i forgot

well I didn't really - I've just been swamped and little under the weather... or something like that - to post.

What I wanted to do more than a week ago was say thank you to Paula and her family to taking my crew in for Easter. The boys had a great time and Paula's grandparents are always a hoot :)

I also didn't talk about our trip to Kelowna. It was great, but I was a train wreck. All I could think about was leaving and how much that was hurting my guts. I just wanted to soak up every ounce of my husband and... really I just wanted to stay... but that just isn't in the cards right now. He had a lot of fun together and he might even come home this weekend. (Of course I'm already getting a knot over it, but trying desperately to just enjoy the time together and not dwell on our apart time.)


So this is the tub in the motel room Paula and her family graciously put us up in - this isn't a slam to them at all - they didn't realize that the motel hadn't been taken care of over the last year - what made this experience worse was when I ran the water and filled the tub for bath time - I walked away and came back to a black tub - Okanagan (OK) falls has had a water ban in place for a year and... well I don't think I'd even be boiling that stuff.... blah :( I know... Paula would say - it was fine after it ran for 30 minutes... but I didn't risk it - we waited till we got back to Kelowna for baths.


The room was a two bed suite... one of the beds was split in half though... odd - Paula being the great friend that she is slept on one of these - the boys slept with me on a full size bed... I was later told that more bugs were found under one of the "bed" covers the next morning... blah and double blah


Here is the start of the easter egg hunt... on your mark's, get ready...


Here is Michael picking up some bunny loot.


Here is Michael dragging his easter loot. His basket was so full that he was losing all the treats.... but this turned into a great game because he kept finding more. The endless supply of treats.


Here are the boys and me Paula after the easter egg hunt. Again, it was great fun and we can't say thank you enough for your families hospitality.


Here we are at the Chapters in Kelowna


This is a photo I took while we were driving under a willow tree in Kelowna. Kelowna was blooming up during Easter Weekend - very nice - we even got to go to Farmers Market - I'm really looking forward to go to future markets there.

Willow,
weeping for a lost love,
weeping for the pain of a friend,
weeping for the world,
the weight has pushed your branches down,
you drag and touch the ground and weep for us all to see,
you carry the load so beautifully,
your shape, your form,
your generous nature to take such a burden on.

Sauerkraut disaster

Today was my breaking point with the kids - I lost my mind and Kyle just stood there like... what mom? ... or momma as he calls me when he wants to piss me off that little bit more - he definitely knows my buttons... kids.... anyways I lost it and then like a cool wind it went away - I had my meltdown and I felt a million times better after. Kyle was just being his non-listening four year old self - fun... nothing really happened - I yelled more than anything (extra loud... even for me) and he could have cared less - of course 20 years from now he'll be like my mom is a psycho cause once she freaked on me - I played it cool but I cried inside.........

we had a good afternoon together and then we went outside for fun with grandma and grandpa - Michael decided it would fun to do a faceplant on the driveway... he was "running" down the driveway and I got behind him to stop him when he crashed - he actually just fell down quite softly - no problem - then... he decided to pull his ostrich move and smack his forehead into the ground - it sounded bad - he cried for a couple of seconds (he cries harder when I drop him off for daycare) and then we saw his goosebump and scratches - no blood... and he was off running with grandpa shortly after.... but then he was a grump the rest of the night - things that would typically cause me great stress like two hours of whining and complaining caused me none, since my meltdown I'm feeling better about everything.

So we had sausages for dinner (rice and sausage for the boys, sausage and salad for me) and I chose to have sauerkraut with my meal - mistake number one was thinking this wasn't going to react poorly with whatever the heck is going on with my mouth - it actually feels like a layer of skin is coming out of my mouth when I eat some food (bacon, chocolate and now sauerkraut) - I'm casually putting the top back on the bottle of my lovely sauerkraut when I launch it - it goes everywhere - all over the kitchen, all over me... I guess it is all for the best because the first mouth full destroyed me... maybe it was foreshadowing...

Happy Belated Birthday to Jen - we hope you had a great day.

Andy was studying for his birthday - we sneakaly (yes it's a word) left a couple of treats for him when we visited - saved me postage :) He teased me with a possible trip home... but I guess we will see. We are in Vancouver on May 9-16 - so we will have to get together - that is an open invitation to all the vancouverite friends - and also - congratulations to gary and yoshie on the birth of their little boy :) HOORAY!

I'm going to go be a like a vegetable - night all :)

another day another dollar

well today was not as traumatic as yesterday - I didn't even cry today - freakin' amazing! Michael cried when I left but I stuck around in the boot room for a minute and it was under a minute and he was playing - so I didn't feel as heavy about it - work was busy - I've got so many meetings and phone calls and grant proposals - it just doesn't stop - and I know I'm missing things - I really want to focus tomorrow but the reality is that it is one of my staff members last days with us and I've got a grant due - I just want my desk to be clean before I leave for Kelowna... HOORAY!

I'm meeting Paula in Penticton and can't wait to see her... and of course the whole family is itching to see dad...

We went to my grandma's tonight - she had some easter stuff for the kids - and - well my grandma has a wee (major) temper about some things - Kyle touched something I think I actually say smoke come out of her ears - it wasn't anything significant but I guess you have to know my gran to understand. Kyle doesn't understand so we didn't stay long. I took them a treat from the bakery and wished them a happy easter.

Well I need to go and finish lunches for tomorrow. Here is my picture of the day.
This is the christmas project I was working on. I need a much better adhesive for the stickers - my first batch are not holding up as well as I had thought - well mine are but my mom-in-laws started peeling right away, as did the others... I think... I used my regular printer and costco photo paper, shrunk the photos with word, (I did a set of kids pics, I've got some cartoon ones that are Kyle's favorites, etc) adhered them to a regular charm bracelet with double sided tape and then coated them with clear nail polish (4-6 coats) I know there must be a product out there that does this better and if you have suggestions I'd love to hear as I would like to do more and would be happy to make them for other people - for as a little as the cost of the bracelet.... (one hundred million dollars - I bought it off of dr. evil :) )

good lord

Today was another suck day.

I thought I was doing fine but it all went in the crapper for me when I left Michael at daycare. As soon as I said I had to go he started to cry and he has a terrible cry - I got outside and cried and cried - I cried in my car and on the way to my office. This isn't why I had kids. This is not fun. I'm not a crier either and that makes it worse - it just makes my insides hurt.

I managed to get through my work day - busy busy busy - and then after work I picked up the boys who had - of course - survived. Kyle had a great day and was asking to stay longer and Michael was pleased to see me and had been great in the afternoon - I guess the morning was full of tears. I caved on McDonald's and now I have to go and finish making lunch for tomorrow.

All I can hope is that the weather gets better and that we can start spending some time outside and I can regain some happiness... I hate being sad. I'm trying to get through the gloom because we will be in Kelowna on Thursday night but - well as I mentioned it is soft comfort because it is short term. I took another job today (yes - I don't have enough to do) so I've got some additional time commitments for that but it should be good pay for easy work - of course those are famous last words. :)

I'm going to watch some crouching tiger tonight - I didn't make it to the end of Potter last night but got my fill of it - night my lovies :)

ultimate sniffy face

Kyle and Michael's aunti wendy emailed me this today and she was right - it is definitely one to share.


On a crappier note today is only day 2 of 183 without Andy in our house. Today sucked! I just wanted to curl up in a ball and roll down the hill - the hill I was already sliding down... ARG BLAH BLAH ARG!

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow - first day of full time daycare - LORD! I've made lunches and snacks and can only hope it goes well. Three days and then we head to Kelowna - I'm actually not looking forward to it right now because it means that I'm a week closer to having an even lengthier time away from Andy... I'm totally reconsidering my once a month idea - I'm thinking every other weekend after this one... alright - enough complaining - I'm off to watch some Potter and crochet my heart out.

pikipimp

I subscribed to Poplar Photography for this year and read about this website on the most recent copy. You can "pimp" up your photos and have a little fun. Maybe not as much fun as the M&M creation - but pretty darn close and this was easier and less time consuming.

march 31

so Andy left for Kelowna this morning - it was terrible - we were both pretty upset and I've been a wreck all day - the boys are doing pretty good right now but I don't think they realize what has happened - Kyle has been asking all day about Kelowna and school... we did some shopping this morning nothing overly grand and then played most of the afternoon away - and went for a walk this evening - and, I will admit that I'm feeling nervous about walking around near my house with the recent drive by - yes, Quesnel had a driveby shooting - it wasn't random - they were targeted but it is unnerving and it all happened near my house... it makes me anxious - but I'm not going to be trapped in my house because of the stupid people

Andy should be in Kelowna by now - still haven't had another phone call - I've called his cell twice and get the - out of range crap... must be patient - I'm sure he's just being kind and thinks that I didn't get the kids to bed - meantime they've been down for 15 minutes.... alright - I'm going to go find something to do... I've got a pretty cool blanket on the go that should be quite amazing if I ever complete it.

Congrats to my sister on the move - I look forward to post about your new digs :)

more offers

Another offer for another job.... what to do what to do - this one is better... better money - less to do... less invested time and energy.... also offered another contract work - less money - more to do... funny how contracts are like that

we will see

What else did I want to say - not sure - just wanted to post tonight and say hello! :) I have renewed interest in my scrapbooking - aunti jenni delivered my christmas presents today and gave me some cool ikea jars for knick knacks and assorted thing-uma-doodles - I've been reorganizing the whole scrapbook department as the past system was not working - ARG! She also got the boys some cute clothes. The boys were quite happy to spend some time with Jenni and Derrel - never long enough :)

Andy leaves in two short days and that is not putting me in a good mood. I can't believe he is going to be gone for six months - boooooo! But cheer up right ;)

my desk guardian

as promised

Here are me and the boys at Andy's hockey game.

Here is Andy - black, centre man taking the face off.


Peanut butter +


cheese (cheddar) +


banana =


Kyle Sandwich


Still looking for fruit and veg records - here is my first find for 2007 - a 3 inch wide strawberry - yes I have little hands and I've joined the Loucks club :) - Post your fruit and veg records and receive points

let's all ride vegetables

Andy had a hockey tournament over the weekend, so me and the boys went and watched the second half of one game - the other team was a true team and Andy was on the - everyone else who didn't have a team - team... it was pretty clear the other team had plays and strategy.... in any case Kyle had a grand time (I'll post pictures later this week) - the game was mostly at the other end of the ice and Kyle wanted to be like the other crazy kids and run on the bleachers - when he looks at me and says "mom, where is the zucchini?" this coming from a kid that hates vegetables and says matatoe and momato just to egg us on... I'm like "what?" the zucchini mom, where is it - and then it dawns on me - right - the zucchini comes at the end of the game - darn ice cleaning zucchinis... :)

I can't recall if I've posted this before but Kyle has an odd taste in sandwich combinations right now too - his favorite sandwich is... peanut butter, banana and .... cheese - I'm not kidding - he loves it - and because I think he may be the first of his kind I'm officially declaring it the Kyle sandwich - unless someone else posts and says they love it too - in which case - please expect comments like - EEEWWWWWWWW! and BLAH! and How can you eat that?

News - well since most of Quesnel is blabbing about it now - I'm working on getting a film here. I've been working with the City and Wells (www.wellsbc.com) on assisting a film crew in working in the area for a little while. Things were quick to happen last week and now it has calmed down... with any luck we will have the film crew here in three weeks - of course the rumors were/are madness and I had one business put up a highway sign welcoming the unconfirmed crew... but it's fun and it has been a good couple of days. Jen - is this the life of film crews - busy busy, quick in and out times short schedules, or am I just too new to the whole film scene and should have different expectations...

Andy leaves on Saturday and then the real madness will begin in my life - kids start full time daycare next week - short week though - we are heading down to see him before the long weekend starts and meeting Paula in Penticton over the weekend. HOORAY! small vacation! hooray! hooray! good night my lovies :)

oh and sarah - happy belated birthday - i completely forgot until I checked your blog tonight and realized that I was way past the ides of march - hope you had a good one!

pictures

Here are me and the kids in Kelowna. This is also me with my shorter hair cut. I liked it two weeks ago and now it's at a funny length so I keep putting it up in the afternoon - ok - really it is more than I get sick of batting it out of my way and by 3pm it is so DAMN staticky that I'm go bonkers!


I'm contributing this photo for Kyle. He took this picture and I love it. It says so much about Michael and his personality. 14 months - CRAZY!


And finally a photo from the 'what's this file'? Any guesses?

music trivia

Alright so I was looking at BNL's website tonight (hey Connie thanks for introducing me to them in the first place... thank god you got me off of the jo-ho tapes and other general crap I was listening to) and Steve wrote... "like a death row pardon two minutes to late..." oh - ok - so it took me writing it down to remember who that is... points for guessing the right artist(s)????

pay it forward

From a previous post by Jen
"Something you once did, if I remember correctly, and don't know if you still do, so I thought I'd ask.

There was the "pay it forward" craze a few years back. People would do nice deeds in the hopes of making the world a better place, etc. I'm not a "big gesture" person, but figured I was doing my part by doing the little things constantly. You know, letting people go first, holding a door, that sort of thing. (The rare times I don't, I feel sooooo guilty for not.)

So, I hold the door going into Starbucks one morning a little while ago for a woman coming from the bank. She's in line before me, but I'm not in a rush. She buys my beverage for me, and then says that it was her day to do something nice for someone, and because I was nice and held the door open for her, it was me. Now all I had to do was do something nice for someone else.

Am I confused about this methodology because it didn't make sense, or am I just a confuzzled person?

Just thought you might be the one to ask. It's been bugging me for months now. :) "

I do believe in pay it forward, and I'm a door opener for sure. In fact, I've been known to hold it open too long. I was also confused by the situation you noted - I would say that you had paid it forward because you initiated the good deed. I don't think that good deeds have to mean you must pay for something or use cash to do something good.

This whole pay it forward thing makes me think of Stephen Covey and the 8th habit. The whole idea of the book is to live your best life and encourage others to do the same. He suggests that each day you think about these four things - (my edited version)
1) Live like you had a heart attack (this one I'm not sure about - I think we should live like we want our children to live... something like that might be better)
2) Believe that your profession will end in two years - prepare for it - which I think means he wants you to work better - not work like you want to screw over everyone you work with.. as much as some of us might like to....
3) (my favorite and hardest one to practice) assume that everything you say about someone else is being over heard by them - speak accordingly
4) Believe that you meet with your creator every four months - live accordingly - this one is hard for me because I'm not overly into God and holy stuff. I'm reading one of the dali lama's books right now - but everytime I read it - well I get worked up about something - he is all about kindness should be given to everyone - even your foes and I start thinking about my foes and then I have to put the book down.... so I'm working on it.

(Hi Gary & Yoshie - in case you are reading here... thanks for the chat tonight)

Do others pay it forward? Are you kind without question?

On another note I'm also reading Allison Dubois - the medium - anyone else read this? What do you think.... and now I will share this - this happened before I started reading this book - I was sitting with Michael - getting him dressed for the day - he was saying hi, hi, hi and then he looked over my shoulder - he smiled and (for the first time that I saw) put his hand to his mouth and proceeded to blow a kiss. He was definitely NOT looking at me or blowing it to me and when I asked him to blow me a kiss he looked at me like I was chopped liver. I immediately thought Andy was behind me but when I checked we were alone. Now I know this is going to sound stupid but I used to blow kisses to my grandma from the car all the time. Our routine when I was a kid was to say goodbye a million times and then 'see you later alligator, in a while crocodile' and then blow kisses from the car... now it could all just be coincidence and just off that he decided to blow his first kiss to the wall/door frame but when it happened it made me think of her and made me kind of hope that what I'm reading now might be true. Her book also creeps me out because... well who is watching you during those intimate moments - or those not so pleasant moments in life... do they watch then? is this all crap and we all just go into the ground and that is all there... I can't believe it - I need there to be more.... alright - I've ranted - I'm off to bed - thank you jen and sorry for my delayed response.

home

So we broke the return trip home up - took the Kelowna, Vernon, Falkland, Westwold, Monte Lake, Monte Creek way to Kamloops and spent a night. That is a terrible road! It is about 60km less than the Merritt to Kelowna way but it took the same amount of time! WHAT THE HELL! So I'm not going that way again. I was actually a little disappointed with all the cities - Vernon has some beautiful murals, but that was about it. Kelowna is like Langley stretch about 10km and Kamloops... well we were quite unimpressed. It seemed to have the most visible homeless and is super unorganized - it was like the planners couldn't decide whether the valley or the mountain top was better so they decided to build everywhere.

I know, I know - Quesnel is stretched out all over the place, but there is just something different here... (I know - it's the air.. ha ha ha ha)

So we found Andy a basement suite fully furnished all inclusive - other than food and internet. He will have an amazing view of Okanagan Lake and after just two days in Kelowna we sounded like locals - 'yep, we are in the village - oh yeah Rutland - not great - it's like surrey' There were Quesnel people there and Prince George people - it was like we didn't really leave... which was odd... we saw a guy I've seen working at costco in prince george since I went there for university.

Kids - well Kyle is nearly himself again and Michael is definitely better. Michael slept the whole way home today which was great. I stopped in Cache Creek to gas up and get some slurpage - and then we carried on and got home in time for dinner. My grandma gave us a gift certificate to Savalas for Christmas and we used that tonight - and it was actually good. Why actually? Well I just didn't know what to expect - the management changed a while ago and - you never know - and well before the management change it wasn't great. So we did some grocery shopping tonight and now we are all adjusting to the time change - again - WHAT THE HELL! Can't us Canadians do anything on our own - are we really going to save energy - that's it I'm going to leave all my lights on while I sleep tonight just to protest... ok I won't - I want to save the planet too... damn Al Gore :)

sick kids

Michael was sick on Sunday and then has carried whatever flu it is around all week. Kyle was fine.. was... on Wednesday morning he woke up at 5:30 and said he was hot and not feeling good. He was still feeling up to watching a cartoon though so I told him I was going to go and lay in my bed, but he could come and get me if he felt sick. Sure enough I put my head on my pillow and I heard him get up. Then I witnessed him make a run to the garbage can to throw up - I told him to come to the bathroom and there I found out I have an iron stomach as he threw up everywhere.

After he was cleaned up and sitting down I assessed the damage - now remember I just did my carpets. He started throwing up in the living room and then continued to throw up to the garbage - about 20 feet between two places - he then turned back for the bathroom and throw up all over the toilet. It was like Ruggles all over again... ok it wasn't that bad...definitely missing 1997 (ok it was far worse than ruggles - but not as bad as that night in res when carmen thought it might be time to take me to the hospital for alcohol poisoning - lord) anyhow... I did the trademark April toilet paper stuff up my nose and got cleaning. I used so much bleach on the toilet that my rag changed colors. He continued this throw up routine all day. Not all over my house - after he understood the toilet was the place to go he completely got it - this is the first time he's had the flu.. I feel terrible for him - I slept on the floor beside him last night - the stuff they don't tell you about being a mom. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way :) You know you love someone when.

Right now he has been throw up free for 14 hours... I'm hoping it lasts. He is only doing fluids at this point... and did I mention we need to drive to Kelowna today.

Oh and here is a question - why are there soo many different ways to get to Kelowna - and why does no one seem to know how long it takes - I've been told that it will take us between 5 and 8 hours.... hello - I'm thinking of going through faukland, vernon and into kelowna. I haven't been in 15 years... no.. longer - but I never drove then and probably slept some of the way. I know I've driven to Kamloops in abou 4 1/2 hours. So I think I will stop at the visitor centre there and see what they suggest for routes.

I need to finish packing - I'll let you know how the drive goes and I will hopefully have some pictures.

FOUR

Taken from me sista's site

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. A & W Line Cook
2. Project Manager
3. Advisor
4. Office pee-on

Four Movies I like:
1. Last Holiday
2. Muppet Treasure Island (yes, they made a treasure island movie...)
3. White Chicks
4. Love actually

Four places that I've lived:
1. Houston
2. Prince Rupert
3. Quesnel
4. Prince George

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. Hell's Kitchen
2. The Amazing Race
3. Global News... (I'm boring - I've accepted it)
4. Ace of Cakes

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Victoria
2. Penticton
3. Queen Charlotte Island
4. Bermuda

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Dried apricots
3. Macaroni and cheese from Granville's
4. Andy's moms beefy noodly goodness... not sure of name - just in case that wasn't obvious enough

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. 1998
2. Fall of 1997
3. At Paula's house - sitting on the deck enjoying some nice tea or alcohol...
4. A beach with the family

spunky cats

Alright - I will warn you now that this post is a little repulsive and deals with animal sex...

A few posts ago I noted that we were having cat pee issues and bought a carpet cleaner to solve the problem and be prepared for future incidents. It was a good investment, my living room carpets are proof of that.

Last night at 3am I was sleeping. I kept hearing a cat and I thought it was mine because they were sitting in the room. I told them to buzz off, but then the crying got louder. I tried with all my strength to just lay in bed and ignore it, but I finally caved and went to see what the heck was going on.

Well a lot was going. It was get busy time outside my window. Two cats were screaming their love for the world to here and they chose my window to be the spot where they would make the most of their noise.

My windows are still plastic-ed in to keep out the cold, but Michael's window wasn't. So I went in his room and started making hissing noises - LOUDLY! very very loudly! My hiss wasn't loud enough as they continued on their merry humping way. So I pulled out a big hiss and that apparently freed their hips and they pranced off, fully puffed and continuing to share the sounds of their love with the neighbourhood. It was at this second that I could smell their love and realized that these damned cats love session was the smell that we'd thought was cat pee in our bedroom. FREAKIN' FABULOUS!

So here is what I'm looking for now - how do we keep cats away from our house - short of killing them. Any suggestions? I'm open to all ideas.

I hope everyone has a great afternoon. I'm off to make some chili.

away

So the boys are in Kitimat visiting family and friends and I'm home... cleaning. I couldn't get the time off work, as I'm trying to save days for going to Kelowna throughout the summer (Andy is going there is a few short weeks...) and thought it would be best to stay now and take time next weekend.

What does this mean? Well I have the house to myself and I'm cleaning. I steam cleaned the living room over two nights because the furniture had to stay in the room, and I've cleaned nearly everything in kitchen. I still need to do the fridge and couple of dishes, but other than that it is looking... F-I-N-E! The boys bedrooms are nearly clean and our room is clean. The basement still needs some assistance but I've got tonight and all day tomorrow. I spent the morning cleaning and then headed out to help a friend with some moving of boxes. At the time I was all "this is no problem - it's a great cardio work out!" and now I'm like... holy crow my arms are sore and my legs are wobbly... I also recycled today - HOORAY! (Yes, I have officially joined the totally lame club.)

On the 'me' front, I had a pedicure this afternoon with a deaf staff member. It was kind of odd... the other thing was she was new to the whole practice. My heels were brutal - one has cracked REALLY BAD - and I went in to cancel, but the girl at the front said "you'll be fine, I would get it done because of the crack" - sure - so the new girl didn't really know she could press harder and really get that dead stuff off so the other girl had to help... outside of that she did a great job - (Paula - better than vancouver with you and Wendy... WAY BETTER!) she doesn't speak and I know a little sign... so I apologized for my terrible heels - I guess when I go for that I expect to have a chat with a stranger about all my shit and I didn't get that... it was a double bench so I was sitting with - as it turned out - a past summer student, so it wasn't bad, as I could talk with her and her esthetician...(is that right...???) I felt like the third wheel though. So I sat there and just enjoyed the minty air and enya :)

I've been to the library twice in two days and got all the books I never get to even look at when I take the boys - that has probably been the best part of the weekend. I went over my lunch break yesterday and browsed - and then today I went to pick up a couple more. Anyone know how to quilt? I'm left handed and retarded (for a lack of a better word) and really get lost in patterns and instructions - I will admit my faults. I'm looking for where to go for quilting help and how to get started. The library had nothing for beginners and I'm starting to think that quilting is an exclusive club and I haven't been invited yet. (Like I need more to do... I've just always wanted to learn and I have scrap fabric from pants and other projects.) Please don't put my comments -april just google quilting for beginners - I want something specific that has worked for someone else... :)

Well I'm going to go and read. I hope you are having an equally enjoyable weekend!

oscars

I must be getting better - two posts in two days... amazing :)

So I watched some of the Oscars tonight and I thought Ellen was fabulous! I miss the day when Billy Crystal came on stage to sing and dance, but Ellen was equally funny and charming. Jerry Seinfeld was also quite amusing!

The only highlight for me was that I now want to watch ABC tomorrow night for the Oprah special. Alright, actual Oscar moments - I liked the Dreamgirls songs - man can those women sing! Made me want to see the movie. I can't say I caught much else - I was busy with sick Michael. He is still trying to get over whatever it is he has. He is sleeping now and I hope he will make it through the night... but I'm not going to hold my breath.

So any favorite oscar moments? Did I miss something fabulous?

the road to recovery...

so I'm a million times better (HOORAY), however, I'm super tired. I can't seem to get enough sleep right now. I nearly nodded off at work and at night I'm ready for bed before the kids. I know that I like my sleep, but this is a little excessive. Hopefully my body will get over this and I'll be able to stay up late again.

Carmen mentioned going to the card shop this weekend and I was wondering if it was the one downtown. I went there the last time I was up and was locked in the store. I walked in with some other people and they left. I had stuff in my hands and I hear the door click shut. So I say - oh are you closing? and she's all - yes and then walks to the back of the store. Now I had a cold and maybe I sounded like someone else who was in the back... but come on... so what do I do - I drop everything and unlock the door and leave.

Homefront - Michael had something and it seems to be leaving - might be teething, could be a little sore throat... Kyle still has a bit of a cough but he is on the mend and Andy - didn't get sick at all... bugger... he is leaving us for Kelowna and school in a few weeks... he starts on Apr 2 so we will probably make at least one trip down between now and then to try and find a place.

So what is there to do in Kelowna? Wineries? anything else? Anyone been and love something about it - I would love to hear more about the best of Kelowna.

Well, lame me, I'm going to retire... nightie night friends

still sick

so I'm going to bed in twice minus two minutes but thought i would let everyone know that I'm still sick - this cold just won't give in - it was a chest cold for a couple of days and then i thought that was it but NOOOOO now it is a full ear, sinus, jaw bone cold/achy/pain.... it is terrible... I don't even know if I'll be back to work on monday... and I've already had two and half days off... TERRIBLE!

no upside tonight - i just want the ear ache to stop - it would also be nice to eat and not feel like 'ralph' :) alright i'm going to rest my head - i hope all of you are a hundred times better than me - xxooxx

so sick

So Kyle got worse - he ended up waking up with a nose bleed... so he temp was super high... and I was getting sick... the beginning - I knew it was coming on Tuesday morning and it kept getting worse and worse - when my work day finally ended - 10pm... I was beat. Of course I couldn't get to sleep and then the moment that I did Kyle had the nose bleed - he slept with me, but at 5am Michael decided he wanted to get up and hang out.... AAHHHHH! I had to go to work this morning to get a couple things done - assigned as immediate - and it was just painful - every breathe hurts - it feels like I've gone for a really long hard run... at a point my lungs will start burning and I know it is time to stop and take a break - that is how it feels for every breathe - all day... not to mention if I get cold air in my lungs - holy crap that hurts and then the coughing fits really take off...- so why am I writing - well I tried to go to sleep and my lungs just don't want to let me... aching pain... I just hope this isn't what Kyle had because this is terrible... well I'm going to try and sleep again... what really sucks is that I have to go back into work again tomorrow to finish some stuff and then I've got my other work board meeting tomorrow night - I don't know how I'm going to survive it... hopefully it will have eased up a bit over night... night night - Paula - sorry I missed your call tonight my voice is pretty much gone and I was trying to get Michael to sleep - I hope we can hook up for our date tomorrow night. :)

olympics

what looked to be a wall of 25 or 30 ft blocked the view of the new olympic countdown clock - cameramen took their positions and vancouver bubbled with the excitement of viewing a clock for the first time.. WOW... (yes, I do sell sarcasm, $9 a bucket) the crowd was ready and down came the cloth showing a small digital clock in stone with a wood pole sticking out from it. I wonder how much that little beauty cost... I guess nothing - OMEGA probably paid for all of it... don't get me wrong it... no actually I don't like it - it's a clock and if they wanted something that really said vancouver/whistler it would have had the ocean in it moving back and forth, carved into a mountain scape... they can call them BC and Canada's olympics because we are all going to pay for them but the true beneficiaries are vancouver and whistler, but I digress.

A small group of Olympic haters jumped on stage (Bret on Bif Naked style) and tried to disrupt the excitement over... a clock... regardless of the clock a man with a mask had something he felt he needed to share with the crowd - that the rest of us should be paying for his housing... right - and then a man in blue carried him off stage.... fine... what was the bigger issue - where were the RCMP/police... this is exactly the kind of thing the committee should have expected and no one was prepared - no barricades in front of the speakers, no immediate protection for the speaker - underestimated security budget - my kids and maybe even my grandkids are going to be paying for that underestimated bill... the committee... (if I write the committee name will I get a lawsuit... wait I also wrote olympic in this blog - they may come after me for that...) should seriously evaluate the security thing and admit to the underestimated budget before the games - hearing that we've got a billion dollar bill afterwards will not sit well with anyone - that could a government ending decision... maybe that's what they want anyway... maybe the legacy the olympic planners should be leaving is a province/country without a massive debt at the close of the games... that would be a far greater legacy than the stuff currently planned

what else? well passion won - I'm staying put for now.
Michael is saying - look (-ook) and hi, he waves, claps and understands that high fives involve your hands - he just isn't sure what he is supposed to do - he likes music... he dances a little like quasi modo might have... it is quite odd - one arm bent like he's a little teapot and the rest of his body workin' it...

Kyle is sick - boo - some kind of flu/cold thing - he isn't too bad... we will see how he is feeling tomorrow - he is camping tonight (grandma and grandpa bought him a one man tent that sits up off the ground - it is pretty cool and he's been sleeping in it on and off again for a week or more...) he says that his bed makes him hot... he is getting much better at writing - he can write his name, and mom and can do letters and numbers as long as there are examples above or nearby -


Fun with Michael - he was making faces at me...


This looks like he is laughing - and he was - but this is also his new face - he still does sniffy face - but this one is starting to show up more often - I don't know where it comes from...


Here is Kyle in his tent doing one of things I wish I hadn't taught him - the tongue roll... it was funny for a while... and all the parents know how that ends...


The boys being super cute


I'll give you one guess as to who this hair belongs to... belongs to the cancer society now...

a little political

So poor Bill Bennett quit with the province during this past week over an email that had some fairly negative comments in it. A constituent riled Bill up and off the top of the volcano came, in the form of a written and permanent email. I have a temper like Mr Bennett. I admit to sending out emails that were TERRIBLE in the past. Ones that will likely haunt me some day.

The point of all this is a simple one. Bill sent a simple email - he didn't punch this guy in the head or set his house on fire or run him down with his car and yet our premier, who rides on high, was charged as a drunk driver and NOTHING happened! It was like - come on - everyone does it so I thought I would just join the crowd. I'm above the law.

I don't think our premier should have said anything about disappointment - Bill might have barked off but it wasn't illegal - we all have our opinions... people voted for Bill because he has always been like this. I'm not defending Bill's actions I think some kind of disciplinary action should have occurred. If we look at the scale of things with the premier just carrying on his merry way after the DUI charge, I think Bill might have actually been up for a promotion.

four points

never mind I changed my mind

completion

so my bedroom is no longer stinky and we re-arranged the bed - amazing! now we have a wall that looks weird, but maybe we will put in some shelves or something... the last bit of the room I finished tonight - didn't take as long but it had some dirt - holy! I can't believe how much dirt and gunk it picked up... glad that I did it now - that is for sure!

So on the wishy-washy job front - the partner of the company asked to fly me to vancouver for a meeting - i declined because with the kids it just won't work - plus I don't think it is fair to my current position... they are flying in to see me next week - well - they might be - I'm not completely sure about the career move - I'm all for more money but my current job is rewarding - I love talking with people and getting them excited about Quesnel - I know I probably sound like a lame-o but I'm passionate about - regardless of the politics and general shit... my new position wouldn't have that... so what to do... what is the best decision...
weigh in on my life - please - even just to help me mush it through my strainer of a brain...

So what do you do - do what you are passionate about regardless of politics and money or do you leave, start fresh, take more money, potentially burn bridges (???? not sure), learn to be passionate about something else... if that is possible.

I'm committing to do the real estate stuff though - I want that - I want to sell businesses and houses - so I'm looking into it - I've done some research before but it was more for housing and the business side interests me... well I'm off to look - any commercial real estate agents visiting - do you love your job - how did you get started - would you recommend this career path.

Ok my cat just through a container of fake flowers on the floor - she saw a cat outside and scared the crap out of me - i jumped up and slipped on my track pants.. (yes, I'm wearing track pants... and yes they have zippers) then I see her puffed up and panting at the window - I thought someone was breaking in... nope just the fat cat from next door makin' an appearance - Jasmine hissed and well like a bull blew out her nose to tell the other cat to buzz off... then she kept puffing up like the chinese guy in big trouble in little china - her release works better than his though. :) She is better now - the cat is movin' on.... night night all -

carpets

we bought a carpet cleaner tonight because one of our cats is having accidents - last night i couldn't sleep in our bedroom because the smell was making me heev.. it was brutal - we figure it isn't going to get better with our cats so we bought a carpet cleaner and I put it to use in our bedroom - one half of bedroom is smelly great... the other - well it will tomorrow - not enough time tonight to do both sides before the kids went to bed and it is super loud. I'm not sure that it is the cat actually having accidents or not - I've had one cat for nine years and we've never had a problem with her - she had been the dream cat - no illnesses - the other cat has had stomach problems her entire life - so I don't know who has the problem - I'm also wondering about cat spray - is that only boy cats? Anyway we are cleaning and trying to make our house fresh and clean.... I couldn't believe the cat hair the cleaner picked up - we could have given a kitten new hair...

well i'm going to watch hell's kitchen - man ramseys brutal - ok I'm off

Learn it by teaching it

So I've been reading Stephen Covey and his 8th step for months - going back over the same sections and getting frustrated... I think mostly because I understood that I need to teach what I was learning but not applying it. So after a long walk tonight while reading the book in my basement I thought I would teach here... take it or leave it - share your ideas - teach back - I just want to use this book to be a better person and right now I can see the changes that need to be made but am not instituting the changes...

The idea behind the 8th step is all about being the best human beings we can be, excelling in all aspects of our life. I'm struggling with how it will all come together at the end, but I'm trying to have a little faith.

Ok - before I go on - one of Kyle's fish died... he has had six little gold fish for months. I've got pictures of him and them together. It was a little sad but I didn't think much of it. I think he believes they are going on some kind of vacation when they head for the toilet. He says it is dead, but dead must be better than the aquarium because he sends them off with a see you later and wishes them the best... maybe that is death... anyway this morning we are getting ready for school and the rest of the fish are dead - all five of them... I wanted to cry - tonight I did - more about it just being plain shitty and about me still just being a pus about all death stuff since my grandma passed away. Anyway like the complete champ that he is he wished them well and flushed them. I shed a small tear in his room and he got pretty choked up at that but then just moved on with things. I must be overly emotional right now. Everything is upsetting me - tomorrow is also three months since my grandma died and I'm hurting over that... - ok - enough on that - back to teaching.

So the book suggests that I teach someone - anyone - chapter by chapter and take my time - work through the ideas presented in each chapter over the course of a month - complete 12 chapters and in a year be a better person. No magic pills did not come with this book.

So this first session is on finding our voices. The idea is that we are all born as genuises and so much shit weighs us down in life, on purpose or indirectly, taking our potential away. Covey suggests that the thing that makes us different from robots and the animals is that we can make choices. We choose to gossip, we choose to eat another cookie, we choose to drive fast, we choose to lead, we choose to control ourselves, we choose to take our time, we choose. Based on our choices we can change our future. We have the freedom to choose and we forget that we have that option. We are not our pasts, we are not the product of only genetics, we are not what other people tell us we are.

Covey uses a great quote in his book from psychiatrist RD Laing - "The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change: until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds." Yes, this reads like mud the first time through - try again and see if it gets clearer. It makes me think of a time when I heard that I should learn the names of people around me and take the time to know them. I choose not to notice them by not learning their name and something about them - does that make me a less caring person - am I just saving time... I think its probably making me a less caring person and saving a minute - well its only a minute.

I will stop there for tonight - maybe you have learned nothing - that's ok - share your thoughts and stories - it will help us all grow smarter and maybe some of us will become genuises again.

Night.

recipe hunt

Anyone (jen...) make lemon curd? I've been looking on line and seem to have found some good recipes but I wasn't sure - I would like to can them and save them... so preserving informaton would be excellent as well.

Thank you.

easin' the saturday night boredom one user at a time

well thank you mel for the m&m link - definitely worth the visit... I left with this beauty below. Follow the link (www.becomeanmm.com) and make your own cool M&M... I actually had some M&M today... mmmm - they are sooo much better than smarties...

ER

yup - it was good - hooray!

So I was looking at the stats... and see that I've got some quesnelly visitors - welcome - and welcome to all the visitors stopping by after visiting carmen :)

30 rock was also very good tonight - and Scrubs which I don't usually watch was also entertaining... thursday nights might actually be good again.... speaking of tv - does anyone know where i can get heroes - i watched the first... well at least five episodes and then - well kids happen and bedtimes get missed and heroes takes the back seat... I would love to watch all the episodes and try and catch up - so if anyone knows where I go for that... or if I'm too late then - well I'd like to know that too...

Well I'm going to go and read my environmental book (thank you wendy for lending it) - it is a very good read - I'm surprised at how interested I am in it... I'm also re-reading the 8th habit and truly trying to learn it... my listening skills are improving but I have a long way to go. Nightie night.

what a day can do

today i had a job offer - well a - april you should take my job because i'm leaving and me and the owner have already talked and he wants your resume right away - oh and by the way my job starting wage is more than you make now and the cap out point is more than you will ever make in the job you are in now - oh and you wouldn't have to do a million things - you just have to manage this one thing - with some sub things - but way less than what you do now... and likely for more enjoyment - what do think...

then I get - april you know you should start turning businesses - we all need help and no one else is doing it - charge us a small percentage on a sale and make money that way - so no less than three people told me to get a new job today... i guess if i was looking for a sign - i got one...

now what....????? well i don't really know what to think now - yesterday i would have just left everything - but i know that staying home will not pay for my house and everything else we need... - ok - ER is on - lord are they gonna kill luka tonight - holy - what the heck I haven't watched it since christmas and now they are killing luka - MY FAVORITE HOT MAN ON TV.... WHAT! Ok - off to watch

before i go to bed...

So I was looking for a little pick me up and I found this - check it out if you have a minute

http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html

And for any quesnelles that read here there is a stroller protest on February 13 to support the child care and resource centres - the province is closing the doors to these great facilities across the province and in quesnel we will be showing our support with a stroller walk... write a letter to your MLA and get the word out that these resource facilities are important

coupons

I don't know if any of you use this service already but you can get coupons mailed to you for things like cleaning supplies and diapers and new product items. Check out www.save.ca for this service. I use to get the coupons all the time and had forgotten about it until tonight when I started just surfing. Tonight I got some OLAY, TIDE, pampers and wipes and a couple of other coupons... happy surfin'

motherhood/work

What is important in life?

I went to a women in business workshop this morning - some women turned it into a bitch session - while others had some serious and interesting concerns that they wanted to address with a larger group.

As we sat there talking (well me listening) I heard an older generation talk about the time they got to spend at home and others talking about the importance of a childs first years. It made me upset all day because if I could be at home I would be. It makes me sad that I have to work and hear Kyle tell me how much he misses me. I know twenty years from now he won't remember that - he will maybe remember that mom worked - but that might even be part of the haze. I remember my mom being home, and I remember spending lots of time with my dad on weekends. My dad work nights so we didn't really see him that much - we used to go hunting in the mornings so that was time together. Does that make me a worse person? I don't know I'm just struggling tonight.

Where is this going? I don't know. I just wanted to chat tonight and didn't really know where to go with it. I'm in no financial position to just walk away from work and I don't know that I would for sure. I will tell you what really makes me think though is that in a few short months I'm going to have to give half of my full time jobs monthly income to a daycare provider that I don't think is providing anything fabulous. And I'll tell you that I'm expected to do some pretty fantastic work for that money. My home based business doesn't make enough money for me to do that alone but maybe if I did it and forgot about the office I could make a run at it... that and farmers market... we will see

Well I'm going to sit here and list to "the beat" my favorite radio station and enjoy some JT - oh yes, you brought sexy back... (am I too old to enjoy him and his music... - alright I have to share this - I had a meeting today and felt old - I'm 30 - I don't think 30 is old... well not now that I am this age... but I didn't agonize over turning 30 - this wasn't that big a deal to me - but today a little newbie grad made me want to freak out - she insulted everyone in the room with her comments and then couldn't say more than four words without saying 'like' - I used to say like all the time and then one day (when I was 14) my dad said - April you sound like a retard - stop saying like, like, like... and I gradually got over it - unless I wanted to raz him and then I could pour it on - ahhh - I feel better now - that has been bugging me for hours)

caddy shack

i don't know if everyone has seen caddy shack or not but there is a pretty famous scene when 'poo' is found in a pool well it happened to us last night. We took Michael for his first adventure in the pool. We had a good time - Kyle went on the slide and Michael just took it all in. We were just splashing around when this girl is all - um, is that poo - I think that is poo - then she is over with her friends to the lifeguard - I think there is poo in the pool - I'm making my way out already but the lifeguard comes over and asks us all to get out.... like we'd stay. We never saw said poo and I'm glad we didn't...

So G-R-O-S-S... I kind of think the little boy who was playing near us did it and his parents didn't notice. When we were in the family change room together it sounded like he was trying to say it was his... and that he was sad he couldn't play anymore because of what happened... but I'm not sure. I know it wasn't one of ours..

When we were leaving the lifeguard gave us a family pass for another visit in the future - hopefully when there is less poo in the pool... (you can't spell pool without poo) I asked if we should be worried about the kids or us getting sick and it was like the lifeguard wasn't listening - she's all - well you won't get sick from chlorine - people drink that all the time and kids pee in that pool all the time... all the time - GREAT! Not like I didn't know that - like those swimmers retain anything but poo... none of us are sick tonight - well I guess andy was a little sick - hopefully unrelated. She went on and on about us having to get out of the water because they super chlorinate the water and it can cause rashes on some people - meantime I'm thinking like I wanted to stay in the water with a poo floating around... ok - so there is a little bedtime story for you...

olay

In a lame attempt to make my pasty northern bc skin look more southern i'm testing out another moisturizing product that claims to make my skin look tanned. The product is called Touch of Sun and when you apply it you have to wash your hands thoroughly after to avoid getting orange hands - which I've had before and it SUCKS! I actually applied this with gloves because I'm so nervous about getting orange hands again.

I applied it and for being a moisturizer and tanning product it dried relatively quickly. I applied while Kyle was having a swim session in our tub. I smell kind of tan lotion-y right now but I don't mind that.

Olay has free stuff for us Canadians on there website. I've had them ship me stuff before and I've actually gone on to purchase with them as a result. Check out www.olayoffers.ca for some free stuff.

I will let you know how it looks tomorrow. The bottle suggests that I will see more dramatic results after multiple applications and minor results after tonight. We will see.

wireless

Thank you Aman at Telus. I had given up all hope of getting my wireless internet working. We bought a wireless router yesterday and tired to set it up more than 5 times and it kept calfing out when I got to the connect to the internet stage... ARG! I gave up... but I couldn't really give up and tried again tonight - 4 more times and then I thought - it can't be me - I'm doing everything this damn thing says to do - I'm not doing anything extra... so I finally give up using the CD for installation and try it my way - I plug it all back in like it has been part of my network all along and - BLAM - it works - well it starts to work. Then I keep getting a telus page - over and over and over and over and over.. you get the idea. I finally cave and call telus for help. I can tell that I was a simple call for Aman - but she did have to think a little bit to help me - turns out my MAC (this is the piece of information that lets telus know that you are loading something new up to transfer data - be it a new computer or a new router) wasn't installed - at all - the software that came with the router was bogus and did NOTHING! Aman, the telus angel, walked me through the final steps of this process and go sing it on the mountain - I've got wireless... so I come to you live from living room - why wireless... I know - right now I could be just as easily downstairs typing - it is more for andy during the day when there is no chance of being near a connection and it gives him another point of entertainment for himself and for Kyle who quite likes Elmos world.

Well - seeing as it is Saturday night and I have the night to myself now I think I will have a good dose of indigestion - as I typically get it when I have time to myself - freakin' fabulous! Night night - I'm off to get my tums and then browse around some sites...

tagged

So Carmen tagged me to complete the below alphabet task that will allow me to, yet again, share more with you... to tag or not to tag... you know who you are - my readers - please complete this tag task if you feel the need and have the time... if not I will continue to read your blogs and still love you :)

A-Available or Taken: Happily taken - over nine years - I know, it is crazy

B-Best Friend: Paula

C-Cake or Pie: Um... pie - definitely yummy pie - I love real blueberry pie - not the out of a crappy can kind and lemon merigue - MMMMMMMMM

D-Drink of Choice: Steeped Tea double double, and peppermint mocha

E-Essential Item (s) Used Everyday: toilet - I hated peeing in the woods when I was a kid and can't imagine having to go through that again

F-Favorite Color: navy blue

G-Gummy Bears or Worms: gummies - but not very many

H-Hometown: Quesnel

I-Indulgence: Chocolate Long John - Cream filled from Quesnel Bakery - I've pretty much cut that completely out but it is my true indulgence

J-January or February: January - Michael joined us at the start of this month...

K-Kids & Names: Michael and Kyle

L-Life Is Incomplete Without: Family and friends

M-Marriage Date: June 29, 2002

N-Number of Siblings: 2 - brother and sister

O-Oranges or Apples: Mandarin oranges

P-Phobias or Fears: I'm more scared of things - I wouldn't say that it is a phobia or fear... just a nervousness and uneasiness about a number of quarky things

Q-Favorite Quote: I like a number of quotes - no specific one that comes to mind

R-Reason To Smile: There are always reasons to smile - the list is endless

S-Season: Spring

T-Tag 3 or 4 People: Well if you read the top you know you can choose to do this or not... I will be happy to read others and will post those who complete it... Carmen has completed this if you'd like to check it out

U-Unknown Fact About Me: When I was about 10 I saw a UFO with my dad.

V-Vegetable You Don't Like: Is horse radish a vegetable? I know that I don't like that - no other vegetables come to mind.

W-Worst Habit: I tell my family that I will be home at a certain time and then my meetings run late and I'm late for them - I hate it and I've tried to exaggerate my time and that usually works but sometimes even that is off. It comes back to me shutting my hole and gaining the ability to tell people that I have to go... I am getting better at this...

X-X-rays: teeth, hands, belly (with babies), ovaries, knees

Y- Your Favorite Food: Right now I like mixed green salad from Save On (ARG - damned cashier at save on) with cranberry sauce whipped on top... I'm a lame ass... I know

Z-Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Well if you read all that - thanks - when I started working on this tag Andy called me over to a little flood in our basement. It appears that water is leaking in from the wall... so tra la la an adjuster will be calling us shortly... FABULOUS! I'm super nervous about the whole thing - the leak is in a bad spot that is covered by cabinets and a sink... it definitely isn't the sink - which means water from outside is coming in... I will keep you updated on our little flood...

customer service

I bravely took Michael grocery shopping alone tonight. Kyle is pretty sick with this round of cold/flu. So Andy stayed home and watched Muppet Treasure Island with Kyle. I knew I was in for trouble when I couldn't find a cart with a seatbelt. So after shuffling four carts (deposit quarter - move to next line - deposit quarter, etc) I find one and start to shop. No sooner have I started to get some mushrooms then Michael is standing up and trying to help. He definitely likes to help and not listen. This routine of telling Michael to sit down and, please don't do that went on for 15 minutes. I finished the shop and headed to the tills. No one... no one at the light... I look and the express girl sees me and kind of nods and then says oh its open - so I start unloading - carefully because Michael is ready to bolt at any given moment. I put everything on the belt and she shows up and rings it through. She bags it as she goes and I'm struggling with Michael - desperate to keep him in the cart and not standing because I don't want him to fall. She puts everything onto the counter and then after getting my $40, leaves. She doesn't even offer to put my groceries in the cart, she doesn't say goodnight, or have a nice night - NOTHING! I'm I expecting too much... a drop of kindness to a mom who is struggling. So I do the balancing act of trying to support Michael while loading the groceries. Now sitting here I know I could have just picked him up and loaded and then reloaded him to walk out... but my brain got all mad after this scene. What makes me even madder about it is that it came from my favorite grocery store - SAVE ON! I can't even say that I will shop somewhere else because I won't... so rather than calling the manager I'm writing here for you to read - my faithful few.

I'm feeling less stressed about this situation now... and now I've been thinking about the grocery store it dawns on me that I would like to share my idea with you. I've been thinking about creating a cart cushion for kids. One piece in the front that could be used for the back as well. The piece would cover over the metal to protect kids from hitting their heads and from licking up whatever the last kid left behind. The cushion will have a cover that will be washable. I'm thinking of making some for farmers market and, well wherever else. The insert piece would only be replaced as it wore the cover could be replaced based on need or style. I'm thinking about pricing them for $5 each. I'm still narrowing down my insert supply and the price might go up as a result. Moms and Dads with babies, aunties and uncles with kid nephews and nieces would you buy something like this. Does $5 sound too high? Worse question - have you seen this somewhere... does this already exist... I'm thinking someone else must have thought of this - but I'm planning on giving it a shot anyway... no harm in crafting some and selling them at a fair or farmers market... that said I've never seen one - nothing even like it... I thought if I could cut a deal with IKEA or another family orientated company I might actually pay off my house and start to really save some money for my travelling years. Thoughts, expressions of interest... I'd love to hear... thanks... - oh and this idea is officially copyrighted... and now has intellectual property rights (I was actually given a letter from a lawyer once on these grounds - someone told me they owned a name I had used for an event - really it was completely bogus but I had to change the name and all our advertising as a result because he has claimed them as his intellectual property.

canker sore be gone...

Thank you for the ideas on getting Kyle to eat veggies! I will definitely try using the big kid at school name and seeing if he decides he can eat it. Andy does have issues with some veggies, but not to the extent that Kyle has gone. He can sense a microscopic piece of green on anything. I've seen him look at something and decide - no green and then his tongue gets a hold of it and nope... it senses out the green.

I eat a lot of veggies so I thought that Kyle would naturally like them. Michael is pretty good with veggies - some nights he even ignores the rest and just picks out veg. Kids...

Jen - you being the teacher around these parts - I'm hoping you can help or suggest some reading on this - there is a child in Kyle's pre-school who has special needs. It isn't something obvious, but he tends to lash out at others (hitting, scratching, biting, etc) and he has an assistant with him most of his day. Kyle has decided he is a bad kid and I don't want him thinking that about anyone who is different. I've explained that the other boy is special and reinforce that he should try to be friends with him. Kyle got a pretty nasty scratch on his chest from him and, well since then he hasn't really talked about him. I know he is busy with other kids and girls.. (LORD) but I would like to read with him about these issues or discussing them with him. Any suggestions? Everyone can join in on this - I just thought Jen might have a resource with her school connections.

Well I'm going to scrap right now and watch a movie. I hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend... we took the boys on their sleds around the neighbourhood today - it was the most beautiful day we've had in a while. I hope to do something equally pleasing tomorrow. :)

diet program

Four miserable days ago I noticed that my speech was going in the crapper and that my tongue hurt. The next day it was to the point that talking (especially saying things quickly or loudly) and eating hurt. I made an appointment to see my doctor and felt like a complete whiner going in for something like this. My speech has been terrible - letters are blurring together - I sound like there something wrong - something even more wrong with me than usual... :) Eating is super painful! Every bite hurts - and all the snacky foods make it throb... so I've been forced to give up most foods and really I don't want to eat because the pain is terrible.

I had an appointment at 1:30 but my doctor got called to a huge motor vehicle accident outside Quesnel - 4 ambulances (at least) were used to bring people in. At 3:30 I called back to make another appointment and they told me to try and come in. I got there and he saw me right away. After his day (one c-section, all the MVA and a bunch of other stuff - not to much that he is one of two doctors working) he must have had a laugh at my mouth... I even told him that I was sorry for being such a weiner about this... he is all - no problem - April it is just a canker sore... it will go away... Frankly it can't go away soon enough! Just swallowing hurts.

Thank you for letting me whine on here... and yes I did have my cheese before I started.

What else - well it snowed a lot today - probably 6 inches throughout the whole day. Kyle is getting big and I can't believe that in eight months I'll have a kindergartener... lord - he is so kind hearted (and crazy... definitely crazy) - now that I'm back to work he is always telling me how much he misses me and then tells me things about his day. He made a girl friend at school - she is very sweet. He was telling me that she wanted to play games with him and that he wanted to play with her more than the big boys. That's a big deal because all he does is play with the big boys - these are simply the boys that are taller...

Michael is getting into walking. He is still crawling but he is getting to the 30% walking and 70% crawling - maybe even more walking... it is exciting to see him getting it.

Anyone else have problems feeding their kids vegetables. Any tips? I saw a thing on tv that said we should have two types of veg on his plate every day and that eventually he will simply start to eat them... I've tried hiding it - Kyle can sense green foods - it is the strangest thing. Meantime Michael would happily eat only veg and skip all the junk.

One more thing...

I forgot - this week was Michael's one year shots - lucky him - they were terrible and we are still trying to get through the side effects. Here are his new stats:

Height - 30.5 inches (2 1/2 feet)
Head - 19 inches (around)
Weight... and this is why my back hurts - 24 lbs 2 oz... lord!

Kyle weighed 30 lbs at his 1 year check in and he'd been walking for 4 months - Michael is still figuring out the mechanics of it all - he walks 4-5 steps and then sits down and crawls... I'm not putting up a fight - take your time... it all goes by so fast

So there is my baby - er' I guess toddler update :)

And now good night.

Greyhound... a slow dog

Yesterday was January 12. I sent a harmless few christmas gifts to my sister and her boyfriend and yesterday they arrived... Now I would hate to say - don't ship with Greyhound because my package going to Dawson Creek made it no problem... so here is what I will say - don't ship with Greyhound if you are shipping to Calgary because apparently sorting is not first priority...

I'm glad the package made it - one because I spent a lot of time on the gifts I sent and two - Mel and my mom and my brother will stop calling me and giving me advise (yelling sometimes...) on shipping and insurance... Yes Mel you are not going to get to live down calling me on my 30th birthday and yelling (maybe not at me but in my ear) and then remembering (or having Sean prompt you) to say - oh yeah and happy birthday... I guess you at least called and wished - more than some :)

Happy belated birthday to Sean - sorry we didn't send a card - had I known the package would get there just a few days after your birthday I would have sent something in it - sorry the pants are soo long :) If Mel doesn't hem them I will when we come and visit.

Well my hands are singing - damned dry Quesnel - and I need to get some lotion. I have an hour now where I don't know what to do - kids are asleep - andy is at hockey... I guess I will try and scrapbook something. I'm trying to commit to more scrapbooking but I haven't succeed yet. Alright - I will grab a movie and do some scrapin' - nightie night my lovies :)

miracle phone

As I mentioned a few posts ago I fell behind my office. It turns out that when I bailed I also lost my cell phone. I didn't realize it until last night that it was missing. I was getting out of the car yesterday and heard it beep and assumed that it was sitting in my car... not under my car.

Last night I really started to look for it and realized that I hadn't used it in a few days and then it dawned on me that it must be out in the cold. So at 10pm last night I drove down to my office and started the search.

I'm standing in the back parking area with Andy's cell calling my cell and I faintly here... "It's time to put on makeup, it's time to dress up right, it's time to raise the current on the muppet show tonight." The dig begins. We've had a foot of snow fall since I fell... I dig and dig. The sound gets loud and then fades. Fading... fading - gone. I call again and I can't hear. I take a step and figure I must be standing on it. I start the dig again and it gets a little louder. It is beeping and the battery is dying... must find it... SOON - not to much that it is -20 and I'm freezing! I continue the dig and there it is - stuck in the ice - obviously driven over and pushed down as far as it would go. I start to pick away at with my gloves on and have no luck. I take off the gloves and give it a go with my fingers.. BRRRR - not advised to try. (I get home and Andy says 'why didn't you just grab the snow brush out of the car...' ) After a minute or so of picking and pleading it comes free.

I put it on the heater in the car and let it defrost. Last night when I started to charge it I thought it was really broken because it just didn't want to work - but this morning it had a full charge and was ready to go. AMAZING! So there you go - those little telus phones can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

scrap pages

As I promised in December - here are a couple of the pages that I did for my mom and mom-in-law. If anyone has suggestions on capturing better pictures from scrap pages I would love to hear them. I know I should have turned the flash off, but it was 2am Christmas morning when I took these photos and I just wanted to have reference copies for the time I get to put my book together.


These are just some photos we took before Christmas. The centre pic is Kyle's first skate... he had a great time.


I did two pages side by side on Michaels faces. I tried to have a photo from every month. The other page mirrored the picture layout. I wrote some words that described the pictures along the top and bottom of the pages.


Here is Kyle's first amusement rides. It was a crazy day and I will admit that I didn't want him to go on anything. I'm not very fond of rides and I'm nervous about the Billy Barker Days ride quality. I'm sure the machines are fine, but they appear to be the same machines that have come as long as I've gone to the festival... regardless, he had an excellent time and I was glad he enjoyed it. (I have to say that... right... :) )

I took about 40 photos of Michael eating one day and used them to line the top and bottom of this page. Each one is slightly different. The middle photos were my favorites. He definitely loves to eat! The monkey picture came from a book that I cut up. I've done this a bit with pages - cutting up books, calendars, etc to go with a page. I buy a religious day planner every year just for the pictures and then cut out all the pages to use in projects throughout the year.

christmas project

So I never said what I had been working on as a craft at Christmas and since it has come and gone now I thought I would share... (Mel - you would have gotten one and if the package never arrives I will make another... DAMNED GREYHOUND)

I went to a PG craft fair and bought a starry night charm from a vendor for $2 - and I thought if she is selling them for that cheap this must be something easy to do - so I started trying to figure out how to do it. I'm still working on the best backing and I will likely buy the kit I saw on ebay and I think it is fun and makes a great gift.

What I did was find photos of things I knew a couple of family and friends would like - 17-19 pictures and then I shrunk them down in word (office suite) - I then printed them on glossy photo paper and used double sided tape to adhere them to charm bracelets. I bought blank bracelets for about $4 each. Then I did 3-5 coats of clear nail polish. I made a few for my bracelet and haven't had any problems with them - the one I did for my mother in law had two fall off right away - so I know I need a better adhesive but glue just doesn't seem like an option since it will likely warp the picture.

I was just about to post a picture of some that I did and realized that it was copyright infringement... I will take a picture of one of the ones I did that was a personal photo and share it tomorrow. If anyone else has any cool crafts to try for next christmas gifts I would love to hear about it. I don't want to wait until December to try and get them done this year.

hi ho

It's back to work I go tomorrow.

Today in a preemptive strike against my work I thought I would get Andy to help me move a few things around my office. I have two new staff starting in a week and I have a tonne of work to do before they show up.

We pull up to the backdoor and I get out. I take one step to open Michael's door and hit the ground HARD! On my tailbone - well more on my left hip - but closer to the middle. I shouted and I'm pretty sure I got a little bit of a concussion. I rolled off my back right away because I didn't want to rest on it any longer and moaned in the snow. There was two inches of snow and three inches of ice. I had a headache pretty much right away and felt nauseau. We went home because I just wanted to lie down. I called our landlords when I got home and asked what the protocol was on responsibility. I then took some advil.

I'm sore tonight but I know I didn't break anything - just bruised and some kind of head/neck thing. My headache is trying to chew its way back... here is to another soak in the tub and some advil. Should I see a chiropractor? Andy suggested it moments after I hit the ground... I haven't been to one in years and I'm always nervous about them.

so smart

"Hey Bill, I was thinking about our new line of margarine that can compete with the big companies."
"Really Fred, what were you thinking?"
"Well I was out shopping last night and I started thinking about the people that buy margarine. Everyone does it, even celebrities... right Bill."
"Ok Fred, so what were you thinking?"
"Bill, what do you think of the new no name margarine being called Celeb?"
pause
"Fred, I love it."

The night before...
"Sharla, I've got a big day tomorrow at the no name office, I hope you are making something good - something inspiring. I've been putting off the naming of our new margarine for weeks and I really need to think of something."
No answer from the kitchen.
"Sharla, are you listening to me?"
No answer. Fred begins to day dream. He looks at the beautiful no name plates on his table and a lovely vase full of bright flowers that he'd brought home for his beautiful wife. The table has been set with no name salad dressing and no name cottage cheese and... hold the phone, what is this - some Becel margarine has made its way onto his table... what is this?... what is this...
"Sorry dear, did you say something?" Sharla comes through the kitchen door into the dining room and finds Fred beaming.
"Sharla I've got it. I've got it." He kisses her on the face and continues to beam.
_________________________

So the above I made up - I just thought it made for an entertaining way of sharing my grocery shopping moment tonight. I was looking for Becel and there underneath the Becel was the no name Celeb. Those darned creative no name people, how do they come up with these things?

Hope everyone is having a great day! I'm heading to the tub for a nice soak.

birthday pics

Here is Michael at his first birthday party. Grandma and Grandpa came over and shared some chicken tetrazini and Quesnel Bakery black forest cake, which is without a doubt the best on the planet!


This was taken before Michael realized that the thing on the plate was chocolate... I think being deprived of chocolate while I was pregnant has led to a total and complete love for it. I told my grandma that he liked arrow bars... she bought him a jumbo one for christmas - it was pretty funny.. he hasn't eaten it yet. (And neither have I... :) )


Here is Michael enjoying the chocolatey goodness and embracing his love for cake.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and welcome to 2007! I hope someone had a good time out on New Year's. We were laid up with sick kids and family. Michael has been kind of sick for a while - mostly teething (four at the same time) - Andy's mom got what we thought was food poisoning until everyone else started getting sick. I was thinking of Jen on New Year's and how I wish I could come over one year to play games and have some fun... it will happen. We drove home on Jan 2 in the flood of 2007 - the roads were terrible with more than a foot of water in places... we made it home... sick - but otherwise unscathed - I can't say that for some of the other drivers we saw three cars that had a very bad day.

ERKS!

Canada Post is only just starting to return my Christmas cards - Sarah - I sent you one and it came back - I guess I had the wrong Mackenzie family. I also got two others back that said they were bad addresses.

Greyhound is worse - we shipped a large package to Calgary on Dec 18 and today - January 4 - it has still not arrived. We've done nearly everything we can do at this point. Now we all just hope it shows up - somewhere... ARG! Arg again to crappy greyhound for loosing my sisters christmas gifts... boo greyhound - double boo...!

SMILES

And speaking of the date - it was this time last year that I was sitting in the Quesnel Hospital enjoying my first few hours with Michael. He is one today and I will post some birthday dinner pictures tomorrow. Time definitely flies. Today also represents my first day back to work - well half day - I go back full time on Monday. I'm going to get to bed.