ack! wrote this one last night and thought I posted it.....guess I dozed off.
I'm finally ready to update my profile to a more current reflections of life as I know it.
I'm a woman on the verge of falling asleep while attempting to juggle 4 kids, the shattered pieces of 14 years of self-employement, new jobs for hubby and I and an insane schedule. We're adjusting to our new normal but there's no time for scrapbooking.....or napping and the temper tantrums are in greater supply than coffee lately. If I manage to get one whole cup in the morning it's considered a good day.
replaces.........
I'm a woman on the edge of sanity - juggling four kids, three trucks, two businesses and a room full of neglected scrapbook supplies while drinking cup after cup of coffee and not spilling a drop.
*********
This has to get easier - right. Please tell me it will (even if you have to lie).
I'm dead serious about the coffee thing. I am no where near my daily quota - even on a day off like today. What is up with that? The people in charge of Timmies coffee supplies are going to notice at this rate. Stock prices might fall. Sure, at work access to coffee is limited but even at home I find I'm not drinking it as much as I used to. I just don't have the energy to make a darn pot of the stuff. Maybe that's why I'm so darn tired - not enough coffee intake.
I'm way cranky too. I think it has to do with the fact that I haven't had a moment to myself - completely alone (other than in the car) in ages. The kids are increasingly difficult to get to bed at night so there isn't even quiet time in the evenings.
I've been stupidly staying up way too late myself. Once I pick up Al at work, the smart thing to do would be to crawl into bed but most nights I've been sitting up with him while he eats a very late supper (or has cereal....because I confess, I fed the kids hotdogs at least twice last week and they may or may not have had cereal once but I don't remember). While he's unwinding from his 'day' we talk and try to catch up on what's been going on. I give him the rundown on what's going on with the kids (activities/schedules etc for the next day) and any other things I might need for him to take care of while I'm at work the next day. Tonight is his 5th straight day so we haven't seen much of eachother at all and this late night catching up is helping us not just be two people that pass eachother on our way to and from work....but it makes for a very tired me in the morning. Today he even stopped by work and brought me a coffee and we sat outside for my precious 15min break. It was great....although I could have done without him mentioning that he was heading home for a nap. Brat!
The bestest part of my day. The rain. Bwaahhhhaaaaa. Rain on a Monday. Love it. Love being at work and not getting soaking wet and being freezing cold because that's what the weather was like today. Brrrrrrrrr! So ya, my knees are sore and my feet hate me and I'm tired from this crazy schedule but I was working inside, warm and dry and cozy all day.
I completely feel like this post is rambling way more usual so I think it's time for me to post it and get the heck outta here. It's almost time to pick Al up and then I'm going to get some much needed zzzzzzzzzz's.
~K
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Recreating Normal
It's a work in progress and the adjustment period is proving hard on us all but we are surviving.
Last week was a little tricky and we made it through our first schedule conflict with only minor issues.
I worked Thursday, Friday & Saturday all day. Al worked Thursday and Friday evenings and was supposed to have Saturday off. This would have been great --- had it worked out that way especially since Emily had handed out birthday party invitations early in the week for her Saturday afternoon/evening party. Unfortunately, one of the kids that Al works with decided he wasn't working his shift that Saturday so Al was going to have to work it and wouldn't be around for Emily's party. Luckily they were able to switch some things around and Al didn't have to work that day BUT he did have to attend a training course all morning so we had to scramble for a sitter, borrow a car and make a few last minute changes to Emily's party. In the end it all worked out fine - but it was a very long day for both of us.
We have quickly realized that asap we will need a 2nd vehicle because we've both become extremely exhausted purely due to the lack of another car. I'm having to stay up late to pick him up from work and he's having to get up early to drive me to work. Sleep is a rare commodity around here lately.
Since the earliest I'm off work is 5pm and by the time I pick up a few groceries if we need them, walk to get the van, go check on my mom and get home, the kids are on their own for about 2 hours after school. Except for Tuesday when Emily got hurt and Tyler ended up calling his friends mom to come help him stop the bleeding, things have been going fairly well. Unfortunately, by the time I get home and get supper made I'm beyond exhausted. Too exhausted to read any of my fav blogs nevermind write one (or two). Both my blogs, like my house have been extremely neglected lately. Sunday I had the day off, but there was so much else to do and I was so tired that computer time was just not happening either - especially with the kids home and having to share (darn Webkins...Emily got 3 for her birthday and spent her birthday money from Gramma on a 4th)
Monday and Tuesday I barely survived work. I haven't been feeling well and by the time I got home Tuesday and dealt with the aftermath of Emily's injury and got everyone fed (they almost got cereal for supper that night) I ended up falling asleep on the couch before the kids even went to bed. It's a good thing Al thought to send me a text message around 11:30 or I wouldn't have been awake to pick him up at midnight. By Wednesday I was so sick it was a good thing I had the day off because I spent most of the day on the couch watching a Dog the Bounty Hunter marathon. What a waste of a day off - especially one that Al had off too. I'm feeling almost human today, which is good because now Al's asleep on the couch. He's tired and hurting. Last night was the first ball game of the season and those old knees of his are not happy. I'm sure he's not the only one in a little pain today (how's the arm Carrie?)
Today is my 2nd day off in a row, which I'm sure will be rare - having more than one day off at a time. That is another thing that's taking some getting used to. Being self-employed for 14 years we've been spoiled by being able to most of the time schedule work around life. That party's over. I was going to request the Sunday that Tami, James and little Rowan will be out to visit from Hamilton off but when I looked at the request sheet earlier this week, that particular day is full of names. I didn't even bother adding mine. There's just no way I'll win that one. I'm hoping they will be out here for quite awhile that day so I can see them after work. Al's work schedule is even more restrictive than mine in many ways. With him working evenings, he'll be missing out on many things he wants to do - like Kareoke this Saturday or having to leave his cousins birthday bbq early. I just hope he gets to play ball most weeks --- although I'm sure his knees are hoping otherwise.
My Saturday Scrapping Girls are also having to come to terms with the fact that my Saturdays belong to someone else now (no hope of getting any Saturdays off until maybe later in the fall). So, the girls have already booked the hall without me for the end of June. Maybe if I'm still alive at 5 that day I might stop by but can't see being able to stay and play. This working thing also puts an end to the idea of my heading out to Dryden this weekend to scrapbook with Kat. So sad because before I got this job Al had said 'to heck with not being able to afford it - just GO!' *sigh* Another time I guess.
Right now my goal is to get things running a little smoother and hopefully after a few more weeks of this new routine things will get easier. My body will adjust to mornings (ugh...I'm so not a morning person) and being on my feet 8.5 hours a day and the kids will realize that chores are not suggestions but requirements because their housekeeping staff (that's me) is way too freakin exhausted to do it all.....and having that paycheque will make paying bills a whole lot easier too. My very first one should be in my bank account at midnight tonight. Whoohoo! It will be small - only 3 days, but oh so very much needed. Hopefully in a couple weeks we won't need to use Tyler's paycheques to help cover the basics. Nothing feels worse than having to use your 15 yr old sons' money to pay bills and buy groceries. It's worse than having to get hampers from the food bank....which reminds me....need to go get dressed and get to town. I have an appointment to pick one up in an hour. I was going to have a nap first but lost this entire post and had to start over. Sometimes blogging takes priority over sleep - at least it did today. Tomorrow it might not though so if I don't 'see' you for a day or two it's because I fell asleep.
Gotta run. Knock at the door - yet another person asking about those trucks. Somebody might just buy one of them one of these days. Keep your fingers crossed....because that would make like even easier on all of us!
~K
Last week was a little tricky and we made it through our first schedule conflict with only minor issues.
I worked Thursday, Friday & Saturday all day. Al worked Thursday and Friday evenings and was supposed to have Saturday off. This would have been great --- had it worked out that way especially since Emily had handed out birthday party invitations early in the week for her Saturday afternoon/evening party. Unfortunately, one of the kids that Al works with decided he wasn't working his shift that Saturday so Al was going to have to work it and wouldn't be around for Emily's party. Luckily they were able to switch some things around and Al didn't have to work that day BUT he did have to attend a training course all morning so we had to scramble for a sitter, borrow a car and make a few last minute changes to Emily's party. In the end it all worked out fine - but it was a very long day for both of us.
We have quickly realized that asap we will need a 2nd vehicle because we've both become extremely exhausted purely due to the lack of another car. I'm having to stay up late to pick him up from work and he's having to get up early to drive me to work. Sleep is a rare commodity around here lately.
Since the earliest I'm off work is 5pm and by the time I pick up a few groceries if we need them, walk to get the van, go check on my mom and get home, the kids are on their own for about 2 hours after school. Except for Tuesday when Emily got hurt and Tyler ended up calling his friends mom to come help him stop the bleeding, things have been going fairly well. Unfortunately, by the time I get home and get supper made I'm beyond exhausted. Too exhausted to read any of my fav blogs nevermind write one (or two). Both my blogs, like my house have been extremely neglected lately. Sunday I had the day off, but there was so much else to do and I was so tired that computer time was just not happening either - especially with the kids home and having to share (darn Webkins...Emily got 3 for her birthday and spent her birthday money from Gramma on a 4th)
Monday and Tuesday I barely survived work. I haven't been feeling well and by the time I got home Tuesday and dealt with the aftermath of Emily's injury and got everyone fed (they almost got cereal for supper that night) I ended up falling asleep on the couch before the kids even went to bed. It's a good thing Al thought to send me a text message around 11:30 or I wouldn't have been awake to pick him up at midnight. By Wednesday I was so sick it was a good thing I had the day off because I spent most of the day on the couch watching a Dog the Bounty Hunter marathon. What a waste of a day off - especially one that Al had off too. I'm feeling almost human today, which is good because now Al's asleep on the couch. He's tired and hurting. Last night was the first ball game of the season and those old knees of his are not happy. I'm sure he's not the only one in a little pain today (how's the arm Carrie?)
Today is my 2nd day off in a row, which I'm sure will be rare - having more than one day off at a time. That is another thing that's taking some getting used to. Being self-employed for 14 years we've been spoiled by being able to most of the time schedule work around life. That party's over. I was going to request the Sunday that Tami, James and little Rowan will be out to visit from Hamilton off but when I looked at the request sheet earlier this week, that particular day is full of names. I didn't even bother adding mine. There's just no way I'll win that one. I'm hoping they will be out here for quite awhile that day so I can see them after work. Al's work schedule is even more restrictive than mine in many ways. With him working evenings, he'll be missing out on many things he wants to do - like Kareoke this Saturday or having to leave his cousins birthday bbq early. I just hope he gets to play ball most weeks --- although I'm sure his knees are hoping otherwise.
My Saturday Scrapping Girls are also having to come to terms with the fact that my Saturdays belong to someone else now (no hope of getting any Saturdays off until maybe later in the fall). So, the girls have already booked the hall without me for the end of June. Maybe if I'm still alive at 5 that day I might stop by but can't see being able to stay and play. This working thing also puts an end to the idea of my heading out to Dryden this weekend to scrapbook with Kat. So sad because before I got this job Al had said 'to heck with not being able to afford it - just GO!' *sigh* Another time I guess.
Right now my goal is to get things running a little smoother and hopefully after a few more weeks of this new routine things will get easier. My body will adjust to mornings (ugh...I'm so not a morning person) and being on my feet 8.5 hours a day and the kids will realize that chores are not suggestions but requirements because their housekeeping staff (that's me) is way too freakin exhausted to do it all.....and having that paycheque will make paying bills a whole lot easier too. My very first one should be in my bank account at midnight tonight. Whoohoo! It will be small - only 3 days, but oh so very much needed. Hopefully in a couple weeks we won't need to use Tyler's paycheques to help cover the basics. Nothing feels worse than having to use your 15 yr old sons' money to pay bills and buy groceries. It's worse than having to get hampers from the food bank....which reminds me....need to go get dressed and get to town. I have an appointment to pick one up in an hour. I was going to have a nap first but lost this entire post and had to start over. Sometimes blogging takes priority over sleep - at least it did today. Tomorrow it might not though so if I don't 'see' you for a day or two it's because I fell asleep.
Gotta run. Knock at the door - yet another person asking about those trucks. Somebody might just buy one of them one of these days. Keep your fingers crossed....because that would make like even easier on all of us!
~K
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I can see clearly now
Look how sharp and visible you all are to me now that there aren't dozens of wavey lines running across the screen......or a huge grey shadow through the middle. Who'd have thunk it.
Of course I guess I could have walked my little old self into the living room days ago and got the brand new monitor that's been attached to a very rarely used, really, really old, noisey computer that is of little use to me since it has no internet capabilities. Seriously. What good is a computer that doesn't do the net? Dust collector is what it is.
Bet you thought you'd all been replaced by GameCube again.
Nope. Just been lazy and trying to keep from losing my mind.
We had a pretty quiet long weekend. About the only exciting thing that happened was the 2-3 people that stopped by to look at the trucks....which still aren't sold and even with the interest I don't see it happening any time soon. The one guy that is very interested is digging in his heels because of the age of the equipment. *Sigh* He wants to lease it and I'm leary of even trying to make something like that an option. I can understand his position but honestly I'd take 30yr old equipment over something new anyday.....it's built to last not like disposable stuff they make these days. Oh well. We'll see what the rest of the week brings.
In the mean time, I'm way crazy-busy. We've kind of adjusted to this whole 'Al working evenings' thing and thankfully dancing and bowling are both done for the year which is a good thing because we now have a new 'activity' to work into the schedule. ME WORKING.
That's right. Finally. That job is in the bag and I start tomorrow.
So far I think my hours will work pretty well for us.....if you consider my not ever seeing my husband again a bonus. For the next 3 days I work 8:30 to 5 and he works 4-midnight most days. Basically we will have the 10minute ride in the morning when he drives me to work and the 10minute ride home when I pick him up at midnight to 'visit'. Doesn't that sound like a marriage made in heaven. We worked alternating shifts like this for about 6 months many many years ago. I'm a little worried. After those 6 months I was switched to day-shift just like he worked........and we ended up with our oldest child. We won't be making that mistake again. 3 more kids later we figured out what caused them and put a stop to it.
I'm super excited in a 'maybe we won't starve' kind of way. Hopefully in a month or so I'll even be thinking 'maybe we can pay some bills' frame of mind too. That would rock.
I'm kinda nervous but I know a lot of the people I'll be working around and with so that helps.....kinda.....there's this one guy that works there.....I've worked with him before....or rather he worked for me. It was torture. I sure hope I don't run into him very often. Although I've heard he's rather well behaved at his 'real' job and just came to work with me for entertainment. I really think he thought it was sport to try and scare me or freak me out. LOL I will never look at squirels the same ever again. I don't know how his wife puts up with him and his sense of humor.
That's it for now. If I'm alive at the end of my shift tomorrow I might have the energy to post.
Of course I guess I could have walked my little old self into the living room days ago and got the brand new monitor that's been attached to a very rarely used, really, really old, noisey computer that is of little use to me since it has no internet capabilities. Seriously. What good is a computer that doesn't do the net? Dust collector is what it is.
Bet you thought you'd all been replaced by GameCube again.
Nope. Just been lazy and trying to keep from losing my mind.
We had a pretty quiet long weekend. About the only exciting thing that happened was the 2-3 people that stopped by to look at the trucks....which still aren't sold and even with the interest I don't see it happening any time soon. The one guy that is very interested is digging in his heels because of the age of the equipment. *Sigh* He wants to lease it and I'm leary of even trying to make something like that an option. I can understand his position but honestly I'd take 30yr old equipment over something new anyday.....it's built to last not like disposable stuff they make these days. Oh well. We'll see what the rest of the week brings.
In the mean time, I'm way crazy-busy. We've kind of adjusted to this whole 'Al working evenings' thing and thankfully dancing and bowling are both done for the year which is a good thing because we now have a new 'activity' to work into the schedule. ME WORKING.
That's right. Finally. That job is in the bag and I start tomorrow.
So far I think my hours will work pretty well for us.....if you consider my not ever seeing my husband again a bonus. For the next 3 days I work 8:30 to 5 and he works 4-midnight most days. Basically we will have the 10minute ride in the morning when he drives me to work and the 10minute ride home when I pick him up at midnight to 'visit'. Doesn't that sound like a marriage made in heaven. We worked alternating shifts like this for about 6 months many many years ago. I'm a little worried. After those 6 months I was switched to day-shift just like he worked........and we ended up with our oldest child. We won't be making that mistake again. 3 more kids later we figured out what caused them and put a stop to it.
I'm super excited in a 'maybe we won't starve' kind of way. Hopefully in a month or so I'll even be thinking 'maybe we can pay some bills' frame of mind too. That would rock.
I'm kinda nervous but I know a lot of the people I'll be working around and with so that helps.....kinda.....there's this one guy that works there.....I've worked with him before....or rather he worked for me. It was torture. I sure hope I don't run into him very often. Although I've heard he's rather well behaved at his 'real' job and just came to work with me for entertainment. I really think he thought it was sport to try and scare me or freak me out. LOL I will never look at squirels the same ever again. I don't know how his wife puts up with him and his sense of humor.
That's it for now. If I'm alive at the end of my shift tomorrow I might have the energy to post.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Teen Drama Queen Strikes Again - footage at 11
Okay so there's no actual footage but believe me it would have been hysterical watching her get all hysterical. Is it wrong that I find the trauma in my daughters life so darn giggle-worthy some days. Believe me, a sense of humor is the only way I keep from loosing my mind.
Why was she hysterically pitching a fit you might ask. Well, generally she needs not have a particular reason because she will freak out at the drop of a hat anytime she feels there has been some sort of injustice, real or not, that has been inflicted upon her.
The little darling has been grounded since Monday. All electronic possessions confiscated, all computer, tv and gaming rights revoked (I did leave her with use of her clock/radio...I'm not totally without mercy) plus the first two nights she was confined to her bedroom unless otherwise instructed for matters involving chores or family committments - it's not like I could leave her home alone with free access to fun while I attended a school concert with the other children so she was given a 2-hour pass to socialize and be free while we were there.
To make matters even more unbareable for her I, in my evil, I've-got-all-the-power ways allowed her brother the use of her beloved Ipod. Bwwwaaahhhhhhaaaaahhhhhaaaaa.
Slowly she's been receiving priviledges back. One thing at a time. She was scheduled to receive her Ipod back today (Saturday) only she felt the need to argue that point due to some project she's working on for school and the particular song she needs to practice for this presentation is on her Ipod. She presented her case and wasn't thrilled with my decision that the day was almost over anyway and since she was the one who did stupid things and got herself grounded that she'd just have to wait till the next day and since it's a long weekend she'd have 3 days to practice so I wasn't budging and she wasn't happy.
Of course then I pointed out that it really didn't matter because her brother went to a friends house after school and since he was in possession of the repossessed prized possession she couldn't have it back anyway. This pushed the injustice just a little too far and she was miffed to say the least.
Oh it was fun.
Almost as much fun as why she was grounded in the first place.
Caught the little darling on the front step Monday afternoon smoking a cigarette - apparently not her first either. My mind exploded at that point and I lost the ability to speak for awhile.
It's been a glorious week.
One I hope to not have to repeat anytime soon.
Being grounded was hard on her......harder on the rest of us.
By Monday, if she doesn't push her luck she may just have all rights restored.
~K
Why was she hysterically pitching a fit you might ask. Well, generally she needs not have a particular reason because she will freak out at the drop of a hat anytime she feels there has been some sort of injustice, real or not, that has been inflicted upon her.
The little darling has been grounded since Monday. All electronic possessions confiscated, all computer, tv and gaming rights revoked (I did leave her with use of her clock/radio...I'm not totally without mercy) plus the first two nights she was confined to her bedroom unless otherwise instructed for matters involving chores or family committments - it's not like I could leave her home alone with free access to fun while I attended a school concert with the other children so she was given a 2-hour pass to socialize and be free while we were there.
To make matters even more unbareable for her I, in my evil, I've-got-all-the-power ways allowed her brother the use of her beloved Ipod. Bwwwaaahhhhhhaaaaahhhhhaaaaa.
Slowly she's been receiving priviledges back. One thing at a time. She was scheduled to receive her Ipod back today (Saturday) only she felt the need to argue that point due to some project she's working on for school and the particular song she needs to practice for this presentation is on her Ipod. She presented her case and wasn't thrilled with my decision that the day was almost over anyway and since she was the one who did stupid things and got herself grounded that she'd just have to wait till the next day and since it's a long weekend she'd have 3 days to practice so I wasn't budging and she wasn't happy.
Of course then I pointed out that it really didn't matter because her brother went to a friends house after school and since he was in possession of the repossessed prized possession she couldn't have it back anyway. This pushed the injustice just a little too far and she was miffed to say the least.
Oh it was fun.
Almost as much fun as why she was grounded in the first place.
Caught the little darling on the front step Monday afternoon smoking a cigarette - apparently not her first either. My mind exploded at that point and I lost the ability to speak for awhile.
It's been a glorious week.
One I hope to not have to repeat anytime soon.
Being grounded was hard on her......harder on the rest of us.
By Monday, if she doesn't push her luck she may just have all rights restored.
~K
Friday, May 15, 2009
Okay - so I threw out his winter boots but
THIS IS NOT MY FAULT!
Just because, as I was tossing them in the trash yesterday, I said aloud...."watch, we'll get 3ft of snow now" does not make me responsible for what happened overnight.
Honestly, if I thought I had that much control over what goes on around me I'd be buying a lottery ticket and saying something like....."watch, we'll win 3million dollars now".
I'll let you know if that happens and if it does then yes, I will take the blame for the snow but until then, this one ain't on me.
~K
Just because, as I was tossing them in the trash yesterday, I said aloud...."watch, we'll get 3ft of snow now" does not make me responsible for what happened overnight.
Honestly, if I thought I had that much control over what goes on around me I'd be buying a lottery ticket and saying something like....."watch, we'll win 3million dollars now".
I'll let you know if that happens and if it does then yes, I will take the blame for the snow but until then, this one ain't on me.
I personally blame the school.
And field trips.
The field trip scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled due to weather - in the form of massive, ark worthy amounts of rain.
It was rescheduled for today and I doubt the grade 1 classes will be heading out to the snake dens to see the red-sided garter snakes today either. I'm pretty sure snakes don't dig the snow anymore than I dig them.
This is my 4th child to make the annual 1st grade trek out to the snake dens and each year they ask "mom, will you be a parent volunteer on the field trip" and each year I pass on the opportunity. Actually it's more like an 'over my dead body' sort of reply. Sorry. Not my thing kids. Go watch Anaconda with your father and leave me alone.
I get the heebie-geebies just thinking about wigglie little snakes. When Emily went on her trip to the dens one of the father's took amazing photos and I was fortunate (?) enough to receive a bunch which I scrapbooked. That was hard enough seeing my little girl holding a snake in a photo. Don't think I could have handled it in person.
Enough about snakes. Ewwww. Ick.
Back to the weather. Ewwww. Ick.
So there's this creek in my backyard. Flooded like crazy this spring. It's been a couple weeks since I'd taken a walk down there so I went wandering Tuesday night and took some updated water level pictures. I'm so glad I did because the sky opened up in the wee hours of that night and it poured buckets for a good portion of the day on Wednesday.
The "before" on the left, taken on Tuesday afternoon and the "after" on the right taken on Wednesday afternoon following about 12hours of heavy rainfall.
Aside from the weather sucking so did pretty much everything else.
I spent a lot of time - just me, myself and my gamecube on the couch this week avoiding everything, everyone and the endless phone calls from 1-800, credit card companies, the dentist, the truck leasing company etc. Adding to my crappy week was Al repeatedly saying things like "Are you going to get dressed today? Are you going to go to town today? Ae you going to call about that job today? Are you going to call back about that job today? ARGH!!!!
I did call. I did talk to someone and things looked good but when she didn't call back the next day or the day after he started again "Are you going to call again about that job today? Maybe you should call so and so about a different job"
Add to that the phone calls from people telling me about all the new people being trained at the store where I've been hoping to get hired or worse yet going into the store and seeing for myself all the trainees. It was depressing and I didn't want to leave my couch......so I didn't unless absolutely necessary. That's right. I admit it. I spent alot of time on the couch looking for spaceship parts and trying not to get all my little alien friends killed in the process. Nintendo Pikmin is WAY addictive. 4:30 in the morning addictive. Opppps. Kinda slept in and the kids missed the bus once ---- okay twice (the 2nd time it wasn't because of the gamecube though) this week.
Anyway. The week was kind of a bust. Laundry. Pikmin. Ignoring phonecalls. Moping around and feeling like crap. Even last night I was in no way thrilled at being forced off my couch to attend a bowling banquet but since Al was working I had no option.
BUT
While picking up a few things at the store for the banquet the week suddenly got a whole lot better. The girl from the store who I'd talked to early in the week and was supposed to hear back from and didn't spotted me and came over to talk. And just like I thought - she'd been really busy and just hadn't had a chance to get back to me (and all Al's fussing and stressing and making me feel 2 inches tall and like I wasn't going to get this job at all was for nothing) and right then and there we made arrangements for me to start probably wednesday of next week.
Whoooo Hoooo!
I'm so excited.
I still don't know what exactly I'll be doing or what sort of hours I'll have but I'm ((((this close)))) to having a job and the relief is just unbelievably wonderful.
And today...... I still spent some time on the couch playing gamecube and I've realized it's not because I've been in a funk and didn't want to get off the couch.....it's because the game is just so damn fun. I can't wait till the kids go to bed so I can have my turn again....and Al works till 2 so I won't even have to share the tv with him. Heeeheeeheee.
Gonna go see if the kids want to go outside and make a snowman now. Anyone know where I packed the mittens?
Have a wonderful long-weekend.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
A Little More Nature
Owen and Emily are peering out the kitchen window this morning.
Owen: "Look Emily. Winter is back already!"
Emily: Ewwwwwww!
Mom: Don't worry. I'm sure it will be gone by this afternoon.
Owen: Awwwwwww!
What is wrong with that kid?
Should I have had his head examined when he ran into the car door Sunday morning?
In the grand scheme of head injuries that boy has experienced....a slight shiner is mild but maybe it rattled the insides more than we thought because really? He's disapointed the snow should be gone in a day or so - if that isn't cause for concern I don't know what it. Maybe the dent* on the other side of his head can talk some sense into him because the thought that this snow (which is still stubbornly falling in flakes instead of drops of rain) might hang around for any extended period of time is just not cool with me.
*between the ages of 20months and 24months he fell (or was dropped - long story) 3 times on his head. The first resulted in his eyes rolling into the back of his head and us making a mad dash to the ER (SCAREY!) 4 weeks later he fell off a bed and smacked the side of his face on a table resulting in a still visible dent (which he has named "Dent" and he says it talks to him occasionally...weird kid) and I probably should have taken him in to the ER but geeesh....we'd just been there. They were going to start talking if we kept showing up there with a damaged kid. The third time was Christmas Eve, about 10 minutes before 20 people were set to arrive for dinner. He fell backwards off a toy and smacked his head and cut it open. Thankfully the amount of blood outweighed the severity of the gash and I was able to clean him up and determine no ER trip was necessary. I almost went out and bought him a helmet. I still consider it some days because three 3 head injuries in 4 months when he was 2 was a pretty good indication of what the next 4 years would be like. He's forever got a shiner or a bruise on his face or forehead. The kids head must have some sort of magnetic force that attracts it to hard surfaces.
~K
Owen: "Look Emily. Winter is back already!"
Emily: Ewwwwwww!
Mom: Don't worry. I'm sure it will be gone by this afternoon.
Owen: Awwwwwww!
What is wrong with that kid?
Should I have had his head examined when he ran into the car door Sunday morning?
In the grand scheme of head injuries that boy has experienced....a slight shiner is mild but maybe it rattled the insides more than we thought because really? He's disapointed the snow should be gone in a day or so - if that isn't cause for concern I don't know what it. Maybe the dent* on the other side of his head can talk some sense into him because the thought that this snow (which is still stubbornly falling in flakes instead of drops of rain) might hang around for any extended period of time is just not cool with me.
*between the ages of 20months and 24months he fell (or was dropped - long story) 3 times on his head. The first resulted in his eyes rolling into the back of his head and us making a mad dash to the ER (SCAREY!) 4 weeks later he fell off a bed and smacked the side of his face on a table resulting in a still visible dent (which he has named "Dent" and he says it talks to him occasionally...weird kid) and I probably should have taken him in to the ER but geeesh....we'd just been there. They were going to start talking if we kept showing up there with a damaged kid. The third time was Christmas Eve, about 10 minutes before 20 people were set to arrive for dinner. He fell backwards off a toy and smacked his head and cut it open. Thankfully the amount of blood outweighed the severity of the gash and I was able to clean him up and determine no ER trip was necessary. I almost went out and bought him a helmet. I still consider it some days because three 3 head injuries in 4 months when he was 2 was a pretty good indication of what the next 4 years would be like. He's forever got a shiner or a bruise on his face or forehead. The kids head must have some sort of magnetic force that attracts it to hard surfaces.
~K
A little nature
Reading the blog written by my Sis and hearing about all the birds and flowers she's been taking pictures of all week, I thought I would share a few pictures from a couple weeks ago.
Sadly - no flowers here just yet. We've barely managed to get rid of the snow but hopefully soon......not that I plant any. Gardening isn't my thing, although I learned this weekend why we've had miserable luck in the past with growing pumpkins - who knew you had to get in there and pollinate them - so we may give that another try.
Anyway, Other Sis (Liz) brought mom a bird feeder that attaches to the window and she hung it in mom's kitchen window last time she was out. It sat untouched for a few days but as the weather warmed up so did the action at the feeder. These are pictures of the first wave of visitors - who don't seem to be around much anymore so they must have moved on.
I love the one peeking in through the window.
~K
Sadly - no flowers here just yet. We've barely managed to get rid of the snow but hopefully soon......not that I plant any. Gardening isn't my thing, although I learned this weekend why we've had miserable luck in the past with growing pumpkins - who knew you had to get in there and pollinate them - so we may give that another try.
Anyway, Other Sis (Liz) brought mom a bird feeder that attaches to the window and she hung it in mom's kitchen window last time she was out. It sat untouched for a few days but as the weather warmed up so did the action at the feeder. These are pictures of the first wave of visitors - who don't seem to be around much anymore so they must have moved on.
I love the one peeking in through the window.
~K
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The Good, The Bad & The Damp
today is the first day all week that I haven't felt the need to take a nap by 10am. I think that has to do with the fact that I went to bed before 10pm last night and although I woke up at 1am (call of nature) and 6am (call of technology - darn kid's cell phone alarm is set for 6am! wth?!?!) and finally got up at 7:15. I think I've finally recovered from the weekend. Now if I could just get my house to recover from the weekend all would be golden. My scrapbook stuff is still scattered about.
We've had a good week/bad week around here and it seems, with the rain that began falling overnight....the rest of the week shall be a damp one, not to mention loud and muddy. Proof of this was when I opened the back door this morning. Since I'd gone to bed early, nobody thought to let the fat cat or the fatter dog in for the night. One was quite cranky about this fact and told me so. The other just left a trail of paw prints behind him as he brought his overweight self into my kitchen and shook. Point taken oh non-vocal mutt. This is the kind of weather where you just want to stay indoors.....and I haven't decided yet if I'm more inclined to make the kids stay inside and brave the sounds of cooped up kids or kick em outside and deal with the inevitable mud and laundry. Since Owen left his jacket outside last night, I'm already ahead of the game as far as wet clothes go.
I think this rain also puts a brief stop to the walks we've been taking lately. Okay. I admit. Mostly it's been Al and the kids walking but I did take them one night while he was at work. This may sound silly but this is a new activity for us. Not the walking part, but the walking around here part. Living on a busy highway, it's not exactly high on my list of things to encourage the children to do and up until now we've limited our walks to being an 'in town' activity. Now that the kids are older, we're more comfortable (ish....i found it way stressful personally) with taking the 1/4 mile walk along the side of the highway to the gravel road and then letting the kids run wild as we walk a half mile or so before turning around and heading back. Somehow I'm not keen on taking that trek in the rain or even shortly after any rain as the cars go flying past us is sure to make for loads of laundry.
I must say, I'm a little nervous about the start of this rain. A couple of the blogs I read on a daily basis have mentioned lately an abundance of rainfall of biblical proportions and there has been mention of Ark living....or indoor living a time or two as well. We are only on day one of the rain here and I sure hope it doesn't last too long. I don't like boats. Of course, I don't like snow shovels either and I heard rumor of dropping temperatures and the possibilities of this rain going all flakey on me.
Hearing the rain on the roof when I first woke up this morning did bring a slight smile to my face though.....because I am not outside working in it. Hahaha It's funny how perspective changes things. Closing our business was hard (and still is hard at times) but we realize more each day how much of a blessing it has been. Regular readers may remember Al's doctors visit when he was getting that physical for his class 1 license and the concern his doctor had with his blood pressure and weight. Well, he went for a follow-up earlier this week and his blood pressure is almost perfect. That new low-stress, minumum wage job of his seems to be working wonders. The lack of money....and lack of ice cream seems to be helping too. He's dropped 5lbs.
Of course my blood pressure is probably making up for his as I struggle to make ends meet and deal with the mountain of paperwork still left to do for the business. Selling those trucks parked infront of my house - constant reminders of money owed to people that we won't have until they sell - would help too. Seems the guy we thought would for sure buy them is just yanking us around and now he says he doesn't need them.....right now. Ugh! General consensus is he figures since the trucks are so specialized there won't be a huge demand for them so he's got time and by waiting as long as possible till we will be so desperate we have no choice but to let them go for cheap. He doesn't realize that the longer he waits the more money we will need and we've had other people ask about them....although nothing has come of their interest either so far.
On top of this money stuff....... I'm sure I've found those 5lbs Al lost. Maybe I need to go for that walk tonight - rain or not. Naw....think I'll just go make a batch of brownies and stay inside where it's warm and dry and listen to the cat complain. He's asked to go out twice already but then just sits in the doorway looking at me like it's my fault it's still raining.
~K
We've had a good week/bad week around here and it seems, with the rain that began falling overnight....the rest of the week shall be a damp one, not to mention loud and muddy. Proof of this was when I opened the back door this morning. Since I'd gone to bed early, nobody thought to let the fat cat or the fatter dog in for the night. One was quite cranky about this fact and told me so. The other just left a trail of paw prints behind him as he brought his overweight self into my kitchen and shook. Point taken oh non-vocal mutt. This is the kind of weather where you just want to stay indoors.....and I haven't decided yet if I'm more inclined to make the kids stay inside and brave the sounds of cooped up kids or kick em outside and deal with the inevitable mud and laundry. Since Owen left his jacket outside last night, I'm already ahead of the game as far as wet clothes go.
I think this rain also puts a brief stop to the walks we've been taking lately. Okay. I admit. Mostly it's been Al and the kids walking but I did take them one night while he was at work. This may sound silly but this is a new activity for us. Not the walking part, but the walking around here part. Living on a busy highway, it's not exactly high on my list of things to encourage the children to do and up until now we've limited our walks to being an 'in town' activity. Now that the kids are older, we're more comfortable (ish....i found it way stressful personally) with taking the 1/4 mile walk along the side of the highway to the gravel road and then letting the kids run wild as we walk a half mile or so before turning around and heading back. Somehow I'm not keen on taking that trek in the rain or even shortly after any rain as the cars go flying past us is sure to make for loads of laundry.
I must say, I'm a little nervous about the start of this rain. A couple of the blogs I read on a daily basis have mentioned lately an abundance of rainfall of biblical proportions and there has been mention of Ark living....or indoor living a time or two as well. We are only on day one of the rain here and I sure hope it doesn't last too long. I don't like boats. Of course, I don't like snow shovels either and I heard rumor of dropping temperatures and the possibilities of this rain going all flakey on me.
Hearing the rain on the roof when I first woke up this morning did bring a slight smile to my face though.....because I am not outside working in it. Hahaha It's funny how perspective changes things. Closing our business was hard (and still is hard at times) but we realize more each day how much of a blessing it has been. Regular readers may remember Al's doctors visit when he was getting that physical for his class 1 license and the concern his doctor had with his blood pressure and weight. Well, he went for a follow-up earlier this week and his blood pressure is almost perfect. That new low-stress, minumum wage job of his seems to be working wonders. The lack of money....and lack of ice cream seems to be helping too. He's dropped 5lbs.
Of course my blood pressure is probably making up for his as I struggle to make ends meet and deal with the mountain of paperwork still left to do for the business. Selling those trucks parked infront of my house - constant reminders of money owed to people that we won't have until they sell - would help too. Seems the guy we thought would for sure buy them is just yanking us around and now he says he doesn't need them.....right now. Ugh! General consensus is he figures since the trucks are so specialized there won't be a huge demand for them so he's got time and by waiting as long as possible till we will be so desperate we have no choice but to let them go for cheap. He doesn't realize that the longer he waits the more money we will need and we've had other people ask about them....although nothing has come of their interest either so far.
On top of this money stuff....... I'm sure I've found those 5lbs Al lost. Maybe I need to go for that walk tonight - rain or not. Naw....think I'll just go make a batch of brownies and stay inside where it's warm and dry and listen to the cat complain. He's asked to go out twice already but then just sits in the doorway looking at me like it's my fault it's still raining.
~K
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Suggestion Duely Noted and Taken Into Consideration
It's another one of those "I'm speechless" moments in my life.
I hate when the school calls and puts me on the spot and I can't think of how to respond without sounding all snarky (although I probably did anyway) and I'm sick of being called about the stupidest things and being made to feel like I've just been scolded like a child and told what to do.
As I've stated before, I'm not the worlds best advocate for my kid. Mostly I think because I just don't have the answers and I'm at a loss for what to do most of the time to begin with so when challenged on things I freeze up.
I've been getting increasingly frusterated by the situation at school with my oldest (who turned 17 yesterday and I'm still dealing with the reality of that....and the grey hair I found even though I just coloured my hair last week. UGH!) and it's come to the point where a couple weeks ago I had a dream that I pulled her out of school completely and decided that I would homeschool her. In my dream it totally worked and we had the most amazing success with the plan. In reality I can't see it working well at all for numerous reasons such as....we don't get along --- at all and we'd probably kill each other. Not to mention the fact I'm totally disorganized and wouldn't know what to do or where to start.
Today is another one of those days were I have the disillusioned idea that I could and should do it.
Today's call from the resource coordinator was about our daughter not bringing a lunch and I guess she was trying to be constructive about the situation but her tone and words were so condescending that it just got me all defensive and I'm completely put off by her attitude. We've actually discussed this issue a few times over the year and really, I don't know what to do about it. I can't force my daughter to take a lunch and I'm not at the school to monitor her and make her eat her lunch if she does take one. She's left on her own during lunch (which I've expressed concern with) so what do they expect me to do. Well I guess they are getting complaints regarding Aarica asking for money or food from students (again....we went through this in the fall too....and then she was even asking teachers/staff for money). So the coordinator offered suggestions such as us sending in money for her to have in her account at the caffeteria - wasn't an option in the fall and it's definately not an option for us now. She seemed a bit annoyed that I couldn't accomodate this and then she suggested we bring in food such as a loaf of bread and lunch meat or cup of soup etc that can be stored there and our daughter can make herself a sandwich or whatever to have for lunch.
Now forgive me if I'm way wrong in my thinking here but my child has special needs but that doesn't make her so special that the rules don't apply to her (even though she likes to think that way) and there is absolutely no reason she cannot take a lunch made at home each morning just like her brothers and sister do. NO reason at all....except that she's a stubborn thing and refuses to take a lunch. Period. If she can't have money for the cafeteria she doesn't want anything at all.
So I told the coordinator I would see what I could do and ended the call as quickly after that as possible. I couldn't figure out a way of telling her I didn't see that suggestion working for me either and I was really tired of having to justify my reasons to her. I'm struggling hard enough to squeeze the basics out of our food budget without having to purchase a seperate loaf and package of meat that will be kept at school on the off chance our daughter might get around to eatting it....which I'm almost positive she wouldn't.
When Aarica got home I pulled her aside and told her I'd gotten a call from the school and asked her what was going on.....who she'd been mooching money and food off of etc....and she lied and said she wasn't and then said her friends 'offered' and I'm not buying it one bit. I told her she doesn't have a choice and would be taking a lunch from now on and her responses were "I'll just forget it here" and I told her I'd duct tape it to her damn forehead if I had to but she was taking a lunch. She says she won't eat it and well...I guess that's the chance I will take - and the food I will waste - but I sure as heck am not treating her any different than the rest of my kids who survive quite fine on the packed lunch made at home that they take to school with them every day.....and sometimes they even eat it.
~K
I hate when the school calls and puts me on the spot and I can't think of how to respond without sounding all snarky (although I probably did anyway) and I'm sick of being called about the stupidest things and being made to feel like I've just been scolded like a child and told what to do.
As I've stated before, I'm not the worlds best advocate for my kid. Mostly I think because I just don't have the answers and I'm at a loss for what to do most of the time to begin with so when challenged on things I freeze up.
I've been getting increasingly frusterated by the situation at school with my oldest (who turned 17 yesterday and I'm still dealing with the reality of that....and the grey hair I found even though I just coloured my hair last week. UGH!) and it's come to the point where a couple weeks ago I had a dream that I pulled her out of school completely and decided that I would homeschool her. In my dream it totally worked and we had the most amazing success with the plan. In reality I can't see it working well at all for numerous reasons such as....we don't get along --- at all and we'd probably kill each other. Not to mention the fact I'm totally disorganized and wouldn't know what to do or where to start.
Today is another one of those days were I have the disillusioned idea that I could and should do it.
Today's call from the resource coordinator was about our daughter not bringing a lunch and I guess she was trying to be constructive about the situation but her tone and words were so condescending that it just got me all defensive and I'm completely put off by her attitude. We've actually discussed this issue a few times over the year and really, I don't know what to do about it. I can't force my daughter to take a lunch and I'm not at the school to monitor her and make her eat her lunch if she does take one. She's left on her own during lunch (which I've expressed concern with) so what do they expect me to do. Well I guess they are getting complaints regarding Aarica asking for money or food from students (again....we went through this in the fall too....and then she was even asking teachers/staff for money). So the coordinator offered suggestions such as us sending in money for her to have in her account at the caffeteria - wasn't an option in the fall and it's definately not an option for us now. She seemed a bit annoyed that I couldn't accomodate this and then she suggested we bring in food such as a loaf of bread and lunch meat or cup of soup etc that can be stored there and our daughter can make herself a sandwich or whatever to have for lunch.
Now forgive me if I'm way wrong in my thinking here but my child has special needs but that doesn't make her so special that the rules don't apply to her (even though she likes to think that way) and there is absolutely no reason she cannot take a lunch made at home each morning just like her brothers and sister do. NO reason at all....except that she's a stubborn thing and refuses to take a lunch. Period. If she can't have money for the cafeteria she doesn't want anything at all.
So I told the coordinator I would see what I could do and ended the call as quickly after that as possible. I couldn't figure out a way of telling her I didn't see that suggestion working for me either and I was really tired of having to justify my reasons to her. I'm struggling hard enough to squeeze the basics out of our food budget without having to purchase a seperate loaf and package of meat that will be kept at school on the off chance our daughter might get around to eatting it....which I'm almost positive she wouldn't.
When Aarica got home I pulled her aside and told her I'd gotten a call from the school and asked her what was going on.....who she'd been mooching money and food off of etc....and she lied and said she wasn't and then said her friends 'offered' and I'm not buying it one bit. I told her she doesn't have a choice and would be taking a lunch from now on and her responses were "I'll just forget it here" and I told her I'd duct tape it to her damn forehead if I had to but she was taking a lunch. She says she won't eat it and well...I guess that's the chance I will take - and the food I will waste - but I sure as heck am not treating her any different than the rest of my kids who survive quite fine on the packed lunch made at home that they take to school with them every day.....and sometimes they even eat it.
~K
The best part of my day
yesterday (besides the long nap I took mid-morning) was hearing about Owen's best part of his day. He came home from school so excited to tell me about his day. From the moment he got off the bus he was in a cheerful mood and I think that was partly due to his declaration that........ "I didn't fall asleep on the bus today mom". I can tell when he's been woken up just seconds before having to get off the bus. He's half asleep and cranky, especially when the older kids bolt down the driveway and leave him behind. Today he was bright-eyed (getting him to sleep at half decent times the last couple nights might be helping too) and ready to tell me the best part of his day.
The conversation twisted and turned and started in the middle so I had to get him to back-track a bit so I could get all the details but the gist of it was that his class got to participate in "Artist in the Classroom" yesterday and this months artist is a young actor that has been sharing the technique of Improv with the classes.
Owen: Hey Mom - Me and Jayden and Aiden and Dane got to be a dryer today.
Mom: A dryer? Like a clothes dryer?
Owen: Ya! It was cool!
Mom: That is cool. You learned to do laundry....so now I don't have to.
Owen: NO!!!! We got to BE the dryer....and I was the door and then we said vroooooooommmmmm (making a sound that in his mind was a dryer running....but would be cause for concern if my real dryer sounded like that ---- it was more on the scale of an airplane preparing for takeoff. Although, that much power would probably dry clothes really fast).
So, while my hopes that laundry duties could be taken over by my 6yr old (a skill they could gladly teach in school thankyouverymuch) have been dashed, it was great that he enjoyed this Improv class so much. His group (which he repeatedly told me included "me, Jayden, Aiden and Dane" which was too cute) also did something with sharks and a third thing which at the moment I can't remember. Apparently though, being a household appliance was the big hit of the day.
Emily threw in her two cents about this particular Artist in the Classroom experience as well and I learned that her group was a lava lamp (she was the lava which btw is entirely more interesting to be than the cord that plugs the lamp into the wall LOL ) and an airplane.
My memories of elementary school (now called Early Years K-4) involved spelling workbooks, creative writing assignments and math homework. There were no Improv classes. No complaints though. This Artist in the School program (which is paid for by fundraising done by parents) is an awesome thing. Over the years they have experienced such a wide variety of activities from writing stories or poems with writers, writing songs with a musician, playing musical instruments from Africa, leaning dances from various countries, done pottery and painted murals and acting and puppetry. So many things I'm thankful they've had the opportunity to experience.
And speaking of the things they learn at school today (as compared to back in my day)
Last week I was helping my High School kids choose their courses for next year I was quite baffled by a number of the course options and I admit a wee bit jealous! One grade 10 option is a full credit little number made up of two half courses in digital filmmaking and digital pictures. Sigh! And the grade 11 component to this course involves website design/interactive websites and broadcast media/interactive media. Geesh. When I was in school that was A/V or photography club and it was an afterschool or lunch time 'extra-curricular'. I tried to convince the boy to take that course just so I could help him with his homework. The one that threw me though is a grade 9 elective called Recreation Studies which according to the handbook, is a course revolving around wilderness survival skills, outdoorsmanship, nature studies and mountainbiking and includes an overnight bike trip which is planned and executed by the students in the class. HUH? Again.....this would have been an 'extra curicular' club. Oh and Drama.....also an extra curicular in my day.....now a full credit course available in grade 10 and grade 11.
and the kids just got home from school and according to Owen the best thing about today is......"Nothing" Seems his teacher was a little "yellie" today....and I've seen the pack of 6yr old boys she has in her class. Some days she looks a wee bit frazzled at the end of the day. Poor girl.
I have to agree with Owen though. So far, there's nothing good about school today. Just before the kids got home I got a call from the high school resource coordinator. I'm somehow 'in trouble' again with this woman but I'll have to fill ya'll in on the details a little later after I've collected my thoughts and no longer feel the need to talk in CAPITAL LETTERS. I'm feeling a little YELLIE myself at the moment. Grrrrrr
~K
The conversation twisted and turned and started in the middle so I had to get him to back-track a bit so I could get all the details but the gist of it was that his class got to participate in "Artist in the Classroom" yesterday and this months artist is a young actor that has been sharing the technique of Improv with the classes.
Owen: Hey Mom - Me and Jayden and Aiden and Dane got to be a dryer today.
Mom: A dryer? Like a clothes dryer?
Owen: Ya! It was cool!
Mom: That is cool. You learned to do laundry....so now I don't have to.
Owen: NO!!!! We got to BE the dryer....and I was the door and then we said vroooooooommmmmm (making a sound that in his mind was a dryer running....but would be cause for concern if my real dryer sounded like that ---- it was more on the scale of an airplane preparing for takeoff. Although, that much power would probably dry clothes really fast).
So, while my hopes that laundry duties could be taken over by my 6yr old (a skill they could gladly teach in school thankyouverymuch) have been dashed, it was great that he enjoyed this Improv class so much. His group (which he repeatedly told me included "me, Jayden, Aiden and Dane" which was too cute) also did something with sharks and a third thing which at the moment I can't remember. Apparently though, being a household appliance was the big hit of the day.
Emily threw in her two cents about this particular Artist in the Classroom experience as well and I learned that her group was a lava lamp (she was the lava which btw is entirely more interesting to be than the cord that plugs the lamp into the wall LOL ) and an airplane.
My memories of elementary school (now called Early Years K-4) involved spelling workbooks, creative writing assignments and math homework. There were no Improv classes. No complaints though. This Artist in the School program (which is paid for by fundraising done by parents) is an awesome thing. Over the years they have experienced such a wide variety of activities from writing stories or poems with writers, writing songs with a musician, playing musical instruments from Africa, leaning dances from various countries, done pottery and painted murals and acting and puppetry. So many things I'm thankful they've had the opportunity to experience.
And speaking of the things they learn at school today (as compared to back in my day)
Last week I was helping my High School kids choose their courses for next year I was quite baffled by a number of the course options and I admit a wee bit jealous! One grade 10 option is a full credit little number made up of two half courses in digital filmmaking and digital pictures. Sigh! And the grade 11 component to this course involves website design/interactive websites and broadcast media/interactive media. Geesh. When I was in school that was A/V or photography club and it was an afterschool or lunch time 'extra-curricular'. I tried to convince the boy to take that course just so I could help him with his homework. The one that threw me though is a grade 9 elective called Recreation Studies which according to the handbook, is a course revolving around wilderness survival skills, outdoorsmanship, nature studies and mountainbiking and includes an overnight bike trip which is planned and executed by the students in the class. HUH? Again.....this would have been an 'extra curicular' club. Oh and Drama.....also an extra curicular in my day.....now a full credit course available in grade 10 and grade 11.
and the kids just got home from school and according to Owen the best thing about today is......"Nothing" Seems his teacher was a little "yellie" today....and I've seen the pack of 6yr old boys she has in her class. Some days she looks a wee bit frazzled at the end of the day. Poor girl.
I have to agree with Owen though. So far, there's nothing good about school today. Just before the kids got home I got a call from the high school resource coordinator. I'm somehow 'in trouble' again with this woman but I'll have to fill ya'll in on the details a little later after I've collected my thoughts and no longer feel the need to talk in CAPITAL LETTERS. I'm feeling a little YELLIE myself at the moment. Grrrrrr
~K
Monday, May 04, 2009
A Wonderful....But Long Weekend
I'm glad it's over but sorry at the same time. One one hand it was so very long and on the other it didn't last nearly long enough.
I celebrated National Scrapbooking Weekend by hosting a weekend long crop and while I'd hoped to have higher attendance, I'm glad now that it was a small, personal event rather than anything else. Just my mother-in-law and two of her sisters, one sister-in-law and one of her friends (a 2nd friend ended up being unable to join us) and another sister-in-law who joined in for a few hours Saturday and Sunday. It was almost perfect. I missed the company of my scrapping buddy (yes....that means you sitting there at your desk at work.... I think we are now owed at least one un-interupted day in my dining room to make up for this weekend....bring the new blender!) and another sister-in-law who had planned to be here but instead is out in Kelowna attempting to sell/rent out her house in an effort to be home (as in HERE) permanently by June 1st! It would have been beyond perfect if a few of my other scrapping family & friends who live too far away (but are always near in my heart) could have been here too. Other than the few missing and missed people, this weekend was wonderful!!! and wonderfully tiring.
By late Friday night there was whispering among the others of plans for doing this again. By Saturday morning they had picked a date. For awhile afterwards, everytime they mentioned "October" I shuddered at the thought of pulling all this together again in a few short months but I do believe it has been decided. We are going to have a small, private scrapbook weekend again the first weekend in October. Everyone who wants to participate will be divided into teams and each team will be responsible to provide, serve and clean up from one meal and everyone will share in the organization of the weekend ---- just a family and friends scrapping weekend deal and we split the costs of hall rental and just have fun. Sounds like a perfect plan to me. I'm not up for organizing the whole event again anytime soon.
I can't say I got a whole lot done this weekend. All together I came home with 6 new pages (and one of them I have to "fix" because I realize that I have the wrong info on it) and 4 partially completed pages and I admit that much of what I did do was either finishing (or working on) pages I'd started previously or pages done as part of demos for the weekend. Nope - not a lot done.....but I still had a great time. For me, personally, the purpose of crop is more about the socializing and fellowship than the number of pages I bring home.......and in that respect I got a lot done this weekend.
and today......I need a nap.
~K
I celebrated National Scrapbooking Weekend by hosting a weekend long crop and while I'd hoped to have higher attendance, I'm glad now that it was a small, personal event rather than anything else. Just my mother-in-law and two of her sisters, one sister-in-law and one of her friends (a 2nd friend ended up being unable to join us) and another sister-in-law who joined in for a few hours Saturday and Sunday. It was almost perfect. I missed the company of my scrapping buddy (yes....that means you sitting there at your desk at work.... I think we are now owed at least one un-interupted day in my dining room to make up for this weekend....bring the new blender!) and another sister-in-law who had planned to be here but instead is out in Kelowna attempting to sell/rent out her house in an effort to be home (as in HERE) permanently by June 1st! It would have been beyond perfect if a few of my other scrapping family & friends who live too far away (but are always near in my heart) could have been here too. Other than the few missing and missed people, this weekend was wonderful!!! and wonderfully tiring.
By late Friday night there was whispering among the others of plans for doing this again. By Saturday morning they had picked a date. For awhile afterwards, everytime they mentioned "October" I shuddered at the thought of pulling all this together again in a few short months but I do believe it has been decided. We are going to have a small, private scrapbook weekend again the first weekend in October. Everyone who wants to participate will be divided into teams and each team will be responsible to provide, serve and clean up from one meal and everyone will share in the organization of the weekend ---- just a family and friends scrapping weekend deal and we split the costs of hall rental and just have fun. Sounds like a perfect plan to me. I'm not up for organizing the whole event again anytime soon.
I can't say I got a whole lot done this weekend. All together I came home with 6 new pages (and one of them I have to "fix" because I realize that I have the wrong info on it) and 4 partially completed pages and I admit that much of what I did do was either finishing (or working on) pages I'd started previously or pages done as part of demos for the weekend. Nope - not a lot done.....but I still had a great time. For me, personally, the purpose of crop is more about the socializing and fellowship than the number of pages I bring home.......and in that respect I got a lot done this weekend.
and today......I need a nap.
~K
Friday, May 01, 2009
Stop-Payment
Those are hard words to deal with.
We've had to put a stop-payment on the automatic payment for the lease of the truck this morning. There's no money in the bank account to cover it. It's come to that and I hate it. Al's cousin, who is in the truck sales business, figures we have about three months before things get to the point where the lease company will repossess the truck for non-payment. I hope he's right because there's a whole lot of fine print in that lease agreement and the word immediately pops up quite often regarding this matter. What I really hope is that one of the people who've said they may be interested in buying the damn thing will show up with money in hand already because I hate this feeling of being so totally helpless.
I've been working on a scrapbook page (ya....last minute stuff for crop this weekend.....darn procrastination gene) and it's pictures of my kids taken last summer and I was trying to come up with a title or something to go on it. I had to pop into the city yesterday to get adhesive refills......and birthday presents and I heard a song on the radio that not only made me cry (lots!) but also screamed to be used on this layout. I can't wait to get a chance to finish the page tonight.
"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big
*****
Beautiful Song! It's my wish for my kids....and for everyone!
Have a beautiful weekend. For my scrapping friends -- Happy National Scrapbooking Day tomorrow and know that I miss you all and wish you were here....or I was there with you. I'll be thinking of you!
~K
We've had to put a stop-payment on the automatic payment for the lease of the truck this morning. There's no money in the bank account to cover it. It's come to that and I hate it. Al's cousin, who is in the truck sales business, figures we have about three months before things get to the point where the lease company will repossess the truck for non-payment. I hope he's right because there's a whole lot of fine print in that lease agreement and the word immediately pops up quite often regarding this matter. What I really hope is that one of the people who've said they may be interested in buying the damn thing will show up with money in hand already because I hate this feeling of being so totally helpless.
I've been working on a scrapbook page (ya....last minute stuff for crop this weekend.....darn procrastination gene) and it's pictures of my kids taken last summer and I was trying to come up with a title or something to go on it. I had to pop into the city yesterday to get adhesive refills......and birthday presents and I heard a song on the radio that not only made me cry (lots!) but also screamed to be used on this layout. I can't wait to get a chance to finish the page tonight.
"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big
*****
Beautiful Song! It's my wish for my kids....and for everyone!
Have a beautiful weekend. For my scrapping friends -- Happy National Scrapbooking Day tomorrow and know that I miss you all and wish you were here....or I was there with you. I'll be thinking of you!
~K
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