Growing to Seven

In other news...

2010-03-09T15:16:00.001-08:00

So...for those of you who aren't in the know we have had some pretty big news brewing around here. We are going to be a family of eight...baby #6 is on his/her way this Summer. It has taken us a while to get our heads around this and to say this was a complete surprise would be the understatement of the year....I was at the point where in life that I didn't want to do do the baby thing again. I didn't long for a baby. Seeing little babies at the mall didn't not make my uterus quiver. I was content to be a mom to five, to finally get some time to myself, to be able to go away with my girlfriends and my husband sans children. I am sure I sound selfish and unappreciative but it is honest.

Now that I am in my second trimester and have seen the baby on ultrasound and felt the first kicks, I am better. I am still in a state of denial at times but I am sure as the weeks go by I will get more and more excited to meet this new little person. So, stay tuned....

A few pics of the house...

2010-01-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time to decorate but I thought I would post a few pictures of what we have so far...

Kitchen

Dining area as seen from the kitchen.

Living room as seen from the dining room.

Kitchen and dining room as seen from the family room.

I will try and do the rest of the main floor and the upstairs and basement soon!

I am not dead...

2010-01-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

How much do you want to bet that Facebook has been the demise of many a blog? I feel like I "talk" and "share" with my Facebook friends so much that the blog becomes a bit redundant. Seeing that it is a new year, I am going to give the blog another whirl, although I have a feeling everyone has forgotten it ever existed in the first place!

Everyone around here is doing well. The kids are all doing great at school, Sam has adapted to the life of a kindergartner, Wil to the life of a pre-schooler. The three older kids all seem to have taken the first term seriously and brought me home lovely report cards. Grace continues to ride horses and continues to beg for one of her own just as often. Ty is still in the throes of hockey and although he isn't thrilled with this years team and/or coach he still loves the game. Kelsey found herself a seasonal job working at a fancy lotion/soap store over the Christmas season which pretty much drained the life out of Phil and I with all the driving we had to do. I am thrilled she will be able to get her license this Summer!

The new house is great and I am slowly getting it to look less like a boring house and more like a cozy home. The new added space s awesome and I finally conceded and hired a cleaning lady to come every second week to do the stuff I hate to do. The best part is that she doesn't smell like stale smoke and onions. I find such gratification in coming home and finding my entire house clean from top to bottom and knowing it wasn't me who had to do it. I will get some pictures taken and post them for all to see soon.

Please help...

2009-10-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Adoption is a strange thing. It has the ability to create friendships between people who have never met "in the real world". I have "met" many amazing women through the adoption process. One of whom needs our help. Corey at http://watchingthewaters.wordpress.com/ has been to me, one of the most inspiring women I have met thus far. She has answered my questions, offered suggestions, etc to help Wil and his transition to life in our family. I am sure am not the only one who looks up to her....she needs our help. Please go to her blog and read her story.

Hard to believe...

2009-08-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

It makes my brain hurt to think that five years ago today, at this very time I was in the hospital nursery giving Sam his very first bath...he was five hours old and we we just hanging out getting ready to go home...There is no way for me to express in words how much I love this little boy. He is my heart.

Leaving the hospital~12 hours old.

Five years later...

Time has a way of just sneaking up on you, doesn't it?

Love you, buddy.

Bullet Update

2009-08-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am alive but with Summer and five kids I have found it more than difficult to get on and blog...so here is a rundown of the last several weeks.

* Wil is cornering the market on being defiant and even after parenting four other kids through the "threes" I am lost on what to do. He seems to listen to Phil but looks right at me and does whatever he is not supposed to do. I am hopeful that come Sept and school starting it will improve as he will have more one on one time with me.

* Sam turns five tomorrow and to say that I am a bit weepy is the understatement of the year. It is hard for me to even come to terms with the fact that five years ago today I was trudging along with broken water waiting for labour to begin and now here we are five years later. I ache for him to be small again...

* The new house is coming along and we have a move-in date of October 22, about a month after what we initially thought. Thankfully the buyers of this house were willing to push back their possession with the help of some money...

* My refresher nursing course is gross. Enough said.

* I am attempting to buy furniture for the new house and am finding that I am the most indecisive human being on Earth.

* The kids start back at school next Thursday and I am not ready for that either. Summer goes by far too fast around here.

* Phil and I spent three days in Vegas at the end of July. I cannot express in words how nice it was to have three solid days with only adults. The shopping was great, the food was awesome, and we saw Seinfeld, who by the way, was beyond funny.

* I have many pictures to post but no time as I just saw Wil shove raisins in the cats mouth...

A trivial rundown of the Bachelorette

2009-07-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I was pretty excited about the Bachelorette this season. After all she was Canadian, seemed sweet and well spoken. I have come to realize that she may actually be the most annoying one ever. I am not sure what is wrong with her. A chronic sinus condition, a deviated septum, a cocaine addiction? But why is she always congested? I just want to reach through the tv and blow her nose for her. And what is with that revolting squeal? Soooo annoying.

Then there is her nasty habit of talking too much. What I once thought was just a girl with a firm grasp on the English language is now a girl who won't shut up. For example, if she was asked about her overnight date with Ed she would say something along the lines of " I just think that the emotional toll is finally catching up with us and our firm belief in our affection towards each other is being tested due to the infinite amount of stress we are under. Therefor the physical aspect of our relationship suffered as a manifestation of the enormous burden we are shouldering at this so very stressful time". Now ask that question to a normal person and they would say "Ed can't get a boner". Yup, I said it. Ed can't get a boner.

Speaking of Ed...dear sweet Ed. I have to say that he has been my fave since the beginning. He looks like Denny from Grey's Anatomy and I love Denny, so instant bonus points. In addition to his cuteness he seems mature, normal, grounded, and reasonably intelligent....But my love for Ed was tested this week. The first blow was when he decided that short green bathing trunks were acceptable, and I mean short. As far as I am concerned no man should show thigh when wearing a bathing suit. I am pretty sure he borrowed them from Marcia Brady. They were too short, too tight, and too gross. Then...did you see what he wore to the rose ceremony? What the Hell was that? It looked to be a pale blue or possibly lavender seersucker sports coat? Am I right? What was he thinking? He looked like he was going to an Easter egg hunt! And what was with his bowl cut hair-do? Was it windy? Was Dumb and Dumber his favorite movie? Not good Ed, not good at all.

Then there is Kypton. From the neck down this man is impeccable. I am pretty sure if you cut off his head he would be the poster child for "Hunky Men Weekly". Unfortunately removal of ones head is not possible so we are left with Dumbo man. Why oh why, does he not have those bad boys pinned down? I think a magic feather is in order for this lad. And since we are on the topic of his cranium...I am pretty sure it is empty. I don't think this guy is very bright. I don't mean he is not a member of MENSA. I mean, he more than likely needs an "R" and "L" written on his shoes to help him out. The blank stare would get old real fast.

Slim pickings this year....

One year home...

2009-07-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today marks one year since Wil came home. I am not about to say that this has been an easy year, or an easy transition because all who know me know that it has been at times, an uphill climb. Adopting and now parenting Wil has taught me things about myself that I didn't know. My patience has been tried. My sanity has been questioned. It has taken me a long time to get to appreciate my new normal.

A year in I have to say that things are slowly becoming "normal" again. Parenting five children is now becoming easier and my relationship with my new son is slowly evolving. If anyone would have told me before he came home that we were looking at a year to get to a sense of balance, I would have thought they were being ridiculous. Now that we have 365 days behind us I can say that I am grateful for each and every one of those days. My sense of accomplishment in navigating what turns out to be, one of the hardest years of my life, has left me feeling stronger, left me more confident in how we parent our children, and most importantly- happy.

Happy Forever Day, Wil!

Part 7...

2009-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I was happy to get home and find that it was nice and warm outside and couldn't help but wonder how Wil would have reacted if we brought him home in the winter. I was preparing myself for a fight to get him into the car seat but to my surprise he just sat there and looked out the window. It wasn't more than 10 minutes and he was asleep. I am sure the amount of sleeping he was doing was not a physical need but more of an emotional one. If he was asleep we didn't exist, make sense? We arrived home as a caravan of cars and brought Wil into the house. The kids had decorated with balloons and streamers and hung their sign on the garage door.

More people arrived and Wil did very well. He was shy until the balloons came down and then he had a blast throwing them in the air and catching them. Everyone wanted a chance to hold him or cuddle him and he seemed ok with it, except for the men, he was not too sure about them, can you blame him?
Wil and the kids....

I realized about an hour or two into the party that I was exhausted. A tired that I cannot explain. It gripped every inch of my body and I truly felt close to tears. I am not sure if it was simply being so physically tired or if it was the combination of that and the emotional roller coaster I had just been on. What I did know was that I wanted to go to bed...for a week. People soon started to file out and before I knew it my house seemed empty. Sam went to bed with Phil, Grace was passed out on the couch, and Wil was looking at me like he had just been on a week long bender, talk about over stimulation! I brought him upstairs and tucked him into bed. He rolled over and without a sound went to sleep. I couldn't help but pause at the bedroom door and watch my two boys sleeping. That little bed has been waiting for a warm body for a long time and after all that time he was here....

and the fun begins....

Part 6...

2009-07-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

The alarm clock went off first, the phone never did, and the hotel wake up call came when I was in the shower. I answered the phone while in the shower. I am not sure why they have a phone in the bathroom and if you think about what is probably on that phone you may actually throw up a bit in your mouth. YUCK. I don't even sit on the top cover of the hotel beds and here I am putting this thing against my face....ok, moving on.

I must have been enjoying that shower a bit too much because when I got out I realized I needed to hustle to get downstairs in time for my first flight. I attempted to beautify myself knowing there would be many pictures taken that day once we got home. My hair had become the texture of a brilo pad and since I had no flat iron I tried to blow dry it and brush it out. Well that didn't work so well since the hair dryer didn't actually ever get warm. Oh well, I tried. Once Wil and were dressed, teeth brushed and out the door we headed down to find out where we checked in. We were flying to Toronto first and then home to Calgary. I am not sure why but there are about five counters for each airline and by some miraculous turn of events I found the right one on the first try. It was weird. The woman behind the counter kept smiling at me. I wasn't sure why but she did. She would look at Wil and then at me and give me this weird soap opera smile. At one point she said to me "God will bless you for this". What do you say to that? Uh, thanks? It took her forever to get the boarding passes printed mainly because every two freaking seconds she would gaze at me and smile. I swear in some cultures that would make us married...

We grabbed our boarding passes and moved on to my favorite part of the airport-security. I immediately find myself behind some uptight idiot who is obviously a moron in a hurry. He is taking his stuff and literally throwing it on the belt, nothing in a basket just loose on the belt. The security people tell him to redo it and put everything in a basket and then push it through. That was obviously a big inconvenience to him because he starts swearing and yelling and acting like he is related to salami man. I edge by him since I am not a moron and know the rules. He shoots me a dirty look and mumbles something about me not having any manners. Whatever. Dork. I am now officially starving. I managed to eat almost nothing in Haiti but since arriving in Miami I have become a ravenous hog. I scope out my options and settle on a muffin and of course, a diet coke. Wil has decided that he is on a hunger strike at this point. He wants nothing to do with any of the food I have brought him and just clamps his mouth shut when I offer it to him. I am not sure how smart he is but I assume he is bright enough to not starve himself. I give him the food and let him do with it as he so pleases. I then, gorge myself with ooey gooey muffiny goodness.

The woman across from me where we are sitting is another loon. She looks at me then at Wil and then does a "tsk tsk". What does that mean? The plane ride to Toronto was easy. Wil fell asleep and I think may have as well. It was a bit bumpy at the end but I managed to keep that muffin where it belongs, in my small intestine. I am one of those people who loves to look out the window when we land. I love seeing all the little buildings, the cars driving by, the people, etc. This was no exception. I sat there with my face pressed up against the plane window like a complete a dork with this big goofy smile on my face. There is something about arriving back home in Canada, it just feels different. The greenness, the cleanliness, the quality of the air...it just feels right. Since this was our point of entry into Canada we had to do our immigration papers here. We lined up in the normal immigration line and were then taken to a different office to get Wil's permanent residency forms done. The officer was very nice and took us into his office. He asked me the standard questions like "does your son have any children?" or "has your son been to jail?"...after he was done he stood up and came out from behind his desk. He shook Wil's hand and said "Welcome to Canada buddy, Welcome home." It was very sweet.

Before you can leave the immigration area and move on to your connector flight they feed all new Canadians through this area that is lined with pamphlets and brochures and a crazy woman with way too much eye make-up. She asks where Wil is from and what language he speaks and makes note of it in her little ledger book. She then starts handing me all sorts of brochures, these were a few of my favorites..."How to use a newspaper in Canada" (I guess ours are different than in other parts of the world), "How to catch the bus", and another beauty and totally age appropriate for a two year old, "How to get a job". I told her that I was Canadian, had been my entire life and that we didn't need these useless wastes of paper. We had a car, Wil can't read, and he isn't planning on getting a job until he is at least four....she would have nothing to do with it and just kept piling them in my hands. After her a guy comes up with a big nylon bag full of more crap to give me. I told him I didn't want it, he told me I had to take it. I have a two year old, a diaper bag, my laptop, and a carry-on, like I need another freakin bag! We walk towards the door and just to be a complete hag I make a deliberate big deal out of throwing it all in the garbage can by the door...

Being the complete hog that I am I am hungry again. We have to change terminals to get to our final flight which involves miles of walking, several moving sidewalks, and a tram ride. By the time we get there I am sweating and need a nap. I stuff my face full of sushi and Wil continues to play the role of Gandhi. It isn't long before we get on the plane, the final plane!!!

It was about an hour into the flight when sleeping Wil decided to release the fury of his bowels. It would have been a gross tale of Haiti baby poop, an airplane washroom, and turbulence if it wasn't for the humor of watching the woman across the aisle almost barf from the smell. She was obviously getting wafts of the fury because I looked over at her and saw her sniffing the air and then making an awful face. She would then get out a magazine and start fanning it in front of her face. She had no idea where the smell was coming from and just to not clue her in it was from us I too would pretend to smell the air and scrunch up my face in disgust. The thing that always gets me is if you know something smells why do you keep trying to smell it? Every few seconds she would stop fanning herself with her US weekly and deeply inhale the aroma of what was my son's poop. Then she would act shocked and disgusted to find that it still smelled. Thankfully we had no leaks and other than loud screams of fear from being changed at 35 000 feet Wil was fine. I did notice though after our first poop explosion that the next time we went to the washroom there was a bag of coffee in the washroom left to absorb the questionable odor leaking from that little lavatory garbage can.

The plane landed on time and since I had already cleared customs and this was now a domestic flight we were able to get out of the terminal quickly. For some reason I felt strangely nervous. I knew in a matter of minutes I was going to see my friends and family...we walked to the frosted doors and they opened and there they were!! Phil, the kids, my sister and brother in law, my niece and nephew, grandparents, neighbors, friends, it was great!

Checking out all the new faces...

We hung out at the airport for a bit while everyone met Wil and then headed back to our place for the party!!

to be continued...

Part 5...

2009-07-10T13:58:00.001-07:00

We were more than a little surprised to see that Haiti actually does pre-boarding! We figured it would just be mad dash, everybody for themselves kind of chaos to get on the plane, but it wasn't. We walked out into the heat and onto the tarmac towards the plane that was going to be the first leg of our journey home. Olivia was a bit scared of the turbines of the plane, can't say I blame her though, they do look and sound scary. We lugged our bags and kids up the rickety metal stairs and into the plane. The kids for the most part were in a state of complete awe, or possibly fear, not sure. They looked around and for the most part seemed unfazed, like they travelled this way for years.

It was almost immediate that we could feel the stares of the flight crew. They would walk by and smile at us, kind of a weird creepy, stalkerish smile, but a smile none the less. The kids did great! There was a bit of fussing about being strapped in but for the most part they were wonderful! and did you know that along with your free blue snack box American Airlines offers complimentary parenting advice? Well, they do! C was so happy to find out from our crazy Spanish flight attendant that if our kids are bad we should put them fully dressed into a cold shower. Works every time! and if they ever throw up from crying so hard we should make them clean it up and it will never happen again! Wow, look out Dr.Phil!

The plane ride to Miami was quick, painless and poop free! It doesn't get much better than that. Once we landed we waited until the plane was almost empty before attempting to get off. We figured with the kids and the bags we would surely be better off to wait than try and navigate the 18 inch aisle of the plane. The flight crew all sort of gathered near us and told us how lucky our kids were to have found us, and was the adoption long, hard, etc...the flight attendant asked if we were all family, and C said the sweetest thing, "we are now" and it is so true. We navigated this adoption together. Our files moved together from office to office never getting separated. We talked on the phone all the time, emailed and facebooked daily, we did it together and I cannot imagine it any other way. I am not sure I would have gotten through it without having someone who knew exactly what I was going through.

The lines at immigration in Miami were not bad at all. I was expecting the worst since my last visit included a two hour wait. We maneuvered our way through in about 20 minutes, no questions asked. Being food deprived for 3 days we decided that food was our priority. We checked into the hotel and then gorged on pizza in the airport. Nothing like a healthy meal of pizza and pop to start the kids off right.

What was really funny was watching the kids reaction to seeing themselves in the mirror at the hotel. Wil just sat on the bench and stared at himself. At one point he tried to lift his foot up to step into the mirror to get the "other" baby. When he realized he couldn't do it he just fell down and cried.

We hung out in our rooms for a couple hours to let our first meal digest before heading back out to feast again. I gave Wil his first warm bath and he hated it, screamed so loud C and R could hear him in their room. Poor guy. When I took him out of the tub and started lotioning him up I looked at him and his teeth were chattering! I guess AC is something he was not used to. I bundled him up and covered him up in bed, where he promptly passed out.

After a quick sleep we headed out for dinner. Again, we got some weird looks. These three white people with these three black kids, probably seemed a bit weird to some folks. I wasn't sure if going to an actual restaurant was going to be a good plan with three tired and scared kids, but they did great. We filled their bellies with another quality meal of chicken fingers and fries. What good parents we were.

It wasn't long before everyone was tired and needed to go to bed. We headed back to our rooms and said our good-byes. We took one more picture of our kids all together, looking tired and stunned. We were done. After all the phone calls, facebook messages, whining and commiserating, we were done and parting ways. Although it won't be good-bye for long, we only live one province apart and I am sure we will see each other again.

I was exhausted; sickness, travel, little sleep and I wanted to curl up and sleep for a week, but in typical me fashion I couldn't. Thank god for the laptop. I talked to my sister and a few friends online and eventually my eyes were dried out and ready to close. I set my phone alarm, the alarm clock, and got a wake up call! Overkill? maybe, but I wasn't taking any chances. The next day we were going home....

to be continued...

Part 4...

2009-07-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Friday morning arrived in a cloud of dust and mosquito's. I swear there must have been an entire family of those buggers sleeping with me, I awoke to about 50 bites on my arms and legs, some were so creative they got me between my fingers. Thank goodness for malaria meds!

We headed downstairs for breakfast. I can honestly say I never eat the breakfasts that are served. The eggs look weird, and the bread makes my stomach do flips and turns that it shouldn't be allowed to do. So I pass on breakfast. In actuality I think I passed on just about everything this time. I swear I probably ingested about 30 calories the entire trip and was never hungry, must have been the heat. We fed the kids and did some sitting, after all that is what you do in Haiti. Before long it was time to go and pick up our transit Visa's. C wasn't feeling so hot so R decided to go and get them for us. It worked out well. I took the kids into my oven, I mean room, C had a rest and R took the fun ride back to the embassy sans children.

So now I had a 2, almost 3, and 4 year old in my room. In order to prevent them from killing each other I did what every responsible parent does, I fed them crap. This was also the first time during the trip I took any pictures....

This was also the first time I heard Wil say anything. Maddy tried to take his cookie and along with a slap to the head he said "no!". It was funny to hear him actually speak! The kids attentions spans were short lived in my room so we headed out to he rooftop porch to hang out on the swing. They were getting loud and I didn't want them to wake C. My efforts were in vain because poor C stumbled on to the porch a few minutes later. It was cooler up there and there was an ever so small breeze that was so very welcomed. The heat was awful. I was sweating from places that I didn't even know had sweat glands. Did you know that your eyelids sweat? gross. We hung out there for a while, the kids all sat in a trance on the swing while we pushed it gently with our foot. Wil fell asleep and Maddy started to look a bit green from the motion. R arrived back to the guesthouse not too long after he left with three very wanted transit visa's! We all took a look at them, scanning them for any mistakes, but they were perfect! Yay USA! That was it, the final hurdle, we could leave!! I swear we started counting down the hours at that point until we could board that plane!

The rest of Friday went along like any day in Haiti. It dragged and flew by all at the same time. We sat upstairs in Walls while the kids slept, talking and discussing what we wanted to eat when we arrived in Miami. That's when you know you are getting hungry, when your conversation is centered around dry ribs and wings. That night we decided to go back over to the creche, to drop off a few donations and say good bye to the kids nannies. We gathered the kids and our cameras up and headed back out and on to the dark street. The streets of Haiti at night are so different than they are here. People are walking around by the dozen, music is playing, animals are running around, babies are crying.... As soon as we arrived at the door of the creche the kids were already whining. I am sure they thought they were going back. The nannies came out so we could give them their gifts and take a picture with the kids. The kids were not impressed. They wanted nothing to do with their old caregivers. Pulling away from them, crying, and just generally wanting to get out of there. Funny how after two years of care they wanted to be with the people they had known for two days. We didn't stay long. Marie was still gone house hunting and the nannies don't speak English. We said our goodbyes, dropped off our stuff and left. The kids only seemed to relax once we were back behind the walls of the guesthouse. I have no idea what time it was since it is pitch black at 6 pm in Haiti and I felt like it was midnight, although I am sure it was only 7 or 8. I went back to my room to pack up my carry on bags and lay out my clothes for the next day, eager to leave? uh ya!

We sat upstairs for a little while longer and the guesthouse managers wife did Maddy's hair while she slept. We said our good nights and went off to our rooms. I couldn't sleep, so I talked to my sister and a few friends on Facebook for a while and then finally passed out. Wil had long since fallen asleep on the bed and looked ever so comfy sleeping on an actual mattress with a pillow to boot! I was scared of sleeping in on Saturday morning, can you imagine over sleeping and missing your flight out? I would die! R woke me up bright and early at 6:00 and I tried to make myself look presentable, didn't really work. I finished packing up my meager carry on bags, dressed Wil and brushed his teeth and headed downstairs. Our flight we thought was scheduled to leave at 9:25, we were trying to pin down the manger of the guesthouse to leave at 7am. For some reason he never believes you when you tell him what time you want to leave. I have done the Haiti airport now five times and this trip was the one I was dreading the most. The lines, the chaos, the disorganization would only be compounded by the presence of three small, scared, and tired little kids. I was trying not to picture the drama that was about to unfold. After a quick breakfast for the kids the manager came out all panicked telling us we had to go NOW! Really?....isn't that what we tried to get across to you 30 minutes ago?? We piled our stuff into the back of the white van and left. Now this vehicle was obviously the bomb, complete with doors, a roof, and even barely functioning AC!! Woohooo.....The ride to the airport was quick and uneventful. It dawned on me during that ride what was actually happening. As you drive down the streets you are made to see the poverty you are taking your child from. Little kids walking half dressed through the garbage, chickens and goats right along side them, people just sitting on folding chairs along the sides of the road, waiting...for nothing.

When you arrive at the airport there is always someone wanting to "help" you with your bags. Usually I just say no thanks and grab them myself, but this guy was extra aggressive and just took our bags. Best thing to happen!!! He took us right to the front of the first of many lines at the airport. We breezed through the first security check and into the semi cool airport. The line to get your boarding passes is always disgusting but not with our guy! Again, right to the front to the line! I was beginning to feel like Angelina! We got our boarding passes and moved on to the green ticket-collector-guy. Not sure what this guys actual job is..he just stands there as some kind of Haitian gate keeper and looks at your passport, which is what the next guy does too. This was the last stop for our airport friend, who then ended our so loving friendship as he asked us for the money. We gave him $20 each, which he was not too impressed with and said our farewells. After you see the ticket-collector-guy you head through the frosted sliding doors into what is usually a 3-ring circus. I was dreading the opening of those doors...but the room was empty! Woohoo...we cruised right through immigration. They scanned our passports, looked for the Visa's for the kids and that was it. No asking who we were, about the adoption or anything, just a stamp stamp and we were done! Breezed through the next two security checks and...done! We were now just waiting!

Our plane was leaving 30 minutes sooner than we thought so we were so happy we shelled out the money to our airport friend!The kids ran around like hoodlums and we sat and enjoyed the AC. Before long it was time to board the plane....

to be continued...

Part 3...

2009-07-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Seeing Wil again after 6 months was exactly the way I had thought it would be. He had no idea who I was, was not very interested in finding out, and was more intrigued with a bag of crackers than with me. Go figure. I knelt down to say hello and then backed off to give him his space. To him I was just another crazy white lady coming to visit the creche. It wasn't more than a few minutes before Marie, the director came out from her office to welcome me. Hugs and kisses. I sat and visited with C and R and their girls while we waited to leave for our appointment at the US embassy. C handed me an envelope. Inside was all of the adoption documents, the passport, and the Canadian Visa. Wow. After all these months of waiting this little envelope held all that I needed to get my son home. Well, almost everything. The US embassy was our final stop and essentially the last barrier to going home.

I found Marie in her office to let her know that we were going to be heading back to the guesthouse to catch our ride to the embassy. She was busy shuffling papers, yelling out instructions to various staff members, and waiting to see the small gathering of parents sitting outside the office, waiting and hoping to be able to leave their children at the O. There was one family sitting there with their 15 month old twin girls. Beautiful little babies. One was in Marie's office crying. Crying for her Mom. She and her sister were malnourished and Marie thought it best to take them right away without having a family already chosen. They needed food and medical care. It doesn't matter how many time you see it, watching a mother leave her child behind because she cannot feed them is heart breaking and reaffirms my opinion that adoption is not the answer to the problem....

It is getting close to 11, which is our appointment time so we head back to Walls and find our ride. Being Canadian we are anxious to be on time but being that we are in Haiti, being on time is not important. The embassy is about 10 minutes from the airport, and Walls is about 10 minutes from the airport so we figure it should take about 20 minutes to get there. I am not sure how long it actually took but it felt way longer than 20 minutes. Maybe it was the million degree heat or the 100% humidity, or the fact that we rode with three sweaty and scared kids in the back of a truck, or maybe because I was on hour 30 of no sleep, but for whatever reason it felt like a very long drive. We arrived at the embassy and after unsticking our thighs from the plastic seat we jumped out of the back of the truck. I should probably be more accurate in my description as that that one makes it seem like we jumped gracefully and athletically from the truck, when in actual fact we all kind of fell out while trying to not moon the ensuing crowd or drop our children.

The first thing you notice when you pull up the US embassy is the people. Throngs of people are just standing there. Some are offering to take pictures for you for what I am assuming are passports or visa applications. Others are selling water or pop, but for the most part they are just hanging out. They have no real reason to be there but heck, they have no real reason to be anywhere. When you approach the embassy you first need to go through a security area which is outside and covered with a tent. There are a couple uniformed guards that are actually working and again more people just sitting there. The guards didn't even question us as to why we were there, simply ushered us through. I am assuming the white skin played a pivotal role in that. You then walk down a paved path to the next office. We showed the guard our children's passports and Canadian Visas and explained why we were there. We were ushered through a metal detector and were asked to turn in any cameras, cell phones, video cameras, pagers, etc...You exit that office and find yourself in another courtyard, nicely landscaped and maintained. The first thing I noticed other than the water fountains (seriously, who is going to drink from those?)was the dozens of people sitting outside under a tented area, envelopes in hand, waiting for what I can assume are visa appointments. Waiting to get out....one more metal detector and we are brought to the front of the line and asked for all of our documents. The entire time we were there and for every different window we had to go to we were brought to the front of the line. It felt strange, to be bumped ahead of all of these people who had been waiting forever simply for the obvious reason, we were white and presumably American. The last window we were instructed to go to was manned by a young white kid, maybe in his early 20's. Not sure what he did to get this job! He asked us a few questions and after a few minutes told us that our Visas would be ready for pick up tomorrow after 10 am. Perfect. We picked up our cameras and phones and headed back out to the front of the embassy.

We borrowed the cell phone of one of the guards and called for our ride, which we were told was coming right away. They should have said "we will be there in Haitian time, so whenever we get around to it..." We parked ourselves under the tent at the front of the embassy. We were hot, sweaty, thirsty, and tired. The kids were either falling asleep, crying, or stunned. C and I sat on the ground with the kids, which seemed ok at first but then some other guard came out and told us in a pretty stern way, to get off the floor. I thought he was joking at first but evidently we needed to get up, not sure why. After another phone call, another vat of sweat, and some more baby tears, our ride arrived. This time we rode in the lap of luxury in the back of the blue caged truck. I felt like a prisoner, but at least there was less risk of flying out when we hit one of the one million potholes on the road.

To say what happened next would be pure speculation because I have no idea what we did. I know we sat, because that is the universal thing to do in Haiti. I know we talked and I know we didn't eat the dinner that was served....Olivia got her hair done and after dinner we went back to the orphanage to see Marie. It was Thursday night and we weren't leaving until Saturday morning but she was leaving the next morning to find a new house for the O and was leaving at 5 am. It was time to say our goodbyes. I didn't think it would be hard. I thought that the sheer relief of the adoption being over would outweigh the emotions of leaving. It was at that moment that I realized how much she really does love these kids. Marie hugged each of them and said something in creole and was trying hard to keep from crying, so was I at that point. I went into Marie's office and she was all teary and I felt awful. She assured me that the best part of her job was seeing these kids go home, to good families, with a new chance at life. But it was still hard.

Then it was over. In a matter of minutes we were walking back over to the guesthouse, taking these kids from everything they have ever known. Regardless of what kind of care they got, it was their normal. The nannies were their family and here we were taking them away.I can remember walking outside those metal clad gates of the orphanage and on to the street and looking at C, we both just kind of sighed. It was done. Over. They were ours.

to be continued....

Part 2...

2009-07-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

I boarded the plane with dread, knowing that I was in for a long and squishy flight. The man in the window seat was already there dressed in a very fashionable black velour leisure suit. He reeked like cheap cologne but seemed normal. He said hello, put in his earplugs, and closed his eyes. Perfect. I was reading my magazine when Salami Man made his entrance. I knew right away that he was a big oaf. Most people when they sit down do exactly that....they sit. He got into his seat like he was scaling the pummel horse in Beijing. He sat down with such force the entire row shook. Just for you to get the entire visual, he was wearing a lovely silver metallic muscle shirt with matching shorts, his head was shaved bald, and he sported the ever original barbed wire tattoo around his upper arm. I could tell that he had spent a few hours leading up to the flight in the airport bar. The smell of alcohol permeated his clothes and oozed from his pores. I smiled politely and kept on reading...

As soon as we were in the air his boorish ways became apparent. He flagged down the flight attendant by waving his arm and whistling. Once he had her attention he ordered a beer, two tequilas, and a deli pack. The tequilas were short lived as he pounded them within a minute or two. Then he dug into his deli pack. Now remember I have just spent two days praying over the porcelain god and my stomach was still not 100%. I am not sure what was grosser, him or the deli pack. The deli pack consisted of crackers, salami, and Parmesan cheese spread, which he ate like a complete sloth, chewing with his mouth open and picking the remnants out of his teeth with his finger. He wasn't even half way through his pack when he whistled for two more tequilas and of course another beer. Tequila number one...pounded. Beer...chugged. Deli pack consumed. Deli pack number two ordered. This one was a lovely medley of crackers, cheese, and salmon salad...barf. I took my Gravol mainly to cause drowsiness and block out the horrors of Salami man....

Salami man was relentless in his quest to ingest every last bottle of tequila on the plane and equally as relentless in his goal of becoming a belligerent asshole. At one point he was sifting through his deli pack with his fat sausage like fingers and stumbled across a little packet containing a vitamin C tablet. One that was berry flavored and dissolved in water. No water? No problem for salami man...plop, plop, fizz, fizz, in went the vitamin C into his shot of tequila. What a baboon. At some point I must have fallen asleep because I awoke to the sound of him yelling at the flight crew. I guess he had wandered into the first class cabin and was trying to use their washroom. He was told by a very patient flight attendant that he would have to find his seat and use the washroom in the economy cabin of the plane. This obviously did not sit well with our drunk friend because he started yelling and swearing and essentially further confirming my suspicions that his IQ was that of a sponge. At one point he yelled out that his Uncle was the President of the airlines and that he was going to have the flight attendant fired. Uh ya right....your dear old Uncle is the president of the airline and you are sitting in economy. He didn't give up there. He made sure that once we landed he would call his Uncle and demand the termination of the flight crews jobs...what a complete knob. He "talked" to his Uncle all through concourse of the airport screaming things like "I want him fired!"...everyone within earshot just laughed.

I had an hour between flights and had to change terminals, so I high tailed it to American airlines and checked in, got my boarding pass, and again stood behind people in security who were not familiar with the routine. The plane was an hour late leaving so I had time to send a quick email to my friend C, who I was meeting in Haiti, grab a muffin, and watch the throngs of people gather at the gate. The flight into Haiti was uneventful. No one took their own seat, their was no room for any carry on baggage, and the flight crew looked less than thrilled about their destination.

The heat hit me before I had even exited the plane. It is a heat that if you have not been to Haiti, you cannot understand. Their is no grass or trees to absorb the suns rays, the concrete seems to magnify the heat in a way that I can't describe. The smell is another thing. I wish I could bottle it up and let people experience it. The combination of garbage, burning tires, and poverty is beyond what I can describe here. It is one of those smells that is etched into your nose forever. The Digicel band was playing as per usual, the Haitian midget was greeting you at the terminal door, and the nervous energy I always feel when landing in Pap was definitely there, maybe more so. Immigration was quick and easy. I don't think the officer even glanced up as she stamped my passport and little green ticket. Baggage claim was what it usually is...a complete gong show. Bags were piled feet in the air, people were arguing over which bag was theirs, porters were trying desperately to help, and so on....I waited until every bag was off the plane to find out what I had already assumed, that my bags were MIA.... I left the airport two bags lighter but at that point I didn't care. My appointment at the US embassy was only a couple hours away and I really wanted to make it myself and not have our director act on my behalf.

I spotted my ride quickly and the car was sent to pick me up. The ride from the airport to the guesthouse is quick, maybe 10 minutes. I think I could walk it myself now if I so wanted to try, which I didn't.The street kids were out by the dozen that day. Little boys coming to the window of the truck with their hands out begging for money. It's horrible. I was taken to my room at the guesthouse quickly, my room with no AC. I dropped my bags, grabbed my wallet and headed across the street to the O. The walk across the street was different this time. Maybe it was because this time I would take my son and never have to bring him back, maybe it was the excitement of seeing C and R, who knows, but it was definitely not the same as the times before. The metal clad gate was closed as usual and I slid it open to reveal the familiar sight of the orphanage courtyard and the sounds of the kids playing upstairs. A few steps away on the porch of the orphanage were C, R, their girls, and Wil....

to be continued...

Part One....

2009-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

In exactly one week we will mark one year home with Wil. In the days leading up to our one year home anniversary I thought I would repost the sage of the trip to Haiti to pick him up. It's done in six parts which works out perfectly.

I literally raced to the airport. It was 12:00 and the plane was set to leave at 2:25, and with a 30 minute drive I was cutting it way closer than I liked. Phil dropped me off at the door, got me a cart, and after a quick good bye I was off...I go to the ticket counter and was soon told that my plane was an hour late leaving. Good I thought, I can relax. Wrong. This meant I would miss my connecting flight in Dallas and therefor miss my flight into Miami. The ticket lady typed frantically into her computer looking for a new route, what are they typing anyways? It looked like she was writing a dissertation. After several minutes and even more failed attempts at finding an alternative route she found one, not a great one, but one nonetheless. I was to fly to Seattle, then on to Miami. Which if you look at a map makes absolutely no sense. I went West from Calgary only to turn around and go East. The flight was not set to leave until 6pm and I could not check my bags until 4pm, some weird aviation rule.So I had three hours to kill. I decided that I should eat something, two days without food was starting to wear on me and I could feel my blood sugar hovering somewhere around zero, so what does anyone eat after spending two days in bed throwing up? Fries. Not sure why, maybe it's the salt but after I am sick my body craves fries. I couldn't stomach the idea of any type of meat but fries and a diet coke seemed to make feel just a little bit better.

After my culinary delight I walked around what I know consider the most boring airport on Earth. I came to the conclusion that the Calgary airport may be solely responsible for the fact that Americans think we live in igloos and hunt wild moose. I wish I took pictures but take my word for it, the Calgary airport is the sole cause. Everywhere you look there are life size replicas of bison, moose, and weird beaver looking creatures. There are ugly murals on the walls depicting Indians harpooning wild life or fields with grazing cattle. I can now see that if the Calgary airport is your point of entrance into Canada, your view will forever be skewed.

After three hours of looking at airport merchandise, running from wild bison, and playing on the Internet, it was time to check my bags and head to immigration and security. I was to take two different airlines on my journey to Port Au Prince, Alaskan to Miami and then American to PAP. I was assured my bags would be checked all the way through and to pick them up when i landed in PAP. Now if I was a writer this is where I would insert some creative foreshadowing, but since I am not a writer I will just say...that was to be the last time I ever saw those bags again. Then it was off to immigration. I am still not sure why but when you travel to the US from the Calgary airport you clear US customs here, in Canada. But when you come to Canada from the US you clear Canadian customs in Canada. I always mean to ask the customs guy but never do. They all seem miserable....and Officer Martinez was no exception...

Officer: Where you headin'?
Me: Haiti via Miami.
Officer: huh?
Me: Haiti...
Officer: huh?...Haiti?
Me: yes, Port Au Prince, Haiti.
Officer: (looking horrified) Why?
Me: We are adopting a baby and I am going to get him.
Officer: humph...was that easier than getting an Asian one?
Me: well, I am not familiar with the process of adopting a child from Asia but I can assure you that no international adoption is easy.
Officer: well you know what kind of people are in Haiti, dontcha?
Me: Haitians?
Officer: hmmm...where is your husband?
Me: at home with our other four children?
Officer: why isn't he going?
Me: uh, because he's at home with our four other children. (duh!)
Officer: he let you go alone?
Me: he didn't let me go alone, that's not how we do things. I chose to go alone.
Officer: humph...(handing me my passport) I hope you got all your shots.

What a complete dickhead.So I make my way to my gate after an eternity at security. I am still not sure why people wait in line and when they get to the front act like complete retards. I mean come on people. Get your freakin' laptops out, take your shoes off, get out your Ziploc of possible bomb making supplies and put them in the tray. It's not new! Even if you are new to the world of travel by air the 50 signs on the wall leading up to the security checkpoint had to have clued you in a bit! It's like those idiots you stand behind in line at McDonald's. They wait in line for 20 minutes only to get to the front of the line and then hum and haw over what to get! You had 2o minutes waiting with a giant neon menu in front of you!So now I have another hour to kill before I can board the plane. I peruse the magazine racks, grab a tea, and people watch. The time goes by quickly and we board the plane. I can tell very quickly that the big nerd I am seated next to is going to drive me crazy. He is on his cell phone when I get on the plane, talking far too loud. He is telling whoever is on the other line that he is sorry he will miss them at some lame function tonight but that he is travelling on business and promises to charm the pants off them when he gets back, uh ya, right....As soon as I sit down he starts talking to me. Telling me that he is on a business trip, like that is supposed to impress me.

Conversation with a nerd....
Nerd: Where are you going?
Me: (trying to avoid eye contact and further conversation) Haiti
Nerd: Cool. How come?
Me: I am picking up our son that we adopted.
Nerd: Wow. Powerful.
Me: hmmm...
Nerd: The wife and I are family planning right now.
Me: (totally grossed out by the visual of this man having sex) Nice.
Nerd: Never been to Haiti. I travel alot with business though. been all over the world in my old job.
Me: That's nice.
Nerd: Yup. I switched jobs, other one was too stressful. Now I'm a businessman.
Me: hmmm...
Nerd: Yup. I'm a businessman. I do business stuff, moving widgets around the world of business...
Me: (WTF??) That's great.
What a complete wacko. Who calls themselves a businessman? I mean seriously, did he get a bachelors degree in businessman? What a nerd. He was dying for me to ask about his "businessman status" but I didn't give him the satisfaction. The flight crew was equally as weird. The one flight attendant came over the PA to tell us that beverages were to be served once we reached our cruising altitude and then went on to list each and every one they offered. She also felt it necessary to give us the run down of every article in the in flight magazine. Just so you know, she was very impressed by the one on how you too can turn your backyard into a garden oasis.

We landed in Seattle and I had a an hour or so to kill before my next flight. This is the flight I was dreading the most. I looked at my ticket and realized I was in the middle seat, sandwiched between two strangers for 5.5 hours....enter Salami man....

to be continued...

MJ and other odds and ends....

2009-07-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

So, it's no news that the "King of Pop" has died. What is news, or at least to me, is the massive out pouring of tears and the accolades of what an amazing man he was. Is it just me? Am I horribly cold hearted? But didn't anyone out there think he was a total whackjob? I mean let's look at this objectively. The guy lived in a theme park, went from being black to white, began to resemble Dianna Ross from the bazillion surgeries he claimed to not have had, he dangled babies from balconies in Germany, made his kids wear masks and fedora's when out in public, and was accused on more than one occasion of inappropriate contact with little boys....and this is who people are throwing themselves on the ground for in a puddle of tears?

Now don't get me wrong I grew up in the 80's. I wore a pleather black dress complete with silver mesh and a bright red zipper. I practiced my moon walk and spent hours gazing deeply into MJ's eye as I marveled at how manly he was to pose with that white tiger. I donned my silver glove on more than one occasion and had nightmares over the Thriller video....I am not denying that he was once an amazing entertainer but seriously, did anyone else not think he was messed up? Did death erase the fact that he was obviously in a perpetual state of being high, that he more than likely did more than just tuck those little boys into bed at night, and that he has most definitely messed those kids up? I mean naming that one child Blanket in itself will lead to years of therapy....

Another oddity of the hollywood world to me is Ryan Seacrest. Have you ever listened to his radio show? I hadn't until recently but the other day I tuned in and was baffled to hear that people actually call in asking him for advice on subjects ranging from infidelity to finances....Is this not odd to anyone? I mean seriously, it's Ryan Seacrest?? The other day I heard a woman call in about how to deal with the guilt she was feeling over cheating on her husband of 18 years with a family friends. This woman is sobbing and begging for advice...from the host of American Idol??

Last but not least is the Bachelorette, Gillian. I am going to be blunt...what the hell is wrong with this girl? Does she have allergies? a cocaine addiction? Why is she always congested? And why does she squeal like a sow every time she gets excited? And if I have to hear one more time about how "she is in her element" out in the snow, in the wilderness, etc...I am going to throw up. First of all you are from Vancouver, you don't get snow. Second, no one is in their element on a glacier...contrary to popular belief Canadians do not spend their afternoons making snow angels on glaciers. We just don't....And just to be fair...what is with the guys this year? You've got one who gets off on toe jam, another one who can't get an erection, and the grossest of all, a bonehead cowboy who can't sing worth crap.

I can't wait for next week!!!

Stressed

2009-06-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been stressed. Wil has been extra challenging and the bond that began to take shape is being taxed to it's limit as of late. I am not sure why he is so difficult lately. Is it normal 3 year old behavior? Is it that he is just comfortable enough now to act like a dink? Is he trying to kill me? Lately Wil has been saying "No" to everything I say. Looking right at me when I ask him to not do something and deliberately doing the exact opposite. When he doesn't get his way he cries. When he doesn't get his way fast enough he cries. Take dinner the other night....Phil was at work and since my culinary skills hover somewhere around zero I made bagel sandwiches and soup. I put the sandwiches down and went back to get the soup. Since I only have two arms I only carried two bowls. I put the bowls down in front of Ty and Sam. When Wil saw that he didn't get soup he started yelling "my soup, my soup". I told him I would get it in a minute and he then proceeded to grab his place mat and whip it and the sandwich on the floor in retaliation to me not having three arms. I took him away from the table and put him in a time-out (yes, he was still in eye sight of me) After a few minutes in time-out he came back and ate like nothing was wrong, until I didn't fill his drink up fast enough and he then whipped the food on the floor again. Then what? What am I supposed to do with that? If that was one of my bio kids they would have simply gone to bed, no dinner, just good-night. Can I do that with him?

By the end of most days I find myself physically and emotionally drained. I am sure I am not the most pleasant person for my husband to come home to at night but by six or seven at night I am done. I was soooo excited to get away this weekend even if was only for a day.

Saturday night I went to Canmore with my sister and a couple girlfriends. It was wonderful to have 24 hours of kid free, tantrum free, housecleaning free time. We had dinner, drank some ridiculously gross martini's, talked until 4 am, strolled through the little town, had brunch...it was lovely.

We can vent about our kids, our husbands, our ups and downs and never once it is taken out of context. Never are you made to feel guilty for feeling the way you you feel. I am so grateful to have them.

The story of a table....

2009-06-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Kelsey wants a bedroom of color in our new house- red, yellow, green, orange, purple, and so on.... I thought I would try my hand at refinishing. I found this table on kijiji a week or so ago for $10.

Primed her up with a bit of Zinzer....

Then coated her in some bright red spray paint, compliments of your local Walmart.

I then scuffed her all up and rubbed on some Minwax stain....

Replaced the old wood knob with one that will match the hardware in the new house....done! All for the whopping price of $17.00! The best part is that if she gets bored with it I won't feel bad about replacing it.

My next project....

I bought this very old dresser for $75. I fell instantly in love with it's shape and the little keyholes in the drawers. Now to make her look pretty again!

Graduation Day!!

2009-06-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today my Sammy "graduated" from preschool. Now, normally I don't like or agree with these pseudo graduations. In fact I tend to openly mock graduations from elementary school and junior high. I think it takes away from the real graduation day of high school or university, but this was just way too cute. Grace attended the same preschool and so I knew what to expect but the cuteness factor was not overshadowed by the fact that this was not my first one.

The kids were taken into one room and we were all seated in those way too small chairs and waited for their entrance. Their teacher, who is pretty much the sweetest person on Earth, brought them in all lined up. Each child had their name called and they walked under the little arbour all dressed in caps and gowns. They were given the certificate and a scrapbook of their time at preschool. The scrapbook blows me away. Each special day, theme day, field trip, etc was documented with pictures, stories, and more. It was beyond cute and the work that must have gone into making it blows me away.

Sam getting his certificate, not looking overly thrilled.

Still not so sure of all this...

Trying to ignore me...

A little smile!

Sam and Mommy....

Randomness

2009-06-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am struggling to find material to blog about. It's not that life is slow or there is nothing going on it's more that I can't seem to find the time and/or the motivation to write anything down. Wil has been testing my patience something fierce lately and I am exhausted. The word "no" is his new staple and his ability to drive me crazy is heightened like crazy lately. I find myself ready for bed at around 8 pm and with four other kids to still deal with I am usually dragging my butt up to bed somewhere around midnight.

The weather has been hit or miss as of late. One day we are sweating like pigs on the back deck and then other days we are looking for warm sweaters to wear. It was only a week or so ago that it snowed. Yes, you rad that right. It freakin' snowed! My poor petunias were not impressed and even though I knew it was coming I forgot to cover them. Thankfully they are a pretty hardy annual and managed to survive.

The kids are in the final few days of school and then we have two months of no homework, no activities, and nowhere to be. I am thrilled....I love Summer! This Saturday a few girlfriends and I are headed out of town to spend the night away from kids and husbands! We are going for a nice dinner and then plan on drowning ourselves in margarita's until the wee hours of the morning.

I am becoming quite the frugal crafter as of late...more on that later.

Where does the time go?

2009-06-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I think time is moving at a very fast speed lately. One minute it's Monday with the week ahead to get everything done and the next minute it's Friday and nothing really got done at all. Our house is conditionally sold- the only condition being a home inspection which was done today. I am crossing my fingers that it is all done in the next day or so and I can cross "sell my house" off the ever growing to-do list. The new house is being insulated and the drywall has been dropped off. I will have to get off my butt and take some pictures for all to see.

Wil had his first visit at the Children's Hospital yesterday for his lazy eye. All seems fine with no patching or surgery needed. We are off to our family doc on Monday to determine why the sclera of his eyes has a yellowish hue to it. Hopefully it's nothing.

Today is the eve of my baby turning 16....16 years ago I was in early labor. I cannot get my head around the idea that she will be 16....16!!! and yes, I do remember what I was doing at 16, no need to remind me.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2009-05-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if I even sleep anymore. The house has been listed for about a week now and we have had about six showings. Keeping the house spotless, the laundry done, and clearing out for an hour every day is proving to be more difficult than I thought! I have always kept a pretty clean and uncluttered house but as soon as you put it on the market you see all the little things that you have never noticed before. I have touched up walls, repainted doors, closets, and mouldings, scoured showers to the point of pulling a muscle in my shoulder, and spent a small fortune on air fresheners and candles. Each and every time the realtor calls to tell us we have a showing I turn into a crazy woman, yelling at the kids, cursing the dust, and telling myself that I am going to move into a hotel until the house is sold. We cram the kids in one room in hopes of keeping the mess isolated while I run around cleaning the rest. We then pile into the car and try and find something to do for an hour while strangers tramp through my house and critique my decorating style. Sometimes we park at the other end of the street and watch them get out of their cars, trying to judge if they will be "the one's".

I am working my butt of trying to lose the last 10 dreaded pounds before our trip to Vegas in July. Wearing a bathing suit in front of your friends is always a strong motivating factor. We have booked the flights, hotel, and tickets to see Seinfeld in concert at Caesar's. I am pretty excited about seeing Jerry!!

The new house is a few days away from being drywalled and I am super excited to see it finally start to look like a house. I have pretty much forgotten what we actually selected in terms of interior finishes so it may not look anything like what I am picturing in my head.

Wil has been trying my patience something fierce the last couple weeks. Saying no to anything and everything I ask of him, deliberately disobeying, and being kinda jerky are his new strong suit. Little does he know I am much stronger willed than he is and I will not lose. The bottom stair may have an imprint of his bum soon from all the time-outs he has been having....

Two years ago...

2009-05-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

This Mother's Day weekend marks two years of our first meeting with Wil in Haiti. Two years ago Phil and I arrived in Haiti, my second trip and his first, to meet a bunch of other adoptive parents and our kids. It's crazy to think that two years has already gone by. Many of those we met during that trip I have lost contact with. With their adoptions being complete they moved away from the world of adoption and back into the world of reality, the way it should be. When my adoption drew to a close I too felt the need to leave the adoption world and regain my footing in the land of reality. What an awesome feeling that was! Some of those we met that Mother's Day weekend are still waiting....

In two years life has changed immensely. I officially quit work, and have officially begun my courses to refresh my license to begin again. We bought a new house and are now entering the horrors of trying to sell this one. My kids have grown and become amazing little people, full of wit, charm, and an out-spoken nature that I am so proud of. But the most amazing of changes have been in the little man who was forever home last July. Since Wil arrived home he has gone from non-verbal to a babbling fool. He has gone from a skinny and despondent little man to a somewhat chubby, crazy preschooler.

The picture above is of our first meeting, Mother's Day weekend 2007.

I always knew that getting him home was going to be what got him better. He did not thrive in Haiti, he needed a home.

This is Wil now. A crazy, loud, smiley little three year old man.

To all those still waiting, I think of you often. I hope for your little men and women to come home soon.

Weekend in review...

2009-05-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a good one. Friday night one of my bestest girlfriends was hosting one of those lame "home parties". She has an addiction to these things, this one was jewelry. I don't go for the products. I go for the food and for the opportunity to make fun of her new friends. Recently she moved out of the city to a smaller town about an hour East of here. She has met some real winners. People who say things like " I seen her" or "I ain't gonna..." It's a grammatical nightmare but man does it provide for hours of fun on the drive home! So four of us city gals packed into my beast and headed East. We followed the revolting smell of the feed lots and before you knew it, we were there! The food was good, the jewelry was surprisingly nice, and as suspected we had a grand time mocking the party guests on the way home.

Speaking of the way home....just as I was pulling into a neighbouring community to drop off one of my girlfriends we noticed a police car behind us. Didn't think much of it until it pulled into her cul de sac, put on it's lights and got out of the car. Hunky cop #1 informed me that he ran my plates and they appeared to show that I was driving an old stolen vehicle. Nice. I guess police run plates at 230 am of "suspicious" vehicles and my pimp mobile must fit the description of suspicious. I assured officer hunky that it was my car and handed over my license and insurance...and wasn't I thrilled to them find out that my registration was not in the car. The one thing that actually proved the car was mine was not there. I wanted to kill my husband, who by the way informed me the next morning that, oops, it was in his briefcase. I guess the hunkster and his equally hunky partner felt sorry for me and told me that were not overly suspicious of me, maybe the care full of drunk stay at home mom's and baby seats that did it, who knows, but he let me go with a warning. I avoided a $175 ticket for driving without registration...whew! My one girlfriend is convinced it was because she was showing extra cleavage in the backseat and another is convinced it's because the cop had a "cougar complex"...whatever it was I was glad to avoid the ticket. I was also happy to avoid jail when my one insane girlfriend asked if he needed a babysitter and could she give him a bath. I am serious.

Saturday I felt like dog crap and other than sitting in the backyard with the kids I did nothing. I have had the worst acid reflux for the past few days and it is soooo uncomfortable. I take Nexium every morning to help but even it's not doing the trick. I have cut out all pop, caffeine, spicy foods, etc but to no avail. I still have fire in my throat and chest. I have found a couple holistic methods online and am going to the heath food store today to try them out. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear about them....

Sunday was our day to get some more stuff done around the house before the sign hits the front lawn. We got the front lawn all cleaned up and ready for the annuals to be planted and I managed to re stain the arbour in the front to match the front door. A few more things and we are done!! The cutest part of the day was watching Ty take his two little brothers outside and play street hockey with them. Wil and Sam were in their glory to have so much attention from their big bro and hearing a three year old and a four year old yell "scores!!!" was way too cute...

Well I am off to find a cure for my fire.

Pigs and Poop

2009-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

This morning was our appointment with our family doctor to discuss my favorite topic-Wil's poop. We are unsure if he still has giardia or not so we are doing yet another stool sample. Our concern now is that there may be something structurally wrong with his lower bowels. I won't get into too many details since it is breakfast time and I dont want anyone to vomit, but lets just say I have never seen poop quite like Wil's.

We also have an appointment in a couple weeks with an opthamologist to look at Wil's wonky eye, yes that is my medical terminology. The technical term is strabismus, but I prefer wonky. Poor kid wakes up and his eyes are all goofy, looks like he could be a spy for the CIA and see around corners without moving.

In other news I am thrilled to say that I am obsessed with the Swine Flu...I sit at home with the remote in one hand a can of Lysol in the other, watching Anderson Cooper and Sajay Gupta. I sanitize my kids when they come home from school, making them strip down to their ginch in the mudroom and then dousing them with hand sanitizer. I am thinking of installing some kind of Purell misting system in the garage for when they get home or possibly a dunk tank full of Javex. I am sure this will prove bad for their skin but right now their skin is of very little concern to me. I am more concerned with them starting to oink or sprout curly tails.

My guilty pleasure....

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

I secretly love sleeping with my kids...I will complain about it once in awhile when I find myself crippled in the morning from sleeping on three square inches of mattress while balancing myself with one foot on the floor. Then I complain....

But secretly, I love having my little ones in my bed. In fact if I am being brutally honest I would rather snuggle a four year old than my husband who incessantly feels the need to grope me in his sleep. My four year old just likes to cuddle-no strings attached.

All of my kids have spent countless nights in our bed. I realized very early on that if you want to get any sleep with a newborn you need to sleep with them. Getting up over and over, sitting in the rocking chair for countless hours blows. Grabbing the baby and throwing a boob in their mouth is a far better use of my time. Once the boob was no longer needed the desire to cuddle my kids in bed did not. I am pretty sure that every expert in the area of child rearing would tell me that I am emotionally crippling my kids. That my need to cuddle them in my bed is surely going to lead to a insomniac psychopath in the future, I beg to differ....All of my kids appear relatively normal and they have all slept with me. They are all capable of going to bed on their own now. None feel the need to crawl in bed with us once they get past the age of about five. And from my perspective none are emotionally stunted or suffering from a Oedipus complex of sorts.

I remember watching Dr.Phil one day and listened to him chastise some poor young mother over the irreversible damage she was doing by allowing her toddler son to sleep with them. He ranted and raved in the way only Dr.Phil can do. You know how he does it-trying to come across as a commoner like the rest of us while all the time making you feel like an uneducated idiot. He went on and on about the reason parents sleep with their kids is to atone for the sins of the day, to make them feel they have spent enough time wit them when in fact the time they did spend was crappy at best. I thought about this for quite a long time, wondering if my love of sleeping in bed with my kids when they are small was a way to make me feel like a better parent. I have to say that his theory, like him, is full of crap, for me at least. I just like it. I love the way they smell, the way they feel so secure all tucked in with us and the best "talks" come at bedtime.

Sam is currently the third wheel in our king size bed. He goes to bed by himself in his own bed but some time in the wee hours of the night or the early hours of the morning he finds his way to our room. He knows the routine well, never attempting to get in on Dad's side, always quiet and always finding his way to lodging his head in my armpit. As I lay on my side in bed it occurred to me that where he sleeps-head in my armpit and bent knees resting on mine, that we fit together perfectly.

New found health?

2009-04-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Since my friend M asked why the found health, I will share. I am most certainly not a health nut and quite honestly don't ever think I could be. I like the bad stuff way too much. Things like chocolate, McDonald's fries, and licorice are likely to be found in my veins. I decided to give up red meat and pork about four or five months ago. I had read tons of literature about increased risks of colon cancer, heart disease, etc and decided that I didn't like red meat enough to put myself at a higher risk for these diseases. I threw pork in as well for good measure. For the past several months I have stuck to chicken, turkey, and fish and like I thought, haven't missed the red stuff at all. Recently I read a book called "Skinny Bitch". I didn't buy the book but picked it up one day after it was left at my house by a friend. Once I started it I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of the inhumane treatment of animals made me want to cry and the list of crap that goes into our meat made me want to throw up. I vowed from that moment on that I was officially done with meat. I suggest everyone read it...it is graphic and horrible but like the author states in the book "if the animals have to endure it, the least we can do is read it".

As for my beloved diet coke...that decision was made for me by the horrible acid reflux I was having. It didn't take long to note the connection between the DC and the excruciating pain in my chest and gut. I figured my body was smart and that it was letting me know I was doing damage to it, one beautiful silver tin at a time-so I quit. Cold turkey. Not good. My head felt like it was going to explode and I was a moody bitch for several days, but now I am feeling better.

A few months ago it dawned on me that I did things in my life that were not exactly conducive to good health. I don't mean anything weird and crazy, but my diet was not so good. I don't drink often and I have never smoked. I don't jump out of airplanes or off bridges for sport, but I did eat a lot of crap. I realized that I had five kids, yes that just dawned on me recently, and I knew that it was my responsibility to be around for them as long as possible. And while I know that a lot of that is out of my control I do also know that much of it is within my control.

So there you have it. I will not be giving up my chocolate and I will most certainly not be eating sprouted grain bread or feeding my kids almond milk, but I will be slowly whittling away my bad habits to get healthy and stay healthy.

Random points

2009-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

* We are headed back to the doctor on Thursday to figure out what to do about Wil and his nasty poops. It has been nine and a half months of grossness and this mom is done! Many have suggested Alinia as a med to try to combat the grossness. I was going to suggest it to my doc this week but after some online research I came to find out that even though the drug is made and manufactured in Canada, it is not available for prescription here. Makes sense, right?

* We also need to find some kind of cream/lotion that will combat the dry skin. Poor guy's skin will get so dry that he scratch it until it bleeds. I am pretty sure we have tried everything on the market but any and all suggestions are welcome.

* The new house is coming along nicely. We now have windows, plumbing, shingles, and most of the heating done. I am hoping they don't move too quickly as we still have to get this house on the market. Although now my husband is suggesting we hold on to it for a while and rent it out. The thought of being landlord is enough to make me ill, so here's to hoping he changes his mind on that one.

* It snowed here again this week and I am crossing my fingers that we are officially done with Winter now. Although it has snowed here in almost every month of the year. I am not kidding. I can remember being a teenager at a party and coming outside to find snow coming down-in August! Why I live here is a mystery to me....

* I have officially become a vegetarian. No more meat....I am still on the fence with fish and whether or not it will be considered meat or not....I really like fish...I just read the book "Skinny Bitch" and I dare any of you to read it and then continue eating meat. Seriously.

* I am now well into my detox of my beloved diet coke. It has been at least three weeks since the nectar of the gods has passed my lips. The headaches that felt like a vice on my head have lessened but I still crave it like crazy!

Since I am being honest...

2009-04-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

I feel so free after confessing some of my mommy sins. I also had to laugh when so many others felt the same way! When I hit the "publish post" button I almost deleted the post. I wondered if some would think poorly of me, would judge me, and then wondered why I cared. I have read back on some old posts and realized that I too was falling into the trap of the blogospehere-trying to make myself look or sound better than I really am. It made me ill. The thought of joining the ranks of those I abhor so much made me realize that if this blog was going to continue it had to do so with complete authenticity. I had to be authentic. And not in a warped, Oprah-induced "authentic self" kinda way. In a real me, a few bad words, say it like it is, kinda way....so from now on that is my goal. I will not even try to keep up with the handmade clothing, granola toting, mom jean wearing kind.

Confessions of a stay at home mom....

2009-04-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

So often I read blogs in which the author spends the majority of the time patting themselves on the back for being the amazing parent they are, or at least that is what they want us to believe. These posts are laced with subtle hints of superiority and a dash of passive aggressiveness. I, on the other hand know full well that on certain days my parenting skills suck and the following are just a few confessions of this stay at home home...

I don't like to volunteer at the kids school. I know that sounds horrible but I despise it. Your job as a classroom volunteer is to be the teacher's bitch. In fact, I think the term "classroom volunteer" should be officially replaced with "teachers bitch". Why the heck would I want to get out of bed, put on make-up, and do may hair only to spend three hours photocopying, stapling, and listening to illiterate children read? And am I the only one who thinks schools stink? They all smell the same, a combination of white glue, sawdust, and farts.

I take my kids to the park so I can pretend to be a good parent when in fact I am there to ignore them, facebook from Blackberry, and get a tan. I don't play on the equipment and I don't play rousing games of tag. Going to the park is an experienced parents tool of acceptable neglect.

I steal from my kids. I take their candy at Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. When they were small and Great Aunt Dorothy sent them some Birthday cash, it went in my pocket. I rationalize this with the fact that a) they are too young to notice and b) I am footing the bill for the party so I am just recouping some of my losses.

I will blame any small and non-verbal child in the room if I should happen to pass gas. They cannot argue and I avoid unnecessary embarrassment.

I do my kids homework. I am not talking about day to day homework. I am referring to the big, ridiculous projects kids are given. Projects that are way past their abilities and attention spans. Any teacher that gives an eight year old a project on the Gross Domestic Products of Asia is asking for Mom to do it.

There are times I make my day seem far more hectic than it really was just to make my husband feel bad and tell me to go sit on the couch for the rest of the night. I figure my harried and crazy days are worse than his and mine usually involve poop which in itself is worth a night of doing nothing and sitting on the couch.

So now.....what are some of your mom confessions?

Lists are my nemesis...

2009-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

I make lists. I lose lists. I get sick of looking at lists and throw them out. I then make new lists. My newest list is staring at me from the side of the fridge. It is long, it is a bit daunting, and it is a royal pain in the arse. We are down to a few weeks before we have to list the house and to say I am dreading it would be the understatement of the year. The mere thought of keeping my house "show home" ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week is enough to give me an ulcer. I have no idea how I am going to do it, with five kids, a cat, and a husband who works six days a week.

Each day I make myself accomplish at least one of two things from the list. Yesterday was my attempt at making our crowded, dull, and ugly mudroom look bright, large, and inviting. I emptied out all the Winter crap, filled the dings in the walls, replaced light bulbs, scrubbed the baseboards, and the floors. Today I will paint and sand the dings and try to find a bright rug to make the room look less revolting. On Sunday I scaled a ladder onto a bookshelf to get my butt up to the this stupid plant ledge we have in the front entrance of the house. All of that just to dust and change a light bulb that is only accessible from that angle. I hate heights and getting down was brutal, although Phil found it comical.

I have carpet cleaners coming next week to clean the basement carpet, furnace cleaners a few days later. The carpet in the rest of the house is being replaced and I will be madly painting baseboards, doors, and closets till the wee hours of the morning I am sure. As soon as all of that is done I have window cleaners coming and a company to clean the blinds. I will not attempt blind cleaning again, it sucks the life right out of you.

The new house is framed, the windows are in, the basement cement was just poured and as soon as it sets the basement will be framed. I will post some pictures soon, as soon as I find my camera....

Making the transition easier...

2009-04-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

As stated many times before the transition from a family of six to a family of seven proved far more challenging than I had originally anticipated. It was tough to say the least...I did find that a few things made it easier and seemed to work for us.

1. Exercise....I know this may sound strange but I found that as soon as I took the time to get to the gym and sweat my outlook on everything was better. I truly believe that we parent our children by example and we owe it to our kids to be both physically and emotionally fit, for the long haul. It is also hard to feel guilty about taking time to exercise.

2. Sleep routines....this one was a big one for me. I like to sleep and don't do well when my sleep is interrupted or cut short. This made it all the more important to get Wil into a good sleep routine from the beginning. We took a pretty firm stance on when and how he fell asleep. It took several weeks to get him to go to bed without crying but it was sooo worth it! Wil is now the best sleeper of all of our kids, going to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 and sleeping until about 8:30 the next morning. We still do naps around here as well. It is a bit of a reprieve for me and much needed by Wil. If he doesn't nap he is falling asleep standing up by about 4:00.

3. Figuring out my own emotions....As we navigate through the adoption process we are filled with emotions for this child(ren) that is so far away. I truly believe that in many cases we confuse the feelings we have for authentic ones. I longed for Wil to come home. I lost sleep knowing the conditions he was living in. I would have done anything to get him here. It wasn't until he was actually here that I realized that my emotions during the process were more about the actual process than they were about Wil.

4. Not assuming everything was adoption related....I know many adoptive parents would disagree with me and that's fine but for us we tried to take the stance that Wil was a "normal" two year old. We didn't assume that everything he did was related to the fact that he was adopted. Of course there were some behaviors that were glaringly obvious adoption related, but for the most part we treated him like any other two year old. If he misbehaved he got a time out. If he threw food he was given another chance, if the behavior continued the plate was moved out of his reach for a few minutes. We always gave it back but we made loud and clear that certain behaviors were not acceptable.

5. Avoid letting your older kids "parent" your new child.... In our case Wil came home to four older brothers and sisters, the majority of whom wanted to cuddle and provide for him in any way they could. Kelsey and Grace are extremely maternal and loved to act as a pseudo mother of sorts. We had to constantly remind them to not be the ones to console Wil, to feed him, to put him to bed, etc...We wanted to be abundantly clear that we were the parents, not them.

6. Talking to others going through the same thing.... I had a few other adoptive moms that I could talk to that did not judge me in what I was thinking or feeling. I could say things to them that I couldn't tell my close friends or even my family. There is a lot of guilt associated with not feeling the way we think we should feel. Talking to these other moms via facebook, email, the phone, in person, etc...was my saving grace. Realizing that you are not alone and that in fact you may be the majority is quite comforting.

Finally finding my groove....

2009-04-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what has changed but for the last few weeks I feel different, in my groove so to speak. It is no secret that I have struggled since Wil came home. The change in my family, the logistics of five kids, the new sibling rivalry, and not to mention the enormity of what needs to be done on a daily basis to keep a family of seven going. I have felt exhausted, at times remorseful, occasionally over my head, and quite honestly just not myself. Bringing Wil home was an amazing experience and if you can believe it, yesterday marked nine months home! But in addition to being an amazing experience it was one that left me feeling empty, guilty, and not myself. The dynamics of my "perfect family" changed overnight and in my own naivety I was left not knowing what to do. Wil coming home home was not a seamless transition. It was full of ups and downs. It was significantly more difficult than I anticipated. While everyone around me gushed over him and fell in love right away I was left with none of those same feelings. I felt nothing to tell you the truth. The nothingness was quickly replaced with animosity and then not to be outdone, guilt followed shortly after. I constantly asked myself when things were going to get better. When was I going to feel like this little guys mother and not his babysitter.

The past few weeks have been strangely different. I feel rejuvenated, in my groove. I feel like some weird dark cloud has been lifted and FINALLY I am me again. This isn't to say that everything is perfect but man, is it better! I am not sure if its the fact that Spring is here and the sun is out or if it has anything to do with having my IUD, which released progesterone, removed...or what, but I feel good. Oh and if you are wondering about the IUD, NO we are not having anymore babies!! I had begun researching it and to my surprise found that thousands of other women were having side effects from it. I have had it for four years and until I read more about it I didn't even realize I did have side effects! Since having that bad boy out I feel entirely different. I lost a few pounds of belly fat right away, my mood got better, and my hair stopped falling out!! Now to convince Phil to get snipped....

So all in all things are really good around here. Wil is potty training right now and is getting very good at making it to the "hotty". The relationship between Sam and Wil is getting better and they seem to like each other more and more. The older three kids are awesome, loving school and their friends. Our house has been framed and is getting windows installed as I type this. I am slowly working away at my list of things around here that need to be done before we sell. Phil and I booked an escape to Vegas in July with NO KIDS!! Life is good....

A trip to see Brit....

2009-04-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Now I should qualify all of this by saying that I am not a huge Britney Spears fan. I could take her or leave her but my sister and both mu daughters are die hard fans. Several months ago it was announced that Britney was coming to Canada on tour and my sister and oldest daughter announced that they would be going wherever they could to see her. Unfortunately she didn't come here but she did have a stop on her tour in a neighbouring city about three hours North of here. I agreed to go so that Grace could go too and so that my sister would have some adult company. Eventually it turned into a party of eight. The morning the tickets went on sale my sister went online and hit "best seats available"....well we got the best seats and the hefty price tag as well. The show was pretty good and my girls loved it. I thought my back was going to split open from five hours of standing. I guess the best seats are not actual seats but merely a spot in front of the stage for you to stand.

We had to arrive at the show at 4:15 to get our tickets and backstage passes. We and about 75 other were ushered into a room all set up with food and a bar and numerous circus performers. They called us up in groups of about 12 to go backstage on a tour.We were able to see the props and costumes and how the show worked, which was pretty cool. After the tour we had some more food and were able to head out onto the floor. We were literally an arms length from the stage with no one on front of us! When Britney was on stage we could have touch her, if the giant security guards would have let us!

While I would have rather bought new living room furniture with the money it was a lot of fun to get away with just my girls.

**excuse the picture quality, they were taken on my phone**

I am alive....

2009-03-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote anything! We have been extremely busy around here and honestly the blog has just not been that important. So what's new.....

* We are battling the giarrdia yet again. Wil seemed to be free and clear but then a few days ago the diarrhea started again and to top it off Sam got it again. I am neurotic with cleaning after Wil and he doesn't bathe with Sam or even in the same bathtub, we wash his clothes separately, he sleeps in his own bed, etc...but it still managed to get to Sammy again. So it has not been a good week around here. Diarrhea x two sucks....

* Wil is talking more and more but what I notice is that when you ask him questions he simply repeats the last word you said to him and doesn't really answer them. For example...if I said " do you want to go to the park?" he would respond with "park?"...I am hoping to get him to the speech therapist soon and have him evaluated.

* I am officially a University student again! I have enrolled in a few courses that are done by distance learning. It should be interesting.

* I am also officially going back to work. I really need to use the part of my brain that has not been used over the past few years at home. Not that it hasn't been fun but I need to get out of the house. The nice thing is I won't have to worry about childcare. My sister will pick up the slack if Phil is not home from work and I will only work a couple days a week. We considered getting a nanny but quite honestly I think it would be weird for my big kids and with me only working a couple days a week we should do fine without.

* They began framing the new house this week and we are being told mid September for our possession date. Everything is picked out, all the papers signed, now I can relax.

* Phil is off to Vegas with the guys for a few days and I am going to work on my ever growing list of things that need to be done around here to get the house ready to be put on the market. We ordered new carpet and it should be installed next month. I am painting all the millwork and making a few new curtains to freshen things up a bit.

* The weather here is gross. It has snowed about 8 inches in the last few days and I am beyond sick of crappy weather. I was so excited the other day when I was out and I realized I could see the pavement on my street again...then it snowed again.

* Wil had his 3rd Birthday last week and was thrilled with all his gifts and knew right away how to blow out his candles. I will get some pictures on here soon.

That's all I got for now...

Duke it out...

2009-03-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Mandy at 3+3=6 (which you can find on the side bar of my blog) has started a Hot Topic of sorts. Everyone...join in! It could get interesting!

Did you watch Ellen???

2009-03-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

That guy is the biggest dickhead on Earth. I cannot believe I actually liked him in the last season when he got dumped by De-ah-na.....I wish I could ask him a few things....

1. Why do you cry so much? I don't unusually subscribe to those gender stereotypes, such as man don't cry, but you really need to man-up! If I had to see you bawl one more time I was going to kick you in your mangina.

2. Why does your son look like a monkey? I think that Ty has the ability to restore the belief of even the most religious person, in the Theory of Evolution.

3. Where did you learn that dumping someone on national television is the classy thing to do? It must have been the same place you learned that exploring another woman's upper respiratory tract with your tongue right after is also cool.

I am now setting my hopes on Gillian, our Canadian bachelorette. I am hoping she does not embarrass herself and act like a complete loser.

Is it May yet???

2009-02-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

...and why oh why, do I live here? It is cold and nasty outside and I like many others am completely "wintered" out!

Last night my sister and I were at the lighting store trying to choose the lighting for the new house. It was painful to say the least. We get there and she asks for my floor plans, which of course I didn't bring because I was told on the phone that they had them. The woman looked at me like I was a complete retard and I returned the look to her. I also threw in a look of disdain for her poly cotton, pastel sweater. I finally got a hold of our sales guy at the show home and asked him to fax over our floor plans, which he did, but they were my sister's and not mine. I called him back, but he didn't answer. I then had to call Phil and ask him to drive to the show home, which he did. What a pain in the arse.

The woman asked what type of look I was going for and I told her craftsman, mission, simple lines and not a lot of detail. This must have translated to gaudy, tacky, finial encrusted crap to her. At first we simply smiled while she led us around looking at what to me, looked like it should adorn the walls of Graceland. After a while we just told her it was ugly and ventured out into the massively over lit store on our own while she ran behind us with her clipboard. The worst part is that everything is hung from the ceiling so you walk around like a complete moron with your head cranked backwards for two hours.

Today I am off to design the built-ins for the mudroom....

A quick synopsis....

2009-02-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

I am not sure why but lately I simply feel blogged out. It's not that I don't have anything to say or report, it is probably more likely that I have so much going on that I don't know where to start. This month has been crazy busy, from vacations and dentists appointments to new house stuff and kids activities, I am unsure if I actually sat at all. February and March is dentist and orthodontist month around here and all five kids needed cleanings, Grace had a cavity and is going for her ortho consult as well. Taking five kids to two different dentists and trying to not lose your mind in the process has been challenging. Thankfully we are almost done and have six more months before we have to repeat the saga again.

The real estate market sucks for lack of a better word and we are trying to finish the things that need fixing around this house so we can have it appraised next month and on the market by the first of May. I thought I kept our house in good shape but now that it is time to sell it I am realizing how many little things to need to be done beforehand.

The new house is slowly liquefying my brain and I am considering admitting myself to the psych unit on a voluntary 72 hour hold. I figure a few days in the loony bin would be a nice reprieve. We have almost conquered the list of suppliers we need to visit and have come to a mutual consensus (read: i win) on almost everything for the house. It SHOULD be all done by the first week of March and then I can try and relax.

I am now looking at Summer horse camps for Grace and swimming lessons for Wil and Sam. Wil is fearless in the water...and I mean fearless. He submerges himself completely and opens his eyes under the water, absolutely no fear. Hockey is almost done and the play-offs are just around the corner. Part of me hopes they go far and the other part hopes that lose right away and I can call hockey season over for yet another year.

The snow is still around but it is sunny and somewhat pleasant outside lately. This in no way means Winter is over, in fact we are sure to have at least another two or three blizzards and at least another 6 weeks of snow before Spring shows up. I am dying to get outside in bare feet, cut my lawn, and plant my annuals. I can only do Winter for so long before suicidal ideations start creeping in. I am thinking of statrting Sam in golf lessons this Spring, not because I really want him to play but because the little baby clubs are so cute.

That's all I got for now...

Disneyworld 2009....

2009-02-19T09:17:00.001-08:00

Our plane was scheduled to leave bright and early at 7am. This meant a 4am wake up for all of us to get to the airport by 5am. Unlike a typical morning the kids were not hard to rouse from their slumber.

Technology is a must on any and all vacations with kids!

...and the adults too!

We checked in later in the evening which was great, no lines! Disney is always prepared and had little seats with cartoons for the kids while the adults checked in.

Where we stayed, thanks Heidi!

Fairy Godmother!

Pluto!

A freaky Peter Pan with a really bad dye job and a Wendy with a brutal English accent.

Minnie Mouse!

Looking for decent food....

...still looking. The food was not so great and the portion sizes were ginormous! I swear that three of us could have split one meal!

Grace and Audrey spent some time at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique getting beautified. Way too cute.

Our obsession with Tom Bergeron continues!

This is what was sold at the Canadian Pavilion at EPCOT...beaver pelt hats. Just to fill all my American friends in a bit, we don't wear these. In fact I have never in my 33 years in this country ever actually witnessed anyone wearing a beaver on their head, nor have I ever seen a beaver anywhere but the zoo. We also found the totem poles amusing as well....and from what I understand the pavilion has recently been refurbished to portray Canada a bit more accurately....missed the ball...totally.

Wil and Audrey taking a nap in one of the most uncomfortable looking positions imaginable.

Blizzard Beach, which is awesome!

Sam doing what Sam does best-lounging.

After a bit too much sun.

After a bit too much Disney fun...

Home Sweet Home...

2009-02-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Disneyworld on Sunday night and I am still trying to unpack and catch up on all that was left a mess when we left. Will post pics later.

Laundry room and a question...

2009-02-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well my dear Sarah, the laundry room is a place very near and dear to my heart....With five kids I tend to spend a lot of time in my laundry room which is right now just the last undeveloped place of our basement. It currently houses a bunch of storage shelves, a cat litter box, and a deep freeze. I would take a picture to to document how truly gross it is but I am afraid the shear image would melt your retinas.

My only big request for the laundry room in the new house was that it A) had walls that did not consist of the raw part of the drywall and wood wall frames and B) it was on the main floor of the house. I am simply too lazy to make that arduous trek up and down the basement stairs.

We ended up up doing two laundry rooms in the new house. One is on the main floor, adjacent to the mudroom and the other is in the basement. The two older kids are perfectly capable of washing their own clothes and since they will take up residence in the basement so will their laundry room. They get bare bones down there, similar to what I have now. Their 's will be in the unfinished basement and will just be the machines a couple shelves, and a cupboard. I figure they probably won't frequent it all that often so the money will be better spent elsewhere.

The main floor laundry room is not all that big but I do have some ideas to make it more functional. I have wall to wall cabinets above the machines and a counter as well. I am also thinking that I may have some kind of individual bins done for each of the three younger kids and for the us and the linen closet. That way they can just gather up what is in their bins and put their own clothes away. I am also having the ironing board built into the wall opposite of the machines.

We went to the kitchen place today and she is working on the 3D drawings of the new layout for us to look at and adjust. It was mildly painful with my husband who comes up with ridiculous ideas like built in stools for the little kids to wash their hands at the sink. I am not sure who he is kidding, they don't was their hands. It will take her a couple weeks to get the drawings and of course the price to us so I will try and scan them when she does to get some opinions. I did hear her say the word "custom" a few times which in my ears sounds like cash registers going off. We may be eliminating a few things...we'll see.

Do any of you have a water softener? Do you like it? worth the money? We have had it roughed in but unsure if we will get one or not.

New House Run-Down....

2009-02-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

Last week we met with the first of about a gazillion suppliers to select the interior stuff for the house. We managed to get the plumbing done with no fighting and no bloodshed. You may think toilets and sinks are easy but I beg to differ. We then headed to the appliance place to do what I thought of as a simple task. I think it would be fair to say that the birth of my 10.5 lb baby was less painful and possibly faster.

We agreed that we wanted to keep as many of the appliances from the same manufacturer as we could to eliminate the discrepancy of different stainless steel colors. Who knew that there was even was a discrepancy! We went back and forth on the range until it got to the point that we took the quotes home and fought, I mean discussed, it at home.

I know that seems simple but let me tell you it wasn't. I love my husband but there were a few moments I considered killing him and hiding his body in a wall oven.

So tomorrow is the BIG day, the day we select our kitchen cabinets, stain colors, and kitchen layout. My head is throbbing with the multitude of choices and the fear of selecting the wrong one. I think we have decided on cream colored cabinets and a dark, almost black, distressed island.
Kind of like this....

As for the actual layout, I am completely lost on that one. My biggest choice right now is the hood fan, I know...thought provoking.
There is this kind....

...or this kind.

...or this?

or how about this?

or this??

HELP!!!!!

My PSA after a day of shopping....

2009-01-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

I am not a fashion maven. In fact I only get as fashionable as Banana Republic will let me, but I do have some insight into what is not ok to wear when out.

1. Track suits and Up-do's- If you feel inclined to clad yourself from head to toe in parachute material that is your prerogative but to do so with an up-do is wrong. A track suit denotes a pony tail at best. A backcombed french twist complete with rhinestone barrettes is not a look you want to flaunt. As well, if you choose to dress like a hot air balloon you should probably do so without the diamond earrings and over the top french manicure.

2. Boner pants- I know we have discussed this before I would like to take the time to reiterate the importance of not wearing boner pants while out in public. I am willing to go even further and say that boner pants in the privacy of your own home should also be outlawed. The last thing any man needs is to brush by the sales rack in the wrong way and declare his satisfaction to the rest of the shoppers.

3. Tapered jeans- Another favorite of mine is the need of people, especially women to sport the tapered jean. I am going to tell you right now you don't look good in them. I don't care if your husband says you do, you don't. Those who wear the tapered jean also like the look of the too short tapered jean. I guess it really completes the look? I am here to tell you if you can see your ankle bone when you look down, your pants are too short. Take them off, throw them away and back away from the trash.

4. Thongs and low rise pants- I am not sure what more I need to say about this one. If you are wearing a low rise jean then you need to either be selective in your choice of ginch or don't bend over, especially right in front of me in the food court. Even more especially when you have zits on your hairy ass. I could not finish my sandwich today because of you.

5. Displaying the family jewels- I am not sure if there is anything more disgusting than a man in tight jeans showing off his package. We all know you have a penis, we don't want to see the outline of it. I am not sure if this is a white trash mating call or what but I will say it is gross.

6. Bras- I thought this one was a no brainer but now stand corrected. Let me shed some light on this one for those of you who are in need. You need to wear a bra. Period. A little tip that I am offering is that if your boobs are swinging back and forth while you walk, your bra sucks. If you wear a button down blouse that is two sizes too small and gaping at ever button hole, you need to wear a bra because I saw your boobs today and it wasn't good. Not good at all.

7. Denim- I enjoy denim, who doesn't? But.... denim is a one article of clothing kinda deal. You cannot wear a denim jacket, a pair of jeans, and a button down denim shirt. It doesn't look good. Adding those rockin' Nike's circa 1997, does not complete the outfit and doesn't make it better.

8. The Wife Beater- If you know of anyone who wears the 'beater I suggest you cut all ties to them. Immediately. It is only a matter of time before they accessorize with a beer hat and introduce you to their girlfriend-cousin Sheila....

9. Free Clothing w/Purchase- I want to let all of you know that your local liquor store is not a clothing store. If you buy a 12-pack and it comes with a really cool t-shirt you need to dispose of it.

10. Animals and Clothing- Regardless of how much you love your weimaraner you should not wear his face on your shirt. People who wear animal motifs on their body are not normal.

The Bachelor

2009-01-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Last night in the most dramatic fashion our dear Jason sent four girls packing...

The one on one date was with Molly who to me looks like a pug. They had the excitement of staying at his place, eating crappy fast food, and then shagging in the tent in the backyard. They so got busy. Did you hear the weird noises coming from the tent when they went to commercial.

I am kinda indifferent about the pug, as she seems sweet but not that bright I do feel a bit sorry for her. I think she will last another week and then she is outta there.

Then came the two on one date with Stephanie a.k.a "the man" and Niki a.k.a "burns". I am not sure if I have ever seen anything that awkward in a long time unless you count the attempt at Niki and Jason kissing last week which was more than just comical. They had some weird ball dancing lesson, ate some dinner and then Jason had to choose between the two. Burns was sent packing which is no surprise considering she for sure has OCD and more than likely more body hair than he does. Jason decided to keep Stephanie which I am assuming was only to see if she really does pee standing up. Did anyone else notice how sweaty they all looked? Maybe the threee of them had a tent set up too?!

Then they had some lame date on the set of General Hospital, which proved to just be a giant make out session. Is it me or does this guy kiss everyone? I would sure hate to be last in line on any given day...blech. And did you see the pig Megan go in for the kill? She looked to be searching his larynx with her tongue for lost treasure, very becoming of a lady.

No one vomited this week at the rose ceremony but it was not without bodily fluids since every freakin' girl was crying about something or other. At the end of the night Jason in typical Bachelor drama could not bring himself to give out the final rose. So Shannon, the buck toothed psychopathic hygienist went home along with bitchy Lauren, and slimy Megan.

Oh and Lisa, Dee-Ah-Na has not yet resurfaced....i am sure when she does it will simply be .....THE MOST DRAMATIC ROSE CEREMONY IN BACHELOR HISTORY!!!

A few more....

2009-01-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Blame Sarah...

2009-01-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you that do not want to here about cabinets, floors, paint, and more, I suggest you skip over this one. The rest of you can blame my wonderful friend Sarah for the following....

Ok, I am thinking hardwood is the way to go. I went to the kitchen place today to preview the choices before our appointment next week. In part to help provide some clarity to myself and in part to spare the poor sales person from my incoherent rambling and indecisiveness. I was on a hunt for nice wood cabinets, not super dark and not maple, which is what we have now. It was not a simple task. I picked a few and got some samples to come home with. I think I hate them all. One is too dark, one is too weird, and the other isn't even wood color, it's cream. I hate kitchen cupboards now.

I have decided to try and choose something less stressful and have moved from stain color to cabinet style.

These are a few that I like. The top piece is the drawer fronts and the bottom is the cupboard. The one that has a flat drawer piece can be altered to have a matching raised drawer front if we want....These are just done in a natural finsih and I will pick the finish after. The ceilings are nine feet in the kitchen and the cabinets will go right to the ceiling. They will be normal cupboards and then the top will be glass fron smaller cabinets. I need to decide on which glass fronts I like as well.....

Trivial Post

2009-01-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

I am working on something more significant but as of right now this is my burning issue...

Hardwood Vs. Ceramic Tile

As of next week we have to start making the choices for our new house and as shallow and trivial as it may sound, I am actually losing sleep over what to pick. Yes, I am fully aware people are starving, and the world is an unjust and nasty place, but humor me....

Here is the issue. I love wood floors. I love the way they look, feel, etc. They are lovely and warm and make a house look homey. They don't make my back ache when I stand on them, they are definitely more "me". The down side is with five kids, a messy husband, and a cat, they get scratched and dented and need more maintenance. They show dirt more and I have to sweep at least three times a day (after each meal) and mop at least 1-2 times per week.

The tile option is nice because they are essentially indestructible, require little maintenance, and even if you were to run across them in shoes I would not have a complete meltdown. Sadly, they aren't as pretty and I think they feel kind of cold. So what do I do?

Another thing to add to my quandary is that the floor will also determine my cupboard selection. If I go with wood I will be more likely to go with a cream colored cabinet. I think that wood floors and wood cabinets may be too much? and want to avoid Woodfest 2009. If I go with tile though I would be more likely to pick wood cabinets... For the record, I like both. I do think though that the cream color would be a bitch to keep clean with five kids, and a messy husband.

So if it were you, what would you pick? The appliances are stainless steel if that helps and the wall color is a taupe-sand color. The baseboards and window/door casings are cream colored and the granite is probably going to be light, maybe cream with a bit of brown/gold color in it.

Bullet Post

2009-01-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

I have very little time as of late to write much of anything here but I will give it a try...

* Sam is sick. This may not sound like a big deal but let me tell you when that blue eyed, blond haired baby is sick-WATCH OUT! The kid becomes what we affectionately call Little Stalin. To say he is miserable and grouchy would be a gross understatement, what would be more accurate would be to say he is a cantankerous dictator. We went to the doctor last night and he is now on antibiotics to clear up what we are assuming is a nasty chest infection.

* Today we start the arduous and stressful process of picking out all the new stuff for the interior of the new house. I am feeling more than a bit overwhelmed with the amount of things that need to be decided upon and am hoping that I don't pick wrong and end up living in an unmatching horror story.

* I have developed a new hatred of my fellow Y work outers. This week it is the one's who choose the treadmills with the TV's in them and then do not watch TV. If you are going to listen to your IPOD and not watch TV then head over to the TV-less treadmills. I actually felt my fists clench when this annoying woman took the last good treadmill and then proceeded to read a magazine.

* I also have decided that to those of you that feel the need to pass gas while running and think that the rest of us don't hear it or smell it, well let's just say there is a special place in Hell for you.

* Kelsey is writing midterms right now and because she attends a semestered school she has a whopping two to write. Then she gets almost two weeks off school to allow the grade 12 students to write their diploma exams in peace and to have extra study time. What a joke. I attended a non-semestered school, had five exams to write at a time and didn't get a day off for anything. I don't think we even got extra study time in University!

* Wil has foul poop again and without going into too much detail I am seriously considering have the nerves that conduct impulses to my nose surgically removed.

* Then there is this....

This is Freda. The woman has been an icon in our neck of the woods since I was in junior high school. At that time she could still walk and would frequent the community shopping center that myself and all my friends worked at. Freda is not handicapped per se, she is simply too big to walk now. Years ago we would see her waddle her way into the stores and we would all call each other to let the other know that we had a sighting, it was probably cruel and most definitely immature, and I would like to say that we have grown up since then....Sadly as evidenced by my husbands recent cell phone pictures we have not. In this shot Freda, in her electric chair, that she rides side saddle in, decided against going in to get her coffee and instead went through the drive-thru. Freda is probably the rudest and most foul person I have ever met. Freda does not think twice about ramming you in her chair, cutting ahead of you in line at Walmart, and seen here, butting in line at Tim Horton's. Up until recently there was a Facebook group dedicated to Freda sightings, but sadly it got taken down because these shots would have been perfect.
I should also add that Freda is married to "Lurch" you know the guy from the Adam's family? Although, no one has seen him recently and we are thinking Freda may have eaten him.

YMCA ramblings...

2009-01-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

I have now been going to the Y for five months. In that five months I have not only lost a few pounds and surely made my heart happier, I have also noticed that some of the weirdest people on Earth go there too. Take for instance this one guy who I have seen on numerous occasions, who walks the track in jeans and a leather coat. What's with that? Then the other day I saw a woman not only walking the track with her coat on but carrying a Safeway bag full of groceries?? What is she doing?

There is another real star of a guy who looks like he stepped directly out of his Delorian and onto the track of our local YMCA. The guy wears boner pants, which should in itself sum him up. I run on the treadmill and the track circles me. I have made the mistake of looking up numerous times right at the exact moment he runs by me. I am pretty sure that now he thinks I am trying to pick him up which couldn't be further from the truth. I have noticed that he goes out of his way to warm up beside me. I am hopeful his boner pants don't give him away.

Then there is this weird old guy who is trying very hard to emulate Stevie Wonder. As he works out on the elliptical he listens to his music and closes his eyes, swaying back and forth to the beat. I cannot help but laugh out loud at him. I try to be subtle but find myself pointing and gawking. I wonder if that is wrong?

Then there is the group of girls who come to "work out". They arrive in full make-up, short black shorts and never break a sweat, not even a hint of dew forms on their overly made up faces. I noticed yesterday that one of them wears these weird lace up boot runners, kind of like a wrestler. I think she may be the ring leader.

On a side note not directly related to the people at the Y, I sunk to an all time low while working out yesterday. I was listening to my music and flipping through the channels on the TV when I came across something I have never seen before, and like a car wreck I stopped to watch. It was a competition for the strongest man. I swear, I have never seen anything so stupid as long as I have lived. Here on national television these weird looking men with no necks compete in events to be considered the strongest and possibly stupidest man on Earth. I tuned in just in time to see some neanderthal man lifting kegs above his head and throwing them up and over a banner like thing. After he was done and the white trash crowd was done cheering he would tear off his shirt and be interviewed by some reported who obviously drew the short straw that day. I am willing to hedge a bet that if you were to take the mean IQ in that crowd it would hover somewhere around 35.

I got nothing....

2009-01-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

I have been a little light on blogging material as of late, no reason really. I guess i just don't have much to say.

The Bachelor~ Part 2

2009-01-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Well, did you watch? I hope so. I recorded it and then booted the little and loud kids to bed and watched.....

The Losers.....

Freaky medical student, Raquel got the boot last night. I wasn't surprised at this one, she didn't really seem like his type and what was with her getting into his limo and waiting for him? Did you see the look on his face? The poor guy is not the best at hiding his emotions and I couldn't tell if he was more appalled or scared of her sitting in wait. Anyways, she was gross, maybe they don't have shampoo in Brazil because she was greasy and gross.

Weird and elf-like Sharon also hit the pavement last nigh which is of very little loss. She was part elf and part mute and I honestly don't recall her stringing more than three words together in the four hours the show has been on for. I didn't think she would take it as hard as she did considering her crossed and beady eye's, I wasn't sure she saw much more than the bridge of her nose the entire show.

Then in a dramatic (insert gagging sound here) turn of events another girl left the show voluntarily to be with her ailing Grandma.

Lisa, A.K.A Olive-Oil, left the show with about as much flair as when she entered and for those of you wondering, that was with zero flair. The girl was as boring as they get.

The Nuts that Remain...

I still don't get this one, she is beyond weird. How in the heck can he not see that she is a complete stalker? I really hope little Ty doesn't have a pet bunny if this girl ever comes over. I am willing to bet that if I went into my basement right now and went through all my old textbooks I would find her picture on numerous pages of the ole DSM IV. She is absolutely certifiable and what is with her teeth? She says she is a dental hygienist and is obsessed with good teeth and yet hers are sticking out all over the place. Reminds me of when old people push their dentures forward to scare young kids, oh wait, maybe that was just my Grandma, whatever you get the point. This one needs to go.

I am not sure what bugs me most about Stephanie. Is it the fact that the show is trying to pass her off as 34, which is clearly not the case since she appears to be about 40. Is it the weird plastic-ness of her face and the fact that it doesn't move, no matter what. Is it her freakishly long eyebrows that go from the bridge of her nose to her temples. Side note- can you imagine if elf-like Sharon had those brows? She would always have a hair in her eye! or is it simply that this woman...has a penis!! She is not a woman. She is some state of transition and I am going to guarantee you that when Jason and her choose to forgo their individual rooms and stay together as a couple in the fantasy suite, his intention wasn't to play a game of pitcher/catcher.

Then there is Megan, looks cute, right? Well I think she is a complete loon as well. You wait, she is going to get in some kind of cat fight before the show is over and who leaves their baby at home to come to do the show? Megan is the type of girl that even at the beginning of the night when the party is just starting and you are supposed to look good and put together, looks like she has been on a two day bender. Every time you see her she looks disheveled and drunk. Megan fits the eloquent statement said by many "she looks like she has been ridden hard and put away wet".

Then there is Natalie, A.K.A Sunkist. Does anyone else notice that this girl is actually orange? Has no one the common decency to say "Hey Natalie, you are looking exactly like a freakin' Sunkist and I think you should lay off the tanning beds/creams/sprays?" I am actually worried this girl may have some weird form of jaundice and may be in need of a liver transplant. In my opinion this girl is a complete dud and will go home soon.

My Fave Thus Far...

I am picking Jillian as my favorite so far. First, she is normal. Second, she is a good Canadian girl so I am being patriotic. Third, she doesn't have a penis.

Teens con't...

2009-01-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well, Kelsey is 15 now closer and for the most part is a good kid. To this point there has been about 3 or 4 parties this school year that she has gone to in which I know alcohol is available. Parents are usually home but I am not sure that reassures me much since they letting underage kids drink in their house....doesn't exactly lend itself to responsible parenting in my opinion.

Before I had a teenager in the house I was adamant that I was not going to provide them with drinks or be OK with it, after all laws are made for a reason and at the age of 15 or 16 you are simply not mature enough to handle drinking and the decisions that accompany it. After a while I realized that all my ranting and raving about laws and underage drinking were simply making the idea more and more tempting and we all know what teens do when they are told not to do something!

A while ago she and her friends got vodka from another parents house and between the three of them drank the entire bottle, in about 45 min, needless to say she did not fair well. She had enough sense to call us and ask us to come and get her, which we did. I was very torn as to what I was supposed to do next, she made a bad decision but then chose to not make it worse and called home. After a lot of thought we decided to ground her but to also explain how proud we were that she made some good decisions as well. Since then I have had a change of heart.

Now when she is going to a party we allow her to take a couple coolers with her and and have since had no issue, in fact on more than one occasion she brought them home without drinking them. It seems that making the act less taboo has taken away some of the excitement and has lent itself to her not really being that interested in it. We also insist that we are the ones to both drive and pick her up from all parties and no sleep overs at other friends post party, which makes her far more accountable since she knows she is coming home at the end of the night.

We drink in our house, not til the point of a lot but we are known to have people over and have a few drinks. We don't make it a big deal, all of our friends have a designated driver, and no one acts irresponsibly. If one of the older kids asks for a sip, I give it to them, Ty asked for a cooler one night and I gave it to him, he took three sips, told me it was gross and threw it out. I truly believe that by taking the mystery out of it they are less likely to over do it later.

I have the same way of thinking when it comes to sex. While the triple locked chastity belt sounds intriguing I realize they will probably hire a locksmith before their wedding night and have that bad boy removed. I have sat with Kels for a long time and talked about birth control, what is effective and what is not, where to get it, etc...I have made it very clear to her that when she decides to have sex I want her safe and if that means driving her to the doctor myself to get it I will. I am crossing every possible appendage that day is still far off....

Teens

2009-01-12T11:09:00.001-08:00

Kelsey is obviously our first run at teenager-hood and for the most part it has been a good run. Being a teen today is so much different then when I was one. I sometimes think I am being over protective and other times feel like I am far to lenient. I can't seem to strike that perfect balance between wanting her to be a kid and make mistakes and wanting her to stay a little kid. It's hard.

We are very open in our house about pretty much everything, nothing is really off limit when it comes to what I will talk about with my kids. We talk about sex, drugs, drinking, etc...for the most part they seem to be very open and are hardly ever embarrassed when asking something, which to me is a good thing.

Here the drinking age is 18. Many of the parties she goes to are ones in which alcohol is present. I struggle with letting her go. I know that she is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. I know none of her friends are yet driving so the drinking and driving part isn't as much of an issue, although we have drilled it into her head at any given chance.

We were talking on New Year's about kids, alcohol, sex, etc and the views were as different as night and day. Some of our friends were absolutely against their kids going to parties with booze, other's were willing to give their kid a couple coolers as long as they were the one's doing the pick up and drop offs. A few others wanted to turn the 'ole blind eye to the entire thing and figured if they wanted to get a few drinks underage they could do what we all did and sneak it from their parents. Some taught abstinence only and left it at that, other's would drive their child to get birth control if needed, and still other's chose to ignore it was even an issue.

My question is...what will you do? or what have you already done?

Back-Handed compliments...

2009-01-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

The other day one of Grace's friends was over playing. The little girl is nice enough and I have met her parents several times at various school functions or during pick up/ drop offs. The other day she was waiting inside the house for her daughter to get her stuff together to go home when she said to me "you keep your house really clean, I only wish..." I sort of smiled and replied with the standard "well, I like a clean house". She kind of smiled and then said "imagine if you didn't have to clean so much how much free time you would have, to play with the kids and stuff...." I didn't really know what to say, not knowing this woman enough to tell her to screw off and being too polite to spit on her, I simply smiled.

While I know this should not bug me and should not merit a rant on the blog, it's going to get one. I like my house clean and I am not sure what exactly is wrong with that. I stay home with my kids, drive them to every sporting event they have, host their friends at our house almost daily, tuck them in every night, eat dinner with them every evening, and I don't spend enough time with them??

I grew up for several years with a single mom. She worked full time to provide for us and would then come home everyday and cook dinner, play with us, read to us, tuck us in, make our lunches for the next day, wait for my Grandma to come over and then go back out for another few hours to clean office buildings while we slept to make extra money. I had no idea while growing up that we had no money, in fact I thought we had plenty. We had nice clothes, lots of toys, a nice clean house, etc...I can remember being small and my mom cleaning up, she would play the music loud and we would dance around the house to Tina Turner and Lionel Ritchie. We were always told that we should never take things or people for granted. We should tell the people we love that we love them, we should spend time with our family and friends, and that if you were lucky enough to own something it should be taken care of, this went for our house as well. My mom was proud of our little house, she would always say that it doesn't matter how much something cost, it should be taken care of.

When my mom remarried she married a man with a great job, a big house and money to spare. This didn't change her, she made sure the house was always clean. She would tell us to live in a mess was in a way showing disrespect for the time it took her earn the money to pay for the item. I guess it just stuck with me...

Phil and I work hard both in and out of the home and we feel that to live in a mess models a sense of disrespect for our kids. I am the first to acknowledge that people and time are far more precious than material goods, but to not care for what you have is a slippery slope. I want my kids to value things in life. I want them to value their bodies, to do this we as parents eat healthy and exercise. If we simply sat around eating crap food and then wondered how our kids joined the ranks of the growing childhood obesity epidemic, we would be kidding ourselves. If we left piles of dishes in the sink and garbage laying around and then wondered why our kids didn't take better care of their toys, we again would be kidding ourselves.

Now don't get me wrong my house is not in prefect condition, far from it. There are dings in the wall that have been filled and sanded but lack paint. There are toys on the floor in various rooms of the house, and I think I may have left the tub toys in the bath after last nights scrub down. I don't spend hours on end cleaning and I don't miss out on the activities of my family simply because my house is tidy...I think next time I will just tell her to screw off.

I am not ashamed....

2009-01-06T18:07:00.001-08:00

...to say I watch "The Bachelor", in fact I am proud! I officially make Tuesday "the day after Bachelor day" around here. So if you are not a fan I suggest you become one....

So last night was the season premiere and our darling single dad Jason was back. After being ditched at the alter last season by Deanna, and remember that's De-AH-nna, he is back to find his one true love. Well the pickings are slim. Here are my top three of weirdest bachelorettes....

This is 29 year old Shannon, a dental hygienist. Shannon is definitely a stalker, knowing everything about the bachelor from his birthday and his brother's names to who his siblings are dating. I am willing to bet she has gone through his garbage and watched him from a parked car. She is obsessed with teeth and as my husband so eloquently puts it, hers are able to eat an apple through a barbed wire fence.

Now meet Erica, I am not sure why he has kept her in the running as she appears to be quite gross. I am willing to go out on a limb here and say that this girl can not only belch the alphabet but is probably in the running for being the world's best armpit farter...

Finally we have Stephanie, a 34 year old single mom whose husband died in a plane crash. I am pretty convinced not only is Stephanie not 34 like she says but is also not a woman. I am thinking she is still in the "transitioning" stage. Again, I am willing to go all out and say that she may have boobs but below the waist it is "The Crying Game" for sure.....

Anybody have any favorites yet? or am I the only one brave enough to admit I watch???

Weird

2009-01-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Did anyone catch 20/20 on Friday night? Were you not completely weirded out by these people? For those who were not so lucky and missed it, here's the synopsis. The show was about "Extreme Motherhood" and it showed and discussed some weird and in my opinion slightly twisted aspects of motherhood, birth, and trying to become a mother.

The first segment was on orgasmic birth. Yup you read that right. These women report that not only was birth pain free it was pleasurable-orgasmic! I am sorry, I have had four babies, three with no meds and it was far from orgasmic.

The next was about women who bought these weird and slightly creepy dolls and then pretend they are real babies. They are called "reborns". One woman goes so far as to take her "baby" out in a stroller to the park as if it's real. They have nurseries for them, name them, have Birthday parties for them....I am thinking these women are in need of some serious psychiatric intervention.

Then they profiled woman who act as surrogates for infertile couples, great right? Well the ones they profiled were surrogates to the maximum, having carried 12 or more babies for childless couples. They self admitted being addicted to it. One of the nut jobs inseminates herself at home with a syringe using the man's sperm, very scientific I am sure. So scientific that she actually got pregnant, gave the baby to the awaiting couple only to find out later it was actually the baby of her and her boyfriend.

If that isn't weird enough, what about women who breastfeed their kids well into their elementary school age years. Like let's say 8 or 9...I am all for breastfeeding. I am all for breastfeeding toddlers, but 8 or 9 years old? That is weird, very weird. I really think that woman needs to ask herself who is benefiting more from that relationship, her or the child.

Finally, they looked at home births. I am a big advocate of having your baby at home, but these women not only gave birth at home they chose to do so with NO medical help. No midwife, nothing, just them. Is that not a bit absurd to you?

Trying to figure out my new lens...

2009-01-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sledding fun...

2009-01-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

I was born and raised right here in Canada and yet I still have not gotten used to cold temperatures. In fact, I hate Winter. I am not sure if hate is even a strong enough word to describe the way I feel about it....

Yesterday I decided to go against my love of warmth and join everyone in tobogganing...and it was actually fun! Sam is a complete daredevil and just jumps on and goes, without any fear of personal safety. I was curious to see how Wil was going to do since he has not quite acclimated to the frigid temperatures yet....but, he LOVED it! He does get this look on his face when we go outside and it's really cold out, kind of a "what the hell is wrong with you people" kind of look....

Sam was in his glory on the hill. He flew off more than a few times and not a tear was shed. He just grabbed his sled and ran right back to the top to go again. It was pretty funny considering how nervous he usually is about stuff like this. That night when I was laying with him in bed he said "I got a good 'dea (idea), let's go get me my own sled tomorrow!" I told him we would go out and see if any were still on the store shelves. This morning we found a nice shiny, red sled. Sam is thrilled. Wil was way braver than I thought he would be. He sat on the sled with a perma grin on his face the entire time. About half way down each run he would start laughing. After one wipe out he was still smiling.
As per usual in my house when I went to get some Winter gear on, everything of mine was nowhere to be found. I ended up in Kelsey's jacket, a spare toque, and Grace's gloves.

Grace loved it as usual. She is the kind of kid who finds fun in pretty much anything. Taking Wil down the hill was her favorite part of the day. Check out his grin!

My sister looking ever so stylish in her matching Winter ensemble and me in my potpourri of clothing.

Sam and Wil taking a break.

Phil wearing a hat that everyone including myself think is underwear.

My niece Audrey, was not too thrilled about the experience.

My nephew Jack, was a complete tard on the hill and in typical boy fashion loved every second of it!

Resoulutions...

2009-01-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Do you make them? I am not a fan of New Years resolutions....First because they almost always get broken, so why bother. Second because I think if you really want to make changes in your life and if you are really serious about them you wouldn't have waited til New Year's to do so...

I have decided to not make resolutions but to make "continuations"...to build on things I have already started, to refine them or make them better. Some are important while others are completely superficial. There are quite a few, so here it goes...

1. To continue to go to the gym at least three times per week. To continue building up my speed at which I run on the treadmill and to finally find my bum.

2. To learn more about photography, which is something I am really interested in. I bought a nice Nikon D60 back in the Spring and recently bought a Nikor 50mm f1.8 lens to go with it. I may try a self learning approach or maybe a class or two.

3. To learn some new recipes for dinner. It has only been in the last few months that I finally begun cooking dinner, a task that up until then has been Phil's. I am going to try a few more creative meals this year and conquer my fear of a horrid dinner.

4. I am going to continue taking better care of my skin. I fear wrinkles like the plague and have been very anal lately about which products I use. My skin feels and looks great, so I want to keep it that way.

5. I think the only real "change" I am going to make this year is to slowly become a vegetarian, with the exception of fish. I really do love a good ole juicy steak but after a lot of reading I have come to realize how grossly unhealthy most of the meat we eat truly is. For now I am cutting out red meat and pork and will slowly cut out my yummy chicken. Wish me luck, I have a very meat loving husband.

What about you guys, any resolutions?

2008...a year in pictures.

2008-12-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

January- We spent eight great days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my sister's family and our neighbours. It was warm, relaxing, and a lot of fun. We ate too much, drank too much, and generally became a complete bunch of sloths.

February- This was the month that "I didn't do it" came to visit our house for the umpteenth time. This time the pantry door was the unfortunate victim.

Ty's team won their hockey tournament in an awesome game.

Grace started English riding lessons.

March- Sammy began his skating lessons in hopes of becoming a future NHL star.

It continued to snow....

I continued to make lunches and began to long for the Summer to come...

April- Phil and I headed to Vegas, after all we were told Wil would be home any day and we wanted one last grown up vacation. We all know how that panned out....

May- I had the arduous and ridiculous task of sewing dozens of terry cloth strips to a unitard for Grace's musical theater recital.

June- Kelsey graduated from junior high and was now high school bound....

The "blower-slide" thingy was purchased and was about to become the hit of the Summer....

Grace and her friend Zoe, made slide rules to ensure a safe and fun time was had by all.

July- Wil FINALLY came home...

August- There was Star Wars birthdays....

Trips to Kelowna...

September- Brought back to school.

...and yummy pies!

October- Brought Halloween fun...

November- Was our first family vacation of seven...to Mexico, of course!

December- Christmas, of course!

...and Phil in weird long john's.

I00 things...

2008-12-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

Well another year has passed and I am EXHAUSTED!! I am not sure why Christmas and the festivities that go with it are so draining but man am I tired. My house did and still does resemble a frat house. I have about ten loads of laundry, washed and folded and still needing to be put away. I need to change sheets on beds before they get up and wash themselves. I still need to hang up the new clothes all the kids got for Christmas and put away the mountains of toys....

Phil and I got the little kids to bed on Christmas eve after a few rousing games of Big Brain Academy on the Wii. We hoped to get the Santa gifts out, fill the stockings and go to bed but we ended up watching some stupid movie on Movie Central and didn't get to be until way after one in the morning.

This is Wil checking out one of many new cars he got this year. It came with a plastic stop sign which held his attention much longer than the car itself.

Grace is opening her stocking with a little help from Wil. Once Wil learned what unwrapping was all about he was a mad man, unwrapping any gift he could get his hands on, regardless of if it was his to open.

Now I know it's cold this time of year but we still cannot explain why Ty came upstairs wrapped in a Mexican blanket with a toque on. He is not really that normal...

Kelsey racked in the new clothes this year. It was all she asked for and I swear it was waist high when she was done unwrapping. Then she spent nine hours yesterday going Boxing Day shopping...

Sam was thrilled that Santa remembered what he had told him and brought a big pile of Speed Racers. I was just happy the girl at Toys R Us knew what Speed Racers were and was able to point me in the right direction.

Wil loved the Smarties in his stocking and wouldn't put them down for much of the day.

The kids and I opening gifts. I tend to get very dressed up for Christmas morning. Can't you tell?

Sam got a new Darth Vader costume, which was a big hit.

Even Wil got in on the Darth action!

Remember what I said about a clean house?? Obviously doesn't hold true for Christmas morning!

Hope it was a good one...

2008-12-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

...more pictures to come, after I dig myself out of the filth of my home.

Most proud of....

2008-12-24T11:18:00.001-08:00

My blogger friend Sarah, challenged us to say what we are most proud of this year. I being the woman I am have risen to the challenge and ask all of you, my loyal readers, to do the same! So here it goes...

1. I am proud of my kids. They are quirky, weird, and sometimes annoying but they are mine, all mine. I am proud I have kids that people actually like, with their own opinions and personalities. I have kids who will shake your hand when they meet you, look you in the eye when they speak to you, kids that are aware of the world around them. I have kids who do not blindly bow to authority simply because they should. I have kids who question things and try and make sense of the things that are hard to make sense of. I have kids who are people I like and want to be around. They are not perfect, but are pretty perfect to me.

2. I am proud of my man. I don't think I could ask for a harder working husband. He works six days a week and has for years with never a complaint while doing so, mind you I think work is a lot quieter than home....I have a husband who provides for us far above what I could have ever asked for and because of this I can stay home with the kids, which may simply be his plan to slowly erode my will to live and collect the insurance money, but regardless he is a good man. After 18 years of being "together" he still thinks I am hot, still grabs my butt as I walk ahead of him up the stairs, still loves me the best.

3. I am proud I do not wear tapered, pale, jeans. I am proud I am not stuck in some weird fashion vortex and still believe that the lighter the better. I am proud my jeans cover my ankles and do not ride up around my belly button. I am proud I do not wear stirrup pants with over sized sweaters. I am proud I have moved past banana clips, and feathered hair. I am proud to have left blue eye liner in the 90's and that my lipstick does not look like Crisco.

4. I am proud of my friends. They are a weird bunch, none the same but all great. I think our friends play such an important role in our lives and as we get older and get consumed in family life so many of those friendships get forgotten. I have friends that I can not talk to for weeks and pick up right where we left off. They are fun, they are insane at times. They have been there for me always.

5. I am proud I am not a member of the Duggar family. Those have to be the weirdest bunch of people I have ever seen. I am proud I do not have 18 kids and still wanting for more. I am proud I am not trying some weird alliteration record with my kids first names. I am proud my uterus and bladder is not moments away from falling out of my vagina from so many births. I am proud my home is a home and not an assembly line of robotic children working to care for those younger than them because Jim-Bob can't keep it in his pants.

6. I am proud we can expose our kids to the world. I know how lucky we are to be able to travel with our brood and expose them to all the world has to offer. I am proud my kids adapt to where they are, try new foods and see new sights. I am thrilled to be able to take them places that they may never see again, to create memories that they will have forever.

7. I am proud I am not a lazy slob anymore. I have always hated exercise. I have always heard people go on and on about how they are addicted to it and if they don't get an exercise fix they feel gross, I have never for the life of me understood it. I do now. I am proud that three times a week I drag my flat butt off to the Y and run. I am proud I am now able to do so without feeling like I was going to barf. I am proud my waist is slowly coming back, although finding my old butt still eludes me.

8. I am proud I am sane and remain unmedicated. I am thrilled that I have been able to stay sane with the chaos of my life. I am proud that I can juggle a clean home, mountains of laundry, five loud kids, all of their friends, and still not be addicted to any substance other than diet coke. I am proud I can still remember how to form words at the end of the night when a few hours earlier I was contemplating how much of my frontal lobe had melted that day.

9. I am proud of my home. I love a clean and somewhat orderly home and for the most part that is what I have. I am proud that people can come over and I do not have to use a snow shovel to clean the debris to make room for them on the couch. I am proud that I do not stick to the floor when I walk on it, although it has been known to be on the crunchy side after meals. I am proud the toilet does not resemble Shrek's swamp and that when using the facilities one does not have to close their eyes and plug their nose.

10. Finally, I am proud of this season of the Bachelor. I love that wimpy, single dad and hope he finds true love this season, which by the way starts in only a few short weeks. I am proud that every Monday night starting on January 5th, I will plop my flat butt down on the couch and watch true love bloom. I will listen to my husbands moan and groan about me watching it and then he too will become addicted and watch right along with me. For this I am proud.....

Open blog...for now!

2008-12-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

I have opened up my blog for a few days because after posting on a few other blogs I have been asked if I could invite them to mine....so to make it easy, if you are new to my blog and want an invite please leave a comment with who you are and where you found my blog and I will send you an invite.

Christmas fun begins...

2008-12-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

For the past few years we have had a pre-Christmas party with a few friends. This year it happened to land on Phil's 35th birthday. Remarkably the house is still standing and no one barfed! The kids out numbered us this year 16-18.

This is my neighbour and friend, Corrine. Our girls are best friends and have been since they moved in six years ago. Last month she and her family moved a few blocks over, about 30 feet from our new house! This is the beginning of the night....

This is my sister and her husband, Jason. This was them attempting to kick some ass on Big Brain Academy on Wii, they did not succeed.

This is Jason and Aaron. If you look closely you can see the festive porn 'stache that Aaron is sporting. You can also see Jason making fun of said 'stache.

This is Aaron feeding his daughter some beer. This is what high class people do at parties, didn't you know??

This Char and Matt while Char could still stand. They have 5 kids as well and three of them are the same age as my oldest three and have been friends for years.

This is Jamie and his girlfriend, Melissa. If you remember they came to Mexico with us and they looked this happy in Mexico too! Jamie and Phil have been friends since they were 10 and I have known him since Phil and I started dating at 15. The world including Melissa think Jamie is gay, even gay people think he's gay, he does not think he is gay.

I could go on and on with people you don't know but I will spare you the weird and slightly dysfunctional details and leave you with this beauty....

This is my sister and I near the end of the night...no further description needed.

Party on...

2008-12-20T12:03:00.001-08:00

Tonight is our Christmas/Phil's 35th Birthday party. I may be unresponsive after tonight. Wish me luck.

Feeling better...

2008-12-18T20:13:00.000-08:00

Without too much detail I am going to say I am feeling better. Hopefully that was the last of it. I braved the fridgid temperatures and went to the walk in clinic tonight to get a prescription for flagyl, just in case. When I told the doc what I thought I had, I swear he backed up and kind of threw the prescription at me. It may have been my imagination but I am pretty sure it happened.... I am not going to start taking it tonight and only will if I feel ill tomorrow. I guess alcohol and flagyl don't mix and we are having a party of Saturday....I promised my husband I would drink since it's his 35th birthday....enough said!

Tomorrow is Sam's preschool Christmas concert and my last day to get a few things done before all five are off school. Wish me luck as I am sure every other mom is thinking the same thing and they will be out in full force tomorrow. I am hoping Sam will actually break free of my leg for long enough to stand with the class and not sing.

The other day his teacher commented that he will not color in school, won't even try. I am not sure what that is about since he seems to enjoy it at home. I guess she is concerned about this, so we will work on coloring over the Christmas break, and then boy will we show her....

Preschool Christmas

2008-12-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today Santa stopped in at Sam's preschool to say hello to the kids and hand out little gifts. Wil was not phased by any of it and when he saw Sam go up for his turn he jumped up to join him. Sam has told Santa twice now, once at the mall and now today that he wants a Speed Racer for Christmas. I have no idea what this is, so tomorrow I will comb the shelves of Toys R Us to find one. Wil only wanted the candy cane, he keeps it simple.

I have not felt so hot today and without going into any detail let me just say I am hoping I do not have what the boys have. The last thing I need a week before Christmas and three days before I have 30 people over for a pre-Christmas party, is giarrdia. Wish me luck that it is a 24 hour bug.

Rambling....

2008-12-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

Our oven stopped working on Sunday night and today I got to sit and wait for the repairman, who I swear was not speaking English to me. He told me what what was wrong, I had no idea what he was saying, and then he fixed it, all to the tune of $253.00. Wonderful.

Do you ever shake your head at your children and wonder if they were accidentally dropped on their head without you knowing it? I swear Ty sends me the weirdest and sometime kinda alarming text messages, take today's for example..."can you go blind from putting tiger balm under your eyes?". I can just picture him sitting there after some dumbass stunt with burred vision, madly texting me to see if he is about to lose his sight. What a kid.

The basement is almost done and I swear painting works muscle groups that no machine at the gym can find. My neck, back, and shoulders are killing me. Phil says his right index finger is also a bit sore from the gaming he and nerd-boy did last night while I slaved over the paint can.

Mandy, Wil says a big "Thank-You" for his kitty. It is the perfect size and he packs it around everywhere with him.

Weekend in review...

2008-12-15T07:45:00.001-08:00

It is cold here, and when I say cold I mean really freakin' cold. This morning was a wonderful minus 40 with the windchill. It's so cold that if you breath in through your nose while outside your nostrils stick together and while this is fun, it is not fun enough to excuse the temperatures. Since it has been so hellish outside we spent most of the weekend inside.

Saturday while Phil was at work I worked on painting the basement which is not fun to do while watching five kids as well. Whenever I am busy with a particular task the kids get busy on torching the house. So for every wall that got painted a room upstairs got messed up. Saturday night was my mom and her husbands pseudo Christmas dinner. The past two years they have escaped the tundra and gone to Hawaii or Mexico so we do our gifts and dinner a bit early. They rent out the party room in their apartment to avoid the destruction of their trendy downtown pad and we avoid the stress of our children spilling, smashing, screaming, etc...

Wil was big into opening presents, not so much what was inside but the actual act of opening was a big hit.

Wil checking out his new "machines".

This was an attempt to get a shot of my sister, mom, and myself, but Phil is brutal with a camera.

He spent most of the evening trying to get shots of me bending over...

...or in this case down my sister's shirt. He is real high class kind of guy.

Kelsey got a new camera and was pretty pumped. She loves to take pictures of her friends and is usually the one behind the camera on vacations as well.
Ty got yet another gaming system, which is just what he needs to add to his collection. I call him my "nerd" when he is down in the basement playing his nerd games with other nerds online.

Grace got a pile of new clothes from grandma, a HS3 board game (which I am hoping I will never have to play), and a bunch of new stuff. She is just happy to get her picture taken, now that she is the official middle child she tends to get lost in the shuffle. poor kid.

Sam, my little baby had a grand time running around with his cousins, getting into trouble, and eating more chocolate than actual dinner.

All in all it was a good night and the kids were kept busy on Sunday when we stuck close to home as the temperatures dropped to about minus 45 with the windchill....

Hanging out....

2008-12-14T12:09:00.001-08:00

...is all you can do when it's minus 30 outside.

Wil Update....

2008-12-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted much of an update on Wil and how he is doing in a while, so here it goes...as of Saturday he has been home for five months, hard to believe. Health wise he is doing really well other than the battle with giarrdia and a cold he has had for the past couple days he has been very healthy. He picks up new words daily and strings two or three together now to make "sentences". His faves are "Sam, let go" and " I want______(insert whatever he sees)". Although he and Sam still battle it has gotten better. Sam no longer despises Wil, more of a minor disdain. They do play together a bit more now and as long as Wil plays the way Sam feels is the "correct" way, all is good.

Food issues are slowly disappearing and if he doesn't get food the minute he sees it he no longer throws himself on the floor and wails. We do time outs now and all I have to say is "do you want a time-out?" and the behavior in question stops. He is also leaving food on his plate now when he feels full instead of gorging until he hurls, which is nice.

His favorite thing to say right now is "why". I must hear it about 300 times a day, no exaggeration. I have given up trying to explain why that many times a day and have resorted to the parental standard of "because I said so".

Sleep is wonderful. He goes down without a sound around 7:30 and sleeps through the night until about 8 am. I am still putting him down for a nap each day, more for me than him, but he doesn't object and sleeps for about an hour.

He still has a shoe fetish and if someone takes his slippers or shoes he is rightfully pissed and lets it known to all with eardrums. He is pretty good at getting his pants, shoes, and socks on by himself which is more than I can say for Sam. He loves toys, especially the Little People guys, who we lovingly refer to as the "Roloffs".

It is truly amazing how far he has come in five months.

Poop re-visited....again.

2008-12-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

I love my life. I love my life. This is the mantra I sometimes tell myself, especially when the day is not going so well. As some of you may remember Sam was not feeling so well en route to Mexico last month. He threw up on the plane and had some other...ummm..GI issues as well. While the vomit fest was only at 25 000 feet the other issue has stuck around for quite a while now. After about two weeks of diarrhea I figured our best bet was to take him in to the doctor to see what was up...or down...or whatever the case may be. I called my family doctor on Friday afternoon and he made me an appointment for 8:40 on Monday morning.

I should have known that Monday was going to be a stellar day when I awoke to about 15 cm of fresh snow. Great. While I am quite confident in my winter driving skills my confidence in the other morons on the road is not so great, so Phil took Sam in for me. I figured if Sam was going to get a stool sample done then maybe he should grab a requisition for Wil while he was there. Now by this point I should be an expert in the art of crap collection and if I do say so myself I have refined my technique and would challenge anyone in a crap catching contest...but this is where the day gets a bit more complicated. My dear doctor informs Phil that he is going to Costa Rica on Friday and if we want the results before he goes the sample has to be at the lab by close on Monday, the same day.

For some strange reason he does not have the collection supplies at his office and I have to drive to the lab to pick up the kit before I can even begin the fun of scooping. Phil heads to work and I am thrilled when Wil rises to the challenge and poops his diaper. Only problem is no kit. Being the well versed crap collector that I am I wrap up the diaper, double bag it in the two freezer bags and put it in my purse. I get the boys cleaned up and dressed, look at my watch and figure if we really hurry we can get to the lab, transfer the poop from diaper to container, and still get Sam to school on time. I throw the kids in the car and drive through the 15 cm of snow to the lab. When I get there I find out quite quickly that there is no parking, or no good parking. My options are park 10 minutes away with a four year old who hates to walk, a two year old wearing Robeez and a purse of poop....or park in the "Seniors Only" parking. I run through my options, weighing the risk of leaking poop, screaming kids, and wet snow with the moral dilemma of stealing a spot from a senior citizen. The choice only takes a second and I pull into the seniors spot. I tell myself that there is still one free senior spot so unless there is a huge influx of old people I should be ok. After all there was no spot reserved for "Crazy-Mother's-with-Steamer's"... As I get the boys out of their car seats a man in a minivan pulls into the spot beside me and proceeds to help his old and frail mother from the car. I do what I can to avoid any and all eye contact.

We make it into the lab, grab the collection kits and head to the public washroom down the hall. I am now faced with two choices: scoop the poop right there on the counter by the sink or cram into a stall with the boys and do the dirty work there. I choose the stall for fear of some poor unsuspecting woman coming and seeing what I was about to do. We all get into the stall and I unwrap the diaper on the floor, just in time for another woman to come in and park herself in the stall beside us. When Sam sees the poopy diaper and his mom scooping poop with a plastic spoon he begins to dry heave. He also chooses to yell "put the poop away, Mommy". I am sure the woman beside us was wondering what the hell we were doing. I manage to fill both containers, Sam avoids throwing up from the sight and Wil discovers the toilet lid, which is making me gag just thinking about it. We deposit the poop at the lab and lower our heads as we file into our car in our special spot. Poop #1 collected. Mission accomplished.

I then spend the rest of the afternoon trying to convince Sam to poop in a Tupperware container that I am holding under his bum on the toilet. Nice visual I know. He is horrified and refuses to go. I resort to begging, then bribing, then putting him in a diaper. He holds out and refuses to go. I look at the clock and see that it is now 7 pm and the lab closes in an hour. I declare defeat, turn on the bath and put Sam in. The warm water must trigger the poop nerve because as soon as was in he was out and running to the toilet. I begged him to let me put the Tupperware under him but he refused. I finally placed the container on top of the water and hoped he had good aim, and man does that kid pull through when you need him to! I looked at the clock, 7:15....45 minutes til lab closing. I called Phil who was 5 minutes away, threw on my gym clothes, and met him at the door, poop in hand. I got to the lab, deposited my sample....VICTORY!!!

It wasn't until I was at the gym and running on the treadmill that I started laughing and realized how completely gross my day was. Can you imagine telling yourself when you were 18 that you would do this?

Bad news...both boys have Giarrdia. I guess my anal-neurotic sanitary practices finally gave way and Sam got it. I thought Wil may have been in the clear but I guess he has trick poop and it deceived me into thinking it was ok.....

Now, flagyl for two....

I love my life. I love my life. I love my life......

By the way, the Tupperwar did go into the garbage and not into anyone's lunchs.

Here she is....

2008-12-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

Isn't she lovley? I am smitten with the new blog! What do you think?

Growing to Seven

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I am not dead...

Please help...

Hard to believe...

Bullet Update

A trivial rundown of the Bachelorette

One year home...

Part 7...

Part 6...

Part 5...

Part 4...

Part 3...

Part 2...

Part One....

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Stressed

The story of a table....

Graduation Day!!

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Two years ago...

Weekend in review...

Pigs and Poop

My guilty pleasure....

New found health?

Random points

Since I am being honest...

Confessions of a stay at home mom....

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A trip to see Brit....

I am alive....

Duke it out...

Did you watch Ellen???

Is it May yet???

A quick synopsis....

Disneyworld 2009....

Home Sweet Home...

Laundry room and a question...

New House Run-Down....

My PSA after a day of shopping....

The Bachelor

A few more....

Blame Sarah...

Trivial Post

Bullet Post

YMCA ramblings...

I got nothing....

The Bachelor~ Part 2

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Back-Handed compliments...

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Resoulutions...

2008...a year in pictures.

I00 things...

Christmas 2008

Hope it was a good one...

Most proud of....

Open blog...for now!

Christmas fun begins...

Party on...

Feeling better...

Preschool Christmas

Rambling....

Weekend in review...

Hanging out....

Wil Update....

Poop re-visited....again.

Here she is....