Summer O'Fun 2010 Day 3

Today, I had the Maytag repairman come to replace the heat element in our dishwasher as it had been recalled. The repairman said that 1/1000 dishwashers had an element that was mean for stainless steel tubs and they would burn too hot and melt through the dishwasher. Just to be sure, they were checking and replacing the rings on 1.7 million dishwashers. Mine was one of the ones that had the problem ring and he showed me where it was becoming an issue! Eep! Anyway, he replaced the ring while telling me all about 9/11 and UFO conspiracy theories. :0

After he left, I noticed that the door on my dishwasher would not go all the way down! He broke it!! Or something. Anyway, I called back and they said he would call me but by 5pm there was no call so I called again and they scheduled ANOTHER service call for Saturday morning. I hope the door does not completely break by then! I took a photo - perhaps I should take some video too of how it will not open all of the way. It made loading the dishwasher this evening a bit of a challenge.

So, a fun morning for my kids as we waited around for the Maytag repairman. Also, I am sick, sick, sick so we did nothing today. I think I might now have a sinus infection. :( It is cold (60 degrees) for the first official day of summer and it is depressing. As of June 16th, we were already 1" over our average June rainfall.

So this June Gloom has us all in a funk. So today, I let the kids play video games, watch tv and they played in a big box that our new patio furniture came in.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for all.

Summer O'Fun 2010 Day 2

Yesterday was Day 1 and we celebrated Dex's birthday at a sports bouncy place. They have tons of trampolines and there is trampoline dodgeball and trampoline bounce into a foam pit. The boys were all sweaty and stinky when done but they had a heck of a lot of fun!

Today we had some friends come over and we made our annual summer tie-dye shirts. They are currently in the wash so we'll see how they look once they are finished being washed.

I started going through the MOUNDS of paper that the kids brought home from school the last couple of days and found this poem by Carson:

Bad Cookies
By Carson

Ooh! Cookies!
I love cookies!
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Tongue is tickling
Oh no! I am allergic!
I eat gold fish
I learned a lesson
Don't eat cookies if you are allergic!


I think it is cute - a little funny but sad at the same time.

Today was the last day of school - hurray! Or oh no! I haven't any summer plans for us yet but we'll figure it out. We have had such rotten weather that it still feels like March! I sent the kids to school today wearing shorts but it was only 48 degrees as we walked to the bus stop. Brrr! It did warm up to the mid-50's by the time they got out at 11:30am and low 60's by dinner time. Still, let's see some sun and some temperatures in the 70's please!

I took the kids to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner to celebrate the end of the school year. One of the kids from Jax's grade (6th) works there (I guess his parents must own it or something). It made me feel really sad and I do not know why. He was doing a good job seating people and resetting the tables after they were cleared. He did not seem to mind it. Earlier today I saw another kid from Jax's class mowing the lawn at my old house and last Wednesday he helped mow ours (we hire his dad's lawn service to mow). I have such mixed emotions about 12 year olds working like that. I know they are helping their parents out and probably get paid some too but they are kids.

When I think back though, when I was 12 I had a paper route at the hospital, walking around from room to room to sell papers to convalescing people. I did it every Sunday with Ramona. It was kind of scary going in the rooms so Ramona did it mostly while I stayed out and got the papers ready for the next room. I think that is what helped prep her to be a nurse! And the awful hospital smell!** Of course we would blow all of our profits in the canteen on Mars bars and other junk. But it was nice having that little bit of money (a couple of dollars each week).

Maybe I baby my kids too much? Maybe they need more chores? A job? Hmmm...

** When I was in Toronto last month, one of my aunts was in the hospital and died. The moment I walked into the doors of the hospital (same one I sold newspapers in) that smell came back to me. Who can believe that 33 years later the place still smells the exact same?

It is amazing what a little sunshine after eons of rain will do the to soul. I feel so good and cheery and happy. :)

Tomorrow is Jax's 6th grade promotion. I am torn between feeling so happy for him and so sad because my baby is growing up. Mostly, I am happy and very, very proud of him. He is a great kid!

One of my friends is moving to the Netherlands for three years. I am so excited for her and a little sad for me because I will miss her. She and I work out together every Wednesday in the circuit training class and make fun of our instructor together. He is funny and takes the teasing well. Anyway, I'll miss her and look forward to their return in three years.

And on a final note, a Denine in Ottawa thinks my email is her email and registered for eharmony.ca (the "welcome" note arrived in my inbox). I viewed her matches (had the pw reset sent to my email) and I think I need to tweak her profile. I am sure she can do better. :)

Another week has gone by without a blog post from me. Am I ready to give this up? I don't think so. Just need to put visiting my blahg back into my daily routine. Sorry, faithful reader(s).

School is almost out for the year. Just 3 days left. Two and a half, actually, since the kids get out at 11:30 on Wednesday. Monday is the 6th Grade Promotion and I had (unwisely) signed up to do too many things. I am feeling a little resentful because now, instead of enjoying the activities, I am responsible for other people's good times. I am helping out with the luncheon for the 6th graders, which I honestly do not mind doing. I need to be at the school for 9am to help set up. I am also supplying a cake (not a problem). What I did not anticipate was when I volunteered to help with refreshments for after the ceremony, how much was was really involved and how stressed I am about it. Aargh! Also, as part of the team, I did not realize until this week that I am responsible for helping decorate the gymnasium after school today. Blech. I know that volunteering is very important but I have a history of volunteering to do too much all at the same time. I have also decided that when Dex is in 6th grade, I will not do anything but come to the party and enjoy.

Actually, I do not even know if Dex will go to 6th grade at our school or not. The district is moving away from Jr High (grades 7-9) towards middle schools (5-8) and I am not quite sure if Dex's grade will be the first to be in middle school in 6th grade.

Anyway...just looking forward to the end of this school year. We haven't any summer plans as yet. No golf lessons this year. The kids just are not that interested in it and now that Jax is older, his lessons would be on a different day than Dex and Cars. So we'll look into something else.

Oh, better run. Maytag repairman is due to arrive anytime and I forgot to empty my dishwasher (it has been recalled due to the heating element causing fires).

I finally watched the "American Idol" finale (a week late) and I could not believe Bret Michaels was able to come out on stage and sing just one month after being in critical condition with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a mini-stroke and being diagnosed with a hole in his heart. And earlier in the month he won "Celebrity Apprentice 3". The guy is a golden boy! I have watched him sing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Casey James four times and I get choked up every time!

I was never a big Poison fan although I always loved the song "Something to Believe In". And really, who did not make fun of Bret Michaels for "Rock of Love"? But there is something very likable about that guy, bandanna and cowboy hat and all! He just seems like a genuinely nice guy. And he has seemed to have pulled through his medical crises with grace and such a positive attitude.

Anyway, I am off to watch "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" again. Better grab a kleenex this time.

Baseball, you bet!

Baseball season is nearly over...thankfully! We have had a tough time of it this year with Dex. Besides his weepy ways, it has been unseasonably cold and wet so if we are not rained out, we've been freezing at the games. On top of that, Dex's bad baseball year is not making it enjoyable to watch. In fact, his whole team is not playing well. Tonight was the first night of playoffs against a team we were closely matched to and, because it was playoffs, there was no 5 run cap per inning. Dex's team lost 17-1 in the 4th inning (10 run mercy rule). It was painful! Thankfully, just two more games left.

Today was Dex's 10th birthday. Wow - where has the decade gone? I realize that I am no longer a mom of little kids. Even Cars will be 7 in a couple of months - that is not a little kid!

Anyway, Dex had a fun day today. It was pissing rain (as it has been every day since we returned last week from Toronto) so we just hung out at home and had a lazy day all together. Later, we went to Red Robin for dinner then back home for some cake with homemade chocolate icing. We'll do Dex's b-day party after school lets out (and after baseball season ends).

Miss me? It has been a while...

We just go back last night from a 10 day trip to Toronto for my mom's 75th birthday. The party was on the 22nd and all of my siblings and all of my nieces and nephews were there (as well as all of my immediate family). My mom had such a wonderful time and she was oh so happy to have us all there.

Here is a photo of my mom and her grandchildren:



We had also hired a professional photographer to take tons of photos and I cannot wait to see those pictures.

While we were in Toronto, we took the kids to the Hockey Hall of Fame, a MLB game (Jays v Twins), Stephen took the older two to shoot paint ball, we stayed in a hotel that had a waterslide by the pool. The kids went on a two hour hike with one of our neighbours and they loved seeing their cousins, especially the boys. The kids were sick of us pointing out the sights to them (that's the school I went to, that's the church we were married in, that's where dad played hockey, that's where my dad grew up, etc). We took them to the wood lot that is named in honour of my dad as well as showing them a boardroom in the hotel we were staying at named for my dad.



It was a good trip for the most part. Some small issues and a day I swore I'd never return to Toronto. But I got over it and I will go back one day.

Teleflora = Hell-no-flora

I ordered flowers to be delivered to my mom and MIL for Mother's Day. When I placed my order, Saturday, May 8th was not a delivery option - probably because it was the busiest day of the year for florists, so I chose Friday, May 7th. I used teleflora.com because I found a coupon code for 15% off flower arrangements. Sweet!

Friday came and went and I did not receive a call from either my mom or MIL. I figured that perhaps the flowers were delivered late so they would call the next day. On Saturday, we had our usual busy running around with baseball games and then Stephen ran the kids out to get Mother's Day gifts for me. I went bathing suit shopping (OMG, I felt like Cathy, trying to stuff myself into bathing suit after bathing suit), so it was not until I got home at 5pm that I noticed an email from teleflora.com that was sent at 1:40pm (that is 4:40PM ET in Toronto) telling me that they are sorry but the flowers were not delivered "today". Um, today? They were to be delivered YESTERDAY!

I called them to complain and they offered me 20% off for not delivering the flowers on Saturday. I explained that they were to be delivered on FRIDAY so the upped the discount to 40% off and promised the flowers would be delivered on Monday.

Well, guess what happened on Monday? No flower deliver AND no email from teleflora.com telling me this.

I called them back to complain and they said "sorry" and now offered 50% off and delivery on Tuesday. I accepted the offer but was still mad and embarrassed because we had assured my mom and MIL that something would be delivered on Monday. I asked for assurances that I would be notified if the flowers could not be delivered on Tuesday and they promised me that I would get an email. In the meantime though, I used twitter to voice my frustration: Once again the flowers were not delivered - 3 days (not counting Sunday) & counting. I am telling everyone I know never to use #teleflora.

Lo and behold, within 10 minutes, Teleflora was following me on twitter.

@Teleflora tweeted to me to send the order numbers and they would help me. I sent a message telling them I was told that the flowers would be delivered on Tuesday according to their customer service. BTW, my tweets automatically update my facebook status so while I do not have a lot of twitter followers, I do have a lot of fb friends - who incidentally all had good things to say about proflowers.com so I will give them a try next time.

Tuesday came and went and guess what? No flowers delivered. No notification from teleflora.com. I called to cancel the order. The customer service agent could not have cared less which irritated me to no end. Immediately thereafter, I sent @Teleflora another twitter message asking why did they bother asking for my order numbers if they were not going to do anything about it? Petty, perhaps, but I felt good sending that note. This was at 2pm PT (5pm ET - the timezone where the flowers were to be delivered). I also called AMEX to dispute the charges on my credit card.

Four hours later, my phone rang and it was Cassandra from Teleflora calling me to apologize for the whole mess. I told her I was mad and embarrassed that they flowers were not delivered but most angry because I was not notified any day other than Saturday that the flowers were not delivered, even though I was promised that I would be told on Tuesday. "Blah blah blah some complaint was left open so no automatic email could be generated" and we are so sorry. She said they would still like to send the flowers and upgrade the product and send chocolates and a letter of apology to the recipients, etc. I told her that I did not actually believe they would send anything and if I did so, how much would they charge me. She said it would be free of charge. Hmmm... I explained that I did not want any upgrades. I did not want any boxes of chocolates. I just wanted the flower arrangements that I ordered to be delivered to my mom and my MIL. Cassandra assured me that they would be delivered on Tuesday along with an apology from Teleflora to my mom and MIL for the delay in delivery.

So, here is it, Wednesday. No flowers yet but it is still morning here (and in Toronto - late morning there). We'll see what happens. If they do get delivered, I will be happy to tweet that Teleflora made things right. If not, I will tweet about Teleflora's broken promises and poor customer service probably many, many more times.

edited to say my mom called at 2:30PM ET to let me know her flowers arrived and they were lovely. Not long after there was a message from teleflora apologizing for my MIL's flowers not arriving yet but promising that they would be delivered. My MIL called later that evening to let us know that her flowers arrived. I am now in Toronto on vacation and I have seen both bouquets. They are nice arrangements. Will post photos later.

May is the busiest month of the year and every May I tell myself "Next year I am not going to do blah or blah" in order to make the month less busy for myself. And every year I forget that I promised myself not to take on too much.

This year, we are going away again (however, unlike last year when we went to Maui, we are only going to Toronto). Also, we had to squeeze in that trip to Great Wolf Lodge. There is no school on Friday so we are having Jax's belated birthday party. And now I am starting to fret about Dex's birthday because it always get lost in this crazy month. Never mind that Mother's Day is this weekend and have I sent cards? Um, no.

And my mom's birthday (we are going to Toronto for her 75th birthday party). And baseball, baseball and more baseball. And friends' birthdays and parties and teacher appreciation and end-of-year wrapping up of things, etc.

Also added this year is the good-bye gift for the principal. She has been at the school 7 years and this year's 6th graders were her first kindergartners at the school. So, I had this bright idea that, at the 6th grade promotion meeting, instead of flowers, that the class presents her with a fingerprint bead necklace. So, I have had the lovely task of making 180 little balls of polymer clay, piercing them with very sharp wire, meeting with the 6th graders to have them press their fingerprints into the beads, baking the beads while keeping track of whose bead is whose, Modge-podging the beads and winding the little wires into loops. I have one more class to go tomorrow. And after all that, I have to somehow design a necklace with 90 beads (the rest will go to make necklaces for the 6th grade teachers).

I really love these necklaces because I think they are special for the teachers but they are indeed a lot of work. I have one mom helping me herd the 6th graders while we make the fingerprints but all of the work before and after I have not delegated (control freak).

And before we go away, I need to get Jax a new pair of shoes, he needs clothes and and and and ... it just won't stop raining and hailing and being cold and I wish we were going to Maui instead.

We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge on Sunday and came home yesterday. As if my kids are not going to be missing enough school this month! Anyway, we had a great time. It was nice to be the yesterday because it was not crowded at all. Guess that happens when most kids are in school!

I did get a scrape on my knee from the wave pool that is still weeping today. It smarts! And I was going to go for a pedicure before we went but my scraped toenails are glad that they just had my slap-dash polish application on them.

Cars was sleepwalking or something on Sunday night and at 12:30AM tried to get out of our hotel room! It was freaky because Stephen kept asking him what he was doing and why he was trying to open the door and Cars replied first that he was hungry. Then he said he had to go to the bathroom and thought that was the door. Then he said something about buying something. Stephen was freaked out because he could tell Cars was not really awake even though he was talking. I think this really is the first time that one of our kids had been sleep walking. Weird!

Stephen forgot his license (we realized when we got there and they asked to see his ID when we checked in) so I had to drive both ways. I was miffed because we had arranged in advance that I would drive there and Stephen played his gameboy. I had big plans to read the paper on the way home but instead I had to drive. It was just under 2 hours to get home. Man, I hate driving through Tacoma. What other city has a major interstate running through it and PERMANENT signs warning of slow traffic. It is maddening driving so sloooow through there. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it! Aargh!

How is it that Stephen and I can submit our passport applications the same day (our appointments were 45 minutes apart) yet his is processed and arrives 5 days before mine?

Well, it has been about four months so I think I can officially say that I am now at my pre-pregnancy weight. Only took 12 years. And of course my pre-pregnancy weight is still 15 more than my wedding weight. Which, by the way, was which was 5 pounds over my "normal" weight at the time - who on earth GAINS weight before their wedding?! Aren't a brides' nerves supposed to make them lose a little bit of weight?? Anyway, there is no way I'll ever see that engagement weight again or even wedding weight. I am content where I am but still wish I were thinner. Wishing is not what it takes to get there, however.

I am working on taking a bit better care of myself too. Like taking a daily multi-vitamin. And allergy medication. It is inevitable every year around this time I start to feel like crap and my eyes water and my nose runs and I do not do anything about it (like take Claritin or that even that evil Zyrtec). And my ears get clogged and hurt and I sneeze like crazy and my head is stuffy and then I think "I should take some allergy medication" and I never do. Then I get a headache and go to bed after popping a couple of Excedrin. So, along with the multi-vitamin that I have been taking I have been taking Claritin (well, actually the Co$tco generic of it since it is sooooo much cheaper).

Also, I have started taking fish oil. This is a huge step for me because I tend to think that "supplements" are a bunch of hooey but I have read for years about how fish oil helps the brain and and heart and perhaps prevent cancer. Not sure I believe the cancer bit but I decided I should take it for the brain and heart benefits. I have tried to get Dex to take some too but the capsules are 1/2" long and he baulked at the thought of trying to swallow it. Now I am on the hunt for smaller capsules for him. At least I say I am on the hunt but always manage to forget while I am out. Hmmm....perhaps I need to up my intake?

I have a few other things floating around my head about what I will do to take better care of myself but I realize that with me, it is best to do small changes at a time because otherwise I get overwhelmed, imagine that I will fail and so I stop doing the all of the good things for me. So for now, these small changes are enough to make me feel like I can be successful at taking care of me. :)

MailOrder Pharmacy Bites

When I took the kids to the allergist a couple of weeks ago, the doctor faxed in the prescriptions for the epi pens to our mail-order prescription company. I hate that company (Med_co). They delayed Cars' epi pen because he moved from an epi pen jr to epi pen and they would not fill it until they confirmed his weight (he is nearly 60 pounds, the weight to switch). Anyway, I received this ominous voicemail from them that they were going to cancel the order until they could talk to the doctor. I called the allergist in a tizzy and they told me that the doctor has spoken to them three times and "has finally gotten the pharmacist to understand". The allergist's office hates them too.

Then I sent in the prescription for Dex's flovent and I received a call that they have delayed filling the prescription because it was not written for "the maximum supply allowed by your insurance company". So basically, because the doctor did not write it for a year's worth (so like 12 flovent disks), they won't fill it. The thing is, Dex does not need it every day and only when he has a cough that does not clear up. In the meantime, Med_co is calling the allergist to extend the prescription and will send us a year's worth at once and we will end up throwing it out when it expires.

This has happened often in the past with Albuterol for Jax when he was wheezy after a cold and only had to use an inhaler for a month. In the past when Zyrtec was Rx, they would send us literally LITRES of the stuff but my kids only needed to be on it during grass season.

And I am just waiting for my Rx for migraine meds to be denied because the prescription was written in February but I did not send it in until last week. They'll probably tell me that I don't need it.

I am not quite sure how Big Software Company thinks they are saving money by using this company to fill the prescriptions. Especially since Med_co appears to be making money hand over fist. Another thing, they stopped mailing the epi pens via FedEx in a cooler. Both Jax and Cars' arrived via regular mail. I guess that is helping them make more $$ too...

I cannot recall if I have written before about Dex and the lack of control he has over his emotions. I guess I should clarify because clearly he can control his emotions when he is very happy or very angry. But when he is sad or upset he is an emotional wreck! And he gets upset over some things that just.do.not.matter. Or, I guess they do matter to him but they should not.

A few months ago, at bed time, he started sobbing because the year before, I had a garage sale and sold the Hot Wheels T-Wrecks and he missed it. Never mind that for well over a year before I sold it - no, MORE than a year - it sat in a box in his closet. Visible but not set up. He told me he did not want it anymore and I had his permission to sell it at the garage sale. I gave him the $$ I got for it. But a year later, it became an issue.

When he does something wrong and he gets scolded, he gets weepy. When he thinks about having too much homework, he gets weepy. When he forgets to do something, then remembers or is reminded, he gets weepy. You get the idea.

Lately, it has been especially weepy at baseball. If he strikes out, he gets weepy. If he misses a play, he gets weepy. If he gets thrown out at first (even if his hit is an RBI!), he gets weepy. It is ridiculous!

I know I sound like a mean mom and I am very empathic to him because I know it is hard for him to keep his emotions in check but my empathy only goes so far. I am at my wit's end! I had gotten to a point that if I say anything to him that he takes as the least bit critical, he weeps. So we cannot talk about his baseball games afterwards because me might remember that he struck out one of his times at bat. Or that he overthrew the ball. Never mind the great hits or great plays that he made.

On top of this, his tics are back with a vengence and he has multiple tics (head shaking, throat clearing and a cough - although the cough may also be a result of allergies, according to the allergist, and we are working on clearing that up right now).

So, we've decided that we need to do something about his lack of control over his emotions. I am going to call his pediatrician to talk about it and see if she thinks can help. I think I see counselling in Dex's future. He just needs to learn to control his emotions when he is upset. I know that part of this is anxiety and it kills me that he too is having anxiety issues like Jax had. But, with Jax, his not eating was really a huge issue that had to be dealt with right away. With Dex, I kept thinking he would outgrow it but he hasn't. He gets embarrassed a bit too but not enough to rein it in and keep his emotions in check. I hope things change soon.

Today I took Cars to the eye doctor for a check-up. He went two years ago when he was complaining about not being able to read an EXIT sign at the end of the hall. Anyway, he was totally cracking me (and the eye doctor) up! He was a Chatty Cathy and spent a lot of time making faces in the mirror in the office. He was making jokes but kept fretting about when he would get the eye drops. Anyway, his appointment went fine but she said there is a chance that he would need glasses in the future (she said that about Jax too) and she wants to monitor the cup in his optical disk (same with Dex and my eye doctor does the same for me).

Dex's baseball game was cancelled due to rain (the field was too wet to play on) so we now have two games that need to be made up. I haven't told the coach yet that Dex will miss a few games when we go on vacation.

I cannot believe that it is the 21st of April already. Time is speeding up and I am losing track of it! We have so many things going on in the next few weeks. It will be summer before I know it!

We had a nice quick visit with my mom. She headed back this afternoon. Marilyn is still stranded in Europe. She has a flight scheduled for the weekend but planes are not yet flying so who knows what will happen. This is crazy!

Here are a few photos from this past week:

Jax's 12th Birthday

Brotherly Love

Granny and her boys

Me and My Mom (she is not that much shorter than me, our driveway is slanted). Oh and yes, my hair is darker because I added low lights again last month.

Jax turned 12 years old two days ago. I cannot believe that it has been 12 years yet at the same time I can barely remember life without him. He is 5'1" and weighs 98 pounds. I know this because on his birthday I had made an appointment for he and his brothers to see the allergist because she was booked the rest of the month! Anyway, it was just an allergy check-in and update prescription appointment. Next year we'll consider giving him a skin test for peanuts to see how things look. Anyway, even the allergist got a little verklempt when she realized that she had been seeing him for over 10 years. Jax was a little uncomfortable seeing both his mom and his allergist with tears glistening in their eyes.

My mom is arriving this afternoon for what was to be a 5 day visit but it has been shortened to two. She was in Vancouver helping my brother watch his daughter while my SIL was away in Europe for work and was due to come home today. However, the volcano eruption in Iceland has halted flights in Europe so she cannot get home until possibly Sunday. So my mom is coming today until Sunday then will go back to Vancouver to help my brother out (he leaves for work before the nanny gets there). Hopefully my SIL will not have to stay in Europe too much longer. She is fortunate that it seems a friend of hers has an apartment where she can stay and if it is for an extended time, she can take the train to Switzerland and stay with her sister.

In the meantime, the kids will enjoy their quick visit with their Granny.