Ash's puppy is so cute! She is 7 weeks old and they named her Sophie. She has a little pink collar and leash which looks so out of place on a Rottweiler. All three of my kids pet her so that is a good start.

Tomorrow is Killjoy's last day here (she leaves very early in the morning on Wednesday). For the most part it has been a good visit but man, can she get on my nerves! Besides the whole grey hair thing and lecturing me about laundry, she has been ok. Oh and today she was interfering with my parenting which pissed me off. Anyway, I imagine that her next visits will be shorter because she will spend more time in Vancouver on her west coast trips since she will have a grandchild there too.

Ash cut Cars' hair today. I tried to cut it myself but he was uncooperative and he ended up looking like Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber. Fortunately, he was cooperative for her and she fixed it although it is still a little choppy. And of course tomorrow is Picture Day. *sigh*

And speaking of pictures, here is our ragamuffin family photo for the church directory. And yes, I know that Jax needs a haircut.

Crafty

I have been very crafty these past couple of weeks. These are things I have been working on:


Pumpkin decorations which are just rolls of toilet paper, wrapped in a 22" square of fabric with some plastic grocery bags for stuffing. Add a pipe cleaner and a crumpled paper lunch bag and voila!


More pumpkins. Regular pumpkins covered in glitter! They look better IRL. I got this idea from Martha Stewart.


These are beaded plant stakes/picture holders. I was trying out a craft to maybe use at MOPS. It turned out ok. If I use it we'll use smaller beads.


I love these keychains. I think I might make them for everyone for Christmas. Instructions can be found here. I think this will be a MOPS craft too.


And speaking of MOPS crafts, these decoupaged mirrors was this past week's craft. Use Mod Podge to stick napkins to a mirror (from IKEA). This craft was a real hit!


Pumpkin and "Harvest" holiday pencil party favours. This is for Jax's "Harvest Party". Each pumpkin is filled with Hershey Kissables which are peanut-free. I have made 17 of 24. I ran out of crepe paper because it was so thin, I had to double it to make them strong enough. I also ran out of Kissables but I think it was because I ate them. Need to buy more of each tomorrow.


Working on another booga bag. This one is a little larger than the others I have made and I have doubled the thickness of the bottom to give it more support.


I made five of these undershirts for my mom to give to my SIL's who are expecting babies! I guess I can tell everyone now that Jean-Paul and Marilyn are expecting a baby in May. I think I mentioned already that my brother, Wally (Fiona's dad) and his wife are expecting a baby in January. Whoo-hoo! Anyway, this was another Martha Stewart craft.

It has been fun making these items. I am looking forward to being even craftier in the upcoming weeks!

Fun Stuff

Idea lifted from Snapper's Blog. (Thanks, Chris!)

1) Click on IMDB

2) In the SEARCH field (top left part of the page), type in the name of a favourite movie

3) When you get to the movie's page, click the link in the left navigation bar that says "MEMORABLE QUOTES" (in the Plot & Quotes area)

4) Find your favourite line from the movie and post it in the comments section of this post

Stand By Me:
Vern: If I could only have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy, Pez, cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it.

Cars' first dentist appointment was, um, interesting. He first refused to lie back in the chair for the dental assistant. Then he laid back but then would not open his mouth! He had the biggest pout on his face. I am sure I have never ever seen anyone stick their bottom lip out so far! Finally, I had to pry his lips apart so they could count his teeth. Then they made the mistake by letting him sit up before the dentist came in. No more lying back. No mouth opening. No eye contact. Another huge pout. Thankfully they only billed us for a "Happy Visit".

I took my mom to MOPS today. She was happy to do the craft (mod podge napkins onto a mirror frame). Tomorrow night we are going to go to Joann's Midnight Madness sale.

I have only worked out once in two weeks and I feel like a slug. Ugh. I am going to go Saturday morning. I promise!

Today was a much better day with Killjoy. I took her shopping at Michael's and she loves crafts so that kept her busy (and from making me feel like I am 15) for a couple of hours.

Dex and Cars went to the dentist today. The dentist is a little concerned that Jax does not seem to have an adult lateral incisor on the upper right. Unfortunately, they did not take panoramic Xrays (insurance would not cover it this visit) so they said to come back in two months so they can re-check. Dex did great and was proud to show off the hole where he lost a tooth two days ago.

My dentist appointment is at 7:30am tomorrow and Cars' is at 10am (the office is just one mile from our home). I have been very good about wearing my night guard for the past three nights. Now I gotta floss!

*sigh*

My mom had a good trip down on the train but she said she would not do it again. Anyway, she just went to bed but not before telling me that "if you are going to have grey hair you need to cut it short". Aargh! Why do I put so much weight into what she says? I am already wondering if I should cut my hair or colour it!

Anyway, 9 more days...

Guilt

Killjoy is on her way here from Vancouver. Already I am stressed. She called this morning to check if a parcel that she mailed two weeks ago had arrived (it has not). And now I feel as though it is my fault because it is things that I asked her to bring (Smarties for the kids for Halloween and some Tetley tea). She also put toys in the box and is upset because she is arriving in a couple of hours with no presents for the boys. Ok, it is not my fault that she did that so *I* need to get over it. ~breathe~

Also, Stephen was talking to him mom yesterday and she was saying how she really regrets not taking the train trip with my mom and how she would love to travel across Canada by train. She said that if my mom had just asked her, she would have gone. I felt badly at first, thinking somehow I should have arranged for this to happen. But shit! She knew my mom wanted someone to travel with so why didn't she just ask to go along? And OMG, can you imagine how crazy I would be after a week and half of BOTH Killjoy and MIL?! Just as well...

So, I will spend a few more moments here, sipping my tea before I have to psyche myself up to head to the train station in downtown Seattle (across that friggin bridge in the pissing rain!). Perhaps I need to spike my tea...

A little of this and that

Not much exciting this weekend, besides our date night. Saturday, Jax and Dex went to a birthday party at a kickboxing school. They had a blast and I have never seen them so sweaty!

Today we spent much of the day getting ready for my mom's visit tomorrow. She arrived in Vancouver this morning. She leaves there tomorrow morning and arrives in Seattle at 12:30pm tomorrow.

I have so many craft projects on the go or planned at the moment. I hope to get to a few of them this week while Killjoy is here so I will take some pictures and post them.

Friday

Stephen and I had a date tonight. We first went shopping for a new light (no luck) then out to dinner and then to a bar for a drink. The bar had Labatt's Blue on tap! It was nice to have a Canadian beer in an American bar.

Nanny babysat for us tonight. She was not able to find a job in Canada so she took a new Nanny job here. It is nice to know she will be around to babysit for a while yet. My kids had a great time with her here tonight.

Tomorrow, Jax and Dex have a birthday party at a Kickboxing place. We'll need to go shopping in the morning for a gift (oh and I need to make cupcakes since they will not be able to eat the birthday cake).

On Sunday, the kids start RE classes. Cars will go to Sunday school during Mass and then immediately following Mass, Jax and Dex will go to their classes for one hour.

And we need to prepare for Killjoy's visit. The house needs to be cleaned, the room she will stay in needs to be set up and I need a sedative. Just kidding, I will just use the back pain pills that I have.

We have had such gorgeous weather the last few days. It is quite chilly in the mornings but it warms up to the low-70's during the day. The sky has never been bluer and not a cloud in the sky. We have spent long afternoons at the park afterschool, enjoying the sunshine before the 6 months of rain and gloom arrive.

Today I also had a roofing company come and give me a quote on gutters. Actually, I already had the quote from them but the guy came out to try to please a very unhappy customer. The guy is Cute Roof Guy who sold us our roof back in 2004. I received a letter from him last month stating that they had a deal on gutters (10% off!) and to call their new office. So I called made an appointment for someone to come out. They said New Roof Guy would be out and I said "Fine" but I did wonder why Cute Roof Guy wasn't coming.

Anyway, on Monday, New Roof Guy calls and tells me he is stuck in traffic and will be about 15 minutes late. Hmmm...traffic? Coming here? There is most definitely traffic leaving our plateau, heading to Redmond and Seattle but not really any traffic coming this way. He showed up *1 hour* late. Fortunately, I did not have anywhere to go but I was irked.

New Roof Guy: What are you looking for?

Me: We had our house painted and Painter said we needed new gutters so I called for a quote. Cute Roof Guy had sent me a letter about the sale price.

New Roof Guy: Cute Roof Guy sent you a letter!? So why am *I* here?!

Me: Uh, I don't know. I called the office and they sent you.

New Roof Guy: (exasperated sigh) Cute Roof Guy has all of the measurements for your house then so I am NOT climbing up on the roof to re-measure.

Me: Okaaaaay...

New Roof Guy: I don't know why they sent me *all* this way.

Me: Sorry that it was a waste of your time (not sure why I apologized because it was not my fault and by this time I was getting mad at him for being so rude)

New Roof Guy: I will have Cute Roof Guy call you with a quote.

Me: When can I expect to hear from Cute Roof Guy?

New Roof Guy: (walking away) Later today.

Ok, I was miffed. But I thought I will hear from Cute Roof Guy later today. Besides, we had re-pounded in the spikes in the gutters and they probably would last another year so it wasn't urgent...

So, fast forward to Thursday night, just after 11 o'clock. I was thinking about the gutters and was really irritated that I did not hear ANYTHING from the Roofing company, New Roof Guy or Cute Roof Guy. So I thought I would email the owner of the company only I could not find his name online so I just sent an email to their general email account. I didn't care if I did not hear back from them but I was going to let them know I was peeved. I mentioned that it was not my fault that they sent the wrong person and here it was 4 days later and still not quote. And that I felt I could no longer recommend them to friends looking to replace their roofs.

Friday morning, at 7:45am the telephone rang. It was the roofing company calling to talk about my email. The caller apologized and asked that I give them another chance and is there any way that Cute Roof Guy can come out to my house to give me a quote. I explained again how disappointed I was in their service and agreed to let Cute Roof Guy provide me with a quote. Also, within the hour, I had an email from Cute Roof Guy with the quote.

The next day, I received a hand-written card apologizing again. They said that my experience was not up to the "gold standard" that they normally provide. Enclosed was a $10 Starbucks card.

Today, Cute Roof Guy came out and was trying hard to butter me up. Said he loved the new colour of our house. Apologized again for the mix up. Said it was all his fault. Basically said I could get the 10% off anytime, not just if I booked it this month.

And after all that, we probably will not replace our gutters this year. Stephen thinks we can wait until next year. So, I will let Cute Roof Guy know that we will wait and in the meantime, I will take the kids to Starbucks for hot chocolate.

Ick

It is that time of the year. Spider mating season. I have been fortunate not to have seen any of the HUGE spiders running across the floor yet this year, but enough of the smaller one are around to scare me. But, I have been brave. Very brave. No screaming at all. In fact, I have very matter-of-factly asked Stephen to kill a few spiders. I didn't get all sweaty and shaky just looking at them. I did not insist on showing me the squished spider as he flushed it down the toilet (the only acceptable squished spider disposal system in this house). Look at me! I am a brave, brave woman.

Yesterday, I saw an icky black spider running around one of the closets just off the family room. I did not panic. I did not scream. I just very calmy went for my "humane bug catcher" and went on a spider hunt. Ok, I must admit here that I did have the fly swatter as back up but it was not needed. The spider ran out of the closet and right into the path of the "humane bug catcher". Right into it! So, I very calmly (people, you don't know how proud of myself I am here) and slowly pushed the little door shut on the little bugger. I went slowly because I did not want to deal with any squished spider legs on the thing. I then very carefully picked up the "humane bug catcher", taking extra care to ensure that the door did not slide open and let the spider get away.

I walked slowly across the floor, unlocked the back door, walked across the deck and then FLUNG the door of the "humane bug catcher" open and dropped the spider into the grass. I hope he got eaten by a bird.

Ok, so after umpteen very frustrating hours, it seems that the new light is broken or something. The lines are "hot" and appear to be wired correctly but the light just does not work. We need to box it back up and take it back to the lighting store this week. So we'll live with a big hole in the ceiling for a while yet.

Jax and Dex wore their "Be a P.A.L., protect a life" with the NO PEANUTS symbol shirts to school today. M's son wore his to and I guess a couple of kids in Jax's class noticed that the two of them had the same shirt. Laurie is going to make one for her kids too (her dd is in Jax's class too) and we have all decided that the kids will wear these shirts every Monday to school. I think I will contact another mom with a PA child in 2nd grade and offer one to her for him.

Ok, off to work off the Oreos I had after dinner.

Ugh - while Stephen had the circuit breaker off most of the day, we lost all of the shows we had saved on the DVR. Comcast says that should not have happened and we should take the cable box into their nearest store. I did not lose any "important" shows. But, I had recorded an episode of Rachael Ray's show dealing with food allergies. And a few episodes of AFV for the kids. And lastly, I had DVR'd "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan which is such a great movie. Seriously. I used to know that movie inside out! When I worked at a movie theatre, many of us would stand at the back of the theatre watching and re-watching parts of that movie. One person I know had most of it memorized and would recite the lines along with the movie. And it has Kirstie Alley long before she gained all that weight (I was fatter than her way back then too!). ;)

I will have to try to catch Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan next time it is on tv. I thought about renting it from Netflix but decided that it is just one of those movies you have to watch from TV. Like one of my guilty pleasure movies (which was on LAST weekend) - The Cutting Edge. TOE PICK!

No Light

Hmmm...did blogger eat my post? Anyway, the light is not working and we cannot figure out the problem. More trouble-shooting tomorrow, I guess.

Let there be Light

As always, whenever I plan a small project for around the house that should be very straightforward, it turns into a huge ordeal. Like when we got our new stove and hood. Sears wanted an arm and a leg to install the new hood so Stephen said he would do it himself. When we took off the old one, the duct work fell down out of the exhaust chimney and the hood did not even line up with the exhaust so two trips to the hardware store and half a day later, it was finally installed. Or when our faucet exploded last year a couple of days before Christmas, it should have been a piece of cake to install a new one but the air pipe (I forget the technical name for it) was in the way and Stephen had to buy a 24" long screwdriver to reach the screws. That installation took 4 hours and two trips to the hardware store too.

The same thing has happened again. The lighting in our family room is terrible. There is one pot light and it shines down at such an angle that it burns in my eyes and gives me migraines so we NEVER turn that light on. I have a lamp in the room but it does not give off enough light for the whole room. I am always looking for just the right light. So I saw this track system and I thought it would be perfect because it is halogen lights which give off perfect white light, and the shades are blue so they will go with all of the blue glass accessories in the house. It looked easy enough to install and for $100 - what a bargain.

So today Stephen started poking around the old pot light and besides the fact that the opening is HUGE, there is no nearby junction box to attach the new lighting system too. And there is a heating duct running alongside the opening (in the ceiling) so no way to properly secure a new junction box right there. So, he will have to cut ANOTHER hole in the ceiling to install this new light. Then we will have to repair the old hole, tape, putty and texturize THEN paint the ceiling. OMG, what an ordeal to install a relatively cheap light.

But, once it is in it will look great and I am looking forward to having some real light in that room. Plus it will match nicely with the lamp I bought last year (for half price!).

Anyway, Stephen is at Home Depot now (after going to Ace earlier today) to get the drywall stuff he'll need to patch the ceiling. Already two trips to the hardware store and he hasn't even started yet the installation yet. This one might set a record for number of trips to the store.

It was 20 years ago today

...when Stephen and I had our first date. Ok, I have a confession to make. I cannot remember if it were October 4th or October 6th. I need to find a 1986 calendar to confirm it.

Our first date has a funny story to it. Of course there is the his and her version of it but since Stephen doesn't have a blahg you'll have to settle for mine.

Stephen had asked me out two weeks before. He was busy that upcoming weekend (hockey tournament) so we made plans for the following Saturday. We were in university and were in four of the same classes that term. We both lived at home with our parents whose houses were only about 2.5km apart.

Anyway, Stephen came to pick me up at my parents' house. My brother and my cousin were in the driveway installing a stereo in my mom's car and they did not even acknowledge Stephen as he walked past them (man, that still irks me! lol).

Stephen and I headed out to dinner at The Keg. Now, this is where the versions differ. I recall him telling me that he told his friends that we were going to The Keg and they might join us. He recalls no such thing and still claims that he only told them where we were going for dinner and never said anything about them joining us.

So, we arrive at The Keg (awesome Bloody Caesars BTW!) and were seated at a table for two. I was facing the door. We ordered our drinks and food. As we were waiting for appetizers, I noticed a group of people come into the restaurant and look around. A blonde woman looked over our way and started waving furiously at me. I had no idea who she was. I looked away but glanced back and she started waving again. Who was she?! I leaned over to Stephen and told him that some strange woman was waving at me. He looked over, jumped up and rushed over there. I saw them talking and then the waiter was called over. Then the waiter walked over to our table, picked up my drink and carried it over to a larger table. Then the blonde woman walked by and said "Hi" as she walked over to that larger table. Next was a guy with dark hair who said "Hi Duh-neen" and another guy "Hi", followed by Stephen who said "My friends are going to join us. I hope that's ok".

Well, I was nervous enough about the date but now I was terrified. The blonde was Stephen's next-door neighbour, Sheesh. Her boyfriend and a high school friend of Stephen's, Chech. The third person was Kev, whom Stephen had known since he was 7. Yikes! This was almost as nerve-wrecking as meeting his family!

So, throughout dinner I barely said a word. I could not eat (months later, Sheesh asked me why I ate like a bird that night). Finally dinner ended and we said good bye to Stephen's friends. They said they were headed to a bar in Markham (this was probably a code) because after Stephen and I went to a movie (Club Paradise), we went to a nearby bar and lo and behold, guess who else was there? Sheesh, Chech and Kev. And they were joined by Dan H, another friend Stephen had known since grade 2.

Hmmm, dinner with his friends and later drinks with them on our first date. I am certain he arranged for them to be there but he swears otherwise. In any event, it all turned out well because here we are, twenty years later. :)

Oh, and I just now reminded Stephen that it had been twenty years since our first date. He said "I know. That's why I bought you roses the other day". It was Wednesday. He brought me flowers on Wednesday. So now I just checked and sure enough October 4th was a Saturday in 1986. It was not the 6th - today.

So, it was 20 years and two days ago...when Stephen and I had our first date.

MOPS was today. The craft (painting a daisy design on a hat to wear on the Breast Cancer and MS Walks) went well although it was crazy running around dishing the supplies out and then collecting them again. I missed the cool part of the speakers (The Body Shop - they do direct sales via catalogues and home parties - I had no idea!) so I guess this will be par for the course for the year. :(

Tomorrow I am teaching Art Start in Dex's class. The kids will be studying the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci then working on drawing portraits of each other. I think it will be a blast!

I have also been busy everyday this week after school punching "Walk to/From School" cards for the kids. It is so cute to see all of the kids at school so determined to get their cards punched. We will collect them tomorrow afternoon and the kids with 10 punches will be entered in a draw to win prizes (reflective bracelets, water bottles, etc).

The kids start Sunday School/RE classes next weekend. I signed them up for the 9AM (Cars) and 10:15 classes (Jax and Dex). The church is starting a "Life Teen" Mass at 5:30 on Sundays and the singing group who will lead the songs performed at the 9AM Mass this past Sunday and they were soooo good. Now I wish I had signed the kids up for 4:30pm classes on Sundays so we could go to the 5:30 Mass. Maybe next year...

Killjoy will be here in a week and a half for about 10 days. We are going to make Christmas cake together. God help me. I already know that she will complain because I will not buy the ingredients from the bulk bin (too much chance of peanut cross-contamination). Then she will break something like the Kitchen Aid mixer and say that she has been making Christmas cake for years without a mixer like that so why would I bother to use it (because I have carpal tunnel syndrome and have no strength in my wrists!). Oh, how pathetic am I? I have already imagined a fight with her, complete with my retorts! Serenity now...

O'Really?

FOX News Makes Foley A Democrat during the "O'Reilly Factor" (yeah, like that was a typo)...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9mNmZ9JpG8

Blech

I fell off the roof and I don't like it! Not fair that it came days early. Ugh - it is a sign of aging no doubt. *pout*

Nosey Neighbour came for lunch today. She braved the 1.5 hour drive. Ash stopped by too. It was a very pleasant time and reminiscent of our weekly tea sessions that we used to have.

While Ash was here, I told her that I was a little concerned about the new dog she is getting - a Rottweiler. While I know if they are trained well, they can be good dogs, I am still worried and concerned that the dog might at some point attack my kids (or me). I have decided that we will have to make sure that the dog is accustomed to my kids but if there is any threat at all, no matter how small, we will have to tell Ash that we will not be around while their dog is there. She is upset that I told her that. But my kids are very nervous around dogs anyway and here she gets one that is big, strong and sometimes vicious.

And DMouse, if you are reading this, please give me some pointers here as to what we can do to make sure that we are comfortable around this dog. The dog is a girl and will be 7 weeks old when Ash gets her on the 21st of this month.

I want my TV

TV is huge in our house. Not only do we have a large television set (I think it is 54") but it is on every evening from 8pm until well after 11 (and most nights after midnight). I know I watch too much tv. But, there are soooo many great shows on tv. I have my favourites lined up to DVR in case I might be out and I sometimes will go back and re-watch parts of episodes that were especially interesting. I am running out of time to watch all of these shows though!

It starts on Sunday night with Desperate Housewives. Part of last season was disappointing but it got really good at the end. This season has been ok so far but I can this show falling out of favour if it doesn't pick up soon.

Monday night I watch Heroes which is such a cool show. I missed the first episode but was able to watch it on www.nbc.com. I think they have last night's episode up there now. I think this show is going to be the "new" Lost which I lost interest in after the first season. Not sure why, it was good too!

Tuesday my show is Boston Legal. I love this show! William Shatner is perfect as Denny Crane.

Wednesday nights the MUST SEE show is Project Runway. This season is almost over so I definitely will miss it until the next season starts in a few months. It always ends around Olympus Fashion Week in New York. I read an article in the newspaper last week that Project Runway is a surprise hit with men (no matter what their sexual preference).

Thursdays used to be Survivor night for me but I have lost interest in that show too. Not even Jeff Probst, who was on my "list" can help it reclaim a spot in my heart. Now my show on Thursday nights is Grey's Anatomy which moved from its last season's Sunday night slot. I love love love this show and all of its characters. Even that jerk, Alex! I cry or shout at the TV nearly every episode!

Friday and Sarturday nights I got nothing! Friday night is "movie night" for the kids and then when they go to bed Stephen usually watches some poker tournament that he has DVR'd during the week. Saturday night is much of the same. Or else we catch up on something we have missed during the week (like watching something I miss from working out or book club.

I promised myself I would not volunteer to do too many things this year because things got so crazy last year, especially in May. Plus I had already signed up to do crafts for MOPS (Mom's club) and that is a big job. So what happens? September rolls around and wouldn't you know I have a full plate again.

* MOPS Crafts (crafts for 44 moms every 2 weeks through the end of May).
* Sunday School Support/Supply person for 3 yr olds class (Ugh, why did I do this?!)
* Art Start teacher for Dex's class
* Room Mom for Jax's class

Ok, the Art Start should be fairly straightforward as long as I follow the curriculum and stop trying to come up with neat ideas for the kids to do especially when a good chunk of the parents are unwilling to pay the extra $$ for the special art projects. (And Kimmer, if you are reading this...I am still trying to locate my Art Start curriculum from last year - sorry!).

Room Mom for Jax's class should be ok too. Laurie is co-Room mom with me so together we need to plan three class parties and collect funds from the parents for these parties. By being Room Mom, I can control the food that comes into the classroom thereby alleviating stress from worries about peanut ingredients in the food.

The support/supply person for Cars' Sunday School class should not be a big job but it is just the planning to get into the church on certain days to ensure that the craft supplies are prepped and ready for the teachers each Sunday. I used to do it on Friday mornings when Nanny was here watching Cars and Dex. Now I will have to do it while Cars is with me.

And I am trying to get all of the supplies together for MOPS now so that all I will need to do throughout the year is a bit of prep work (cutting or sorting). If I plan it right, it should be not very stressful at all. The key word being IF. The part of being the Crafts person though that bugs me is that I am on the Steering Committee so I have to attend a meeting once each month. Not a big deal but it is to be held between the Masses on Sunday. The stress comes in by trying to rush from Mass to drop off Dex and Jax at their RE classes then running to pick up Cars from Sunday School and dragging him to the meetings. I know everyone just thinks "Have Stephen do it" but he does not go to church with us. I pray each week for him to return to church and that just pisses him off. :)

Anyway, we'll see how this works out (or doesn't).

Blogger is bugging me. It is not saving my drafts and I had umpteen problems posting last week. Aargh!

I spent a good chuck of yesterday weeding through old emails so that when I install Outlook on my laptop, I will start fresh with no old mail. While going through it all, I found a batch of email from my friend Jackie. Those notes chronicled the last two years of her life. Good news about her MRI results, some wedding planning details, chatty notes about an upcoming vacation. Then an email about an MRI that showed her brain tumour growing again. Jackie's next surgery, her recovery, her first wedding anniversary, her 35th birthday, her setback, and the last email from her email address was actually from her mother stating that Jackie was too ill to reply herself. Those last two notes were hard to read. One, because it was so full of typos and I knew it was so physically hard for Jackie to type it out. And the last one from her mom because the hope was obviously gone.

Jackie always used to assert that she was going to throw the biggest bash on her 80th birthday. In the note after her wedding she wrote "I am so glad you had a great time. But if you think that was fun, wait until my 80th birthday party!".

My friend, what we all would have given to attend that bash.

Here is our house so far. Notice the patch of red that I tried on the door. Just to note, do not put latex paint over oil-based paint. I will be spending part of this weekend stripping that latex paint off the door. I wish I had known that beforehand! Aargh!



Oh, and see how much greener the lawn is after last's week week of rain.

TGIF

Nanny is coming today. Her M-Th job ended yesterday and she is in a panic because she does not yet have another job and she needs the money. She was hoping to have a job in the Vancouver-area already but no job offers have come her way. She really wants to move to Canada since her children have moved there (her ex-dh was Canadian). Not sure exactly what I will do with my time although Macy's has a sale today and they had some lovely wine glasses on sale. Hmmm...

Yesterday was a long day for Cars. After preschool, I brought him home, stuffed a sandwich in him then carted him off to the club while I worked out. He was in the daycare center there for hour and a half. After the club, when we went to pick the older boys up at the park, Cars played in the "woods" for an hour with Jax, Dex, Gav, et al. So it seems like I barely saw him at all yesterday!

Yesterday in the newspaper, I read that Mickey Rooney's son died of a disease called derma to myos itis. Now normally, I would not have taken any notice of that except that is the disease that our friend E, has. I had no idea that you could die from it! E has had a lot of problems with his lungs from this disease, especially lately. Very scary!

Almost there...

Painter was here today and painted the trim and it looks good. The cream colour I chose is still a little too WHITE so I will go and get a creamier colour for the second coat of paint. My lights *finally* came in at (friggin) Lowe's. I bought a new doorbell button today and it looks great too (who could imagine that a door bell button could make a difference?).

We need to repair a couple of our gutters. We probably should replace them but you know how that goe$.

Cars' last swimming lesson went as expected. *sigh*

I woke up this morning with a wicked sinus headache. My throat is sore too. I just feel crummy all around. blah...

Because of Cars' food allergies, I have been sending in an individual snack for him each day rather than let him eat whatever is brought in by the other parents each day (different people sign up to bring in food each day). Anyway, the teachers told me today that Cars was quite upset the other day because he could not eat what the others were eating (it is for his safety so I can live with his disappointment). Oh, and apparently I am not giving him enough food in their opinion. Ok, I give fill up a little snack-sized ziploc bag with Wheat Thins and that is not enough food?! That is plenty for a snack. He is only there for 2.5 hours. It is not lunch! Anyway, I will sending in some grapes or 1/2 a pear along with the crackers next time. I also did give them permission to give him fruit or juice that is brought in. But nothing else. While his milk allergy is mild, I don't want them thinking it is ok then to give him milk or yogurt or cheese. And, we are avoiding peanuts until he is 5, even though he is not allergic according to his skin prick test.

I spoke to my friend, M. today. She has decided not to have the t-shirts say "Please do not kill my friend with your peanut butter sandwich" but something more along the line of "Be A Hero" and stay away from peanut butter at school. She hopes to have them ready by Wednesday at the PTSA meeting.

BTW, still no word from the school district on the "new" procedures and letter to go home. This is ridiculous!

The rain has stopped again so we are hoping that Painter can finish the house this week. We still do not have outside lights because Lowes' has screwed up my order and who knows WHEN we will get them. I will have to go in this week and cancel my order and get my money back then try to find more lights that I like at another store. *sigh*

Both Cars and I are feeling better today, thankfully.

I had a funny story about him. He was at preschool on Thursday and I asked him how he liked it. He said it was fun. I then asked him who he played with and he said "Nobody!". Oh? I asked him why he did not play with anyone and he said "Nobody wants to play Star Wars!" LOL It seems that most of the kids, and especially the boys, are first children so no doubt that at the tender age of three, they have not yet been exposed to Star Wars. The kids are all into Thomas the Tank Engine, someone Cars could not care less about (although he is strangely attached to a Thomas backpack).

Today when we were in Safeway, Jax was wearing his heelies and hanging off the cart. It was bugging me because 1) it made the cart hard to push and 2) it was hard for people to pass us in the aisle. So I told him not to touch the cart. Ten minutes later, I needed to step down a different aisle so I said to him, "Take the cart and follow your dad". He looked at me and said "You said not to touch the cart" and he wheeled away. O.M.G. Did I ever see red! So I took him aside and told him he was being rude and sassy to me and when we got home he could go to his room and think about how he spoke to me.

When we got home, he went upstairs and wrote me a note:

Dear Mom,

I'm sorry I was rude to you.
I'm sorry I was sassy.
I would do it again.

Love Jax

Did I read that right? "I would do it again?!" I burst out laughing and could not be angry anymore. He was upset that he made a mistake in his note and begged me not to show Stephen (I did anyway and he had a good chuckle too).

Cars and I were sick today so we just hung out on the couch and watched Star Wars Episode II (his current favourite). I hope we feel better tomorrow.

A little bit of everything

Tonight was curriculum night. Stephen did stand up and thank the parents for continuing to do everything to help protect Jax against his life-threatening peanut allergy. Then I handed out the letter to as everyone left. I may have missed a couple of parents and there were about 2 or 3 who were not there. The teacher was very gracious considering we just sprang this on her. I gave her a copy of the note in case she felt she needed to show the principal.

We are still awaiting the letter from the school district with the "new procedures".

After curriculum night, I met some friends from my mom's club at the local Mexican restaurant to watch "Grey's Anatomy" at 9pm. It was a lot of fun.

Oh, and this moring, I burnt a breakfast casserole that I was to take to my mom's club meeting. I also burnt that little pad that goes between the meat and the meat tray when I browned my pot roast before I put it in the crockpot. I cannot believe I seared it right to the pan (and to the roast). I scraped it off the roast and hope it does not contain any carcinogens.

Wake Me Up When September/Swimming Ends

Today at swimming lessons, Cars cried non-stop to get out of the pool. Actually, he usually cries at every swim lesson but today it was especially bad. There were a lot of kids away today so I could not hide behind some of the other moms like I usually do so he kept an eye on me the whole time, calling out "Mom! I need to tell you something! I don't want swimmin' lessons!" over and over again. It was so pathetic. Then he continued crying the whole way home. Thankfully, there are just two more lessons for this session then we will break until March (and no doubt start the crying all over again then!).

Jax's first day of eating lunch in the classroom was a success. He was happy not to have to leave and said he noticed no pb/peanuts in class. Yeah.

The school nurse will not send a note home directly address peanuts in the classroom so we are composing our own to be handed out tomorrow night at curriculum night. She did tell me that the nursing supervisor and health supervisor were writing a note that will go home to families of children with life threatening allergies throughout the district. I wonder what it will say. Some legalese to tell us that they cannot guarantee the safety of our children, no doubt. If nothing else, I have helped the district face the issue. Even if the resolution is not to my liking.

Cars did well yesterday in his first full day (well full half day) of preschool. He looked so grown up walking in the class with his backpack on. Where did my baby go?!
~sniff~

Do I look slimmer? Lighter? More compact? I am writing my blahg tonight on my brand-spanking new laptop! It is great, although getting used to the keyboard will be a challenge since I have used a split keyboard for over 6 years and going back is tricky.

Tomorrow will be the first day that Jax gets to eat in his classroom. He is very excited about that. We are working on a letter to pass out to all parents on curriculum night since the school apparently will not do it for us. I will continue to push this issue though. But we cannot let it be put off much longer.

(ok, off to install MS Office and Skype).

Tomorrow, Jax has permission to carry his epi pen with him. I have it packed in a Safety Sack inside of a fanny pack placed in his backpack. We are still waiting for the nurse to update the Health Plan and send out a letter. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day that Jax has to be taken out of the class at lunch.

I am so looking forward to this being settled. It has really been an emotionally grueling two weeks.

End of the Rainbow

We had crazy weather today and the result was this (click for bigger):


(ignore the dormant lawn - it will green up again once the rainy season starts next month)

So, you can see the Tate Olive house. The trim still needs to be painted off-white so it looks odd still all green. And the door is still deep blue. Oh, and no outdoor lights yet.

I love that the rainbow ends right at my house! :)

Green!

The house colour is done! The trim still needs to be done but rain is in the forecast for the next several days so it will probably be next weekend when the trim gets done. I am so excited about it!

Seems so strange to get so excited about a house colour, eh? Well, I think it is because it is something that finally seems to be going right these past couple of weeks. The whole peanuts at school is a complete joke. I have done nothing the past couple of days about it (calling and pushing for resolution) because, quite frankly, it is just easier to avoid it and continue to take Jax out at lunch. Stephen has been crazy busy with work and not nearly involved enough with it. I need his help at this point and more than just "tell them this" or "be sure to mention that" or, worst yet "Why didn't you tell them blah-dee-blah-dee". For frig sakes!

~Deep Breath~

Ok, so, now you can see partly why I haven't been talking about the peanut problem we are having at school. The other reason is partly due to the fact that we may have to contact either a lawyer or the office of civil rights to get this resolved (and that makes me sick to my stomach, seriously). And because blogger shows up on google searches, I am trying to keep a lot of the details off this blahg.

Anyway...

Cars starts his first day of preschool tomorrow. He just goes for an hour tomorrow then starts his Tues/Thurs mornings next week. I am so excited for him. He is such a big boy. My baby!

Good News

I received the official letter in the mail today in regards to my mammogram and it said "there is no indication of cancer". Much better than "almost certainly benign". :)

Painter finished the main colour on the house. It was threatening to rain today and was misting a little this morning but then the rain held off and he got it done. He probably will not get to the trim work until next week because it is supposed to rain for the next several days (my lawn needs it!). Stephen and I are going to fold all of his drop cloths and save myself 2+ hours of work that he would otherwise charge us. Stephen doesn't know it yet though. :) I think I will also have Stephen paint the door to save us even more money. These two things should save us some of the cost of the extra scraping that was needed to be done.

Now, off to finish making dinner and then watch the kids play their new video game: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

The first coat of paint is up on part of the house and it looks great! I love the colour that I chose! The only problem at this point is that all of the windows are covered with plastic so it is very steamy in the house this evening. Oh, and there are tarps over the dryer vent (it vents to the roof) so I could not use the dryer today either. I must remind Painter to remove the tarp when he is done tomorrow evening so I can do laundry.

Dex cried when I brought the kids home from school today because he wants the grey house back! Poor boy. He doesn't do well with change sometimes.

Peanut issue is still not settled. Jax is getting sick of eating lunch with Cars and I at the park.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

We did not do much this weekend. Just cleaned/reorganized. I went out looking for new lights for outside but of course I could not decide which ones to buy so I made a typical Pez decision and decided not to make a decision. I am good at that. I am torn between buying what I really, really want which is pricy vs being practical and thrifty. Or spending extra to get some that are energy efficient and will save us money in the long run. Hmmm...decisions, decisions...

Peanut-Free Post

I will not discuss peanuts or peanut-free classrooms or anything. I promise! I am so weary of it all ...

Cars is completely potty trained. Well, he still needs assistance getting out of his pants and putting them back on. He has had one 1 accident in the past 4 weeks. If he stays dry tonight, it will mark 14 days in a row and he gets to wear underwear to bed. He is very excited about that prospect.

The house painting is a disaster. Basically, the house was never primed when it was built - only painted. So when Painter scrapes the paint, it comes off in looooong strips right to the bare wood. So instead of scraping here and there, he is scraping all of the trim to the bare wood. And he isn't meaning (or wanting to!). So, this is adding co$t and time to the prep work. Bugger! BTW, he is a neighbour whom I completely trust. Plus, he had originally told me that he did not have time to paint the house but then figured out a way to squeeze it in. I think he is regretting that decision! Anyway, primer goes on tomorrow as long as it does not rain. Oh, and I did go with the Tate Olive with an off-white trim. The front door will probably be black. I haven't decided yet. We are going to replace the outside lights too and new numbers on the house. And a new door mat, of course. I will post pictures when it is all done.

3rd Day of School

Still no resolution on the peanut thing. I am waiting for the Head Nurse of Health Services for the school district to call me back. In the meantime, I have requested a letter from Jax's doctor authorizing him to carry his epi pen. It is just a formality because it is State Law allows him to do so. He is still *very* concerned and thinks that because kids can eat peanut butter in his class that he is the only one at school who cares about his safety. It really is heartbreaking.

Anyway, I did meet with the principal today and hopefully she will help move things along a little faster with the health plan. I am resolved to the fact that we will not get a "safe" classroom. Once this is settled, I will probably write about all the shit that has been happening. But not while it is unresolved and the blahg shows up in google searches.

One of the parents at the park where we meet the kids after-school joked that I get five t-shirts for Jax that say "Please do not kill me with your peanut butter sandwich" and they will get similar t-shirts for their kids that say "Please do not kill my friend with your peanut butter sandwich". Teeheehee If Stephen would agree, I would do it. Well, maybe 5 shirts is overkill but at least 1 that he can wear every now and then. Although, Jax is so stressed it really would not be a good idea.

And I can certainly tell he is stressed.

Today, while we were walking out from the school at lunch, we saw a big, fat caterpillar and Cars, Jax and I stopped to look at it. I suggested that perhaps we move it from the walkway back to the garden area. Jax said that I should just leave it. We walked away and then a mom, her toddler and her son passed us as they headed into the school. Jax turned around and stopped while I kept walking. Then I heard a little cry from him and he said "She stepped on it!" We ran back and sure enough, the caterpillar was oozing on one end where it had been smooshed. Jax got all teary saying, "It is all my fault! I told you not to move it!" I assured him that it was still alive and I picked up the fat, oozing thing and carried it over to the garden area. We proceeded to the park to eat lunch. Jax kept talking about how it was his fault that the caterpillar was squished and dead. Poor kid! I kept reassuring him but he was so upset.

And let me tell you, he really does not think a lot animals and creatures and their welfare, so this was extremely unusual.

When we returned, the caterpillar was gone. "See?! He was ok!" I reassured Jax. "He's crawled away!". Jax thought was certain that the body had rotted away already. I didn't tell him that I really believed that a bird had a nice, juicy lunch.

2nd Day of School

Peanut issue still not resolved. I have a call into the head nurse for the school district to find out exact wording of their policy. In the meantime, *8* classes in the school (all k and 1st grade) at "Peanut Free". I also am waiting to hear back from the principal with an explanation as to why these classes are Peanut Free when Jax's is not.

We have taken Jax out of school for the last two days at lunch. We will continue until next week or until the health plan is in place AND the principal has explained the policy to us.

I took Cars for swimming lessons. He hasn't been for lessons with her since last September. Anyway, he shouted the whole way there "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SWIMMIN' LESSONS!" and he fought with me at poolside when I tried to take off his shirt. I had to hold him down to get the swim belt on him. All the while he is yelling that he doesn't want to go swimming. I handed him to the swim nazi and he swam well with her (all kids swim for her - they are afraid NOT to!) in the pool but all the while telling her that he did not want to be there.

Now, he is not afraid of the water. He was just trying to exercise some control. He did the same thing twice last week at Superclips when we tried to get his hair cut (I am afraid he won!) But, swimming lessons are not negotiable. Oh, and Ash cut his hair yesterday while I was having my mammogram so we are all happy about that. Three year olds are so fun and predictable, aren't they?! ~eye roll~

And congrats to Kross-Eyed Kitty on the purchase of her new home!

1st Day Of School

Jax and Dex went to school today. Peanut issue is far from resolved but we have some precautions in place. Jax will not eat lunch at school until everything is implemented. It has been a very emotional tumultuous few days.

Looks like we are getting our house painted this weekend, after all! Neighbour Painter is coming to power-wash the house tonight. I will buy the paint on Friday and he will start painting on Saturday. He told me I had to cut my Rhodies back. Normally I would say NO WAY because it is not the right time of year to trim them but I cut them at the beginning of July which was too late in the season at that point and they are not doing well. In fact, I think I may not be able to save them. I know they will not bloom next May now so if they do not bloom the following year, they will have to be ripped out.

I am all set for the mammogram this afternoon. I have on my pink bra and underwear plus my magenta t-shirt. GO PINK! And fingers crossed for no new calcification spots.

Edited at 1:50pm to add: Hurray! Mammogram films were good so I am back on a yearly schedule. Must have been my lucky pink underwear! ;)

Lucky Number 13

I guess this is a tradition now. Posting this photo every year. Anyway, thirteen long years. Wow!

Next month will mark the *20th* anniversary of our first date.

Today it is humid and icky. I am on the verge of a migraine. Blecch.

We are going to Ash's house for dinner tonight. Should be fun.

Our Neighbour, the House Painter, who was supposed to paint our house this summer, asked me how mad I would be if he did not get to it until the spring. I said as long as he paints the trim that was fixed by New Handyman, I did not have a problem although honestly I am very disappointed. Our house on the southwest side looks horrible (this is the side that the chimney with the bad trim is on). And that is the side that is on the corner so there is no house on that side helping to hide the peeling paint. Looks like I will not get my Tate Olive house until next May.

I won!

Squee!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Last Day of Summer

Well except there is Labo(u)r Day weekend but that doesn't really count.

Ok, so the peanut issue is not settled. It is too draining to talk about. Seriously. Needless to say, Jax will not be eating lunch in the classroom anytime soon. Stephen will take him out on Tuesday because I have a mammogram (which hopefully will result in another almost certainly benign result). I'll take him out after that until this is resolved. We may be fighting a losing battle but if so, we will do everything in our power to make it as safe as possible, which, at this point, it is not.

One more thing I will add though about the peanut issue is that the mom of a 2nd grader at the school with a peanut allergy called me today. I don't know her but she got my name from the mom of one of Jax's schoolmates. Anyway, she is reeling from the no peanut-free rooms in school this year. Last year, her son had the same teacher as Jax did in 1st and that teacher was EXCELLENT about keeping peanuts out of her classroom, sending home reminder notes, etc. Her son has had anaphylaxis several times and once was from an open jar of peanut butter (done in the allergist's office). I gave her some links to some great resources for 504 Plans (she is going to push for one now - she has a meeting with the principal and nurse on Tuesday) and I sent her a copy of the "draft" of Jax's Health Care Plan that they are going to put in place so she will know what to expect at her meeting.

Anyway, so I wasn't going to talk about peanuts and now I have... but I will stop now.

Today for the last day of Summer O'Fun 2006, we went to the beach with some friends. The day was very nice. The kids had so much fun and we topped it off with popsicles from the food stand at the beach (it is not opened on Tuesdays - the day we usually go).

Overall, I think we had a great summer. We did a lot. The weather was (mostly) good although it was cooler than usual. I hope we made some fabulous memories.

I met for nearly 2 hours with the school counselor, school psychologist and school nurse. They are not budging about having the classroom be peanut-free this year. They said they can "request" it and put up a sign ("No Peanuts Please" vs "Peanut-Free Classroom"). I have tentaively agreed to go with a Health Plan vs a 504 Plan to see how this works out. The school psychologist asked me to sign a form stating that we were all in agreement that Jax did not meet the eligibility requirements for a 504. I said I would sign no such thing because under WA State law, he does:

Does a student with a “life threatening health condition,” as defined by state law, automatically qualify as a disabled student under Section 504?
Yes. Because state law, SHB 2834, defines “life threatening health condition” as a
health condition that puts a student in danger of death during the school day if a
medication or treatment order and a nursing care plan are not in place, by definition, a student with a “life threatening health condition” has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, and qualifies as a disabled student under Section 504.

The nurse agreed that he did meet the requirement (anaphylaxis affects breating, one of the major life events covered under the 504). I have taken the position now that until it affects his school work, we will keep it as a Health Plan.

So, Stephen and I will review the Health Plan and we will discuss the peanuts in the class thing. We did not get much notice about the meeting this morning so he was not able to clear his calendar (mtgs re: shipping VISTA). I was mighty pissed off about it, btw.

The school nurse loved to say "He has to learn to live in the real world". No shit, Sherlock. That is one of the things that makes my blood boil. Jax does live the real world. Jax lives with the reality that PEANUTS and/or PEANUT BUTTER can KILL him. Or put him in a coma and leave him brain-damaged from lack of oxygen. How more friggin real can you get?!

Ok, time for me to calm down...we are off to meet the teachers now.

Taking Care of Business

Today is "Taking Care of Business" Day for Cars' school. I have to take in all of the forms such as emergency contact list, immunization records, his Epi Pen and authorization form from the allergist, etc. Oh, and I probably need to take in the school supplies (I still haven't found that Bingo Art kit!).

Cars' preschool is at our church however, because there is no school at our church, they made an agreement with a sister church (and school) to run the preschool. So, all payments, correspondence and, of course the "Taking Care of Business" Day takes place at the sister church. Yes, at the sister church which is 8 miles away (and off the Plateau, battling traffic away) versus our church which is 1.75 miles away (only three stop lights away). But first I must drive to the allergist's office which is in the opposite direction. Ok, quickly figuring it all out...a total of nearly 34 miles today. And not fun miles. It is 34 miles on city strees and in Seattle-area traffic, where Stephen's approximate 10 mile commute takes 35-45 minutes, it is a long drive.

Anyway, I am still waiting for the school psychologist to call me back. I was really hoping to have the 504 plan in place before the first day of school but of cousre this is not going to happen. We had better not have the same problems with peanuts in the classroom on the first day like we had last year. I do not want to pull Jax out of school everyday at lunch again like we did for the first week last year. That was stressful on all of us.

Eeek! I just had a phone call that a MOPS meeting scheduled for this morning has been moved to MY HOUSE! Gotta go!

Over the past few weeks I have heavily censored my blog. For a number of reasons but in part because someone I had mentioned in passing in an entry found my blog when he searched for himself on GOOGLE. Who knew that blogger was searchable? Or that my blog would come up in one of the first couple of pages of results? Anyway, it was never my intention that he would see or read it. I did apologize to him for having using his full name. And I appreciate his apology to me.

And then I started thinking that really I had been self-censoring for a while. Two of my three bothers (not a typo ;) read my blog. One found it when I had forwarded a site to him and there was a link to my blog on it. Darn, so no more talking about him or his family. ;)

So, I often look through my site meter to see what is being looked at on my blog. That is when I found out a lot of hits on a photo of my three boys in a pool. Strange that people in Malaysia, Europe, Australia and all over the USA just "happened" to find that picture. So, that is when I deleted most of the pictures of my kids off my blog.

Anyway, while checking out the site meter a few days ago, I saw that someone came to my blog via June 2005 archives then proceeded to read through most of my blog. Hmmm, I wonder what was so interesting about that month and who on earth did I know in Stouffville, Ontario? The only one I could think of was my Grade 5 teacher. So, I went to June 2005 and lo and behold, my Grade 5 class picture (I had forgotten I had posted it) with Mr. L (again, I have since edited out his name).

So, I started wondering what was on my blog that I would not want anyone to read. Mostly stuff about the outlaws so I went through and edited a few things out. Then I was cross with myself because I did not want to edit my blog. I deleted an old blog because I was doing the same damn thing when I had misgivings about having written about Crybaby.

No more. No more censoring. No more editing. I will own what I write. I will stand by it.

So, here it is. My blahg. Like it or lump it.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 51

This is the last week of summer! I am looking forward to September and the kids going back to school. We have had a lot of fun but I think we are all looking forward to time away from each other (at least I know *I* am - does that make me a mean mom?!).

Today, I am dedicating to taking care of back-to-school business and the list is long:

1) Contact School Psychologist to find out status of 504 Plan for Jax
2) Drop off Epi Pen(s) and Benadryl and appropriate forms at school (after I assemble the allergy med kits, with all the correct signed forms and meds)
3) Leave message with school to ask that Jax's teacher send out a note to all students on Meet'n'Greet day (Thursday) stating that classroom is peanut-free
4) Get copy of immunization record for Cars
5) Get Authorization for Adminstation of Medication at school form for Cars for his Epi Pen Jr. (I cannot believe I totally spaced on this - probably because his skin test was negative!)
6) Get rest of school supplies (baby wipes, kleenex for Dex; Sketch pad for Jax; play-doh, Bingo-Dot Art kit (?!), box of quart sized ziploc bags for Cars)
7) Make sure folders and lunch bag fit in Dex's backpack, and if not, order him a new one (he has a "jr" backpack that he used last year and it is still in great shape but it is a little small)

And hopefully we will be able to squeeze in a little summer fun before the day is over.

Anyone have a spare $32k laying around?

Because I would love to add this Pez to my collection. It is a prototype for the 1982's World's Fair but it never went into production. The current bid is $32,205.00 but I have read that some people estimate that it could be worth as much as $100,000. Wow!

I'll have to settle for these Pez Ornaments. And hope I don't get sniped in the next few hours.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 50(!)

Ok, the sun came out. The temperature rose so off to the water park we went. It was a great time. Ash and her clan were there too so it worked out well with adults tag-teaming with the kids. We all are a little pink (forgot to re-apply the sunscreen after a few hours), a little scraped (the wave pool can really knock you off your feet!), and a lot tired.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 49

We went to the Pacific Science Center today and the kids had a great time. The exhibits there are really great - although some are exactly the same as some at Telus Science World, where we went at the beginning of the month in Vancouver.

Anyway, there was a special exhibit called GameOn with over 100 video and arcade games ranging from Pong up to new Xbox 360 games. It was a blast I forgot how fun it was to play Space Invaders, Galaga and Asteroids. And, of course, Tetris, which is very near and dear to me. I used to play it for hours on end when I was stressed and no one could ever touch my high score. Stephen, who prided himself at being a gamer, was always in awe of my high scores. And true to form, I even made high score today at the exhibit!

However, I must say that my reflexes are not what they were and years of working on a computer has caused repetitive stress injuries (RSI), specifically tendinitis and bursitis, and they have flared up. So, after playing video games for a few hours, I need to take some ibuprofen. How sad is that?!

Oh, and speaking of Tetris, I saw a Lexus with a licence plate that said TETRIS at the club last Tuesday. I figured the car probably belongs to Alexey Pajitnov who is the inventor of Tetris. He now works for BigSoftwareCompany and he also invented one of my other favourite puzzle games, Hexic.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 48

Not much going on today. We took the boys for haircuts. Well, Cars did not have one because he kicked up such a fuss so Stephen decided that was that. I was in a different salon with Jax at the time so luckily I did not have to endure the terrible three's that Cars has developed seemingly overnight.

Stephen has now taken the older two to a movie and I am home with Cars. He fell asleep quickly after we arrived home so no doubt his tantrum at Great Clips was partially from him being so tired.

It is cool again today. This really stinks. We are still hoping to hit the water park later this week.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 47

Ok, so where did the summer weather go? We had plans to go to the water park today. And Stephen was hell-bent on fulfilling those plans. Even when I told him the high today was going to be only 70. And it was overcast and chilly this morning, he insisted we go. So, we drove off, bundled up in sweatshirts. The kids complained that it was cold. We went anyway.

We decided that if it were still chilly when we got there (well, *I* knew it would be - only Stephen was hopeful), we would go on some of the non-water rides until it warmed up. Forty minutes later as we are getting off the highway, it started to rain. Not a lot but enough. I demanded that Stephen pull over. He got out of the car and yes, it was too cold. And it was spitting. And we had no rain gear with us. So, we turned around and headed to Seattle and the boys had a blast at Gameworks. We were there for three hours (well, I took a time-out and went to Old Navy and Eddie Bauer). The sun finally came out at 4:15 and we walked through Pike Place Market as the vendors were closing up shop.

Stephen just really, really wants the kids to have fun. His heart was in the right place and he was sooo optimistic. So, we are going to try to go again to the water park on Friday when the weather is supposed to warm up to the high 70's. Wish us luck!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 46

Dex decided he wanted to play in the tournament after all so Stephen took him today and Stephen acted as score keeper for that group of four 6-year olds. Dex had a really good time even though he did not win a trophy (he only entered the tournament because he thought he might win one - not because he particularly wanted to golf!) lol

Jax, Cars and I went to the park and met Ash and her kids there. They played in the woods, rode bikes and ran through the spinklers on the outfield of the ball diamond.

Oh, and it looks like we were a little premature in celebrating about Cars' food allergies. His RAST test came back and while he has outgrown his egg allergy, he still shows a low positive for milk. So, the doctor wants us to keep doing what we are doing (give him milk in baked goods, etc but no milk, ice cream, yogurt or cheese). We'll retest him next year. :\

As I suspected, Stephen does not want to move back to Toronto but he somehow thinks that is exactly what I want. Thus the onus on me to make the decision (which is very, very unfair). Of course I want to live where he will be happiest, which I know is not Toronto. Going backwards is what he always called it.

Anyway, after a looooong conversation last night we are staying here, as I knew we would. But, we will do things to make this more our home, whether is it look for a house in an area where we really want to live (i.e. closer to Big Software Company to lessen his commute and to a place with some diversity and public transit) or just invest more time into exploring our home state. So there you have it. Oh, and I get to go visit my friends more often. Ramona, watch for me! :)

And just to top off this turmoil, Killjoy is coming for a visit at the beginning of October. She has decided she wants to take a train ride across Canada so it will take her 3 full days to get here (and at a cost of about 4x what an airline ticket would cost!! Outrageous!). The boys are excited to see her which is nice. She wants to teach me how to make Christmas cake and has already asked for Christmas lists for all of us so she can shop before she comes! I cannot believe it.

Actually, I can...

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 45

This morning it was very chilly in the house. It definitely feels like summer is ending. I am worried that it won't be warm enough next week to take the kids to the water park. We did not make it last year for the same reason. Next summer, Stephen definitely needs to take vacation earlier in the season.

Nanny came today and I went back-to-school shopping for clothes for the boys. I went to Fred Meyer then headed off to the factory outlet stores in North Bend. I found some great deals, especially on Stride Rite shoes for Cars. OMG, I will never buy my kids shoes at Nordstroms again!

Stephen told me last night that there is a huge re-org going on at work. He said it would be a good time to consider moving back to Toronto. WHAT?! He said he is going to have a great review/bonus so he could take that and find a job with Big Software Company in Toronto. Otherwise, he is digging in his heels here and his career will grow. But, he said, it was up to me. Completely my decision. That is so not fair!

I have lamented sometimes about moving "home" but mostly it is about seeing family and friends. I don't actually WANT to move to Toronto. First of all, Big Software Company is not actually located in Toronto but in a western suburb so we would not be able to live close to family (the east end or east of the city). Nor could we live where I want to live (uptown) because the commute would be insane. We'd live in someplace like Acton! Is it worth the drive? (inside joke for any Torontonians).

Next, I hate-hate-hate the winters in Toronto. They are cold and wet and grey and slushy. At least when we lived in Minneapolis, wile the winters were cold, the snow was not slushy and we would have wonderfully clear blue skies (there are no clouds when it is 40 below).

Toronto summers are horrible too. Hazy, hot and humid. The skies are not blue then either because of the smog and pollution, which leaves a grey/yellow haze floating over the city. Complete migraine weather. Ick!

Don't get me wrong, Toronto is a great city! So many things to do and see. My history is there - both good and bad. It is "home", it is definitely not my home anymore. Nor do I want it to be. I am not sure I could say that with as much certainty 2, 6 or 10 years ago. Of course when I moved to the States 13 years ago, it was with full intentions of moving back to Toronto when Stephen finished his PhD. It did not work out that way but that is fine. Move now?! No, it is not that easy. Not what I want. However, if he said "Let's move to Vancouver", I'm in! ;)

In the meantime, we need to have a serious chat before we make any life-altering decisions here...

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 44

I organized a day at the beach today for everyone, only to wake up to an overcast, 60 degree morning. Ash was sure the sun would come out so we headed out anyway and arrived at noon. It was still chilly but the clouds did blow away and the sky was blue. We ate lunch in the park area and it had warmed up by the time we finished so we headed to the beach. One nice thing was that our group was the only one on the whole beach for the first hour or so (5 moms and 12 kids).

Jax of course dug a hole. Dex had a crying fit because I did not bring his floatie. Cars dumped sand down his bathing suit then demanded I clean it out (he has become quite sassy since turning three!).

Now I am attempting to cook dinner (beer can chicken). The last time I made this I undercooked the chicken, knocked it over and had to throw the whole thing out (and nevermind that I also burnt the top of my Lazy Daisy cake while it was under teh broiler because I thought I would just be a second while I stepped outside to get the chicken off the grill).

So, no cake tonight. I am just serving raw veggies, salad and bread. Easy? I hope so!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 43

Again, another boring day for the kids (according to them). They played outside, they watched Return of the Jedi, they played with their Star Wars Lego and action figures but still oh-so-boring. Lucky me, I got to clean.

We also had a quick trip to Michaels because I needed paint brushes. I forgot that I had a meeting for MOPS tonight to help out the table leaders decorate their "Fresh Air" themed table center pieces and I said I would bring the paint brushes for the Modge Podge. I thought it was tomorrow night! So, now Stephen has to come home early (he works late on Wednesdays) and I cannot walk with Neighbour.

Ash found out yesterday that Gav was accepted into one of the choice schools in our school district (she tried to get him into the gifted program last year but his scores fell just short of the minimum so this was an alternative she looked into for him). This school is not located at our local school. She is still undecided about whether to send him or not but definitely leaning towards doing it. I feel a little sad that I won't see her everyday at the park after school while our kids play. I haven't really said anything to Jax yet about it because I know he will really miss playing with Gav and he was hoping they would be in the same class this coming school year.

Hurray!

Looks like Cars has outgrown both his egg and milk allergies! No positive skin test. He had blood drawn and we will know next week if he shows any allergy that way. If all is well, we will do a food challenge for eggs (no need to for milk because he eats cheese on pizza and Parmesan Gold Fish crackers with no problems).

Jax was happy for Cars but I could tell he was a little disappointed too because now he is the only one in the family with food allergies. And also because he has never outgrown his egg allergy (though it is slowly tracking that way) whereas Cars has outgrown it with the first re-test.

The doctor filled in the appropriate school forms for Jax's Epi Pen and said he is at the age where he could carry it on his person if we thought he was mature enough to do so. I think we probably will not do that just yet.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 42

We are off to the allergist today for appointments for Jax and Cars. Jax's is more to renew Rx's and to get the doctor to sign forms for school and discuss her input on the 504 Plan. For Cars...skin prick time! Poor thing will be tested for milk (and probably egg) to see if he is outgrowing (has outgrown?) his food allergies. Wish us luck!

Afterwards, we will pick up Dex, who will be going to work with Stephen, then head to a park near Big Software Company. After that, home for a couple of hours before we head back out so I can work out while Stephen takes the kids swimming (just two sessions left with the personal trainer!). Oh, and I am *still* doing laundry from the camping trip.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 41

Last day of golf for the boys. Dex has decided he wants to play in the tournament next Monday. I will have Stephen take him (afternoon tourney, dinner at the golf club).

I spent the majority of the day doing mountains of laundry that was generated from our camping trip. At times like this I wish I had two washers (or a cleaning lady to do it!). Cars watched Star Wars and napped.

Last January, I wrote about the mom of one of Jax's classmates who has a form of dementia (H.). Her son was in Jax's class last year and on his baseball team. There were some odd moments from I. during baseball season and at school. Including the day in June when she drove into Ash's car and drove away laughing about it. Ash was very upset (understandably) but mostly from the point-of-view that perhaps H. should not be driving. Well, on Friday while we were packing up our van for the trip, and Ash had stopped by to drop off dry ice for the cooler, H. was walking by and stopped in to say hello. She told me that it is official, the doctor told her she is not allowed to drive anymore. I feel so badly for her...and her sons, especially the one in Jax's grade because it is a long walk to school otherwise. I cannot commit to driving him everyday but certainly I can do it once/week or something. Anyway, I will call them close to the start of school and offer to drive when I can.

Then she went right up to Jax and said "You know my brain is atrophying, right? Well, now the doctor says I cannot drive". He looked at her and nodded. I know he knew because her son had told Jax and her son was in the Leadership/Friendship class that Jax was in. Jax told me that they made her "Get Well Soon" cards in that class. Not sure why the guidance counselor would think that was a good idea when H. clearly has a chronic condition. One of the symptoms of her disease is inappropriate behaviour which I think her behaviour was on Friday (and when she told Stephen something back in June that we really did not need to know). It is so sad and also scary to know that these kind of diseases can happen and there is no known cure or even treatment!

Survivors

We are home and we survived our very first camping trip! We had a lot of fun, especially the boys. They loved playing in the woods, the dirt, digging holes on the beach (guess who did that?), s'mores and "Crazy Sleep Night" in a tent. We had so much fun, we are now on the look-out for our own tent.

Top 10 Things I learned on while on the camping trip:

1) I can build a fire! (Thanks in part to Survivor).
2) One can never have enough food, especially ingredients for s'mores
3) Park Rangers love to tell campers who stay up late around the firepit that it is illegal to be intoxicated in a Washington State Park. They will tell you several times. Two nights in a row. Whether you are intoxicated or not
4) If you lose a tooth while camping the tooth fairy will not visit you (well, it was actually Jax who learned this)
5) Tent envy runs rampant
6) Camping while potty-training a child is not as hard as I imagined it to be
7) Six year olds cry really hard if you accidentally throw their marshmallow stick on the fire
8) The ocean is very cold but children do not seem to notice
9) Do not pack fruits and vegetables close to the dry ice blocks in your cooler
10) No matter how careful you are, sand and grass always get in the tent, in the sleeping bags, in the luggage, in the car, etc


We were able to take the boys' bikes thanks to a co-worker of Stephen's who lent him a bike rack (the kind that hooks/straps on). We took one of the seats out of the van and were able to cram everything into so we did not need to use the soft roof-top carrier.

Photos:

We've arrived!

Our borrowed tent is up

Breaking in the new camp stove

A chilly day at the beach

The kids do not notice the cold

Jax digging holes

Sitting around the campfire


A slew of pictures can be found
here. J. took tons of pictures which turned out much better than mine so I hope to get a cd from her with all of the photos on it.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 40

Ocean, here we come!

We are off on our camping vacation. Ill-prepared and over-packed, of course. Our neighbour insisted that we borrow his camping lanterns, telling us that flashlights would not cut it. Then he called us the Griswolds and wished us luck. We're going to need it!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 39

Another day of no fun planned for the kids as we run out and buy last-minute camping supplies. Yesterday, one of the families with whom we are going told me that they had no idea that we were sharing meal planning so looks like we are all on our own for meals which is fine with me. Especially since I was bringing separate meals anyway because Kraft dinner was planned for the kids Friday night (Cars' milk allergy) and eggs for breakfast (Jax and Cars' egg allergies). Just needed someone to bring peanut butter and we would have a food allergy hat trick. (Note to self, pack extra Epi Pens and map to nearest hospital).

Anyway, Stephen still hasn't decided on which camping stove to buy. Now he is looking at an even MORE expen$ive one that has a grill as well as a burner. Good thing it is almost bonus time at work. He also want$ to have a bike rack/hitch in$talled on the van (did I mention that already?) a$ oppo$ed to one you ju$t $strap on that co$ts about a quarter a$ much. Unfortunately (or fortuntely?), it take$ five day$ to have in$talled $o there i$ no time before thi$ camping trip $0 the kid$ will have to make do without their bike$.

And to make our first camping experience a delightful one, we have this lovely weather to look forward to:

Fri Aug 11 AM Clouds / PM Sun 61°/49°

Sat Aug 12 Mostly Cloudy 64°/51°

Sun Aug 13 Mostly Sunny 71°/54°

Brrrr!

I meant to post these pictures last week from our trip to Vancouver.

First, here is a photo of Leah Ann and I. She says I am shrinking but she had thick-soled shoes on whereas my feet were bare:

This is everyone in our hotel room: Dex, Cars, Stephen, Jax, Jean-Paul, Marilyn, Kris, Al, Leah Ann and Roman

Cars climbing on Lego at the LEGO®: Secrets of the Pharaohs exhibit. It was so cool!

And yes, Cars wears this shirt almost every day. In most pictures from this Summer O'Fun, he is wearing it. He begs me to wear it every.single.day. So. I wash it often.

And this one is for Kross-Eyed Kitty because I know she would love it:

King Tut

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 38

First day of rain since July 4th. It has stopped now and it is overcast. I have spent the day pacing around trying to figure out how we will pack all this camping shit in our van. Right now I am wishing we had purchased a larger one (the MPV is about 11" shorter in length than a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna or Dodge Grand Caravan).

I am so super stressed about this camping trip. I am thisclose to saying "frig it" and not going. From the fact that everything will not fit in the van, to menu planning for 17 people, to my husband who thinks that the $25 camping stove must be a piece of crap so we *need* a $70 one. Emotional eating, here I come.

Yesterday, I took Jax and Dex to the doctor for a wellness check. They had not been in for wellness checks since they turned 5 (last year for Dex, three years ago for Jax). Today is Cars' 3 year old wellness check.

Off to fold some more laundry and pace the floor some more.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 36

Golf today for Jax and Dex. I introduced myself to the director today after I had to send him a note last week because some cretin child pushed a candy bar with peanuts in Jax's face after Jax and Gav asked the kid not to eat the candy bar at their table. Fortunately, the bar did not actually touch him. The kid said he didn't believe there was any such thing as a peanut allergy and when Jax and Gav got up and moved away, the kid followed them, taunting Jax. I was so proud of how Jax (and Gav) handled it but Jax told me he was unsure what to do when this kid kept harassing him.

I wanted the director to know it had happened and that Jax needed a safe place to go should this happen again. Geez, I was really not expecting this shit until middle school. The cretin child apparently was not there today. Next week is the last week so hopefully he will not be there then either.

While Jax and Dex were at golf, I took Cars shopping for sleeping bags and looked at other camping gear. Our camping trip is this weekend and I am starting to panic about it - the supplies that we do not yet have, the food planning, what about bugs and critters and worst of all - it is only going to be in the low 60's on the weekend!!! We are going to freeze our asses off! Nooooo! It had better not rain or I will not go.

And our van is small so I worry about getting all the stuff into the van. We may take out one of the middle seats and pile the sleeping bags and pillows there.

Ok, off to check out a Camping for Beginners article on about.com.

Crappy Pictures

Cars' birthday pictures. Yes, I have fired dh as photographer.

Crappy Pictures

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cars!

Cars is three! How did that happen? Really, how did it?

We had his birthday party today - Pirates of the Caribbean. There was a beanbag toss, pin the treasure chest on the pirate map, they made pirate jewelry, wore pirate bandanas, eye patches and played with balloon swords (we sent them home with plastic ones).

We decided to have a bbq with the families rather than just kids so it was nice to have adult interaction along with the kiddie stuff. I goofed twice though when I 1) put 3-7 on Laurie's invitation instead of 4-7 so she showed up early while we were still getting ready and 2) I served her a salad with wonton noodles and she is allergic to wheat! OMG, I was horribly embarrassed.

Other than that, the kids did have fun. The balloon swords were a bit hit (although they burst easily - I think we went through almost the whole bag of 100 balloons).

I will try to post some pictures later. Stephen was in charge of the camera so there were not many pictures nor good pictures!

Happy birthday to my dear, sweet baby.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 34

A quick review of the week... Monday was golf (I posted about that). Tuesday, we went to the locks and watched some boats go up and down (love those big barges and tug boats). Then we visited the fish ladder and saw them tagging and measuring salmon. The highlight for the kids though was rolling down the large grassy hill.

Wednesday morning we left bright and early and drove to Vancouver. We met my cousin and her family at Science World. The kids enjoyed it but I thought they would be wowed by the "LEGO®: Secrets of the Pharaohs" exhibit but they really did not care about it as much as the adults did!

Then we left and checked into our hotel. Because we decided to stay overnight just a couple of days before we went, and it is summer time (high tourist time), I could not ask my brother to get us a discounted room at a Starwood hotel. So, I just booked it on expedia.com. He did ask me to send him my confirmation number though and he had us upgraded from a double room to a two-bedroom suite!! It was fantastic! Two bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a sitting room with a couch, chairs and a dining table. Plus we were in the north side of the north tower and had an awesome view of the Celebration of Light fireworks. We met up with my cousin and her family as well as Jean-Paul and Marilyn for dinner and then we went back to the hotel to chat.

It was fun although later in the evening, a short, heated discussion about my relationship with my sister ensued. Both Jean-Paul and Killjoy have mentioned several times over the past couple of years about me not speaking to my sister or being mad at her. Excuse me but she does not speak to me so I have chosen not to call her because, as I have mentioned before, there is only so much rejection I can take. So, I made it perfectly clear (in probably a bit of a raised voice), that it was not me, it was her and I would be perfectly willing to talk to her if she would ever pick up the phone when I called. Which she never does. And there you have it.

Ok, so I was writing about how great our trip was and now I am talking about my sister rejecting me...not what I wanted to do.

Soooo, anyway, today we went to Granville Island so the kids could buy a toy and then we met Jean-Paul for lunch because his work is located on Granville Island. Then we left, stopped at Safeway to stock up on Canadian potato chips, Canadian Cheez Whiz, Pea Butter, and peanut-free Smarties.

Our drive home seemed endless because of a long delay at the border and then we hit rush-hour traffic in both Everett and then right here close to home. I think it took us 5 hours from the time we left Granville (we did stop at the grocery store and for two potty breaks) until the time we arrived home (it should be a 3 hour trip).

Anyway, it was great to see my cousin and her family. Her kids are great (as is her dh) and it was nice to see them again too. I feel spoilt because I have seen her 3 times in the last 16 months (vs just once in the three years before that!). And it was nice to see Jean-Paul and Marilyn too. We used to see more of each other however, since they bought their house, they spend most of their weekends working on it.

Tomorrow I will be frantically trying to prepare for Cars's 3rd BURR-dee PAH-dee (as he calls it). I still need to make a Captain Jack Sparrow bean-bag toss game and a pin-the-eyepatch-on-the-pirate game. Oh, and shop and clean and order balloons, etc.

Off to get some sleep so I will have energy for that!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 31

Cars had an accident - just moments ago in the corner of the family room. Well, it is not a setback, right?

The older boys are going to golf this morning (Ash is taking them) and I am taking Cars to the U of WA to participate in a research study about how children learn new tasks.

I contacted GlaxoSmithKline, makes of Aquafresh to find out if it really does have peanut oil in it. This is the letter they sent back to me:

Dear Mrs. Pez,

Thank you for inquiring about the presence of peanuts in Aquafresh toothpaste.

Your health and safety is of utmost importance, and we would like to assure you that no Aquafresh toothpaste products contain flavors with peanut oil, peanuts, or peanut
derivatives.

Here is some background information on this issue:

We were recently contacted by several consumers requesting information about the
possibility of trace amounts of peanut oil in our Aquafresh toothpaste products. It was our belief that trace amounts of peanut oil could be present in certain flavor blends purchased by Aquafresh from external flavor suppliers. Consequently, we responded to those consumers that there was a possibility that trace amounts of peanut oil may be present in some Aquafresh products.

Subsequently, we have contacted our flavor suppliers to confirm this information. We are pleased to learn that all of the flavor blends currently used to manufacture Aquafresh toothpaste contain no peanuts, no peanut oil and no peanut derivatives.

Until we were able to validate our flavor blend information, we chose to err on the side of caution and told consumers that the products may contain trace amounts of peanut oil. In light of how serious some allergies can be, we felt that was the right thing to do. As an additional assurance, we are arranging to have independent tests of our toothpaste conducted.

We appreciate your taking the time to contact us, and we apologize if this has caused you any confusion or concern. If you have additional questions, you may contact us by phone toll-free at 800-897-5623 weekdays between 9am-4:30pm.

Sincerely,

Sharon
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

So, for those of you who were planning to stop using Aquafresh, be assured that it you now do not have to. ;) And my ever frugal dh is happy not to have to throw out the 3 tubes we have left from a Costco mega-pack!.

We've turned the corner

I am whispering this because I do not want to jinx it...Potty training is happening fast and furious here. Cars has been diaper-free since Tuesday (pull-ups at night only) and he has had one accident since Thursday night (a bm - gross!) yesterday. I am so proud of him. He is a champ!

I will not complain but I need to comment that last week it was 100 and this week it is 60. WTF? How about a nice reasonable 75 degrees?

Oh, and I spoke to my sister on Friday night. I called my mom at my Aunt's house and my mom handed my sister the phone. I think for fear of embarrassing herself in front of my aunt and my cousin's family, my sister took the phone and spoke to me like it was just last week when we last spoke. Too strange.

Today was my sister's 46th birthday. She is visiting Killjoy in Toronto at the moment. Of course Killjoy reminded my eleventy billion times and "suggested" that I call to wish sis a happy birthday. I had mailed her a card to my mom's house so I figured that was good enough (more effort than she has put into my birthday in the past 27 years). Anyway, the guilt was too much so I called but of course sis was not available to come to the phone. Boy, rejected yet again. I am pissed off at Killjoy for the guilt and I am more pissed off at myself for succumbing to it.

Summer O'Fun 2006 Day 29

The boys have been angels today. We went to the beach and they were super-duper listeners. They played nicely together, they have been very respectful towards me today. Guess this will keep up while yesterday is still fresh in their minds.

I just found out that Aquafresh for kids has peanut oil in it but since it is NOT a food product, they do not have to put it on the label. That is shocking! This is a short news item about it if you are interested.