vancouver

last tuesday, mum and i flew to vancouver.

i was scheduled for my immigration medical on wednesday morning at 6:30 AM sharp.  so i showed up, they x-rayed me, took my blood, weighed, measured, poked and prodded.  then mum and i walked all over the city of vancouver.  we ate and browsed around granville island.  we walked through gastown and yaletown.  the next day we went to the capilano suspension bridge which was very, very cool.  quite spectacular.  hard to translate the height and perspective on film, the bridge and tree-top walk was unique and amazing.

it was a quick trip.  cj and dad held down the fort with the kids.  good job guys.
thanks for being my travel-mate mum!  good times, i love you.

be my valentine?

over the weekend we were at the Glenbow Museum.  at the museum was an interesting dissection of a cell displayed on gels, hanging from the ceiling, lit with black lights.  we all walked into the enclosure, the kids thought it was funny that cj's shoelaces and shirt was glowing in the dark.  then they looked at me...  every freckle since the dawn of time had appeared on my face AND it became very apparent that i am pretty liberal with my lip balm application.  you know, lip balm does not belong just on my lips but ringing the entire parameter of my mouth as well.  the kids ran out screaming and all cj wanted to do was take a picture.

this is why i know cj loves me.  he knows exactly what i look like in different waves of light and he's still sticking around.

happy valentines day!

mike update

what to say.  we received a call last night saying they found mike. information here.

mike

http://www.fox5vegas.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4532573

there are some very sad things going on in las vegas right now.  the girl in the news clip is my niece amber.  we are praying for some comfort and strength and support for the kids and family down there right now.

please join in.

here is another report from a different news station:

making all his dreams come true...

eli is always asking why he can't be in any of c.j.'s shoots.  the explanation that "the client is not looking for a 9 year old boy" never seems to cut it.  until now.

when USA weekend called a few weeks ago and wanted to cast a "9 year old boy" for their bullying story, eli got the gig.  it just came out this weekend in USA TODAY.

go get your copy now, i am sure eli will autograph it for you.  hee hee

come on in

the house pics are up and running!

remember to take your shoes off at the front door...

out of elbow grease

HEY!

this house is shining like the top of the chrysler building.

do you know how much junk/stuff is in your house?  do something for me... walk over to the "phone center/area" in your house {ours is in our kitchen} and open the drawer that is probably there.  IS IT THE BIGGEST JUNK YARD ON EARTH?  or walk into your master bedroom and open the cupboards under your sink.  EXPIRED MEDS/CLEANERS/SUNTAN LOTION FROM 2001?!?  where does all this crap come from?!  holy dina.  now go into your closet and look around.  is there stuff in there you haven't worn for 6 months?  a year?  FORGOT YOU EVEN OWNED?

if so GET RID OF IT.  like, NOW.

that is what we did all weekend long.  'cause this house is going up for sale, it's ready for the photographer to show up and if it looks clean, it is, because every nook and cranny and cupboard and drawer was cleaned, gone through, wiped down, vacuumed, washed off, organized and dusted.  bags and bags of clothes were given away, bags and bags of "stuff" was chucked.  IT WAS AWESOME.  cj was wondering why we hadn't done this a year ago when we moved in.  i don't know.  life happens i guess.

i am now sitting in the last room to finish.  the den/office.  it is pretty much my space.  it is always a mess.  why, why, why, why.  i get it organized and fancy and in a day it is tossed.  fabric, mail, paperwork, bills, junk.  this room is a magnet for crap.  sooooo, i am looking around:  i have 3 filing piles, cheques to be processed, invoices to be entered, fabric to hide away.  it's 1:03 am.

i better give myself a time limit or i will be in trouble.

oh, by the way, re-reading "Joan of Arc" by Mark Twain.  i suggest you read it.  i read it while in university and it changed my life.
i hope it is as good as i remember it being or the book club ladies will kill me....

oh and...

getting rid of newborn baby clothes is really, really hard.

i want you to know...

i gave away most of my clothes today.

i am trying to weed out, clean out, pair down, simplify.

the house goes up for sale next week.

the weather is getting cold again.

food is my enemy.

all my sewing/quilting is going to have to wait until we move. tear, tear, sniff... sniff...

i am doing a lousy job at food prep in our house.

all my clothes are tight and unsightly.

this is going to be a longggggg weekend.

rice, rice baby

success!  ida's rice intolerance {FPIES} is officially over.

i cooked up some rice {which, at the appointed time of consumption she turned her nose up at} so i pulled out the emergency back up... rice crispy treats.

2 treats and 3 hours later we were discharged from the hematology unit with 2 thumbs up from the doctor.

what a relief.  what a day.  what a year and a half.  what good news.

weekender

 los angeles

officially 2

so.  we went to los angeles over the weekend.  

it was a quick trip full of looking at houses, eating really good food, hanging out with family, celebrating birthdays with best friends over sushi and a movie and just enjoying the INCREDIBLE weather. believe me, i'm not a weather girl, but the weather was... pretty much perfect.  

while we were there ida turned 2.  we ended up at the beach for a bit as you can see.  the kids had fun out running the waves.  they got wet, which means sometimes they didn't outrun the waves.  

i didn't really take any pictures this trip.  i'm not quite sure why.  

i got some shots today.  a MMR and a flu shot.  i had to get them for the immigration medical that is booked for mid february.  monday i have to go get the Tdap.  i don't like shots.

c.j. found out his canadian citizenship test is on tuesday.  he is going to have to cram this weekend. 'cause if he doesn't know what the provincial flower of nova scotia is or the ethnic diversity of manitoba... he's hooped.  {ha ha ha} 

ida goes in for her final rice food trial tomorrow morning.  10 am she will be eating 1/3 cup of rice and seeing if it agrees with her.  cross your fingers.

snow dance

coming soon to a theatre near you.

late night shenanigans

unscheduled food trial...

about 10 minutes ago as i was floundering around on the living room floor doing pilates, ida walked around the corner with an unidentified object in her hand.  her mouth was chocolatey and so were her hands, deduction:  she has been holding/eating that for a while...  the luna bar i had been eating for breakfast.  half gone??!!!!  ingredients?!?!
rice flour, brown rice oil, soy rice crisps, blah blah blah.  probably every combination of RICE known to mankind.

NOW.  you can imagine my horror.

she is actually meeting with the folks at the childrens hospital on the 21st and 24th for such things. like, a medically monitored food trial in case things go down the wrong road.

looks like i have 1:45 minutes to see what happens.  i better throw her in the shower so that she is prepared for the ER.

if you have no idea why eating rice is such a big, fat deal, go here and here and here.  and then look around some more.  there is more, i just don't have time to link it all, i've got to get ready for the ER too.

UPDATE:  all is well!  no reaction!  waited and waited and saw a doctor, gave her history, the doctor said they just had a internal seminar on FPIES and Ida was their case study!  hilarious.  anyho, it's all good, will still do the official rice trial later this month but i think we have a winner here.  ya-hoooo!

MR. SUB to the rescue

we have survived.  eli is back at school, c.j. is no longer bed ridden and i am down 5.4 pounds.  half way out of those sweat pants i say!  hurrah!

i knew things were taking a turn for the better when we were sitting on the couch late last night and c.j. said, "man, you know what sounds so good right now all of the sudden, MR. SUB".  so i called and sure enough, open till 10:00.  dude was out the door in a flash.  like a large submarine miracle pill, we ate those sandwiches and voila! we were healed.  he even brought home a sub bun for eli so that we could make a sandwich for him this morning on a MR. SUB bun.  that was a hit.




i thought i would throw the commercial in for good measure.
yes, MR. SUB, you are our hero of the week.

the big bucket

i think we are dealing with the flu here.

i am sitting on the end of eli's bed.  when i left for YW tonight he was complaining of stomach pain and by the time i got home {a few hours later} it was in full swing.  no barfing yet, just falling in and out of sleep with stomach cramps.  like it comes in waves.  oddly enough i have started feeling the same type of thing as well...  dun dun dunnnnnnn.

i guess we will see how this night goes.  there is a humungous bucket sitting right next to him on his bed. he better not miss it.  

in the next room c.j. is working on the cover of TIME.  no big deal.  we work under pressure around here.

i know the flu has been going around during the holidays and we never did get it so maybe it's our turn.

will update in the morn.

UPDATE:  yes, yes, indeed it is the flu.  eli and i stayed in the same room last night writhing around with waves of stomach cramps.  it wasn't until this morning that i finally gave the old heave ho and used the big bucket and the toilet at the same time.  i am feeling marginally better.  eli seems pretty good to go. c.j. is now the one rolling around in bed whimpering.  i told him just to puke and get it over with.

ida.  no signs yet.  i am praying to the flu gods that she doesn't get this.  'cause it pretty much sucks.

off to the races

its the 3rd.  hellooooooooo january!  most of the items on my "get ready for the new year" list are complete.  that is a good thing.

my pants feel tight.  maybe it's because i gained 10+ pounds over the holidays.  i have vowed to only wear sweat pants until my regular pants feel comfy again OR i have lost the previously mentioned lard that i have gained.  i'll let you know when that blessed day happens.

eli starts back to school tomorrow, he gets braces on his bottom teeth on thursday and a new pair of orthotics for his feet on wednesday. man, he is sounding like a nerd, but he is not really {well maybe just a little, but thats ok}.  rather a nerd than a jock, bully, emo, goth, etc, etc, etc.

so far so good on keeping some family resolutions.  that is a good thing too.

i ran 2 miles today to begin training for this.  i registered for it a few years back but broke my foot and had to bag the race and a trip to NY and pretty much everything for about 4 months.

it is redemption time.
 

organizin'

down time.  yessssssss. 

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR.  the period of time right between christmas and new years.  it is the time to prepare for a whole new year.  how great is that?  fresh slate!  new, new, new!  

i have eli in his room right now going through all his clothes, weeding out the "too small" items.  then he will begin a resolution list {9 goals, now that he is 9}.  i have a list a mile long to complete before january 1st.  it will get done.  the last few days i have been transferring ALL of my photos onto a hard drive so they are nifty and neat and very accessible.  while i have been doing this i found this little gem tucked away in the 2005 photos/vids.  i had just flown into LA.  emily and doug were living in encino at the time.  the boys were 3 or 4ish.  cute and chubby.  emily and i decided to make a trip to the sherman oaks {?} costco.  hot weather + mid afternoon = slobbering in a cart at costco.  i love how he was looking for someone to cuddle up with at the end.  

hilarious.  

now, GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND GET READY FOR 2011!!

birthday/birthday/christmas

birthday boys

a quilt for c.j.

the party attendees

waiting for the show to start!

ida and a bird from the show

who has arrived???!

making sure the kids are all on the nice list

BELIEVER.

the kids were all stunned and amazed.

eli, thrilled at the combination of lego + sorry. too good to be true. pretty easy to please.

ida's crabby attitude, christmas 2010

the christmas morning puffy, smiley family picture. yes.

this time of year is always so busy. a good kind of busy. a happy kind of busy.

birthdays and christmas and family parties seem to run one into another. this year we celebrated eli and c.j.'s birthday by a lasagna smack down at our house, some presents to open and tickets to Seussical the Musical. we had a great time. the play was fun and colourful, ida sat through the entire thing happy and quiet. GOOD FOR HER.

we were all able to get together last night for christmas eve at mom and dads. we ate, acted out the nativity, had a talent show/sing-a-long and then had a very special visitor drop by. a bonafide santa claus arrived and chatted with the kids for a while. the kids could not believe it. santa claus, here????! HE WAS DELIGHTFUL AND PERFECT.

this morning was christmas. it was an early start. so early, ida and c.j. are both napping right now, it's noon and i am feeling a bit heavy eyed myself. eli was easy to please this year with simple lego, a couple of books and a looney tunes dvd. ida was grumpy, scowled most of the time, didn't want to open any of her gifts and was more interested in elis things which caused some problems. i had a brain wave while i was eating the really dry coffee cake i made for breakfast. next year we will do christmas in shifts. if eli wants up early we can wake, open gifts, whoop it up with him then head back to bed until ida wakes a couple of hours later {naturally}. it just may be a more pleasant way of celebrating christmas until ida can deal with it. they are so far apart in age that the early rising is fun for eli but not for ida. MUST STRATEGIZE NOW FOR NEXT YEAR.

in a couple of hours we will head back out to mom and dads and have a nice christmas day meal. it's going to be awesome. i'm going to eat like there's no tomorrow and then start thinking about tomorrow and the next day and the next... 2011, you will be here before we know it. MUST BE PREPARED.

merry christmas.

merry christmas folks

i present to you... NYC

i love new york

well, we have walked our legs to bloody stumps, our eyes are blurry and tired and our hands/faces are cold and chapped. we punched manhattan in the face and i have about 1,000 pictures to prove it.

will post when i get home tomorrow morning and get my wits about me.

enjoy the above until then...

a great big fat awesome long weekend straight ahead

doug & emily + new york city = FUN FUN FUN

can't wait

yes, the blue chairs are airplane seats. old school seats with ashtrays in them.

oooooh boy.

we had a hairy hectic day here. cj had a great big shoot. i was getting things ready.

ready for what?

ready to go to manhattan. yes, manhattan. did you hear me?!? HAHA!!! MANHATTAN!

HOLY CROW WE ARE LEAVING THE KIDS TOMORROW AND GOING TO MANHATTAN.

we have only left eli once when he was 3. it was when we met up with doug & emily and hit the sundance film festival. that was 6 years ago. now 3 kids later {between the 2 of us} we are meeting up with doug & emily in manhattan for round 2. why manhattan? doug has been shooting a film there for the last who knows how long, eh em? emily needs a break, we want a holiday, manhattan sounds like a perfectly perfect location {especially this time of year} soooooooo LET'S GO!

so many places to eat and see and go and shop and eat and eat and eat. we have tickets to "a prairie home companion" on friday night at town hall. other things on our list: statue of liberty, central park, the guggenheim, moma, skating in rockefeller, walk the brooklyn bridge, max brenner chocolate, purl soho, see a broadway show, attend the temple and hang out on set with doug. we shall achieve this list and anything else we can do/see squeezed in between.

ohhhhhh, i'm nervous. please fly steady plane, get us there safe. kids have fun with grandma and grandpa. {thanks mom and dad} we'll see you in a few days.

experiencing technical difficulties...

back of the infamous christmas quilt

front of the christmas quilt

watching the muppets "christmas carol" under the christmas quilt. c.j. was sad and cried at the end. you can tell he is gearing up for it... poor, poor tiny tim.

things in our house are frying. dead. stopped working. gonzo.

the microwave, the phone system {all 4 phones} and now the iMac in our den. it's weird, every button on the microwave works BUT the "start" button, the phones ring BUT are dead when i answer them and the iMac sounds like it is running and the apple tv is functioning BUT all it shows me is a sad black screen... this has all happened in about a 4 day span. they must have all gotten together and decided to crap out as a group. is it a protest?

i finished 2 quilts this week. 2 years ago, sandra and i started sewing a christmas quilt. 2 years ago. sheesh. i decided to finish it up, so i packaged up, sent it to my talented cousin sylvie and within a few days she shipped them back to me quilted. how awesome is that? soooo i bound them and it got put to good use. the other night c.j. and the kids watched the muppet christmas carol {according to the advent calendar schedule} and cozied up with the quilt. yes.

ok, we just had sloppy joes and it's 10:00 pm. what? too late for a sloppy joe? no. way. jose.

advent update

ida & the sugar cookie

eli & the millenium falcon christmas cookie

hot chocolate by the fireplace @ grandma and grandpas

hey this advent calendar is working! we are having some simple, fun activities that are keeping us in the christmas-y spirit! we made cookies, drank hot chocolate by the fireplace, had treats and came up with our 2011 family motto/theme. for our theme we threw a piece of paper in the middle of the kitchen table and throughout the day, everyone was able to put down thoughts or words or phrases that came to their mind. when we were finished, the page was full of really good things. as i read through it this morning, a thought/scripture immediately came to my mind that sumed up everything we had written down {i love you inspiration, thank you}. i quickly did some searching through the scriptures and this is what i found:

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires. Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated. And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace."

it is perfect. i read it to c.j., he agreed. so, there it is, our 2011 burton family theme. it feels really good and heaven sent. what will we do with this theme? we will memorize it, review it every family home evening, have it hanging in our home and strive to live it's message. this message is found in the doctrine and covenants which is equally perfect as this is the book of scripture we will be focusing on this year as well. awesome.

back to the advent, here is the list of activities we will be doing for the next week:

dec. 8. make paper snowflakes and hang them on the windows

dec. 9. watch home movies

dec. 10. watch the muppet christmas carol

dec. 11. ichat with grandma and grandpa burton

dec. 12. drive around to see christmas lights

dec. 13. make a christmas craft

tonight we are making egg nog shakes. c.j. will be whipping those up as he is a shake makin' pro.

we just finished up our 2010 christmas card. it is pretty good this year if i do say so myself. look for yours in the mail! {and if you don't think we have your current most accurate address, please send it to me ASAP.... you won't be disappointed!}

coldplay christmas

let her load and enjoy.

the secrets of the universe + the loch ness monster

lumpy trees, stars & the loch ness monster

THE purple tree by popular demand

colouring fun!

it is december folks.

i printed, organized and stuffed the advent calendar last night. eli just pulled out the first awesomely exciting suggestion of what to do today. "colour christmas pictures???..."

ooookkkkk.... {he is getting too old for this stuff, plus it didn't help that ida was sacked out on the couch not participating}. colouring is FUN! let's do it!! hurray! it's advent calendar fun!!!

by the way, here is a list by day of our advent calendar activities this week {i know the schedule so i can be prepared, but the kids don't know}.

dec. 1. christmas coloring

dec. 2. decorate sugar cookies {***made the dough last night, cooked them today, see thoughts...}

dec. 3. make hot chocolate and drink by the fireplace

dec. 4. TREAT! {i have placed in some pockets little chocolatey treats}

dec. 5. create a family theme/motto for 2011

dec. 6. make egg nog shakes

dec. 7. TREAT!

***sugar cookies. love to eat them, hate to make them. wow. what difficult finicky little morsels. it's the flour and the rolling and dough sticking to the counter top/the cookie cutter/the rolling pin and my hands. i did get better with each batch that i threw into the oven, perfecting my skills... but those first few... WOW. not good. the cookies we will decorate tomorrow are wonky stars, saggy trees, rocking horses {which look like the loch ness monster} and several star wars characters that i decided to throw in just for the heck of it.

on another note, last night eli found out. on the way to cubs, eli turned to c.j. and said, "dad, a couple of kids in my class told me today that there is no santa claus. is that true?". c.j. said all he could do was smile nervously and look straight ahead at the road. {do i tell him, do i not tell him.....} "yes, eli, there is no santa." then the conversation went something like, it is important to have and enjoy the christmas spirit, remember what we are really celebrating, it is fun for little kids, keep it a secret, etc, etc... it might be a different christmas this year with eli knowing we are sneaking the presents under the tree and ida just old enough to be really excited about "santa claus". two totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

alrightttt! ida just woke up. the coloring-o-rama is in full force. the most wanted "christmas-y" type picture printed out? anything from GREMLINS. no santas or elves, just gremlins.

sure, why not.