The Life and Times of Jenn

Cousins

2011-12-20T01:12:00.001-05:00

Baby in the bath

2011-12-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

New Blog

2011-12-14T09:48:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed a new blog (You Pinspire Me) in the links list on the right hand side of this blog. You may have also noticed that my 30 Day Photo Challenge has stalled. These two things are indeed related. My dear sister and I have started a new blog to share with people the little crafts and recipes and decorating ideas that we find on Pinterest. I won't be gone forever. This new little venture has just happened to coincide with the little man's new trend of taking only 35-40 minute naps, so quiet time is at a premium in this household! In the meantime, if you haven't already, take a minute to check out our new blog!

Day 14: Movement

2011-12-05T08:44:00.001-05:00

Day 13: Written words

2011-12-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

It's late, but hey, I haven't quit yet. ;)

Tea

2011-12-01T15:13:00.001-05:00

I should have taken a before photo, but this is after I got rid of all of my boxes and tins and bags of teas and what-not. Made chalkboard stickers be spraying dollar store mactac with chalkboard paint.

Day 12: Hands

2011-11-25T15:38:00.001-05:00

But there have been smiles, too....

2011-11-25T15:08:00.001-05:00

What We've Been Doing This Week

2011-11-25T15:01:00.001-05:00

Day 11: Something Old

2011-11-22T16:50:00.001-05:00

Purchased at a yard sale for $1, this vintage Fisher-Price Toy is circa 1964. I always keep my eyes open for these types of toys!

Hendrik Vs The Nativity

2011-11-22T13:49:00.001-05:00

Day 10: Nature

2011-11-21T10:34:00.001-05:00

As found in my home. Let's just go with that.

Now We Are Four (Decades)

2011-11-20T23:01:00.001-05:00

I belong to a wonderful, hilarious, bizarre, and exclusive book club. There are four of us in this club, and while we had our first guest this month, I suspect that there are a limited number (4) of permanent spots. We read easy reads, and we usually only talk about the books in question for about 10 minutes. Which is fine, we have enough conversation to keep us going until midnight as it is. This past week, Linda entered a new decade, meaning that we now each represent a different decade. I think it's pretty awesome that we span 4 different decades and still connect the way that we do.

It's the only photo I had of me on my phone...

The Illustrious LizTaylor

HRH Marnie, Queen of the Marniverse

The Birthday Girl, Linda

Day 10: Nature

2011-11-20T22:39:00.001-05:00

I stayed at home inside with Mr Sickie today, so the only nature that I saw was the river of snot running down his face all day. I thought perhaps folks would not need photo evidence of that, so I shall postpone this until tomorrow.

Day 9: An Inspiring Person

2011-11-19T23:35:00.001-05:00

This is Liz. She's awesome. She makes me laugh more than most people. She has also been a synchronized swimmer. And has sat on a rooftop watching a city get bombed. She is an incredibly dedicated wife and mother, and has survived her eldest son's first year at university. She is passionate about the Royal Botanical Gardens, and is always thrilled (though perhaps apprehensive at times) about learning new things and skills. She has a figure skating nephew, and an aunt who worked at the Rockefeller building. She makes delicious muffins and gives delightful and thoughtful gifts. She is, in short, inspiring.

Day 8: Favourite Colour

2011-11-17T16:18:00.001-05:00

In nature, my favourite colour is whatever appears in the changing season (see: freshly fallen snow on green grass and crunchy leaves). To wear, my fave is black. I know, boring, but it's so hard to go wrong!

Day 7: Something Funny

2011-11-13T22:37:00.001-05:00

This was a hard one, and it took me two days. In the end, I decided that the fact that I found 13 DIFFERENT types of tea in my cupboard today was, indeed, funny. To me, at least.

Day 6: Books

2011-11-12T14:02:00.001-05:00

Inspired by my Wine and Cheesy Book Club, I picked up this frivolous seasonal murder mystery at the library this week. The best part about it? It's half cook book! (Gingerbread Cookie Murder, by Joanne Fluke.)

Day 5: Morning (evening) Sky

2011-11-11T10:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday'a assignment was a morning sky, but I failed to read the assignment until almost noon, so I took it upon myself to change the assignment and make it an evening sky instead.

Day 4: Leaves

2011-11-09T21:34:00.000-05:00

I couldn't photograph leaves without putting this little guy in them!

Day 3: Happiness

2011-11-09T21:32:00.002-05:00

Happiness is picking vegetables fresh from the garden in the 2nd week of November.

Day 2: Smile

2011-11-09T21:30:00.001-05:00

This is the girl that I babysit. Apparently she has the same problem as Chandler... But I think it's pretty cute.

Day 1: Favourite Food

2011-11-09T21:28:00.001-05:00

These muffins represent baked goods fresh out of the oven. Mmmm. So hard to eat just one! These ones I just happened to bake during my extra hour on Sunday morning with the time change, when Hendrik got me up at 5am.

30 Day Photo Challenge

2011-11-09T21:22:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Pinterest and my handy-dandy iPhone (which allows me to have a decent camera with me wherever I go!), I decided to do a 30-Day Photo Challenge, as found here. I started a few days ago but haven't had the chance to upload them yet.

It was a dark and foggy night....

2011-11-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

Standy-uppy Baby

2011-11-06T18:55:00.001-05:00

I often find Hendrik like this after his morning nap (only the morning nap, though!) and he's always so happy!

Sunday, sunny Sunday

2011-11-06T18:47:00.001-05:00

We've been blessed with beautiful weather for at least the past 3 Sundays, and it makes it such a pleasure to be outside! This was taken this morning on my walk with Isabelle.

Wednesday Morning

2011-11-02T09:45:00.001-04:00

I had to clean up the play room downstairs yesterday because we had someone coming through to look at the place to rent in January. It's nice to have a clean room. Right now, I'm just sitting in a comfy chair, watching Rose follow Hendrik as he crawls around. It's nice to just sit and be quiet in the morning.

Embracing the New Season

2011-11-01T14:04:00.001-04:00

We in the vanOosten family love the changing seasons. And, every time we enter a new one, we are eager to get outside and enjoy it as much as we can! Sadly we don't get out as often as we would like, but we do make an effort.

Hendrik, Izzy & I went to the RBG Arboretum this past weekend for Pumpkin Fest.

Brian and I have recently discovered the Albion Falls Bruce Trail section, which we really like.
We've been out there a few times now in the past few weeks.

Trees and leaves and colours and gorgeous weather = a great afternoon.

Blustery Day

2011-10-26T14:37:00.001-04:00

My Very Little Big Boy

2011-10-14T10:31:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, we lowered the mattress in Hendrik's crib. He's been a bit of a monkey lately, sitting up from laying down, and then pulling himself up to standing from sitting - so for the past few nights and naptimes, I've been pretty nervous that he'd stand up in his crib and then topple over the railing. Especially because when Brian went to get him up the other day he was sitting up in his crib beside the railing. We didn't have the time to fix the crib that night, so instead we took two of the couch cushions and put them on the floor beside the crib - at least he wouldn't break his neck?

Any how, we got it done yesterday, and I'm glad that we have a drop-side crib, because it's really far down! (Don't worry, none of the parts in our drop side are plastic, so it's just as sturdy as an immobile side....) He looks so little way at the bottom when he's sleeping..... but, this is why we did it:

Playing in the crib.

Standing up all by himself!

p.s.: I really like the bumper pad that I found at Talize, it's Pottery Barn for Kids. And I love even more that I bought it for $4. That's a savings of about $95! ;)

Thankful

2011-10-10T14:27:00.000-04:00

This year, Isabelle is thankful for the many many gooses that she got to chase early this morning.

Deja Vu

2011-10-03T20:56:00.002-04:00

Isn't it interesting how closely linked smells, tactile sensations, and sounds are linked to memories? This past weekend, Brian and I were in Gananoque celebrating our 5th anniversary. While we were driving around looking for a suitable place to eat dinner (the end result of which is an entirely different and long story), we happened to end up in the exact location of one of my favourite 5 year old memories. The photo below shows the view that we had on Saturday from our van.

The left side of the street is where you are to park if you are going to be going on the 1000 Islands Boat Tour, which we were, in my memory. We parked where that one white minivan is parked underneath the minus sign at the top left. The red brick building on the right is the ticket office. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have also housed a haunted house at the time, because I distinctly remember visiting a haunted house before going on the trip. Or perhaps not, perhaps we just went to the gift shop in the building beside the ticket office. That's where I got my necklace and bracelet set. Both strands had about 5 white beads in a row, with hearts in rainbow colours stacked slanted inbetween that and another line of white beads. I wore those until the elastic on the bracelet snapped and the clasp on the necklace broke. I digress. The reason why I remember this event so very clearly is because of my shoes. That fall I started kindergarten, which meant that I got new shoes. After 4 years of watching my siblings go back to school shopping, I don't know if you can comprehend just how excited I was about this.
[Let's put this into perspective: I *specifically* remember shopping with my siblings and my mom when I was 4 - I'm guessing it was 4, it wouldn't have been 3, I'm sure - for back to school clothes, and I was so very disappointed that I didn't get a lunch box or a back pack or new socks or erasers. That's why I was so thrilled when I got to pick out my very own brand new nightgown. I can still picture what it looks like and can feel what it felt like to wear it. It's in a box in the top of my old closet at mom's house. This is how much it mattered that I finally got to go back to school shopping.]
I remember standing in the parkinglot behind whichever vehicle it was that we had then - probably Fritz (though they were all that, because that's what our licence plate sounded like, only the Olds was actually Fritz) - and my feet were so happy. I was wearing new purple socks. There's something about wearing a new pair of socks for the first time: everything about the socks is new and fresh - and they're so soft and cushy, like a little piece of high pile carpet under your foot wherever you go. I was also wearing my brand new white Reebok tennis shoes. They were like my mom's shoes, but my size. And that was so cool. (Hey, I never said that *I* was cool, and there's a very good reason for that.) The combination of wearing new socks in new shoes is pretty much like wearing a brand new pair of slippers. Outside. Awesome.
After this moment, we went to get our tickets, and then I bought my necklace and bracelet, and then we went on the boat cruise. But I remember that parkinglot. And the shoes. And the socks. And I was so excited. It was a great day.

More on smells and sounds later.

2011-09-23T15:33:00.001-04:00

[Note: I really did write this a week after H turned 6 months, but now he's already over 7 months! Time flies! Better late than never?]

I have been inspired all week by Sarah's post for Silas, but every time I sit down and breathe, I forget to write this down. So, here we are. Only a few days late.

Happy 6 months to my baby Hendrik!

What a busy little boy you are. At 6 months (and a few days), you:
-are a *very* good sleeper - you only get me up once a night (unless we're visiting Oma or Grandma!), and sleep from about 7pm until a feeding sometime between 4am-5:30am, and then when I'm lucky you sleep until almost 8am!
-still take 2 or 3 naps a day - sometimes they're very short (30 minutes) and sometimes they're very long (3 hours!)

-still wear 3-6 month clothing (and even some 3 month pants!) - you're not in a hurry to get too big, too quickly.
-love to smile at your mommy and your daddy, and most people who stop us in stores to tell you how cute you are.
-enjoy laughing when your belly is kissed, or when you look in the mirror, or when I make strange and loud noises to entertain you, or when someone eats your toes, or kisses your feet, or tickles your thighs: I think you are very ticklish!
-love to jump in your Jolly Jumper, especially when someone is singing for you - then you jump extra high!
-have just started sitting well by yourself, and though you're shocked if you fall over, you don't stay upset for very long.
-haven't mastered crawling yet, but can push yourself up onto your hands and knees, and like to push yourself backwards. Sometimes you get stuck on your hands and knees and then you get frustrated.
-drool a LOT! We have to change your bib at least four times a day!
-have no teeth yet. We have been wondering since you were 2.5 months if you're drooling because you're teething, but they still have not made an appearance.
-like to sit up straight in your stroller when we go for walks, even though the back of your stroller seat reclines. Reclining is for babies - you're a big boy now, and you can balance so well when we go over bumps!
-like to watch Izzy walk around the room, and if she is tricked into coming near you, you do your best to pull on her ears! Sometimes she makes you laugh.
-don't like to be left in a room by yourself for more than a minute if you're not going to bed.
-have just started to munch on and eat solid foods - you prefer to suck on them and gnaw on them than actually consume them. Sucking on pickles is your favourite food-related activity. You didn't mind eating some Avacado as your first food, but everything since then (zucchini, beets, apples, carrots) has been spit out.
-love being in the nursery at church and watching all of the bigger kids being busy!
-are loved instantly by most of the little girls (esp. 1 year and under!) who meet you. We have to protect you from their curious hands.
-have just started becoming posessive about things in your hands. You don't like it when Greyson, Isaac, or Joshua takes away your toys!
-wake up happy most of the time - and give me the biggest grin when I come in the room to get you! But sometimes you cry harder when I come into view. Time to go back to bed.
-love watching cars drive by when we go for walks.
-are frightened when trains or big transport trucks go by.
-still try to put *everything* into your mouth. Except for the foods we try to feed you.
-make my heart melt every day! You have such a beautiful little face and a contagious smile. It's hard not to smile back at you when you're supposed to be sleeping but you're smiling instead.
-are able to make your daddy say funny things in a funny voice and make funnier faces than anyone else.

Like Ike

2011-09-23T15:25:00.001-04:00

Hendrik is moving around a lot these days - and this morning, when he got himself stuck under the media console in the livingroom, I was shocked to realize that he's not so far behind his next-older cousin Isaac! Well, Isaac was getting himself stuck there when he came to visit in March, but that's really not so long ago, considering the fact that Hendrik was just a newborn then, and now he's following in Isaac's crawlprints? Tummy trails?

Isaac in March 2011

Hendrik in September 2011

Hendrik in the Tent Trailer

2011-09-06T15:16:00.001-04:00

Traffic Jam

2011-08-23T18:14:00.004-04:00

The problem with learning how to locomote in one direction only is that one runs the risk of getting stuck. Everywhere. This is Hendrik and his 1.5 month older cousin Greyson at Oma's house this past weekend.

Pickled Baby

2011-08-21T21:56:00.003-04:00

When we gave Hendrik a pickle on the August Long Weekend, we thought we'd take some pictures and a video of his 'reaction.' He was surprisingly and disappointingly nonchalant about the whole episode.

Mornings on Lake Huron

2011-08-10T07:29:00.007-04:00

The first morning at our 'cottage' on Lake Huron was cloudy and foggy.

Since the weather has started clearing up in the morning, H has decided that he doesn't want to miss the sunrise.

Love.

2011-08-07T16:21:00.007-04:00

We had the privilege of hosting the Sams at our house for a few days this past week, since we have an empty apartment downstairs. It was great to see them, even if it was just for a few hours in their busy schedule!

So Thankful

2011-07-21T10:14:00.002-04:00

This week, but today especially, I am So Thankful for the central air conditioning that we have. I think if we didn't have it, I'd just fill up the tub with cold water and sit there for a few hours, much like I did in Japan. However, I should note that the weather today is not unlike the weather we had in middle-to-late September in Japan. (Read: it's not actually *that* hot out this week. I have survived hotter, and sworn I would never complain about Ontario heat & humidity again.)

Anyhow, a day like today calls for summery drinks and food: Thus, I made some iced tea this morning and it is presently cooling down in the fridge. I'm sad that I used up my last lemon last week so I had to use lemon juice instead of lemons to give it a bit of flavour, but I'm sure that it will still be delicious and I look forward to it being ready to drink. I also have a container of my banana 'ice cream' in the freezer that I do not feel guilty about eating in the middle of the day all by myself. de-lish.

Beauty

2011-07-20T16:57:00.002-04:00

Last night when driving to Wal-Mart, I was admiring the beautiful sky. Then I conveniently had a red light, so I got to take a photo with my phone. What did I ever do before I carried a camera around with me everywhere?

What My Feet are Wearing Today

2011-07-15T11:13:00.001-04:00

Because I know you're all dying to know:

Plaid and Paisley

2011-07-15T11:09:00.004-04:00

I decided that today is a plaid and paisley day today. I'm pretty sure it's not fashionable, but that's the beauty of being a mom - you're not supposed to be fashionable. ;)

Garden: 2011 Edition

2011-07-12T12:40:00.002-04:00

This year, I was slow on the get-go with my garden - I didn't have the soil turned over and ready for planting until the beginning of June, and then when we became a 1 car family, it was tough to get out to get plants and seeds to put into the garden. I also didn't want the over crowded mess that I had last year, but I think I under-did it a bit this year. Oh well, I'll just plant some more beans or something. In this years garden, you'll find gladiolas (I know, not a veggie, but I bought a package of bulbs really cheap! And I didn't have anywhere else to put them!), green beans, red beets, green peppers, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, mystery tomatoes (I pulled two rouge tomato plants from the yard and planted them in the garden - I believe that they're yellow cherry tomatoes, though), zucchini, spaghetti squash, grapes, blueberries, and asparagus. I'm excited to start harvesting the fruits of my labour, and even more excited to cook with them. :)

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Hendrik Tries to Whistle

2011-07-11T13:39:00.002-04:00

It's hard to tell in this video, but Hendrik tries several times to imitate the sound that I'm making - he purses his lips together, opens them up a bit, and then blows. He has also started eating the bottom of his face, as is also apparent during this video.

Today's Style

2011-07-11T09:58:00.000-04:00

The Story of my Sandals

2011-07-10T13:58:00.005-04:00

I have a new pair of sandals that I love. They come in parts, and can be tied up in many different ways. I discovered these sandals through a link that somebody pinned on Pinterest.com, and fell in love with the concept. These are the sandal bases and the straps that a group of us ordered, they arrived this past Friday!

The idea is awesome: you buy a pair of sandal bases in your size, and then you choose 1 pair of straps for your sandals. Before checking out, you can add more straps to your order for $8-$13 each, making your sandals extremely versatile for summer fashion! Each base has 5 loops, and there are almost countless ways of tying up your sandals. When I first tried mine on, I went to the website to learn how to do it the 'proper' way. However, within 5 minutes I was already inventing my own ways to wear the sandals!

One of the 'suggested' ways to tie your sandals (and my new home-made skirt).

The perfect end to the story of my sandals is that they're made by women in Matuga, Uganda.

Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

One of the women who made my sandals and straps.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Check out the story and the sandals at: www.ssekodesigns.com

Hendrik and Naomi, Sittin' in a Chair....

2011-07-10T07:38:00.005-04:00

Hendrik Investigates Gingerale

2011-07-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hendrik hearts Canada

2011-07-04T23:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T19:54:00.000-04:00

Sleeping (and not-so-much)

2011-06-24T19:48:00.008-04:00

Entertaining Himself

2011-06-16T17:41:00.002-04:00

It's been a bit more difficult than I thought it would be to get my garden in this year with Hendrik around, but I finally found a solution to keep him happy and occupied for more than 5 minutes at a time. His wonderful slippers from the Van Breda clan helped keep his toes clean from the dirt.

Making Nutella

2011-06-16T16:10:00.003-04:00

Time for a Trim - Almost 4 mo. Old

2011-06-16T15:35:00.001-04:00

Wise Words of the Day

2011-06-14T15:46:00.003-04:00

Eli teaches us a song

2011-06-10T12:43:00.000-04:00

Jolly Jumper

2011-05-28T21:01:00.002-04:00

Today at a mom to mom sale, I bought a plain old original Jolly Jumper for $3. I wasn't quite sure how to set it up in the doorway, so I googled for a Jolly Jumper product manual. The directions that I found were pretty straightforward and easy. Then I noticed the directions for baby:

She Shall Have Dominion

2011-05-24T20:03:00.004-04:00

Marya and Eric gave me an awesome early birthday present - the card game Dominion. Brian and I were introduced to the game by Mar and Eric in Belleville about a month ago, and both really enjoyed it - and, since we now own the game, we introduce as many people to it as we can! In the past month, we've played the game around 25 times. Last night, while playing with Marty and Rachel, I won for the first time. It was awesome! The great thing about this game, however, is that it's still super fun even if you don't win - of which my 1 and 24 game history is proof! We played a lot in Sarnia this past weekend with Adam, Lisa, Shanna, and Brian's mom. I won a game there, for about 10 seconds, until Shanna admitted that she stole one of Adam's 6 pointer victory cards and that put him at about 3 points above me. Sigh.

Fast Learner

2011-05-20T17:56:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the repetition, and I realize that watching a baby playing with toys isn't nearly so exciting when it's not your baby, but I'm amazed at Hendrik's growth curve this week! It wasn't until very recently that he even started paying attention to his toys - now he grabs them and puts them in his mouth, with purpose! Compare the video I took today with the one I took 3 days ago if you don't believe me!

2011-05-17T12:02:00.001-04:00

Playing is Hendrik's newfound skill. He's not a very gentle player and tends to smack himself in the face with whatever it is that he finds his hands grasping.

Introduction

2011-05-07T14:26:00.003-04:00

Meet Mr Grumpy Pants. He doesn't enjoy most of his time awake in the afternoons. We get smiles here and there, and even some almost laughs. But, we also get a lot of this. I appreciate the fact that he still takes about two naps in the afternoon.

May Flowers

2011-05-02T16:41:00.003-04:00

As seen in my front garden this afternoon: Cheer!

2011-04-28T22:35:00.000-04:00

Barker

2011-04-27T09:13:00.004-04:00

Our Dear Friend Amanda's mom sent a gift along for Hendrik the other day - his name is Barker, and this morning, they were matching! At this point, Barker is almost as big as Hendrik is, but that won't be the case for long, I'm sure.
(and is it my imagination, or does he look like Judah in this photo?! I don't know if I'm seeing things or not - but the day he was born, I also thought that he looked like Judah...

Conversations

2011-04-25T14:30:00.001-04:00

Little B at 8 weeks, 6 days. Hendrik spent some time on the floor this morning, having some very interesting conversations with himself. Probably telling stories about his weekend with his cousins and grandma.

My Dapper Easter Men

2011-04-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

Aren't they handsome?

Sunshine on Easter Weekend

2011-04-23T15:39:00.002-04:00

smiles

2011-04-20T21:13:00.001-04:00

H decided that it was time for smiles instead of time for bed tonight. Sorry for the dark video, I keep the lights down for his last feeding.... (That's Saving Grace in the background, courtesy of Netflix.... it's a strange show.)

dollar store

2011-04-20T20:49:00.002-04:00

Just for little people who like looking at themselves all the time and everywhere, Dollarama sells three adhesive mirrors in a pack for $1.25. I've stuck them in a few places around the house for the amusement of this little man.

Little Feet

2011-04-19T20:02:00.001-04:00

2011-04-14T07:48:00.002-04:00

I was up this morning with the son and the sun - he seemed to think that 6am was a good time not to go to bed again. So, instead of sitting on the couch with him, trying to keep him calm, I got out the stroller and bassinet and we took Izzy for a walk. Whilst walking, I inexplicably got a song in my head from that one Canadian elementary school song book - I haven't heard it since maybe grade 5? And now it won't leave. So I thought I'd share my earworm.

Sneak Peak

2011-04-12T14:47:00.003-04:00

What's got H in such a good mood?

2011-04-11T17:34:00.003-04:00

This mirror that I bought for $0.25 at a mom to mom sale this past weekend. Well spent, I think.

Sunday Morning.

2011-04-10T12:33:00.002-04:00

Spring has Sprung

2011-04-07T15:15:00.003-04:00

Izzy is on the lookout for squirrels these days - one can never be too vigilant: they could be anywhere!

On a side note, I am terribly excited that my daffodils are poking through the soil. This is the first year that I will have spring flowers in my garden, and I'm thrilled to watch their progress! I hope to add to the mix next fall, perhaps some tulips, narcissus, and crocuses... For now, I check twice a day on the progress of my daffodils. :)

One of these things is just like the other...

2011-03-30T09:43:00.004-04:00

Rachel captured this moment while trying to get a photo of all of the VanBreda grandchildren at Hendrik's baptism. Can you spot the matching people?

My Buddy Josh

2011-03-09T09:43:00.003-05:00

Last night we had dinner with the Speelmans for the first time in almost three weeks - that might be almost the longest that we've gone without dining together in the past five years! Josh got to meet his new little playmate (pronounced something like "Henrrrk"), though when given the choice he preferred to sit and hold Izzy rather than the baby. While Josh, Izzy and I were sitting on the couch, Josh reached over slowly and placed his hand on mine, and stroked my hand with his thumb. What a smooth, handsome little guy. He told his mom yesterday that I was his friend, and when questioned by his dad on multiple occasions, he admits that I'm his favourite Aunt. What's not to love?

Our Little Munchkin

2011-03-06T19:49:00.004-05:00

It may not look like it, but our little b's hair is already getting lighter - I think that he may be a blondie after all.
This is the outfit that 'Grandma' Margaret made for him before he was born. It's pretty cozy.
Hendrik was passed out on Izzy's spot, so Izzy figured that she might as well cozy up to him. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

A week old already!

2011-03-01T21:53:00.005-05:00

Here's my little man at a week old. He's sporting an adorable hoodie that was handed down from his Renkema cousins. Below, a photo that I took two years ago of little Liam wearing the same sweater.

Welcome to the World, Precious Son

2011-02-27T04:49:00.009-05:00

On Tuesday, February 22 at 8:10PM, we finally met little b: Hendrik Brian vanOosten, weighing in at 8lb 15oz. What a beautiful miracle he is: Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Two Things

2011-02-16T22:20:00.004-05:00

So, here's the finished product from the project I started last week. You can see from the top of the back cushion, and from the corner of the seat cushion, that it's not quite a perfect fit... but I had to get new foam cushions to make this, since the old foam was sewn directly into the old upholstery. I ended up then having to create my own pattern to fit over the new foam, and I'm not really an expert at that type of thing. Still, I'm pleased with the result.

And, here we are at 39 weeks, 1 day. Still comfortable for the most part, nights aren't so great for sleep, but the great thing is that I can take naps during the day. And, walks with Isabelle take twice as long, since I sort of waddle these days. However, I'm still not in a rush to finish this. He'll come when he's ready, and until then, we're still happy.

Project

2011-02-08T21:00:00.005-05:00

As mentioned in a previous post, a friend of ours passed along a glider rocker & ottoman. It has been well used, and lived in a house with cats (which Brian is allergic to), so I decided that it needs a bit of love and recovering. I've never recovered any furniture before, so I started with the easy part: the ottoman. Here's a photo of the set before I started:
We had several panels of curtains like the ones hanging behind the chair, so I thought that I might just use the extra panels to recover this set. What do you think: More Maria Von Trapp or Scarlett O'Hara? Brian and I recovered the ottoman yesterday, and I have to head down to Ottawa St tomorrow to pick up new foam for the cushions in order to finish those.
I hope that the cushions turn out as well as the ottoman did!

End of Work

2011-02-02T10:41:00.004-05:00

I've been counting down my remaining days of work since New Year's, so yesterday it was a fantastic surprise to hear yesterday afternoon at 3:45 that the President and Dean had made the call to close the school the next day due to the impending storm. Which, of course, was so fantastic because today was supposed to be my last day of work - so all of a sudden, my countdown was shortened by a day! It's a little surreal that I'm finished work for a year.

This morning when I looked out the window, I wasn't too sure that we had actually had a snowstorm - it didn't even look like we had any snow in our driveway! However, by the time I got all bundled up (so grateful that Brian's old snowpants can fit over my belly - love that the baggy look is all the rage for snowboarders!) and stepped out the door to take Izzy for a walk, I realized that there was quite a bit of dense snow out there. We had to take our walk on the street in the tracks of the few cars that have made their way down our street, because the snow was past Izzy's stomach on the sidewalks. In our driveway, we have drifts past my waist, and even bigger ones in the back yard. Love it!

For Uncle Jim, Auntie Anne, Rebecca....

2011-01-16T07:57:00.008-05:00

... and the others out there who read my blog but don't have a facebook account. You've missed out on some of the baby stuff that I posted! And, since my dear Rebecca was not able to make it out this weekend due to the snow, I should update her on what she missed out seeing this weekend. (Although I have been posting so infrequently, I don't know if you still read this, Auntie Anne and Uncle Jim!)

Here is little b's room, finally organized somewhat. This is not so amazing if you have never seen before pics, which I forgot to take. Picture, if you will, the above walls painted a deep blue on the bottom, white on the top, and a Toronto Maple Leafs border running inbetween around the room. And many, many holes, dents and scuffs on the walls. And the whole of the floor space covered and piled high with things that used to live in our storage room downstairs before we moved upstairs. (Upstairs has no storage. That's why half of our worldly belongings now live in the crawlspace of Marty and Rachel Speelman!)

These curtains came with the house when we bought it two and a half years ago - 6 panels were hung on the livingroom windows. They're not bad curtains, but they made the room too dark for us. So, I chopped 2 panels up and installed them in Brian's office, here we see another two panels, and I'm considering recovering the rocking chair and stool with the other two panels. We'll see. The rocking chair was gifted to us by a very thoughtful coworker who no longer has wee little kids that need to be rocked, and the high chair was gifted to us by a supportive and excited friend Laura. Exactly what we were looking for!

This is a bib from my dear friend Shannon (Auntie Shan, as she will be known) who has been living in Cairo for the past year and a half, and will continue to live there for at least another year and a half. She's having some great adventures, but we wish that she lived closer to us. This bib was cross stitched by the ladies of a Cairo Coptic Christian church for a bazaar earlier this year. How cool is this?! I love it!

And here we have a little sweater set that was hand knitted with care and love by a very special woman in our church, "Grandma Margaret." Margaret is an absolutely wonderful woman who lost her husband in the past year(ish), and she takes great delight in mixing the different people and age groups at our church together at her house every Sunday afternoon for delicious dutch soup lunches. Margaret wanted very much to make something for our little one. We're really blessed to have her in our lives, especially since we have very few family members living in the direct area!

And finally, this photo was taken last week, when we were 34 weeks along. Now we're almost at 35, and I can't believe it! Not much longer to go, now! Time flies!

Bragging (Sort of)

2011-01-11T12:33:00.005-05:00

So, once upon a time (er - 1.5 years ago, to be precise), my friend Amanda asked if I would make some roman blinds for her large windows that her neighbors constantly peek into un-apologetically. I agreed, we went out and bought the material, and I got started. But, the last roman blinds that I made didn't really turn out so well - when they were pulled to the top, they went all bunchy and wrinkled, as opposed to having nice straight folds. So, like any good friend, I procrastinated. For a year and a half. But. This past weekend, I finally finished them. Here they are, hanging in the windows. I'm pretty proud of them, and I feel a little silly and a lot bad for taking so long to finish them! Don't they look nice?

Moving Right Along

2010-12-26T21:06:00.002-05:00

This coming Tuesday, little B and I will be 32 weeks along. We've been very blessed so far, and we pray that our good progress continues. While the past 5 years have brought my sister and her family some very challenging times with three premature births, through these experiences I am fortunate to be aware of the many blessings that I am experiencing throughout my pregnancy.

It seems to me that there are many things that one can complain about whilst pregnant - from the loss of sleep for the first few weeks in pregnancy, to morning sickness and extreme fatigue throughout the first trimester - aching backs and weight gain and loss of balance, more sleepless nights as the third trimester begins, baby acrobatics when trying to sleep, heart burn, sore feet, return of nausea & morning sickness, etc, etc, etc.... Almost all of these things are things that I could spend my days talking about. However, I take some issue with that approach. It's pretty commonly known that the above symptoms are common side effects of pregnancy, and yet, most women who have children have chosen to do so. Not only have we chosen to have this child, we've been blessed enough to conceive, and to carry this long so far.

I wish that I could get more sleep, but for now, that is not to be. I got my first stretch marks this past week, but as far as I'm concerned, while they may not be pretty, they are proof that this baby has not yet been born, and for that, I am extremely grateful. Yes, I weigh more now than I ever have before in my life, and I can't fit into the clothes that I think I look best in, and there are certainly more shapely women out there - yet again, this is something that I signed up for - do I have the right to complain about it? Certainly not. For the last 7 months, woman after woman has been telling me, after hearing my due date, and my vocalized wish to carry all the way to my due date, "Trust me - by the time you get to 35 weeks, you'll wish that that baby comes out right then." Except they repeat that same sentiment several different ways for about five minutes. I can't speak directly to that yet because I have never been 35 weeks pregnant, but as far as I can figure, several weeks of my personal discomfort is far better than months of sitting in the NICU as my baby fights to mature to full term on his own in a little plastic box.

8 weeks left to go - which means that we can expect that anytime within the next 6-10 weeks, D.V., we'll be welcoming little B into the world. Brian and I thank God for his faithfulness and his blessings thus far, and trust that he will continue to be with us in the rest of this journey... And by the way, I love feeling little B roll around. Even at night when I'm trying to fall asleep, or in the middle of the night when I wake up - I find nothing but reassurance that my little man is alive and kicking - it makes me smile. Life is good. We're enjoying our time left on our own, just the two of us, and we're looking forward (with a little bit of trepidation) to life with three of us, whatever that may look like.

Bach Elgar Choir at the Royal Botanical Gardens

2010-12-02T10:00:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, Brian and the other members of the Bach Elgar Choir did some caroling at the RBG. They sang beautifully, and because I drove with Brian to hear the mini concert, I got to hear it again when they repeated it after about 20 minutes.

It was difficult to get a photo of Brian, as he tends to bob and weave to and fro when he sings. Doesn't he look good in a tux?
Santa made an appearance at the concert, as well. I caught him sneaking away during the second performance.

Santa also brought some of his reindeer-in-training along for the festivities. This little guy is 7 months old, and just lost his antlers a few weeks ago.

And here's the beautiful family. It was a lot easier to keep little B quiet at this year's caroling concert than it will be next year, I'm sure! ;)

27.5 weeks

2010-11-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

The baby books that I have in my house keep telling me that little b is now the weight of a cauliflower and the length of an english cucumber. However, at this particular point in time, this is about what little b looks like, and how big he is....

Little Isaac Aaron Renkema, little B's cousin, was born at just over 27 weeks this past May. While I find it more comforting to think about having a little baby like this inside me than an assorted selection of vegetables, it's a little crazy to think that he is a fully formed baby right now, just working on getting bigger and stronger!

Cottagey Weekend

2010-11-16T09:26:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, I headed out to a gorgeous cottage with some ladies from Redeemer (and three little ladies, aged 5, 5, and 6.75). The cottage belongs to one of the girls' parents, and if I was here I would move in for the weekend and refuse to move out again. The place has 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a livingroom the size of my entire living space at home, a gorgeous kitchen complete with a dishwasher, a hot tub, a deck worth more than my car, and an incredible view to boot.

The weekend was filled with eating, lazing around, solving the world's problems (or maybe just Redeemer's), watching disney movies and chick flicks, sleeping, and eating some more.

It was really good to spend some time with these girls outside of Redeemer and get to know them on a different level.

Baby Love

2010-11-12T09:38:00.004-05:00

Little B(aby)vO, or "Little B" as he shall henceforth be called, has been impacting my life in two major ways in the last month.

1) Pregnancy Insomnia. This is not cool. I sleep comfortably. I'm not hungry at night, and I don't feel particularly anxious or worried about anything at the moment. However, almost every morning I wake up to see the clock say anything between 3:00 and 3:06 (yes, it is that precise). I don't wake up because I have to go to the bathroom. I just wake up. And stay awake. for anywhere from 2-4 hours. It's awesome. Sometimes, if I get too restless during the awake period, I will get up and go to the couch or to the mattress in Brian's office to rest and finally fall asleep again. At my midwife appointment yesterday, Karen recommended that I get up for 15 minutes and do something, be it reading, watching tv, taking a bath, etc, and then go back to bed. So, last night at 3:30, I got up, check fb, read an article in the December Canadian Living, and went back to bed. And stayed awake. Until my alarm went off. Amazing. I'm functioning better on this degree of lack of sleep than I thought I would, but it is getting a wee bit tiring. And don't any of you dare tell me that this is "preparing me for those sleepless nights with the baby" because I've heard that enough, and don't really want to hear it anymore, especially from people who have never had pregnancy insomnia, especially during the second trimester. :) Thanks for the helpful suggestion, though. I have to admit, I'm more than a bit jealous of those who are pregnant and who are not working, meaning that they are able to sleep in and take naps. Sigh.

2) Lower Back Pain when Walking, Sitting, and Moving in General. This has also been fun. It started about a month and a half ago, and it really is not that bad at this point - but it has been discouraging me from taking long walks with Izzy, or from using any of the machines in the gym to work out. This condition, however, I hope is fixable - I had my first visit with a Dundas Chiropractor last night by the name of Dr. Andrea Ferretti. She is a small, formidable woman, and she knows her stuff. I've never been to a chiropractor before, but I went to her on the recommendation of a few other friends who saw her for pregnancy-related back pain. She has a LOT of letters behind her name (D.C., F.I.C.P.A., B.Sc., plus a few not on her business card that were in her office), and has spent several years studying with an OB. She has students from the McMaster Midwifery program intern with her so that they can learn about the benefits of chiropractic care for pregnant women. All in all, she seems to be extremely well trained, is very good at communicating with her patients, and has a very interesting method of adjusting her patients. She has this table that stands in an upright position, and then the patient stands on the end of it. The table tilts down so that it's horizontal, and then she activates different parts of the table and they kind of jump up and down, jolting a particular area of the body. Anyhow, while I still have that pain my left hip / lower back when I walk, it's not as severe as it was yesterday. I have two more appointments next week to finish the adjustments, and then I'll go every few weeks after that until the baby is born to keep all of my bones where they should be and to "get things ready" for labour and delivery. I'm glad that I have benefits to cover the cost of this treatment, because I wouldn't have come otherwise - but I'm hoping that it's going to make a big difference! Having said that, I still really do love massage therapists - it's so calming and relaxing to go to one of those appointments. Not so much a chiropractic appointment. Oh well, you can't win them all.

A third way that Little B has been impacting my life is that he's starting to move around a lot more. Or at least, I can feel him sometimes now. Many people out there seem bound and determined to try and make me worried about how long it has taken me to feel the baby - "Is that normal?" "Shouldn't the baby be moving around a lot by this point?" "Don't people usually feel the baby move between 16 and 19 weeks?" "Aren't you worried?!" Fortunately, most people are neither doctors nor midwives, or even trained in any medical field at all. I have what is called an anterior placenta, which means that the placenta that I grew to protect the baby has grown on the front of me as opposed to the back. This is not a dangerous condition, either for myself or for the baby - but it does mean that there is an extra layer inbetween me and the baby in the front - so the baby's movements have to be pretty strong to get noticed through the extra barrier. My midwife says that his bum is up at the top of my stomach, but I have no idea how she can tell that because when I feel around and press down, I can't feel anything at all. I don't feel him consistently, but he was particularly active last night while I was laying in bed not sleeping.

Little B is only a week and a half younger now than his cousin Isaac was when he was born in May, and I think about that pretty much every day. I'm not worried that he will come so early (I do have my doubts of going to full term, though) but it is incredible to think of what he looks like already - by 27 weeks, Isaac was a perfect, incredibly tiny little baby - everything was there!!

Out with the Old...

2010-11-08T10:54:00.004-05:00

For a long time now, Brian and I have known that if and when we had a baby we'd have to trade one of our two-door cars for a four-door family-suitable car. So, this summer when my car began to literally fall apart, we decided that it wasn't really worth the money that we'd have to put into it to fix it. It has been a great car to have around for the past four years, but the Safety on the car both when David brought it into Canada and when we bought it from David was given somewhat generously... In order to safety it to sell to someone else, we'd have to have daytime running lights installed and car seat anchors, among other things... Anyhow, as the car sits in Neil's (our trusty mechanic) parking lot right now, the passenger window a) does not open and b) does not have a crank to open it, even if it did open. The driver's window opens, but in order to put it back up, one hand has to pull the window up while the other cranks it up, or it won't stay in the window tracks. The parking break light, both interior and exterior, stays on regardless of whether it is actually on or not. Something in the body of the car broke at some point and the car rattles consistently. The best thing is that the car only has one working brake left - and it's the rear right.
Anyhow, needless to say, by this point I'm not so sad to say goodbye to the car. When we got our new one last week, Brian drove the Accent to Neil's place and couldn't believe that I had been driving the car like that . He was scared just driving it to Neil's place, which validated my concerns of the last few weeks.... I stopped by Neil's place yesterday to clean out the car, and Neil's huge dog Chaos really wanted to play with Izzy. Izzy wasn't having any of it, but Chaos didn't give up too easily...
And here's the new car. It's a little strange driving an automatic after having a standard for so long, and it's a lot strange to drive a car that's so long and wide. However, it's wonderful to have so much room in the back of the car without having to fold down the seats.

Kids Today

2010-10-22T22:14:00.003-04:00

This is our buddy JP. It's his 2nd birthday today (Happy birthday, little man!), but that's not what this post is about. In his hand, JP holds an iPhone 4. On the couch in front of him is an iPad. This two year old is the King of Multi-Tasking. While playing a game on the iPhone, he's watching a video (that he loaded himself) through the Netflix app on the iPad. The only thing that this tech-saavy toddler lacks is a facebook account in which he can brag to all of his buddies about his awesome toys.

Belated Birthdays

2010-10-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

Both Reuben and Eli (pictured above at ages 6 and 1) have celebrated birthdays in the past month and a bit - turning 8 and 3. Wow! I have an 8 year old nephew now! This aunt is not very good at mailing birthday cards or remembering to call, but she does love all of her many, many nephews and special niece, and wishes that they lived a little bit closer!

The Back 40

2010-10-04T16:38:00.003-04:00

It seems as though Redeemer's campus has been under construction for forever. The new (entirely renovated old) Student Services Office and the Business Office are almost completed - but now, the push is on to get the soccer dome built at the back of campus before January so that we don't lose the government funding. The archeological dig that was happening for the past few years at the back finally wrapped up, and the big machines have moved in. I'm fairly sure that when I started school at Redeemer 9 years ago, this was all farm land.

Little B(aby)vO

2010-09-30T13:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we got to see little Baby vanOosten moving around - though, not so much moving around as sleeping and kicking my bladder. We also found out that the little one is a little man. I guess we're just following the trend of our friends (and family) of eldest child being a boy?

What I did Last Week

2010-09-27T07:30:00.004-04:00

This past week was a very busy one at work - I did about 13 hours of overtime - half of which was to sell books at Mr Samuel T Martin's book signings. Some evidence that I was indeed there:

Professor Emeritus and Author Hugh Cook shares a review of Sam's newly published book (above).

Sam answers questions from the crowd (bel0w).

From the Redeemer Chaplain:

2010-09-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

Redeemer student Amber Applegate left "her earthly tent" at 10 pm Saturday to be with the Lord. We're deeply grieved that such a beautiful, young life has ended so soon, while also thankful that her suffering was not prolonged. She is now with the One who declared "I am the resurrection and the life."

2010-09-17T07:27:00.002-04:00

Last winter, a young Redeemer woman was diagnosed with leukemia. After a successful bone marrow transplant from her sister, she seemed to be on the mend as the cancer started to go into remission. Earlier this summer, it was back with a vengeance and she spent much of her time in an induced coma to allow her body to use all of its strength to fight back. This week, her condition has deteriorated to the point where her family made the difficult decision to take her off of her respirator yesterday afternoon. They say that no news is good news, and as of yet we have not received another update from our university chaplain. Please keep this young woman and her family in your prayers, as well as her former dormmates who are going about the business of keeping up with their day to day school work in the midst of this.