Santa Clause is Coming to Town!

Oh what fun we had! The ward had a family Christmas dinner/dance. It was a blast. I'm going to let the pictures of Little E with Santa speak for themselves.




























Yup, Santa was not a huge hit with our little guy. Poor Santa! The dinner was awesome, and the dance a blast though. We stayed until about 11:30pm, by then Little E was beyond tired!

The next weekend we took some family pictures...here's one or two for you...





























We'll definately take more when the little B arrives. Now for the pregnancy update...I go for another ultrasound this coming friday, and hopefully I get some new pics from that. I have had to do a 24 hour urine analysis (which is a fancy way of saying - pee in this plastic container with a small opening for 24 hours), followed by a blood test which will tell them if I really did get ALL the pee in there for the 24 hours. (Sheesh...I think I can handle instructions like, pee in this for the next 24 hours- not that hard.) Anyway...I started this morning at 9am. It is now almost 11pm and the only worrying thing is that this container only has 1 1/2 inches in it. We'll see what they say, but that's not usually a great sign. Well dear reader, it's time for bed. Keep your fingers crossed!

Before I get into what a wacky weekend we had, here's a picture of a beaded Big E. :) Doesn't he look handsome? He looked darned adorable as a homeless guy in the "Forgotten Carols". He mused for a bit about keeping it, but finally decided that he couldn't take it any longer and shaved it off. We took the mug shot right before he had his run in with the razor!





What a weekend! I got sick (that's never a good thing), and we decided it was now or never to get to our bathroom floor. We knew there was damage to the wood under the toilet from a water tank bursting. (That happened prior to our possession of the property.) We had been putting off ripping up the linoleum. We knew there'd be a fair bit of work, and we weren't sure what it was going to end up costing...so like the smart cats we are, we just waited. We waited until we could wait no longer! I took a close look at the toilet and realized that it was sinking at the back...badly. So, this weekend we ripped up the linoleum to see just what we were dealing with. Oh boy, what a mess...what a smell!
I'm amazed neither of us dropped through the floor while sitting on the throne. It was that bad. Even the pictures do not do it justice. Big E spent most of Saturday ripping out all affected wood (lovely particle board stuff), removing the toilet and cutting plywood to replace the floor.

We went shopping at the Habitat for Humanity store. It's a wonderful place full of great deals. All kinds of renovation materials at a fraction of the cost...they are donated to Habitat and they sell things they end up not needing. We bought a few pieces of plywood there (no more than $2/board...of course they weren't all the same size...but it was cheaper than buying one big board), glue remover ($5), glue for the linoleum ($5), and two pieces of linoleum to cover our newly repaired floor ($25 and $15 respectively). We also bought a bag of nails ($2), and a glue spreader (50 cents). The price of the new floor??... $60, not falling through the floor while sitting on the toilet??...priceless!
Then Big E got everything ready to put the toilet back....only to discover that the bolts weren't long enough. How this happened, we have no idea unless perhaps they weren't the right size to start with. So, we had to wait until Monday to get new bolts. Now it's in, and it works, and we are HAPPY! It's funny how not having a toilet for a couple of days really makes you appreciate having one that works! A pee-pot is just not the same.





So, everything works, and it's all cleaned up...we just haven't laid the new floor. When we do, the pictures will appear! :) Until then dear readers, enjoy the season!

Red Letter Day!

This will be short, but sweet. We got the letter in the mail today informing us that Big E's second semester of school, with some living expenses, will be covered by the Alberta government in the form of a grant!!! WAHOO!! That is one major stress off the table. Big E not going to school for the second semester was never an option....how we would pay for it without the grant was what we were debating...(Hear they are hiring at the Beef Baron....lol). So, yeah us!!...actually yeah us x 2 because you don't have to pay back a grant! Anyhoo...keep coming back for more updates on our amazingly interesting lives....we're a soap opera unto ourselves!! :)

Pantry Delight

After the elves dropped off our Christmas bounty I waited a few days (because I needed Big 'E's help unloading) to completely unpack everything. I took the opportunity to completely clear out the pantry. Big E hauled everything out and cleaned the pantry cupboard (bless his sweet soul) and categorized everything as he pulled it out. I came home to packed counters, but all the baking stuff was together, all liquids (or things that would become liquid - like hot chocolate powder), and all miscellaneous stuff were grouped together making it much easier for me to re-organize.









Big E has no illusions on my organizing abilities, he knows I need all the help I can get!! :) I even went all out and did the top of the fridge as well.




I was reading a blog and they had a "Which X-Man are you?" quiz...so I took it (I'm Storm...kinda cool). I'm a sucker for these things...I know which Harry Potter character I am, which Star Wars character I'd be (Princess Leia for those who want to know), I'm always interested in who I'd be if I lived in TV land! So, here's your chance...there's only about 8 questions so it's one of the shortest quizes on the 'net. Let me know...Which X-Man are you?

You Are Storm

Exotic and powerful, Storm descended from a line of African priestesses. Emotions can effect your powers, but you are generally serene. Powers: controlling weather, creating winds that lift you into flight, generating lightning

Which of the X-Men Are You?

The Forgotten Carols

It seems like only a few days ago I was doing a post...wait, IT WAS! :) Well, our lives have been busy enough lately to justify another Zea update. Big 'E's Musical (The Forgotten Carols) went REALLY well. Here is a video clip of his part of the show. His was the only group singing without any kind of music in the background, not even to help lead them into their song. They did only one practice all together as a group before performing 3 times. Way to go guys! The whole performance was great, kudos to all who performed and directed and sang. Big E invited a number of people from school, but wasn't able to catch them before they had to go. He is looking forward to hearing their reactions on Monday. As enjoyable as the experience has been for him, he is grateful it is over and he can fully concentrate on his school assignments once again. His schedule lately has been quite hectic and this will be one major thing off of his plate. I too will be happy it is over because I hate to see him trying to struggle through his days on so little sleep! One of the men in the group is a dentist and so they had lots of time to talk about dentistry school, costs, schedules, costs, oh, and did I mention COSTS?! Big E couldn't fall asleep one night because rolling around in his head was the total cost of dentistry school (a mere $200,000), living expenses (he informed me calmly that we would have to sell the place we are in now and move into residence because with subsidy we would only pay $100/month), and the fact that they only accepted 33 dentists into the program this past year.

Now, I do admit that all of those things should be considered...eventually, but not yet! First steps first I reminded my dear husband. First the pre-dental program, THEN dental school. I didn't even bat an eye at the $200,000 estimate (not bad considering I was almost asleep myself and as a student's wife am pretty tight with the $$$ anyway). So, he has calmed down again and is ready to just focus on his courses right now, and has stopped worrying about the grand total. Whew. Honestly, too much dwelling on such large numbers is likely to give someone an ulcer!

Little E is continuing to be a lot of fun and VERY busy. It's a good thing he won't be an only child (soon I'll get to write about a Little B!!), he's just too cute and he'd get away with way too much! Time out's are kind of funny....for him, not for me. For some reason he thinks they're a hoot. I put on my no-nonsense-face and he laughs away. Heaven help me...what do you do with a child who thinks time outs are FUN!? I don't know, I've tried doing them different ways hoping one of them will make an impression....no luck so far. Corners, floor, special chair...nada, he still laughs. I used to babysit a little boy one month older than Little E and HE understood time out's, but not Little E. :) Good thing I don't have to administer them very often...and maybe that's the root of the problem.

I'm sure many of you are wondering about our condo and the current tenants. First, may I say that Ontario has some very wacky rental laws. I am moving back to London in March. Our tenants have been given their 60 days notice and are supposed to move out at the end of January. That may happen sooner as they haven't paid rent for the last 2 months...and I'm not expecting they will pay December's rent either. What a pickle, you are thinking, and you'd be right! They've got it pretty good, living in my lovely condo, for FREE! The management company has sent the paperwork to the rental governing body (the Tribunal), and what will likely happen is they will be given a date to get paid up. If they pay up by that date, then they will be allowed to stay until the end of January. However, if they miss the date and don't pay then the sheriff (for $300) will lock the door and they will be out. After all of this stress and stress, and did I mention STRESS, I'm not sure which to wish for....that they pay the money we really need them to pay...or that they move out earlier (and end up owing less). If they're kicked out I'm waiting for the local paper to pick up the story about some poor disadvantaged family kicked out of their house so close to Christmas and in the winter....and if they do, I want a chance for rebuttal....about the disadvantaged family going crazy trying to pay their own rent ON TOP of their tenant's rent....this poor little family with a toddler and baby on the way, who's husband is in school and working at 3am trying to make ends meet...well, you can see where I'd be going with this. :) Enjoy the video clip, and until next time dear reader...enjoy life!

Christmas is Coming!!

I've recently been reading the blog of another LDS mother with 4 (or 5) children. Two of her children are autistic. As I read what her day is like and what kind of things she has to do because of the autism I become humble and VERY thankful for my own challenges. Because, challenging as they may be, a least they are challenges I feel up to handling. Her challenges are far and beyond mine!

One of my recent challenges is Little 'E's tendancy to wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake, WIDE awake, for several hours. This is tough on both his parents. Especially his dad. Big 'E' has been practicing for his part in a Christmas musical, going to school, going to work, and being daddy. Getting up at 3am for work and staying up late for musical practices is taking its toll. He has also been sick with a cold. Through it all he has remained remarkably cheerful, helpful, and wonderful. Thank heaven's I married him!

My most recent trip to the doctor was encouraging. He told me that my blood pressure seems to have settled down and he has no worries. (Whew!) I will see him every two weeks from now on and we'll continue to keep an eye on things, but right now it looks like a textbook pregnancy.

Little 'E' has learned 2 new signs, Eat and Milk. This is in addition to, Bye, More, Finish. He's getting a nice little sign vocabulary....the only word he says so far is Mum. :) Heehee...obviously I'm not disappointed wih that! Here's a picture of him waving hello...

Elves came last night to drop off an early Christmas present. Supplies for the pantry and deep freezer!! Maybe you don't think it's that exciting...but student budgets allow for little extras and no wiggle room. We were ecstatic about the bounty! Now we are busy finding room for it on our shelves (We had no such issues with the freezer..lol...which previously held a few loaves of bread, some homemade panzerotties, and a couple of other things....LOTS of room there!!) Needless to say we are feeling a bit rich. So, a big thanks to the Elves for their delivery...and for Mr. and Mrs. Clause for setting it all up!! Hugs and kisses all around.

Now...I do have to explain about this picture, because now that I look at it, it looks like little 'E' is standing in a mess! He brought out the hanger, and the cracker on the floor on the other side is what he was eating, but threw down so that he could wave hello. :) Behind him is a box of books to go to the library and a bag of clothes to be donated to a local charity. Whew...now that's off my chest!

We don't have big plans for Christmas. We will visit with family and friends here in the West and talk on the phone to our loved ones out East. We are looking forward to seeing them in the new year sometime. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, Health, Love, Fun, and enough challenges that life seems interesting! :) Heaven knows if you're short on that last one, I've got some I'm willing to share!! Merry Christmas all.

November Blues

Well, it's almost 11:30pm on November 17th and I thought I'd catch up. Sorry, no pictures this time folks! This weekend has been crazy, with Eden sick (sore throat, headache, listlessness) and Ephraim sick (fever, throwing up), I have been playing doctor. We did get our grocery shopping done, but that's about it. Ephraim seemed better today, but Eden is still under the weather. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help.

I will be returning to London in March to live in our condo once again. I'm hoping that the current tenants haven't done too much damage. We know they had a fair number of animals and so I'm hoping the carpet is ok. I'm hoping all it really needs is some cleaning and painting and airing out. They are to move at the end of January, so hopefully all of those things can get done before I get there as I'll have Ephraim with me and the new little one. I don't really fancy trying to paint and do all of that with babes in tow....I suppose if that happens I may have to bunk down at Zea senior's or the Boyd farm until the condo is fixed up again. It will be nice to be there...I miss our condo! :)

Eden has applied for a grant to finish his schooling this year. We keep his nose to the grindstone between family, school, work, church, and extra curricular activities. He is in a musical this weekend called "The Forgotten Carols"...he is first tenor for the song, "Homeless". They are singing acappela (I don't think I've spelled that correctly) and I'm looking forward to hearing them. I'll be taking a picture of his beard that he's been growing...so he'd look more 'homeless'...and I'll post it before he shaves it all off. (IF he shaves...lol)

I've been enjoying work. It is so nice to be in charge of only 1 student. He is coming along nicely considering how young he is. Everyone keeps asking me what's going to happen when I leave on maternity. I feel a bit badly about leaving him hanging...I tell them that I'll just try to cram as much in during the time I have and hope they are able to find someone with some signing background to pick up where I leave off. I've been told twice in one week how unfortunate my family is expanding...at this particular time. Lol...oh well. I leave for my maternity leave at the end of January...and then I'll have a few months here before driving back East. I'm not sure yet exactly how that will work, my brother may come with me for company and to help drive..or there may be other options. I have to admit I'm not much looking forward to driving across country with a toddler and an infant. Oh well.

All in all, we're doing all right for now. Challenges are good...helps us to notice our blessings...the big ones and small ones. We are greatful we have somewhere to live here, and somewhere for me to live in London, for cars that run, stoves that work, families that help, friends that support, and each other to love.

Halloween 2007

A week ago Eden got up Saturday morning and went to start some work on the computer. He looked on the chair and thought, "Did Mary leave a doll on the chair?" He looked closer and realized it was Ephraim! He'd climbed out of his crib in the middle of the night and gone to the livingroom and then fallen asleep on the computer chair! We've moved the crib (once we realized how he'd gotten out), and he's back in his own bed...but whew...he'll be into a real bed in no time at all if that keeps up!The weather for Halloween was great. Cool, but no wind, snow, rain or sleet. :) Ephraim and I went with a family we know in town while Eden stayed home to hand out candy. He'd hurt his foot and so wasn't up to doing too much walking anyway. Ephraim did about 5 houses, and then he'd had enough. He liked the whole candy concept, but wasn't keen on the costumes, strange doorways, and the hood of his own costume (a frog). Here are a few shots from that night...
















We finished the night off by going through his "haul" and getting into the bath to get all the face paint off. He didn't have too much paint, he had trouble staying still while I tried to paint him. In fact, I tried to paint a tongue sticking out of his bottom lip, but because he was moving so much it just looks like I slugged him one in the chops! Lol!! He slept well that night.



















Eden took another pregnant shot of me. Tried a different angle and tighter pants to see if that made a difference...it helps a little...still looks more like chub than baby. Oh well. Next doctor appointment is the following week. At some point down the road I have the opportunity for another ultrasound...we'll look forward to those pictures as they are likely to be even clearer than the ones I posted last time. :)

We hope you are all having a wonderful Halloween week. And remember, if you know anyone looking for a condo in London Ontario...send them our way!!

Weekend of Oct 27th

It was stake conference weekend. On Saturday my Aunt Leah and Uncle David (with cousin Richard) came down to visit. Uncle David, Eden and Richard took apart our furnace and cleaned every inch of it. They couldn't seem to find the problem with why it shuts off spontaneously, often in the middle of the night, but at least it was clean! Aunt Leah and I took Ephraim to the park and when we got back the boys were sitting in the livingroom chatting, so we joined them. We asked about the furnace, and then suddenly Uncle David wanted to know if the fan ran all the time, the way it was right then. Back they went to the furnace...magic fingers tightened wires and now our furnace works great! :) No shut-off's since, and the fan doesn't always run....it's SO quiet!

Conference was good. After the sunday session, Elder Jones held a short Spanish session, which we also attended. I think I understood maybe 10%. The Stake President had an interpreter, and he said he took 3 pages of notes as many of the Spanish members took the opportunity to fill in their leaders on the challenges they faced. I don't know what may come of it, but the president did say that maybe a quarterly Spanish fireside or activity might be organized. That would be fun, and we'd certainly be there!

Sunday evening we were all asleep by 8:30pm! Lovely! Eden got up at 3:20am for work, I didn't get up until 7am, Ephraim woke up 1/2 hour later, and he stayed up for only an hour before going back to sleep for a bit of a nap! He must have been too short on sleep, poor guy. Hope he's caught up now!

The sale of our condo in London is having its ups and downs. The current tenants will be moving out and we hope that will increase its sale-ability. We've also called animal control as there are too many pets for one residence! :) I don't know what it is about people and pets. We continue to keep our fingers crossed. A sale before Christmas would be ideal...but if not, then we will hope for the New Year.

October 16th...Crazy week!

After 2 weeks, I have finally gotten my schedule for the school arranged. It certainly took long enough! Eden has been working on our little white car since last Wednesday and today was the day that all the repairs came together (new spark plugs, wires, and distributor cap) and it works like a charm once again. Our repairs ended up costing a 10th of what we paid for the car...which isn't much when you consider how cheap our little car was to begin with. :) We are grateful that we have it. Big E has a new job with Purolator Courier. He works from 4 am to 9:30 am. We are proud of the way he goes to bed early and gets up so early so that he can work a job that doesn't interfere with his school classes or my school schedule.

I came home from work today and realized that we were on our LAST diaper. Thank goodness it wasn't Sunday! Whew. Off we went to buy diapers. Just before we left, I changed Little Dude. As I was pulling the last tab to finish putting his diaper around him and it RIPPED! So...we had to use packing tape to keep his diaper on so we could go shopping for more diapers! Life is so much fun sometimes! :)

Big E has been working hard on his classes. He was talking with a dentist at church and has found out how he might be able to shorten the time he spends in school by 2 years. He is excited about that possibility. We have a cute little black and white stray kitten that comes to visit us occasionally. Don't worry, we don't feed it. (We have enough trouble budgeting our own meals...without budgeting in cat food!) We do pet it though. Well, at least Big E and I pet it. Here's a picture of what Little Dude does to it:


He picks up our neighbour's kitten by the tail...poor thing...it has learned to stay out of arms reach from Ephraim. This little stray kitten hasn't figured that out yet!

I had another Doctor appointment. I don't know what it is about facing professionals that makes you feel like an incompetent...but that's how I end up feeling. I was determined to firmly inform the doctor that unless there was a good reason why I needed to have gestational diabetes testing, I wasn't doing it. Instead I get there and quietly ask, "Is it really necessary to have the testing done?" Eeeek! What happened to my firm, confident, take-charge me? I can tell you what happened...it began feeling incompetent in the face of someone with such a lofty degree, and it FLED! Oh well, fortunately I don't have to have the testing done (thank heavens) unless there is a need. Last time I took the
test it made me feel absolutely awful. Here I am at the park, not looking too terribly pregnant yet...but there is a bump there..mostly I think I look chubby!


Little Dude is almost 2 and totally turning into a model 2 year old! He is getting BUSY, into everything. He loves most to empty my pot cupboard and my tea towel drawer. I keep busy keeping him out of both! We have all been enjoying the beautiful fall weather, but Little Dude loves it most of all, especially when he has someone to play with in the leaves!

School Begins!

Well, first I have to tell you that I found my bagel! It was in the freezer. I'd put it there while I took meat out to thaw.

Our big news is that I've got a new job. I'm going to be working half time at a small country school in Mirror. (With the imaginative name of The Mirror School.) It is about 20 minutes away from Me. I'll be working mostly with a small boy who is profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant. When I'm not working with him, I'll be working under the speech/language pathologist with the students she has been seeing. SO much more exciting than pushing a mop! Not to mention it pays a lot more. This is Little Dude and I at the side of the School.

You can't tell in the picture, but Little Dude now has 8 teeth! Such a fun little guy!

Big E is excited because I'll be home more often. I'll get to cook dinners again! Big E has been doing "dinner duty" for months. We realized it's been about 2 months since I'd made dinner and so we took a picture of it!


Here is one more picture of a field close to our place. There is a buffalo meat farm and the buffalo have had their babies and are in the field close to the road. We stopped and grabbed a picture. It is something uniquely Alberta. It is really pretty to see them standing on the hill with a sunset behind them.

Last but not least, pictures of our latest baby. :) We had the ultrasound done on the 27th. When we asked the technician if we could see the sex of the baby she moved her instrument around and there it was plain as can be! We are looking forward to the addition of another baby boy. We're excited, but stumped on names. So, if anyone has any names to contribute please feel free to send them on!

The picture on the left is a little foot. The one on the right is a profile. The small circle on top is a fist, the big bulge on the left is his head, and the rest is his abdomen. He was all curled up, head down. The next Doctor appointment is a couple of weeks away. I'm 4 and 1/2 months along.

I'm losing my mind!

Nothing new and exciting has happened with the Zea family today. We are counting down days until the ultrasound. Big E is voting for a girl, I'm pulling for another boy....whoever wins gets dinner! Of course we will be happy with whoever comes. Although we don't have any boy names picked out this time! We will post some ultrasound pictures when we get them.

The most exciting thing lately is that I'm losing my mind. This morning is a perfect example. I pulled a bagel out for breakfast as Big E got ready to head out the door for school. When he actually got out the door, Little Dude began his usual cry at the unfairness of Daddy leaving without him. :) So, I put down my bagel and picked up Little Dude so that we could wave goodbye from the front window. When I got back to breakfast, my bagel was gone! So...either we have bagel imps in our house, or I've lost my bagel and my mind. I'm leaning towards the latter. A kind friend suggested that perhaps the first bagel was only deja vu, and I really hadn't taken it out. One can only hope!

The other good news is Big E's latest test score....math 94%! Keep it rolling like that!! :)

Zea Family Summer Catch-Up

Summer seemed to fly by at an unusual pace! Little Dude started walking and was running by the end of summer. He loves to be outside, and complains bitterly when outside time is done. I decided to start this family blog (after reading my cousin Mishel's) to keep everyone up to date one what's happening. This first posting will be a catch all for what's happened up 'till now. So bear with me while I figure out how this all works! We moved to a little town out West on the first of December and it has been one adventure after another.

Origionaly we were coming out so Big E could work in oil for a year before looking for an electrician apprenticeship. Well, he quickly found out how much he didn't like working in oil, and so decided not to delay the apprenticeship. Well, after months of looking and applying nothing was happening (to the shock of everyone we talked to as the West is going nuts trying to get enough trades people). So, Big E took another look at what he'd planned to do and why. After some agonizing decisions and realizations....he has charted a new course. He is doing some upgrading this year and applying to the pre-dentistry Bachelor of Science program at a nearby college which will take him to university. Once that's completed, he'll be applying for dental schools...and who knows where we'll be then!

So our summer has been spent working and getting ready for fall. We have spent time at the Lake...which is much different from the Ontario lakes I remember! And Little Dude LOVED it...except he didn't much like the sensation of grass or sand on his knees.


We spent Canada Day at my cousin's house with extended family, and Lena (dog)! :) We had an absolute feast and Little Dude learned that a dog's main job is to lick him to death! He has since learned to like dogs, but still isn't entirely impressed with the face licking.

I went to TREK, a youth camp like no other. LDS kids aged 14 to 17 dressed up like pioneers, loaded handcarts, pushed those handcarts for 10 hours to get into camp, slept under a tarp with only a bedroll and ate over a campfire much like the pioneers did. It was amazing. One friend from back east asked, "How many kids complained about that first dinner?" (It was broth and a bun after that 10 hour trek.) My answer.... "NONE!" In fact, the only comment I really heard was, "This is the best broth ever!" LOL...great attitude! They displayed an amazing amount of selflessness and hard work.

Well, that's about it. One day I'll figure out how to get pictures next to the paragraph that refers to them. But for a first posting, this will have to do! :)