Just Jordan

Calder LOVES hockey. He plays mini sticks in our basement and if I am at all distracted, he will haul the nets and sticks upstairs to get a little hardwood action. He loves playing on the rink in the backyard in the winter and on our driveway in the summer. When Calder's learn to skate lessons went so well in the fall, we knew he would enjoy playing with kids his own age on the "big ice". We registered him in a Huskie Hockey camp which runs every Saturday morning January through the beginning of March.   Although Calder was given a Huskie jersey when he started, he likes to wear his Blades! I definitely need to work on my camera skills in a rink. I did a lot of adjusting on iPhoto and still don't have a good colour. I also may need a lens with a lower aperture. Rinks are so dark!  I'm not sure we'll put Boone in this program if he is as keen on hockey as Calder is. The instruction and drills, in my opinion, are not well suited for 4 and 5 year olds. The...

On Saturday, thanks to Hugh and Deena, I went on a whirlwind shopping spree. Deena posted about it HERE . There are a few pictures on Deena's post if you want to check it out. I am going to do a bit of returning, exchanging, and a bit more shopping before I post my new wardrobe! Deena is amazing. She scooped out all the stores before we went and had me take pictures of a bunch of my current outfits. It was great because it forced me to go through my closet and see what I really had and in my case what I was lacking. The last time I shopped was in Toronto with Deena 2 years ago in the spring. For the last 6 years I have either been pregnant or on Maternity leave in the fall (save the one after Tripp died), so most of my fall/winter work wardrobe is from 2007. After trying on most of my clothes I made a pile of things that HAD to go. All but 2 pairs of dress pants hit the dust. Not only were they out of style, they didn't fit. I lost my bootilicious bottom somewhere between Cal...

February 18 came and went. As much as I love celebrating Tripp, I am glad to see the day pass. For whatever reason I find this week in February more difficult than any other typical week, so I always feel a sense of relief when it is over. This year I didn't let myself go back to those moments of 2011. I thought about the best ones, like when I started bawling when they said, "It's a boy" because I was so happy and when I almost blew my incision right out laughing while eating lunch with Hugh in the hospital cafeteria. I let myself remember what it was like to hold Tripp in my arms and what it felt like in those very special moments that Hugh and I purposely never shared with anyone. The rest I left a blur. It wasn't an easy day, but as always my days are always better with Hugh and our kids, so that's exactly how we spent it. I tweeted our day, if you want to take a look click HERE . You can also see a number of the other wonderful things people did #Rememb...

Tripp's birthday is tomorrow. He has been at the forefront of my thoughts all week and I have done quite well not letting my grief creep in. I have been reminding myself that the best way to express the love I feel for Tripp is to be happy. I know from the depths of my soul that Tripp doesn't want me to be sad and I feel like I finally have the strength to better honor his wish. About a month ago I read THIS  guest post on Kelle Hampton's blog. I was touched by the writing and the story and was inspired to act. I grabbed a package of Hershey's Hugs and left them on the doorstep of a random house. I wrote the hash tag #honoringmaura on the bag and tweeted a picture of my kindness with the same hash tag (at the request of the post's author). As I drove away after my drop off, I knew this was something I wanted to do for Tripp's birthday. Tripp has touched my life in ways I could never begin to express. I am grateful and thankful that he was brought into my l...

My Grandma E bought Boone his very own "real" remote for Christmas. He loves it! When do babies turn to toddlers? When they walk? I'm not ready to have a toddler, but I do have a walker. Boone took his first steps January 3. He took them while being encouraged by me, but for the most part in those next couple of weeks he would bend down and crawl when we attempted to get him to walk. In the middle of January he started taking those steps between Hugh and I and enjoyed doing it! On January 18 he started taking some steps without encouragement and by January 25 he had put 4 limb transportation completely behind him.  He is super good at getting up on his own. I think the bear crawling has benefited this. He gets into that position and pushes himself up quite easily. Calder walked right around the same timeline as Boone (although Calder was born 4 weeks early. . . so if we add that in, Calder walked a month before Boone :-) Crazy!). Calder basically lived with a permanen...

A few years ago as I started my teaching career in Saskatoon I started hearing the word, "engaged" around all things teaching. Then a year or two later, I started hearing it EVERYWHERE.  It turns out engaged isn't just a buzz work for education, it is a buzz word for a multitude of companies and disciplines. I have been talking with my counsellor about gratitude and in the last few weeks I have felt such a connection with that term. Now, everywhere I turn I am inundated with it. I see posts about gratitude on some of my favorite blogs, I read quotes about it on Facebook, and I hear about it when I turn on the radio and t.v. Gratitude is the new buzz word, but I don't care. I like it. My new intention is to try to feel gratitude in all facets of my daily life.  I have a long habit of finding sadness in change. I remember feeling so down on around my 18th birthday because 18 meant you were an adult and I loved being 17 and still classified as a kid.  In many ways I dr...

Yesterday was Hugh's birthday. I don't even have to ask him what he wants to do. It's always the same. Steak supper at home with us. I stepped it up a bit this year adding scallops and a homemade banana cream pie (Hugh's ultimate dessert). I asked Hugh in the morning if he was excited for his birthday and he replied, "I am excited, because you are excited." I seriously love birthdays. I feel like birthdays are a time to give thanks and Hugh's is no exception. I am so thankful that I get to spend every day with such a kind, loving man. Hugh is a fantastic partner and father. I hope he had an amazing day and I wish him all the best in year number 37. Speaking of birthdays, Tripp's is less than a week away. I think about it lots, but I haven't been dreading his birthday or the anniversary or his death like I have other years. I have been seeing a new counsellor (I still LOVE Brad, but I was looking for something a little bit different). There are ...

I know I have mentioned this before, but I love the Olympics. I am so excited to watch sports I don't normally tune into and to see athletes achieving their dreams. I get chills even thinking about it.  I love seeing Canadians on the podium and nothing is better than hearing the national anthem when they stand at the top. I am hoping to get Calder excited about them as well. I want him to see all the different sports out there. We already watched some prelimanary figure skating* and Calder demonstrated some amazing jumps and spins for me after. We also watched some freestyle moguls and Calder told me he wanted to do that. Hugh and I would love to get him to the ski hill, so hopefully Calder's interest will inspire us to get our butts moving on that one. Hugh is playing AAA hockey this weekend! So exciting. The Elks will be playing at home on Saturday night in Shellbrook (7:30 pm) and in Lloydminster on Sunday (5:00 SK time). Between Hugh's hockey, the Scotties Tournamen...

For me, chickpeas are okay, but roast them and they are awesome. Here is the recipe from www.beingveganeats.com : 1 15.5 oz. can of Chickpeas  1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. onion powder olive oil, for coating chickpeas salt/pepper to taste hot sauce or other spices (curry) optional Cook at 400 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes. I used seasoning salt and used bacon infused olive  oil  given to us by our friends, the Clarkes. (If  interested  in purchasing your own you can see if there is an Oliv Tasting Room near you HERE  or just order online HERE .) The chickpeas were amazing done like this. We ate most of them last night, but I saved a few to try with a salad.

I have had a lot of emotions swirling the last few weeks. . . Going back to work and a major family decision looming at the front. I feel like I have a bit of clarity today on both these fronts. Yesterday, Hugh asked me how I would feel about this particular point in our life if I were in 2054 looking back. Would the decisions we are making today feel as big? Would we laugh at ourselves for worrying so much? Would we regret anything? I am choosing things now that will shape where I am in 2054. I realized today that if I look back on the last 20 years of my life, I don't have regrets and in truth am quite happy with where I am in my life. Recognizing this, I want to find more enjoyment in the life I have, because my life is mostly shaped by choices I made. I need to own those decisions. Rather than getting rattled about the ins and outs in my everyday life, I want to be at peace in those moments knowing I would not change anything about them, because it is my own decisions that ...