Greetings

from the Calgary International Airport.  The current time is 2:04 a.m.  The current temperature sucks compared to the glorious 30 degrees I was experiencing a mere 12 hours ago in Las Vegas.  My Dear Nathan and I are in the airport waiting for our 7:15 flight from here back to Edmonton.  We arrived here from Vegas just an hour ago and are so very excited about our camp out here :P

Las Vegas was great but another trip is definitely in order...you know one where I am not pregnant or with my family.  Actually I had a great time with my family this weekend.  My little brother got married this weekend.  For those of you who know my brother you will understand when I say that the weekend was not without a little Joe drama.  In the end it all turned out beautifully though.  I have a new sister-in-law who is just made for my brother and I got to go somewhere warm.

I can't wait to get home and have a good sleep in my own bed.  I cannot believe how easily time slips away in a place that literally never sleeps.  I kept wondering why I was so tired only to look at the clock and see that it was some crazy hour.  I think that the earliest that we made it to bed was 2:00 and of course, that was after donating some money to some hard up slot machines.

We didn't arrive until late Saturday night and with all the plans that my brother had made for us we did not have an opportunity to check out any of the Cirque Du Soleil shows, of which there are 6 (by my count...there could be more).  We did go to a burlesque show at the Crazy Horse in the MGM Grand which was pretty neat but not a show I will soon be attending soon again, at least not with my parents and brother that is.

I got to spend an afternoon in the spa at our hotel.  I got my nails done and a pedicure.  My Mom also graciously offered to pay for me to get my hair done.  I am sure that if she knew that it was going to cost her more than $300.00 she may have reconsidered.  I am going to admit right now that I am a horrible pregnant person and got my hair dyed.  I figure that I dyed my hair while I was pregnant with Darian and there isn't anything wrong with her so I should be OK this time too.

I am sure that there is more to tell but as of right now I have t minus 5 hours to go in this god-forsaken airport and I want to go put on some comfy clothes for my long night....

Yay!!!!

A picture paints a thousand words....  :D

Update

Since my last post I am happy to say that I am up and around again.  I went to the surgeon 2 weeks after being released from the hospital.  He told me that I needed to wear my Air Cast for one more week and after that I was free to walk on my foot unaided.  I am driving again and have once again resumed my life.  I never knew how nice it is to be able to choose to do something or not.  When you just can't do it....well, it really sucks.

I am 3 days away from a very much anticipated trip to Vegas for my brother's wedding.  I am looking forward to a couple of kid-free, husband only days.  Oh and the whole wedding thing too. 

 :D

Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year.  We hosted dinner and had 17 family members here, both from my family and My Dear Nathan's family.  We have enough turkey to feed an army from now until next Thanksgiving.  I am very impressed with myself as I baked a couple of kick ass loaves of bread.  I really do enjoy baking bread.  (Can you say dork?)

As of now I am doing laundry for our trip and trying to get the house tidied up after our whirlwind weekend.  Enough procrastinating...bring on the laundry!

Laid Up

I suppose that I really have no excuses for not blogging.  The only one that I can think of is that I am sleeping.  I have been doing lots of that lately.  It's the drugs.  I will explain.

On saturday night I took my girls and one of Darian's friends to our community league Corn Fest.  We got there early, had something to eat and then I noticed the dessert table.  They had cookies that I really, really like.  The girls had already headed outside to play at the park.  I decided to bring Ryleigh some cookies, so off I head towards the door.  I should have just sat my fat ass down and not went anywhere.

The stairs out the door at my community league are sinking into the ground.  I went to step down and fell.  Hard.  Awkwardly.  I knew when I hit the ground that things were not good.  I managed to twist both my ankles.  The strangers around me finished laughing and then came over to see if I was OK.  I wasn't.  I knew that I was not able to put any weight on either of my feet.

Long story short....I got an ambulance ride to the hospital, where I proceeded to spend 5 hours only to find out that I twisted my left ankle and broke my right.  My break required surgery which I put off until Sunday as My Dear Nathan was on his way home from work in Fort Mac and my kids were at home waiting for me.

Sunday came.  I went to the hospital, had my surgery, which went well.  I spent the night there and came home on Monday.  My football team lost and my neighbours have decided to call me names  (I am being very sensitive about it right now as I am horribly embarrassed about falling in front of strangers).

All in all it has been a shitty few weeks.  My husband is working out of town, the toilet broke, my cat died and now I am laid up for at least 2 weeks.  I have a metal plate, 6 screws and 12 staples in my ankle and I can't take care of my baby.

Thankfully my Grandparents live near and are here taking care of us.  My Dear Nathan is able to come back home and work here again but he is in Fort Mac for another 4 nights.  After that I am going to have to figure out how I am going to take care of Ryleigh during the day.

I will be going back to the surgeon on October 6.  I am hoping that at that time he will tell me that I can start putting weight on my foot then....it will make it easier for me to do things around the house.  All in all it is going to be a long few weeks. 

Connection?

I have been trying for months to get my house and life organized.  I have so many things that I want to do.  I need to paint my entire upper floor so that I can get new flooring and baseboards.  Before this can be done I need to clean my basement.  

We purchased storage shelving months and months ago (sometime in March I think) that is supposed to be set up in the basement so that I can move some stuff from upstairs down there so as to create more space.  I have gone through and gotten rid of tons of stuff but there is still so much more to do.

I have a spare bedroom that one day I would like to put another baby in but it is the black hole for everything that doesn't have a place in our house.  I get in there and clean it out and it looks great for about a week and then it is piled full of shit again.

My bathroom is hideous as is the ensuite in my bedroom.  I would love to have them redone but I have neither the time nor the money to do it at the present moment.   My kitchen tiles that I keep talking about grouting....yea, we put the tile on the wall over a year ago.  Our kitchen has been in a state of renovation FOR A YEAR!!!

I have never been at home for this long before.  I always went back to work or to school after my other girls were about 1.  I have not had to entertain a toddler all day long.  I have never lived in a house where we have done major renovations.  I have never not had an income for so long.  All of these things contribute (I think although I am no Dr. Phil) to my feeling like I am walking around in circles all the time.

In an attempt to gain some insight and advice on the subjects I have done loads of searching on the internet.  I have found a few websites that offer advice....for $9.95 for 3 months or after you finish our short survey which then turns into a bazillion other surveys in your email.  I have found a few blogs on the subject as well.  

I have started to notice something about these organization blogs though.  The vast majority (like 99.8%) of them are deeply religious women.  They have all their shit in order, neatly I might add, could give you an entire inventory of their bathroom cupboard or deep freeze all while baking dozens of muffins for their church, in between homeschooling their 12 kids and doing a bible study.  

What the fuck?  Is that why they call it "organized" religion?  Do you need to "walk with the Lord" and then all of a sudden your home looks like the maid from Brady Bunch lives there?  Is this what I have been doing wrong all this time?  If I clean my house will I find God?  Is he what is under my ginormous laundry pile?

If I become organized will I become religious or is it that you need to first be religious in order to get organized...either way I think I need to find me a bible, but where the hell do I begin to look in this disorganized hell hole?  ;)

Lame Wednesday

Today has not been nearly as productive as yesterday was.  I have not quite finished the laundry.  I have only 2 more loads left downstairs, soon to be 1.  I have put away everything from yesterday though.  My kitchen tiles still have not been grouted a second time.  I am hoping that I will find the motivation to do that while I take Camryn to her first Guides meeting tonight.

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day.  We have Meet the Teacher at one school and Family BBQ at another.  I am leaning towards the BBQ as then I won't have to make supper.  I know, I know....lame-ass mothering....oh well....free is the right price for anything.

I am hoping to start attending my WW meetings again as well.  I was going to go in the morning but I think that I will just try to get to the evening one as we will be out anyway.  We will see.....I just really need to get back to it!

Friday is a PD day for one of the girls.  I will have to get all 3 of them up to take the other to school though....ugg....I wish they could all be on the same schedule.  Friday is also the first night of Scrapbooking/Social Night at my community league.  I am hoping to go but will have to see how the girls are.   I don't scrapbook but I am still trying to finish my cross-stitch.

Well I should run to finish off cleaning my kitchen but I doubt the grout is getting done tonight.  Again.

Tuesday

I started out today with a plan.  I have to do laundry.  I have done some laundry.  I haven't yet put it away but it is cleaned and dried.  2 out of 3 isn't bad.  

I also managed to decide what I was going to make for supper early enough to take it out of the deep freeze....now I just have to make it.

I set up my new printer and have started to print out sheets for my new venture.  A household notebook.  I have read about such things on the on-line and figured I would give it a shot.

I also printed out my awesome Gail Vaz-Oxlade interactive budget.  Starting next week (after payday) I will be using her jar system.  I am hoping that this will help curb our spending, particularly in the area of groceries.

I am also going to try selling some of the girls clothes that are too small.  I usually just donate them to Goodwill but figure why should they make all the money on them.  I could use the extra cash.  I have a few bags of stuff to go through already, now I just need to find the desire to do so.

I would also like to find some ideas for home-made Christmas gifts as we are going to have a slim Christmas so that we can have more spending money in Florida.

Sad Day

Monday started out alright and then it all went downhill from about 7:00 on.  

We were just sitting at home, watching t.v., another uneventful night.  I hear a knock on the door.  When I looked out the window I see that there is a police cruiser parked in front of my van.  Sure enough when I get to the door there are 2 police officers standing there.

My heart dropped.  I immediately felt like I was going to puke.  My mind started to race....why are they here?  Oh.  My.  God.  What happened to Nathan?  Thankfully it had nothing to do with Nathan.

Unfortunately it had to do with one of my cats.  :(  We have (had) 3 of them.  Ariel is the Momma, then there was Squeak, her baby, and Zodiac...the replacement (will explain this another time).  Ariel and Squeak were both outdoor cats, much to my neighbours dislike.  When we went out of town on friday I made sure that they were all inside as I didn't want them out all night.  We tried to keep them in during the night, for their safety and our sleep.  They liked to come meowing to come inside sometime around 5 am.

Squeak and Ariel went outside on Saturday night when we got home.  I sort of wondered on Sunday about Squeak as I had not heard him but didn't really think too much of it.  Until last night.  The officers told me that a lady walking her dog found him deceased in the field behind a neighbourhood school.  She also told them that she has been seeing coyotes out there recently.

Squeak met up with one of them and he lost the fight.  The police had a forensic team look at him to ensure that there was no foul play (as that has happened here in the city) and then he was sent to our pound.  I need to call them tomorrow.  I don't want to.  I want my kitty to come home.

Naturally, I had to tell my girls.  They wanted to know why the police were here, why they came in and why I was crying.  They took it so well.  They are naturally sad about the loss of our kitty but know that it is better to know what happened than to wonder when or if he would have come home after disappearing.  They made me laugh through my tears, telling me about all the mice he will have to chase in cat heaven and wondering whether or not his wings will be big enough to lug his big butt through the sky.

Not the best pic that I have of him on this computer....but when I tell the story of Zodiac the replacement I will have a great one.

Monday

Another exciting week begins....Roo and I are going to join one of my friends on a trip to Costco.  Costco is always exciting because we always find way more stuff than we originally intended to drag home.  This time I have a list so hopefully I can stick to it.  

I was going to go to see Rancid and D.O.A. tonight but I don't think that I will have anyone to watch my girls for me so I guess we will just have to watch football....darn lol.

We have Girl Guide registration this week so I can only assume that by next week the Mom Taxi will be in full swing.  The girls also start piano lessons this weekend.  At the end of the month Roo, Camryn and I start swimming lessons.  I am looking forward to participating with Roo.  I haven't done anything like this since Darian was little and I was pregnant with Camryn.

This week Moms & Tots starts at our community league as well.  I have planned to attend every week in order to meet new Moms and give Roo the opportunity to play with some new friends.  Hopefully this will help out in the clingy department.  I would love to be able to go back to the gym in the mornings but Roo hates the daycare and just cries when I try to leave her.  Fingers crossed because God knows that I need to go to the gym.

My Dear Nathan will be home this week.  I am very much looking forward to it.  His birthday is the day before he comes home so I am going to make him a nice big meal this weekend.  At least that is the plan and I know that plans have a tendency to change.  This turn-over has been easier than the first but I still miss him when he is not here.  I thank my stars everyday that I have a man that is willing to do what he does for his family.....I am a lucky woman.

Enough rambling for now....I should get some laundry in before our field trip.....ahh the exciting life of a stay at home Mom....I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Tagged, by name even.... :)

I was tagged by Tess (at least I hope it was me...) so here goes....

ONE WORD

1.  Where is your cell phone? Table

2.  Your significant other? Nathan

3.  Your hair?  Flat

4.  Your Mother?  Ali

5.  Your Father?  Kevin

6.  Your favorite thing?  Football

7.  Your dream last night?  Positive

8.  Your favorite drink?  Beer

9.  Your dream/goal?  Superbowl

10.  The room you're in?  Living

11.  Your hobby?  Unsure

12.  Your fear?  Loneliness

13.  Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Content

14.  Where were you last night?  Driving

15.  What you're not?  Healthy

16.  Muffins?  Nope

17.  One of your wish list items?  Motivation

18.  Where you grew up?  McMurray

19.  The last thing you did?  Typed

20.  What are you wearing?  Jersey

21.  Your TV?  On

22.  Your pets?  Cats

23.  Your computer?  Connection

24.  Your life?  Improving

25.  Your mood?  Meh...

26.  Missing someone?  Definitely!!!

27.  Your car?  Minivan

28.  Something you're not wearing?  Watch

29.  Favorite store?  Liquor.....lol

30.  Your summer?  Short

31.  Like someone?  Yes

32.  Your favorite colour?  Black

33.  When is the last time you laughed?  Tonight

34.  Last time you cried?  Thursday

35.  Who will resend this?  Dunno

Anyone who reads this is tagged.....Cammy?  Emma?  Joy?  Anyone?

Gone For A Night

In an attempt to keep myself occupied I am going to Calgary...for the night.  Actually, the trip is more for the eye appointments that my kids have tomorrow afternoon.  

I plan on going shopping with my Mom tonight when we get there and spending way too much money on clothes for my girls.  Tomorrow afternoon we will have our eye appointments in Calgary and then make our way to my Mom's optical office to pick out new glasses for Camryn.

I figure that I will stay and have supper with my parents before I head home tomorrow night.  I must be at home on Sunday morning to watch football.  All.  Day.  Long.  I have been waiting for this Sunday since February.

This post is hereby nominated for "Most Pathetic Post Ever".  Anyone second the nomination?

New Year

I cannot believe that tomorrow is the official end of summer.  The girls will go back to school tomorrow.  Grade 8 and Grade 4.  Yikes.  That is only 4 and 8 years away from graduations....hmmm, funny how that worked out.

The Roo baby and I will try to make better use of our time together this year.  We are going to try to make it to Moms & Tots every week.  We are already signed up for Parents & Tots swimming lessons and will just generally try to venture out of our home more often.

In my attempt to make it out more I am also going to try to make it to the gym a few times a week.  I have fallen off of the Weight Watchers wagon and have maimed myself horribly.  I think that I am probably at an all-time high of fatness and it does not feel good at all.  I have only 125 more days until Florida...do you think that I can lose a pound a day until then?  Probably not huh?  That would be spanking great though!!!

I always feel like the start of a new school year is the REAL new year, not that fake January 1st.  I am going to journal my new and revised resolutions for the year and hope to high hell that I have the courage to change what needs to be changed.  

Weather

It is currently 13 degrees celsius.  This is only monumental because not more than 48 hours ago it was 30+ degrees celsius.  This is what you get living in Alberta.  So help me if I wake up in the morning and it is snowing I am packing up and moving to Florida....Fay and all.

Apologies

RE: yesterdays post about friends and the lack thereof.  I, do, in fact have friends here.  I have a handful of great friends here.

I was having a pity party yesterday and am really trying to make the best of the situation that is ahead of us.  As a last word on it just know that I would rather poke a million hot needles into my eyes than send my husband to Fort Mac.

On the positive side:

- I believe this is my 100th post!  Yay for me!!  100 posts!  I think I will make yummy blueberry muffins (recipe courtesy of Kyddryn).

- I had a great day with my girls yesterday.  We went shopping.  We went to the park.  We caught up on some episodes of The Mole.  Just a nice relaxing day.

- I had a great time camping with my girls and my Mom last week.  The weather was great (minus the sun burn....my stupid fault as I forgot my toiletries bag which contained our sunscreen), the water was warm and I didn't have to sleep in a tent.

- I had a great weekend.  My parents had the kids.  My Dear Nathan made me a great dinner on Saturday.  We progressed on some renovations that are long over due and then spent Sunday afternoon with my in-laws/friends house.

- While at the in-laws my Awesome Father-In-Law didn't say anything that made me want to kill him.

- Only 142 more days until we go to Florida.  You may think that it is crazy to be counting down already, but I will admit that I started at 220!  We have made great progress.  :D

- We are going to CrueFest tomorrow.  Well, not Roo but everyone else.  Motley Crue is Camryn's favorite band and she is something excited about getting to see them.  I am sure that I will enjoy watching her more than any band that takes the stage.

Pity Party - Table for One

Next Monday, how I dread thee.  

It has been just a hair over a month since My Dear Nathan began his new job.  The new job that pays better and has better hours than the sweatshop that he had previously been working at.  The new job that is a union job with benefits and a pension.  This is the same new job that is making me dread next Monday.

We knew that because of the fact that My Dear Nathan is working for a union shop that there may be a chance that he would have to go and work out of town.  I thought that I would be able to deal with it should it happen.  Well....it is happening and I am not sure how to deal with it.

Work wants to ship My Dear Nathan to Fort McMurray.  I would rather send him to Siberia myself.  I have issues with the City of Fort McMurray.  I don't like it, don't miss it and don't want to send my husband there.  

The shift is 10 days in, 4 out.  It could be worse but I don't think that I have ever spent more than a week apart from My Dear Nathan.  I also lack severely in the friends department.  My Dear Nathan is the only one that I have here.  What am I going to do with myself?  Who is going to entertain me?  Am I really this pathetic?

I keep being reminded of how the money will help.  Debt will be paid down, money saved for 2 trips to Florida that we have planned for next year.  School starts soon and I want to finish my renovations.  All of this will be helped by My Dear Nathan being away in the Pit of Despair that is Fort McMurray but money does not sleep next to me every night or make me laugh or rub my feet.

I can only hope that this is a short lived situation and that there is an angel riding on his shoulder for every 5 hour stretch that he needs to spend on the highway to hell.  Pity party over....for now :(

Only 3 More Days

I am so excited that I could just pee my pants.  Believe me when I say you will be sadly disappointed by what has me all worked up.....and probably will stop reading this post but if you make it to the end you will win a cookie.

On Sunday, the NFL starts pre-season games.  For those of you who may not know I.  Love.  Football.  I love every Sunday from September through to February.  I also love Monday nights and the occasional Thursday and Saturday.  It is a big event around here.  Every Sunday I get to sleep in while My Dear Nathan and our girls prepare our snacks for the day.  Then approximately 5 minutes before kick-off MDN comes into our bedroom to wake me up.  I then park my ass on the couch for a day of football watching and eating.

Our girls participate as well but mostly for the food.  Camryn will often watch part of the game with My Dear Nathan and me.  Darian has no interest at all.  I think that we need to start exposing Camryn to other sports though, in particular hockey.  We are Canadian after all.  I thought about this last night as we were watching My Dear Nathan play hockey.  After watching someone fall due to a vigourous cross check Camryn commented, "oooooo, what a tackle!"  I just shook my head laughing and did not bother to tell her that this is the wrong sport.  

(I apologize if you have made it this far.....there are no cookies.)

Busy Days Ahead

We have such a busy few days ahead of us.  My house is an absolute sty.  I can't believe that it takes so long to clean and so few minutes to mess up!!  I have loads of laundry to do but have already started on that.  I even put some in the wash at 1:00 this morning when I couldn't sleep.

We have to get some of our camping stuff together as we are going camping for 5 days with my parents.  I am looking forward to spending some time with them and my girls.  My Dear Nathan will be staying home and working his tail off for us, as he always does :)

My older girls are cleaning up the basement after having their cousins from Calgary stay with us for a few days last week.  It was nice to have some company but I think that has contributed to the mess that is my house.  We were on the go for most of the week last week, taking in Capital Ex.

My Dear Nathan has his last hockey game tonight.  I think that because it is the last that we are going to go cheer him on.  I could be totally wrong about it being the last game though as we are unsure if he has made the play-offs.  In any case I think that he is ready for a bit of a hockey break before winter comes.

Instead of procrastinating about where I should start, I probably should just do it.  Here I go....

(I just read this post and realize that it is crazy and all over the place....must be a reflection of my house)

Ho Hum

It is worth having people in your life that drive you completely bonkers?  People that when you don't see them for a weekend you find it refreshing?  How do you handle them?  How do you distance yourself from them without it being painfully obvious?  How and where do you meet people that don't drive you nuts?  I wish I was a kid still.  It was so much easier to make friends......

Vampire

It is much to early to be awake.  For me, it is much too late to be awake.  Why, oh, why must I be a creature of the night?  Why is it that it takes me forever to train myself to sleep when it is dark and be awake when it is light?  And why is it that it takes only one night to revert back to my vampirism?  

What to do at 5:15 in the a.m.?  

Bad, Bad Blogger

You know you are a very bad blogger when reality television gets in the way of your creative thoughts.  I keep having all of these ideas for great posts but then some mind-numbing television show comes on and I get hypnotized by it....speaking of which....Big Brother is coming on soon.