12 of 12: May

Each month Chad Darnell hosts 12 of 12. The idea is to take 12 pictures of your day and post them on your blog and then check out what everyone else has posted from around the world through links found on Chad's blog. I love it and I look forward to it each month. You can link to Chad HERE.

1. 11:00pm

Another overnight bag. I am staying in town tonight because I have to work early tomorrow morning. Can't wait until I am no longer carrying this bag back and forth.

2. 10:00pm

Downloading my flip. I love my flip.

3. 7:00pm

I have long been fascinated with bees and beehives. I now work at a college where beekeeping used to be a course that was offered (before my time) and people would literally come from around the globe to be instructed in the art of beekeeping. There are a few apiaries still around here and they put out hives in the spring. These hives are particularly close to the road I drive on to work each day.

4. 7:00 pm

5. 7:00 pm
6. 6:00 pm

There is some major construction happening on the highway between our house and town. There have been back hoes working on replacing drainage pipes under the road for about 2 weeks now. There are probably about 6 or 7 back hoes we pass on the way into town. My son is OBSESSED. We count them and talk about what color each one is and what they are doing - EVERY time we pass one!

7. 6:00

The work appears to be complete and the backhoes are pulling out. There were only two on the road - much to the chagrin of my boy.

8. 5:45

9. 5:30

The boys came to get me at work for a minute to show me something they had found. I was trying to get a picture of c-notes shoes and as I was crouching he was copying me! He cracks me up.

10. 5:25 pm

M found an outlet. What a shock.

11. 4:00

Time for registration AGAIN. I need to get this over and done with already. Darn Thesis.

12. 11:00am

Some kids in the field to the south of my office. Must be springtime!

baby steps

Did you ever hear the story of Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako?

It's one I read as a child and have always remembered. The story is about a boy in China who falls into a well. I don't remember the story at all other than the name of the boy. I even googled it to make sure there WAS such a story and it was not just a figment of my imagination.

According to my research on the internet this afternoon the the story does exist and the point of the story is as follows:"If a mother loves her son very very VERY much... she shouldn't give him a long name like "Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako" ...which is SURE to get him stuck in a well because it takes so long to say it. INSTEAD, she should give him a very SHORT name... like "Tikki"... that you can say very quickly."

The reason I have been thinking of this story recently is because the adoption of our boys is supposedly happening in the next 3 months. We have to decide what names we will adopt them as and we have long debated names. It's a good thing we had more than nine months to do this or we would have been in a real pickle! We both have names in our families which we would like the boys to carry. I seriously doubt we will be having more children, even though we would like to. So we have to get all the names from both our families onto these two unfortunate souls. There are names in our families like Willis and Percival and we simply have not been able to agree on what we should do. Our choices were further complicated by the fact that the children arrived with names and we don't really want to change the names they were given already, but we don't want to saddle them with 27 names.

What if they have ADD? Will they fail kindergarten because they have to write names out that go on for days? I remember Lady Diana at her wedding to Prince Charles messing up all his names. How embarrassing.

To add more confusion to the whole name mess my partner and I have both kept our maiden names. So what name do we give to the boys as a surname? In an attempt to put some of the confusion to rest (Drum roll please) This week we legally changed our names and we now have a blended last name.

It's true.

We have become hyphenated lesbians. I feel a little like Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako.

So now that the saga of the last name is resolved we have to decide what we will do for first names for the boys. Poor kids are saddled with a mouthful of a last name so we are going to have to be creative on their first names. Maybe Wil and Per.

My new favorite song!

I have a new favorite song...

"I didnt think you had males in your house..."

Now it could have been me and I may have completely misunderstood the context of what was being said....
In a conversation with a friend the comment was made "I didn't think you had males in your house."
Huh?
What?
Yeah I get it we are a lesbian couple but hello, we have not one but TWO sons. One of them if almost 4?
I am confused. The word "lesbian" is not a synonym for "man hater" people!

kids in the bed

Last night both of the boys were restless. We usually have a pretty good bedtime routine down, but last night it went the way of the wind. Max has completely transitioned to a toddler bed but this means he can get out at will - which he does frequently. We started out with both boys in their beds. Max was coughing and coughing and he coughed until he woke himself. We didn't want him to wake CJ so we brought him into our room. Coming into our room is a SUPER treat and he would not just relax and lay down between us so I got him Shel's Nintendo DS and set him up "playing" Fifa soccer. He played and was happy for a while. When he settled down his cough seemed to settle and so I put him back into his bed.
His talking is SO improved and one of the things he does every morning when he wakes up is call to us from his bed "Mom, I'm awake!" Last night right after I put him into his bed he calls out to us, "Mom, I'm awake!" Shel calls back to him "Just close your eyes and think about what you are going to do tomorrow...." She went on this long explanation of things for him to think about and I could hear him moving around in his bed. After a minute of talking to him she turns to me and says "He isn't listening to me." We both had a chuckle and not a second later he calls out "Mom, I'm awake!" Shel and I were both exhausted but we had to laugh. He did manage to fall asleep and then CJ was up.
Shel went and picked him up and brought him to our room for his turn. He tossed and turned and fussed the way that only two year olds can. He was in between us on the bed and he was everywhere. At some point I must have dozed off and I couldn't feel him between us anymore - and I hadn't heard a thump so he didn't fall off the end of the bed and in my sleepy stupor I figured he had fallen to sleep and Shel had taken him and put him back to bed. The next thing I know Shel is tapping me and tapping me. I rolled over to see what she wanted and she was laying with her back to me so I thought perhaps she was just dreaming so I lay back down. She tapped and tapped again so I rolled over to check again and noticed that CJ was still in the bed and he was laying right across her head. She was completely trapped underneath him and couldn't move for fear of waking him up. I picked him up and we put him back in his bed but I had to laugh again. I had looked right at Shel not once, but twice and did not notice his little body draped over her head! I was still chuckling about it this morning and mentioned it to Shel... she had completely forgotten!
Oh the joys of parenthood. And I wouldn't trade it for the world.

this whole adoption "thing"

One of the reasons I wanted to blog was to write about the process of adoption and the journey for our family.
What I learned rapidly was that we have pretty much given up a whole lot of control and that blogging as we go through the process is not something we are able to do for all different legal reasons. I cannot WAIT until the journey has come to a close and I can speak freely about what we have gone through. Yesterday we heard (again) that we may be complete in 2-6 months on one (or both) of the adoptions. It seems like we have been hearing that since March of 2007. Lets hope this time it is true and we can get on with our lives!

updated list of things to do...

1. Sort through the box in my bedroom closet that I have moved to two different households without sorting through.
2. Write monthly letters to my sons. ( I am thinking this should actually count as 24 "things to do" and not one. Depending on how much I get accomplished I may change this later!)
3. Start my thesis.
4. Finish my thesis.
5. Participate in Chad Darnell's 12 of 12 every month.
6. Go to a movie, in a theater, with my spouse.
7. Clean out the bathroom cupboard. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
8. Do at least ONE cross stitch project.
9. Get an updated criminal record check (COMPLETED APRIL 2010)
10. Get a carbon monoxide detector for the house. (THIS IS COMPLETE! January 2010)
11. Fence the dugout.
12. Renew my first aid.
13. Find our marriage license. (didn't find it - so I ordered a new one! APRIL 2010)
14. Change our last names - to a blended last name. (COMPLETE MAY 2010)
15. Send my spouse to see her dad in the USA. (COMPLETE FEBRUARY 2010)
16. Get haircuts for the boys.
17. Take family photos.
18. Finish my stats class.
19. Work on my mom's 60th birthday present BEFORE her birthday! (Unfortunately this was not complete in time to send to mom on her birthday..... FAIL)
20. Get the carpet up off the staircase - remove the staples from the steps. (COMPLETE MARCH 2010!)
21. Get the hallway painted.
22. Lay new carpet on the staircase.
23. Make myself a bookmark.
24. Replace Shels' cell phone (COMPLETE. FEBRUARY 2010)
25. Cancel the contract on my cell phone. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
26. Put up Maxie's toddler bed. (COMPLETE. APRIL 2010)
27. Change the furnace filter. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
28. Hang hooks in the bathroom. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
29. Put together the smart shopper cards from IGA. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
30. Sort the tools.
31. Work on the boy's baby books.
32. Get an electrician quote on the house. (COMPETED MARCH 2010)
33. Hand in all the paperwork for fostercare BEFORE March 31.(COMPLETE March 2010)
34. Take all the furniture from the old guest house to the dump.
35. Get tinkey winkey fixed (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
36. Teach Max to ride a bike.
37. Box up all the clothes too small for the boys and donate them.
38. Go camping with the family.
39. Take a family picture at Lake Louise.
40. Get a Christmas gift to my parents BEFORE Christmas!
41. Send out a family letter before December 31 2010.
42. Get a dutch oven.
43. Cook a dutch oven meal!
44. Stain the deck.
45. Get a haircut. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010) for me and Shel!
46. Submit receipts by March 31. (COMPLETE March 2010)
47. Order Checks. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
48. Update my criminal record check and hand it in (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
49. Get an electrician to the house to start on rewiring (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
50. Pay my taxes. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
51. Put the new windshielf wipers on the van. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
52. Get a brush for Zuva and brush her. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
53. Prune. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
54. Fix the lamp from Homa.
55. Finish painting the barn.
56. Rototill the garden spot.
57. Take the lawnmowers in for repair.
58. Get Shel a new pair of glasses.

television

My sons are not really "into" watching television. There is nothing I would love more than laying on the couch with my boys on a Saturday morning watching cartoons, Or on a rainy day watching a Disney movie. But they won't. Their attention for television lasts all of 30 seconds and then they are up and at em. not really my "style" unfortunately for me!

What we CAN Do with them is have them sit in our laps for short periods of "snuggle time" and so part of our "wind down" ritual for the night is to bath, get pajamas on and then sit in mom's lap with a drink and watch 30 minutes of something like "in the night garden". The only problem I have with this is that In the Night garden do not make new shows on a daily basis so I have pretty much seen all the garden has to offer. My spouse can block out the show and she thinks of other things while the boys sit on her lap. The same does not work for me so I am intimate in ways I never knew possible with iggle piggle, the tombileboos, makka pakka, daisy doo and other night garden characters.

To mix it up for myself a little I thought if we watched some other shows it would give me some variety in my viewing and so we have been "experimenting" with other shows to watch at bedtime. What we have discovered is that there are "types" of shows good for bedtime viewing and others that are not. Some of the ones that are NOT are "The Wiggles", "Yo Gabba Gabba" or "Roary the Racing Car". The tempo of these shows is too much and the boys get over stimulated and not calmed. One of the shows they LIKE to watch is "Thomas the Tank Engine".

I am not a fan of Thomas and friends.

Let me just segue here to my own growing up experience. When I was growing up one of the things we lived to do at lunchtime was watch the Flintstones. My mom curtailed our flintstone pleasure because she said my little brother (love you Raisin Bran Man!) would "talk like Fred" and Fred was not nice to his wife or to his friend Barney. Now I was not savvy enough to see this myself at the time and I thought it was a lame reason not to watch the show. Wow does having kids ever change your opinion of life and the things your parents did when you were a child!

So Thomas the tank engine. I think the message is an "ok" one - you need your friends to help you out in life - but it takes the full length of the show to get to that point - the point of needing people - and in the meantime the engines are not nice to one another, they are mean and they don't share. My kids can't follow the show long enough to "get" the message. All they see is the engines wanting to do everything for themselves to disastrous conclusions and then getting bailed out even though they were rude and nasty.

I have become "one of THOSE people " who has an opinion about, of all things, a CHILDREN'S television show!

My cousin who has an older child said she really likes Phineas and Ferb, so I checked it out and LOVE it. I tried to get my kids to watch that, but they aren't interested yet. Thankfully I don't care if they like shows or not, I'll watch a kids show without shame! Yay for Phineas! Until they are old enough to watch with me, at bedtime we will take advantage of other treehouse shows which I do approve of..... "Big and Small"(my favorite), "Dragon" and "the Backyardigans" (Backyardigans just makes me laugh, what is with that dancing?)

television

I have been watching some of this show on television-Undercover Boss. I will admit I have not watched every episode but some of them have made me laugh.
I like the idea of executives going undercover in their companies to find out what it is like to so the work of the "grunts" and some of the shows have been quite interesting. At the end of every episode the CEO's have this "reveal" where they meet up with the people they went undercover with and they make changes in the company (supposedly) but they always give some kind of "prize" or "reward" to the people they worked with undercover.
Last week was the season finale and the show was about 1-800-flowers. At the end of the show the president of the company met with the people and gave them all their "reward". Oh I laughed so hard. One lady had a flower arrangement "named" after her. One kid got to participate in a mentor ship program that the company ALREADY has - but his mentor will be the CEO. One lady got to meet with marketing to advertise her store in her area.
What a load of junk. I had to laugh out loud. I think the show is meant to be some kind of advertisement for companies who want to get the message out that they WANT to be good employers and that they are willing to put themselves in silly situations to get better. I have to say that my opinion of 1-800- flowers dropped a few notches. Do you think there are aspiring franchisee potential owners out there thinking now - MAYBE If I buy a franchise and MAYBE if I work my Bum off for years and MAYBE if I get to be the best franchise of all the franchises.... I will get a flower arrangement named after me! LOL.

12 of 12: April

Chad Darnell is the originator and host of this monthly meme. It is my favorite. You can link to Chad HERE.


Finally temperatures are creeping up!

Patches of snow still exist in the shady spots of the yard

YAY! No more trucking through thigh high drifts to play on the slide!

Who needs to go outside anyway, when indoors is so much more comfy?

The electrician is hard at work and we got a peek at the insulation of our very old house. Time for more renovations. What a shocker!

The after effects of a bite from younger brother. WOWZA !

NEW PANEL! WOOT WOOT!

The old wiring waiting for the dump. What a mess.

The house didn't burn down - how?

Watching mom in the basement. They are not permitted down the stairs.

That is VERY interesting!

Old panel - OUT!

All in all it was a very productive day in our house this month on the 12th!

no ordering books online ... boo hoo

So.. I am having a bit of a crisis. I have been in school for the past three years working part time on my masters degree. I am completely finished the program with the exception of one class I am in the process of "making up" because I missed it and writing my thesis.
The program for all intents and purposes is complete. The people who chose to write the comprehensive exam have written it, they have been graded and they have all passed. They have received notification that they have graduated and now there is just the formality of the actual graduation ceremony to participate in. I have procrastinated since last May working on my thesis at all. Basically I submitted my first proposal draft, received the feedback, put it away and didn't look at it again.
My instructors have been calling me and putting a bit of pressure on me to get going. I appreciate the fact that they are aware I am alive. However I am mentally "spent" and have no desire whatsoever to work on either of the two assignments. I have now been given a deadline for one of them - the stats class I am making up - and that should spur me to some kind of action.
In the meantime I am SOOOOOOO enjoying reading books just for the sake of reading right now. I am having fun in the library. I am having fun reading friend recommendations on goodreads and I have no desire whatsoever to stop ordering library books right now. Unfortunately unless I stop with the library books I KNOW I wont start with the classwork. It's a sad, sad day for me today as I went to the library online site to order books today and then shut down the site without placing an order. So sad. So sad.

my sons first foray into photography

My son is fascinated by all things electrical. Anything requiring batteries or electricity to run he believes was made for him and him alone. He has no interest in anything without batteries or things that are toys or replications of real things. Toy cell phones? Natch. Remote controls with no batteries? Junk. Even "real" kids cameras made by fisher price just for children are NOT worth his time and attention. He wants the real deal or nothing at all. For Christmas he picked out gifts for everyone on his list - extension cords - which he now claims as his own because hey, he picked them!

We have managed for the most part to keep "some" items to our adult selves by hiding them or keeping them out of his reach. Unfortunately now he knows how to climb, and how to move furniture to reach places he can't just by normal climbing methods. This morning he got a hold of my camera and took some pictures while we were getting ready in the kitchen. This is what he took:

Hugo

Growing up we always had pets. Birds and Dogs more than anything else (Great Danes and Cockatiels in particular). The photo is of my mom, my sister and the first Dane I knew - Jason.

Growing up with Danes has made me partial to them. I love them and I have always wanted to own one.

In my adult life I owned a Dane for a short time (that is a whole story in and of itself) but I have never had the pleasure of raising one. My spouse and I since being together have had three dogs, all of them rescues. Two of our beloved companions have passed away and for the past four months or so we have just had Zuva. Zuva is a great dog but she has been lonely. We had decided that we were not going to get another dog right now but we would wait until the "time was right". Of course I can't help myself and keep looking at dog rescue sites - just to "browse". Whenever I saw a cute dog I would show Shel the pictures and she would nod and smile and and remind me we weren't looking for a dog right now.

A visitor to the house offered us a puppy a few weeks ago and we were tempted (should I say "I" was tempted?) but I managed to turn down the offer and stick to our decision that right now was not the time to introduce a new baby to our home. We have talked about it and talked about it again and we agreed every time that we weren't bringing a new dog home, so why did I keep browsing the internet?

Then I found Hugo. Hugo is a male great Dane puppy who was purchased and brought to Alberta when he was 8 weeks old. His new owner was unable to keep him for reasons unknown and he was picked up and being looked after by a foster home in Grande Prairie awaiting transportation back to Saskatchewan. That's when I saw him for the first time online. I called the owner just to "inquire" and we started talking back and forth. I expressed some interest in having a dane and over a period of about 4 weeks she convinced me that Hugo was the one for us......

SOOOOOOOOO...... yesterday Max and I went to Grande Prairie to pick up Hugo. He is four months old already and he is HUGE! He and Max have already bonded, Shel sent me a text message this morning saying they have not stopped playing all morning and Hugo just passed out from exhaustion on Maxies lap!

I have always managed to maintain that the "softie" in the house is Shel. I have been able to convince people that she is the one who is the perpetual animal rescuer and that she is the one who always finds strays and brings them home. I think I will be hard pressed to maintain my cover now that we have a Dane. I DID try to tell her last night that he was a gift for her for the anniversary of our meeting (which is today) but she wasn't convinced. So without further ado.... here is the newest member of our family:

change - updated

The work on the corner is finished and it has been completely cleared. This is what it looks like now:

This is what it looked like before:

Thursday Thirteen: Snapshot of March

1. photo of me : is there one of me this month? I am going to have to go back and look for one, I can't seem to find one right now....


2. Current candle scents: I don't have any new candles this month. I did look at some but there was nothing I was interested in.

3. What I am currently reading: I finished a book last night which I didn't really like - Midnight Fugue. Today I am starting to read Cutting for Stone.

4. What is my favorite book read this month: The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

5. Movies I saw: I didn't go to one movie, and I didn't watch any on tv. I would like to try and watch at least one movie this weekend but it will have to be a rental.

6. Something yummy I made this month: I made squat this month. I need to bust out some recipe books. Max made a "happy cake" all over the kitchen floor. It wasn't yummy but it was interesting and it made him and CJ happy for sure!

7. The last place I ate out: McDonalds in Walmart.

8. Something that made me cry: I am pretty sure I cried this month cause emotionally I am on some weird trip... what I cried about I can't specifically recall.

9. Something that made me laugh: Max got his first report card this month. There is one thing my boy does in his program "with consistency".... he gets ready for snack! It made me laugh to read that. in fact, he is doing AMAZINGLY in his program and the report card didn't reflect that at all. He went from saying "ZERO" words in September to more than 50 I am sure - even though we haven't done an official count. That is not reflected anywhere in the report card. Thank goodness for snack time.

10. Something I looked forward to this month:

11. Something I am thankful for: My Spouse. Relationships - marriages - are something I believe you work on constantly. We have come a long way in 13+ years and the addition of our two little boys had added a dimension to our relationship that I couldn't have imagined or predicted. I am thankful for my spouse. Thankful for the easy silence.

12. Something I want to remember about this month: Max smiling for the camera for the first time, and being so helpful with his little brother outside.

13. A photo I took this month:

The weather was awesome so we busted out all the outdoor toys from the Quonset for the boys to play on. We went to bed and when we woke up in the morning it had snowed - more snow than we have had all year. The boys have decided all they want to do now is be outside and so outside we went and into the snow. It didn't stop them from playing, the baby just needs some help from his big brother to get through the snow. Help his big brother was more than happy to give!

letter to C-note: 32 months

Dear C-note.
Wowza. You are growing so fast, so fast. When you fall asleep in my arms at night I just want the clock to stop. I just want to hold you. Last night I looked at you laying in your crib and you are so LONG! You called for me int he middle of the night last night. I went into your room where you were sleeping and you reached up to hold my hand. You didn't even open your eyes, you just reached for me. I held your hand for a minute and then you tucked it back under your belly and went back to sleep. I will come to you whenever you call me - even if it is just to hold your hand.
I still remember the little four pound baby that you were when you came home from the hospital. You were so teeny in my arms. When you are ready to sleep you tuck your arms underneath you, close to my body and nuzzle your head into my shoulder and breath a deep sigh and go to sleep. I love you so much that just thinking about it makes my chest hurt. You bring me more joy than I knew was possible.
You smile and you laugh and you wave and everything you do just makes me love you more. You are having a rough time cutting four teeth right now and I am sure your ears are bugging you but you are still so happy. You say "momma", "up", "please" ,"open"(and should I admit your one other word is "coke"?) but your voice even makes me smile. You are getting more and more independent and I love it, but oh I miss how much you depended on me what seems like just a few minutes ago. I know we are getting closer and closer to your "terrible twos" because you are not afraid at all to exert your will, even if it is the form of a tantrum! I find these little expressions of your will amusing right now - probably because I haven't experienced one in the middle of the grocery store yet - but the next year should be an interesting one as you get more and more independent.
I love you my little humpback whale.
Rest your head, close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.
Love mama

change

I have always believed that the only thing in life that is constant is change. I am not generally opposed to change, however the landscape around our home is changing dramatically and not for the better. I would never have described myself as a "tree hugger" (though I am fond of trees to be sure). Yet now the trees around us are being cut down at an alarming rate and it saddens me, so I think I may have stepped over the line and become a *gasp* "tree-hugger. A little late unfortunately because there are no more trees to hug.
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?

This is what has happened a few hundred feet from our house in the past few days. (I will post some pictures I took over the past two months first so you get an idea of what it "used to" look like)

These two pictures were taken on February 20th:

When I was coming home from work on Tuesday March 23rd I noticed this contraption on the corner. A sign of some things to come, or should I say more accurately a sign of things to come down.

And here is what it looked like yesterday - March 24th:


I honestly do not believe that anyone could possibly justify to me why this is being done. Undoubtedly there are reasons and someone - or a group of someone's - believe this is making some kind of improvement or meeting some kind of need. I simply do not agree.

99 things to do (updated) ...I almost have 50!

1. Sort through the box in my bedroom closet that I have moved to two different households without sorting through.
2. Write monthly letters to my sons. ( I am thinking this should actually count as 24 "things to do" and not one. Depending on how much I get accomplished I may change this later!)
3. Start my thesis.
4. Finish my thesis.
5. Participate in Chad Darnell's 12 of 12 every month.
6. Go to a movie, in a theater, with my spouse.
7. Clean out the bathroom cupboard.
8. Do at least ONE cross stitch project.
9. Get an updated criminal record check (COMPLETED APRIL 2010)
10. Get a carbon monoxide detector for the house. (THIS IS COMPLETE! January 2010)
11. Fence the dugout.
12. Renew my first aid.
13. Find our marriage license.
14. Change our last names - to a blended last name.
15. Send my spouse to see her dad in the USA. (COMPLETE FEBRUARY 2010)
16. Get haircuts for the boys.
17. Take family photos.
18. Finish my stats class.
19. Work on my mom's 60th birthday present BEFORE her birthday! (Unfortunately this was not complete in time to send to mom on her birthday..... FAIL)
20. Get the carpet up off the staircase - remove the staples from the steps. (COMPLETE MARCH 2010!)
21. Get the hallway painted.
22. Lay new carpet on the staircase.
23. Make myself a bookmark.
24. Replace Shels' cell phone (COMPLETE. FEBRUARY 2010)
25. Cancel the contract on my cell phone. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
26. Put up Maxie's toddler bed. (COMPLETE. APRIL 2010)
27. Change the furnace filter. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
28. Hang hooks in the bathroom. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
29. Put together the smart shopper cards from IGA. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
30. Sort the tools.
31. Work on the boy's baby books.
32. Get an electrician quote on the house. (COMPETED MARCH 2010)
33. Hand in all the paperwork for fostercare BEFORE March 31.(COMPLETE March 2010)
34. Take all the furniture from the old guest house to the dump.
35. Get tinkey winkey fixed
36. Teach Max to ride a bike.
37. Box up all the clothes too small for the boys and donate them.
38. Go camping with the family.
39. Take a family picture at Lake Louise.
40. Get a Christmas gift to my parents BEFORE Christmas!
41. Send out a family letter before December 31 2010.
42. Get a dutch oven.
43. Cook a dutch oven meal!
44. Stain the deck.
45. Get a haircut.
46. Submit receipts by March 31. (COMPLETE March 2010)
47. Order Checks. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
48. Update my crim check and hand it in! (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
49. Get an electrician to the house to start on rewiring (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
50. Pay my taxes. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
51. Put the new windshielf wipers on the van. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
52. Get a beush for uva and brush her. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
53. Prune. (STARTED APRIL 2010)