First Day o'School

First Day o'School

Today arrived bright and early (thanks to Stephen's alarm clock then he did not even get up until nearly 7am!).

Jax was up, fed and dressed before I got out of bed. Dex was a little slower to rise but quickly caught up.

We drove to the park and walked down to Jax's classroom (I carried the massive school supply bag). He went up to greet his best friend from his class last year who asked him if he were Jax because he did not recognize him without his two front teeth. I could not tell if he were joking or not but then realized he was not and felt sad for the kid because clearly he needs glasses or perhaps he "learns differently" and we just didn't realize it.

Dex, Cars and I came home and we kept busy until it was time to catch the bus to school for PM kindergarten. Stephen surprised Dex and came home just to watch him get on the bus (I am so glad he did that for Dex). Bus Driver Norm showed up late and apparently we are no longer the first stop on the route but that's ok. Dex and Ding Dong Girl got on the bus together and they were off. Cars and I drove to the school to meet the bus because the massive school supply bag for Dex was too huge to take on the bus.

After school I met Dex then we went to Jax's class so I could teach his teachers how to use the epi-pen. The teachers informed me that the school nurse had decided that the classroom would not be peanut-free after all since one kid will only eat pb. So, that started a two-hour tirade by me including a 20 minute conversation with the principal. Stephen and I are adamant that Jax will be in a peanut-free class because he is not old enough yet to take full responsibility for his allergies (they will not allow him to carry the epi-pen because he is too young so therefore he is too young to be exposed PURPOSEFULLY to peanuts, thankyouverymuch.

But I do not want to rant on about this so I won't...

Cars was so sad that Dex got on the bus but he was not allowed to. He kept yelling "BUS! ME! BUS! ME!" and he had the biggest pouty lips when I said sorry. Ding Dong girl's 2.5 year old brother had the same look on his face. It funny to see them both so pouty.

And one last thing about Cars. I took down his crib today and assembled his new toddler bed. He was delighted with it and climbed in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out and finally refused to get back in it. I held him downstairs then until he fell asleep, then put him to bed. He looks both so big and so tiny lying in the bed.

Summer o'Fun Last Day of Summer

Summer o'Fun Last Day of Summer

Today was the last day of summer vacation. It is bittersweet. I am happy that my kids are going back to school. Dex starts kindergarten and Jax is so excited to start Grade 2. We have the school supplies packed and school clothes waiting out for them in the morning.

Dex is so excited to go and is super thrilled about the bus. I know I will cry when he boards the bus.

For the last day of summer fun, we met Stephen at Red Robin for lunch then we went to Family Fun Center for some family fun! The place is like a huge Chuck E. Cheese but they also have go-karts, bumper boats, mini-putt, etc. The kids had a blast. Cars was running around with the tokens for the games saying "Muh-nee! Muh-nee!". Jax was most concerned with getting tickets for prizes and Dex just wanted to play every.single.game. The go-karts were so fun (the kids were too small to go on them alone). I felt like Mario Andretti! Vroom!

Want the good news or the bad news? Ok, let's do the good news first:

Today was the "Meet'n'Greet" at school for the boys. Both Jax and Dex have two teachers this year. The school district is big on job sharing (good way to retain teachers, I guess) and they both happen to be in the classes in their grades that have job sharing teachers. I guess it is a good idea (but it means double the teachers' gifts at Christmas and end-of-the-year, right?!). Anyway, they are both excited to start class on Wednesday. The first Wednesday is a regular day but beginning the following Wed and throughout the year, they have early dismissal and get out at 1:30.

The bad news? I went for a follow-up mammogram today. Then I had to have a follow-up follow-up. Then a meeting with the radiologist who showed me, with the help of a magnifying glass, tiny calcifications in my breast. She called them "suspicious" and recommended a biopsy. Of course they have an opening tomorrow but I swore off having any procedures done on Tuesdays again because the results always come out on Friday so if I miss their call I have to wait all weekend long to find out. Anyway, I am going in on Friday afternoon for a stereotactic breast biopsy (it is x-ray guided and less invasive than regular biopsy).

I have been saying prayers of thanks all day that I went for a mammogram last week. Honestly, these things are so tiny and they would *never* be felt with a breast self-exam.

Now I have a migraine for being so uptight and crying. What a wimp! And I cannot take any imitrex or aspirin or ibuprofen from now until two days after the biopsy so I will just have to go to bed and hope it is gone by tomorrow morning.

Summer O'Fun Three (week) Days before School

We spent the day at the beach and it was fun and relaxing. The kids made a wonderful sand castle/"island" and they spend a long time working on it. We walked to the sand bar and skipped stones for a while then back to beach before we packed up. We dropped everything at the car except for the buckets and spent the next hour picking blackberries along the paths near the parking lot. Big, fat, juicy berries. I did get stuck by a few thorns (that actually broke the skin!) but it was worth it to get these succulent berries.

I arrived home to see that the hospital had called me (but did not leave a message). I don't normally do this but I called the number back and sure enough it was the breast center. I left a message (it was almost 5pm on a Friday) saying that I had noticed they had called and could someone call me back. At 6:20 they called again and the woman said that she did not like to leave messages on Fridays (but it is ok for the number to show on the caller id?!) but I do need to go back in for more films on my right breast. Then she said to come in at 9:30 on Monday morning. *gulp*

As you know, I am a WORST CASE SCENARIO type person so just imagine what I am thinking. I'll need a whole case of chocolate to get me through this weekend.

Mish-Mash

Cars is still sleeping in our bed most of the night. He goes to sleep about 9pm and awakens between 11pm and 1am and spends the rest of the night in our bed. He insists on sleeping on MY pillow (he says it is his) and he drools all over it (gross!).

We had the same problem with Dex. Up until he was 2 he slept in our bed during the night (same thing, go to sleep in crib then in our bed once he woke up in the night). Then things magically changed once we moved him into the bunk bed. From the very first night he climbed into that bed and slept through the night. So I am hoping to repeat the magic with Cars and I just ordered a toddler bed that I hope arrives within two weeks. Wish us luck!

And on a completely different topic - Should Elizabeth wait for Anthony? For Better or For Worse

I am sure I have said this before but I need to say it again:

The stay-at-home parents forum sucks! I hate the format so much. I am mad and sad about it because it was my "home" for nearly 5 years.

Summer O'Fun Day xx

Kids spent the morning at Ash's house while I went for a mammogram. What a barrel of fun that was. Actually, when the technician announced I was all done I was thinking that it wasn't so bad as the last time (baseline done about 3.5 years ago). However, I thought too soon and she announced that she had to redo two of them and then the painful contortions started. My boobs do not hurt as they are being squished. What hurts is having the little shelf jabbed into my ribcage and then being told to not move or breathe for what seems like 4 minutes (but it is actually more like 15 seconds).

Anyway, I shall hear back with the results in a week or so. And since I have hit the magical number, I now get to go EVERY year.

I have read where friends get together and make a day of it - mammogram, lunch and shopping. Ah, to have such good friends nearby to do that...

So I am having a garage sale next month. We need to get rid of tons'o'stuff in the house, particularly toys toys TOYS! OMG my kids have way too much stuff. And we got more stuff when we were in Toronto. We had to borrow an extra suitcase to bring it all home. And we left some stuff there (sorry Mom and Barb but I just could not pack the Little People thing nor the Rescue Hero and all accessories).

We bought Jax a new bike yesterday because he had outgrown his other one. His knees were coming up almost to his chin when he peddled. So we have that old bike to sell. He wanted to know if he could get $100 for it! Right. It was on sale for $33 at Target when we bought it three years ago. He is so interested in earning/making money. On Friday we went to the beach and he wanted to bring home a bucket of rocks. I was in no mood to argue so I said he could (and I figured I could just throw them in the garden later). After we arrived home he announced that they were to sell at the garage sale for $100 (hmmm...he is obsessed with $100 apparently). I told him that no one would buy them for that. He decided that surely someone would pay $5 for them. Oh brother...

I think I will be selling the double stroller, the pack'n'play, the high chair, baby gates, old stroller and various other baby stuff. We are definitely done having children and I cannot see holding onto any of this stuff. I would keep it if we had a basement to store it. But our garage is getting full and there is no way I can store it until I am a grandma.

Jax just asked if he could do a chore to earn some money. I bet he thinks that sweeping the floor is worth...$100.

Off to supervise...

BIL called today to let us know that one of the twins - Tori - has roseola. He wanted to let us know in case Cars comes down with it. I thanked him and hung up and started thinking about Cars' fever while we were away and the rash that covered his torso after the fever broke. A quick search online and I realized that is what Cars probably had while we were away (he was on antibiotics for an ear infection which we assumed was causing his fever but roseola is viral which would explain why the fever did not go away once the antibiotics started). So, looks like Cars gave it to Tori. Ooops!

My niece, Fiona, is so adorable. She had the best hair - it is very curly at the ends. I thought for sure that Wally and Andrea flipped it into those curls but it grows that way. She is so funny and outgoing and she scares the bejesus out of Cars. Whenever she would see him while we were visiting she would run up to him while shouting BOY BOY and then pinch his cheek or tweek his nose. Poor Cars became so tired of her doing it that he eventually would run and hide when he saw her coming. Or do this:

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Here is another picture of Fiona. She looks like Cars around the eyes, I think

(see the curls at the back of her head?)

And since I am on a roll, here are two more pictures from our holidays.
Cars' 2nd birthday:


Boys swimming in the neighbour's pool:
Removed because pervs are looking at my kids!

I've been tagged by Ramona at Kross-Eyed Kitty. I tag
Without A Trace, Heidi and Kimmer.

Here is the Meme:

When did you move to the neighborhood?
I moved to our area 6 years and one month ago.

What region of the neighbourhood are you from?
We live up a hill on a plateau in the "slums" of our city as my neighbour calls it. Our houses are just about the cheapest you can find in the city. Lots of multi-million dollar homes make our houses look like sheds.

What is your favourite part of the neighbourhood?
I love, love, love my house and being away for two weeks in my mom's and my in-laws tiny kitchens have made me realize how fortunate I am to live in this house.

What is your favourite place to visit around these parts?
The Seattle-area has so many lovely gardens and parks to visit. I love going to the locks to watch the boats go through the canal and then heading onto the salmon fish ladder to see those little buggers swim for their lives to go to spawn. I love seeing Mt. Rainier on a clear day and the fact that we have next to no snow in the winter (yet if I want some, I can drive to Snoqualmie Pass ~ 30 minutes away).

Where would you suggest someone new to your region should visit?
The Ballard Locks, Pike Place Market, Lake Sammmamish State Park, Beaver Lake Park and Pine Lake Park.

Home again Home again
Jiggity Jig

Summer o'Fun Day ??

We leave in two more days but I am so ready to go home now. Just want to sleep in my own bed and use my own washing machine and not stress about sorting the billion types of garbage into their 872934 different recycle bins. Hey, I am all for recycling and I do my part but everyone here has all of these little itty bitty garbage bins and every little bit of garbage needs sorting. Kleenex and cotton balls can go into the same garbage bin that food scraps and diapers go in (biodegradable stuff) but q-tips with plastic handles cannot. I am here on vacation and am having anxiety attacks about putting the ice cream sandwich wrappers in the wrong garbage bin. AAArgh!

We had a pizza party yesterday to see all of our friends. It was so fun to see everyone (and for those who have them - their kids).

Judi found out today that the cancer is back and is a higher grade. Not sure why they did not just give her a hysterectomy to begin with. Her doctor is on vacation AGAIN so she won't be seeing him for at least another week to find out what they will do next. Remind me never to live in Alberta. And please keep my sister in your thoughts.

Summer O'Fun Day (Lost count)

I bought the outfit I am going to wear to Ramona's wedding today. I had no intention of buying the outfit while on vacation but after the fifteenth time that Killjoy told me "You don't want to go in THERE, do you?" while shopping with her at the mall today I said f*ck it and went into this little overpriced boutique anyway. As I entered the store, I spied a beautiful gold organza top. I asked to try it on with a skirt (black satin) and I loved the outfit so I bought it. Killjoy at least told me that it looked nice on me and she was kind enough to watch the kids while I tried it on but she still went on about the price of it. I said "How often does one's best friend get married?" and that shut her up although I know she was thinking I could probably find a more practical dress at Sears.

Yesterday I took the kids to the Islands with my mom (aka Killjoy) and my MIL. The kids had a grand time taking the GO train and a ferry, They went on some rides at Centreville and we went through the hedge maze that has been there for 38 years.

Wednesday, Stephen and my mom (KJ) took the kids to my brother Wally's house for a swim and to hang out with Fiona. I stayed home because I had food poisoning from my night out with the girls. No, it was not from drinking too much (one martini and two glasses of wine!) but I had mussels for dinner (mussels, shrimp and scallops in spaghetti) and the last mussel I ate tasted like crap! I had to try to get rid of the taste with 495 pieces of bread. Ramona asked me later why I just didn't spit the damn thing out. I should have. Anyway, I spent Wednesday vomitting then well, you know. One good thing is that I could have sworn I lost 10 pounds that day but no such luck. I guess I will not win the weight loss contest at HerTime.

Five days left of vacation. Tomorrow is my aunt's birthday party. Sunday we are having a pizza party at the outlaws and have invited friends of old. Monday is one last hurrah (park or something), Tuesday will be spent trying to pack all of our newly acquired possessions (read: toys for the kids) into the suitcases and then we leave on Wednesday. I miss my own bed. I miss my shower and I miss my computer.

Summer O'Fun Days 31-33

Miss me? :)

So far vacation has been good. The kids were so good on the plane. Toronto is friggin hot and I have had two weather-induced migraines to date.

The kids are enjoying all of the attention (and new toys) they have been receiving. Cars has been sick though and isn't eating much. I had to take him to the doctor Wednesday at 4:50pm the evening before we left. He had an ear infection (and a 103F fever). His fever finally broke but now he has a rash on his body. If it isn't gone by tomorrow I will consider taking him to a walk-in clinic.

We have been busy. We've visited family and friends, we went to the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to see feathered dinosaurs and knights' costumes. We had two birthday parties for Cars (Happy 2nd birthday, baby!). The boys have played in the sprinkler and in the neighbour's pools. I had a girls night out with Ramona and Alicia. (Ramona's ring is gorgeous!). We still hope to fit in two amusements parks and a bbq with old friends before the trip is over.

Peter Jennings died the other day and I keep getting teary-eyed over it. Of course since he was Canadian and being in Canada while it happened, you can imagine the publicity. Geez, I am choking up again just thinking about him. I will miss him.

Well, I should go to bed. One vokda martini and two glasses of wine tonight has drained me. I had such a great time chatting with Ramona and Alicia. Nothing like dear old friends.

Great balls of Fire

Great - plane crash at Toronto airport two days before we fly there.

All survive Air France jet crash and fire

Summer of No Fun Day 30

It never fails. Before we go on a trip I wig out. I get completely stressed and things bug the shit out of me. Today has been no exception. Ok, I know it hasn't been the most fun day for the kids but I have lots of laundry to do and then pack so when Ash called to ask if the older boys could come over to play I jumped at the change so that they could have a little bit of a change of scenery and I could get some packing done while Cars slept. I said sure and told them to get their bathing suits together and brush their hair. I ran upstairs and when I come back down they have been squirting water at each other all over the family room (from the squirt bottle that they use to wet their big bushy hair when they brush it). I completely LOSE it and now all three of my children are upstairs for a nap for the next 1.5 hours while I sit down here trying to calm down. No fun stuff today and really I am acting like Mommy Dearest (sans the beating with the wire hanger but just as mental).

Oh, before this, I had already taken their backpacks and gameboys away from them until the trip on Thursday (can you see that this has been a very lovely day?).

I know my reaction was over the top but at the moment all I could think of was that they were perfect little monsters and I wanted them away from me but not away having fun.

Oh, I am sufficiently cooled down enough that I can resume packing. In peace...at least for another 75 minutes.

Serenity now.

Blah-blah-blah

Summer O'Fun Day 29

Today I met some forum friends at the Seattle Locks today. Jojo and her dd were there (she lives in Olympia so it was a long drive for them). I had met Jojo several times in the past too, most recently in Florida last year! lol

I also met Shelly and the boy. They were up from California because Shelly's friends are in a band and they were touring up this way (Rain). I was so delighted to meet them!

Here's a photo of us (taken by Jax so it is a little blurry). Today was cool so I just grabbed my hoodie on the way out the door and I look like a frumpy-old-middle-aged woman (hey wait! I am a frumpy-old-middle-aged woman!).


After we left the locks, I took the kids to Archie McPhee for fun. It is a cross between a surplus store and a joke shop. They had a great time poking around the store and I ended up buying them a couple of little Star Wars figurines, some pirate bandaids and toy rings.

Three more days until we leave on our trip. Jax is nuts out of control excited. He has packed and unpacked his backpack about 12 times in the past two days. Stephen is basically packed already and I haven't even started. I am doing laundry as I type so I can start first thing tomorrow morning.

Cars' second birthday is on Friday. We are just having a small cake for him at my mom's on Friday before the big bash (I guess big) at the in-laws. MIL finally agreed to bake him a cake rather than buying the booze-soaked cakes from Fabian's. She is excited to make it using the Betty Crocker Bake N'Fill pan.

The only thing I have bought for Cars for his b-day is Darth Tater. My poor baby gets the short-end of the stick! No party. No special cake from Mom. Only a Mr. Potato Head for a pressie. I suck.

Stephen is of course sick because we are going away. He gets sick before we go and I completely wig out because of stress. He had a bad ear infection. He also had a wellness check at work a few weeks ago and this triglycerides were HIGH (cholesterol was good). He asked her about it and she said it could be from stress and a bad diet. I feel completely guilty because I haven't been a very good cook for the oh say past 12 years of our 12 year marriage. When we get back from holidays we start the Mediterranean diet and then he needs to go see her for a complete physical.

Oh, there is the laundry buzzer calling me to change loads.