Spring back: photo look-back Part 1 - May 2012

The last couple of months have been filled with sports, end of school events, outings, travel, baking, get-togethers, gardening, and general (good) busy-ness.  Over the next few days, I'm going to take a photo tour, month-by-month, of what we've been up to this spring.

My 40th birthday bling bash was totally fun and rocking (well, as much as a group of 40+ women can rock it out when we are tired from kids and work and the usual stuff at the end of the day).  We met at Sassy Bead in The Glebe (one of my favourite stores of all time - and sadly, now closed) and made jewellery, ate, drank and laughed and talked until we exhausted our creativity and our store hosts.  We were planning to head to a pub after that but instead, a few of us who still had energy, albeit waning, went back to mine and finished the evening over tea and raspberry cream cake.  A fitting way for the 40-crowd to end an evening, dontcha think?

The birthday girl... ready to par-tay!

Ready to get our bead on

Finally a shot of the photographer (Pam, middle)

Meredith and Julie in deep concentration

Andrea made the most complex jewellery of the evening

So many choices, so little time!

Isobel and I looking fab!

A final group shot (minus Pam)

Spending an evening with a group of women like this, all close friends, who I've known for a long time or come to know in the last few years or even months, is the best way to welcome your forties. It was a really special night.

And then only about a week later (on May 19), Henry turned two.  No kidding!  The tantrums, screaming fits and general grumpiness on his part leading up to this birthday gave us a clear indication of his age and warning of more fun to come.  Man, this kid has a temper.  Still wonderful and tons o' fun though (she says through gritted teeth).

Happy to get a sandbox for his birthday (truthfully, we already owned the sandbox - it had been in the garage - we just filled it with new sand - can you say frugal and awesome!?)

Could this be the last Dora cake I every make? Please make it so.

Filling his face with Dora at Pam and Jim's.

And that, my long ignored friends, was our May (for the most part).  Stay tuned for a June round-up!

Up and At 'Em

I'm not a natural morning person.  If it were up to me I'd be in bed until about 8:00 and later on weekends.  But, being a mother of three forces you out of bed with the roosters.  Especially when one of your children is a very early riser.  

Henry got up this morning at 5:15.  On the plus side, he only got up once last night, at 11:30, and it was clear I hadn't dressed him well enough so a quick change and then he slept until the ungodly hour of 5:15.  Up and at 'em, boys!

But it sure gives me a leisurely morning.  I get a shower before the craziness starts, I get lunches made, I get breakfast ready and I can even have some tea or my own breakfast.  On some mornings, the dishwasher is even unloaded.  (Not today.)

Or blog!  (I can't guarantee that I'll be coherent though.)

So, that's one in the plus column for this morning.

Another tick mark is that one of our Brownies, who is the age to move up to Guides for next year, is planning on doing so.  That makes me very happy.  I didn't know if she would but she's "super keen" I'm told and that is a huge testament to the Brownie program we've run this year.  I'm really pleased for her and what this will hopefully mean for her for the coming years.

And another tick mark (Brownie-related again) is that it looks like I've found another Guider to join us next year taking the pressure off if one of us is sick, and taking some of the work off our hands.  Huge tick mark!

As I said to John, everything is coming up Karen!

What's going well for you today?

A snapshot of me right now

Given that I've pretty much abandoned this space of late, I think I'll just give you a quick snapshot of me right now... Actually, it's more for the me of a future since most of the time I figure that's who I'm writing for anyway.

I've made a small change in my daily eating habits that I feel could have some great long-term benefits and just plain makes me feel better about how I'm treating myself: I'm eating vegetarian lunches which must include a good amount of raw vegetables.  Fish is allowable (and encouraged).

I'm completely ADDICTED to Camelot on CBC.  Have you been watching it? If not, watch the first episode and then don't give up.  Watch the second episode and I guarantee you'll be completely hooked.

I'm getting excited about the plans that Isobel (dearest neighbour) and I have for Sugarplum Fairy Homebaking.  I love that I now have a partner in crime to share the burden and generate ideas with! Also, she rules at decorating cakes while I decidedly do not.

Why is it that it is always the same small group of people in any large group that are always the ones who volunteer?  Church, school, the community... always the same few people.  And we same few people are starting to get tired out!

Yesterday I decided that I'm tired of how our house looks inside.  I'm sick of our wood furniture.  I'm tired of looking at late early 2000s IKEA furniture.  I'm tired of our once-beloved earth tones.  I want some bold colours, some great art and a cool mix of eclectic furniture - American colonial, modern, even Victorian.  With some leather here and there.  I want a bunch of money so I can do all this redesign.

Have you seen this photo?  I'll link to it but I won't post it so that it doesn't show up on people's mobiles or iPads as the photo that introduces this post.  You all know that I'm new to Girl Guides of Canada but I love the organization and what they give girls around the world as though I've been a lifetime Guider.  When I saw this I was disgusted and angry.  Maybe you'll choose to make jokes and take it lightheartedly.  But not me.  I've reached my limit on the sexualization of girlhood in every sphere.  Nothing is left untouched.  This is an organization that goes against every message in this photo and to take it lightheartedly is to miss what this is really doing and to miss the messages that our girls and young women (and we old ones) are being sent by the world around us on a daily basis (just the tip of the iceberg is that we are valued mostly as sexual beings).  We in Girl Guiding (not to mention parents, teachers and many, many others who work with girls on a daily basis) work really hard to combat these messages each time we're with our units because a pillar of the Guiding movement is building strong, independent and confident women who are leaders and feel empowered to make great choices for themselves.  To use the very image of a Girl Guide to send the exact opposite message is disgusting at best and downright offensive at worst.  So laugh.  Make jokes.  Shrug it off.  Say you wouldn't say no to her cookies.  Just don't say it to me.

I'm alive!

I'm still kicking, friends... just silently. A few times I've written simply brilliant posts in my head but they got absorbed by my grey matter before I could spew them forth.

Given it's late and I therefore have no chance of putting something coherent together here are some random thoughts.

If I dedicated one day a week to cleaning the house... well, we'd live in a much cleaner house. Right now, I tend to do cleaning jobs through the week, here and there. Today I did most of it in one fell swoop. This may be a game-changer.

I really hate the term 'game-changer.'

I'm totally passionate about Coronation Street right now. Who's with me?

Since becoming a Brownie leader, I've become a bit obsessed by owls. Chapters has a gorgeous little owl mug that I've put on my Christmas list and I love some of the owl prints I'm seeing around. Also, I wouldn't turn my nose up at any cute owl necklace on Etsy. Just sayin'.

I realized today after getting all decked out in my yearly witch costume for Hope's Sparks Halloween party that I'm not so into Halloween anymore. I love watching the kids dress up but I'm not so keen now. I do continue to be keen on the candy.

It's time for a dramatic hair change but fitting a dramatic change into my schedule is proving to be difficult.

Henry is beyond all cute right now but he's also a holy terror. He stuffed a ton of paper towel in the toilet last week, rolled waxed paper across the kitchen floor so that it became decidedly unrolled, flushed his toothbrush down the toilet (we think), dumped a garbage can full of glitter onto a toilet seat and flushes toilets umpteen times during the day. He really likes toilets.

Wah, harumph, grumble!

Here are some things I feel the need to complain about:

• John being away for most of last week while Henry decided to stay awake two hours (non-consecutive) each night and cry. Not John's fault in any way. Just bad luck.
• Mondays - I love them until I come home from my class at Carleton and then after that it feels like a big whirlwind while I try and clean up from the day and do the dishes and make dinner and play with the girls who really want to play games after not seeing me all day.
• my letter writing - I'm behind a letter. Last week, while I had plans to squeeze in my letter-writing, I didn't get it done. See above as to why.
  
• gluten. I love it but why doesn't it love me? Wah.
• people who flaunt rules... in front of their kids no less. Our local outdoor skating rink is actually a double-rink: one for recreational skating and one for hockey. There is a clear sign in the changing area that sticks, pucks and balls are prohibited on the rec ice. Does anyone care? Yes, two people - me and one other perturbed father who, like me, had to make sure his children didn't get a slapshot to the orbital lobe. Every other person on the ice (and there were many) had a stick, puck, net or full goalie gear (no exaggeration). Yes, I am calling my city councillor tomorrow. I'm that grumpy anti-hockey mom. So sue me for being unCanadian. I don't care. I just want to skate with my kids.
  
• The City of Ottawa's current garbage and recycling program. Our green bin (organic compostable waste) is currently full to the top - the lid can barely close - and it is also frozen solid. It's only collected every two weeks. We are a family of five (4 and a half anyway) who eat a lot of compostables and we're very committed to composting. The bin was full at the end of last week and it won't be collected until this Thursday. Collecting only once every two weeks is not acceptable when you want to encourage people to compost. I've told the city this in their current survey but I still feel the need to complain. To anyone who will listen.
• People who say they are "trying to prove a point" to the City by not using the Green Bin program. There is a special place in Hell reserved for you people. And I hope it is full of your stinky garbage.
  

Phew. Just needed to get that off my chest. And now, on to more positive things. Time for some tea and knitting. And a freshly baked (gluten-free) muffin!

Stuff

I've finally updated Henry 365 so check it out in the sidebar.

Tomorrow we're off to the cottage for about a week right after school ends. Tomorrow is Emily's very last day of kindergarten. I can't believe that can be true.

I'll blog occasionally from the cottage as the wee man allows... meaning when he isn't in my arms... which isn't often lately!

I'm thankful for....

• rain and cooler temperatures
• a good latch (and improving every day)
• a two-hour nap for me this morning (after literally being up almost all night)
• hot meals brought over by friends
• family and friends who invite the girls for playdates
• a healthy baby
• a hefty milk supply
• healing nipples
• good hemorrhoid medication (remember my experience with Hope?)
• a good duck and cover reflex when faced with Henry's impression of Manneken Pis
• an amazing midwife
• a friend who shows up and takes me to Starbucks for an hour (with Henry in tow)
• borrowed baby equipment, and:

an amazing partner who is going full out these days to make everything a bit easier for me and the girls

two amazing girls who are the best helpers and best friends

this guy. My threats to put him up on Kijiji after last night were just a joke. Seriously.

Remember this hair

I have naturally curly/wavy hair. With a bit of work and the right products, it has loose curls which have been looking (if I do say so myself) freaking awesome this year. I rarely even blow it dry anymore and I'm still lucky enough to be happy with it most days.

Sadly, after I had Hope, my hair went totally limp and didn't get its curl back until about a year ago. So I'm prepared that I'll be back to poker straight and/or limp hair for a while after this baby comes and I'm breastfeeding for a while. And the reality is that it will be in a pony tail a good amount of the time.

The profile photo I have in the sidebar is from the era when I embraced my straight hair (something I'd dreamed of for a while because I battled with my curls/waves for many years) and had a bob cut.

This year I've fallen in love with my curls again since I re-learned how to treat them and get them looking good. I know I'm being a bit vain here but I figure I'm due since my hair often falls into the "whoa, were you just in a windstorm?" category.

Today I had my pre-birth hair cut. The stylist knows what to do with curly hair. I decided I better document how awesome it is looking right now (again, shameless ego boosting... it will end soon, I promise) before I potentially go into the limp stage or stage of not showering regularly anyway. And so, here it is in all its glory:



As an added bonus you get a peek at our student-ghetto of a house that we've occupied this year. I still owe a tour of this place and will do that soon... pre-baby... because there are some parts that are definitely worth showing off.

Eight random things

1. Tomorrow morning very early we leave for a weekend at my dad's in Gravenhurst. Our weekend should be chalk full of tobogganing (I have finally learned to spell that without spell check. Queen of the spelling bee!), skating, eating and watching a real t.v.... with real cable! Sometimes I feel like a pioneer. Those are the kinds of sacrifices we make around here, she says, as she types away on her rocking iMac.

2. It's been almost a year since my hard drive died and I lost all my photos going back to Christmas 2006 (let this be further warning to you to back up on a reliable source. Reliable source does not equal an antiquated external hard drive, fyi.). As of next week, I'll have finally finished collecting all the photos I can from my Kodak Gallery albums and this blog. (I do realize that this should have taken me about 1 week and not 1 year but I make procrastination a sport.) I did send out a plea for help to my family members and friends begging for photos of the kids that they had. One person - Pam, friend extraordinaire - actually lived up to her promise. Ahem. Family, you suck. And I'm coming for you.

3. My poor skates, after 4 years of poor treatment by me, have been declared by a skate-sharpening expert as "irreparable." I'm going to try them out this weekend regardless and probably curse them up and down. At least it gives me something to blame my poor skating on.

4. I'm addicted to Farmville. I've got it bad people. Real bad.

5. Can someone please explain to me why Arnold Schwarzenegger is running the Olympic torch into Vancouver? Seriously, I've gone over it six ways by Sunday (I love throwing in old cliches just to keep you on your toes and also because I truly love them) and I'm still at a loss. Yet another reason why the Olympics lost my interest years and years ago. I still plan to watch the luge and all the other crazy sports I can lay my hands on this weekend. I'll just plug my nose for all the icky parts.

6. Ontario Today had a phone-in today about Valentines Day: love it or hate it? I realized that I'm totally in the middle. Which makes me completely apathetic. Which I once heard is worse that hating something because it is completely devoid of emotion. That pretty much sums up my feelings on Valentines Day. John and I don't celebrate it. We just don't see the point when we tell each other how we feel every day and do lots of special things throughout the year (okay, less now that there are kids, but still). However, it's hard to ignore it all when you have a kid in school who is inundated with all things valentinian for the week leading up to the big day. Emily actually thinks this is a major holiday. Like Christmas. She may end up hunting down cupid herself when she opens her crappy Kinderegg and homemade card from me. Or not. Could go either way.

7. I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing today to get in the spirit for the girls. And my verdict is: red velvet looks cool but is kind of boring. Also, buttercream still rules as the best icing of all time unless it's for a carrot cake. Still, a worthy experiment.

8. I think we're going to New York City with the kids in April for a long weekend and let me just say: HOLY HELL AM I EXCITED. Yes, I'll be 7.5 months pregnant. But I'll be with two little kids so I figure we'll walk at the same pace and keep up the same level of whining so it should all work out.

Given that this is Lunar New Year, I figure 8 is a good number to end on. Happy weekend, whatever you are celebrating!

TGIF

This has a been (another) busy week around casa VT. I'm not even entirely sure of what makes it feel so busy. Granted, I returned from Ottawa on Monday and hit the ground running right after that.

On Tuesday morning, Hope and I grocery shopped, cleaned, got skates sharpened. Tuesday afternoon, I tidied and cooked while Hope was in preschool and then whisked the kids and I off to the chiropractor. I was in desperate need of an adjustment after driving five hours to Ottawa and five hours back with only a two stops each way (and those were short). My hips and back were protesting loudly.

On Tuesday night Emily went skating, on real skates (previous to this year she had bob skates) for the first time with her Sparks troop. I went with her for moral support and physical support. I held her hand while she shuffled her way a couple of times around the outdoor rink. Her attitude was great. Suprisingly great. In fact, the reason I've waited this long to get her on skates (unlike most Canadians whose kids seem to all be skating reasonably well by Emily's age) is that Emily gets EXTREMELY frustrated when she doesn't excel at something the first time she tries it. And then she gives up or declares that she's never trying X activity again or has a full melt-down. I decided she needed some emotional maturity to tackle skating, which is, along with swimming, not intuitive at all and pretty hard to master. So, she was the only kid in her troop (save 1) who hadn't tried it before. She was slightly annoyed that everyone else could skate but her but I promised her that with practice she'd be whizzing around too (in a couple of years). Next year skating lessons may be on the agenda as I won't be much help with a stroller attached to my hands.

Wednesday morning I took the girls out to buy the supplies for making their valentines. On Wednesday afternoon I looked after our wee friend Leah (hereafter known as WFL). We did our usual play dough, snacks and then the valentine construction. Last year I bought valentines for Emily to give out. This year after seeing the pretty creations in Family Fun Magazine, I decided we'd make our own. It definitely isn't the most cost-effective route but it was so much more fun and the results are beautiful. Here is what Emily made:


I cut out all the pieces (she cut the leaves), she punched the holes and did all the writing and then I put them together. It was a really fun activity for the two of us. We were an assembly line of valentines.

Thursday was a regular Thursday. Today we looked after WFL again and had a play date this afternoon. Tonight we ended with a great dinner with friends here at home. I whipped up pad thai and the kids played and played and played and now it's the end of the day and week and we're all whipped.

I hope next week will be a little less frenzied. It's not really looking like it though.

However, having done all that I did manage to clean the house... something that hasn't happened in way too long.

You know, I've also gotta say that I'm annoyed now that twice in the past two weeks I've posted these "this was my week" posts. Really, who wants to read that? But I figure, this is all you're going to get at the end of a week like this. Coherent thoughts aren't firing right now and dammit, this is my blog and drivel is the flavour of the day.

At some point I'll post something more meaningful and much more interesting. For now, enjoy the drivel.

The week at a glance

I only have a few minutes before the kids come tumbling down the stairs asking to watch a show (which requires me to give up my computer given we don't have a t.v.). I've been conspicuously silent this week although I have a number of posts circling in my mind. You probably see where this is headed: the dreaded bullet post.

Maybe a short paragraph post instead.

________________

And this is all I had written before I was pulled away from the computer yet again for God knows what reason. And now it is two days later and it has been over a week since I last posted. I'm not really complaining per se. That is the reality of parenthood and we all know it. To be more specific, that is the reality of parenthood WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A T.V. TO DISTRACT YOUR KIDS WHILE YOU BLOG.

So, here is the week that just went by.... at a glance:

- spent Sunday night at Omi's in St. Catharines. John and I had a date night. Saw Avatar. Possibly the coolest movie I HAVE EVER SEEN and that even includes Lucas.

- had 20 week ultrasound on Monday. This baby likes to shake it, shake it. Everything seemed okay to my untrained eyes and the technician gave me no reason to think otherwise although her kind is very good at being stonefaced and unreadable.

- got notice on Tuesday that Emily's Sparks troup will be going skating in two weeks. I'm slightly concerned as Emily has never skated on anything but bob skates and we all know those don't come close to resembling real skates. And so, I am wasting way too much time thinking about how to get her new-to-her skates sharpened when the line-ups for sharpening seem to all be at least 30 minutes and I never have that much time available to stand in line. And also thinking way too much about the high probability that my child will come back from the night in question missing teeth and with multiple lacerations and scarred for life in regards to skating. And yes, I plan to get her on the ice before the night in question but we all know that it takes about, um, 30 years before one is truly comfortable on skates unless you are one of those freakish 5-year-olds, which Emily is not, who skates circles around me on the Rideau Canal let's not talk about that.

- This week, Wednesday, January 20, marked the five year mark since my mum died. It's a miserable day in the year and I am now at the point that I'm not interested in writing a post about it and prefer to not blog at all on that day because I'm now feeling like I'm repeating what I've said in previous years. I miss her. So terribly that most times I think about how much I miss her I start to well up and that just isn't a fun way to spend my time nor does it do anything to make me feel better. I much prefer to just remember her, which I do throughout every day in tiny moments or little things the girls do or ask about or that I laugh about or do myself. I will say this though: five years does nothing to dull the pain of that kind of loss.

- Emily's reading is still blowing my mind. She keeps choosing "more challenging" books to bring home and kicks the shite out of them. Her brain continues to wow me.

- Today, Friday, I looked after my girls and a friend's daughter, who is 4, for the whole day (for moola too!). I made 4 batches of play dough which amused them for a long time, then there were puzzles and colouring and crafts, cupcake baking, lunch, a lengthy trip to the Waterloo Children's Museum (which included the totally amazing exhibit Our Body: The Universe Within - very similar to Bodyworks - where once-live human specimens are used to show the different systems at work within our bodies) and then home to decorate cupcakes. It was a doozy of a day but I'm not that tired somehow. Go figure.

- approaching the car in the parking lot after we left the museum, I asked the kids to all put their hands on the car while I unlocked and put my bag in there, to avoid anyone running into traffic. Emily and our other friend did so. Hope walked face-first into the car at full speed, toppling her over backwards. She cried. A lot. Turns out, she told me later, she was tired so was walking with her eyes closed. AGAIN. This is not the first time she's done this. I'm afraid this kid is going to walk off a pier or a cliff or something simply because she's feeling a bit sleepy. Kind of makes me love her even more though, if that was even possible.

- I'm going yarn shopping tomorrow morning with a friend and with no kids and I'm very excited. All yarn purchased will be for baby things. Very, very excited.

- currently Emily is asleep in my bed, my side, because she couldn't sleep due to continually thinking about Millificent, the witch in Sleeping Beauty. Somehow transferring to our bed resulted in non-Millificent brain activity. And sleep.

And that is my week at a glance.

A "phone it in" NaBloPoMo post

I have things to get done tonight so I don't have a lot of time to craft much of a post so instead I'll give you a nice synopsis of our day:

• church this morning for the Christmas Pageant (done as the worship service). Hope's first appearance in the angel choir. It was awesome and brought tears to my eyes to see her doing the actions to Away in a Manger and not taking her eyes off me. Also, her belly sticking out from under her shirt was too much.
• pageant went on WAY TOO LONG. Needed nourishment immediately afterwards. Apparently most restaurants in Waterloo were full and we ended up at East Side Mario's but man, do I love their salad. I got the trifecta - all you can eat salad, bread and soup. Too bad the waiter was new. I decided that next time I'm there I'm going to introduce myself to the waiter thusly: "I'm a pregnant woman looking for salad. I want All You Can Eat. When that bowl is empty, you bring another one and keep it coming. No questions, no delays. Get it?"
• Got home and I left to go to a pottery sale at Emily's teacher's house. Her husband is an amazing potter named Stephen Hawes. I bought a great mug and a Christmas gift for someone else. I might get something bigger from him closer to when we move as a reminder of our year here.
• Played Thomas card game with the girls when I got home.
• Had great chicken dinner made by John.
• Put tired girls to bed early.
• Now I'm cutting the pieces for Hope's nightgown.
• Might knit and watch a movie a bit later.
• Tomorrow is play group and some grocery shopping.

How was your day?

Jibber Jabber

I'm tired. I was up with Hope twice last night. I picked her up and my back seized up one of those times. Luckily I have a SIL who is a massage therapist so she has me on the road to recovery. But still... Also, our neighbours downstairs came in at 3:30 last night. And slammed doors.

I'm 11 weeks pregnant. I think. It might be twelve. I'm not exactly on top of timing this time. So many other things to think about.

I went through the rest of my November calendar today because it was feeling like I had a lot to remember and hadn't put any of it to paper. Which was true. It was all floating around in my fallible brain.

We had chili leftovers for supper. Nothing is better on a Monday than having supper already in the fridge when you wake up that day.

I went to Costco today. Normally I'm very good about staying away from impulse purchases there. Things go awry when I have another adult shopping with me (unless it's John). I tend to make odd decisions. Like today when I bought an enormous tub of feta-stuff jalapeno peppers. I do love them. But do I love them enough to eat 50?

I was all set tonight to post a new Life in Waterloo post, this one about the green bin program. It's going to happen tomorrow. There's an Epsom salt bath with my name on it. Literally. It's been a long time since I've washed the bath tub.

That time of the night

I've hit the wall. It happened around 7:05 pm. Curiously right when I put my hands into the sink of dirty dishes.

It happens every day at some point. I don't know if it is the mystery illness or the pregnancy. I'm leaning towards the pregnancy since I never get a chance to nap in the afternoons and that is usually key to feeling at least a bit more rested during the first trimester.

No matter. We had a busy day today. A play date with a cousin, whisking Hope off to preschool, planting all the garlic (and there was A LOT. I think I had 12 heads of garlic.... maybe more and you plant each clove separately. That could give me lots and lots and lots of garlic. Not complaining!), walking to preschool with Emily to get Hope, taking Emily to swimming lessons. The only thing in there that was even a little bit physically taxing was planting garlic (and I loved doing it). And yet, I'm exhausted.

I did get through the dishes. I had planned to sew tonight. I'm not sure now if that will happen. It might be near impossible to peel my butt off this chair.

Oh right, and Emily wants me to tell you all that we played games today while Hope was at preschool.

I think my exhaustion is showing because this is becoming a post of gobbly-gook. See what you get during NaBloPoMo?

Quality. Pure quality.

Edit: I actually did something! I sewed two things I cannot mention here due to family lurking about who will be on the receiving end of such things but still... I got off my chair and now it is 8:21 and I can go to bed!

What was I thinking?

I foolishly signed up for NaBloPoMo again (that's National Blog Post Month for those of you not in the know). I'm supposed to post everyday for the month of November. Given that I only posted 10 times in October, 11 times in September and let's not even talk about August or July, one can only conclude that I am set up for one gigantic and spectacular FAIL.

Hah! But you underestimate my obsession with proving people wrong. And maybe I'll do it here. Or maybe I'll cultivate my other obsession which is procastinating and saying I'll do something and then not do it.

I guess it will just be a surprise. Don't you just love surprise endings?

Kind of like this book I finished last night where in the last few chapters a baby was born (granted it was a new sub-species of human), turned to its dad and said "Hello Mitch" and I'm not even kidding. I'm also not kidding when I say I was laying in bed last night reading this, completely by myself since John is still away (BUT COMING HOME TOMORROW THANK GOD BECAUSE EMILY THREW UP AGAIN TONIGHT AND HOPE WAS CONSTIPATED AND HONESTLY I THINK I GOT EMILY VACCINATED AGAINST A FLU THAT SHE ALREADY HAS), and said outloud to me, myself and I "Oh that is so stupid."

It completely ruined the book for me which up until that point I was thoroughly enjoying. Seriously? A talking baby? Greg Bear you couldn't come up with anything better to attribute to a new sub-species of humanity than early speech. All I could think of was those annoying commercials where babies talk about how much they like their Huggies.

Where was I going with this?

Right. So maybe I'll surprise you with actually accomplishing this whole blog-everyday thing kind of like the talking baby surprised me.

Oh, and on the topic of babies, tomorrow is my first midwife appointment. I'm seeing a midwife named Mina. Which essentially means that everytime I see her I will only be able to picture Lloyd Axworthy sitting there suggesting that I massage my perineum.

That would make no sense to you unless you currently or have previously worked at Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. And if you have then right now you are thinking I am pretty freaking hilarious. Which I am.

And with that, I close.

What's Cooking Wednesday and other stuff

So, my DISTRACTION (as yet unrevealed on this blog) has kept me from blogging only because I haven't wanted to blog out the DISTRACTION yet. If you're a Facebook friend with me, you already know. If you only read the blog, you'll be in the dark a bit longer. However, when you have a DISTRACTION like this it's hard to blog when that is the one thing you really want to blog about. Anywho, normal life continues and yet I've been silent... not really like me. So, I'm going to give you my recipe for What's Cooking Wednesday and then I'll give you a few bullets to get you (sort of) up to date on what's going on around these parts.

This is week three (I think) of my new foray into menu planning and by extension, reducing our grocery bill. So far, so good I'd say. The menu this week has been:

Monday: lasagna
Tuesday: spaghetti
Wednesday: borscht (finally got around to making that one and it was oh, so good)
Thursday: sushi (a special meal for our 10th wedding anniversary tomorrow)
Friday: chicken drumsticks, roasted beets and potatoes, something green
Saturday: zucchini, tomato and fontina pizza
Sunday: still undecided - something from the freezer or cupboard

Today I also whipped up a broccoli soup for lunch for my sick Emily. It is one of my favourite wintertime soups because it tastes like broccoli with cheese sauce but in soup form. Although there are more steps to make it than I like in a soup, it's worth it once in a while:

Broccoli and Cheese Chowder

1 bunch broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 large carrots, grated
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Cut broccoli tops into very small florets. Peel remaining thick stems; cut into chunks. In large pan, melt butter. Stir in onion, celery and garlic; cook until soft. Sprinkle with flour; stir until absorbed. Slid pan off heat. Add stock a little at a time to avoid lumps, stirring after each addition until smooth.

Return pan to heat. Add broccoli stems, thyme and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 15 min or til veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf and puree in blender. Return to saucepan.

Heat soup until hot; stir in grated carrots. Reduce heat to simmer, covered, for 10 min. Stir in florets; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in milk, salt and pepper. Heat until hot. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Ladle into heated soup bowls; garnish with generous sprinkle of Cheddar.

I have a photo but not a very good one. It really won't do much for you. Just try the soup. If you like broccoli, you'll like this.

On to the bullets:

• On Sunday we spent the day visiting John's mum in St. Catharines. It was lots of fun. We went to the Port Dalhousie Carousel. I enjoyed it even more than the kids I think. We also stopped in my hometown of Fonthill to buy apples at Galagher's. Glad to see the place is as great as ever.
• Hope had her first swimming lesson on Tuesday afternoon. It was her first time in the pool without me. She LOVED it. In fact, all caps doesn't really convey the enthusiasm she had for going in by herself.
  
• Emily would have had two new activities this week also if not for her nasty cough. I had to keep her home from her first night of Sparks last night (the prequel to Brownies) and from her first swimming lesson today. I wanted to make sure she would be fit to go to school tomorrow. It's picture day tomorrow and we all know that we don't want her to miss the chance to pose for the camera. It's one of the highlights of my year... what will happen in front of the lens? No one knows but I can't wait to see!
• I have so many projects on the go around here and none are complete. It seems I start to make some headway and then life pops up, the kids want to play, dinner has to be made and nothing ever gets finished. We've been here for 3 months and still only one curtain is sewn for the main floor room. Also, I have photos to post of our house so you can all see what it's like... still on the camera! Also, plants sitting in the garden waiting to be put in the ground... also, a tire swing to be hung up... also, peach jam to be made, tomato sauce, red pepper jelly... all still yet to be canned.... also, Halloween costumes to be sewn.... also so many blog posts to write... I've only written one "Life in Waterloo" post yet I have at least two written in my head but not down on screen yet. How can I train my body not to need sleep?

And that is my quick and unsatisfactory update.

I could make a good mixed drink with my toes

It is so cold in our house at night right now that, I'm not kidding, I could ice a martini with my toes. Not that you'd want to drink it after but it might be an experiment worth trying JUST TO SEE.

The past two nights I've worn wool socks to bed.

Last night I got up, as per usual, to see what Hope was going on about. Seems her blankets were twisted. And she had to pee. As I walked up to her room I realized that my entire body, which was clothes in said wool socks and winter pyjamas, was freezing... head to toe. I was deeply, entirely cold.

So I grabbed the giant, stored away until winter, duvet and hauled it onto our bed, under which I had another blanket. And that is how I spent the rest of my blissful night. Warm and smothered in a duvet and winter pyjamas.

People, today was September 17 and I shouldn't be doing this yet. What is going to happen in February for example when it is minus 20 outside (it does get that cold in Waterloo, right?)?

I'll tell you. I'll move into the dryer and set it to fluff.

Okay, so I lied

I said I'd be back soon. That was a total lie. That was a full three weeks ago. Almost. My calendar arithmetic isn't great.

We have had a whirlwind three weeks. If you follow me on Twitter or you're a Facebook friend, you've had some updates along the way. And even photos. I will give a run-down, as time permits, over the next week or so.

In short, we had a great time. We spent about two weeks at the cottage (a bit more actually) and just short of a week in Toronto. Within that time I've also found myself a sort-of part-time job. Hooray! I've also found a preschool for Hope, met some new friends, got a bit of a tan, seen a lot of jungle animals, done lots of swimming, started knitting monkey slippers, killed a few mice, and played with my girls a lot.

And right now, I'm due for a really long sleep. So great to be back!

Seems I'm still on vacation

Friends, it's been a while.

I know it's been a while when Blogger doesn't even remember my sign-in anymore.

And I don't have much of an excuse. I have an iPhone. So although the kids tend to use the computer as a t.v. during times when I could actually sit down and post, I could still be crafting a post. And it isn't like I don't have things to say. We've been doing a lot; having lots of fun; I've been observing, noticing things, things I would normally post about.

And yet here I am. Silent.

I think that I just want a little break. No obligation to say anything at all. So perhaps I'll keep that up for a while, or maybe not. We'll have to see how it all unfolds.

In the meantime, here is a quick synopsis of our week at the cottage: The weather was crappy at the beginning (where is summer this year?) and then nice at the end. The girls have really figured out what it means to play on the beach this year, the result of which is that I can sit in a chair by the water, knit, drink tea or something with a bit more kick (my new drink of the summer is the Palm Bay Vodka Pineapple Orange.... mmm), and relax. Or I can get down and dirty and show them how to build a fish pond with streams connecting to other ponds.



The week with Beth, Kate and Graeme was fun. And of course Sara Martin was there too - a friend of Beth's (and now mine) who joins us every summer. That was great fun.

We roasted marshmallows twice, cooked hot dogs over a fire for lunch one day and stayed up really late in front of the fire one night hanging out with our neighbour, Guy.


We hiked up the back hill/cliff area searching for wild blueberries. Last year we hit the payload. This year, not so much. I think they deer got to them before we did.


I built Emily another obstacle course. She was keen on the idea but less on the execution. She loved it last year; this year she had other interests. But she played long enough for me to capture it on camera.


On our last night before leaving for home the girls and I (and Sara and Beth) did face masks. It was a girly-bonding moment. Until Hope freaked out and cried for 15 minutes before insisting that I take it off. Hope's was chocolate flavoured which I thought would be a big selling point for her. She smelt like a sundae for a day afterwards.


We finished our week with supper at my dad's place in Gravenhurst. His house is now almost completely finished and it's beautiful. I plan to have a sleepover there in the next few weeks with the girls. And spend my evening in the hot tub on the deck sipping something or other.

We go back to the cottage next Wednesday for a weekend with our friends Pam and Jim and their kids. That will be great. Since leaving Ottawa I haven't seen them of course so it will be a great chance to reconnect and show them a place that is as much home to me as any place else.

We also still have a visit to Santa's Village in the future on an overcast cottage day.

And that's my synopsis. Perhaps I'll get something more coherent up over the next few days. Here's hoping!

WHAT day is it?

Seriously, it's Friday??! My house still looks like we're at the beginning of a move, not an end. Which scares me silly. There is still so much to do and not a lot of time left. John picks up the moving truck on Tuesday morning. And I have two kids at home with me. One of which had her last day of school yesterday. Here is Emily on her first day of school in September:


And here she is yesterday:

Certainly, her hair has grown. And she does look a lot more "grown up" to me.

I have to mention quickly again how great this year was for Emily. And on her year end report, there wasn't one area that needed work or that was of concern. I think her enthusiasm for school is reflected in how she did this year. And, thankfully, she wasn't tearful yesterday about it being her last day, even knowing that she won't be at her school or with Mrs. B next year. She knows she'll be in a new place and a new school with all new kids and so far, she's okay with that.

Last night was her t-ball dinner celebrating the end of the season. She got her trophy and photo and was thrilled beyond belief. I can't say enough great things about the Gloucester South Youth Softball League. It was an amazing experience (after the rough start for Emily - no fault of theirs). The people were great and it was lots of fun. Hope will definitely be doing t-ball with them when we return to Ottawa. The best photo of last night was not Emily getting her trophy or playing with her t-ball friends for the last time, but this one captured by John:


Just awesome.

And now, for my last disjointed paragraph (maybe).... last night I finally heard back from my neurologist's office. Wait, I have to back up a bit because I never did write about the latest in this ongoing saga. Last week (or was it two weeks ago now), I found out that the neurologist's office had sent our old phone number to the MRI people so that when they phoned, the phone number wasn't in service so the hospital cancelled the request and just left it alone, never calling the neuro's office to inform them. Now, given how busy the radiology departments of our hospitals are, I can't really blame them. I can definitely blame the neuro's office given that they've called me a few times on my current number and the old number is scratched out on my file, which by the way was disconnected well over a year ago. Anywho. If you're not in Canada, this may not seem like a big deal, but here (at least in Ottawa) a wait for an MRI can be up to six months or more, so I'm told. But, here I was having been given the opportunity to have an MRI within 4 weeks of the request being made and I missed the opportunity because someone stupid sent the wrong phone number to the hospital. I was irate. I was in tears. I left some angry messages with the neuro's office.

Last night, they informed me they were sorry. At least there's that. And that they put in a new referral on June 15 and I'm to call the hospital this morning to see if there is any way I can get an MRI by Tuesday (HAH!). If that doesn't work (and I don't expect it to), I'm to call the neuro from Waterloo and give them the number of an MRI clinic or hospital there and they'll send the referral there. At least that's something. I try hard not to dwell on the fact that the MRI would be done by now (by a full month) if they hadn't screwed up in the first place.

Welcome to human error in health care.