Geez my arms are tired. Why oh why did I say I would make play-doh for Jax's "Harvest Party". Actually, I tried to volunteer for the sugar cookies but some other mom was baking them. So the Room Mom told me to make play-doh. I have never made it in my life. I have never had the URGE to make it in my life. I could not find more than one recipe that was the same as another. I finally found one that looked like it would make a lot. A lot! My KitchenAid had problems handling it. Then it was too dry so I had to break it down into smaller batches, add a little water and knead it and add a little water and knead it and add a little water and knead it and add a little water and knead it. Then I coloured the batches and kneaded and kneaded and kneaded. And now my arms hurt. And the play-doh sucks! But my arms hurt too much to keep kneading. :( Never again!

Today I took Dex to a birthday party to the indoor soccer arena. He had a good time but got a little weepy when no one would pass him the ball. I have a feeling he is on the verge of getting sick because he has beeen so weepy the past three days. Or maybe being 5.5 years old is just hard. :(

Cars has been a little pip these days. He screams for fun, won't eat dinner, smacks Dex every chance he gets. Welcome, Terrible Twos.

edited to add that I found a blouse on overstock.com that is similar to the one I bought for Ramona's wedding. It is like this one except the blouse I bought is sleeveless. I am wearing it with a long black satin skirt.

I had my hair cut today. First time in 3 months! Anyway, the stylist did a lovely job and I wish I could have her style my hair everyday. Here's a picture because it will never look this nice again:



We carved pumpkins with the kids today too. Jax decided he wanted to do it all himself. I thought for sure he was going to cut off his finger! He made a jack'o'lantern face and then carved out the word "BOO!!". I am so proud of him although it looks like, well, like a seven year old did it. I forgot to take a picture of his pumpkin. I should make sure I take a picture of it with the candle glowing inside.


Ramona's wedding is less than two weeks away! I am so excited! She is going to be the most beautiful bride.

DVR

Ok, the DVR is installed and I am recording the first programme - "Go, Diego, go!". Cars will be in seventh heaven. I will also be recording "Drake and Josh" for Jax and Dex and of course "Survivor" for me tonight since I am taking a well-deserved night out with Nosey Neighbour and her next-door neighbour. Ash was supposed to go too but her dh had to go out of town.

I am thoroughly enjoying "Goodnight Nobody". I swear that it was written about my city and I am the narrator. Although it seems she is a little more together and I am.

I was reading on one of my forums a post that asked "What is your style and where do you shop?". Are clothes from the Fred Meyer clearance racks even considered a style?

Well off to do some laundry and maybe sneak a piece of halloween candy. I have lost 2.5 pounds so I think it is time to celebrate with some chocolate. :)

I actually finished a knitting project today. I knit a hat for Jax but he didn't like it so I gave it to Dex. I made it with Noro Kureyon wool (color 116 which is grey/black) - similar to the one I made for him last year but that fit Cars instead. Jax wants a solid black one. *sigh*

We had a wicked windstorm here earlier this evening and the power went off for a very short time. Of course it happened while Dex was in the shower and he screamed like Janet Leigh in "Psycho". The power came back on before I was able to find a flashlight and stumble up the stairs.

I finally ordered DVR from Comcast and it will be installed on Thursday. Fortuntately I did NOT have the annoying radio announcer guy when I called this time. I've also canceled HBO so Stephen will have to suffer without "The Sopranos" when the new season starts in the spring.

Just another manic Monday. Back to the crazy doctor today. I have been going every three weeks and it is about right. I did not need to go every other week anymore. Maybe by Christmas I can cut it out completely. That will also mark two years that I have been going to see her. It seems like a lifetime ago when I realized I was crazy and overwhelmed and completely stressed out. And I scoff when I remember telling people that going from two to three kids was a breeze. And it was for the first three months but then...

I have been thinking of giving up Nanny too - although maybe I will wait until spring or maybe never.

I was so productive this weekend. Tons'o'laundry, baked cookies, made a burrito pie (one for us for the freezer and one for the baby shower I went to yesterday), I sewed some burp cloths and repaired a pair of Jax's pants. Today I have already planned out dinner and have made a cole slaw. What has gotten into me?!

We are getting closer to arranging the babysitting for the boys while we go off for our weekend in Las Vegas for Ramona's wedding. Whew! Now I can eliminate that stress from my life.

I have decided to get the new tires for my car from Costco because I will get a dividend back (executive membership) and the price was the same as at the discount tire place. Of course the tires I need are not in stock (who knew that my minivan was considered a "sport" model and needed high performance tires?!) but they should arrive in 5-7 days.

After not getting tires on my car yesterday, I did shop at Costco and it was a good time to be there (lunchtime!) so all of the sample ladies were out. They were handing out sushi so I had three rolls (had to try each type!) and it was so yummy! Then I tried a little salad and a pastry "blossom" for dessert. Nice, free lunch!

I desperately need to get my hair cut. It has been nearly 3 months! I don't think I have gone this long without a cut since high school! Even when we were at our poorest when we were first married, I would go the beauty school up the street for my $7 haircuts every 6-7 weeks. It is not cost right now that is keeping me away, just finding the time to go.

And speaking of time, it's time to make some halloween cookies for my boos.

Citizen Dex

I received a letter on Saturday stating that Dex had won an award at school and it was to be presented at the school during an assembly at 9AM this morning. Problem is, Dex goes to PM kindergarten. Oh, and the award was a secret so I could not tell him. I dragged him to the school this morning when all he really wanted to do was make Halloween decorations. We watched all of the classes file in and I told him when he was in 1st grade he would sit in the 1st grade section.

He was so bored and complained that he did not want to be there. We sat through the awards for Academic Achievement and Life Skills (2-4 kids per class x 30 classes = a lot of names to be read!). Then the principal said it was time to award the "Citizenship Award" which was the most "prestigious" award in the school. One child per class receives it. She started with the 6th graders and worked there way down to the PM kindergarten class. When she called his name, Dex jumped up worked his way through the throngs to the front of the gymnasium. While he was doing this, I noticed a commotion at the front and the OTHER Dex in one of the full-day kindergarten classes had walked up to the front to receive the award. The principal looked confused and the other Dex's teacher was trying to guide him back to where he sits but he said "My name was called!". Poor kid!

Anyway, by this time Dex had made his way to the front. He received his award and climbed on the bleachers with the other winners. Afterwards, while they took individual pictures of the Citizenship Award winners, the principal told me it was so confusing for that other boy and she was going to say that Dex was such an uncommon name that it was easy for kindergarteners to get confused but she decided not to make a comment about the name (I think she was worried that we might be offended).

So Dex will have his picture posted with the other winners outside of the office for the whole school year (they will add additional winners three more times throughout the year).

And on top of all of this, Dex has no idea why he won this award. I mentioned all of the things that make a good citizen but he says that is not really him. LOL


Citizen Dex

I taught Art in Dex's class today. I cannot believe how nervous I get speaking to grade-school kids! It was fun making the art project (white crayon on a huge coffee filter then dyed with food dye - similar to the Yoruda Adire Cloths. Anyway, I played Nigerian music in the background (thank you Olu <--my Nigerian friend, not Olu as in God). Olu gave me a Nigerian Drum CD for my birthday one year while we were living in Minnesota. The kids had a great time drawing on the coffee filters, creating patterns then seeing their patterns come alive after they used eyedroppers to drip food dye on them. Tomorrow I plan to go back to the school and hang them up in the cubbie-area for the kindergarten classes.

I have been trying to get Cars to go to sleep in his own bed each night rather than fall asleep downstairs with us (well mostly wtih Stephen while I am out walking from 9=10). I had a couple of successful evneings but tonight was a disaster. He cried hysterically for 45 minutes. Even foregoing his pacified to which he he is still very much attached. Finally I had to give up and take him into our bedroom and he fell asleep on my bed. I am such a suck when it comes to my children crying. :(

Ghostly Trick'r'Treater directions can be found here.

I had to bring my trick'r'treater in the house because he kept keeling over. He is a little tippy and the slightest gust of wind topples him right over. :( I guess he will just scare us until Halloween night and I will put him outside again then. Cars is terrified of it though and cries whenever he walks near the front door where the trick'r'treater is now stationed.

The article I wrote is here for those who are interested.

Busy Bee

We still haven't resolved the IE problem. I backed up the computer last night as I believe we may be looking at a new install of XP. It is amazing what one can accomplish when one's computer is acting up.

I have been busy doing stuff that I normally would not do if the computer was working properly. I finished off another book and am getting ready to start the next one for book club. I completed one Halloween craft and am working on another. This is the one I finished:

(Jax insisted on the "evil" eyes...the eyes were going to just be ovals).
And this is the one I am working on:

It is a mummy hand. I made it because I was determined to make at least one thing from the book I borrowed from the library without buying any supplies since my house rivals Michaels with all the crafting items I have that I buy but never use. Anyway, once the fabric stiffener is completely dry I just need to wrap more fabric and glue it in place.

The kids are so excited about Halloween. They have a party to go to on Friday and I think we will be going to the Evil Empire for the huge Halloween party they always have. Traffic is always a mess coming home so I will have to leave the candy out for early trick'r'treaters so the mummy hand and my ghost will have to guard the (non-chocolate) candy (kids complain at our house because I do not give out chocolates since they are not safe for Jax).

I wrote an article for the PTSA newsletter about food allergies. It is supposed to be accompanied by an article by the (useless)school nurse. We'll see what happens. I was late getting it in because Stephen kept telling the things I was writing were inflammatory and I needed to tone it down. We ended up (re)writing mostly together and he allowed me the use of "life-threatening allergy" in place of "severe allergy" a few times.

My next project is to pick up my knitting again. I never did finish the sweater for Denise's baby (who was born three weeks ago). I want to knit a hat for Jax and maybe one for Dex since the one I knit him last year was too small and fit Cars. I have swap ornaments to make and I want to make a tree skirt for our Christmas tree.

Wow - that is a lot of things. Perhaps I should not be in any hurry to fix this computer.

Tonight was book club and I was happy to know that I wasn't the only one who hated "The Red Tent".

We had such a great time tonight talking and eating. Laurie prepared tons'o'food and it was delicious. I made some chocolate chip meringues and they were yummy too. Laurie is allergic to wheat so I always try to provide something that she can eat. I love this bunch of women and we always have a great time and a good laugh.

Tomorrow is the first day back to getting supplies for Dex's Sunday school. I was not going to volunteer this year but I thought it would help buy me points towards getting Cars into the new presschool at our church (I will have to enroll him in January or February). Then grocery shopping because I haven't been in ages and even the kids are complaining.

Oh, I had two margaritas tonight so I think I need to head to bed.

I taught my first art class today and I was so excited. The kids seemed to enjoy it and Jax wasn't too embarrassed to see his mom in class. We studied "I and the Village" by Marc Chagall and the kids did a watercolour wash then drew on the paper after the paints dried. Next week I am teaching Dex's class. I haven't reviewed the curriculum yet for his class to see what I will be teaching.

Stephen deleted and then reinstalled IE to the computer today but we are still experiencing the same problem. It is completely driving me mad!

I am on the upswing and Stephen is on antibiotics for a sinus infection. What a day to start off the rainy season.

Since I had been sick and did not much of anything but sit around, this was the week of the guilty pleasure movies! I watched Dirty Dancing tonight - "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!". This past weekend, Grease was on too and the boys and I watched a bit of it. I especially love the dance competition part (and Dex loved where the guys mooned the tv cameras of course!). Last week I watched Footloose!

Some of the other movies that I love to watch over and over again (they are not all dancing or musical movies!) are:

Love Actually <- this movie is funny, touching and the soundtrack is great!
The Cutting Edge Two words - "Toe pick!"
Serendipity How can a movie about a happy accident be anything but a pleasure?!

Ugh - still sick. Stephen and I have been sucking on zinc lozenges all day trying to help get better quicker. I guess we'll find out tomorrow if they work.

We still haven't been able to figure out why I can only open one IE window at a time. It is driving me crazy and makes being on the computer so tedious (too much copy/pasting URL's into Wordpad. Time to back up the machine and try reinstalling a bunch of things, I guess. It is so maddening!

Ian passed away yesterday. He was the youngest son of one of one my mom's good friends (and the youngest brother of my grade 12 boyfriend!). He had systemic scleroderma which he was diagnosed with when he was 7 years old. His parents were told that he would not live past age 12. He was 34 when he died and ironically, he died from cancer and not from the disease that ravaged his body all these years.

I finally finished "The Red Tent" and let me tell you I am glad to be done with it. Although I did pull out my bible to read a little Genesis to see how much detail is given in the bible vs the book. Anyway, I am looking forward to Book Club on Thursday only for the food because I really have no desire to discuss the book. Not interested.

I have been sick for a couple of days. Just a bad cold I guess but I feel miserable. My whole body ached yesterday and I was oh so tired. I went to bed at 8:15 last night and did not get up until 9 this morning. I can hear Stephen sniffling this evening so no doubt he has come down with the same thing. Oh, and Cars also has a cold and I think I got it from him. I fell off the roof on top of it all and have just about the worst cramps that I have ever had!

Ok, off for a quick walk (I haven't walked in days and days!) then bedtime.

I have a problem with my pc and it will let me only open one IE window at a time. This is driving me nuts! I just ran virus scan and it is not a virus (at least not a known virus). Aaargh!

I called the cable company today to ask about DVR and the idiot on the telephone was using his "radio personality voice" (his words). Then he asked if it were annoying. I said slightly. He proceded to continue to talk to me like he was a cheesy radio announcer and it pissed me off so much I told him I would rather speak to The Disk Network people than deal with people like him at Comcast. Asshole!

I haven't walked in two days and it is making me grumpy and fat.

And I am going to fall off the roof any day now. Joy to be me.

My calves are killing me! All of this walking for "Walk to School Week" is killing me. Actually, it is the walk home, pushing the stroller up the gigantic hill is what's killing me. Ouch. :(

The kids are really enjoying the walking though. They think it is a big treat so hey, I will keep it up for now. Besides, I don't remember the last time I had this much exercise. Yesterday I walked *7* miles. Four miles were to school and back, to school and back, then the three mile walk with my neighbour at night.

I took Dex back to the doctor today to start his third round of antibiotics because he *still* has a sinus infection. I asked her for Flonase as well (the allergist suggested I ask for it if his infection was not cleared up. Allergist did not prescribe it because Dex is not officially her patient) and the ped also told us to put him back on Zyrtec. If it is not cleared up in a week we need to go back. This might hurry up our plan to actually have him tested for allergies. I cannot even remember how many sinus infections he has had. Poor kid has his father's sinus problems and I hope he never needs the surgery that Stephen had a few years ago.

I booked my flight and hotel to go to Ramona's wedding next month. Wow - only 5 more weeks! We still do not have the child-care situation worked out for sure but I won't worry about that for now.

I walked 4 miles so far today (may walk another 3 miles tonight on our nightly walk if my calves stop burning). Walking up that hill by the school is killer, especially when I push the stroller. This week is "Walk To School Week". Yesterday it started pouring rain 10 miunutes into our walk (20 minute walk, then 20 mins home). Today was cold but lovely! It was still sunny at pick-up time so I walked to pick the kids up. Poor Dex is getting such a work out because he gets to walk Jax to school then come home (he later takes the bus to school).

I *finally* coloured my hair for the first time in 10 weeks. I chose Andie-MacDowell brown (aka Medium Golden Brown). It is so dark! I am so used to the highlights in my hair that just plain all over colour seems so weird. ANyway, I am sure it will fade in the next few days so my resemblence to Andie MacDowell will disappear. One thing to note - the grey coverage is GREAT!

I just had a cute argument with Cars. I asked him how his bath was and he said "wash butt" and I said "OH, you washed your bum?" and he said "NO! BUTT!" and I said "Bum?". "NO, BUTT!" he shouted, shaking his little fist at me like he does when he is mad.

I just cannot get into "The Red Tent". I find it too slow or something and now I am panicking that I will not get through it before next Thursday (Bookclub!).

I am watching "Breaking Bonaduce" and I am stunned and shocked. I cannot believe first that his life is like that and that he let it air!! OMG! I feel so sorry for him, really.

Tomorrow is my first Crazy Doctor appointment in three weeks. I had decided I did not need to go every two weeks so we are trying for three but I am not sure how it is working out...

The Saab dealership had a free diagnostics clinic today (included a free oil change too) so we took advantage of it and limped in with our decade-old car. They said it would take about 45 mins but it took much longer. The list of things "wrong" with the car is astronomical. If we added up everything they said we needed to do the cost would be about $6200 plus tax! I checked KBB and the car is worth about $4,125 (probably less because of all of the problems with it!). Stephen did get new tires on the car today (which was listed as a problem but not part of the $6200 estimate). They did say we needed a new battery but the tire place said we did not (I think there is an electrical problem rather than a battery problem). The fixes that we will get done is a burnt-out brake light and replace the cracking belts. Otherwise, Stephen is just going to keep driving that car until it dies.

I think I mentioned before that we got the car (used) from a leasing company that was purchased by the leasing company that FIL worked for. They had a fleet of 25 to get rid of (all mgrs in the acquired leasing company drove Saabs for company cars - nice eh?). We got it for about $7k off retail price for a 1 year old used Saab but it has been a complete lemon. Less than a year after we had it we had to have the transmission replaced (it was still under warranty) while on vacation in Toronto. Of course it took one week for the part to come up from the States. We have had several engine problems with misfiring spark plugs (or something). One problem took 1 month to diagnose and fix so we had a lender car (a newer Saab!) for that whole month. Once the car went out of warranty though the perks of the Saabs as lenders went bye-bye.

Anyway, time to start saving our pennies to buy a new car in a year or so. I hope our car lasts that long!

Bookmarks

I have been thinking about the Bookmarks blog entry from Kross-Eyed Kitty. I love the idea that songs are the bookmarks in our lives because it is true. I have been thinking about it for a few days, trying to decide which bookmarks mean the most to me from the years. There really are too many to mention but I thought I might highlight a few:

1) Little Woman by Bobby Sherman. The seven year old boy down the street played this 45 over and over again while my mom and I were visiting for coffee. I asked my mom to buy it for me the next day (she did not).
2) Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker. Belting it out in the backyard with Sandra R., standing on the stage (picnic table) and using lilac bunches as microphones.
3) Longfellow Serenade by Neil Diamond. Actually, many of the songs of this era by Neil Diamond. We used to spend Saturdays over at my aunt's house and she and my mom and Mrs. Argue The Drunk used to spend the afternoons drinking while we hung out (at the pool in the summer or in the basement in the winter). We would walk over to my aunt's house (about 5 kilometers) and my dad would come for dinner (always late) and drive us home.
4) Dedication by the Bay City Rollers. It was one of the first albums that I bought and I played it over and over and over again.
5) I have two of the same ones as Kross-Eyed Kitty for the same reasons too. Born to Be Alive by Patrick Hernandez and I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. Leah Ann loved BTBA and played it over and over again at her house (this was on the same recorder player that Neil Diamond records would spin). IWS reminds me of hours spent playing rummy in the stifling summer heat. And of course my sister making fun of Kross-Eyed Kitty mouthing the words to the song like she was Gloria Gaynor herself! ;)
6) The Tide Is High by Blondie. Two words - Cam F. Ok, I have to add more. This was always the song they played at roller skating when it was time for a backwards skate. I loved to watch Cam skate around backwards - he was the best roller skater in the whole arena and he knew it. Wow, I feel 14 again just thinking about it.
7) Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by The Clash. Sitting in the cafeteria at school during my brief "Mod" period. Wearing an army surplus jacket and carrying a canvass haversack.
8) Straight From The Heart by Bryan Adams. When I hear this song I will always think of Gord S. And I will always wonder why I ever let someone treat me so poorly. ( )
9) Alana Loves Me by Kim Mitchell. Of course with a few lyric changes. Instead of "Be Brave, Alana Loves Me", I always sing "Pea Brain, Stephen Loves Me!" (we briefly considered the name Alana when we were expecting Jax a decade later).
10) Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor. Break-up song. "Nuff said.
11) More Than Words by Extreme. Get back together song.
12) Into the Mystic by Van Morrison. Wedding dance song.
13) Mr. Jones by The Counting Crows. This song just reminds me so much of the time when I moved to the States and living in our tiny little newlywed apartment in Minneapolis.
14) All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow. I had finally received a work permit and got a job at IBM with a bunch of new college graduates. This song was our department's "theme" song although I felt way too old to be bopping around with them
15) Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin. This song was at the top of the charts when we moved to the Seattle-area. Jax would shake his little bootie to it (he was 14 months old) and shake his head all around and laugh the biggest belly laugh.

What are some of yours?

This evening I let the kids watch tv because Stephen is working late. We saw a commercial for the Make-A-Wish Foundation where a little girl gets a playhouse that she has always wanted. My kids watched with rapt attention. The show came back and at the next commercial break Jax said he wanted to enter the contest for the Make-A-Wish so he could get what he wanted too. It was sad and sweet at the same time. I don't think I have ever seen his eyes get so big as I explained to him how it worked.

My other two children have been little pips lately too. From refilling the syrup bottle with soya sauce (ok, the large bottles of soy and syrup are similarly shaped but the syrup bottle is about 3 times larger!), to crying for "Ash-ee!" and not me when he is upset (how embarrassing is that at the park?!).

I am now safely driving my family around in my van. Well, half safely. I still haven't purchased new tires but at least my car can now stop when I apply the brakes.

I have volunteered to do Art classes in both Jax's and Dex's classes this year. We follow an art curriculum called "Art Start" and meet just once a month. There is another mom who wants to do it too in Jax's class so we will alternate months. Wish me luck!

My friend DeniSe had a baby yesterday! A girl named Chloe Riis (pronounced Reese - it is a family name). I am so happy for her, especially since she was able to have a v-bac! Yeah!

The garage sale was a success. I got rid of tons'o'crap and I made a little money to boot. Stephen is taking the leftovers to Goodwill right now and I only kept a few things that did not sell like a breast pump, fabric scraps (maybe I *will* make a quilt one day) and a throw pillow of Terry's that did not sell.

I spent the day cleaning out all of the vents to get ready to turn the heat on since it is getting cold at night. I also rearranged the living room and dining room furniture. That also includes the two tables that the kids use for Lego and two Iris rolling drawers (three if you count my craft one). So with that, and getting rid of all that junk, the house seems a little larger now.

4 Sale

Garage sale weekend. Today was really busy and I sold *all* of my babystuff. ~sniff~

Someone stole some decorations of Terry's from the garage sale. Imagine!

Jax wants to sell lemonade tomorrow to help the hurricane victims. I was going to let him until he decided that he would just donate 25 cents of what he makes then keep the rest. Cheapo! So he is not allowed to sell lemonade and I will make him donate $1 from his piggy bank for being greedy.

Nothing better than getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the dentist before the kids head to school. The hygenist scolded me for not flossing often enough and then she trying to sell me replacement fillings (the porcelain ones that cost as much as a crown!). I have some cold sensitivity in one tooth from recession (because I clench my teeth in my sleep which lead to another lecture about not wearing my night guard).

Aargh!

What else am I doing wrong?

I do not clean my house often enough. My windows are filthy. The boys' bathroom needs a good scrubbing.

I cannot cook and have burnt more meals than you can shake a stick at. I even managed to transform a pot of chili to a pile of black ash (yes, I said ASH!) a few weeks ago.

I do not water our lawn so the dead grass does not need mowing but the very green patches of clover and dandilions are out of control.

My house needs a couple of coats of paint (outside) and a few windows need replacing.

I am overweight by 25 pounds and I do not exercise enough to keep my heart healthy. I am in desperate need of a dye job because the two inches of grey hair at my roots screams "COLOUR ME!" everytime I look in the mirror.

I do not read to my children *every* day and I do not have them in after-school activities.

What else? I am sure I have forgotten something.

My first home is for sale

The very first home that we owned (or at least had a mortgage for) is for sale. Not sure what made me look it up tonight but I did and lo and behold. The guy (I am assuming one owner since we bought it) renovated the kitchen and replaced the closet doors at the front door but other than that it looks the same.

I finally ordered a Darth Maul costume for Jax from Costume City. Stephen doesn't care how much we spend on costumes because the kids always play with them (and they do). I have been outbid this evening on ebay, bidding on two Darth Maul Lightsabers. I will not spend a small fortune on them so looks like we will be making one out of paper towel rolls painted silver and red. :)

I Never Learn

I am gathering things for the garage sale next weekend. Will I ever learn? This is not fun. It is stressful. I worry I have too much junk. I worry I don't have enough stuff. This is my last garage sale!

Stephen is off to a golf tournament tomorrow morning and he will be gone all day. And into the evening no doubt. The golf tournament is the Evil Empire's golf club's annual fundraiser. They are raising money for the Washington Chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. He told Jax he had to go to show his support for food allergies. :)

Of course I haven't anything planned for the day tomorrow and I bet it will be a loooooong day. I think I will go surf the net to come up with an idea for a good, time-consuming craft.

A Really Fine Parenting Moment

Oh I had a huge post ready to go about my less-than-stellar parenting moment this week (labeling the behaviour and not the child is still interpretted the wrong way by 7 year olds).

I am just glad this week is over and hopefully next week will not be a repeat of this week.

And to top it all off the last lovely few days, I took the van in to have the brakes checked. The front brakes need to be replaces (ka-ching!) and on top of that we need four new tires (ka-ching-ching-ching-ching!).

These early dismissal Wednesdays are going to kill me. We get home 1.5 hours earlier than usual so that is an extra 1.5 hours to argue with Jax about homework and with Dex about why he cannot play gameboy. Oh, and an extra 1.5 hours of Cars trying to do what the big boys do. I really need to get my ass in gear and plan some activities for these days. So many parents signed their kids up for the Wednesday afternoon Mad Science class. I think they were onto something.

The one good thing about the early dismissal today was that it was a lovely warm early afternoon so I walked to pick up the kids. I just about died walking up the hill though because the stroller was so hard to push. Usually I take the double jogger but it is folded up in the garage ready to be sold so I just used the regular stroller. It is lightweight but because the wheels are smaller it is much harder to push up that nasty hill. The backs of my thighs and calves are killing me now.

No walking tonight with my neighbours because Stephen worked late. Instead I stayed home pushing buttons on the forums.

Lost In Translation

My neighbours and I go walking most nights from 9-10pm. I have really enjoyed the walking and the company. One of the women, who lives two doors down, is Japanese but has lived in the States about 10 years. Her English is very good but often does not understand idiom, puns and some slang. For instance, she asked me a couple of weeks ago what uptight meant because her husband had called her uptight and she could tell from his tone of voice that it was not a compliment.

Last night, I told her about the dressing-up-for-Halloween-as-a-bum thing. My neighbour did not know that bum was another name for tramp/hobo nor did she know that bum was another name for butt! I spent about 5 minutes explaining it so by then it was not at all funny, but she still laughed politely.

Tonight, I told her this joke (sent to me by Shelly:

Q: What is George W. Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?
A: He really doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans.

My neighbour did not laugh. She did not groan. She just looked at me perplexed. I had to explain to her (she did know that Roe v Wade was), Roe/Row and what wade meant. By this time, I was not expecting any kind of mirth so I was surprised when she roared with laughter. She told me that she would not be able to tell her husband that joke because he is a huge Republican and apparently they do not have a sense of humour (just joking, my Republican friends!) but she definitely thought it was funny (she must be a Democrat at heart).

I am glad that one was not lost in translation...er, explanation.

Laugh long and hard

Jax is DYING because we bought Dex's Halloween costume two weeks ago at Costco and Jax does not yet have one. It is apparently so not fair. Never mind that Stephen has taken the kids to every party supply store within a 15 mile radius trying to find a costume for Jax (he wants to be Qui-Gon Jinn) but to no avail. Qui-Gon was killed during Episode 1: The Phantom Menace so of course he isn't a popular character six years after the movie came out. And nevermind that Halloween is still seven weeks away. It is SUPER-URGENT that we get a costume this week. Now, however, Jax has changed his mind and he wants to be Darth Maul. And he spent the afternoon colouring a wrapping paper tube to resemble a double-bladed lightsaber (ok, sorry for the non-Star Wars fans). I just know that he will be crushed if we cannot find him a Darth Maul costume (again, he too was killed during Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - after slaying Qui-Gon Jinn).

So, Halloween talk abounds here and during dinner this evening, Jax and Dex wanted to know what Stephen and I dressed up as when we were kids. My standard was a gypsy. Stephen said he went as a hockey player often (usually after practice!), a baseball player and a couple of times as a bum (as in tramp or hobo). Well, imagine what a five year old and a seven year old thought of when they heard bum. They thought their dad would dress up as a huge derriere. The peals of laughter were so loud and long and were so contagious that for a good five minutes the five of us were laughing up a storm.

Cars of course did not understand but joined in the laughter and figured as long as we were laughing he should tell a joke. KNOCK-KNOCK MOM! he shouts (because apparently that is all he is capable of doing these days). KNOCK-KNOCK MOM! KNOCK-KNOCK MOM! until I say "Who's there?". BAN-NA! BAN-NA! "Banana who?" BAN-NA HAHAHAHAHA! And then we repeat it a couple of more times until:

KNOCK-KNOCK MOM!
"Who's there?"
ORGE UH-UH-UH BAN-NA! HAHHAHAHAHAHA!

Ok, I know he doesn't get the joke and I don't know who taught it to him (it was either Dex or the babysitter) but it is pretty funny that he knows the joke.

Geez, my kids are great!

I just watched a few minutes of Shelter from the Storm: A concert for the Gulf Coast and was really struck by this song by Neil Young:

WHEN GOD MADE ME

Was he thinking about my country,
or the colour of my skin?
Was he thinking about my religion,
and the way I worshipped him?
Did he create just me in his image,
or every living thing?

When God made me.
When God made me.

Was he planning only for believers,
or for those who just had faith?
Did he envision all wars
that were fought in his name?
Did he say there was only one way
to be close to him?

When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of love
to say who I could choose?

When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.

Did he give me the gift of voice
so some could silence me?
Did he give me the gift of vision
not knowing what I might see?
Did he give me the gift of compassion
to help my fellow man?

When God made me.
When God made me.
When God made me.

Benign!

Good news - benign! The calcifications are fibrous tissue from cystic change. I need to go back in 6 months for a follow-up mammogram to create a new baseline then yearly after that again.

A huge sigh of relief. Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers and good vibes!

Peanuts be gone

The buck stops at the teachers and they have both expressed their desire for a peanut-free room so it is so. Now why did we have so many days of mixed messages going back and forth?

Now I am just trying to decide at when I call the breast center tomorrow if I haven't hear from them by a certain time ...

Bonus Time

Stephen bought a surround sound system for his huge tv. I must admit that it is pretty nice except we have these huge speakers and wires everywhere. The kids are watching Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and it sounds like we are in the theatre.

I took the steri-strip off my incision last night and it re-opened in the night. I put another one on but I am afraid I have done damage and will have a huge gaping scar now. :\

Ok, I know I posted this last year but here it is again...


September 4, 1993

I cannot turn off the tv. At least the scenes are much better than they were yesterday and the days before. At least it is keeping my mind off my worries.

Stephen took the kids out for most of the day to give me time to rest but I was bored so I went through all of the kids clothes and 6 bins of clothes and now I have three large garbage bags full of clothes to donate to Goodwill. I wished we lived closer to the Gulf coast and I could donate directly to people there. Maybe if I check the newspaper tomorrow I can find out places that might be taking clothing donations. Lots of baby clothes and if I can find a place to take them for the hurricane victims I will add the baby blankets too.

Killjoy has been nagging me to call my sister. I finally told her that I just did not think I could handle rejection at the moment so she got all pissy with me. Look, I know my sister has cancer. I know she is having a hysterectomy. I know she is probably scared and worried and does not know when her surgery will be (asswipe doc told her that she would get a call two weeks before the surgery but could not tell her when that will be!). I know she has had a hard life but after years of rejection, I just don't think I have it in my at this particular moment to try to make her feel better. Although I will admit I have called her twice in the last 4 days (left a message then spoke to my nephew today).

Tuesday we are meeting with the appropriate school people to discuss the peanut issue. I think what I am most pissed off about is the lack of communication. The nurse told me that they can only ask that people not send in peanut products but cannot make it "peanut-free". Yet, a note went home on Friday stating that the classroom is peanut-free. But the nurse said that if kids bring in peanut products they cannot tell them they cannot eat them. Well that is not a peanut-free environment then, is it? I feel like pulling out my hair in frustration! I hope this gets resolved at the meeting.

My boobie hurts

I had the biopsy today so now the waiting game starts. I should hear by Wednesday. I have some pain now but there was none during the procedure because they used Novacain.

Did anyone see Kanye West speaking on the concert for Hurricane Relief? You can see it here. Mike Myers looks like he does not know what to do.

Disaster Relief

I know lots of people want to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina but lots of people have a bad taste in their mouth about the American Red Cross after what happened with the 9/11 donations. So, if you want to give please consider other great organizations who can help such as The Salvation Army. Or give American Red Cross another chance. They said the 9/11 fiasco will not happen again.

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.

The picnic today was a lot of fun. It was sunny and hot though and I had to line up for 20 minutes for two cups of water! There were no lines for the cans of pop and lemonade but I only wanted water. The kids had great time too. We only had to wait in one long line up (well two if you count the water) for one of the inflatables.

Here is a picture of the guys enjoying a blue staining blue popsicle (Dex still has blue lips and Jax has a melt line from his wrist to his elbow - even after baths!).

Summer O'Fun Day 28

Nanny came in the afternoon today and I went to get my hair cut. I got bangs again. I have spent the last 22 years growing my bangs out only to have them cut again after a short time. I think I will stick with them for a while since I am getting lines (ok, they are wrinkles!) across my brow. I have had one for quite a while but I am getting the kind that people get Botox for. As well as an arch-shaped on above my left eyebrow.

Anyway, the stylist made my hair super straight and it feels really weird. First she used a hairdryer then a flat iron. My hair is sleek and it feels like I have half the head of hair that I really do. Back to frizzy-wavy hair tomorrow.

I finally finished a necklace I was working on.

Tomorrow is dh's annual company picnic. The company holds a picnic over two days to accomodate the 20000 employees in this area. They rent out a farm at the base of a mountain and there is tons'o'food, games, rides, activities. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow so we'll have a great time.

Summer O'Fun Day 27

Not much happened today. We went to Target to buy new toys for the airplane ride next week. Jax was so excited that he wanted to pack TONIGHT! Stephen says we need to pack light and he was packing only 3 shirts, 2 shorts and 3 pair of underwear. I told him I hoped he enjoyed doing his own laundry because there was no way I was going to spend everyday washing his clothes while I am on VACATION. I will sneak more clothes for him in my suitcase.

We were trying to figure out what to see while we are in Toronto. I really want to go to Niagara Falls. (I haven't been there since 1992 when I went with Sheila and Jackie on the first weekend in July. It was to have been Sheila's wedding that weekend but she and Marc broke up. We stayed in a cheesy motel in the US side and went to a bar that accepted Canadian money at par! Oh, it was called "The Pleasure Dome". lol)

Anyway, Stephen doesn't want to go there. I cannot believe he doesn't think the kids will be interested in seeing 600,000 gallons of water rushing over the falls each second! And that is just on the Canadian side! I would love to take them on the Maid of the Mist. I think I will just have to make the trip without him.

We have a couple of amusement parks picked out plus of course we have to go to the Toronto Island (I have such fond memories of me as a child at the amusement park on Centre Island).

I have NO desire to go to the Toronto Zoo. It is a much better zoo than the one here but it is big and there is tons'o'walking and I can remember complaining to my parents because I was tired and there is no way I will put my kids (or me!) through that!

Oh boy this vacation had better be fun.

Summer O'Fun Day 26

We spent a good chunk of the day at the beach. Kids had a great time. I am a little red where I did not apply sunscreen well. Cars did a face plant in the water trying to reach down for a rock and panicked when he got water in his face. He wasn't far from me but when it happened it seemed like he was miles away. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. He also ran off as we were walking back to the car. I think I need to get him a leash.

Craft today was sand art (glue on dark construction paper then add sand) but no one was interested in doing it. I must be premenstrual because I got a little pissy with my kids about it. Dex said we could take sand home and do it there and I said no way. How childish of me.

Book club was fun. Everyone enjoyed the book. One of the women always had weird thoughts about the characters or situations in the book. For instance, in this book a man took advantage of a situation where Jews were robbed of their belongings during WWII. He then bought them for little money but they were worth hundreds or thousands of dollars (he made his fortune this way). She took it as he saw a business opportunity and took it while the rest of us where abhorred by his behaviour. Another time she liked a character who was mean and cruel but she did not think he was (and clearly the author wanted us to see him this way). Strange.

Anyway, no meeting until the middle of September. I will have to re-read The Time Traveler's Wife by then!

Summer O'Fun Day 25

Today was probably the hottest day of the summer so far. We went to the park to see "Reptile Man", who has the unfortunate real name of Scott Peterson. I swear the adults in the crowd all gasped a little when he said his name. It was fun for the kids (except for B who screamed and cried and ended up sitting on my lap with Cars (she is 7 yrs old).

Afterwards we came home with my friend Rachel and her kids (her middle son was in Dex's preschool class when they were 3). The boys all did slip'n'slide (surprised?) for an hour. I swear it is the best summer toy EVER!

I am in the middle of colouring my hair - 15 minutes to go. Light Golden Brown with highlights. I might not add any highlights this time since I am sure the brassy ones from last time will show through.

Stephen is working late...(pause)...oh, he just walked in the door and in not impressed that I told the kids they could stay up until 9pm. Oh well! :P

I finished "The Time Traveler's Wife" this morning. I really enjoyed the book but I rushed through the last bit because I wanted to know how it ended. I need to go back and re-read a few parts but overall I loved the story and how the book was written. Tomorrow night is book club but we are discussing the book I finished three books ago - "Broken For You". I need to skim through it tomorrow to remember parts I want to discuss.

Ramona is going to look for a wedding dress tomorrow. I hope she finds one she likes!

Summer O'Fun Day 24

Another slip'n'slide day and a trip to the Crazy doctor. I won't see her for the next month due to vacation schedules. I hope I stay sane!

For DMouse - here is a photo of my whole PEZ collection. Click on the photo for more detailed photos.

Top row is special edition PEZ and Pez with no feet.
Second row is superheroes, trucks, headless Pez dispensers and clowns
Third row is Looney Tunes and Disney (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck et al)
Fourth row is holiday Pez - Christmas, Easter, Valentines and Halloween
Fifth and sixth rows are just row on row of Pez: Incredibles, TMNT, Flintstones, Star Wars, Jack-in-the-Box (burger place), Pooh, Tweenies, Pink Panther, Bob the Builder, various animals, Shrek, Hanna-Barbera, E.T., etc
Seventh row is more various Pez and Pez dressed in Pez clothes
Bottom row is Giant Pez, fuzzy Pez and watches, keychains etc

And there you have it. I also have a couple of drawers in a desk full of duplicates that the kids can play with. Jax has also picked out the ones he wants to take when he moves out to go to college. lol

I have been power-walking every night for an hour with my neighbours and I am gaining weight! How is that possible? Aargh.

Today I spent well over an hour dusting and re-arranging my PEZ collection. I have 312 dispensers on display plus 2 Giant Pez dispensers, a Pez car, a Pez truck, Pez Christmas ornaments, Pez magnets, Pez popcorn (gross!), three motorized Pez dispensers, a Pez bobblehead, various Pez keychains, watches, lip balm and party favours. I get giddy looking at the Pez because some of them I love so much! Our oldest one is a Popeye that once belonged to Stephen's cousin's husband. He bought it when he was a young boy in the 1950's. My favourite Pez is a Road Runner Pez (also somewhat rare) and a snowman Pez (one of the first ones Stephen bought for me when we first started dating in 1986). I wish I had had a bride and groom Pez for the top of our cake when we were married. However, they were extremely rare (and expensive), the bride fetching upwards of $1500. They have since re-issued the bride and groom (available directly from Pez for $30/pair).

I see now that there are Bratz Pez which I am in no hurry to add to my collection. I am still always on the lookout for Mr. Bean Pez and I saw some Japanese Barbapapa mini-Pez on eBay. My cabinet is nearly full though so I am not sure what I will do when I get more. In my dream house I will have a Pez room and I will have Pez posters and other memorabilia. In the meantime I will just keep crowding them in the cabinet and hope we do not have an earthquake that will knock them all down like dominos.

Summer O'Fun Day 23

I paid Nanny for 1.5 hours today while I read a friggin book. Can you believe it? It was my original intention to take Jax shopping for pants at 8am when she arrived but I slept a little late and was not ready to go when she arrived. Then I blow dried my hair (which takes a long time but not as long as usual since I am going BALD again) while reading "The Time Traveler's Wife". (OMG That book is so good). So after I finished getting ready I sat on the bed and read until 9:30. Jax was going to a friend's house for the day (the friend whose tooth-fairy gives video games) so I took him there then spent the next 40 minutes trying to drive 6 miles along to parkway to go shopping. Paying Nanny while I sat in traffic was worse than paying her while I read a book!

I called my MIL today and spoke to her for the first time in months. She put me on the biggest guilt trip than my mother has even ever done.
MIL: Sighing heavily "It will be so nice to have everyone finally together for once" (~sniffle~)

Eeek! Even my mom does not cry when she says she wishes we all lived closer to her. Of course my mom is used to it since 4/5 of her children do not live within 1000 miles of her while Stephen is the only one of his siblings to dare move away.

Anyway, MIL is now going to make elaborate plans to get us all together for a family portrait while we are there. Guess we need to take some dressy clothes with us now.

Now I am sighing heavily.

Summer O'Fun Day 22

Not much fun for the kids today until Ash took them in the afternoon. I stayed home with Cars and did laundry.

Summer O'Fun Day 21

Beach day for us. We spent 3 hours at Lk. Samm. State park and it was such a lovely day. It was only about 75 degrees so it did not get too hot. The kids had a grand time.

JP and Marilyn stopped in yesterday on their way back from the Oregon coast. They stayed overnight. They are going to come down to stay with my mom while she babysits the kids when Stephen and I go to Ramona's wedding.

Jax lost a tooth today. It is one of his upper incisors. It was pretty loose and I told him before we went to the beach that I hoped he would not lose it in the lake. Next thing I know he tugged it right out. Then he spent the day wondering what he will get from the tooth fairy. His friend, C, gets xbox games. I have explained to Jax that I did not think our tooth fairy brought things like that. I was excited to have two half-dollar coins to give him but I think he will be disappointed in our tooth fairy. You'd think he learn since this is the third tooth he has lost.

Summer O'Fun Day 19

We are sure getting good mileage out of the slip'n'slide this year. The kids love it (it is a Star Wars one). The kids spent at least 45 minutes on it today (can't wait for my water bill). The only problem is that Jax has been having such a problem with hives this year from the grass, I guess. This is what he looked like today:


I called the allergist over a week ago but cannot get him in until September 8th. I won't worry about it just yet because Benadryl takes the hives away right away but he just looks so horrible in the meanwhile then Benadryl knocks him out. Now I did run out of Zyrtec and am awaiting his refill (damn mail order prescription service!) but he was having hives (not this bad) even when he was on it. Allergies SUCK! Perhaps I should just make an appt with the pediatrician and ask them if they can suggest something.

I finished reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". While I realized early on who would be gone by the end of the book, I was surprised and disappointed at who did it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book though. I love these characters so much. Next time I will not buy the book via Amazon but will go to a book store at midnight to get it.

Stephen installed the new range hood today. What a fiasco. When he took the old one off the duct fell apart so he had to partially dismantle the cabinets, then go and buy new ducts and vents etc. So what we thought might be a 45 minute job turned in to a 4 hour job. We "saved" $130 (Sears install) by installing it ourselve but ended up spending $40 on materials. You could tell that the original installers (builder) did such a shitty job. The main exhaust duct does not line up with the center of the range so that was the biggest problem. Anyway, it is finally installed and Stephen was excited to use duct tape on an actual duct.

I am off to read more HP6. I am only 1/2 way through the book. Darn kids kept interruping me today! ;)

Summer O'Fun Day 18

First news first has nothing to do with Summer O'Fun...

My very best friend in the whole wide world is getting married! In November in Las Vegas! I am so excited and happy and delighted for her! Whoo-hoo! Watch her blog for details!

More fun news. I met my friend Mar today. We have been friends online for about 3 years. Sadly, her dh's grandmother passed away and the funeral was just outside of Seattle. She and I made arrangements to meet for a short while at a park. It was so nice to meet her and her family. Here's a picture of she and I (and Cars):



Stephen and I actually have a date planned for tomorrow night. First one in ages. We are going to a movie but the early show this time so there is no repeat of Stephen's $100 nap (babysitting, tickets, popcorn and two drinks before the movie).

Summer O'Fun Day 17

Summer O'Fun Day 17

It was finally warm enough to go to the beach! We went to Lk Samm State Park (think Ted Bundy hunting grounds) and had a good time. There was a nice breeze coming off the lake which kept it from getting too hot. Jax and Dex had a great time swimming in the water and Cars had fun lying on the shore playing in the wet sand. We did have to leave abuptly though when Jax broke out in hives all over his face. It was the worst case of hives I have seen on his face before. I thought I had benadryl in the car but I didn't so we sped home. I will carry benadryl with me from now on. I can put a few tablets in the Epi-Pen case and I will put some in the first aid kit in the car too.

Once we got home, the kids played on the slip'n'slide for a half hour then they sat wrapped up in towels on the chairs in the sun talking and being silly. It was such a perfect summertime day today.

Summer O'Fun Day 16

Our Summer O'Fun group went to Laurie's today. It rained early in the morning so it wasn't the best day. She has a bounce house from Costco that she inflated for the kids to play in. Next week it looks like we will finally have a run of summer weather so the plan is to go to the beach.

Stephen is working late tonight and I need to get the kids bathed and garbage out.

Looking forward to meeting an online friend on Friday afternoon at a park out near the airport!

Summer O'Fun Day 15

Not much fun going on here today. The weather was cool and overcast today. The kids were in crappy moods and I had a migraine most of the day. I finally took an Excedrin Migraine which took away the pain (why didn't I just take the damn thing earlier?).

Our new stove came today. It rocks! I am going to love cooking (ok, so maybe not love) with it. I wonder if it will help me not burn things...

I bought our tickets to Toronto today. The trip will end up costing more than we had anticipated because we waited so late to book them and we decided to take the more expensive (direct) flight to Toronto because the flight via Vancouver leaves at 6AM while the direct flight leaves at a more reasonable 8:15am. So, it was about an extra $300 for the convenience of the direct flight leaving 2 hours later. We are are flying through Vancouver on the way home though.

One interesting tidbit...the flights from Toronto/Seattle and Toronto/Vancouver are approximately the same duration but Air Canada does not serve free food on the Toronto/Vancouver flights (meals for purchase) but they do on the Toronto/Seattle route. I wonder if it is just that Canadians expect less from their airlines than Americans do.

I called the airline after I booked the tickets online to let them know that we had a severe peanut allergic member in our party. The woman gave me the standard line "We do not serve peanuts but cannot guarantee that someone will not bring peanuts on the plane blah blah blah". I replied "I understand that but, as a courtesty, I thought I would let Air Canada know that there will be someone on their flight with a potential life-threatening condition. You know, just in case people bring peanuts on the plane." Silence. Then clickity-clickity-clack-clack as she updated the record and then thanked me for letting them know. We will pre-board and wipe down the arm rests and tray table with Clorox wipes before Jax touches anything.

Summer O'Fun Day 14

Ash's kids were here all day while she had her angiogram (doc did not see any blockage so that's good for her). It was a looong day, esp when Kins had one of her crying jags that lasted 40 minutes because I made her take a time out for lying about Cars hitting her. Geez, I am lucky I think that I do not have girls! No way could I handle the drama!

Anyway, the kids played on the slip'n'slide for almost an hour. My sideyard is a big pile of mud now but they did have a great time.

I am working on a beaded necklace right now. It will be so pretty when it is done. I have got to get back to my knitting though. I still haven't finished the sweather for DeniSe's baby and I have my Booga Bag to make.

Tomorrow we will be going to the library to collect the first prize for completing 300 minutes of reading. Jax just about DIED because we could not go today (right after Gav and Kins left we had to go meet Stephen then I had my Crazy Doctor appt). The prizes are just pencils or stickers but you'd think it was a chest of gold the way Jax is behaving. I am glad that it is keeping him interested in reading through the summer.

I made some beaded stitch markers in case I ever decide to finish the knitting projects I have started. They fit up to a size 6.5mm needle (US size 10 1/2):

Summer O'Fun Day 12

Jax had a friend over today to play. They wanted to play inside most of the day so they missed the sunshine except when I made them march up the street to see if a school mate was home so they could say hi (she was not home). After we took the kid home we stopped by the library. Stephen worked late so I went through the McD's drive-thru and we took our food to the park to listen to a concert (a Mowtown Cover band). There were several people there that we knew and the kids had fun. Dex said he didn't get to have all the fun there was to be had though because we left 15 mins early (it was nearly their bedtime!).

The neighbours directly across the street and neighbours directly to their left (my right) have been feuding for about 7 years. Well maybe feuding is the wrong word. They had a big fight and now they completely ignore each other. Today I was going out to get the mail and the lady across the street and her oldest dd (she's 18) were sitting on their lawn. We exchanged greetings. Just then, their next door neighbour was walking up the street. She looked over and said "Hi Pez" to me very chipper then completely ignored the neighbours as she passed not 5 feet in front of them. They did not react as she walked by - it was as though she were invisible anyway. It was surreal.

Summer O'Fun Day 10

We went to a park in the city that I have never been to before. It was really cool - it had a huge covered area that was good because it did threaten to rain. Anyway, the place has two totem poles (forgot my camera) that are huge and very impressive.

The planned activity was to paint a mural but I told the kids it was a totem pole so they could tell us the story of their painting after they had finished. I had a long roll of paper and I divided it into 2' sections for each kid (some moms painted too). They had such a blast painting it and then sharing their stories. I brought the painting home and took individual photos of each section then cropped them together. You can see it here.

I had taped down the paper and as we were telling the stories, the wind picked up and ripped the paper in half through the heart that Ash had painted. It was ironic because she found out this morning that she has to have an angiogram because she has been having heart pains and flutters for a few months and the meds the cardiologist put her on haven't helped.

Summer O'Fun Day 9 (weekends and holidays don't count)

We did nothing much today. The boys and I cleaned up all of the ashes and debris left over from the spent fireworks. Then I started putting the house back together. Then I was tired so I had a nap with Cars while Jax and Dex watched tv (what a great mom I am, eh?).

I finished reading my book - "Broken For You". I loved it so much. I cried and laughed and cried some more. I wish we had book club this week to talk about it (book club has been pushed out until the 27th and August's meeting is canceled). At least I have cleared the way to start "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" when it arrives next week!

Now we're cooking

I went to Sears today and bought a new range/oven and hood. I didn't think we needed a new hood but Stephen insisted that we get one if we were getting a new range. We've been having problems lately with our oven and the stove top burners no longer work on "LO". Plus Jax broke the lock to the self-cleaning oven when we moved in here 6 years ago so I have to use oven cleaner which has ruined the finish inside a little. And because the self-cleaning feature does not work I do not even clean it often enough anyway. The oven is original to the house (16 years).

Stephen said he wanted to get a new oven next month but Sears had a 4th of July Weekend sale that ends tomorrow. The stove was on sale plus I saved 10% by charging it to my Sears account. No payments or interest until July 2006 and free delivery. So of course we could not wait another month. I bought the Kenmore that was rated #1 in Consumer Reports May edition. Stephen will be happy to have a new range and maybe it will help me with my cooking too. ;)

Tomorrow is our barbeque. Looks like it is going to be a nice day afterall. Today is sunny but barely 70 degrees.

In honour of Canada Day (July 1) and Independance Day (July 4) falling on opposite sides of the same weekend, I thought I would share a few interesting Canadian/American facts between these two cousins:

• Canada is the largest source of imported crude oil in the U.S., bigger than Saudi Arabia or the yet untested reserves of Iraq.*


• Total U.S.-Canada trade is over $1 billion a day.**


• US is Canada's largest trading partner. Canada is US' largest trading partner.***


• None of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists entered the U.S. from Canada.*


• Canada-U.S. trade supports more than five million American jobs.*

* source: The Toronto Star (thestar.com)
** source: USDA (http://www.ers.usda.gov)
*** source: United North American (http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/home.htm)

Happy Canada Day!
Happy 4th of July!

Summer O'Fun Day 8

Yesterday the kids made life-sized self-portraits (or some semblance of them):


They had a good time doing it and they took a long time doing them which is good (sanity keeper for me). Gav and Kins were doing theirs too so it kept all 5 kids busy for about 30 minutes!

Today, Nanny brought over some cardboard for the kids to make a castle.

The castle is great because it folds up and can be stored until the next time they want to play with it. Nanny got the cardboard free from Costco (it apparently is between stacks of Kirkland-brand toilet paper and they let her have it for free. She takes it all the time for her M-Th kids.

I have a movie on for the kids right now. I think I will read my book so it is finished by the time Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrives in 10 days! Otherwise, I am sure I will not get my bookclub book read by the next meeting.

Summer O'Fun Day 7

Sunshine! We had sunshine! What a nice break. I watched Ash's kids for a few hours today. The kids played relatively nicely together then I took my kids to the library after Ash picked up her kids. Dex insisted on borrowing a Spanish-language Rugrats video. He said he knew Spanish because Dora speaks it sometimes and he knows what she is saying.

Found at Katie's blog:

Summer O'Fun Day 6

We had a picnic at the park with lots of friends today. Then the kids ran around the baseball field for a while, playing baseball (with wiffle bats), soccer and just being crazy. It was nice to have them in an enclosed area. Tomorrow we are going to the library and maybe we'll work on our American Flag. Also, Gav is due to come over in the afternoon to play.

Tonight, Ash, Glo and I went out for drinks. We walked to the local Mexican joint. My margaritas were yummy. Glo and Ash put back quite a few. No wonder they insisted on walking there! Glo has to get up for work in the morning too. Good luck to her. It was a lovely night to walk home. Why are the skies so friggin clear at night but overcast during the day!? Forecast for tomorrow? Morning clouds with sunbreaks later in the day and clearing in the evening.

Summer O'Fun Day 4 (I don't count weekends)

Jax went to C's for the day. C is his friend in class whom he always gets in trouble with for being silly. The teacher had to email me about 3 or 4 times throughout the year about Jax's behaviour. How embarrassing! Anyway, about two weeks before school ended the teacher told me she is going to have to recommend that Jax and C are placed in different classes next year. Even MORE embarrassing! Anyway, Jax spent a few hours there today and he had a good time. C is coming here next Thursday.

Dex was in a foul mood today and he did not want to do anything so we did nothing.

Tomorrow we are meeting some friends at a park. The rain is due to stop so hopefully the sun will shine.

Not much happened this weekend. Yard work, errands, etc. I found out last week that "The Bead Man" was closing today so I had to go and stock up on some silver wire. The cost of his beads were never a deal. My first shaker bracelet cost over $100 in supplies but the next one was closer to $60 because I bought my crystal beads from ebay. But, I did take the class there that taught me how to make bracelets so I am grateful for that. Now I only have Michael's and Joann's to chose from unless I make a trip to Shipwreck Beads in Olympia.

For Mother's Day, Jax gave me a coupon which stated he would take me to buy some jewelry. I thought today I could take him to The Bean Man and he could pick out a nice crystal bead that I could incorporate into a bracelet (so he would not have to spend more than $1.00). He picked out a pretty amber 6mm Swarovski Crystal bicone which costs $0.85. Great! Then he started looking around and saw some glass beads for $0.25 and thought he would get me one of those instead so he would not have to spend as much money. What a cheapo!

I had three people come up to me after church today to tell me I was brave to handle three boys by myself during Mass. How is that brave? You do what you have to do. They were all very well behaved anyway (they just played and coloured - I told Jax that starting in September he had to start paying attention because he will be going for his first communion next spring). Anyway, I don't mind taking all three with me because Stephen's guilt about not going with us (he is anti-church these days, thanks in part to Skeptic magazine, I'm sure) makes him vacuum the house and mop the kitchen floor while I am gone. ;)

I have spent 2 hours trying to figure out the cheapest and most convenient way to book our vacation. It is impossible. I feel like just calling American Express Travel and letting them do it. You cannot book minivans in Toronto through any airline website or via air+car with Travelocity or Expedia dot coooooooom (don't you just hate that jingle? It is stuck in my head for the night now).

We haven't told my mom or Stephen's parents that we are for sure coming yet. I guess we'll wait until we book it then let them know.

Remember that lovely Stellars Jays I was raving about a couple of weeks ago? Well the freaking things starts awk-awking at 5 in the morning each day and continues throughout the day! Last night nosy neighbour dropped by for a bit and while we say in the backyard one sat on the fence awk-awking at us the whole time and it drove us bananas! Plus they are pooping all over the Gladys Kravitz Perch and the new bbq! Where are the bloody neighbour's cats, that normally poop in my yard, when I need them?!