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)

12 of 12: March

My 12 of 12 this month did not turn out as I had hoped and dreamed.

12 of 12 is the brainchild of Chad Darnell and you can link to his site HERE and check out other participants.

I had camera issues and then computer issues and I have been battling with them but have given up the fight. I am now posting what I have (even though it starts at the end of the day and not the beginning and the date on the shots says the 14th - it wasn't!) ARG.....

Oh well. I can only hope my 12 o f 12 posts improve over the course of the year ... There are still nine to go!

7:00pm

My boy received his first ever progress report from the program he attends. According to the report he does one thing consistently and without support - he gets ready for snack!

He does this at home also - his favorite snack to make is shakes and he used to drink them. Now he just likes to make them for everyone. (He does get some support at home when it comes to the use of the blender!)

6:55pm

Prepping for the blender.

4pm

Coming home from a ride into town. Dog is my co-pilot.

3:45pm

Unfortunately this does not show what I wanted but I admit I was not getting out of the car to take any pictures - they are all taken through the window. This is another example in our area of trees that have been hit with the dreaded pine beetle. The devastation is incredible and very sad. Some trees in this row are on their way out and usually when a few go they all follow.

3:30 pm

A gas plant. There are more and more of these everywhere you look. Less and less trees and more and more gas plants. I understand the need and I understand the jobs the industry provide. Unfortunately it does not make having one of this in your back yard any prettier to look at - or any less dangerous.

This next photo is not one that I took but it is a photo of a gas plant blowout in our province that happened recently. As far as I know it is still burning.

3:30 pm

On the main highway between our house and town this little house keeps a watch over the development. One we saw a family of foxes in the window which would have made for an incredible picture. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera on hand. I pass this a few times a day - so a dozen or more times in a week. Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is.

3:00 pm

Leaving town we drove behind a trailer moving hay bales. I am still amazed at the lack of snow we have for this time of the year. It is unusual to see this scene so early in the year.

12:40 pm

Look at us with a temperature above freezing!

12:00pm

Stopping in at the local grocery store - which I hate to do because things in town are more expensive than driving to the city to get - but it is an evil necessity. I had the day off today and enjoyed hanging out with the boys. We have a tradition now of breakfast of bacon and eggs but we were fresh out of bacon so we made a trip into town to burn some time and get some bacon.

11:30am

Leaving the house to run to town and pick up some groceries. Maxie now takes off his boots immediately upon getting into his car seat. In just a minute he will have his socks off also. I get it that he wants to be comfortable for the LONG (20 minute) drive into town but it is a hassle to get his "re" dressed when we arrive!

8:00am

Here begin the issues with my camera. I changed the batteries and apparently reset the date to 2007? So I thought I corrected the year but I overcorrected the day and now we are on the 14th instead of the 12th? When did camera's become so complicated or is it just that my fingers are too fat to push the teeny buttons?

This is the windchimes at our back door. I love them and they are beautiful when frosted over.

My goal for next month is to improve my 12 of 12 :)

best day

You know how life sometimes goes along and you get into a rut of doing the same things for the same reasons over and over and over?

Sometimes this happens without even realizing it. I know I have been in one of those ruts because today I came out of it! Today was the kind of day that warms the cockles of your heart, the kind of day that made me remember what it is about life that I love so much.

I work with students on a college campus. There is a LOT involved in the day to day things that I am responsible for that give me opportunity to see the "not so nice" side of student life on a college campus. I see the discipline side of things, the complaint side of things, the side of things that too often feeds into my own "glass half empty" view of life and I can easily spiral into viewing the world in a negative light. Although I like people generally, I also find I get tired of people and I can be quite reclusive, in fact I have to fight being completely reclusive.

Last night I was working late. As I was walking around for the last time of the night I encountered a student in the hallway looking quite forlorn and I stopped and asked how they were doing. What transpired was a long and quite intimate conversation, one that I have not had with a student for a long time. maybe it is because of me, maybe because of the workload, maybe because an opportunity like this has not presented itself for a long time, but I took the opportunity last night to stop and talk. I took the time to engage in the conversation fully and give my time and attention to this student. We had a great conversation and I think by the end of it we both felt good. Today this student sought me out and brought me a plant as a gift and thank-you for the time I took last night. In all the time I have been in this job I believe this is the first time a student has given me something like this. I absolutely love it. I love even more that I had shared between last night and today this experience with my spouse and we had decided together to do something for this student ourselves. We worked together and I had something ready for him when he came with the plant. I had no idea he was bringing the plant - but it was so awesome to have something here that he was not expecting that just further improved his day and his experience here. It was awesome. It made me smile all day just thinking about it and now my new plant is on my desk as a reminder how sweet it is sometimes to stop and engage with someone - even a complete stranger.

Max and I are hanging out downstairs while mom and the baby are trying to take a nap. We are trying to be quiet which is difficult for Max - for not talking he sure does speak a lot!
He never stops making noise and he is "telling a story" the whole time. It is kind of funny but he wants me to look at him constantly so he knows I am listening. He keeps saying "ma, MA, MA, MA!" I am trying to play on the computer and he is hanging out with me in the living room. I put up the baby gate at the living room door so that he would not go upstairs and wake everyone up.
He just explained to me that he needed to open the gate because he had to go into the kitchen and that he would NOT go "up high" (which means upstairs).
Helios came in from outside and Max asked me to put the blanket over his legs so that Helios could sit next to him without poking his legs as he kneaded him. I put the blanket over his legs and it was the longest he sat in one spot quietly all day. His relationship with the pets truly is amazing. he is So gentle and loving. Yesterday we went to the school for a demonstration of sled dogs. C sat in the sled while I drove and then Shel took a turn driving and we hoped Max would sit in the sled, but he would absolutely not sit down on it. Instead he ran alongside! It was cool to drive. I am sure he would have loved it if he had tried it. Sometimes his reluctance to try new things is sad to me because I know he would love some things so much.
He is now playing with the baby gate. I wish he liked movies, I would love to just put in a Disney movie on a Sunday afternoon when everyone was asleep and he was not wanting to nap, just for a little break. Oh well! Such is the joy of parenting a boy.

letter to C-Note

Whats up my little humpback whale?

I am pretty sure you NOT be impressed that this is the photo I chose to share of you this month, but I couldn't resist. Let's just say there were others more revealing which you will be grateful are not posted here! I cannot believe how much you are growing.

We have the potty out to try and teach your older brother how to use. He has absolutely no interest in it but you have a BALL sitting on the potty. You think it is hilarious and you sit on it every opportunity you get. You haven;t actually used it for the purpose for which it was intended yet, but if you keep sitting there something is inevitably going to happen I am certain.

I love you so much words cannot even express. You make me so happy and leaving you in the morning when you cry to come with me just tears my heart out. Mom holds you at the back window and you wave and blow kisses until we are out of site. I hate this part of the day and look forward to every minute until we are back together again.

The weather is getting better and better and you LOVE to be outside. In fact, you love being outside so much that you scream blue murder when we try to bring you inside! The days are getting longer and you think that as long as the sun in shining you should be outside. This might prove to be a bit of a problem for us in June when there is daylight for 20 hours a day. I have been having some fun with the burn pile because the weather is nice, there are no bugs and it is perfect to have a big bonfire. You are a very good helper, but more interested in making your own way around the yard than in hanging out with me. I can see there won't be many opportunities to sit outside and read a book this summer with you making trails in the yard. It makes me laugh to think how differently your mom and I live our lives with our boys than we did before you came along. Our lives revolve around you and to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way.... just slow down for me as you trek across the yard ok bud?

I love you to the stars and back.

Rest your head, close to my heart, never to part baby of mine.

Love mama.

Going for a walk

Letter to Main Man Maxwell

Hey Pal.

Another month has passed and you are growing up right before our very eyes. It is INSANE to realize how tiny you were just three short years ago. You are learning words and starting to talk more and more and I have to keep reminding myself that you are almost FOUR.

You are old enough to play soccer this summer, old enough to be learning to skate, to be riding a bike, to be doing all kinds of things that assert your independence and I don't think I am ready to let go. I am most upset that you are big enough now to open all the baby gates in the house and let yourself and your younger brother out of (and into) things you should not be! This letting go thing is going to be a challenge for me.

I am so happy that you still want to spend time sitting in my lap, but we really need to renegotiate your desire to be carried. Your feet keep getting tangled between my knees and we are going to have a WICKED accident sooner or later.

I love you desperately.

Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.

Mama

99 things to do....

Ok So I am still thinking about this list. Obviously I don't even have 99 things yet, but I am working on it and I HAVEN'T forgotten!

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
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.
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!
20. Get the carpet up off the staircase - remove the staples from the steps.
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.
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.

Thursday Thirteen: 13 words my son can say!

I have not participated in TT for a long time and I thought it was about time I got back into it.
You can link to other participants HERE.
At the beginning of this school year we met with the speech therapist and set goals for our son for learning words this school year. We asked what a realistic goal would be and she said that if he could say TWO words by the end of the school year (JUNE) that was realistic.
So here we are.
It is the end of February and we have 4 more months of school left before we break for the summer.
My boy says more than 13 words for SURE, but here are 13 of my favorite (words or phrases)...

1. Hallway
2. Onion
3. Go away ( I think it is cute that he says this - just not when he says it to me!)
4. Up high
5. Mama
6. On
7. Hello
8. Cup (although sometimes he says "puc" and not "cup")
9. Bowl
10. Ice
11. Bye
12. Cookie
13. Bubbles

what the Color Career Counselor has to say about me...

Since I am supposed to be working on Stats - you KNOW I am procrastinating. I went to Careerpath.com and took the Color Career Counselor test. It took a minute and a half.
If you are interested you can link to it HERE.

Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATOR
Keywords

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

walking in a winter wonderland

We have had a most spectacular winter season this year. For some reason we have had more hoar frost than I can remember since arriving here six winters ago - I think we are on our seventh winter here already?

This is the part of the barn we finished painting red. We need to finish it all this summer - my goal is to get a ladder! When the window trim is all white and the barn is finished it will look spectacular. It didn't look bad today at all.

This is a tree outside the office at work. If I had been wearing my boots I would have trucked over for a closer shot, but I think you get the idea.

What a gorgeous day today!

Monday Movie Meme

Link to The Bumbles if you are interested in checking out more participants of the Monday Movie Meme.

This week the topic is "Popular Movies that You Hated".

Ever get excited to see some movie the whole world has been gushing about, only to discover that you thought it was a dud? Not only are you completely annoyed that the movie didn't meet your expectations, but you don't have anyone else to complain to because you're the only one who didn't like it.


Here are mine:


1. Titanic

2. Pulp Fiction

3. The Big Lebowski

4. Pirates of the Caribbean

smart shopper cards

Have I mentioned that we live in a small town? Well we do. One of the drawbacks to this little town is the grocery shopping. We do have an IGA in town and it is open 24 hours a day (at least that's what is posted, but I have been there when it was locked and I was very confused).

They have these little things called "smart shopper coupons" and you get one coupon for every five dollars that you spend in the store. You lick the back (or if you are me you DON'T lick the back and you collect millions of them and store them in a baggie) but theoretically you lick the back and put ten on a card and then you can use them in the store for savings, like coupons.

I HATE licking them. They are disgusting. The other day I overheard someone in the store talking about using a glue stick on them and I realized my dreams had come true - an alternative to licking!

So I sat down yesterday afternoon with all the glue sticks I could find in the house and I went to work on smart shopper cards. I will admit I ran out of glue sticks long before I ran out of coupons, but I made a beautiful stack of cards we can now use.


It took a while to do and as I was sitting there gluing away I was calculating how much money we had spent to get that many coupons and what the were worth. You know - they really are not worth much in the great scheme of things. Each card represents 50 dollars spent in the store. most of the things you can redeem them for use at least three cards. Some things (like milk) are worth more to us as a family because we use a lot of it and it is dang expensive. But other things - like eggs - you can usually get a dozen eggs for three cards. So the store gives you a dozen eggs, a value of about three dollars - for every $150.00 you spend there. That's REALLY cheap. The store has to make a PACK of money and to give back the equivalent of three bucks to everyone who spends a hundred and fifty seems laughable. Especially when you think of how many people DON'T use the cards. I am certain I am not the only one who hates to lick them (and who never thought of glue sticks before).

I remember shopping with my grandmother and aunt in Southern California when I was a teenager. I know that was a long time ago and groceries in So Cal are STILL ridiculously cheaper than they are up here, but back then you could go through the paper and get coupons and clip the coupons. Some grocery stores would take the coupons of any other store and some stores would give you "double coupons" credit. There were some seriously good deals available by coupon back then. Not so much now and DEFINITELY not so much at IGA.

Thankfully now we have a huge stack of cards and we will absolutely use them. For as much as they "aren't" worth it is still a savings and we can use all the savings we can get shopping in town. Unfortunately for me I have never seen glue sticks available with smart shopper cards.

Stairs

We have lived in our house now for over two years. There are many projects that we need to work on but like all old homes, once you begin a project it turns into something much larger than originally anticipated and so we are now living in a house with many "started" projects and very few "finished" projects.
One of the things we did immediately (before we even moved in) was to take out the nasty old carpet in some of the rooms and on the stairs. Unfortunately when we took up the carpet on the stairs the carpet pad had been glued down and try as we might, we could not get the dang thing up.
This is what each step looked like. It is a horrendous catcher of pet hair and other gross things and we vacuum it more than once a day (it helps to have kids who like to vacuum) but the steps were NEVER clean.

Add to that the staples that were in each step. I have no idea why there were so many, but I estimate from having pulled them out, that there were at least 30 staples PER step. These staples made it increasingly difficult to get the carpet pad off and they were very painful to step on!

My maintenance man at work found this tool which he has fallen in love with. He saw it advertised on television one morning at 6am and he was on a quest to find one for himself. I have heard many renditions of how wonderful it is and he has even had me over for a personal demonstration of the wonders of this tool. He assured me that this tool would solve all my woes and sent me home with it this weekend to try out on my stairs.

It is every bit the wonder he assured me it was. It was AMAZING. I had a BLAST using it and the stairs look amazing. I did have to spend some time taking out the staples by hand, but the job is now almost complete (I have two steps remaining at the top which I will complete this week) and I loved every minute of the project. So did Max and CJ.

I don't know why I don't have a good "after" picture. I need to take one and post it for sure. It looks sooo much better and feels fantastic. Now all we need is a new carpet and we will have one home project COMPLETE. What will that feel like?

getting carried away with boys and missing my favorite day of the year

My spouse is home, we all survived and we are all hap-hap-happy!
It was my intent to post the whole time that she was gone, but I just got too carried away with hanging out with the boys and keeping my head above water with all the comings and goings in our lives to log onto the computer at all for a few days.

I even missed posting on my FAVORITE day of the year - Fat Tuesday! I LOVE me my Fat Tuesday. It is a tradition for me to give up "hope" for Lent, but this year I have seriously considered it and I have decided I am NOT going to give up hope. I am going to wait it out this year and reconsider next year if I should take up the tradition again. I'm not going to feel guilty about it for one minute because I am not even one minuscule part Catholic, so I don't have to give up anything for lent at all. I suppose if I were pressed on the topic I will say I am giving up "giving up"!

On the home front I have a sick kid, a teething kid and a sick spouse, so I don't anticipate getting much more rest in the next few days than I have had in the last few days but right now I don't even care. We are all home together again and that's the way it should be.

Day four: three days left!

It is no surprise to me that C was up at the crack of dark. My clock still had a "6" as the first number... So much for a Saturday sleep in! Mornings are the hardest for me because I just do not wake up "ready to go" for the day. I know the boys are hungry and need to eat, but I almost need to sit down and fully wake up before I feel like I can get moving for the day.
My plan for the day was to make bacon and eggs. Max stood next to me and ate every piece of bacon I put on the paper towel to soak. I think he single handedly ate a half pound of bacon - i know C and I certainly didn't have anything worth commenting about! I made scrambled eggs, which neither of them ate and when I was done with all the bacon I fried myself an egg the way I like it (dead, dead, and crispy dead) and sat down to eat. Well apparently my egg was more appealing to the boys than theirs were and I sat at the table with a boy on each knee while they ate my egg! Too funny.
We cleaned a bit, made a mess a bit, and hung out for the day. We were going to go and get haircuts but while I was cooking breakfast Max laid his head on the paper plate where I was putting the bacon to drip and got a head full of drippings. Turns out there was a line of people to get their hair cut anyway (so much for getting someone else to wash his hair!)
I had a plan to do a craft today and have the boys make something for Shel for when she got home. Unfortunately that plan went to the dogs when Max ripped up all the construction paper on the way home from the dollar store.
Max didn't have much for supper, but I figure a half pound of bacon can probably tide him over for the day :)
We are having a good time, missing mom a lot, but I love being home all day with the boys rather than dropping them off at a sitters then picking them up after working all day. Things are much smoother when we hang together. I still cant wait till Shel gets home! I had big plans for the night after the boys went to bed but I am now ready to just pack it in and go to bed.

Day three: four days left

Friday was day three (yesterday). I was scheduled to have the day off work but there was a check out and so I needed to go in for room assessments. When I went in there turned out to be issue that needed my attention by the computer and phone and so I didn't do any room assessments... it was a real bust of a day. I feel like my time was completely wasted and I would MUCH rather have been at home with the boyo's.
I picked up the boys, we came home, made dinner, hung out for a while and went to bed. I wanted to blog and do laundry and some more dishes, but I was wiped out from the day and went to bed. Last night was actually better than the night before but Max was still up in the middle of the night telling me he was "finished" sleeping!
I think if I can get a good rhythm we will all be ok, but so far things aren't flowing yet. C had pickled beetroot for the first time tonight. Max won't go withing ten miles of anything new but C tried it and didn't gag! (That's a bonus) I think if he tries it a few more times he may like it a lot. He did think they pink dye on his fingers was cool!

12 of 12: February

For 12 of 12 this month, mom is away and it is just me and the boys all alone at home hanging out. I don't know how interesting a day at home will be in photos, but here we go!
12 of 12 is hosted by Chad Darnell at his website which can be linked to above.
Thanks Chad!

Here is my day.....



7am

The new morning ritual is to come into our room and hang out with us first thing in the morning. It is a kid/pet bonding moment for sure. I am not ready to get out of bed yet.





7:30 am

Too early for me to be eating but the boys need to eat right away so I am diligently cooking bacon for them. Max stood next to me and ate everything that came off the pan and I didn't even realize how much he ate until it was all gone and C and I didn't have any!







8am.

I just ducked out the back door to take a picture of the sun rising. The sky has been really pink in the morning for the past week and of course today it was not nearly as bright as it had been. Oh well! It is getting brighter earlier every day.





8am

I turned from taking a picture of the sunrise to take one of the amount of snow on the roof. We need to pull it down before the ice buildup at the bottom gets too big, but this is NOTHING compared to past years.

9:30am

So breakfast is finished and it sure looks nice outside. Someone is dreaming of getting out and playing in the snow.... OK. I'll suck it up and get out there!

10:00am

Still outside (which is a miracle for me - I am NOT a fan of the great outdoors when it is cold out!) Here sits the shovel, still thinking about making our own rink on the dugout, but it is warming up now so I don't think it is worth the effort this winter. Maybe next winter when the dugout is fenced and the boys are a little older. I really HAVE to teach them to skate. Having mothers who are not "into" winter sports is not going to get our boys any slack when they are the only boys who can't skate and we live in Canada for crying out loud!

1pm
So we "napped" (well in actuality we had "quiet hour" because there was no-one sleeping) and I thought I could buy myself some time to catch up on some television. What happened as I sat in the living room was that the boys decided to "cook" and dumped out the Costco sized container of garlic powder onto the kitchen floor. I should have known it was too quiet. Thankfully, they love vacuuming as much as they love "cooking".

6pm.

We have gone through three outfits today and already taken three baths. My boy with the addiction to cords is carrying my phone around in his pocket plugged to the charger. Electric cord junkie.

6:30 pm

I went to the kitchen to get a snack and it appears that SOMEONE has already had the beginnings of a snack!

7:00pm

In the living room now, waiting for the Olympics to begin. This was a gift to me from one of my professors when I graduated from university. I love it and unfortunately my boys do also. It has certainly been well used but I think it is on it's last legs. I certainly could not have predicted it's future on the day I received it.

8pm

DUN DUN DUHHHHHHHH

The Olympics is beginning! This was about all I saw of the whole opening ceremony. The boys were simply not interested.

8:30pm

The boys are in bed and I came back downstairs to have a few moments to myself. I watched one television commercial (this one) and I have decided I am going to go to bed myself.

Night night!

day two, part two: six days left

The night started out amazingly. I was feeling like parent of the year (in my own mind obviously). The kids were fed, bathed, in clean pajamas and in bed by 8pm. Maxie didn't try to get out of bed ONCE before he fell to sleep. I was in bed reading and after 45 minutes I thought I would venture downstairs to watch the season premiere of Survivor. As I walked past the bedroom where I THOUGHT the boys were sleeping, Ceejer piped up "Mamma!" I went in and decided to take him downstairs with me, sit him on my lap and snuggle with him in the dark, watching survivor. He is normally a very good snuggle pal.
Well he snuggled for about a millionth of a second and then got up to play with his trucks. I kept the lights off thinking it would keep him in "sleepy" mode, but it didn't. When Shel called me she heard him squealing before I even said hello and she greeted me with "Uh oh" and not "Hi"!
It actually is NOT that big of a deal that he was up, because he is really good, and he plays without any problems. When I went to bed at 11, I took him up and laid him down and he just rolled and went to sleep. I got into bed, read my book for another 20 minutes and turned out the light. Well the turning off of the bedroom light somehow woke Max in the other room. I swear he has a sixth sense for electrical current - and he was wide awake, out of bed, and told me he was finished sleeping for the night. For some reason he was very weepy. I let him get into the bed with me, thinking all along about how Shel predicted I would be sleeping with one or the other of them before her side of the bed had even cooled but I was determined he was NOT staying the night with me.
He started to cry, saying over and over "mamma gone, mamma gone". By this time it was well after 1am and although I was tempted to call Shel and have her talk to him there was no way I was disrupting the whole household to have her say goodnight (which we had already done earlier anyway). I tried to balance between reassuring him she was returning and showing my version of sleep deprived compassion and putting him back in his bed. From that point on the night was a complete write off. He didn't stay in bed more than 15 minutes at a time and I was up and down the stairs getting bottles and other things for him trying to find what he needed to settle for the night. FINALLY around 4 am he seemed to fall asleep IN his bed and it took me all of a millisecond to fall asleep right after he did. THEN the little cherub was up again sometime around 5 and we were all up for the day. Day three away from mom had a rocky start. I hope tonight goes better - I hope he collapses from sheer exhaustion and sleeps the night through. Now I just have to keep Ceejer in bed. There will be no attempts from me to sneak downstairs tonight. I just hope I don't need the bathroom!

things that happen to travelers

So my spouse busted out of the great white north and is off to visit her family in Wisconsin. (How funny is it that she went SOUTH to Wisconsin?)
We have been nervous about her going to the USA since she became a Canadian resident, but we made the giant leap and sent her off. In the process of getting her ready we neglected to pack a bottle of medication.
We knew that being seven days without it was not an option and so I got a hold of a phone number for a pharmacy there and spoke tot he pharmacist and explained the situation. What we needed was 7 pills. Let me insert here that these are not pain pills, not narcotics, not anything she could sell on the black market (is there a black market in Wisconsin?) and we were going to have the doctor here fax the prescription to the pharmacy there. Well the pharmacist said that they would not fill a prescription written by a Canadian doctor because he was not licensed in the USA to write prescriptions. I understand this in "theory" but "practically" it makes no sense to me. I get it that our doctor is not an American, but how is it possible to buy drugs online between countries? I don't think it was an outrageous request to ask for seven days worth of a medication. Are we the only people in the world who travel and accidentally leave medication behind? What about people who lose their luggage while traveling, has it never happened in the history of the world that someone would lose a medicine and need a temporary refill?
It really brings home to me how far apart we really are - Canada and the USA that is. I know many people think that the countries are very alike, in fact they are more different than similar. Crossing the border IS like going to a foreign country.
We managed to get everything worked out, got her in to see an American doctor who was nice enough to take her word for it (she does have all her travel documents and we could get a fax from our family doctor here) but even when she went to get the prescription filled - paying cash for it - she virtually had to sign her life away. They wanted all kinds of information about her and I have to ask - for what? All's well that ends well I suppose, but what a pain and a lesson learned.

Day two: six days left

Time is seriously dragging here. I feel as though we had a good day and I certainly got a lot accomplished, but the time is just moving at a snail pace. I Barbequed for supper tonight. It makes me laugh that I barbequed when the temperature was hovering around -15 degrees. Who does that? Why, people who live this far north!
I managed to make supper, put in a load of laundry, bathe the kids and get them to bed. I know this is the stuff people do ALL the time, every day of their lives and so it seems as though I am making a big deal out of nothing. It's just that I LIKE doing this with my spouse. I LIKE raising the boys with her. Max lately has been so "clingy" and I have no idea why. He and Ceejer were in the tub together and I went to pick Ceej up and Max almost had a fit. He wants me to pick HIM up and keep HIM on my lap when we are in the living room. The strange thing is he doesnt even really WANT to be in my lap, he just doesnt want C there. Thats why I like having two of us. I don't feel as though I am abandoning one boy for the other. I dont understand Maxies recent need to be babied, I am just a sucker for my boys I guess!
So it's after 10 pm. I need to go to bed and eek out every minute of sleep I can get. I was planning on taking the day off from work tomorrow and as it happens there is a check out and I need to do room assessments, so no day off for me. I REALLY wanted to just chill with my boys at home, but I guess I have to wait until Saturday for that. I was thinking I might do some dishes.... I hurried and thought of something else!
Oh, the buzzer just went on the dryer. I need to turn it on for one more cycle. Nighty night!

day one: seven days left

We got up super early this morning and drove the almost 2 hours to the airport. The fog was INSANE at 3am and worse at 7 am when there were more vehicles on the road. There was at least one accident I passed on the way home and if there were more I didn't see them because the fog was so thick.
Shel has had a LONG day of travel - she hasn't arrived at her destination yet, but I think she will be there in a few minutes. Two long car trips, two countries, one nightmare of immigration and three planes later and her trip has only just begun!
The funny thing is that usually on a Wednesday I work a really long day and stay in town overnight. I don't get home for about 24 hours. Shel has been gone for less than that, and I have been at work most of the day and I miss her! I haven't even been gone as long as I am normally on a week to week basis, but just knowing she is in the USA tonight feels different.
I am still waiting for her to call and tell me she has arrived safely. Seven days until we pick her up.

broken record

I feel as though life right now is a bit of a broken record.
We still have no idea what is happening with the adoptions.
We are still stressed and trying to handle our stress the best we can without impacting our boys who are emotion amplifiers. Neither one of them sleeps well at the BEST of times and when they pick up on our stress then fagettaboutit. Sleep is NOT happening in our home.
We met last week with two managers who heard our story and I will admit - we did a good job of telling it - but they heard about our "case", not about our "family".
It frustrates me to NO end that decisions can be made "in the best interest of the child" based on what people see written on paper, in a file. They see reports, made by people who OCCASIONALLY see us, and infrequently see the kids.
Managers say things to us like "two years is not significant bonding for a child considering the length of his life" and "they are not related by blood and so they are not bonded to one another". These are boys who have been with us since birth and know NO other family.
I wish that these people could see our lives. The lives of the boys whom we love with all our hearts, mights, minds and strengths. The boys who SQUEAL when I walk into the room when I get home from work, and who quiver with excitement at being picked up. I wish they could hear my son; my non-verbal, profoundly hearing impaired son say "momma" when I ask him who loves him.
They will decide the fate of our family over a desk. In a conference room. Maybe tired, maybe having read a multitude of files before they get to ours. They don't know us or anything about us and they hold our lives in their hands - and we wait.

dedicated to my boys

Countdown to the Year of the Tiger

I'm a pig. That is to say, I was born in the Year of the BOAR (or pig).

This year is the Year of the Rooster. Let me just say, that the year of the rooster is not a good one if you happen to be a pig. I don't know what problem roosters have with pigs, generally, but they do not get along. I can attest to this fact.

I looked up the pig outlook for 2009 and it was not good. Predicted were one favorable months, 1 neutral months, and the rest lousy months. Perhaps because I knew this I made it "happen" this way, but I am inclined to believe that much happened beyond my control in 2009 and little of it was good.

We had to put down three cats and one dog just for starters and things didn't improve from there. That's why I am excited for the Year of the Tiger. In exactly 12 days the year of the Tiger begins. Common sense would dictate that two farm animals would have more in common than a farm animal and a predator, but I who am I to say. My pig outlook for the year of the Tiger is 11 favorable months and 1 neutral month. Under normal circumstances I would not claim to be superstitious in any way, but if the Chinese Calendar says this will be a good year for me then I will not dispute it. I will embrace it. I will love it, and perhaps my loving it will translate into me having a better year than last one. 12 days and counting.