| Watermelon |
Mom, Dad, and I went to visit my Grandpa and Grandma Klassen tonight. We had a great time. My uncle Gary and cousin Sammi stopped by so we got to visit with them too. Before heading home we stopped by the shop (as in where the trucks from my Grandparents trucking company get maintained and repaired) and saw my uncle Merv (who works in the night to fix up the trucks for the next day). I love my family so much it was great to see some of them tonight. Merv is Erin's dad, and Erin is going to have a baby, her third, any day now. Another cousin of mine, Jacqueline, just had her first on Saturday, a boy, Malachi Benjamin Klassen.
Grandma and Grandpa and me. They will be Oma and Opa to the twins.
Mom said about this picture, "Where's the watermelon". Hmm, I am holding a small piece of watermelon, but it looks as if I swallowed one whole.
Okay, bedtime for me I think.
Aimee |
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| Who Woulda Thought... |
My husband has a blog.
That's right folks. And I must say, you will not be disappointed -- unless he drops the ball and quits writing. So far he has about three entries which are thoughtful and hilarious. Visit as soon as you can! Follow the link I've added in the sidebar.
Only problem, I think you might need to be a "myspace" member to comment. Maybe not though. Or maybe that's no problem because you'll want to comment so much that you'll become a member (of course it's free, the only cost is the time it'll take to sign up)
By the way, I'm having a marvelous holiday -- and still missing Lance. I should write more, and will, just not now.
Hope you guys are well.
Aimee |
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| Lovely things |
I am in BC. Here are some lovely things about my stay so far (I arrived yesterday morning)
- a lovely visit with Cara and sweet Sarah
- sunshine today
- a very sweet and funny email from my husband
- visited a sugar free bakery today and came home loaded with treats
- no schedule (a big hooray for this!)
- two nice at home suppers with mom and dad, Steven was at one too (a bonus because he is always on the run)
- naps
- more energy (I think I'm getting better)
- I got to see Grandma and Grandpa W. tonight (we had a really nice visit together, a special treat since Grandma has been doing so poorly lately - see mom's blog for details)
- flowering trees (man those are beautiful)
- didn't wear a coat today (it's been awhile)
Looking forward to:
- Melanie coming tomorrow evening
- having Melanie feel the wigglers wigglin!
- going to a Kids Swap meet tomorrow, who knows what we'll find
- big family gathering/shower on Sunday night - for all the expecting cousins (5 of us, well one will have had her baby by then, Jaqueline is in labor right now!)
- church at Central Heights on Sunday
- more emails from Lance
- more phone calls with Lance
- borrowing mom or Steven's camera and taking a million pictures of all the beauty here (I've been missing having a well operating good camera and thought I should make the most of this opportunity)
- eating a blackberry pie (first I'll have to make it, so we'll see if this happens)
- bringing home a cooler full of frozen fruit from mom's freezer to our freezer in Camrose
- bringing myself and the wigglers back to Camrose, reuniting with Lance
Well that's all for now.
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
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| Packed and on my way |
Tomorrow I fly to BC! Hooray.
Today I had a doctor's appointment. Everything is going just fine. The wigglers were really acting up when I was waiting in the examing room. I figured that the doctor would feel and hear them moving when he'd check for the heartbeats. I liked this thought. I was talking to mom tonight and I said, "I wanted him to feel them moving because I'm proud of them". They don't do much at this stage, so I'm proud of whatever they do! So he totally did hear them moving around and actually could only get one heartbeat reading because the other little one was wiggling around so much! He wasn't concerned about not getting a reading, because there was so much movement.
Weight gain since last time= 6.6lbs
I'm measuring 36 weeks (and I'm just over 27). The doctor said, "You can't hide 28 weeks with twins".
I had to wait an hour again for my appointment -- which isn't so bad if you're expecting it.
Update on the sore throat: It did materialize and Lance and I have been trying to take it easy since Sunday. The only work I've done is prepare for and teach my Monday night class. Tuesday and today have included lots of napping.
I've been getting up a ridiculous number of times in the night lately -- last night was possibly a record - 5 times.
In other news. Today I got a night guard. Yes folks, I'm a teeth grinder. Hopefully this will help. I'm not really looking forward to using it - tonight will be the first try. Unfortunately my night time snacking will conflict with the night guard - I can't just snack and put it back in, I'll have to brush first. Perhaps this will lead to cutting down on night time snacking. My weight gain is coming along very nicely so perhaps there is less need. We'll see.
Lance bought me a daisy plant today. It is lovely. He knew that since I'm leaving tomorrow I'd only get to enjoy it today (unless it keeps blooming for awhile) but he really wanted me to have flowers today. Even when he's sick too he is encouraging to me. We've enjoyed getting to be around each other a lot more since we've been resting a lot.
I'm going to miss him on this trip.
Well, I better double check I've packed what I need, then have a snack and head to bed. We leave at 4:30am tomorrow -- yuck.
I'm leaving winter and heading to spring.
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
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| Sore throat? |
I think I am getting a sore throat. Kind of scratchy. I had two naps today so I'd say I'm taking good care of myself.
Schulz's (my brother and sister in law) arrived on Wednesday night. Our discipleship group went sledding - which I and the wigglers opted out of - and then came back to our place for snacks. Steve and Carolyn and I visited and then snacked with the group. The plan for the Schulz's was to carry on to Outlook SK, to visit some folks they know at LCBI (where they used to work), but upon calculating the driving time (12 hrs) and finding out that many people weren't even going to be there, plans were readjusted. They stayed with us! We enjoyed lunch at the Lefse House yesterday. I got to have a great visit with Carolyn while Lance was out and Steve was running an airport pick-up trip for Lance. It's been very fun to hang out with Carolyn. We are pretty much at exactly the same point in our pregnancies. She's about a week ahead, but we'll deliver first because of twins.
New House. We got to stop by the Jensen's new house yesterday. They had gotten possession the day before and invited friends over to watch the flames vs oilers last night. Knowing Steve and Carolyn weren't likely that into hockey, and I'm mostly into because Lance is, Schulz's and I went over when the game was almost over. In time to watch 4 minutes of regulation time, and about 4 minutes of overtime, with the oilers winning! Then Jenna and Pete gave us a tour of their house -- which is very lovely. I'm so excited for them.
Lance is very busy. Last night he had a 6 hour rehearsal with a worship team. Today and tomorrow the team is leading worship for a local conference. So he hasn't gotten to see the Schulz's as much as me. We did enjoy Wednesday night visiting, Thursday lunch, and today's breakfast together. (well sort of together, Lance had to rush away and sort some things out right before the eggs were ready, by the time he got back we were done eating, but atleast we could visit while he ate). Now Schulz's have gone to Innisfail to visit Steve's dad. They'll be back tonight and then they'll head out just before noon tomorrow.
You can check out the link to Steve and Carolyn's blog to see a couple pictures from their visit -- including one of Carolyn and I in our matching maternity jeans. Which reminds me that I must do a blog entry about maternity clothes.
Well, I often feel kind of restless when I'm alone, especially if I'll be alone for awhile. So that's me right now. Maybe I'll take some laundry to the cafteria and check out what's on for supper. I also need to continue preparing for my Monday class.
Okay, I better go.
Hope you are well.
Aimee
ps. In under a week I am heading to BC! I am very excited about this holiday. |
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| LIttle update |
Today should be restful. I am hoping.
Sunday and Monday and Tuesday were all very busy. Sunday was making dinner for a worship band Lance is leading - they were practicing for an upcoming local conference. Monday was working on my course stuff. Will I learn to not procrastinate? Monday also included staff meeting and an abbreviated nap. The class went well -- I didn't realize this until after, when Lance helped me sort through things. You know how sometimes the littlest things not going well can really affect your overall view of something? Tuesday I got to babysit the Friedrich's baby Leif. This was some good practice for me -- though he was so cheerful that it wasn't much of a challenge, but just good to have some baby time. Then a meeting followed by another abbreviated nap, then an appointment then home. Sigh.
Today began with a meeting but now there's more freetime. On the agenda... a full-length nap. Some dishes. Preparing for the Schulz's visit! Discipleship group in the evening.
The Wigglers have been really living up to their name. Sometimes I feel like I've got wild flopping fish in my belly. I am really enjoying being pregnant and feel very blessed with an excellent pregnancy. I have a doctor's appointment on the 22 and then fly to BC on the 24! I am excited to see my family and friends and springtime. I've got an ultrasound on April 3rd. This time in Sherwoord Park, which means I will probably get a picture (in camrose they don't give you anything), so that's neat.
We had prenatal classes on the weekend. Boy did that bring us into reality. I had already been realizing that it's one thing being pregnant and a whole nother thing to actually have these kids on the outside. After the classes Lance and I realized we hadn't really been thinking about the step that comes between pregnancy and parenting -- LABOUR! Lance said during our lunch break on Saturday (which conveniently following the C-section video) "Aimee, this will be the hardest thing you've ever done in your life". Fortunately I was able to receive that statement without a melt down. I guess we're realizing that it would be a good idea to think more about labor and do some sort of preparing - perhaps practicing some of the things we learned in class (relaxation etc.)
Okay that's all for now. Off to do a sink full of dishes and then nap!
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
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| Flying Wigglers |
I've been hoping and hoping that I would be able to visit Abbotsford during my pregnancy and now it's all set. Dad booked a flight for me the other day. I'll be flying out on the 23rd of this month and returning here on the 31st. I'm very excited. Though right now I'm sure how I'll like being away from Lance for so long. He was away all weekend, and left again on Tuesday for our schools winter camp. He returns tomorrow. So I am currently Lance deprived -- I think that is contributing to me wondering how me being gone will be. But doesn't it always seem that the person who is at home has the harder time - whereas the one who is away is distracted by all sorts of good stuff and enjoying themselves almost too much to miss home? One interesting thing that I noticed while Lance has been away is that I miss sharing the joy of our little ones with him. I miss having him talk to them and feel and see them kicking. I know he is loving them from a distance, but I miss his up close love for them. And who would I be kidding if I said I didn't miss his up close love for me. :)
I had my first appointment with my real doctor yesterday. This is the doctor who will actually deliver the twins. It was good to finally meet with him. I had to wait an hour for my appointment which I kind of expected. Dr Ward is the only OB/GYN in Camrose where, as I was informed by a nurse, there is enough work for two OB/GYNs to be super busy. During my appointment he got two calls from someone asking if he was going to make it to a meeting. He said yes. Then let me know that I was more important. And I did feel important. He explained the results of the blood testing (of course I had read my file already and gotten Jenna J to translate anything mysterious) which my other doctor hadn't done. The results? I'm AB+, the universal recipient for blood, I have had the chicken pox, my vaccination for Rubella is still working, I've got no diseases, my hemoglobin is "stupendous" (or some other such word). He also went through my ultrasound results in more detail than my other doctor had. Heart rates of the babies were good. I'm measuring 31 weeks or so (I'm really 25 weeks, as you know from the baby ticker thing I put up, which by the way is pretty impressive for me since I didn't really know where to plunk that piece of HTML to get it to come out in a decent spot, well after a couple tries I'm satisfied with the results).
I was a little disappointed that the appointment was so rushed. I didn't feel I could take out my list of questions and start making my way through them. I asked a couple. Like, "can I fly", to which he responded by recommending I use a plane and not try to fly on my own. :) I was glad to find out that from here on in I'll have an appointment every two weeks, they'll be watching the twins quite closely. I think this will also give me more opportunity to ask questions. I will also have an ultrasound every two weeks. I'm not as much looking forward to this - that's a lot of time with a full bladder. He said this was the best way for them to keep track of if they are growing equally (which they have been so far).
When Lance returned from BC he brought back with him a gift from Melanie. He decided not to open it, but wait till he got home so I could be there too. He packed the gift in his carry on bag... He arrived at the airport, checked his luggage and proceeded through security. "We're going to have to open this. Sir, you can't take this on" What was he referring to? Take a look:
When Lance was relaying the story to me I wielded the claw in the air like a madwoman. Yes, I can understand why they wouldn't want that coming on board. The man said if Lance hurried he might be able to get the gift into his luggage. And that worked out. I am very glad because take a look at this lovely gift:
It's for our garden, complete with sunflower seeds! What a thoughtful gift from a wonderful friend (who I will get to see in just a couple weeks!!!)
Here's a photo of me today:
To see the growth rate I'll post my photo from 22 weeks:
Well, I'm off to Friedrichs for supper. My friends take good care of me when Lance is away. First off to blockbuster to return some very late movies and to Co-op for milk and potting soil. Yes, an odd combination, but if I don't get soil to repot my plants the might just bite the dust.
Hope you are well. Oh yes, and welcome to Jana and Tanya - friends from Central Heights youth group days. Thanks to Xandra for the smoothie recipe. Glad to hear that others think the spinach thing is alright too. Heidi tried it as well and it went down okay. And thanks to Robyn for the shredder idea. Yes, that would make it more fun. Currently Lance takes our shreddable stuff to the school and does it there. But I can see myself sitting on the floor in the midst of piles of papers dramatically inserting them into the shredder, "Take that!"
Also an encouragement note to Kristal and Shannon who are in the last leg of their pregnancies. May God sustain you and bring those babies out at just the right time. I'm very excited for both of you.
Aimee |
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| Two cups of spinach... |
As I was grocery shopping today I couldn't ignore the fact that among all the produce on my list (grapes, strawberries, nectarines, grapefruit) there was only one vegetable, a cucumber. Vegetables have never been my favorite and secretly I've been hoping that fruits are as good as veggies, and that when Canada's food guide says 5-12 fruit and veggies you'll still be healthly if you eat say 10 servings of fruit and one serving of veggies.
Back to the grocery store. I was passing the pre-washed bagged greens and decided on spinach. Not for salad mind you. For smoothies! What?!?! Yes that's right, I bought a bag of spinach to add to smoothies. My friend Ingrid suggested this awhile back, said it doesn't affect the taste, just turns your smoothie green. I figured this would be a great way to get some leafy greens down without having to actually prepare a salad and chew them up. I've been skeptical about how it would taste.
When I got home I made myself a smoothie with fresh strawberries (on sale again!) yogurt, OJ, and about a cup of spinach. And you know what? It was just fine. Now the real test will be to see if Lance will enjoy a spinach smoothie -- he's way more aware of "abnormal" tastes and said to me the other day, "Aimee I don't think you know how things taste to "normal" people" (atleast it was something along those lines, this was in response to me having him try a poppyseed muffin - which I was sure tasted like a normal muffin, even a little sweet, I was discouraged by his response, "They're like biscuits", Ugggh, I thought they were normal, hence the comment about me not being able to taste... I agree, my taste buds have definitely adapted to less sweet things tasting more sweet)
I made another smoothie tonight which I'm enjoying right now. I can taste the spinach a little but the goodness of the spinach convinces my mind to not consider the taste.
Lance is in BC and returns tomorrow night. I got to talk to him today. Ahh, very nice. Also got to read PlatBlonde about the concert he was a part of -- pictures too.
I've been attacking our "Green Room". This room is on the south side of our apartment and very cheery and sunny. It is meant to be for reading/prayer and has recently had the art stuff, or atleast some of it, moved in. I posted a photo awhile back of the art part of the room, I think it looked like a nice space. Well, what you don't see in the photo is the otherside of the room which has become a catchall for months worth of papers. Old bank statements, letters, cards, insurance stuff, the list goes on. When we returned from BC this summer I began sorting. Well that was a long time ago. This evening I made my way through all the papers sorting through what to keep, what to file, what to recycle and what to toss. The thing that was different about this sorting spree was that I actually took my "to be filed pile" and filed everything where it belonged. This included created a couple of new files for items that didn't fit in a category. Normally these would be left on top of the filing cabinet or shoved inside the cabinet at the front, in no file at all. I'm hoping to have the room done by the time Lance comes home. What a treat to actually use this room for the last two months that we'll live here (we haven't really used it since last spring, except for a bit of art making)... or maybe we should block the door off so we (mostly me) can't get in and mess it up.
Did you guys know that I am the messy one in our marriage. Yup. I'm much better than when I was young -- or maybe it just seems that way since I have more space over which to spread our stuff. I remember one while Lance was living with our family my mom saying to me that I should keep my room tidier because he probably noticed how I kept my room and might be thinking about the future and what that would mean for a home. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a slob and Lance isn't always tidy, but in general he is tidier than me. He gets on these tidying kicks and comes to me with items that are mine saying, "where does this go" (as a tidy person his motto is "a place for everything and everything in its place") well the problem is I don't have places for my things and so I don't put them in their places. Hmmm. New home, new start? Another commonly heard phrase during the tidying rampages is, "I put your stuff in a pile on the table". Arrgh, I hate piles. To me things seem worse in piles. I think it's because I realize if there is enough stuff accumulated to form a pile it will likely be stashed away (probably in the green room) and never dealt with (especially if it's paper).
I read somewhere about having a "touch it once" approach to keeping house. I think this was particularly regarding the organization of mail. The premise, open the piece of mail and deal with it immediately, toss it, pay the bill and file it, respond to the letter... you get the idea. At times this has worked for me. Of course if I let my guard down for even a minute a foot of paper has accumulated.
Well, right now I'm on the right track.
Well, it's late, my smoothie is done and I think I'll head to bed. The before bed reading for tonight, and I hope this isn't overly graphic for some of our readers (particularly male), "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". That's all I'll say about that.
Hope you are well.
Aimee |
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| Done... ahh.... |
Well, I'm done. The art project is finished. And I'm planning on having my second nap of the day. Last night I got a lot of work done on the frames, leaving only the painting for this morning, as well as attaching the students' pieces.
Lance helped too - as usual. Before I had him as my helper it was my mom. She spent many a late night with me, helping me complete art projects, even in university. Dad would always tell her not to help -- I think he knew I needed to learn to plan better, and he was looking out for mom's health, not wanting her to burn herself out. Well, I didn't learn, and I sure did appreciate her help. Even dad got roped in to helping sometimes too. Building frames for canvases, driving oversize art pieces to university in our van etc.
Anyways back to the current project. After getting to a good stopping point last night Lance and I left the shop and came home - where there was more work to do. Lance left early this morning - as in, we left the house just after 5am - for BC where he will be a part of two evening concerts at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver. So last night he had packing to do, as well as printing up chord/lyric sheets for his songs. I was able to help him with this -- so glad to be able to help him out a bit, after he had helped me so much on the art stuff.
After dropping Lance off at the airport this morning I came home and painted the frames. Man did they look better than I had originally thought. We went through various stages of planning and different ideas on how to complete the project came and went but the way we ended up doing was definitely the best. It's not often things turn out better than you'd hoped, especially when procrastination and last minute stuff is involved.
After the painting I had a glorious nap. Then lunch. Then attaching the student's pieces. I was very excited as I laid out the pieces and enjoyed the individuality and creativity of the students. I got to do some pieces too -- more than I had planned on. I actually made 9 panels because some students didn't hand theirs in. I knew I'd have to do a couple, but nine was more than I had expected. Some of my panels I am happy with, some I think looked rushed. I tried to vary my style so it wouldn't be obvious that I did so many, I think it was successful. If anyone can guess all 9 of my panels I will surely give you a prize!
The attaching went well. I just stapled them from the backside of the frame. There was a casualty, our stapler. Oh well. I borrowed one from the school and finished up.
This project was a collaboration assignment for the night class I'm teaching. We have what's called, "Welcome Weekend" this weekend, where highschool students come and checkout the school and have a lot of fun. Anyways the them is "Sleepless", taken from the verse, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" Romans 13:11. So the project is all eyes to fit with the theme of being "Sleepless" or awakening.
These "windows" will be hung in the chapel for the duration of the weekend.
I'm so glad to be done and very happy with how they turned out.
Hope you guys are doing well. I'm off to eat supper and have a nap I think, or watch a movie, I've got "Where the Red Fern Grows" out from the library. Lance wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. But now that he's not here... maybe it won't be quite as good as I remember it from being a kid. Oh well.
Aimee |
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| Really Quick |
Lance often needs to help me with time management. I am a professional procrastinator and have not learned to do things any other way. I think I've improved over the years, but not that much.
Tonight I need to complete to "window frames" for an art project that the class I teach is showing this weekend. They need to be done for tomorrow morning, when I will paint them and then add in the panels of the students' art work. When it's done I'll take a photo and show you. Anyways Lance has helped me a lot on this. And now, instead of blogging I should trudge through the snow (yes we have snow, a big dump of over a foot!) to the shop and work on the frames.
So that's what I'll do, just thought I'd give you a mini update.
See you later.
Aimee
ps. Thanks for all your comments on our house. Katelyn I agree with you about the curtains - particularly in the living room, your comment cracked me and Lance up. And actually they are ours -- they are included in the sale of the house. Hmmm. Don't think we'll keep those around. All the windows also have blinds so that's good, and a little less travel trailerish. |
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posted by Aimee at 
