Summer O'Fun 2007 Day 2

Today, we had a hitch and bike rack installed on our van so I can more easily take the kids' bikes to the park or where ever. Until now, I had have to cram Dex's and Cars' bikes in the back of the van then position Jax's across the middle row seat. This has left grease stains on the seat and the handlebars are often poking Cars in the head. This rack will be make things so much easier. Although, I will have to remember that there is an extra 18" sticking out behind my van when the rack is on (and more than 24" when it is on and the bikes are on it). Already today I back into a curb (ouch!) and scraped the bottom of the rack when I went up a very steep driveway. *@#&$! Nice way to ruin the new rack. Anyway, it will get its first try-out tomorrow when I take the kids along with their bikes, skateboards and scooters to the skateboard park. Wish me luck!

After the bike rack installation (and lunch at Burger King while we waited), Jax and Dex made a pirate board game. It is borrowed heavily from The Game of Life: Disney's Pirates Of The Caribbean™: Dead Man's Chest, (which Jax played at a friend's house) but it still some of their own touches and it kept them busy for two hours:

Here's a picture of the game (which we played after dinner - Cars won!):


And here is a photo of them modeling their tie dye shirts (I had just taken them out of the dryer and they wanted to wear them so I let them put them on for 3 minutes only - mean mom that I am, only letting them dirty one set of clothes a day). They are excited to wear them tomorrow when we meet up with friends (who will also be wearing theirs):



And finally, here is a (blurry) photo of a hummingbird visiting the feeder. You will probably have to click to view it larger because the hummingbird is reddish and blends in with the red maple tree:



So, it has been a good summer so far. :)

Summer O'Fun 2007 Day 1

We made tie dye shirts today. They are still sitting in plastic bags waiting to be rinsed off (I'll do it tomorrow morning). The rubber gloves I were using leaked or had a hole in them so now two of my finger tips are turquoise. I hope it wears off soon.

It was hot today and being out in the sun has exhausted me. I think I will take a quick nap before I start dinner. Geez, what an old biddy!

The kids' last day of school today. We celebrated with a picnic (well, McD's) in the park after school. It was a weird day - very cool breeze but warm when the sun was shining. Tomorrow will be a nice day which will be great to kick off our Summer O'Fun 2007.

Jax and Dex had great report cards this term. I am so proud of them both. This was a really great school year for them and I think their teachers were perfect for each of their personalities. Still keeping my fingers crossed for next year for great teachers. Jax's teacher today told me that she will be sure to talk to his next year's teacher (I guess she knows who it is already) to discuss his peanut allergy. I really appreciate it. I know that all the problems we had at the beginning of this school year had nothing to do with her and all to do with the school administration, counselor and nursing services.

Anyway, as I said, tomorrow is our first day of Summer O'Fun. We are making tie dye shirts. They have such fun making (and wearing) them.

We went to dinner at a friend's house last night. They bought a plot of land behind their house and it is so cool. They call it "the meadow" and it is overgrown with grass and wild flowers. There are cherry, plum and apple trees on the lot (a little shy of an acre). They installed a sliding door in their fence to access the meadow and another small door for their girls to run in and out. It is wonderful!

Also, the land creates a short-cut for them to a park that leads directly to the lake. It is about a 10 minute walk to the water. It is a very small park that I had never been to before. The beach is small - about 50 feet perhaps, but the neatest thing about it is that there is a beaver lodge along the shoreline just past the beach. There were several trees that had been recently felled by the beavers. It was so cool to see the ones that they were currently 'working' on. I have never seen that before! In fact, I had no idea that there were beavers on 'our' lake. I will definitely go back to that park again!

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Jax and Dex. They just have 1/2 day (3 hours). I have the gift for Jax's teacher so I will have to go in. We had money left over from the class party fund so we purchased gift cards for the teacher. Also, I had the kids fill in a "VIP" sheet for the teacher. She has the kids make one for each kid in the class and they are very cute so I thought it would be fun for the kids to make one for her. It worked out well that she was away last week so the substitute teacher had the kids complete them in class. I then took them, put them in page protecters and into a duo-tang (ok, I hope you guys know what that is and my Canadian isn't showing).

For Dex's teacher, of course ALL of the party fund$ were $pent so we all pitched in $2 to buy the teacher a huge lavender plant. At least I hope it is huge for $40. I also made her some note cards out of an Art Start project (the kids embroidered swirls on muslin - I was going to quilt them but after several panic attacks decided just to spray mount them on cardstock and mount those on blank cards). They still took me over 6 hours to make but they look nice and the teacher will have some cards to write thank-you's to her students for the lavender plant. ;) I should have taken a photo before I wrapped them up.

Now that all of the wrapping paper and scrapbooking/card making supplies are away I think I shall indulge in a wee bit of chocolate. I feel off the roof today and chocolate is the only thing that helps with cramps. Well, only thing besides Advil, Tylenol and Anaprox. :)

Garage (no) Sale

Well, I guess technically there was a garage sale because I put a bunch of $hit out to sell but we did not sell a lot. The "neighbourhood" garage sale apparently wasn't. The neighbourhood assoc'n did not advertise. The dumpster never materialized and I know I am not the only one a little irked about this. Late last night I put an ad on Craigslist and put out a couple of signs this morning.

All that work and I only made $91 - which is not a lot considering I sold an xBox ($20), a wagon and trailer ($20), a trike ($8) and several DVD's for a buck each ($8). The rest were all 25 cents to $2.00 things. I had to drop the price on my key items (wagon and xBox) because I had no customers for the first 45 minutes! When does that ever happen?! Anyway, I will never rely on someone else when it comes to advertising GS's.

I also have two van-loads of items to go to Goodwill. I will have to do it tomorrow. And once that is done, I will enjoy my less-crowded garage, closests and rafters in the garage.

:\

Jax apologized to the teacher this morning. The teacher told Jax he wants Jax to have fun in the class but he must not be too silly. I told the teacher that if Jax's behaviour is a huge problem, I need to know.

Later in the day, my friend, who has a dd in Jax's class, told me that the teacher "screamed his head off" at Jax yesterday because he did the worm. And yes, my son was misbehaving (apparently when he did the worm the whole portable shook) but I am pretty sure he did not need to be screamed at. Let's hope that tomorrow's class goes well (and a new music teacher is around next year?!). And Pley, yes I think it is a bit much for a teacher to tell a student that he's pushed him over the edge. I need to ask around a bit - perhaps this teacher has issues with controlling his classes (or maybe my son is just that rotten?! Ok, I know that is not it - he just likes being "class clown"). :\

I made a Santa Fe Quinoa Salad for dinner tonight and when I served it Dex asked me why we were eating budgie food. I didn't even know that he knew what a budgie was! I found out later that Stephen told him last time I served quinoa that's what it looked like. Dex apparently thought that was funny so he said it to me today.

And just to add something about Cars...he was looking carefully at my hands one day last week and said "Why are your hands just like Granny's?". I asked him what did he mean and he said "You've got those blue bumpy things just like her!" (veins). Wah - I have old lady hands! Oh, and one day he was sitting on my lap, facing me and talking to me. Suddenly he stopped and told me that I had something in my nose. "Oh? Do I need to blow my nose?" I asked. He said, "No, it's just hair".

Jax asked me today what "pushed me over the edge" meant. I explained to him what it meant (literally and figuratively). A short time later he came up to me with big eyes and told me that his music teacher said that to him today after Jax did The Worm in class. He was very contrite and wanted to know what I thought the teacher was then going to do.

Now, I was not too sure what exactly he was more upset about at first. That the teacher had been driven crazy or that the teacher was going to call our home to talk to me. I told him he had to apologize (he said he had already written a note and it was in his desk at school and he would give it to the music teacher on Friday). However, I don't think this should said so we are going to go in to school a little early tomorrow so he can get the note then we will track the teacher down so Jax can apologize in person.

This is the second time this year that Jax has told me he was in trouble in music for trying to be funny. *sigh*

I told him that it was very important for him to behave in school. Not only was he keeping the teacher from doing his job but he was also keeping the other children from learning. Now for the mean mom part...I told him that if he were ever having an anaphylactic reaction the music teacher might not initially recognize it and think that perhaps Jax is just acting up again. Jax's eyes almost popped out of his head. I said of course the teacher will help you, *if* he recognize that you really needs help and is not just misbehaving but if you constantly misbehave, the teacher might figure that is what is happening yet again.

I think I have scared him straight. We'll see. And we'll see what the teacher has to say tomorrow. I am irritated with the teacher because if Jax is chronically being a PITA why on earth has he not called me? I guess the other time Jax acted up the teacher said he was going to get a "communications slip" which is given out for things like fighting or destroying property and openly defying teachers. It means a trip the to Principal's office and a meeting with parents. But we heard nothing! Why is he making idle threats? Punish him if he is misbehaving! Sheesh!

Tomorrow is Cars' last swim class until September. I am sure I have mentioned that he no longer cries when he swims and he just lives for the "candy" that I buy for him after the class (he usually choses a small bag of cheetos or crackers with cheese - both of which he should not be eating due to his allergy). Anyway, today he asked me how many more swimming lessons he had and when I told him just one more until he is four years old, he jumped up and down and shouted "Yeah!". It was so funny but a little sad because I want him to really love swimming.

Tomorrow is Jax's class end-of-year party even though 1) it is not yet the end of the year and 2) his teacher is out of town until Friday. She did not want to have it on Friday because it is "clean out the classroom day". I must remind her that Jax is not allowed to clean anything besides his own mess (in case he accidentally touches pb). Anyway, the party tomorrow will consist of a kick-ball game of kids v. parents and substitute teacher (I don't imagine she has *any* idea of this), a limbo contest (no prize yet - still thinking) and then ice cream and juice. Laurie is in charge of kick-bsll and I will run the limbo contest. I have lots of leis and tropical tattoos for the kids too. I hope they have fun.

All of the 3rd grade parents are concerned with who their children will get for 4th grade. Currently, there are just 3 4th grade classes but they will have to add a teacher for next year. And one of the 4th grade teachers now seems like such a mean, unfriendly and rude person. One of my friends sent an email to the principal this week stating she did not want her son in that teacher's class because she was rude and mean to her students. The principal replied that she could not honour such requests and my friend fired back that she would pull him out and homeschool him if he ended up there. With our luck, Jax will get her. :\

Ok, off to watch the news. Has anyone been following the story of the Vaughn Family? The kids attended our school before they moved to Illinois. The school is offering counseling for the children are feeling a sense of loss. It is shocking and very sad (and of course we want to know what happened!).

I am now obsessed with the hummingbird feeder. I sit and watch and watch and watch and get so excited when a hummingbird approaches it. I am sure that I have scared off more than just a few of them by jumping up when they approach. lol

We still have not booked our trip to Toronto. Stephen and I both are dragging our heels. I think we should just forget it and go next summer (early summer).

Father's Day

Today had to be the most boring Father's Day ever. We did nothing special but that is what Stephen wanted. The excitement of the day was a trip to Home Depot to get a few things. We had our front door painted and we needed a new kick plate (they do not carry 30" kick plates at Home Depot BTW), some long wood screws to hold our newly painted front door (apparently we were missing like 6 screws and the ones that were in were only an inch and a half long), a garden hose reel, dust pan for the garage, nails for the fence and a new register for the heating duct opening in the kitchen. BOR-ING!

But, we did have rib eye steaks for dinner with mashed potatoes and mushrooms sauteed in butter. Yes, we are missing vegetables from the menu (I think of potatoes as breads and no one ate the mushrooms but Stephen and I so there you go). I figure it will not kill the kids to not have a vegetable today. They ate lots of fruit (and leftover birthday cake) and took their vitamins so that's good enough, right?

Lots of activity at the hummingbird feeder the last couple of days. Actually, I think there is one aggressive hummingbird that keeps chasing the others away when they stop by to check it out. I am going to try to get some pictures of the activity.

And it was 8 years ago today (well, Father's day but the actual date is June 20th) that my dad passed away. I still miss him a lot and I wish he was around. I know he would get suck a kick out of my kids. He only met Jax (Jax was 14 months old when my dad died). Two days before he died, my dad was cracking up at Jax running in and out of the hospital room privacy curtain. I remember thinking that there was no way my dad was going to die any time soon because he was so perky that day! The next day, however, things were a little more somber. One of my cousins stopped by for a visit and when he left my dad shook his hand and said "I'll see you, Matt". I realized then that he was really saying "Good-bye, Matt". What a shock. I mean, I ~knew~ he was gravely ill and I ~knew~ he was going to die, but seeing that he knew it and knew it was going to be soon was still stunning. My dad died about 12 hours later.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I miss you.

Today was all about Dex. It was his last baseball game for the season (Go Cubs!). And today was his birthday party.

He had a pool and pizza party at the club where I work out. The kids swam for about an hour then we moved to the party room (daycare center really!) and they ate pizza, cake and played with the toys in there (the Lego was a big hit).

Since the party was at a pool, Dex picked luau invitations so I made a beach-theme cake. Fun and easy to do! Palm tree from Imaginext pirates, umbrella pick, Swedish fish and Swedish "sea life" gummies, tinted green, tan, blue icing and graham cracker crumbs for sand.



Dex had such a blast swimming at the party. The club provided a party coordinator who takes the kids into the pool and plays with them, supervises them in the change room and then serves the pizza and cake for the kids. It was low stress and very relaxing (except when one kid sank to the bottom of the pool when he jumped in and the lifeguard jumped in after him - he had to wear a swim belt after that).

A house is for sale up the street and I was so excited when I learned of it! It is exactly my house but it has a "daylight basement" because they are on a hill. I always said my house would be perfect if it had a basement and here was my house for sale for a "reasonable" price (reasonable being subjective since the prices of houses are outrageous here). The basement is not finished but is plumbed for a bathroom and definitely could be finished and would not have to be done immediately. I looked at it yesterday afternoon then Stephen and I went to see it today. He nixed it though because he says when he buys a new house it will be an "upgrade" not our exact same house with an unfinished basement. Totally burst my bubble. :(

Book club last night was fun. I finished a little more than half the book and we barely discussed it so that was fine.

I am baking the cake for Dex's b-day party today. I hope the decorating turns out. I'll let you know.

I received a cheque in the mail from the company who did our roof. I mentioned to a friend of mine that she should call them for a quote and when she did, they sent me a $10 Starbucks card. Then she booked with them and the cheque they sent to me was for $100! Whoo-hoo!

Ok, cake needs to come out of the oven!

Book club is tomorrow night and I have not read the book. Eeek! I just have not been in the mood to read it. It is non-fiction book and I just cannot get into it. I will give it another try a little later this evening but no doubt will fall asleep as I have the last few times I have tried to read it.

Anyway, I will make up for not having read the book by bringing a fabulous dish or dessert tomorrow. :)

It was time

The painful process has come to an end.

Nineteen months since my last all-over colour.

Thirteen months since I had some low lights put in to blend the colour/no colour.

Ten weeks since my last haircut.

I was so sick of pulling my hair up or back because it was long, unruly, frizzy and, of course, a multitude of colours. It was just about long enough to cut all of the colour out of it so chop-chop flick-flick with the razor to thin it out and voila - my natural hair colour (or lack thereof).

Before and after shots taken today.



Now, how long do you suppose it will be before I colour my hair again. ;)

The Saab is back on the road for now. Friggin car!

I bought a skirt today that was a size M! Ok, so it was not an actual number size and M does cover more than one size but it was still an M and not an L. Go me!

School will be over in less than two weeks. I have to start planning Summer O'Fun 2007.

Dex's birthday party is this coming weekend. I have to bake and decorate the cake on Friday because he has a baseball game on Saturday morning (party is at 4pm). He is soooo excited to be having a swimming party.

Jax's class is having their Funny Money Bazaar on Friday. In the past, he has made comic books (I would end up spending about $15 for photocopying them!). However, last time he accidentally sold his original copy and is very upset about it so he has decided that he will sell "pet rocks". He has about a dozen rocks so far that he has drawn on. I think he is drawing eyes or something. Anyway, I am sure no one will buy them. He thinks they will. We'll see...

Cars' last day of preschool for the year is this week. His Summer O'Fun will start a little earlier than Jax and Dex's. We'll start with him going into the daycare center at the club on Friday so I can work out. ;)

Uh-oh!

I could be in serious trouble:

34%Mingle² - Free Online Dating

But, I at least I can spell:

I Scored a 100%!

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

(I got these quizzes after linking to Mingle2 from Miss Arrogant's blog. I did the Grade 8 science quiz but only got 73% and did not want to post that I only got a C!)

The Saab had another potentially lethal blow. It is in the shop for the weekend and we'll see if it can be revived yet again. The friggin lemon has 9 lives it seems. This is not a good weekend for us to be a one-car family. I have an all-day planning session for MOPS that ends right about the time Stephen will be dropping Dex off at a b-day party 7 miles away. And on Sunday, I have a MOPS steering committee meeting that ends right about the time when Dex has to be dropped off at his baseball game.

Looks like Stephen will be playing chauffeur all weekend while I sit around and wait for him. At least it will give me time to finish my book club selection.

And time to pull out the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue.

A house a quarter of a mile up the street caught fire this afternoon. About 4:30 a fire truck when screaming up the street and there were two helicopters circling. Ash said three more trucks went by her house then too. Fortunately, no one was hurt (the teenage boys got out of the house) but their cat perished in the fire. I heard from neighbours that it was a "chemistry experiment" gone wrong. Not exactly sure what that means but it is scary to think of what may have happened with the boys in the house while the parents were at work.

Tomorrow, I am teaching Art Start in Dex's class. I do not have anyone to help out and the remaining lesson for the 1st grade curriculum is too involved (mixing dry tempera paint with liquid starch) for just me to handle/prep so I am teaching them from the 2nd grade lesson plans. There were no supplies in the Art Start supply cabinet for this project so I had to buy some beads at Michael's. It ticks me off that the supplies are not around for these lessons. If I had gone with the tempera/liquid starch plan, I would have had to buy those supplies too and no doubt will hear from the chair that there are no funds left to reimburse me. I won't be reimbursed for the beads for tomorrow's lesson but they were cheap enough and again, this is a 1st grade class. And besides, beading is FUN for me and I will be happy to keep whatever is left over.

And speaking of Art, well crafts, well my mom's club crafts...today was the last meeting and the last craft of the year. Now I can spend my time and energy PLANNING for next year's crafts. I seriously plan to do things differently this year and will try to get as many supplies/prep done during the summer so I will be far less stressed in the Fall/Winter/Spring. :)

And blather blather blather. What a boring blahg entry.

Dex had an appointment with an eye doctor today. Boy, was she ever great with him! Anyway, she checked everything, his eye muscles, his vision, his depth perception, etc and he checked out ok so nothing to do with his vision is causing his headaches. She said she was glad to hear that we were going to a neurologist because she was concerned when he told her he had a headache everyday.

She did start asking questions about glaucoma and did it run in the family. She explained that the optic disk is like a donut with a hole (or cup) in the middle. Typically, in "Northern Europeans" (as she referred to us) the cup is usually 30% of the whole disk. For people of colour, it can be bigger - perhaps 40% - and smaller for Asians (about 25%).. Well Dex's is 55%! She said that does not mean that he has glaucoma but we definitely need to monitor him and make sure he comes in regularly every 2 years for a check up. She said that if he never came back again but at age 40 had a check up the doctor would diagnose him with glaucoma based on the size of the cup. But, she said that it could just be normal for him.

Now we wait until for the appointment with the neurologist in July. Dex's head shaking has not yet disappeared. Only six more weeks!

Cars has been a little terror the last few days. Defiant and moody. Last night he had a temper tantrum at 2AM when I would not let him sleep in our bed (he is allowed to sleep on the floor beside my bed but not in my bed). He sat in the timeout chair three times today (he has not been in it in weeks and weeks and weeks!). Very frustrating! I think part of it is that the kids are staying up later since it is so light out. The new blinds we have up does a good job of blocking out the light in the evening but not the caw-cawing of the black crows at the crack of dawn. I hope things get back to normal soon.

I ordered a few things from Oriental Trading for Dex's birthday party. The stuff is "estimated" to arrive two days before the party. Now I sit on pins and needles hoping that the stuff won't be late.

I did a whole lot of not much today. I replanted more flowers (found more pots in the garage) and some herbs, I set up the slip'n'slide for the kids, swept the deck, tidied the garage and that's about it. What a lazy Sunday. I had a short nap before dinner too!

I made several stepping stones last weekend with the leftover cement that Stephen mixed for the fence post. I used lots of tumbled glass that I had and they all look so pretty. They are about 8" in diameter (the moulds were plastic plant trays) and today, I have lined them beside the walkway up to the front door, under the boxwood shrubs.

Oh, it just started raining and I hear thunder. It is pretty rare for us to have a thunderstorm! I think I will turn out the lights to see lightening (if there is any).

edited to add some photos that I taken before I blogged but did not post them:

The one on the left we made last year:

The one in the middle was made in 2004 and had handprints of Jax, Dex and Cars

I love this one!


I also have a few more that were made last year as examples for Dex's kindergarten class. We used ceramic tiles with the tumbled glass around (like the one in the first photo).
I would like to get some new bark to put in the gardens to make the stones look "built in" rather than just placed in the dirt. One day...

Jax's last day of baseball! It was again a devastating loss but they were all good sports. The coach had every player who had yet to pitch to go in the game and pitch to two players. Jax had his pitching debut and he walked the first runner (but he did throw two strikes) and then he again threw three balls and two strikes before the player his the ball (but he was thrown out at first!). Jax was so proud of himself and I am happy that his coach let them all play. And kudos to the coaches of the other team for being patient and kind about it.

The end-of-season party was held at a nearby country club where the kids swam for a couple of hours at the outdoor pool. The head coach did a great job of making little autograph books for each kid where the kids could go and sign by their own photos.

Dex has two more games and a party which has yet to be scheduled. I am so looking forward to the return of my Saturdays and Cosmo Fridays. ;)

After the party, the kids crashed and Stephen started working again on the fence. I cut the rhodies, birch tree (achoo!) and the japanese maple out the front. I need to work on the photinia bushes which grow like weeds. I would love to pull them all out (we have 6 - 2 in front and 4 in back). When I cut them I totally fill up the yard waste bins and it takes three weeks to clear it all out and leaves no room for grass clippings.

End in Sight

Jax's last baseball game is tomorrow. Looking forward to it! Then we just have two more weeks for Dex and we will be free of baseball! Yeah!

We have not booked a trip to Toronto for the summer. The cost of flights has sky-rocketed and while Stephen shrugs it off, I don't think I can bring myself to spend that much money just to go to Toronto! We'll keep watching for prices to drop but I think perhaps we have missed the boat on low fares.

Dex knocked his noggin three times today. I am a little worried about him! First, at recess, he was hit in the eye by a ball and then he fell backwards against the wall with his head. He showed up afterschool with a bright green bracelet to alert me of his injured head and a report about it. Then at baseball he was hit in the head with a baseball. And after baseball, I let him play on the playground for a few minutes and he fell off the monkey bars and landed on his head! Sheesh! The weird thing is that he hit the back of his head when he fell but told me that he landed on the top of his head and that is what hurt (where he says he always has a headache). Wonder if I can wait another 7 weeks until his appointment with the neurologist. :\

Dex is *7*

His first moment in the world:



A few moments ago:



Happy 7th Birthday, Declan!

Lazy Daisy Cake

Cake Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c butter
3 tbsp cream or milk
1/2 c shredded coconut

- Beat eggs until light. Gradually add sugar and vanilla
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture, stirring until no lumps
- Melt butter. Add milk and heat to lukewarm. Add to flour, stir until smooth
- Pour into 9x9 pan and bake in preheated 350F oven for 25 mins

Topping
- Combine all but coconut in a saucepan on low to melt
- Stir well and add coconut
- Spread on cake once you take it from the oven
- Place cake under broiler until lightly browned

Enjoy!

Jax's team lost their third straight baseball playoff game tonight. They've just one more practice (Friday) and one more game (Sat. morning) and we are done for the year. We finally has a warm day in which to watch a game (too bad they were annihilated!). Oh well. The kids still had a great time playing and we were not playing that team where the coach yells at all of the players, the opposing team's coach AND the umpire.

Dex's team still has three games and practices. Both he and Jax have a game at the same time on Saturday.

We have been checking on flights for the summer and it is outrageous how much the prices have jumped in the past few days. We should have booked a couple of weeks ago but we have been in "discussions" about the 4th of July and whether or not we will be around (now it just depends on the price of flights). We are considering a quick side trip to Minneapolis to see old friends and my brother who lives there.

Dex's b-day is in two more days. I bought him a book of trivia for kids. That kid loves spewing out facts and trivia. He wants a Lazy Daisy cake and spaghetti for dinner. I was hoping he'd ask to go to Red Robin for dinner. LOL

I think the hummingbird feeder is a bust. I saw a hummingbird buzzing around it one evening but other than that, nothing. And the nectar level never went down. I replaced it tonight with fresh stuff so we'll see what the next week brings.

Here's a picture of me and Lola from yesterday:

Lola

We drove to Vancouver (and back) today to meet Lola! Long trip but it was worth is! She is so lovely. And sooooo tiny. It is so easy to forget how tiny babies can be. I cannot wait to see her again!

It's back!

Cosmo Friday, that is. Well for today anyway. Dex's baseball practice was canceled and since it is the long weekend we figured that Jax's was optional so we did not take him. Laurie hosted Cosmo Friday which turned into BBQ Friday. The dh's joined us about 6pm and we stayed until 9. The weather was nice, we ate, sipped Cosmos and chatted while the kids played in Laurie's HUGE backyard. It was so much fun. Just another three weeks and Cosmos Fridays will be back on for good!

We are thinking about driving to Vancouver for the day on either Sunday or Monday. Actually, Sunday would be best because of the line-ups at the border on Monday will be disasterous. We'll see how tomorrow goes before we commit to driving six hours in one day.

Dex started shaking his head a while back, as though he is trying to shake his hair out of his eyes (his bangs were long). We've had his hair cut yet he still does it. I asked him why and he said that his head hurt and shaking his head helped. I asked him about his head hurting and he says it hurts everyday. (EVERYDAY?!) I asked him why he did not tell me and he shrugged. So off we went to the pediatrician who said that the head shaking was probably just a tic. She suggested that we wait a few weeks to see if the head shaking goes away. I believe her words were "Tics can go away within 1-6 months".

I told her to please not take any offense but I just do not think that his head shaking is "just a tic". I asked her to remember back when he had a throat-clearing thing going on and we saw one of the other doctors in the practice who said it was "just a tic". I went back two weeks later and insisted that it was a sinus infection (which I originally had told them) and they put him on antibiotics and guess what? The throat clearing stopped. Just like the many other times he has had the throat-clearing thing. And now - this is not "just a tic" when he has headaches and he says that head shaking helps the headaches.

She asked me what I wanted to do then. She gave me the following options:
1) (again) waiting it out
2) getting a CT-scan
3) see a neurologist who "specializes" in tics

{banging head against wall}

So, I left with a referral to the neurologist and I figure that is the most proactive thing to do. Of course we cannot get in to see him until mid-July. The tic thing still does not explain or address the headaches. Hopefully we'll have some answers in, what - 8 weeks?!

Two weeks ago, Dex came home from school so excited about a hummingbird feeder that his teacher hung outside of the classroom window. Already they have seen many hummingbirds. This week, I noticed that the drugstore had hummingbird feeders on sale so I picked one up. Yesterday, Dex and I made the syrup (1 part sugar to 4 parts water) and hung the feeder up. Today we saw our first hummingbird! He (or she) just hovered around it but did not stop to drink from it. I think I was more excited than the boys about it!

My mom leaves early tomorrow morning. I will miss her but I will not miss her comments (she claims she means nothing by them but if so, why say them?! I mean if you cannot say anything nice...) And I guess it is not that she is mean really but just what is the point of saying something about my hair or my weight. I am 42 years old and shall do what I like TYVM. I lost 2.6 pounds this week (going to WW yet again) and she was incredulous that I lost any weight because I had some chocolate and popcorn for a snack a few nights ago. And the comment "You look so much younger with your hair pulled back". Aargh!

Anyway, I should focus on the positive. The boys loved having her here. She made me a meat pie and a whole slew of cabbage rolls. We played Gin almost every night. She brought Smarties and Mars bars. :) We celebrated her 72nd birthday while she was here and she loves to shop for bargains so we spent a lot of time in the stores.

Ok, I am off to bed because I have to awaken her at 5:15am so she can get ready for her train to Vancouver. Quick note to Jean-Paul and Marilyn (and Lola)! Watch out! Granny's coming!!

My mother's visit has been good. I haven't been on the computer much though because as soon as I touch my laptop she says "Are you on the computer again?!" or "See if Jean-Paul is on so I can chat with him on MSN". So no time to read blogs or post to mine! She leaves early Wednesday morning.

The kids have so enjoyed having her here. They love telling Granny all about their days and she was able to see one of Jax's baseball games and one of Dex's. Cars is really taken with her and she is eating that up!

I'll be back to blogging and reading more regularly after she leaves.

Way back when classmates.com was free, I had reconnected with a few people from my high school. Then when classmates.com started to charge, one of the guys created an alumni site for our school. Most of the people who had signed up originally to this alumni site were people who went to school around the same time as I did. Anyway, one of the teachers signed up too. He was an art teacher (my art teacher one year). He was also an avid photographer and was always taking photos of the students and staff. He had a bulletin board where he would post new photos every Monday (I think it was Monday). Anyway, recently, he sent me a link to many of the photos that he had taken during my years at the school. Lo and behold, there was a photo of Ramona and I:

.
(The girl on the right is our friend, Debbi)

I think this must have been taken when I was in Grade 11 (so fall of 1980 - yikes!). We were obviously out watching a football game after school. Fun stuff!

Food Allergy Awareness Week

It is Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 13-19). Do what you can to promote and educate people!

Some FAQ's from www.foodallergy.org:

What is a food allergy?
A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it creates specific antibodies to it. The next time the individual eats that food, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, including histamine, in order to protect the body. These chemicals trigger a cascade of allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system. Scientists estimate that approximately 12 million Americans suffer from true food allergies.

What are the common symptoms of a reaction?
Symptoms range from a tingling sensation in the mouth, swelling of the tongue and the throat, difficulty breathing, hives, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness to death. Symptoms typically appear within minutes to two hours after the person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic.

What is the best treatment for food allergy?
Strict avoidance of the allergy-causing food is the only way to avoid a reaction. Reading ingredient labels for all foods is the key to maintaining control over the allergy. If a product doesn't have a label, allergic individuals should not eat that food. If a label contains unfamiliar terms, shoppers must call the manufacturer and ask for a definition or avoid eating that food.

Is there a cure for food allergies?
Currently, there are no medications that cure food allergies. Strict avoidance is the only way to prevent a reaction. Most people outgrow their food allergies, although peanuts, nuts, fish, and shellfish are often considered lifelong allergies. Some research is being done in this area and it looks promising. Click here for research information.

Should I stop eating the food that I think I'm allergic to?
Randomly taking food out of your diet can leave you with an unbalanced diet that can cause other health problems. Additionally, you may become frustrated because you reach a point where you believe that everything you eat is causing a reaction. Seek the help of a doctor before making significant changes in your diet.

What is the best treatment for a food allergy reaction?
Epinephrine, also called "adrenaline," is the medication of choice for controlling a severe reaction. It is available by prescription as a self-injectable device (EpiPen® or Twinject®).

What is the difference between food allergy and food intolerance?
Many people think the terms food allergy and food intolerance mean the same thing; however, they do not. A "food intolerance" is an adverse food-induced reaction that does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is one example of a food intolerance. A person with lactose intolerance lacks an enzyme that is needed to digest milk sugar. When the person eats milk products, symptoms such as gas, bloating, and abdominal pain may occur.

A "food allergy" occurs when the immune system reacts to a certain food. The most common form of an immune system reaction occurs when the body creates immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to the food. When these IgE antibodies react with the food, histamine and other chemicals (called "mediators") cause hives, asthma, or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.

What information should I provide my doctor?
Keep a food diary, for 1 to 2 weeks, of everything you eat, what symptoms you experience, and how long after eating they occur. This information, combined with a physical examination and lab tests, will help the doctor determine what, if any, food is causing your symptoms.

What is the difference between a prick skin test and a blood test or RAST test?
The prick skin test or a blood test, such as the RAST (or radioallergosorbent test), is commonly used to begin to determine if an allergy exists. The RAST can sometimes be called the CAP-RAST or ImmunoCap test.

A prick skin test is usually cheaper and can be done in the doctor's office. The doctor places a drop of the substance being tested on the patients' forearm or back and pricks the skin with a needle, allowing a tiny amount to enter the skin. If the patient is allergic to the substance, a wheal (mosquito bite-like bump) will form at the site within about 15 minutes.

A RAST test requires a blood sample. The sample is sent to a medical laboratory where tests are done with specific foods to determine whether the patient has IgE antibodies to that food. The results are usually received within one week.

Which test is better?
Although both tests are reliable, there are instances where one is better than the other. Many doctors use a RAST for young children or patients who have eczema or other skin problems that would make if difficult to read the results of a prick skin test. The results of either test are combined with other information, such as a history of symptoms and a food challenge, to determine whether a food allergy exists.

My mom is coming to town this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Today is the second day in a row of warm weather. Back to 60's and clouds for the rest of the week - just in time for baseball. I think I need a SADD light.

Last week's manic schedule was stressful for me so what did I do? Ate of course. I am up at least a pound now. I'll find out for sure in an hour when I weigh-in. :\

Yesterday at the park, one of my friends was noticing that my forearms are virtually hairless. I had to confess to her that I burnt the hair off my arms the week before last week when lighting the grill (did I write about this already?!). The ignite button on the grill broke (we've had the damn thing less than a year) and so I had to turn the gas on and light it with lighter. I had to click three times before the lighter lit and of course by then the gas was accumulating in the grill so there was a big fireball - WHOOOSH! And the hair on my arms were singed off. I am very lucky that I only lost the hair on my arms and not my eyebrows, eyelashes or hair on my head! I refuse to light the grill anymore so no grilled dinners for us this summer except on the weekends when Stephen is home to cook.

Introducing Lola!



P.S. She does not have deformed baby fingers like her dad and her aunt! ;) Jean-Paul did the same thing I did when Jax was born and check out the baby fingers right away.

It's a GIRL!

I am an aunt again!! Lola was born about 30 minutes ago. No details about her weight yet but both mommy and baby are doing fine. JP will send photos in the morning.

Dex's teacher asked for a "kind note" from her students for Teacher Appreciation week. Here is Dex's (A fine example of his left-handed chicken scratch):



Apparently she did not teach him spelling. O.M.G. I laughed so hard.

This very busy week is half way over. Just have to:
- Take soy ice cream in for Cars' ice cream social at school
- Deliver "Teacher Appreciation" gifts to teachers
- Hang up paper background and then 20 pieces of art work after school
- Make something yummy for book club
- Attend Mother's Day lunch at Dex's class
- prep and teach art start in Dex's class
- buy b-day presents for Gav
- pack boys' things for sleepover b-day party
- baseball practice

Ok, I think that is it. I am just panicking a little because I don't know when I will get a chance to buy the presents! I will have to run to Target right after Cars' ice cream social tomorrow. Oh, but that is when I was planning to bake something for book club. Ok, ~breather ~ no baking tomorrow. Looks like I will be buying something.

Saturday we have the first of two baseball games that overlap Yikes! I just remembered that we are up for snack for Dex's team. Ok, add that to my list for tomorrow.

A little bit of this. A little bit of that.

My mother will be here a week today. Unless she decides to stay in Vancouver first.

Lola is still keeping her parents waiting. Come out to play, Baby! We are all eagerly awaiting your birthday!

Stephen's aunt's body was found and interred on Monday. Fortunately, one of Stephen's cousins was still in town for the very quick service at the cemetary.

I have told Jax and Dex that their long locks will be shorn this weekend. I am sick of them looking like ragamuffins.

Dex can manage to put a hole in any jacket, coat or hoodie within two weeks. I don't understand HOW.

The month of May is the busiest month of the year every year. Why do I never remember this?

100 Things About Pez

1. I love chocolate
2. I hate spiders
3. I am actually afraid of spiders
4. And bridges
5. I am Canadian
6. I have three boys
7. I cried when I found out the middle one was not a girl
8. It took two weeks to get over that
9. Fortunately, it was when I had an ultrasound and not when he was born
10. I have deformed baby fingers
11. I hate being late
12. I hate when people keep me waiting
13. I love looking up words in the dictionary
14. I love doing crossword puzzles
15. I love playing Scrabble but don’t play it often enough
16. I have grey hair
17. I stopped colouring my hair in 2005
18. It is still “growing in”
19. I hate peanuts because they can kill my oldest son
20. I hate tree nuts because they can kill my youngest son
21. I hate people who chose peanuts and nuts over my children’s lives
22. I think they are selfish
23. I am selfish (edited to clarify that it is not for reason #21!)
24. I am an Aries
25. My feet are always cold
26. My favourite things to wear are a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt and thick socks
27. I fancy myself an artist
28. I can make jewelry
29. I can paint
30. I can knit (a bit)
31. I can sew (badly)
32. I would like to go to school for graphic design
33. I teach art in my son’s class
34. I volunteer for the PTSA
35. Mostly I make (peanut-free) cookies for staff luncheons
36. I wish I had Shania teeth
37. I cry when I am very angry
38. When I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher (or an actress)
39. I would rather stick hot pokers in my eyes than speak in public
40. I am not very articulate when I speak
41. I worry that I will say the wrong thing so I often say the wrong thing
42. I skipped grade 4
43. I failed one class at university
44. I have a magenta cell phone
45. I want a Blackberry
46. I love the internet
47. I have met 10 people IRL whom I first knew on the internet
48. Most I first met via the SAHP forum on about.com
49. I kissed Scott Baio when I was 14
50. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology
51. I can kick anybody’s ass at Tetris
52. I like doing laundry (wash, dry, fold) but I hate putting it away
53. I love Christmas
54. I like tall trees that have coloured lights and a mish-mash of decorations
55. I like that my husband loves to spoil the kids rotten at Christmas
56. I like that my husband loves to spoil me rotten at Christmas
57. I have one sister and three brothers
58. My guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip
59. I love blue corn chips with salsa
60. I worry all.the.time about stupid stuff
61. Stephen calls me “Worst Case Scenario”
62. My favourite colours are red, purple and blue (not all together)
63. I have a cobalt blue glass collection
64. I collect Pez dispensers
65. I have over 350 Pez dispensers on display
66. I am obsessed with the weather
67. I check the weather at least three times each day but usually much more often
68. I get migraines from the weather
69. I get migraines from stress
70. I get migraines when I travel
71. I don’t like to travel
72. I belong to a book club
73. I hate it when people don’t read the book
74. I hate it when people pick lousy books
75. I picked a lousy book
76. Ok, two lousy books
77. The third book I picked ROCKED
78. I friggin’ Rock!
79. My favourite drink is ice cold Coca-Cola but I tell everyone it is water
80. I don’t drink diet pop because I think it will give me brain cancer
81. I had a breast biopsy for suspected cancer (it was benign)
82. I have had thyroid surgery
83. I had three c-sections
84. I played football in high school (ok, flag football)
85. I am too cheap to go to Starbucks but I love to go when I get coffee cards as gifts
86. I don’t drink coffee but I love tea (I guess I have to call it hot tea since I live in the States)
87. I once called it hot tea when I was back in Canada and my friends laughed at me – as did the waitress
88. I love Greek salad
89. I love souvlaki
90. Souvlaki and Greek salad were served as the meal at my wedding
91. I wish they made Cadbury’s Easter Crème Eggs year ‘round
92. I eat them by the dozen
93. I need to lose weight
94. I recently rejoined Weight Watchers
95. I replaced the 50 Things about Pez with 100 Things about Pez because some of the others were too honest and embarrass me now
96. I always spelt embarrass wrong for the first 35 years of my life
97. I miss Toronto but do not want to move back there
98. I would like to live in Vancouver
99. My favourite tv shows are Boston Legal, Heroes, Project Runway (Grey’s Anatomy recently fell off the list because it jumped the shark)
100. I love ribbon and could spend hours in fabric stores looking at it

Eeeeek!

Doctor finds spiders in boy with earache

Woke up today feeling crappy. My throat is killing me and I keep losing my voice. I think my family is happy about that.

We had baseball today (big surprise). Jax's team lost by like 20 runs or something like that. Oops! Dex has a game tomorrow afternoon. That will end 5 straight days of baseball. Five straight days in cold weather.

Ash and I went to Glo's 40th b-day party in Gig Harbor. The drive was surprisingly easy compared to the drive last year that took 2.5 hours (only took slightly over an hour today). It was so cool to see the new Tacoma Narrows bridge that is almost complete. Last time we drove by the deck had not yet been installed. Anyway, for some reason suspension bridges are not as scary to me as floating bridges. Although, it is still a little frightening.

Today, there was to be a Mass said for Stephen's aunt who died (the one from Houston). Then her body was to be interred in a cemetery just north of Toronto. Well, her body did not arrive in Toronto when it was scheduled to do so (Friday) and no one seems to know where she is! Hopefully she will show up soon!

The bracelet craft went well yesterday. People really seemed to love them. The volunteers will get theirs with their "thank you" baskets at the next mom's club meeting. We have just two left for this year (and no crafts for me to prepare - yeah!). Now on to planning for next year.

I have a cold and after yesterday's meeting, I crashed. I napped for almost two hours. Ash was kind enough to pick up Jax and Dex and bring them home from school. Then we had to rush around, finish homework, eat and back to the ball park for Jax's game. Once again, it was cold and windy! It is about 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. I was wearing my winter coat and sitting with a blanket over my knees while I watched the game. Cars, Dex and I left at 7:30 (Stephen met us there and he stayed until the game ended at about 8:15) so the kids could get a bath and warm up. (BTW, Jax's team won 14-11 - the scores would have been higher if not for those 5-run maximum innings!).

Today we have rain so perhaps both Dex and Jax's practices will be canceled. Jax has a game tomorrow and Dex has one on Sunday. And speaking of Dex, he seems to have lost his brand-new baseball hoodie that we bought for him. Aargh! Twenty-five dollars down the drain. I need to go and check out the school's lost and found box. Oh, I will have Stephen check the trunk of his car. Those are the last two places I can think of to look.

I desperately need to buy some groceries today but I just don't feel like going. I should make a trip to Costco but if I do go out, I am only driving as far as Safeway. Right now I am going to make myself another cup of tea.

Ok, my last mom's club craft is packed up in my market basket to take tomorrow. I think I spent close to 20 hours prepping this craft (deciding on beads/supplies, buying supplies, sorting 1000's of beads into little baggies, cutting beading wire, crimping beading wire, attaching charms and clasps to the bracelet (the moms will thread the beads on themselves), plus making 13 bracelets for the volunteers). well, now that I write it all out, I am sure it was well over 20 hours. Never again will I plan a craft as intricate as this one.

Anyway, here's a photo of some of the bracelets (one of each of the colours - amethyst, jade, rose quartz and blue quartz):



Again, next year's crafts are going to be simple, simple, simple!

A couple of weeks ago, my SIL called me (she is married to my youngest brother's wife) to tell me that they just found out that her sister's 1 yr old son had a peanut allergy. Then today, another SIL (married to my oldest brother) called me to tell me that her sister's son, who turned 3 on Sunday, had his first taste of peanut butter and he broke out in a rash and his eyes swelled shut. Weird that we have so many people around us allergic to it?!

Yesterday, Stephen brought home a copy of USA Today. I knew there *had* to be a special since he declared before we were married that USA Today was never allowed in our house since USA Today published an article about Arthur Ashe's medical problems, forcing him to go public about his HIV/AIDS. He won't even read it when it is the free newspaper delivered to us when we stay in hotels (well, like that even happens often!).

Anyway, the front page of USA Today had an article entitled Marketers zooming in on your daily routines". The part about the big software company is what Stephen does and the two people mentioned in the article report to him. So, I guess that made it ok to bring a copy into our house.
;)

I have soooo much to do for craft for the mom's club meeting on Thursday. In fact, I am so stressed out about it that all I can do is still and fret about it (rather than get going on it!). I think tonight (and tomorrow night) will be late nights. And I am so behind on my TV shows (Heroes and Grey's Anatomy and I won't be able to pay close attention to Boston Legal tonight!). What shall I do?!

This weekend, I am going to a 40th birthday party for Glo at her house in Gig Harbor. I will FREAK if the traffic is as bad as it was last year when we went to their house warming party. Anyway, it is a Cinco de Mayo party so lots of chips and salsa! Arriba!

Today is Lola's due date yet she has not arrived. Hmmm...just like her dad and grandfather to be late! ;)

Remember those shoes that I bought for Stephen for his birthday? The weirdest thing happened when I returned them. I had purchased them at Fred Meyer. Fred Meyer has a rewards program and every four months they mail you some coupons worth some dollars off based on how much you have spent there. They also have some really good coupons like $5 off kitchen gadgets or 50% off one clothing or shoe item.

So, I had the 50% off coupon which I used when I purchased Stephen's shoes. So, the shoes were regularly $70 but I got them for $35. When I returned them, I expected to get my $35 (plus tax) returned to me, right? No! The lady explained that they could not give me another 50% off coupon (I figured so much) so the $35 that I had saved when I used the coupon would have to go on a Fred Meyer gift card and I could get the rest back in cash. HUH? I dont' get it. So I buy a pair of shoes for $35 and they give me $70 back when I return them? That makes no sense whatsoever?! I mean what is to stop me from going back with my NEXT 50% off coupon and buying a winter coat for $200, getting it for $100, then returning it for $200? So they are out $100!

I need to call Fred Meyer and see if this is really right. But I think I will wait until after I spend my $35 gift card.

Our dinner party last night was fabulous! A great time had by all! Stephen made a wonderful dinner (grilled lamb, tzatziki sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and grill asparagus). Appetizers were baked brie (one with phyllo and one without to accommodate a wheat allergy) served with my favourite crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers Black Pepper). Dessert were those fabulous wheat-free brownies (my sole contribution to the dinner) with a raspberry coulis and a small scoop of ice cream.

I had banished my children to the upstairs to watch a movie until bedtime and they a great job of staying upstairs and going straight to bed after they came down to say good night.

I was striving to make the table look "perfect" for dinner and I realized that I needed some flowers to go with the glassybaby votives in the middle of the table. I thought "I'll just cut a couple of tulips from the garden". Easier said than done. My brilliant idea of trying to climb the retaining wall using a plastic patio chair and nearly stabbing myself in the heart with the kitchen shears when I fell (not once but TWICE) was somewhat successful in that I was able to cut three white tulips (the rest were too far gone). However, getting those three tulips came at the cost of a 30 minute time-out from dinner prep whilst I bandaged my lacerations and abrasions then Stephen plucked 25+ splinters out of my hand which I received in my unsuccessful attempt to break my fall (I grabbed the very old and rotting wooden posts on the retaining wall). If only I had the camera running - I am certain it would be worthy of the $10,000 Grand Prize (if even for stupidity).

Anyway, after a good cry, I went to Safeway to buy myself MORE tulips. The table looked great and I had a good story to share with my guests (while Stephen just shook his head).

Tomorrow, I will be making wheat-free brownies for a dinner party. Of course I had none of the strange ingredients and had to buy them at Whole Foods (or "Whole Paycheck" as Margi referred to them - and she is not wrong!).

Wish me luck!

The reason I asked about the colour of Dex's hair is that we had to apply for passports for the kids because we are considering a trip to Toronto this summer.

We went to the courthouse to apply and the person who was notorizing it told us that the passports would take 8-10 weeks!! They would arrive back past the date in which we had planned to leave. And the kids' birth certificates are attached to the application so we don't have those now either (ok, I do have an additional copy for each of them just-in-case).

Anyway, we had to use the "Expedited Service" the applications for a cost of $60 each. (on top of the regular passport fees!). And even then it is possible that the passports may take up to 4 weeks. YIKE$!

Bottom line, we might not be going to Toronto when I wanted to since Stephen refuses to by tickets unless the passports are in hand. That definitely will put a crimp in my Summer'O'Fun plans. :\

Guess who lost their two front teeth?



And a quick question - what colour is Dex's hair? Please post your opinion in comments section. I've asked ten different people and 5 answered one way while 5 answered another. I told them no "-ish" allowed. Think of what you would write on a passport application.

When Stephen was in university (well, I should clarify and say was an undergrad since his university career spanned over 10 years!), he said it was his goal to wear running shoes or "runners" to work every.single.day. This was in the mid to late '80s so at my part-time job in a bank, I wore wool skirts, silk blouses and blazers with ridiculously large shoulder pads. I always wore Hanes Silky Sheer in "Barely There" or "Barely Black" nylons and on my feet - 3-inch high, blakc, patent leather pumps. The thought that someone might wear runners to work seemed unlikely and so preposterous to me! I mean unless one was a gym teacher, who wore runners to work?!

Stephen's summer jobs were never what I considered conventional. He stripped phone wire for Bell Canada for a few weeks one summer (until Bell workers went on strike). He was then a quality control agent for an auto parts distributor, testing brake and signal lights. He worked in the campus bar at university. One summer, he worked for the Lottery Corporation where he drove around sticking 6/49 lotto stickers on the windows of every corner milk mart/variety store/drug store in the east end of Toronto.

And guess what? He wore runners for all of those jobs (though perhaps he might have worn construction boots for the Bell job...I cannot recall). He was happy. He was fulfilling his goal.

Graduate school brought new job opportunities. He taught a walking class at a university in Indiana (wearing runners, of course!). He was also a researcher where he sat at his desk, quite comfortable in his runners.

When he moved to Minnesota for his PhD, he worked in a research lab and his PhD is in Human Factors. The research lab was part of the school of Kinesiology (Gym, basically - ok, not really so no nasty comments, please!). Upon graduating, he continued to do research for the U. Again, no need for dress shoes or clothes. In all, seven more years of living his career goal.

Next came the move out here to the west coast where everyone is casual. He loved the idea of working for a Big Company where he could wear his runners. No way he could wear them to the companies where I worked over the years (bank, large insurance company, big blue computer company, financial advisor company).

All through the years, I have been trying to get him away from the runners. I tried to convince him to look at something other than runners in stores. Nope. He has never been interested. Non-runners were not part of the goal.

For his birthday, I decided to surprise him and buy some "dressy" runners with hopes that he would be something he would like. Ok, so they aren't really runners, but they kind-of sort-of look like them. They are leather and suede and would really, really good on him. No luck. He at least gave me the courtesy of trying them on but I know he was just humouring me. Back in the box they went.

So, really! Why have I been trying to get him to sway from his goal of wearing runners to work every.single.day? I am not sure. Perhaps at the beginning I was jealous that I was cramming my feet into pumps while he got to wear his Nikes. Even when my jobs became more casual (never so much that I could wear runners!), I was still trying to get him to try other shoes. And now as a SAHM, where I get to wear runners to work every.single.day (or I could if I chose to do so), I still want him out of those runners and into something "dressier".

I won't try it again. Really, I am proud of him for achieving his goal. He is proud that he has not had to sway from it. I'll let him wear his runners in peace.

Stephen's birthday is tomorrow so I spent today running around picking up things. He wants Nachos for dinner. From the local brew pub. I guess I can go in and order them to-go, right? I hope so.

My mother is feeling better and so her trip is on. She is going to shuffle her visit a bit. She'll stay with Jean-Paul and Marilyn (and baby-to-be) first then come here.

Ok, I am trying to blog and watch "Heroes" which I had dvr'd last night. I just found out that (whisper) OMG PETER DIED! So I have to go and pay better attention to the show!!!

At our last book club, P. brought a birthday cake for me that said "You Rock" because I often joke that I (Friggin') Rock! It was a sweet gesture and I had a little piece of the cake. Well, apparently I thoroughly and completely offended P (according to D) because I did not take the cake home that night. Huh?! I did not realize that I was supposed to. I mean we were at book club and everyone just takes home what ever is left over from what they brought (is that sentence even the slightest bit grammatically correct?). So, it never OCCURRED to me to take the cake home.

Geez, I guess I friggin' suck!

Dex had a baseball game today and we had to be there 30 minutes early. A few minutes after we arrived, another mom arrived with her son, who is on Dex's team. Then she looked around and said "Where is Tate?!". She started looking around frantically and said again "Where is Tate?!. I knew that look and that fear. I asked her quickly how old Tate was and what he was wearing. Tate is four and was wearing a jean jacket with a hood attached. I took off running, calling for Tate and scanning the crowds. The ball fields were jammed! Four teams (kids, coaches, parents and siblings!) arriving for two baseball games, plus two flag football games just ending and a soccer game. Cars and vans and trucks were driving around the parking lots and driveways. It was madness!

In a couple of minutes I found Tate walking behind the second ball diamond. I said "Are you Tate?" He looked at me warily and nodded. I told him that his mom was looking for him and that he should run back to the other diamond where his brother's team was. We ran back together but when I saw his mom, and she ran towards us, I stopped running. Then I burst into tears.

The same thing happened to me three years ago. We were at Jackson's t-ball game. Cars was a baby and in a stroller. Jax's team was playing t-ball on the soccer field and Dex was playing at the playground directly behind the field. Stephen and I were scanning the playground equipment what we thought was regularly when suddenly Dex was gone. Vanished! Stephen and I realized at the exact same moment and there was this crippling fear and we both stood there, paralyzed. We did not know what to do next. As with today, there were several games going on. Dozens of people wandering around. Everything was happening in slow motion. What do we do. I said "My son is missing!". It came out as a whisper. OMG, it was real. He was missing. I took a big gulp and said louder "MY SON IS MISSING!" Stephen was over at the playground, peering under the stairs and up the slide, as if he would find Dex hiding in plain sight. "MY SON IS MISSING!" A couple of moms came over and asked me what he was wearing and what he looked like. I felt sick to my stomach and felt as though I was going to faint.

Stephen had taken off running. Across the soccer fields (why do they play baseball on soccer fields?!) over to the school portables. He emerged between the portables with Dex in his arms. Dex had run clear across to the school portables and was playing between them. I never felt so relieved in my whole life. I cried - sobbed - with relief.

So, today when that mom was missing her son, Tate, I knew how she felt. That fear and disbelief. Thinking that any moment you will spot him and so forcing yourself to slow down and look harder and closer at all the groups of people. Wanting so badly to think that you were just scanning too quickly, that he is "right there" but you missed him the first, second, seventh time because you were looking too quickly, too frantically. But also knowing that he is just.not.there.

Because it has happened to me, I had made a decision. A decision that I would never just stand there when a mom was missing her child. Never. I have helped a couple of moms in the past but mostly the child was just right there (hiding under the stairs of the climber in the park or behind a bush). Sometimes I cannot do more than that because my kids are with me. Today, it was fortunate that Stephen was there and he had Cars and Jax (Dex was practicing on the field) so I could help that mom find Tate.

She grabbed Tate and hugged him hard. Then she took him to the car where I know she had a good cry. She came back when the game started and told me that she had made a decision. A decision that she would not just sit there when a mom said her child was missing. She told me that I was the only mom who helped her look (I hadn't noticed). That actually surprised and dismayed me. Really.

Anwyay, Tate was found. Dex's team played well and the sun peeked out for about 20 minutes. A happy ending.

A semi-warm day today. Spring?

I taught Art Start in Dex's class today. We studied Johannes Vermeer's "Milkmaid", concentrating on the light and shadows. Then the kids drew still life photos of some flowers in cobalt blue bottles with pears (I took the bottles in from my blue bottle collection). They worked with pastels which were actually very chalky. Anyway, it was fun and some of the kids really understood the light/shadow thing and it was exciting to see their results. I had to take Cars with me today which sucked because he was in the way a bit.

I freaked out a little when I went into the class to gather last month's project and it was GONE! The teacher gave it away to be showcased at the school district's resource center but I need it for the Art Auction night on May 10th! She promised it would be back by then. The kids studied Matisse's "Les Bêtes de la mer" and they cut paper sea creatures and glued them on the pages. They turned out really cute so I decided that those art pieces would be featured at the Art Auction. Anyway, I hope they are back on time! Please-please-please!

Tonight the PTSA was sponsoring a talk on "Stranger Danger". I had planned to but things got hairy after dinner. There have been a few attempted abductions around here lately and people are getting skittish - calling the police anytime a teal or white van drives by.

From sheriff's office:

"Citizens are asked to call 9-1-1 if they see a truly suspicious vehicle in their neighborhood. However absent some sort of suspicious activity, please don’t call 9-1-1 if only a white or teal van is seen, as this ties up call receivers and prevents other callers from reporting incidents."

Notes have been sent home from school so now my kids freak out when they see a white or teal van. The most recent letter from home mentioned a red van. Soon it will say beige, silver and grey and that will cover just about every van around here!

Anyway, I am sorry that I missed the talk at the school tonight. In the meanwhile, we'll just re-watch "The Safe Side" dvd and try to condition my kids to be cautious but not frightened of every van driving around.

More blather

Nothing new really. I took the kids swimming this afternoon (early dismissal) and then we went directly to Jax's baseball game. As much as I complain about baseball, I am enjoying watching the games at this level because the games are quicker than the coach-pitch and t-ball levels. Between the two kids we have 2 practices and three games each week and it is a lot, especially when Jax has to be at his games 1 hour early and Dex needs to be there 30 mins early. I wish it would warm up so I don't keep freezing my ass off every other day at the games/practices!

Tomorrow is our first MOPS meeting in over a month (last one was canceled due to snow then none over Easter/Spring break weeks. Our creative activity is YOGA! Ha - no craft to prepare. :) I still need to sort through 1000 silver beads though and start 55 bracelets for the May 3rd meeting (45 for the moms and 10 for the volunteers for babysitting).

Maybe I can get a couple bracelets started now...

Just Blathering

Our neighbourhood is finally getting the locked mailboxes this week. Only a year later than promised.

Jax started taking the WASL this week. Every morning for the next three weeks he will be writing this test. I know that a lot of people are not happy with this test and now the teachers are teaching to the test. Beth is very interested in this issue.

Terry is going to quit the club we go to and start going to Gold's Gym. I am so bummed. No work out partner! I hope this is not the end of my work outs. I really need some sort of accountability (i.e. meeting up with Terry) to get going. I did take my first Step class tonight and enjoyed it although I am a complete and utter klutz. Half the time I was facing the wrong way! Anyway, I will try it again next Monday and decide if I will keep going.

We filed our taxes today. Why on earth do we wait 'til the last minute every year? The minute the taxes were filed, Stephen ordered a new computer (from Dell of all places - friggin' Dell!).

My mom is starting to feel better (finally!). I hope she continues to improve because she leaves in just three weeks on her west coast tour (Edmonton, Seattle, Vancouver). I am looking forward to seeing her (I think the pneumonia took the Killjoy out of her).

In-laws are on their way to Houston tomorrow to visit MIL's sister who is gravely ill. Last week they actually thought that this trip might end up being a funeral trip but Stephen's aunt is hanging in there. She has lived in the States for over 50 years but wants to be buried back in Toronto with her parents. I am not sure why but I find that surprising. But if I think about it, I guess if I were to die I would want to be buried there too.

Cars needs a haircut soooo badly. As swimming lessons his hair is in his eyes all the time. Speaking of swimming, he no longer cries (as long as I buy him candy or chips afterwards). He actually caught some rings for the first time ever last week and today, he was strongly encouraged by the Swim N a z i to jump into the pool on his own (normally he insists that I walk him to the diving board and then he jumps almost into the arms of the swim teachers). I am really proud of him. And of the Swim N a z i for getting him to swim. She is firm with the kids, does not kiss the butts of the parents and she gets results!

I finally bought all (well almost all) of the supplies for MOPS crafts for the year. I am waaaay under budget this year because of the snow storms which canceled three meetings. And a fourth meeting (this week) we changed to a yoga demonstration. It is good that I am under budget because Hospitality is over budget (and still needs more money). I have some great ideas for next year and one craft already done (it was from a canceled snow day). Plus someone is co-chairing with me so it will be much easier next year.

Ok, end of the blather for today.

Jax turned 9 yesterday. Wow - 9 is huge!!

To celebrate his birthday, he had a sleepover birthday party on Friday night. I really did not want him to have a sleepover but after looking at our calendar for the next month, we could not find a day that would accommodate a chunk of time for a party at some other place or even to a movie (baseball is killing me!). So, we decided on a sleepover on Friday night (both older boys skipped their practices for it).

Anyway, I had planned an Easter Egg hunt in the dark but it was POURING rain and several of the kids did not bring coats or pjs (just planned to sleep in their clothes) so that was out. Our house is plenty big for 5 people but not for 10 so it was certainly a tight when the boys wanted to run around. Anyway, we had pizza for dinner, cake and ice cream then Jax opened presents. We played 2 games of bingo until everyone won (this was painful because when we were playing 4 corner bingo, the second last ball was B4 which two of the boys needed in order to win).

After bingo, it was jammie time and they watched a dvd, then a couple of episodes of Spongebob and then it was lights out. I gave each of them a flashlight and a glow stick. Of course there were tears (tears!) because someone did not get the colour they wanted (mental note to only buy the SAME colour glow sticks if we ever do this again). The boys talked well past 11:30 (I slept on the couch in the living room) and the first awoke at 5:15! They were all awake by 6am! Stephen had to leave at 8:30 to take Dex to his baseball game. All of the kids were picked up by 9:30 which some parents actually grumbled to me was too early! Huh? My kids never sleep past 7am so I did not think it was too early at all, especially since we had a day of baseball to deal with.

Jax had such a great time. I am so happy that he was happy. Since yesterday was his actual birthday, after his game (3-6pm) we went to dinner at Red Robin and came home for more cake and presents from the family. I went to bed when they did (8:45 - they stayed up to watch "Survivor" which they could not watch on Thursday because of, you guessed it, baseball).

Here is a picture of the birthday boy in his uniform (and with his long, frizzy hair).

Stuff

Book Club last night was interesting. We were to discuss "Suite Française" by Irene Nemirovsky. I was looking forward to the discussion because I found it so interesting and the letters in Appendix 2 were fascinating. Well it turns out that several people did not even read the book! So the hostess gave a brief recap, we spoke for maybe 20 minutes about the book then talk turned to other things.

We had some good laughs but the dynamics of the group have definitely changed. There are a couple of people who do not like each other. As well as a couple of people that some find odd so you can definitely feel the tension at times. Two people were away this week too so we'll see how things are next month. Could also be that J was just serving drinks with liquor (Cosmos and some coffee-type martini) rather than wine which tends to mellow people out a little (geez, we sound like a bunch of lushes!).

Today, I was supposed to teach Art Start in Dex's class but Cars was up a lot in the night with croup (again!) and he has a cold. I feel horrible at having to cancel. We've rescheduled to next week.

Now I'm off to pick up balloons for Jax's b-day party. More on that tomorrow.

IMDB Challenge

This is fun! I got it from Miss Arrogant's blog:

1. Think of 10 shows you currently watch or have liked over the years.
2. Find those shows at Internet Movie Database.
3. Copy down 3 Plot Keywords (they are mini descriptors of the show).
4. Make a list on your blog minus the actual show name.
5. Have visitors guess which shows they represent. No cheating!

Here are mine:

1) Mad Cow Disease/Courtroom/Social Commentary
2) Suburbia/Suicide/Plumber
3) Doctor/Hospital/Seattle
4) Roommate/Monkey/Insecurity
5) High School/Basement/Wisconsin
6) Advertising/Murder/Apartment
7) Memory Loss/Villain/Cheerleader
8) Detective/Jury/Social Commentary
9) Montage/Hit in Crotch/Slapstick
10) Awkward/Workplace/Pretzel

Let me know if you do it too so I can try to guess yours!

Cosmo Wednesday

Guys are out for their wings night so Laurie, Ash and I decided to meet at my house at 5pm for dinner. Kids had McDs, we had salad with turkey breast and a Cosmo. It was fun. I really miss Cosmo Fridays.

Busy time this week which is completely stressing me out. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appt which I totally spaced on the time and my appt is shortly after the kids get out of school and no way for me to get there on time. Then we have to be back here for Jax's baseball game. What am I going to do? Aargh!

Tomorrow night is book club. I finally finished the book which I really did enjoy. Then Friday I have to teach Art in Dex's class and it is Jax's sleepover b-day party! Yikes!! I am running out of time!

Cars and I did manage to get some b-day party supplies for Jax today though. Stephen and I still cannot agree on a present. Jax might end up with nothing!

My mom spent most of her Easter in the ER. She had had a bad cold all week and when I called her in the morning to wish her a happy Easter, she was sobbing and saying she did not know what was wrong. I immediately called my aunt who told me that she was just about to go over to pick my mom up to take her to the ER. Turns out she has pneumonia (which took hours to confirm because she had to wait forever to get x-rays taken). Apparently when I called she was having a bad reaction to the Dimetapp with codeine she had been prescribed the day before. The doctor assigned to her case at the ER had been my dad's PCP for years before my dad got sick. The same doctor who kept telling my dad for years that he only had reflux /heartburn and told him to take more maalox. Turned out to be stage IV esophageal cancer. :\ He came in and told my mother that just the night before he was talking about my dad to someone. Anyway, I hope this pneumonia diagnosis is correct.

My Easter was much less interesting. It was a good day all-around. We got up early and went to the 7:30am Mass (Stephen even went with us - another Easter miracle!) and when we arrived home the boys hunted for eggs. The past few days have been mostly dry so our backyard bog is almost dried up which meant the kids could play out there. Stephen cooked dinner (turkey) and made the best gravy ever using some tips from the cooking lesson he took. I went to be at 7pm with a migraine. :( I was asleep by 7:30 but awoke at 11:30 and did not get back to sleep until sometime after 3:30. Aargh! I did get to read a huge chunk of my book ("Suite Française") for book club so I am no longer worried about finishing it on time.

Today, I am exhausted from the weird sleep so after swimming lessons I think Cars and I are going to come back here, curl up on the couch and I will read and he can watch a movie.

I am a procrastinator. I do leave things for the last minute and am I prone to put off things indefinitely that do not need to be done by a certain time. This explains the three 18" stacks of paper on top of my filing cabinet in our closet. All paid bills, medical records, receipts, warranty information, credit card offers, credit card cheques, etc. that needed to either be shredded or filed in the cabinet instead just sat there, getting higher and higher each month.

Today, I tackled the piles.

For 4 and a half hours, I sorted by bill type and receipt type. I put the "to be shredded" stuff in one pile and I shredded it all (I almost wore out the poor motor of our shredder - which had not seen any action in over two years - and I had to clear paper jams about 10 times!). Then I filed it all. I did not spend the time to put everything in date order but just jammed the items in the corresponding hanging file.

What I have not yet filed are the receipts from the insurance company that we get for every doctor's visit/service we receive. That pile is about 8" high itself. Stephen says I should just toss it all (well, I would shred it but I think it would kill the shredder). Going through all that information too was kind of a throw back. Cars' birth (yes, I was *that* far behind on my filing!!), Cars' emergency room visit for bronchitis when he was just 3 months old, Dex's speech evaluations and speech therapy sessions, tons'o'allergists visits for Jax (including the notes I took at one when the doctor said he will *not* outgrow his allergy), Stephen's sinus surgery, my breast biopsy and subsequent f/u mammograms). How can I throw all that out?! Do I throw it out? Do I keep it? What do I do with it?!

And I vow to file my bills/receipts at least once a month. I wish I could say I would do it weekly (or better yet - daily!) but I know better than to set myself up to fail. :)

One

Taken from Margi's blog:
You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
ONE.
Word.

(Not as easy as you might think.)

1. Where is your cell phone? bench
2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O.? man
3. Your hair? grey
4. Your mother? worrier
5. Your father? missed
6. Your favorite item? chocolate
7. Your dream last night? yes
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream car? fast
10. The room you are in? kitchen
11. Your ex? none
12. Your fear? spiders
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? comfortable
14. Who did you hang out with last night? family
15. What you're not? slim
16. The last thing you did? drink
17. What are you wearing? capris
18. Your favorite book? entertaining
19. The last thing you ate? kisses
20. Your life? fine
21. Your mood? neutral
22. Your friends? far
23. What are you thinking about right now? sleep
24. Your car? van
25. What are you doing at the moment? typing
26. Your summer? fun
27. Your relationship status? married
28. What is on your tv? fights
29. When is the last time you laughed? hours
30. Last time you cried? afternoon
31. School? Toronto

Copy.
Paste.
Answer.
Questions.
In.
ONE.
Word

Last day of spring break today. Stephen took the day off and we planned to do something fun for the kids. We decided early this morning to go to the zoo since it was going to be a glorious day. Apparently every other person in the Puget Sound area had the same idea. We arrived at the zoo about 10:45 - much later than I had anticipated but we had to stop at Safeway to buy some sun screen (as I mentioned - a GLORIOUS day!).

The first zoo parking lot is jammed packed and a huge line of people at the zoo entrance. The next parking lot is the same, as is that zoo entrance. The next lot was full too but finally at the 4th lot we found the very last spot. We got out and in line behind 75 other people. Stephen and I looked at each other and said "Forget this" and we turned around and went back to the car. We decided to try the Aquarium so we drove downtown Seattle. We spent 30 minutes looking for a parking spot. We tried the metered parking all along the waterfront but found nothing. We went in two parking ramps and drove around and around. They were both full. Forget it! We drove back to the Eastside and had lunch in Bellevue. Then we went mini-putt golfing and took the kids swimming at the club. Not exactly the day we had planned but it was good just the same.

We came home, ordered pizza and then Stephen mowed the lawn (heh).

Now for the shameful part of the day. I did not go to church. I did not take the kids to church. Good Friday and I skipped it! I feel so guilty! :(

Y'know that bridge. The one that I don't like. Well, here are some of the reasons why not!
520 Bridge collapse 1 and 520 Bridge collapse 2

*gulp*

Ok, so we've done nothing exciting over this spring break. The kids have been skateboarding at the park a couple of days. They went to a b-day party yesterday and today Jax and Dex went on a playdate. As I mentioned, Cars still had swimming lessons and preschool this week.

Our lawn still is not mowed and I am terribly embarrassed about it. I am thinking of buying an electric mower so I can do it myself. I just don't know how to use the gas one (how to mix the oil and gas together and how to start it). Stephen is ADAMANT that he will not teach me how to do it. I am pissed off. Perhaps I will dig around the garage to find the user's manual.

I spent 2 hours today shredding stuff. Mostly old receipts but also some documents and those d*mn checks that the credit card companies send.

Jax has decided that he wants a Gameboy DS for his b-day and Stephen is considering getting him one. Um...no. He has a Gameboy Advanced already (rarely uses it) and I just don't think we need another game system in the house at the moment. I want to get him a new skateboard since his is a crappy one (was really a scooter but we did not install the handle on it). He *loves* it though because it has Star Wars on it but he really cannot make turns on it. Jax also wants an electric guitar and again, Stephen thinks it is a grand idea. *sigh*

Can you tell that this has been a contentious week at the Pez household?

:'(

One of my worst nightmares:

Allergic 13-year-old dies after eating burrito

These deaths always frighten me. Teens don't like to seem different and take risks that they should not. So many anaphylactic reactions and deaths happen to teens because they take these risks. I can't say that I hope that Jax and Cars will know better because this girl knew better too. I just hope it never happens.

It is day 2 of spring break. We really did not do much yesterday. Or today. Cars still has swimming lessons and he still has school this week because his school follows the vacation schedule of another school district. I watched Ash's kids this morning while she went to physical therapy then the hairdresser came over and cut hair for me, Jax, Dex and Ash when she arrived after her therapy.

We have a b-day party to go to tomorrow so this afternoon we'll go out and get a gift. Cars wants to buy the boy a Star Wars transformer. He is just turning three so I think that just might now be the right gift. We'll see...

Ramona posted some photos on her blog from her visit here so go take a look.

Spoiled Rotten

edited to add photos...

Well, I was utterly and completely spoiled rotten on my birthday. Stephen sent Ramona and I off for a pedicure in the late afternoon. My feet have never felt so soft or looked so pretty. Embarrassingly enough, the pedicurist broke two files while grinding down my rough heels! LOL

I bought myself a couple of "seconds" at Glassybaby as well as some of their "china babies" which were made in China and not the same quality that their hand-blown ones here are. The kids gave some to their Sunday school teachers today since it was the last day of class for the year. Ramona bought 13 china babies to give as gifts! I hope they survive the flight home in her luggage!

Here are my votives (three are glassybaby "seconds" and three are "china babies"):



Aren't they gorgeous? I want more (real ones, not seconds or the ones made in China)

My kids and Stephen all gave me a Pez dispenser (Nemo, Buzz Lightyear, Mike & Sully from Monsters, Inc.). My friend DeniSe knit me a beautiful afghan that is very cozy and goes nicely in my living room (it is red/gold/beige). Ramona gave me a very pretty cobalt blue vase.



Ramona left today. I took her to the airport and was able to chat with her right up until she went through the xray/metal detector. One of the TSA agents came up to me and asked me why I was "skulking around". I thought I was in trouble until I realized that she was flirting with me! LOL

Anyway, all-in-all I had a wonderful birthday weekend. I am so grateful for having such wonderful people in my life. From Stephen to my kids and my friends (especially Ramona!)! I am blessed.

Finally, here is a photo of Ramona and I taken on Friday night: