William's Thanksgiving Essay

So william came home a few weeks ago with a school assignment. He had to write an essay about Thanksgiving based on the idea that he could invite anyone in the world, dead or alive, past or present to eat with him and enjoy his company. Well William was livid about it. He claimed that there was no one he would EVER want to invite, the essay was dumb, the whole concept was foolish and what the hell would he talk about with a stranger anyway because he hates talkinv to people.

So I told him that he just had to pretend he was writing a story and to use his imagination. And write the way he thinks...easy right?

So he brought me the essay. All typed and ready to go. I took one read and told him that he could not pass it in, that it had to be re-written and that he had to do it completely differently. He was having none of it. So I told him to pass it in but to expect that he would be asked to re-write it.

He got it back yesterday. Not only was he not asked to write it over...but he got an A for creativity!

So without further ado...here is the essay. The essay written completely and 100% by my 13 year old son and passed in exactly as it is here. I'm keeping it for posterity.


Note: I apologize for this typed up rough draft. I didn't have the time to hand write seeing as it's currently 10:00 PM on Sunday and I didn't think of who to invite until basically five minutes ago. If it's REALLY that important then just take off however many marks the rough draft was worth. It is better for me to lose the marks than to try to write right now. Sorry.

Thinking up who I have to invite is pretty difficult for me. This paragraph took me awhile and I only really came up with one person who I MIGHT be a bit interested in talking to. I know I could have five or six people here who I might be interested in, and I'll probably lose marks for not doing so, but the only person I could come up with was Bill Gates. Even then, I wouldn't really be interested in talking to him, but I can't just write an essay about inviting no one, can I? Didn't think so. Anyway, the reason for 'wanting' to invite him would be his knowledge of computers and such.

Moving on, this is the paragraph where I tell you who I've decided on inviting and why, if I remember correctly. Obviously, I've decided on inviting Bill Gates. Honestly though, I would rather invite no one and just have a nice Thanksgiving dinner with my family, but that's not allowed and I have to invite him. I decided on inviting him to ask him questions about how he started his company, how he managed to basically turn DOS into a much easier to use system and the like. I would give some reasons for why I didn't invite some other people, but there wasn't really anyone else anyway so I didn't have much of a choice.

Anyway, as to what will be served for dinner, it would be served at roughly 7:00 - 7:30 PM and my grandmother (Dad's side) would be cooking it. The food will consist of one perfectly cooked turkey, baked potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli soaked in cheese (or at least, that's what it looked like), and... uhh... some other stuff. Even though granny doesn’t usually cook dessert, for this special occasion she has made upside down pear cake served with cream. Very nice.

Now, this should be a much easier subject. The people attending the dinner would be me, my sister, my father and my stepmother, my grandmother and grandfather, my aunt, uncle and their daughter, some of my dad's friends. All of those that are related to me that would be at that dinner are on my dad's side of the family. Anyway, we would talk about his job and how he managed to make windows, along with maybe asking him roughly how much money he has. I would hope the others at the dinner could carry on the conversation well, as I am really bad at talking, and we'd answer any questions Bill had. Eventually, we would have a 'concert' of sorts with a bunch of Newfoundland songs with my dad playing guitar / singing and my grandfather playing the... I don't know the name of it but it's some small guitar like thing that isn't a banjo. Oh a mandolin, yes, grandpa would be playing the mandolin and the harmonica.

Finally, the last paragraph, where I describe how the dinner... went..? I was supposed to be writing this entire thing in character? Bah. I'm not rewriting this entire thing. I'll just pretend that I did do so and go along with that. The dinner went well. Bill liked all the food and answered all our questions, along with asking a few of his own. As far as I'm aware, he seemed to enjoy the songs at the end of the night as well. I definitely feel better about this then before the supper, more relaxed and such. I'm glad that we had the dinner with Bill and I'd like to see him again, though that's likely never going to happen. I wouldn't do anything like this next year though. Just a nice, normal dinner with the family, none of this celebrity business. Too stressful. Okay, out of character again. Disregard anything I said before saying that I wouldn't do that again next year. I only said those things for the sake of the essay. I would rather not actually have anyone famous over to my house for Thanksgiving. It would be too much of a hassle. Anyway, essay over.

The bi-annual breakdown defined....

So I had a bit of a breakdown on Saturday morning. I generally try to limit that three hour period of tears, panic and all around hysteria to about twice a year. Usually it is preceded by James being an idiot (sorry honey), Jacob being out of control (which happens often) or me spreading my time and energy much to thin until I snap (I plead the fifth on how often I skirt the edges of that).

Anyway, so Saturday morning I just lost it. Like completely lost it. James was all set to clean the garden and I literally fell into his arms just sobbing and wailing about God knows what, I don't even remember now...I think it had something to do with the realization that I give and give and give and very often it is unreciprocated. Therefore in my warped and complete manic mind I interpreted this tidbit of information as "Nobody loves me, I am all alone in this cruel harsh world, what have I done with my life?"

Obviously I was insensible with emotion.

So I cried and cried and cried some more. James didn't quite know what to do with me...I do remember seeing the blind panic in his eyes when I started to gasp out insensible words of doom and gloom. And then Mom called and needed me to go up to Corey's pharmacy to get her prescription with her and the waterworks stopped just like someone had flicked a switch in my brain. BOOM. Gone. Just like that. I head upstairs, wash my face and came out with the hint of a sheepish smile on my face.

And really, if I think about it...that's the way it always happens. A few hours of absolute craziness and then it is all over. Never to be seen again for about six months or so. I suppose it is a release of some sort, some defense mechanism that I have perfected to enable me to continue on with this roller coaster of a life I have. Either way, it is done and over and we are none the worse for it all. Thankfully, James is used to it by now...otherwise I presume he would have run for the hills a long time ago. So it is now T-minus 6 months until the next bout...I hope he is ready for it.

What a Month!

Wow...a whole month without posting...what have I been doing??

Well see school started on September 3...and that means a huge adjustment for the boys...and me. Especially me. I grow used to the lazy days of summer, the mornings of getting up and getting showered and drinking coffee and just moseying on in to work. No children to wake, no homework to do, no lunches to make, no fights about not wanting to go to school, no push for bedtimes, no incomprehensible school projects....ahhh...summer. How I miss you.

And so back to school takes a bit of getting used to. I think the children adjust faster than I do. Funny that.

And so with a month in our routines are getting set, the evenings are more frantic but we have a system and so far it seems to be working. The mornings are running smoother than last year this time so that's a good thing...and of course Christmas is around the corner now.

No. No. Stop that. It is too soon to talk about Christmas. TOO SOON.




I wonder what I can get for Jacob this year...oh and James saw something nice at Costco that he said Corey and Amanda would like...I'd better get Jenn to start looking at online stores. And a snowblower for James....that's a definite.....

So my best friend has a girlfriend...

Anyone who knows me knows that my best friend is a guy named Dave. We worked out last night that we have been friends for 25 years now. Which is insane when you think about, I don't feel 25 years OLD let alone old enough to have a friend for that long...but yeah, thats what it is...I was in Grade 9 and he was in Grade 10 at a different school and it was literally friendship at first sight. Funnily enough I met him the same year I met James...man I hang on to people for a long time don't I?

Trying to define our relationship is awkward. It's more than friendship...its that unmistakeable contentment of being with a person you can trust implicitly and tell all of your secrets too. Someone who is not a lover, nor has ever been...but yet there is an intimacy in our relationship that I have only felt with my husband ('s - sheesh). I can talk to Dave about anything and he does the same with me, even the miles from St. John's to Halifax which separate us now mean nothing. It is incredibly special and I wish everyone could have a friend like him - but not with him...because you know, that guy is mine.

And now a girl has entered his life. No, not just a girl...a girl with POTENTIAL. A girl whose name brings a smile to his voice and a catch in his breath. A girl that makes his voice go soft and happy when he talks about her. And it is not me. It is not me and oh my goodness it is SO sweet. So sweet and I am so happy for him...and her. Because if she is smart (and I think she might be) she will realize what she has and hang on for dear life. And it is just the beginning of this relationship for him and truth be told, like many relationships it may not work out. There have been women in his life before, women he loved and loved him but this is the first time...the FIRST time I have ever seen him positively giddy. And even if it doesn't work out and she ends up breaking his heart (or him hers) I just want to thank her for these moments of absolute joy that I see in him.

So my best friend has a girlfriend. And I am so happy about it that I could squeal. Which I won't do of course but you know what I mean....

Let's compare....

I have to laugh. I found this older picture on my computer today...it is Jennifer and William in London a few years ago...Jennifer must be 16 or so and William is 10:

Jennifer stopped growing...she was done. Will however, was not. IS not....this is them at the wedding in June - Will is 13 and Jennifer is 19:

I wonder how tall he is going to end up being?? LOL!!

On the eve of Jennifer's birthday

What can I say? Seriously...Jennifer is going to be 20 years old tomorrow. 20 years!!! What.The.Hell???

First of all I certainly do not feel like I am old enough to have a 20 year old daughter. Second of all, where did 20 years even go?? It's just...bizarre. I can't even explain it. Excuse me while I wax poetic for a moment....

I am an incredibly lucky woman. I have been blessed with one daughter - just one...and she has surpassed every expectation, grown into an amazing young woman, made me so proud and been such a joy to have in my life. I am actually honored to be her mother.

Really...what more is there to say? Tomorrow I have a 20 year old woman as a daughter but you know, it doesn't matter because she will always be my little girl.

Happy Birthday my Jennifer. I love you more than words could ever say.

Hmmmm...

So I am thinking about merging my 365 blog into this one. Mainly because I can't keep up with the 365 blog. I mean, I CAN I just find it very difficult. God knows I take the pictures well enough...but uploading them just seems to escape me some days. I don't know. I love the idea of the 365 and it does force me to take the pictures and choose the best one etc etc...

What to do, what to do??? I think this one requires a bit more thought.

In other news, my neice Hallie turned one year old last week. A whole year. Incredible really. I have pictures but they are on my laptop so I will bring them over here tonight...

In the meantime, a scrapbook page that I currently love:

It's a scraplift from the July SCrapbooks Etc. Magazine. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and viola. Here's my creation based on it. Easy Peasy.

That's OK buddy, you'll like me tomorrow....

Said by my father to my youngest son.

7 little words that made me stop in my tracks and shattered my heart into a gazillion pieces for a split second and then immediately made me feel SO hopeful and happy and loved. All in an instant.

Jacob had a bad evening. He was FINE for the longest while and then something in Walmart set him off and we had to drag him out. I know what it was, I remember now...it was a toy wrestler that we had bought him just minutes before that he opened and was playing with and then all of a sudden he did not want it and wanted something else. Yeah. Like that would happen. So upon refusal he pitched a fit.

And I am PMS'ing bigtime and I am feeling very vulnerable and so it struck me hard. So when we got home he was still screaming and Mom called and heard him and within ohhhh fifteen minutes my Dad was down, and he walked into the Living Room and looked at Jacob and the conversation was:

"Heeeeyyy buddy, whatcha doing?"
"I'm MAAAAAAADDDD!!!"
"What? what are you mad over? you want me to come sit with you?"
"NO!!! You go away!! I don't like you!!!"
"Oh that's ok buddy, you'll like me tomorrow"

And Jacob looked at him and Dad said "you want to come upstairs with me and watch TV?" And Jacob, formally mad as freaking hell said "OK" and went on upstairs like nothing happened.

And my heart broke for a minute. It was so pitiful and sad and heartbreaking - and yet at the same time, that patience! That calmness. That simplicity of thought and action from my father. It was like a lightbulb went off in my brain...and while part of me felt so sorry for myself and so sorry for HIM that his youngest grandson was just so unplesant to be around and so frustrating to be with - the other part of me stopped and listened and thought and stood in amazement as Dad took that child and loved him and listened to him and doted on him in SPITE of Jacob himself.

I guess you really NEVER stop learning from your parents. Especially with ones that are as smart as mine :)

So I am scrapping again!! Yay!! Upon giving up the scrapbooking message boards, I turned into a scrapping FIEND!! LOL!! I am so much more relaxed and happy. So here is a sample of what I have been doing over the past few weeks. More to follow...

This one is my favorite of the lot. It is based on a sketch from the So Scrappy website which I absolutely love now...



William last summer - this is from a Basic Grey sketch...

Again - basic grey...they have some awesome sketches actually,
Another one based on So Sketchy

See what I mean about sketches and scraplifts...I am SO MUCH more comfortable and able to do so much more when I don't kill myself trying to make things work. Sketches and scraplifts are the way to go for me, especially where I have so many pictures and I love to scrap almost all of them. :)

A Weekend of Softball

I am 100% certain that I have never mentioned my love of watching my brothers play softball. Mainly because of the children and schedules and whatnot I rarely get to see them play. Well this weekend was FILLED with family, friends, stadium food, screaming, yelling, cheering...and softball. Friday, Saturday and Sunday - all softball, all the time.

Neil and Corey and my cousin Jamie play on the AFN team (yes, Neil's company). The crowd was large and loud...what a TIME we had!


Jacob decided that he wanted to support the team by spraying his hair the team color.

Neil pitches

And Corey is shortstop.

And they are both just awesome players. Unfortunately the team didn't make the finals this time and we were all pretty disappointed but really, it was SO nice to just be there to cheer them on, spend time with family and friends and just have a fabulous time. Next stop - Provincial championships - 2 weeks from now! WOO!!!

The very bad, terrible day...and why I love my Mom

So I had a bad day yesterday.

No, that's actually an understatement. I had an AWFUL day yesterday.

It all started in the wee morning hours with the painful realization that I am NOT going to Colorado in the Fall with my friends. No miracle is going to happen, no money fairy is going to pitch on my shoulder and hand me a thousand dollars, there will be no trip for me. And the only reason was because I was too scared to book my ticket on points when I had the chance. I am not going to CO because I am a stupid scared child...and I was so depressed about it...

So at noon Jacob wants to go swimming. Awesome. We pack up and head to the park with Tammy and Ben and Aunt Cor. All is well until it is time to leave and Jacob wants to get a shower...but the showers are not on and so I have to turn them on for him. Well this was NOT FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And hysterics ensued. Complete with a number of "You are ruining my life!! I hate you!! You are the worst Mommy ever!!!" Overreaction much?? Oh you have no idea. So off he runs. Oh yes, he decided that he was going to run away....because the SHOWER WAS NOT ON *insert picture of me banging my head against the wall here*

And you know...I let him run. Aunt Cor was horrified but I let him go on over that hill and just disappear from my sight and in that moment I simply did not care anymore. I knew where he was, I knew he wouldn't go too far...so after a fine time I went searching for him. Found him sitting under a tree wailing about how he had a horrible life and why do these things always happen to him?? Aunt Cor called Mom to pick us up and I dragged that child out body and bones and threw him in the car and we went home. More screaming, more hysterics, more overreaction...

And then the car had to go in for servicing. No problem. Bring her in and leave her there.
At 3:00 p.m. the mechanic called to tell me that my car needed new brakes. FOUR new brakes - at a cost of ohhh a mere $600.00. *insert picture of me fainting dead away here* So I clenched my teeth and told him to do the front ones and leave the back ones for now.

At 4:00 I started to cry. No, I started to sob and I just couldn't stop. I sat here at this computer and I just cried and cried and cried. Jennifer found me and I just started to babble on and on about Jacob and the car and the trip and money and just on and on and on...poor girl...between her and James they didn't quite know what to do for me.

So Jennifer hugged me, Jacob apologized and James bought me wine. And I calmed down.

Which brings me to today - this evening when my mom came down and sent me and James to the store and she took Jacob so we could go alone. And when we got back Jacob was happy, the dishes were done, the floors were scrubbed, the laundry was on, the carpets were vacuumed and the sheets were changed on the children's beds. I just stared at Mom and she just shrugged and said "Well you had such a bad day yesterday..."

I love my Mom. My Mom makes everything better.

Scrapbooking Message Boards and Me

I'm re-thinking my involvement on scrapbooking message boards. I have been on a few over the past five or so years and really I don't keep up well, don't comment on layouts in the galleries well and just mostly feel like an outsider looking in.

And you know, I feel pressure on those things. Pressure to scrap, pressure to create, pressure to have the newest products, the best pictures, the coolest pages. And really, that's not why I scrapbook. It just isn't. I love showing off my pages but I think I am seriously over the MB thing. I mean, let's be honest here - I rarely do a page without scraplifting or using a sketch. RARELY. I don't actually have a creative bone in my body and I have no eye for color whatsoever...so I scraplift or use sketches or other inspiration and I am cool with that. But MB's expect more than that and I just don't have the time to give it.

I need to simplify. To quote Dr. Miranda Bailey - I need to look for the bigger picture.

So I have decided to drop my scrapping MB's. I will peep in every now and again to see what is going on and to check out the galleries but realistically, I'm out.

I have this friend. A very good friend named Wendy Sommers and she is on the design team for two scrapping blogs So Sketchy and Scrap Schemes

Those two sites are my new inspiration sites. I need simple, I need straightforward, I need inspiration and creativity and all of that other good stuff without feeling the pressure to be immersed and involved and posting comments and all of the other things MB's demand. I've been thinking long and hard about this because I have been a MB junkie for many years now. But I need this, and now that the decision has been made - I feel....free.

So Ally and Shauna have a new recruit. Let the scrapping begin!!

So I am on vacation!

Yay right?

Well no not so much. I suppose it's ok and all. Today was my first day off. Jacob woke me at 7:30 and we went downstairs so he could play. I poked around on the computer a bit and then looked around and thought - yeah. No.

So I cleaned. I did the laundry, hung two loads out on the line, packed and unpacked the dishwasher - TWICE. Fed the children, changed the sheets, washed the sheets and hung THEM on the line. Cleaned Will and Jacob's rooms, walked up to Mom's with Jacob, left Jacob with Tammy and Ben, came home and washed Jennifer's clothes AND prepared supper...called Tammy twice to make sure Jacob was ok. Went back up to Mom's to visit with Sheryl and Hallie who had come out for a while. Came back home, fed all three children, had my own supper, cleaned up and got mad with James for being late - again.

It is now...ohhhh...11:00 p.m and I have started a scrapbooking layout, gone to the bookstore and bought four books, gotten Jacob to sleep, and am now devouring my second glass of wine while conmtemplating opening another bottle.

Did someone say "vacation"??

The things I need...

I need to print pictures.

I need to scrapbook.

I need coffee.

I need to talk to my husband.

I need Jacob's allergies to GO AWAY.

I need to get William out of the house.

I need Jennifer to come home from her trip safely.

I need to go see Hallie tonight.

I need to update my 365.

I need a night alone with James. Just the two of us.

I need a lot of things lately it seems. But you know, most of all...I need to get my happiness back. I need to stop fretting and worrying and wondering and being sad. I need to STOP being sad. I'm not depressed, I'm not forlorn or on the verge of a breakdown or anything like that. I am just....sad. Maybe melancholy is the right word...maybe it's the blues. Of course one would thinik that the blues would go away after a while, but no...it's sticking around. Which is weird for me. I am a generally happy, well adjusted (all things considered) person. But lately. I have the blues.

Maybe if I work on my scrapbooks this weekend...yeah...get all gluey and sticky and play with paper and color. Yeah. That makes me feel a bit better. We'll have to see.

Man it is hot!

Seriously.

It is hot.

It is too hot to work, too hot to sleep, too hot to really be outdoors...it is just too hot.

But I am not complaining!! No sirree I am not complaining. I spend enough time bitching about the cold, dreary winters....moaning about the hot summer would be a complete contradiction. Besides, if I complain outloud then the fates will hear me and deluge us with rain and misery. I'll take the heat thankyouverymuch.

I know I have not updated since the wedding. I have no excuse other than abject laziness. Buty no matter. The wedding was amazing. Amanda looked stunning, Corey was the picture of perfection, everyone had a SUPER good time...it was excellent I must say. So now that it is over we can all relax and enjoy the summer sun. God knows it won't be around for much longer. :)

Oh hey...some pictures of the big day!

The night before the Wedding

It is Friday night. Corey and Amanda are getting married tomorrow. It has been a long time coming I must say but I am SO SO excited about it all.

And you know, I am excited for Corey. I really am. He is my brother and I love him more than words could ever say. Corey has always been MY boy. MY baby brother...everything focused on him in my eyes for so long - I even went to his high school graduation with him, Mom, Dad and Corey's date. You have to love prom in Newfoundland, it is such a family affair LOL!! When I was lonely in Ottawa, Corey is who I called to come up with me, When my life was falling apart, I cried on Corey's shoulder...

Anyway...yes, it is all about Corey. And then Amanda came along and stole his heart and his soul...and in the process, she stole ours. How cool is that?? So while tomorrow my brother gets married and I am so thrilled and happy for him...This lovely girl that he chose to marry? SHE is who I am standing beside and SHE is who I am more than thrilled for.

Funny how that works eh? He gains a wife and I gain more than a sister in law...I gain a friend and a true SISTER.

It doesn't get any better than that :)

What the hell...????

Seriously...just WHAT. THE. HELL???

Jacob is sick. On Friday he had such horrible cramps in his stomach and was throwing up so his family doc made us rush down to the Janeway thinking that it could be appendicitis. After 5 hours of tests and observation the pain was still bothering him but they decided that it wasn't serious. Probably just a gastro bug. Lovely.

Saturday night about 2:30 a.m. he woke up SCREAMING about his arm - he couldn't move his wrist. He was just crying and shaking, he was in so much pain...so I wrapped it in a bandage and gave him Tylenol thinkking, I cannot go back down to the hospital they will say I am hurting him! So he woke up fine, pain was gone...Sunday night he started limping. LIMPING!! WTF?? He went to bed ok and then 4 a.m got ip screaming in pain again. He just fell to the floor, couldn't walk.... My mommy mind went where no mothers mind should go - I headed straight for leukemia and then menegitis and God knows what else...it was horrible...

So yesterday morning he was due to get his cast off so we went to the Janeway and I took him right to Emergency first. I had to get to the bottom of this because I was in a blind panic. After another batch of bloodwork the doc said he had parvovirus or Fifth Disease that had manifested in him like it would in an adult - in the joints. So the virus is zinging from joint to joint, doing its worst and then moving on to the next one. It's harmless in the long run and easily controlled by Motrin but still...holy SHIT what a time of it we had.

He is home again from school today - his cast is off (yay!) and he is pumped up on ibuprofin. Poor little bird. This morning it was his shoulder...

And we have a wedding in FOUR DAYS.

GAHH!! Why now????

When girls go wild....

Oh dear...oh dear oh dear...my head hurts. And my stomach feels wobbly. And I have raccoon eyes because I slept in my makeup. And standing up too quickly makes my knees weak. And if I even look at the wine in my fridge I want to throw up.

But holy crap was it EVER WORTH IT!!!!!

Take 17 girls, pour copious amounts of booze into them, put them all on a big, crazy travelling party machine for 2 straight hours and play "Low", "girls just wanna have fun", and "SexyBack" (to name a few), then drop them off at a rocking bar downtown and you have the recipe for a wild and crazy time.

We had the BEST time at Amanda's Stagette. Seriously SERIOUSLY fun. It was low key until the Party Bus showed up...and then we started rolling down the highway, the music went on blast, the liquor started to flow and we were ON'ER. LOL!!!What a fun, awesome time. That Party Bus was worth every penny.

I was worried that Amanda wouldn't have fun. To be honest, the staggette was actually causing me more stress than the wedding itself. It's alot of pressure to be in charge of another woman's last big blast as a single woman...but I need not have worried, we were all together, we were all laughing and singing and dancing and drinking and drinking and drinking some more - it was perfect.

Pictures to follow as soon as I retrieve my camera from Amanda's house...now I think I'll go lie down for a minute. There is an annoying throb over my left eye that is punishing me for all that wine. Or perhaps the coolers....no, no...it was the shooters. Definitely the shooters....

In the Homestretch...

For the end of school that is.

Man what a year. Jacob has been fine. He loves school. But WILLIAM?? OMG how annoying can one child be? Especially about school. I mean, I know, I know...he's a teenager and groaning and moaning comes naturally. But seriously. This year has been downright painful.

I wouldn't mind if he was doing badly or if he didn't understand what was going on or if he was being bullied or SOMETHING. But he is a big gronk of a child that nobody would be foolish enough to pick on...and even if they did he really wouldn't care so it wouldn't last long.

As for marks well he has a freakin' 95 average!! 'Nuff said.

No, William's problem is twofold. 1. He is bored. He is bored and unchallenged and he is really too mature for his own good. The usual 12-13 year old boy antics do NOT appeal to him in any way shape or form...and then of course 2. He is inherently lazy.

Combine the two and you have a recipe for a very very very annoying child who hates school for a hundred different reasons and who (if I was going to be completely honest) really could do just as well not being there....(shhhhh...don't tell William that for God's sakes).

2 more weeks....2 more weeks...lather, rinse, repeat....

Once Upon a Broken Arm...

Our first broken bone...20 years of raising children and my last and final baby is the first to break a bone *sigh*

So on Monday. Jacob called me at work at 3:30 (after soccer) and told me that he thought he hurt his arm. I asked him what happened and he told me that at lunchtime he had fallen backwards off the slide and caught himself on his hands. His right hand buckled a bit but he got up, dusted himself off and went on into school. Teachers looked at him, he could move everything and nothing was swollen so he went on about his day - schoolwork, gym and then soccer.

So when I got home he was playing with his wrestlers but nursing his right arm a bit. After much discussion with Mom and Dad I called JAmes and told him that we needed to go down to the Janeway with Jacob "just to make sure everything is fine" I mean, he was playing normally, moving normally, just whimpering every now and again...

So off we trek to the hospital. As we are there Jacob tells us what happened and he said "I was falling and I thought - I can totally land this!! and then I fell and I thought, what the hell?? I had that landing nailed!"

LOL!! That's my son for you....

Anyway, X-Rays were taken and sure enough, much to our surprise, he has something called a "bulge fracture" which is just a small fracture below his right wrist -which meant a cast for three weeks....

SO all is fine, he had a big old white cast on - the emergency room doctor did it - and he was fine for about...ohhh 12 hours. Yesterday morning he walked downstairs and realized that the cast got in his way and prevented him from playing PlayStation and with his wrestlers. WELL All hell broke loose. He screamed and ranted and raved and cried and banged his cast on anything hard and tried to wet it and finally tried to get a hammer to hammer it off.

I called the hospital almost in tears and asked for help LOL!! Down we go again and the proper cast people put a super cool, super light, super functional cast on his arm...thanks be to Almighty God...

What a week!

Man does time ever fly! Last week went by so fast that I didn;t even have a chance to enjoy it!

We had a bit of bad news last week too. Sheryl and Neil lost their baby. Sheryl was 12-13 weeks along and something went wrong and she miscarried. It is all very sad and was pretty scary at the same time. Thankfully she is back home and doing fine...physically. Emotionally, it is not an easy thing to deal with so we'll wait and see on that one. I do feel so bad for them both though...

In other news, we have just 4 weeks til the wedding...and you know what that means?? That means a) Crunch time with getting everything ready and last minute details and b) stag and stagette!!! Woo fun times fun times. I think Amanda is a bit nervous about Coreys LOL!! I'm sure it will be fine though...and as for hers well I am trying my best to plan it but I really suck at this stuff so I have some helpers. We have the party bus rented so thats cool and then I think just drinking, drinking, more drinking, party bus for 2 hours and then downtown. There. Stagette planned! now I just have to invite people....

Do you hear what I hear....??

Noise. Sound. Have you ever stopped to really listen to what's going on around you? Today I took a a moment. Just a small moment and I opened my ears to what was around me:

- birds chirping...it must be more than 10 because it is a chorus of chirping. Birds calling to one another, come see my nest! come feed my babies! Look at me! Look what I can do! here I am!

- Above the din of small birds a crow is calling - harsher, deeper - caw! caw!

- the river is rolling over the rocks and splashing on the banks, I can hear it from the back door just rushing down the river bed.

- children are playing in the front. Little girls are squealing, boys are calling out to one another. I think they must be playing basketball because ever now and again the ball bangs loud on the backboard.

- skateboards and scooters are out in force. The wheels grind on the pavement...

- a car passes by. No..not a car. It is a motorcycle...the engine revs loud.

- my back door is open, the wind takes it for a second and the hinges squeak in protest.

Suddenly, I hear another sound. Footsteps pounding on the stairs and then "Mom!! I need my water gun!!" Jacob turns the corner and throws himself into my arms. All sound disappears as my other sense takes over. He smells like sunshine and little boy sweat and BabyFaces suntan lotion SPF 50. I breathe him in before he rushes away again...

Sometimes, I think I notice too much. I feel too much...too strongly. But on this day I stopped and I listened and I noticed...

Summer. Summer is finally here. I never thought we would make it.

A good week so far

So we have had a good week so far. By good week I mean that everyone is getting up and going to school without fuss, all hands are going to bed without fuss and nobody has thrown any major fits.

And by "Nobody" I really mean Jacob - but I don't want to single him out sooooo...

I have decided that I need to keep track of these things. I have a tendency to over-generalize I think and one bad day automatically means that the week is ruined...and that is just not right. So this week we have had 4 good days so far! Brilliant!

Now, if someone hears me say that it has been a bad week just smack me up the side of the head.

Mothers day

So it is Mother's Day. Usually I am not fussed on these Hallmark holidays but this year I plan on sitting back and just enjoying it. Why not right?

Jacob made this for me at school...it's a little heart card booklet thing where he wrote nice things about me...very sweet. "my Mom is beautiful because she loves me" I mean COME ON...how can you stop your heart from melting when you see THAT written in that small handwriting? And you know, Jacob is not the most loveable child. I'll admit that he is more lovable than William who really can be quite the iceberg when he wants to be but Jacob can can certainly keep up with him is he wanted to. LOL!! It amazes me sometimes how I could be rearing two small people who are SO unlike me...

Anyway...a picture for posterity:

Now...I'm off to have a nice long hot bubble bath...and then out to dinner with the whole family. Isn't Mother's day SUPER?

Blockbuster and Jennifer - the Saga

Man Blockbuster is pissing me off lately. I am seriously considering writing a strongly worded letter...

Jennifer works there you see...and she LOVES it. Absolutely loves it. No problems, likes the people, likes the hours, everything is wonderful. At the end of the school year this year she decided to make a few changes. She was exploring her individuality I guess and thought to do something different for the summer. So she wanted her hair streaked. OK...no problem, I paid $120 for it as a "Yay for a great semester" gift and she got blue streaks put in her blonde hair.

Yes, blue.

And it looked SO cute!

Then she went a step further and decided to get her lip pierced. I was a bit offy on this one so I told her to go talk to her Manager at Blockbuster to make sure it wouldn;t be a problem. He told her that it would be fine as long as it wasn't too big and noticeable. So off she goes to spend $90 of her own money on a relatively painful, yet oh-so adorable piercing of her lip - well actually it below the center of her bottom lip - not in her lip, more like just above the cleft of her chin.

Very cute indeed.

So now I have this blue haired, lip pierced, purple glasses, cool scarved daughter.

And Blockbuster FREAKED. *SIGH*

The hair had to go, the piercing was too noticeable (seriously, this thing is the smallest little round ball I have ever seen). OK, well you can wear a bandaid on your chin to cover the pircing but the hair still has to be fixed...our customers don't appreciate that look.

This is BLOCKBUSTER mind you...a freaking MOVIE store.

So she gave in on the hair - went back to the hairdresser and paid ANOTHER $100 to have the blue changed. Of course the only way to change the blue is to go all dark...so now my once blonde Jennfer is burgundy/chocolate brown. She changed the ball on the lip to a clear one...not good enough, their eyebrows are still down.

What the hell???? They SAID it was fine, she changed her hair and now they are still giving her grief!

Man...a strongly worded letter indeed...I am getting madder by the minute.

Shower hangover...

Oh indeed. A shower hangover and not a drop of alcohol served LOL!! It was SUCH a success, I am so thrilled that everyone was there and Amanda got some nice presents and a nice little bit of money. All in all, it was TOTALLY worth the time and effort.

Except I couldn't get up this morning. Which meant that the boys did not get up either. So HEY!! FREE DAY!!! I called in to work for the day off and the boys stayed off school. For no other reason than I was just damed tired.

*insert picture of me shuffling here*

But it was worth it...Jacob spent the day gardening with Mom, I relaxed, William was thrilled out of his socks to have an unexpected day off. It was all fine.

And back to the old grindstone tomorrow.

Busy day!!

Today is Saturday, May 3 and I have a ton of stuff to do...tomorrow is Amanda's wedding shower and Mom, Aunt Cor and I are hosting...SO:

1. Buy shoes to match new outfit
2. Price club for sandwich stuff
3. Put car in to get tire fixed
4. Store for ingredients for Nacho dip
5. Michaels for card supplies
6. Make Amanda's card
7. Mom's tonight to blow up balloons and get a head start on the decorations
8. Head down to the club to make sure it is clean and tidy

Yeah...the day has just started and I am tired already! LOL!!!

Although I am REALLY looking forward to the shower...yay!

The sound of screaming

Have you ever heard a sound quite as shocking and piercing and annoying as a young boys screams of rage? No seriously...nails on a chalkboard are one thing, jackhammers another, the screams of fighting cats perhaps...honestly, I don't think there is anything quite so jarring as a childs screams - not of anguish but of pure hatred and rage.

Thats what I was dealing with last night...when Jacob realized that he had homework to do that MIGHT take him more than 15 seconds to complete. He had to write a story, a story about a pet robot. I even sat with him and told him what letters to write..but oh no, he was having NONE of it. And so the screams started...and kept going and going and going. *SIGH* I do wonder how his throat can take such abuse though, I mean I let out once screetch at the kids and my throat is immediately scratchy. Maybe I don't do it often enough eh?

So 45 minutes after it started - it stopped. He wrote while sobbing...and then at the second sentence he stopped sobbing and got interested. FIVE sentences is all he had to write:

I have a pet Robot named Jake. I got Jake at Walmart. Jake can lift things. He makes me my snacks. I love having a pet robot.

All that screaming and crying and raging and burst eardrums and beating himself up. Over THAT. Worth it?? I hardly think so. What a strange silly boy I have.

So...about Supernatural

I know I know, lame lame lame to be writing about a TV show. But you know, sometimes, something comes along and just blows you away and makes you feel good and you enjoy and for me...this show is it.

Let me preface by saying that I was an X-Files junkie. I was completely head over heels in love with the program. Matthew and I would watch it together and it was our time together - every Sunday night - X-Files night. When he left, I almost couldn't bear to watch it by myself. It was just too weird to be sitting there alone watching Mulder and Scully and not be able to talk to anyone about what was going on.

James and I never really had anything like that. I mean, we watched TV and he had his shows that he liked and I had mine, but there was never one that we completely made our own you know? One that we looked forward to every week - not just for the brilliance of the program but for the very idea of dedicating time specifically to be together and enjoy something together.

And then this winter I stumbled upon a YOu TUbe clip of a CW show called "Supernatural" - and I was intrigued. So intrigued that I started looking for more clips...and I loved what I saw. So I rented the first DVD of the First season...and I was a GONER. James came home one evening and asked me what I was watching and I told him to sit with me...and HE was a goner. From that day forward we watched a show a night. When the Season 2 DVD's ran out we frantically searched for online downloads of Season 3...James would come home from work at about 11:30 p.m. and we would sit at the laptop, fascinated with those gorgeous Winchester brothers. Demons, urban legends, good versus evil...it was all simply awesome.

Finally...after ten years together we found our show. LOL!!! Such a silly thing really but you know it has done us some good. Where before we couldn't find the time to barely say hello in the hallway, now we have a full hour together. And it goes beyond that hour as we spend time discussing and wondering and re-living episodes that we enjoyed the most...its just a good thing.

Man I suck

Seriously. I suck at blogging. I also suck at journalling - both handwritten and online. Basically, I don't really like writing about myself because I think I am boring - and whiny. Who wants to read boring and whiny?? Not me thats for sure...

So I had a bad winter. A very bad winter. A very very very bad winter. I had no motivation (as evidenced by my 365 - poor pitiful thing) I had no joy, no scrapbooking, hardly any photos, no happiness, no nothing. I was just blah. Existing, going through the motions, smiling appropriately and just feeling blah. It is the weather I think...or perhaps the darkness and lack of light. Or maybe I just needed to wallow in self pity for a few months...either way I am feeling better, starting to get my mojo back and looking forward to the bright happy cheerful days of summer. Yay me!

So today is the day, today I am back! I have that little niggling feeling in the back of my head about scrapbook pages I want to do. I am SUPER excited about new episodes of my favorite TV shows that are playing...yeah that will be another blog entry I think...the boys are getting excited about the end of school so they are happier, Jennifer is finished exams...things are looking up!

Now if I can just motivate myself to blog more often....

2008 in the Making

Well it's a new year. A new year but I am the same. My house is the same, my kids are the same, my husband is the same, my job is the same and my family is the same.

Thank God.

I don;t deal with change well. it may be a new year but everything is on track to just continue the way it is going and I am thrilled with that. Nothing major coming up. well...except a new baby for Jamie and Lindsey, a wedding for Corey and Amanda and a big trip to Colorado for me in September...but those are changes I am thrilled to look forward to. :)

So what then are my plans for 2008? How am I going to make this year better than all the rest?

Well right now there are three things:

1. I am eating better and trying to lose weight. Now for God's sakes don't tell anyone. Especially my mother. I love her to bits but if she got wind of the fact that I am actively trying to lose weight she would glom onto it and never let it go. I need to do this for myself and without any added pressure from anyone outside. So this little factoid is just here for posterity. Yes, I am actively trying to lose weight. Now, we shall never speak of this again.

2. I want to really get back into scrapbooking. I haven't scrapped since October and my fingers are staring to itch. I NEED to be in my scrap-room. I need the paper and the glue and the smell of it all. I need to get my new camera and REALLY start learning how to use it and take awesome pictures. I have a goal in mind and I refuse to let it go so once I get everything organized then I am going to really start in and get those pictures scrapped.

3. I am planning to be more organized. Anyone can tellyou that my house is a crazy lunatic bin. Between the kids and their friends and my family and our cats and the toys and the STUFF....well this is a busy busy spot. And because it is so busy, things can get forgotten...so I am becoming versed in the art of making lists - and sticking to them. You know, this may be harder than trying to lose weight!

Oh and a number 4 - I am officially a new Grey's Anatomy convert. This year I plan on buying all three seasons and watching all three seasons. Such a little thing...but ohhhhhh gives me so much pleasure. And we all need a little pleasure in our lives. Don't you think?