20 Years of Cottage Memories

I'm fighting back tears as I write this post. My Uncle John sold his cottage after 20 years of ownership. My entire family went to the cottage this weekend for one final farewell and it was a lot of fun.

The first time we went to the cottage I was 6 years old. I remember driving the 3 hours to Muskoka, and getting lost on the way there. We encountered a moose crossing a road on the way there, and I was totally fascinated with it (although my mother was totally freaked out). When we finally arrived and entered the cottage we saw a duck in the lake. My brother and I decided we were going to walk out in our shorts and t-shirts and "get" the duck. I remember it so clearly! I was wearing these turquoise shorts and a matching top with turquoise and purple flowers on it (give me a break, it was the 80's). I was trying my best not to get my shorts soaking wet (got soaked any way). Josh and I walked through the mushy lake bottom and I remember thinking it was so gross. Any way, Josh walked on ahead of me and grabbed hold of the duck, only to discover that it was fake and tied down to the water pump to let people know to be careful. We thought it was pretty hilarious. Inside we found 2 blow up, zebra print chairs, which we took out onto the lake with canoe paddles (Uncle John just found out that we did this). It was there at the cottage that my brother and I discovered my Uncle's board game collection. We found the game Risk (which I won - with the PINK army) and we also discovered "Gay" Monopoly, which later revealed that our Uncle John was gay (yes it's true, we found out from a board game haa haa).Each year my family and I would venture to the cottage for a few weeks in the summer. We LOVED it there. I loved the endless swimming, canoeing, and fishing, and listening to my Uncle's CD collections which included Van Morrison, Gloria Estevan, Cat Steven's, Bette Middler, and more. One summer my parents told us that Uncle John took his CD player back to the city and to not bother bringing any of our own cds. When we got there, the CD player was there, and the ONLY cd was Cat Stevens. I can't listen to Cat Steven's without thinking about the cottage. You can imagine my older brother and I canoeing in the middle of the lake, having to go pee, and signing "Oh I can't keep it in, I can't keep it and I gotta let it out..." Oh man, we'd laugh so hard that I'm pretty sure I peed in the canoe at least once (shhh don't tell).Some summers a few of my cousins would come up to the cottage with us and that brought on a whole new set of memories. We'd venture out on the raft in the middle of the night to star gaze. At the cottage was the first time I ever saw stars like that before. I never knew how BEAUTIFUL the night sky could be and how amazing shooting stars looked. I was in total amazement, like "take my breath away" kind of amazement. My older brother, my cousins and I would stare at the sky and talk about all kinds of mysterious stuff like UFOs and black holes and whatever. I wish I could see the night sky like that every night.

My cousins and I would canoe across the lake to the big rock and spend the day there. We'd pack a lunch and swim, fish, collect fire wood, and sun bathe there. Sometimes we'd stand at the very top of the rock and sing Pocahontas songs and yell things to my parents on the deck across the way. I also learned how to make these really realistic loon calls and I'd try to get as many loons on the lake as possible. I'm pretty sure my record is 5! Once while loon calling, while swimming, and loon came and landed RIGHT BESIDE ME! I totally freaked me out and I swam back to the cottage as fast as I could.I remember staying up way past midnight on a regular basis and chowing down on chips, cookies, pizza pops, smores, and drinking way too much hot chocolate (no wonder the mosquitoes loved me). We'd always play board games, especially Risk, Scrabble, and Hotels. John used to be my Mom or Dad's helper when we played Risk and he'd chant "I never roll and one, I never roll a two. All I roll is sixes and that's what I do!"

One night when my Mom was 37 weeks pregnant she played Scrabble with my Dad and Josh. She picked out of the bag a bunch of Ws and Rs and said, "what can I spell with this? Wascly Wabbit?" She thought it was hilarious and she laughed so hard that she actually went into labor (sorta). After that game she went to bed, on an air mattress on top of a regular bed. Suddenly she thought she had peed herself but quickly realized that it was her water breaking. She ran to the futon where my Dad was sleeping and told him. He gave her the classic "bug eyed" look and we all quickly packed our stuff so we could get home. I had a friend staying with us and we would have to speed to the next town to drop her off before heading home. As my Dad was backing out of the driveway he said "man it is so dark outside". We soon figured out that the trunk was still open and blocking his view. We made it home in record time and the next day Michael joined our family!

Another fun story was the time Rachel and I caught a fish. We decided to pack a lunch and canoe out to the rock early in the morning. We had been fishing for over 2 hours and nothing was happening. Then we snagged our fishing line on a rock and couldn't get it loose. We decided that we'd dive down and get it when we went swimming later on that day. Rachel suggested that we tie the fishing line to a tree so that we remembered where it was and so we did. A few minutes later we saw a huge fish jump out of the water. We said "Woah, I wanna catch that one!" We casted our line out in that direction hoping to get THAT fish. Suddenly we noticed the line that was tied to the tree MOVING! Rachel screamed, "We caught a fish!! Get the net!" I grabbed the net and Rachel pulled the line in (it was still attached to the tree) I reached down and scooped up the fish, and it was that huge fish we saw jumping earlier!!!! We were so exited we woke up my family on the other side of the lake. They heard us screaming and ran to the deck to see what was going on. That was the one and only fish I ever caught and we did it without a pole!

There's so many stories to tell like the temple of doom (my mother's method of catching mice), sitting by the fire, roasting Cheerios and marshmallows, canoeing as fast as we could, jumping off the raft in the middle of the lake, swimming in the middle of the night, seeing blue herons and beavers, lighting candles in the candle chandelier, making up dances with Rachel on the deck, catching frogs, making up the constipation song with my cousins, making up the never ending song (where one song leads into the next some how like - I will always love you... are so beautiful to me...) holding onto the rope being towed behind the canoe, and listening to The Moose radio station. We always enjoyed driving into town to do some grocery shopping and looking at the local shops. There are too many memories to name. I wish I could just download my brain to the computer.

This weekend was a blast. Rosie loved going on the boat and was eager to put on her life jacket because Dora the Explorer told her it keeps her safe. She tried to reach over the side and touch the water. Joseph didn't like wearing a life jacket, and therefore didn't like the boat ride. I went swimming on the first day and we played board games at night. Uncle John gave me the RISK game that we used to always play, my grandmother's rocking chair, a lamp, tea pot, and a few plates that are older than me.

I'm getting depressed writing this because I'm going to miss the cottage SO MUCH. There's just this amazing feeling I get from going to the cottage that I wish I could feel every day. It's so sad that it's been sold and that I'll never be able to relive those fun times ever again. It's been a wonderful 20 years and I thank my Uncle John from the bottom of my heart for letting us visit the cottage so often. It really has been a life time of fond memories. I hope that there will be something that compares so my children can have similar memories in their lives.

Good-bye Spring Lake!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Pictures from Joseph's Party

Here's some pictures from Joseph's 1st birthday party. I don't have any pictures of the puppet show because we were all too busy enjoying the show to take pictures. Just take my word for it, the show was really fun!

It was really hot that day and the icing started to melt :(

The cute birthday boy!

Loot Bags - filled with gummy fish, gummy sharks, bubbles, chocolate money (underwater treasure), under the sea stickers, glow sticks, lollipops, and more!

Clam Cookies

One of Joseph's presents

More Decorations!

The party was a lot of work and it turned out GREAT! Everyone had a great time, there was more than enough food, and the kids had a blast!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

It's Potty Time!

The other night I was reading Rosie a story about a little girl who learned how to use the potty and after the book was done Rosie said "I want to sit on the potty." I thought, wow this is great! She's asking me if she can sit on the potty, maybe potty training will be easy for us! We went into the bathroom and she sat on her Dora potty, and sat and sat and sat. We read books and sang songs and nothing happened at all for about 45 minutes. I asked her if she wanted a drink of "red juice" (Gatorade) and in the 10 seconds I was away getting it, she peed on the floor!!! I know right! What terrible timing! Well, I let her have some Gatorade any how and I figured that if she drank it, she'd be ready to pee in about 20 minutes. Dave came home and I asked him to help her go to the potty. They sat there for about 30 seconds and then Dave let her off the potty (men seriously don't understand) and about 10 seconds later, she was peeing on the floor AGAIN! About an hour and a half had passed since the first time Rosie told me she wanted to sit on the potty and she peed on the floor twice!! I was pretty frustrated but I guess it wasn't meant to happen that night.

The next day Rosie wanted to wear her red princess dress, which is seriously cute by the way. I helped her put it on and she said "princesses don't wear diapers". Haa haa wow how cute! She understands the concept, now the goal is to get her to actually do it. For the last few days we've been trying to potty train her, all while making sure Joseph doesn't find the potty and dump it over, which he's done a couple times already (luckily there's wasn't anything in it).

Yesterday she agreed to wear her "big girl panties" and she looks so cute in them. It's kind of cute/sad to see how fast she's growing. Any way, we got her a bunch of cute undies with mermaids on them. Unfortunately she wet her undies twice :( It was almost bedtime and I was starting to think that she wasn't getting it at all. Then I put her on the potty one last time before bed. After a couple minutes of sitting on the potty she said "poo poo bum Mommy!" and guess what?! She did it! She pooped on the potty!!! She got up and I showed her all of her poo poo in the potty. I think she was kind of freaked out that all that came out of her. After all, she's never really seen her own poop before because I always change her diaper quickly and she's never seen inside a dirty diaper. Any way, I flushed it down the toilet, then made a HUGE deal about Rosie using the potty and gave her some Smarties to reward her for going on the potty like a big girl. Seconds later, you'll never guess what happened (well maybe you CAN guess). She peed on the floor! I just shook my head and cleaned up the mess. Thank goodness for hardwood floors! I keep on telling myself "at least she pooped in the potty. One step at a time." Today she finally went pee in the potty and as I sit here writing this, I have to keep my eye on her and make sure she doesn't have any accidents.

I'm hoping, and praying, that she'll catch on pretty quickly so that I only have 1 baby's diapers to worry about. Come on Rosie!! (she's sitting on her potty right now!)

I'll keep everyone posted!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Happy 1st Birthday Joseph! Joseph's Birth Story

I woke up early on June 4th with noticeable contractions every 10 minutes or so, actually it had been happening on and off since around dinner time the day before. I knew around 8 am that today was THE day, I just had that feeling that the contractions were for real. I woke up Dave and said "I think these contractions are the real thing, I need to call my Mom." We called my Mom around 9 am and I told her to hurry over because I knew the baby would be here soon. Of course Dave and I didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl yet, we like to keep things a surprise, all I knew was that this baby had a lot of energy. When I was in labor with Rosie, she was very still, hardly moved at all, but this baby... it was kicking like crazy, even during contractions.

I called the midwife, Rhea, to give her a heads up and tell her that "something" was happening and that I was pretty sure she'd need to come over at some point that day. Her day was open and she said "great, I won't have to cancel any plans (or miss any sleep) you can have a baby with me anytime!" She told me to call her the second things started getting intense, and to relax and get things ready for the baby.

Dave and I had decided on a home birth for this baby. I don't really know what sparked the idea, but it sounded like a great experience, so we planned on it. I also didn't want an epidural this time. I enjoyed the pain relief and calmness that the epidural gave when I had Rosie, but I knew it wasn't natural and had a few negative side effects, plus I knew that millions of women had gone without, so if they could do it, I could do it. I figured, with a home birth there is no epidural, so I would just have to endure. Weeks before we bought all the items on the list, plastic shower curtains to cover the bed, extra pillows, extra sheets, hot water bottle, hydrogen peroxide, etc. We were totally prepared for a home birth!

My mother arrived around 10 am and she helped get the bed ready for the birth. She knew what she was doing because she had 3 of my siblings at home. I was feeding Rosie her breakfast and hanging out with her because I knew this would be my last day with just her. It made me pretty sad that things were going to change in a few hours and I almost started crying while I was reading Rosie a book. I was excited to meet my new baby, but I was just a little bit sad, or maybe sad isn't the right word... I was emotional about the change in our lives and worried about how Rosie would be affected. I was nervous about not being able to spend as much time with her and worried that I wouldn't have enough love for both children (don't worry, I soon found out that I DO have enough love!) Later my contractions kind of stopped a bit. I started to second guess if the baby was going to come that day, or if I was going to have to be induced in a few days. I was after all 12 days late according to one of my ultrasounds. The baby's due date was May 24th so I was REALLY anxious to give birth.

Mom went to McDonals and bought me a Greek chicken salad (we had coupons) and I ate it, totally contraction free. I said to Dave "maybe I'm still in labor but it's easier this time around. Maybe I'm better able to handle it." Haa haa I can't believe I thought that! My contractions seemed to be disappearing, with the occasional BIG one that lasted a few seconds. I basically was going about my day as usual. I played with Rosie, read her some books, took a little nap, showered, did my hair and makeup. Mom said that I needed to do the chicken dance to get things going. So there I was, grudgingly doing the chicken dance with my Mom. I have to admit that the contraction I had while doing the chicken dance was a little bit stronger than usual (maybe it does work). Mom also took Rosie across the street in the stroller and walked her around the track for 45 minutes until she fell asleep, so I could nap at home before real labor started.

I called the midwife around 4 pm and told her that I wasn't sure what was going on and that my contractions hadn't really picked up. She was in the area so she came over to asses the situation. She checked me and I was only 2-3 cm dilated and that it didn't seem like I was in active labor. She told me that I might be physiologically putting off labor until Rosie goes to bed so that I wouldn't have to worry about her. She said that I'd probably have the baby after 8 pm. I pretty much agreed with her. It was so true that I was worrying about Rosie and what she would do or think of a new baby, but at the same time, I wanted her to be around to greet her new sibling minutes after it happened.

At 6 pm my contractions started to really pick up. I was starting to tense up my feet and kind of kick/tap my toes on the floor because a lot of them were intense. Dave decided that he better go to the store and pick up some dinner before it was too late. He bought Shwarmas for my mother and himself, and veg sushi for me. I asked him to get me veg sushi because pregnant women can't have real sushi (I should have asked for the real stuff since in a few hours, I'd no longer be pregnant). At 6:30 pm (Dave was still at the store) my Mom said "those contractions are really close together, you better call your midwife!" I called the midwife and told her things have really picked up and that I needed her to come over. After I hung up the phone Dave came home and asked me if I wanted to eat. I said no because I was in too much pain (so much for being able to handle it better this time) and I decided to get into the bath tub.

Rhea was at my place in no time, before I could even get the tub ready. I was in so much pain that I didn't want to be checked, I just wanted to get into the tub. I got into the tub and it helped a little bit. I liked it when water was poured on my belly so Dave sat there and did it for me. Of course Dave is always trying to solve problems so he thought it would be a good idea to get into the hot tub (outside!). He thought it would be nice to fully immerse myself in the warm water, but I refused. There was NO WAY I was sitting in the backyard where people could hear/see me about to give birth. Besides, I didn't want to be covered in chlorine and I didn't want to move from where I was at the time. The hot tub just wasn't going to happen. Dave still insisted and he even went searching for my bathing suit. I was getting pretty annoyed with him because I didn't want to go in the hot tub, I just wanted him to be near me, instead of searching for my swim suit. He was all like "Rosemary isn't home (our neighbor) and Rhea said it would really help ease the pain. You should do it."

While in the tub I actually thought to myself "an epidural would be great right about now." I also thought "I'm not going to be able to do this much longer." I also started shaking and I thought to myself "what happens when women dies in child birth? What if I die?!" I decided that I was getting uncomfortable and wanted to get out of the bath tub. I went into my room where I laid down on the bed, on my left side. The midwives still hadn't checked me yet because I had been in the tub so I had no idea how dilated I was. I just knew that when I was in labor with Rosie, that it took a really long time, so I figured this baby would be born after midnight. I told the midwives that they could check me when I was done with a contraction, but they seemed to never end. I remember at one point standing and leaning on Dave and saying "They won't stop, why won't they stop?!" Finally my contractions seemed to ease off a little so I let my midwife check me. It was about 8:25 or so when she checked me and she said "You're 9 1/2 cm dilated. What time did you call me... 6:30, right? See how FAST second births are? Two - two and a half hours is pretty good!" When I heard 9 1/2 cm I was thrilled!! I thought "really?! Can it be true, I'm almost done?! Wow, I'm doing it, I'm really having this baby without drugs!" At this point Rosie and my Mom had been at the park for about 5 minutes. My Mom took her there because she said things were getting intense (really? labor? intense?). I didn't really care if they were in the next room or not. To be honest, it was cute hearing her laugh and play with my Mom.

My water hadn't broken yet and the midwife said "let see if it breaks if you push. If it doesn't, we'll break it for you. Feel my fingers? Push right there." I gave a big push and then "POP!" my water broke like a big water balloon breaking! Water exploded everywhere. I could feel a huge puddle under me and the midwife got it right in the face! I felt really bad and kept on saying "sorry everyone!" Rhea told me not to worry about it, and that she should have known not to sit there haa haa!! There was mecconium in the water too which means that the baby had a bowel movement inside. That happens a lot when a baby is overdue. I became a little bit worried because complications arise when that happens and normally a respiratory therapist is called to examine the baby. I also knew that during a home birth, if there's mecconium in the water, that they would need to rush me to the hospital. Rhea told me that we didn't have time to call an ambulance and that we'd deal with any issues later. The midwife told me that if I felt the urge to push, that I should go ahead. I was still lying on my left side because that was the most comfortable for me. I was covering my eyes because it made me feel better, plus the blinds were letting in light, right into my eyes. *side note - the blinds were broken from Rosie pulling on them.* The guy next door (we live in a semi detached house) was doing construction and I could hear him drilling and hammering. I wonder what he was thinking when he heard all the groaning. Any way, I started to feel shaky again and the midwives told me to push. I started pushing but that really hurt, so I eased off. It was like I didn't know what to do. The pushing hurt, yet I knew it was necessary to get me a baby, and it also kind of relieved some of the contraction pain. I pushed hard and also screamed hard, still laying on my side. I guess the neighbor was freaked out and stopped his renovations haa haa.

Three contractions later, and a lot of pushing a screaming and I heard Rhea and Dave say, "there's the head!" Dave was there, ready to catch the baby. At 8:38 pm I gave one more BIG push and suddenly there it was! It was a baby boy!!! I was the first to know it because I had a great view of his "stuff" Dave and the midwives only saw his back side so they didn't even know. Dave placed the baby on my chest and I gave a huge sigh of relief and I cried and cried. Tears were just flowing like crazy because I was SO HAPPY to finally hold my little guy in my arms. He was so beautiful and cute and I couldn't believe I was experiencing the miracle of birth for the second time. I instantly loved this little boy so much and I was overcome with emotion! He was crying a lot which meant that his lungs were clear and the he didn't inhale any of the mecconium (thank goodness!) I was so happy and relieved that I was able to give birth so quickly and without an epidural. I cut the cord this time while Dave ran across the street to the park to get Rosie and my Mom. He was so excited for Rosie to meet her baby brother! When Dave brought her into the room she looked so confused. She saw me and I think she was wondering why I looked so sweaty and exhausted. She didn't even really notice the baby, she was more concerned for me and wanted to give me a hug. My Mom was thrilled and she couldn't stop smiling! Who knew that Rosie would go to the park and about 20 minutes later, come home to meet her new brother. Dave kept on saying "I knew it was going to be a boy!" He and Rosie got onto the bed next to me and together we all cuddled as a new family of 4! What an amazing experience!

The baby was weighed in at 9 pounds and 9 ounces which totally shocked me! I was like "What?! Are you sure?! That's huge!" I knew that the baby was bigger than Rosie just by the way he felt in my tummy, but I didn't think he'd be THAT huge. The day before, I had an ultrasound and the tech said that he'd be around 8 pounds, give or take... ya she was wrong!

I fed him and he latched on really well. The midwife said it was so perfect she wanted to take a picture of his latch (ummm, no thanks) We got him dresses, in the sleeper I bought him, and then I went to take a shower while everyone fixed up a new bed for me. The baby still didn't have a name yet. While I was in the shower I decided that we should go with the name Dave and I had discussed earlier. Joseph would be his name. I came out if the shower and said "I think we'll go with Joseph." The midwife said "That's a nice name, a VERY nice name." Dave said "ya that's what I've always wanted."

I curled up in bed with my little baby, blissfully knowing that I had one special gift from God!

Happy Birthday Joseph. I love you more and more as each day goes by!

Me Ka Aloha (with love)
- Elisabeth

Smartie Pants!

If you know Rosie, you know that she doesn't like to perform. If you say "Rosie, what color is your shirt?" She'll just turn away, but she darn well knows what color it is. If you're lucky and catch her when she's in the mood, she'll answer your questions, but most of the time she will keep to herself. Any way, it's been difficult for me as a parent to know how smart Rosie actually is because she doesn't like to show you how smart she is. I just have to catch her on a good day, like today!

I had an issue of the Ensign sitting on the couch and Rosie picked it up. She pointed to the picture of Thomas S. Monson and said "Thomas!" How cute is that?! Then she decided to open it up and look at the pictures. She saw Dieter F. Uchtorf and said "Dieter!" Then she looked at me and said "where's Jesus Christ?" I flipped through the pages and found a picture of the First Vision, and said "there he is!" She then pointed to Joseph Smith and said "Joseph Smith!" Wow, I guess she IS learning something when I try to teach her about the church. Then I found a picture of the Salt Lake Temple and said "look, it's a temple." Rosie then sang the first line of "I love to see the temple" which I sing to her almost every night before bed. I sang it to her again and she listened intently. So I guess one thing I learned today is that she is totally absorbing everything I teach her, and I need to continue teaching her good things and not give up, even if I think she's not getting it.

Another thing she's been saying lately is "E bit ibit" Dave heard her say it that other day and asked me if I knew what she was talking about. We were both stumped. Then the other day she said it again and I thought, "hmmmm could she be saying 'Elisabeth'?" I asked her to say Elisabeth and she responded with "E bit ibit" so maybe that's what she's saying. I'm not 100% sure yet because she doesn't really say it in context with anything else and sometimes if i ask her to say Elisabeth, she'll say it differently. If she IS saying Elisabeth, well, that's pretty darn cute, although I wish she'd still call me "honey" like she used to.

Well, it's getting late and I the next few days are going to be busy as heck. I have a newsletter to do for the quilt shop, grocery shopping, clean the house, finish planting flowers in the garden, laundry, run in the Moon and June 5 km race, and throw an awesome birthday party for the J man. I'm also going to post before and after pictures on my health blog, along with Joseph's birth story on his birthday. Yikes, I better schedule sleep in there sometime.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth