job that pays well enough for him to work somewhere part time and raise Kai is still in the process of being figured out. We would like to try to raise our own child, so it's important to us that someone is home for Kai a good chunk of the time.

The second goal is to save for Christmas spending in a new way. I heard of someone who saved all their twoonies and loonies all year to pay for Christmas presents and I liked the idea so much that I decided to steal it. It's easy to do and I think it'll take some of the financial pressure off at Christmas time.

That's it for now. We might come up with a few more as time goes on, but those are the two that are starting our new year.

Malakai only has one goal so far - learn how to walk! Here's a clip of him taking his first steps:


Very exciting!

That's all from us for now. Have a great day!