Tuesday

Jacob, modelling on the new lawn. Like everyone else with an iPhone, I'm a talented photographer now. Just so you know.

I would like to know whom in this house is hogging all the internet tonight...it took forever for Blogger to load. I know that sounds stupid, no one can hog the internet. But there is a laptop and a game system in the basement, and a laptop and iPad being used up here so *someone* is responsible for this. Whatevs, I'm on now.

We just got back from seeing Hotel Transylvania and it was pretty boring, even for the kids. Sam is really into Halloween right now; she watches 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' every day after school and begs me to tell her the story of Frankenstein every night. This is my version:

Once upon a time, there was an evil scientist that lived in an evil laboratory all alone. He had no one to watch tv with, no one to go for walks with and no one to help him do the dishes. One night he got a great idea! He was going to make a new friend! So he grabbed the biggest suitcase he had and walked down to the cemetary after the rest of the town had gone to sleep.

He dug up all the graves with his big shovel and took one arm from this one...one leg from this one...a bum from this one...a big tummy from this one...(etc, etc) until he had his suitcase stuffed right full. Then he took all the pieces home and sewed them all together until he had a new friend to do things with. They lived happily ever after. The end.

At this point, Sam will giggle like crazy and beg me to tell it again. If I was a better mother, I probably would find that story completely inappropriate for a 5 year old. But I'm not so that's ok :)

We had a very long-winded PAC meeting today where the principal read statistics from a sheet. For half an hour. I *hate* meetings that end up like that. It is my belief that this is why parents don't go to meetings, is because of presentations like that: monotonous number crunching and comparisons on those stupid province-wide tests. I hate them, I couldn't care less if my kids write them or not. We also had a surprise presentation by the reading recovery teacher (an early intervention program for kids that really need help with reading). I understand that there are some kids out there who need this...but quite honestly, there are 4 parents who go to these meetings regularly and that doesn't apply to any of our kids. Pick a speaker when you have the appropriate audience. I hate that shit, don't waste my time, I could have been home washing dishes or helping Jake with his math homework.

Tomorrow, I am off work and intend to work on Sam's Halloween costume a little bit...also, Jacob and I will work on his Steve from Minecraft costume (pdf file and instructional video here) after school. At first he was going to go as a cardboard box...actually, this costume isn't much different. So he's still going as a cardboard box. Kylie doesn't want to go out this year, she is inviting some friends over to watch scary movies on Netflix instead. Sorta sad, her first year without a costume :( .

It's so windy here...I better run outside and tie down a few Halloween decorations. Later.

Blah.

I have a sore throat this morning...maybe it's because I was snoring all night. Last night was the first night of the school's casino fundraiser and I was up until 230 in the morning. My body doesn't ever stay up that late so now I feel like I have a hangover.

I have been working 6 days a week, which stinks, but one of the girls at work is in Thailand and I can throw that extra money into savings. Mama wants an automatic car starter before winter hits. I will go to 4 days a week when the young lady returns to work.

So what is new?? Meh...not much. How about some pictures?

 

Santa's Anonymous Toy Run: 5000 burly bikers with dollies and lego strapped to their bikes. I think this was the last year that Kylie will ride with Scott...I'm not sure she even wanted to go this year, I think she just went because she knows how much Scott likes taking her. She hasn't been on the bike since last year's Toy Run. Four basketballs strapped to the back of the bike instead of dollies this year.

Finally...I bought this Halloween fabric 2 years ago and just now got around to finishing this scrub shirt for work. I figure I will have to wear it at least once a week between now and Halloween to make it worthwhile.     

Finally we got sod in the yard! But the piles of dirt seemed to be the only thing holding up the front fence. I came home after walking the kids to school and decided to give it a little kick. I took a bunch of pictures, texted them all to Scott and laughed...then I realized I had to clean it up. Crap. I then had to chop it up with the reciprocating saw and haul it all to the garage. There is one more section that looks like it might fall by the weekend. Jake has called dibs on kicking over that section if it is still standing there by Saturday.

Well, off to work in a couple of hours and then back to the casino. I think I will throw myself in the shower first.

Later.

Wednesday

And...I'm off! Off work, today, that is. I'm going to take my mom to the bank and grocery shopping in a few minutes, but until then I thought I would throw a post together.

My babies, first day of school: kinder, grade 6 and grade 9. Jacob had his clothes picked out 3 weeks ago haha. It's funny how that works: last year he would wear the same dirty clothes for 3 days in a row if I let him. This year, he lays out his clothes before he goes to sleep and HEAVEN FORBID I should suggest that he wear the same pair of jeans again because they're not dirty.

This past Sunday was the party for Sammy Sunshine's 5th birthday and Scott's 44th birthday. Just like every year, Scott asked for spice cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing (I throw a touch of cinnamon in the icing...it's so amazing). I tried to get Sammy to let me make a Barbie cake, but she insisted on another Polly Pocket cake this year. The top cake (beach theme) was last year's cake, front and back, and the bottom cake is this year's. The theme was 'fashion show'. She picked out the Pollies and I scrubbed the crap out of them and their clothes before we put them on the cake. The cake innards are tie-dyed (purple, orange, yellow and green). She picked the all the colours and helped me bake the cake as well. Just junky cake mix...home made white cake is gross, IMO. I made the spice cake though, using the last of my mom's applesauce from the freezer (no pics of those, I'm sure you can use your imagination: it's just a cupcake, I assure you). You can click through for bigger pictures if you want.

Well, I should head out. I need to get back in a decent amount of time to do a bit of cleaning before the school PAC meeting tonight. It's time to pay some bills and there is a casino fundraiser coming up next month. Money, money, money...

7 days...

7! Always 7! (that's an obscure reference to an awesome Kids in the Hall Thanksgiving sketch...I just watched it on You Tube and it's not as funny as I remember, actually).

Seven days until the first day of school.  Seven days until I have three kids in school all day long. Seven days until I begin a new phase in my life: working mom! To tell you the truth, I have no idea what my fall schedule will be. Right now it's 3 days...I will either go to 4 days or 5 days, and I don't know if that will be morning or evening shifts. I do have the first week off to figure out the kids' schedules, though. Cool.

I am off work today and tomorrow, so we will tie up a few loose ends: home haircuts, a bit of mending and some house cleaning. Maybe some baking, too. 

Kylie pics :) . She's really not a fan of getting her picture taken but she's slowly coming around. Occasionally I will find my phone full of photo-bomb style pictures that her and Sam have done (see it, on the bottom right of the above pic?) . My girl has been reading like crazy the last few weeks and is getting back into her writing as well. She will be going into grade 9!! I can hardly believe my baby is 14 and now slightly taller than me :) .

This is our fairy garden in the front yard. Note the Polly Pocket table and chairs on the stone patio. That large plant there? I thought it was a hollyhock, as they are sprouting up in the oddest places around my house, but it turned out to be a pumpkin plant. It was very cool to Sam that the fairies had planted a pumpkin plant in their front yard. The seed came from Jake's puking jack-o-lantern that was in the front yard last Halloween...unfortunately the twonie-sized hail storm we had last week demolished the pumpkin plant. It was nearly 3 feet long by then and had beautiful flowers :( . Oh well.

Sammy Sunshine. I can't tell you how many pictures I have on my phone of my girl as we kill time at Wal Mart, waiting for Gramma to finish shopping.

Sam is pummeling Jacob. I'm sure he did something to deserve it haha. My boy has grown over 1 1/2" since the end of June and gone through 3 pairs of shoes. He just came to me to tell me that he needs new shirts because his are all too short. When we order pizza, we have to order one just for him haha. He's going to be 10 feet tall by the time he finishes junior high (but he will have to get through grade 6 first).

Anyway, off to do some stuff. Later.

Um...Tuesday. Again.

(Insert Edith Prickley type "pfft-HA" here)

I suck at titles. I excel at saving funny pictures from Pinterest, though...

Just got back from taking 2 kids to the pedicatrican for a shared appointment. For that, I deserve a medal. 

Nah...they're such good kids, I'm pretty lucky. I have no idea what I did to deserve good kids like these.

Yesterday, I decided to paint the trim in the basement bathroom that we had built LAST YEAR. The other day I was standing there...wondering, why are all these baseboards scuffed up? Why can't I clean the gross fingerprints off of this stupid door? I'll tell you why. BECAUSE NONE OF IT WAS EVER PAINTED. It was primed, albeit before it reached Home Depot. And then the contractor installed it all and the painter came...and somehow the walls got painted but not the trim or the door. And I just noticed it now. I hate painting. I liked it when we first moved in, because it was fun to paint our new home, but now it sucks. But the job is done, every paintbrush in the house is soaking in the sink and the 2 youngest have paint in their hair. Pfft-HA!!

It's going to be very warm today. I'm going to take my mom grocery shopping this afternoon while Jake and his cousin hang out at the skate park nearby. Kylie had a friend sleep over last night and I'm sure they won't get up until late afternoon...I know they were up all night watching movies. Too warm to sleep at night anyway, even in the basement.

Later, taters!!

Tuesday

Sammy Sunshine is offering you a cupcake. Never mind that she licked that knife a hundred times before she dipped it back in the icing bowl. Never mind that ice cream cones taste like dirt after they're baked. 

Today is a day off and I am meeting my sister and her kids at my mom's for tea and goodies. Then I really need to go through Sam's room. I can't believe how many toys that kid has!! Nobody needs that much stuff. She will help me pull a few things to donate to Goodwill, and then I will pull a few more things while she is sleeping. Bad mommy.

We had a tornado warning last night, and today is the 25th anniversary of Black Friday here in Edmonton, where a tornado ripped through the outskirts of town and killed 27 people. The weather has been really funky lately, reminiscent of that time. Everyone here remembers where they were on that day. I was at home alone, age 15, and I called my best friend because I was pretty scared...she hung up on me because she was waiting for her boyfriend to call haha. 

I am working tomorrow for a few hours because someone needed the day off, then I think I may take the kids to a dollar movie. I should weed the garden, too.

Later :)

I'm back, bit--- um...baby! I'm back, baby!!

I have a bad word stuck in my head and I use it far too often. My husband told me so it must be true (tee hee). Must find new word.

So how are ya?? I'm ok. Haven't sewed a darn thing in months...or made a craft, for that matter. With Sam, it's her way or the highway lately, so craft time involves sticking a bunch of pink heart stickers on popsicle sticks or something like that. She has no interest in doing what Mummy wants right now. That's ok, one day she will find her way back to me at craft time :) . I will let her take the lead. If you need to dwell in the past, see this post.  That should tide you over for a while. I *did* buy a pattern for Sam's Halloween costume today and some fabric...it was just too good of a deal to pass up. 

Sammy Sunshine just finished swimming lessons for the summer and the big kids aren't doing a whole lot of anything. But that is just fine with me...summer should be about doing whatever you feel like without sticking to a schedule. I love that about summer :) .

What else?? Work is good...I gave up my Saturdays because it's just getting to be too hard. There is so much going on around here on Saturdays and my poor husband was left holding the bag (a bag full of yardwork, housework and 3 kids). My office hired a really great young lady who is just fresh out of school and she has taken over my Saturday shift. Such a nice girl, I hope she stays with us. 

Anyway, I'll throw in a few pictures here:

My babies!! This was my Mother's Day gift: a picture of all three kids. I told them, I don't care what you wear/what your hair looks like/where you are. I just want one stinking picture. And I got it :) 

 Sammy Sunshine wanted a 'Canada' shirt for Canada Day. I found a plain shirt in her closet and then we found a fun idea on Pinterest: tape off two rectangles, paint them in, then make a hand print maple leaf for the middle of the flag. It turned out super cute.

Canada Day fireworks seen from Telus Park. Next year we will sit on the other side, and maybe we will get the big idea to find a great place for fireworks somewhat earlier in the day...and not @10 at night, when we Googled "where to watch Canada Day fireworks in Edmonton" . Whatever, we still got to see the fireworks from a pretty reasonable distance.

Sammy Sunshine and her edible paper gingerbread house. It was a little kit from her Christmas stocking, we just got around now to putting it together. It tasted like paper. Yuk.

 

This is our fairy garden in our front yard. We made it out of rocks and junk we found in the house and yard...I bought plastic flowered grass at Dollarama because I couldn't wait for real plants to grow, and the doors/windows were gifted from a wonderful friend :) . I wanted something immediate for Sam to play in and enjoy. She has rearranged the rocks and sidewalk a few times, and sticks the odd dandelion flower in there for decoration.

This is actually what it looks like now (8 weeks later)...the tiny plants grew from seeds that the boulevard elms threw down...Sam and I pull the trees that block the fairy's sidewalk so they can get into their house. That large plant is (I think) a hollyhock. There are some hollyhocks that have appeared on the side of my house, in a little area that we have sort of forgotten about. I guess Mother Nature didn't forget...she threw some daisies in there as well. Anyway, we staked up the hollyhock tree (that Sam thinks the fairies planted) with a chopstick so it doesn't hang over the fairy's sidewalk. Next year we will plant real flowers and moss...and I would like some sort of climbing flower for the trellis on the back. 

Anyway, talk to you later. It's time for bed here!

Friday

Well, hello there. It's a beautiful snowy day here...thought we were done with that winter crap, but I guess not. It snowed pretty hard yesterday.

I worked yesterday, and we had a pretty good day. The office is renovating, so our office space has been cut down by more than half but there is still usually full staff. But 2 girls called in sick yesterday so it was ok. Those 2 aren't very useful so if they're not there then I can get more done. I wish they would just quit, actually.

I'm thinking of painting the bathroom. It needed painting anyway, but then Kylie decided to dye her hair a deep chocolate brown and splashed dye all over the walls. So guess who's going to help me paint??  Ha ha, that'll teach her.

This is Pee Pee Baby. Pee Pee Baby has clothes and diapers, but she is always naked because it's fun to pour water in her eyes and then watch it dribble all over the floor. Fun for Sam, that is, not for me.

This is a chair in our waiting room where a contractor sat the other day as he was telling me about...I don't know, renovating stuff. I wasn't really listening because I was trying to do a million other things at once. I just thought it was funny that he left a butt print on a chair in the waiting room so I took a picture. 

Sam's heart-shaped sandwiches that she took for her school snack today. 

Well, that's about it for my week. My sister is coming for coffee pretty soon, Sam is at preschool and I will go to work this afternoon. Now I'm off to finish my coffee and do some laundry.

Later :)

Valentine's Day

This is just a silly random picture from the other day...Sam yelling, 'take my picture!' from the back seat.

Jacob asked for bacon to take to his class party. Yes, bacon. Full-fat, pork bacon. I cut the strips into two, folded each into 3, and poked it with a toothpick to hold it in place. Then I baked them in the oven (had to Google that because I have never cooked pork bacon before). I was amazed at how much they shrunk, but I guess I shouldn't be considering how much fat was left on that cookie sheet! I can't imagine people eating that on a regular basis. I'll stick to my turkey bacon, thank you.

Our annual candle-lit Valentine's Day dinner. We try to get through one meal a year without rude noises at the table...I said we *try* . I don't think we've ever made it through the entire meal without someone making a fart noise in there somewhere. I made chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes and salad. We had cherry jello and whip cream for dessert, and drank cream soda. Jake said it was hard to pick what his favourite part of this year's dinner was, but he particularly liked the part where you get to eat your dessert in the living room. I liked that part, too. 

The tulips that my boyfriend sent me for Valentine's Day. Shhh...don't tell Scott (wink). 

Well, off for a run on the treadmill. I definitely need it after that dinner.

Worst headache *ever*...

The weather must be changing. I think I will take the headache if it means some warmer weather is on its way. Winter stinks.

Jacob left for school this morning with his pocket full of wadded-up fake moustaches from Christmas. The glue has worn off so he put a glue stick in his other pocket. So he is gluing the moustaches to his face with a glue stick at school...that is the weirdest kid haha.

Kylie doesn't talk lately. She reads, drinks tea and types furiously on her laptop. That is, when she comes out of her room. That's ok. I'm sure next week she will a happy girl again. These things tend to come and go with her (mostly go, she's a pretty happy kid).

I'm going to pick up Sam from school, then we are going to do some shopping at Wal Mart. I think I will buy myself some yarn, because I found the cutest free pattern for amigurumi mermaids HERE . I just realized that I need to register Sam for kindergarten NEXT MONTH. Oh my goodness, where has the time gone?!?

Later.

Pics!

Rice Krispie Pops for the school bake sale.

Sammy Sunshine's Christmas picture. I loved our tree this year. It looks sort of sparse here, but at night with the lights on it was amazing.

 

My boys decorating Christmas cookies.

Every year when I ask Jacob what he wants for Christmas, he tells me 'a potato with a toothpick in it'. This year, it was on the top of his stocking :) . He also got this great smashing tomato toy (HERE) but he accidentally popped it with his toothpick potato when he put everything back in his stocking before breakfast haha. That was a really neat toy, I have to find more.

Kiki, early Christmas morning with her new laptop.

Jacob and his new netbook. He also got a package of stick-on moustaches in his stocking. They entertained him for an entire week.

My goofball boy.

Jacob got a box full of duct tape from one of his aunties: silver, camouflage, paint splatter and green. The other day he made himself some slippers using the same technique as making his duct tape wallet : start by making a sheet of duct tape, then fold and tape until it's what you want. I know this is a terrible picture though...they are silver with green accents and he slips his feet into them from behind. 

Off to work today, need to do a bit of cleaning first. It's getting cold here, it almost feels like winter!!

Tuesday.

Wow, it feels like forever since I've worked a shift...Christmas really threw things off around  here.

We are going to see Chipwrecked today (is that what it's called?). The Alvin and the Chipmunks one. Kylie is going through a movie phase, she doesn't care if it's a dollar movie, Netflix movie or whatever. Jacob got to pick today, though, but Kylie is always down for a movie. I think it's $5 Tuesdays...I guess we'll see when we get there. I have a bunch of airmiles movie passes but I'm saving those for two movies: Underworld, which Scott will have to find another wife to go with, because I refuse. Those movies irritate me to no end. Also saving passes for when Kylie goes to see The Hunger Games, because I think she read each book about 4 times and right now it's all she thinks about.

Sam is going through this pretend phase right now, where she goes into her room for a while, invents a persona, and comes out to tell me all about how she's "the new girl in the world and her name is not Sam". She has come to live with us for a while, and will sleep in Sam's bed until Sam returns from school or grocery shopping or wherever she is right now. Then she tells us this huge story about her former life, how she lived in a castle with her pony or whatever haha. It's so stinkin' cute. Right now her name is Isabella, and she is sending a text to her dad, the King...on a toy cell phone.  Then she will go back in her room, and return as Sam.

*Yawn*...I need a shower before that movie. Best get on that :) .

Reflection Questions for 2011

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

Finally figuring out what I was good at (professionally) and deciding that I LOVE going to work. Love it, really do :)

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

Helping my kids and husband deal with my FIL's passing. That was hard. I miss him too :(

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

The work thing. I knew it was time to sort this stuff out but I really didn't think it would be this much fun. I look forward to going to work and when I'm there, it's just go go go. All of a sudden, it's time to go home.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

Other than my FIL's passing, probably the effort it took to keep the weight off that I lost last year. That was harder than losing it, definitely. And to be completely honest, I don't think I was successful :(

5. Pick three words to describe 2011.

I will pick 6 words because 3 draws me to focus only on the hardships, and I don't want to do that.

Sad. Mourning. Tears. FIL's diagnosis and then his death happened within 3 months, such a whirlwind.

Happy. Love. Respect. FIL's passing also reinforced that I married a wonderful, caring man. I respect him more now than I ever did, for how he took charge of many situations and stepped up to be the rock his mother and children needed. I love that man.

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2011 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).

Fulfilled, pirates, zombies. He had a Neo Citron before he went to bed and that makes him loopy haha.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2011 (again, without asking).

Sad, change, family. (I hope 2012 is good to him.)

8. What were the best books you read this year?

Why on earth would I read ?!? Honestly, I'd rather mend socks. I love mending socks.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

My Scotty, my kids and my mom.

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

I went from being 'Susan the stay-at-home-mom' to 'Susan, the Medical Office Assistant'. That's cool...this was always the way it was supposed to be. The seasons of life :)

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

I have no idea what that question means. Next.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

We had a lot of spiritual discussions in our household over the last 6 months. I think we left the kids with more questions than answers, but that's a good thing (I think). If I knew all the answers to that stuff, then I could solve a lot of world problems. I'm trying to teach my kids that they will never know the answers to a lot of life's spiritual questions, and that's ok. It's good to have something to think about. Anyone who thinks they know it all doesn't know squat, really.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

Well, my ass is still growing apparently...

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

My relationship with my husband. I thought after 19 years together, I would know him inside and out.  It was just really cool and very powerful to rediscover what a great guy he is.


15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?

Contributing substantially to our monthly income. We always said, we would live off of what Scott brought into the home and then whatever I made would be gravy. Well, I have to tell you it's really awesome to have that gravy sitting there when you need it. Like, not swimming in gravy but just being able to say, "Hey, lookit that gravy sitting there". That reminds me, I made a turkey last week because it was so cheap and I made the tastiest gravy to go with it. From scratch and everything...mmm, gravy. I've never done that before so that was a great achievement, as far as sauce-making goes. Speaking of sauce, I'm out of sauce. I mean wine. So I guess I wasn't speaking of sauce, but of wine...am I sauced? It's only 11:00. Where's that other darn bottle of wine?

16. What was your most challenging area of home management?

Balancing chores with working 25 hours a week, as well as carting my mother all over creation...and driving the kids everywhere, making sure someone is available to pick up Jake from his after-school things, finding parking downtown 4x a week. And there is no way I'm paying for parking. Easing the big kids into helping more with laundry and cleaning...Scott taught Kylie how to do her own laundry last week. I have the cutest little laundry area, I swear it was the only place in the whole house that was just mine and now I have to share it haha.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

I can't decide, it's a 3-way tie: Facebook, Pinterest and Free Cell cards on the computer. Do people really watch tv episodes and movies from start to finish? I can't remember the last time I did that without being on the laptop at the same time. So I can tell you how an episode of Big Bang Theory starts, but I usually can't tell you how it ends. Or the other way around.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

I normally start work at noon (3 weekdays) so I can cram a lot of junk into the time period from 830am - 11am. Cleaning, meal planning, pre-cooking, etc. Sam likes to help me with all that stuff.    

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

That I am who I am, and if someone doesn't like it...then they can get bent. I am fine explaining my introverted personality to others without defending it, because I don't think I have to. And because I am fine with the way I am, that helps my introverted child to see that she is ok too. She doesn't have to be like everyone else to be happy.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.

That's stupid. I'm not doing that. Maybe in the morning when I sober up. Ha ha ha...

Happy New Year!!! Whoooo!!!

It's only 1030...not exactly New Year's just yet. As usual, we spent it at home. I can't imagine facing the crowds tonight, be it at a restaurant or at the movie theatre that we thought we may go to. Jacob was invited to a sleepover, Kylie is on the couch with her phone and her laptop, Scott is watching the non-stop 90s video marathon on Much and Sam is in bed. We counted down the New Year while watching Toronto's fireworks on TV at 10pm and then we all yelled, "Happy New Year!" followed by lots of kisses. That was fun...I remember doing that with Kylie when she was little. So cute to see a little one's first New Year's countdown. Then I stuffed her in bed so I could have a glass of wine :) .

This is the video we are watching right now:

...a minute ago, we watched "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and tried to explain to Kylie that it's the same guy from the movie "The Italian Job" but she didn't believe us. Ha ha...that was pretty funny. 

Scott is going to bed now, he's not feeling well. Poor guy, he always gets a sinus cold around New Year's...I don't know how he manages that.

Happy New Year's!! Best wishes for a great 2012, from our house to yours :) .

Tales from My Crypt

Jake got his hair cut, by his own choice and I *love* it. The old lady in the background was chatting away to herself and waving at us after I took this picture. I have no idea what she was saying lol.

Sammy Sunshine started at a brand new playschool today and I swear, she told me to get out when I dropped her off. Ok, well maybe she didn't go that far...I got a quick kiss on the cheek before she bolted for the new toys. Have I mentioned how hard it is to have a very outgoing, social child when you are anti-people? I don't understand this.

What else...I did some Christmas shopping online the other day, first time for that...it arrived yesterday and looks awesome. I will have to do that again. Online shopping=no people in checkout lines to irritate me. Score.

I think we may put the tree up this weekend, but just because Jake is asking to and since he is confined to the house I may as well let him do it (he is sick with a strep infection). We are trying a new thing this year: I bought silver and black ornaments in January of last year so we will see how that looks. First year without the macaroni or pirate ornaments...but I'm sure they'll be back next year. 

Scott should be home any minute, as it is his last day at his current job and he really just went today to clean out his desk. He has accepted another offer with a different company and will start on Monday. I don't even think his current manager said goodbye/good luck/kiss my arse/nothing. Jerk.

Well, I should go clean something before I have to pick up Sam. Work this afternoon...assisting with a biopsy for the first appointment. All that means is that I have everything ready for the doctor in the treatment room and then stand around in case he needs me to grab him something out of the cupboard. Then I get to look at the hunks of suspicious flesh as they swim around in the vials of preservative, before sending them off to the lab. I'm actually really looking forward to that haha. 

We had a tapeworm in a vial of preservative that sat on our desk by the phone for nearly a year at our old office. I don't know why it was there. Every time I answered the phone I would pick it up and shake it...watch it dance...put it back down. Just wanted to share that with you.

Later :) .

Wednesday.

It's Wednesday...supposed to be a day off, but I worked for 3 hours. I didn't want to, but the boss waved time-and-a-half under my nose and I was convinced. We are short-staffed and it stinks. Turns out you need common sense to work as a medical office assistant. Who knew that would be so hard to find? 

I am currently writing an email to the school principal regarding the tirade I witnessed at school the other day. A teacher exploded...screaming at about a dozen little kids. I'm sure I stood there with my mouth hanging open, it was so shocking.  She didn't even care that there was parents and student teachers around...just screamed and screamed because they were chatting and giggling while waiting for the daycare staff to pick them up. Sure, teachers are overworked and not respected, blah blah blah. But she's also an adult, capable of knowing what is appropriate behaviour while in the presence of children. Honestly, it was scary.

Guess who thinks he needs a haircut?? I can hardly believe it. Jacob has decided he wants to go SHORT short. It takes me weeks to talk him into trimming his bangs and now he wants to chop it all off.

Kylie's ears are haunted. She thinks she can hear me playing Minecraft. Um...no lol.

I'm tired, going to bed. Darnit, need to do laundry first or I will have to go to work in yoga pants tomorrow night. Not cool.

'Night.

Well, hello!

Hi there! How are you? I'm better now, thanks for asking. I've decided to let the angry, mean people steep in their own anger rather than let it affect  me. That is, for today. Maybe it's because I'm cozy in my tiny house with my family on a cold winter's day and I had a great day at work yesterday. No one yelled at me haha.

Our regular doctors are from Libya and have taken some time off to go home to celebrate Eid and to see their families. So to cover for them, we have some visiting doctors (or 'locums' as they are called in the industry). The one doctor we had the other day reminded me of Raj from Big Bang Theory...he just smiled a lot and didn't really talk. When he did ask for something, it was in this teen-tiny voice with a heavy accent. I wanted to hug him goodbye when he left at the end of the night, because he was just so cute but I guess that would be considered inappropriate :) .

It's getting cold here but no snow yet. I'm hoping it does snow soon, because my front yard always looks horrible in the fall. It's even worse this year because we took the trees down, so the entire world can see the craptacular view from the sidewalk. Snow will at least cover that mess.

Sam is playing Dance Dance Revolution with Kylie and her friend in the basement...Jacob is at my mom's and Scott and I are heading outside soon to take down the trampoline for the winter. Earlier, Sam and I went into the attic to look for some winter boots for her. Funny, a few years ago I was scared to climb that ladder and now I am following a four year old up there. It's no big deal now. I figured if she can do it, I should do it too.

Later, taters :)

Soaking in a tepid pool of my own anger...

I'm angry a lot lately.  I'm trying not to be...but as I get older, I get more patience for my kids and less patience for the world around me.

It seems I am constantly dealing with stupid people. Stupid is a really strong word, isn't it? Tomorrow I will be sorry that I said that, so I will take a second to think of a word that would be more appropriate:  hmm...let's go with selfish. Selfish people at work: people who are mean to me and mean to the doctors, the same doctors that stay after closing and don't go home to their families because they need to deal with these petty jerks. The same people I have to be nice to the next time they call to make an appointment. Selfish people who lie to me about my child's education when it's all about money and the educator's place in the system...the selfish people my husband deals with during the day and tells me about when he comes home at night. After he bends over backwards to help someone, the next claim he deals with is some asshole who thinks he won the insurance lottery when hail hit his house and will not take no for an answer. Because he didn't have coverage in the first place, but "that's what insurance is for!". And then when everyone has to pay more for next year's policies because of the multitude of these jerks in the world, my husband will  take the brunt of the anger.

How on earth am I supposed to raise thoughtful, respectful people when the world is filled with selfish people? It's like the zombie plague: if you're not careful, you'll get bit by one of them and turn into a selfish ass just like they are. Every night at the dinner table, the kids regale us with stories of their day, stories of how awful the kids in this world are to each other and I have to remind my kids to see the good points in these rotten brats. The next day, one of those rotten brats does something stupid and the conversations start all over again.

Is it just because I'm getting old? Is my ability to give a shit withering away over time? 

I wish I could stop thinking about it and just be as selfish as everyone else.

I'm going to go clean something...get my mind off this crap.

This is what Homeschooling would look like in our house.

This morning before school, Jacob asked me to help him study for his Social Studies test. Today's test is on Canada's physiological regions, which I remember as being one of those things that you learn in Grade 5 and then never touch on again for the rest of your life.

I tried to find a map to show you as an example, but Google found me over a million maps and no two were the same. Why would you force a child to memorize regions that even adults can't agree on what they should be named? How stupid. Anyway...for your enjoyment, a map that I edited to show what we were dealing with this morning:

Of course, the Arctic was no problem to identify. That's where penguins and inukshuks are, everyone knows that. We deduced that he needed to memorize the remaining regions: Cordillera, Interior Plains, Canadian Shield, Great Lakes, Atlantic...and then we came up with a plan. Take the first letter of each region in order and come up with a rhyme to help you remember.

Remember this?

(read: Jacob asking me to buy ice cream)

Yeah. Jake's rhyme is:

Can I cut Grover's Ass?

...I did what I thought I should do and asked him to think of another word on the way to school, but honestly: whatever works. I asked him just to please not say his chosen rhyme in front of his teachers. Or his friends.

But it works! I quizzed him as he walked out the door today and he got every region correct, in order.

Silly kid :)

Baking with the Boy

Today, Jake and I made brownies...not just any brownies, but Smartie brownies. He is taking them to school tomorrow to share with his class, because it's his birthday. My baby boy is turning 10 years old!! Where did the time go?

If there's one thing I've figured out about this boy in the last 10 years, it's that he hates anything that resembles school work. Reading/writing/math?? Forget it!

One thing he likes to do, though: baking. He just read a recipe, doubled fractions so that we could make a bigger pan-full, and wrote the recipe down in a binder because the printer was out of ink (or was it??).

But it's not school work, so it was fun. Silly boy.

Jake (age 2) and Kylie (age 5)

My 10 year old boy

Big party this weekend for the birthday boy. Wish me luck haha.