Phoenix Project: Day 80

Friday night was school fundraiser night and I really appreciated how much work the parents and teachers put into creating a successful and profitable night. I am so glad that KC has been able to attend such an amazing school--she's doing so well and is making really good friends. We are truly very lucky that she was accepted into this program!

Phoenix Project: Day 79

Another busy day! When I got home from work I realized that we didn't have any granola bars for the kids lunches for Friday. I decided to whip up a batch of cookies--and they were delicious. As I was finishing them up I remembered that I had volunteered to bring a cake into Kailyn's school fundraiser on Friday. So I quickly mixed up a homemade cake and I was mixing in the final ingredient, pure almond extract, when it hit me that ALMONDS can't be in a nut-free school. So I had to finish the cake I started and then start a new NUT-FREE one. Did I mention that I was racing out to a 7:30 meeting??

Best part of the day? That would have been when Bob stepped in to help me make the 2nd cake for the school. He also stayed up with me while I decorated it. I am so glad that I didn't have to stay up late all by myself ;)

Phoenix Project: Day 78

I was at work today and my co-worker sent me a link to peopleofwalmart.com. I came across a photo that made me laugh so hard that my boss thought I was crying and came out of his office to check on me. When I could compose myself, I showed him this picture:

Phoenix Project: Day 77

Today I went to the gym, then cleaning with Kelly, back home to clean up and then off to see the Elisa and Aimee. I had so much fun chatting and doing pedicures for the ladies...we stayed up way too late and ate a lot of junk but it was totally worth it!

Phoenix Project: Day 76

Today was kind of a crappy day but I had 2 really great pick-me-ups:

1. Find a word that sounds ridiculous and say it 10 times fast. I like mukluk...just saying it makes me crack up!
2. I went to pick up a few things from Walmart while KC was at ballet and I have a friend that works in the McDonald's. When I saw her and told her I was having a bad day and that I needed a diet coke, she gave it to me for FREE. I tried to tell her the diet coke totally made my day but she didn't believe me--but it really did make it a million times better!

We have the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; it's about a little boy who has the worst day ever! Everything that could go wrong does and the moral of the story is that some days are like that--terrible, horrible, no good, very bad--even is Australia!

Tomorrow will be better ;)

Phoenix Project: Day 75

Today Bob and I were down in Windsor for another ward conference and Kelly and Richard kept KC and Lukas. It was a great day but by the time we made it back to pick up the kids we were both exhausted. Kelly was wonderful and asked us to stay for dinner--which was a really big deal for me because I was so tired and the last thing I wanted to do was go home and make supper. That was definitely a highlight for me!

Phoenix Project: Day 74

Today was...

...FUNNY! Bob received a phone call earlier this week from our friend Mike. He asked Bob if he would come to his 4 year old son's birthday party dressed as BATMAN! Mike said that he'd rent a Batman suit and all Bob would have to do is come over and eat cake and play with the kids.

me: I guess this means that you'll have start practicing your Batman voice.

Bob (in a very realistic Batman voice): I am BATMAN!

me: What the?!?? Do you practice talking like Batman on your way to work or something??

Bob: NO!.........Yes. Why wouldn't I?? IT'S BATMAN!

When Bob gets to the birthday party, Romeo (the birthday boy) is so excited to see him! Batman asks, "Romeo, who's your favorite super hero?" and Romeo responds, "It's Ba...it's YOU!"

We had a great time at the party and Bob was a fantastic Batman. When it was time for Batman to leave, he said good bye to all the kids and then raced up this steep hill behind their house and launched himself up and over their 10 foot fence. It was so FUNNY! All of the adults were crossing their fingers that he would make it over--it wouldn't have worked if Batman fell off the fence! Lucky for all of us, he cleared it!

Phoenix Project: Day 73

I had an awesome day planned for today. The kids had no school so I took the day off work. I usually go to the gym on Friday mornings so our AMAZING kid-sitter came over bright and early to watch the kids while I was working out. When I came home I wasn't feeling very well so I took a cat nap on the couch while the kids were watching movies. Bob and I had planned to drive to Toronto on Friday night to visit the temple but Bob called early in the afternoon and said he'd heard rumors that the building was closed for cleaning. I called to confirm and yes, it was closed.

We were a little bummed but decided that we'd go to the Detroit temple tomorrow instead. It turned out really great because we spent the night in with the kids doing our favorite Friday night things...movies and popcorn!

Phoenix Project: Day 72

Lukas has never been a good sleeper. He went to play at a friend's house after school today and after dinner we were sitting around talking with friends. After a while, I noticed that Lukas had disappeared. It took a brief search to find him:

This is the coffee table in our living room--I guess he wore himself out!

Phoenix Project: Day 71

I got a facebook message from a friend and when I read it, I totally laughed out loud! She shares a facebook account with her husband (which I should consider doing as well because Bob NEVER uses facebook--I think he has 40ish friend requests that he hasn't seen yet) Here's the message in it's entirety:

Alberta's calling....Oh, and just so you know, I'm completely NUDE while typing this! (Well, not COMPLETELY... I've got a towel on my head!) And this is Lisa*. Not Mike*. Again, that'd be weird(er).

Ha ha!! It was so funny!

Since being out here, the question we've been asked most often is, "When are you coming back?" Honestly, I have no idea. The move was much harder on the kids and it more expensive than anticipated. We LOVE all our friends and family in Alberta and miss everyone very much. We are clueless as to when and where our next move will be.

Miss you all! I hope you're enjoying spring out there as much as we are here ;)

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent...

Phoenix Project: Day 70

I have been looking forward to today for WEEKS! I went to have my hair done...this is probably one of my favorite things and even though it hasn't been that long, my hair has grown really fast and my roots were ridiculous! Lukas was talking to me a few days ago and asked, "Mom, when are you going to have your hair done? It's been the same color for a really long time!" I went back to being a brunette in September and apparently, that's a really long time to keep the same color!

My hair is done and looking fabulous and yes, there will be pictures soon.

Phoenix Project: Day 69

I was on the computer today looking for a new bike for Lukas. He has outgrown his bike and we're trying to get him to ride without training wheels. I was only searching for a few minutes when I found one that was perfect! We packed everyone up and drove down to take a look. Lukas really liked it! Hopefully in the next little while he'll be riding around all by himself!

Phoenix Project: Day 68

My apologies again for the delay--my computer is temperamental at times and it's been difficult to get it to work properly.

Today was a unit conference in La Salle, which meets in the Windsor building. I LOVE travelling to visit the different wards/branches:

1. They feed us and the food is usually AWESOME--I think anything I don't have to cook myself is awesome.
2. I get to know a lot of the girls and their leaders.
3. I get to dodge giving talks in my own ward ;)
4. Did I mention the food?

It was a great visit and I got to catch up with some of the girls and was introduced to their new leader (who is amazing and has great taste in shoes!) Next week, I'm back in Windsor for the Windsor ward conference...hooray!

Phoenix Project: Day 67

Saturdays are a day that I really look forward to--it means the work week is over and I can sleep in...except that I get up early and go to the gym and then it's racing around trying to do everything before I have to go back to work. Today was a little different though. We had a youth activity for kids 12-18 and it was being held at a building that was 1 1/2 hours away. We had a spiritual message, games, bbq hamburgers and hot dogs, more games and we rented a pool for the 12-13 kids to go swimming while the older kids had a dance.

The entire evening was great and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun BUT the BEST part was watching the kids play Red Rover. They were so funny! (I tried to upload the video from my phone but it didn't work.) I'll have to keep working on those videos so I can post them too.

But, it was a great night! Many thanks to those that worked so hard to make this activity a success!

Phoenix Project: Day 66

It's MOVIE night! If Lukas has a good week at school, he gets to pick a movie to rent on Friday night. He had a great week so Friday night we went to the local movie store to pick something out for him. He decided to get AstroBoy and we crashed on the couch with KC and watched the movie together. I love these nights!

KC was a good sport and watched the movie but had to let me know that she's getting too old for cartoons.

Phoenix Project: Day 65

Work has been so busy for the last couple of weeks. We're getting new accounting software so we're being trained on how to use it; this means, on top of what we have to get done already, we have a LOT to learn. Lucky for me, the lady I work with is amazing with accounting EVERYTHING and she's a great teacher. Busy work = bigger pay cheque too so that will be nice.

After work today I had a meeting with some of the other youth leaders and youth to discuss upcoming activities and projects. I am so impressed with our youth--they are such amazing kids. It has been so fun and uplifting to be able to work with them. I am so excited for the activities that we have coming up this summer! It's going to be so FANTASTIC!!

Phoenix Project: Day 64

Today we went to KC's school for their Sharing Night. All the grade 4s performed singing, dancing, piano, recorder (my least favorite instrument) and a readers theatre. It's so amazing to see how much they've grown and developed since September. KC absolutely loves her school and, even though it's a long day and an hour long bus ride.

She's working on a medieval project right now and all their activities have been about that time period--she loves it!!

Lukas even had a good time watching the older kids perform.

Phoenix Project: Day 63

Today was a really busy day at work. We're having a youth activity this Saturday and I'm working with a partner to plan the activites for the younger teens. So, while I was sorting through a bunch of papers on my desk, I got an email from my coordinating partner saying that he needed to help fill in with the older teens and wouldn't really be there to help me. I totally understood his position but I was a bit nervous about how I was going to entertain these teens.

Before I even had a chance to respond to his email, I got another email from a different committee member volunteering to come up with games and help me with the activity.

HOORAY!

Phoenix Project: Day 62

The best part of today was that Bob came home early (for him) and was able to pick up KC from ballet. It was so nice to be able to drop her off and come home for the night--usually I have to drive to work (in the morning) on the south side of the city, leave there to pick up KC from school on the east side, drive home to the northwest side so she can get changed into her ballet clothes, drive her to the dance studio (which is only 7 minutes from the house), come home and start dinner and leave 40 minutes later to go and pick her up again.

It was just so nice to come home and kick off my shoes, make dinner and SIT down ;)

Phoenix Project: Day 61

After church today we met up with friends to have dinner. On our way home the kids saw a wishing star. Lukas said:

Do you know what I wished for? I didn't wish for anything for myself...I wished that all the people in the world that don't have food will have some.

I was really taken back. I didn't realize that he could comprehend the needs of others and actually want to do something to help. Kids can be really amazing!

Phoenix Project: Day 60

Today we had a Spring Clean Up at our church building. When we told Lukas, he was so upset. He didn't want to waste his day cleaning anything! I asked him if he knew who the church belonged to and he said that it belonged to God and Jesus. We discussed that we needed to go and help clean God's house.

Later, I was talking to friend of mine who had been supervising the kids picking weeds and garbage outside the building. She said that Lukas did a really great job and at one point picked up some garbage and said, "God would NOT like this in His garden!"

Lukas and KC did a great job helping to clean the building!

Phoenix Project: Day 59

I went home after a long day at work; not that the work was challenging but I had so much weighing on my mind that it was difficult to concentrate and stay focused. Bob called me to let me know that he wouldn't be home until 9:30 and I was on my own with the kids. The first thing I did was...

order pizza...

I'll admit that I was a little bummed out that it would just be me and kids--not that I wasn't happy to be with the kids but I couldn't stop stressing and I need to be distracted. I actually said, "I really need to be distracted from all of this...maybe I could start calling people and invite myself over." But, I decided that would be too desperate ;) so I ordered pizza and crashed in front of the TV with KC. About 15 minutes later, I get a text from a couple of friends wanting to come over. I know they had NO IDEA how much I need to have some fun or how much I really appreciated the company while I waited for Bob to come home.

Today I am really grateful for pizza and friends!

Phoenix Project: Day 58

Today was a
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...
BUT when I thought,
"This is it!
There's nothing positive about today",
the phone rings.
Hope is restored.

Nothing has changed
but now there's
hope
that things can
change.

Phoenix Project: Day 57

I find that music has a large impact on my mood. I love listening to KC play the piano; it brings a very calming feeling into the house...most of the time. When I started running (really I mean jogging...slowly) I filled my iPod with songs that had the word "run" in the lyrics to help keep me motivated, especially when I started to get tired. It was so much easier to stay focused with the Blackeyed Peas singing, "...keep runnin' runnin'"

I also use music when I'm trying to de-stressed and need to sing/shout something; this occurs most frequently in the car. I've found it really helpful to listen to music that uplifts me and makes me feel better even when things are challenging; usually the theme is something to do with holding on...or hang in there or don't give up. It probably sounds a little crazy but it makes me feel so much better.

Here's a few of my favorites:

• The Climb (the kids force me to listen to it ;)
• Avril's Keep Holdin' On
• Lifehouse Broken

This project has not eliminated the challenges in my life but it has certainly helped me gain a better perspective...I might be figuratively 'broken' but I'm still here. I'm still trying. I'm still holding on...but I'm also discovering joy in this experience.

Phoenix Project: Day 56

Another day spent running in circles...work, home, karate, home, church and finally home. On our way home at the end of another busy day, I told Bob that I'd have to stop to gas up my car. I didn't really want to because Lukas had been pretty grouchy and I just wanted to get him home and ready for bed.

As we pulled into the service station, Lukas said, "Can I do it? Can I do it? Can I do it?" He's never pumped gas before and I wasn't really comfortable with Bob providing the adult supervision as my 6 year old tried to fill up my car; but, I relented and the two of them went to work.

Lukas did a great job and didn't spill gas on himself or on the car--miracles happen! He was so proud of himself! He kept saying, "I did it! Did you see me? I did it!!"

Kids are so cute...most of the time!

Phoenix Project: Day 55

Today the kids had the day off school and (because my schedule is so flexible) I was able to stay home and spend the day with them. We went to the park with friends and had a delicious dinner together. It's funny because they have 3 kids: a 12 (almost 13) year old daughter, a 9 (almost 10) year old son and an 10 month old. KC gets along really well with Kat -- one day, KC told me that when Kat comes to babysit that they just hang out like "normal" friends...and talk about how much their parents yell at them and NEVER yell at their younger brothers. Lukas really likes Mike and Mike does his best to take care of Lukas. During dinner Mike was advocating for Lukas, "If Lukas eats 5 more big bites, can he still have brownies?" It was really amazing to see these kids interact together; it's like they've always been friends.

I'm really grateful to have the support of good friends...not just for myself but for my kids. Our family has been blessed with good friends and it makes life so much easier!

Phoenix Project: Day 54

This was waiting for me when I got up this morning:

Phoenix Project: Day 53

Back to the gym--it was pretty necessary to head back to the gym after eating all the delicious food and treats from Friday so I was up early to get in a workout before starting the rest of my day. After the gym I went to help a friend for a few hours and then headed home to be with the kids so Bob could attend the Priesthood Session of General Conference.

I got the kids ready for bed and, finally, around 10:00 they went to sleep. Bob came home from his meeting and was tinkering around for a while and then came in with FLOWERS! He never brings me flowers!!! Hooray for me! It made my day!

Phoenix Project: Day 52

It's PASSOVER! At least it was Passover for us! Last year our friends invited us to come for Passover and it was such an AMAZING experience that I didn't want to miss it this year!

We started the day with a ward brunch; there was a huge turn out and lots of delicious food. The YW of their ward were raising money with a bake auction. I actually took the dessert I made for our dinner to the auction so we could buy it and bring it back--just to give them a little extra money.

The request for dessert was "Sticky Toffee Pudding" and I had no idea what that was...so I googled it! Then I compared a bunch of different recipes to see which one was best. The recipe I used was easy and delicious--which is always a bonus.

We wanted to raise a few dollars for the cake but we didn't want someone else to outbid us; when I filled out the card I called it, "Fruit Cake" which sounds much less desirable than "Sticky Toffee Pudding". It does actually contain dates so therefore falls into the Fruit Cake Category so I didn't feel too bad about the name. Lucky for us, we won all the desserts we put bids on!

Dinner was AMAZING again this year. The marinated leg of lamb was roasted outside on the fire and we had roasted potatoes, pitas and greens to accompany it. The whole experience was memorable. It has definitely changed the way I think about the Easter season...we gone beyond the bunny. We spent the day surrounded by good friends, good food and great conversation--I don't think it gets any better than that!

Phoenix Project: Day 51

You would think that I would take full advantage of April Fools today but, I was just too busy! First stop was the gym--I find twisted satisfaction in working out to exhaustion and today was no exception. From there I went to work with Kelly. By the time I got home, I was disgusting--covered in grime from work. I got cleaned up and Lukas and I went grocery shopping. He's too big to be riding in the cart but small enough that he can run away. It's always a challenge to keep him entertained so I can get the groceries. He's started helping by pushing the cart...which is great until he starts riding it into other customers.

We raced home to meet KC and I started a dessert for dinner the next day. We scrambled to get everyone packed up and (after dessert was done) we headed down to Windsor.

The best part of my day was during the ride on the way to Windsor. My best friend, Allyson, called and we talked for almost an hour! Thankfully, I had my bluetooth for my phone and could chat. It was nice to be able to talk for that long, uninterrupted. We were able to catch up on the details of our day to day lives and recount recent funny kid stories!! I can't imagine what life would be like without modern technology!