Maybe Moving South?

In my obsessive search for a nice country home I found a pretty 5 acre property with an old/renovated farmhouse on it. It has 4 bedrooms and an attic loft that can be developed. For some reason, I am more nervous about moving to Prescott than I was about moving to Renfrew. I'm still slightly sad that we didn't get my dream home on Barr Street.

Terry wants to check out the Prescott home tomorrow night. I tried to explain that tomorrow night is a momentous night with the premiere of CAMP ROCK 2. He just doesn't understand. Miss Hollywood is hoping to have a sleepover to make the night even more special. Secretly, I am a little excited to see the movie. Afterall, we have been watching the commercials for it for the past 5 months. I think I know all of the songs already!

Here is a sample: It's On
Oh and another one! : Can't Back Down

Anyhoo, the house is inexpensive enough that we could afford to finish the attic AND build me a nice porch. I made it very clear that I will only move to the country if I get my big white porch. I also mentioned an outdoor rink in the winter, which sent Terry on a crazy hockey-playing-every-night fantasy. Considering that I have wanted to make a backyard rink every year for the past 4 years, I think 5 acres of property is more suitable than a tiny townhome backyard with a gazebo in the way.

See, the big problem is that I'm not entirely sure that I want to leave the city. I worry about the country schools, about the children having to make new friends, about the children having to take a school bus, not so much about being isolated though. I am embracing my hermit identity a bit more these days, though I have promised myself to try to be a bit more social this school year.

OH! And Terry's lovely niece Wendy lives in Prescott. She has 5 kids too, 3 of which would go to the same school as my older girls.

I suppose that the best thing to do is to actually see the house and take it from there. If I don't love it, I'm not moving!

So much for the Budget!

Okay, honestly I don't actually have a budget; I just hate spending money....unless it's on clothing for the little ones. Decided to get back-up dress afterall. Here it is!

I hope that one of them looks good. If not, I will have to wear a garbage bag or wrap a sheet around myself. I REALLY have to get that Tony Little Gazelle unburied from behind those bins!

Update: Dress was out of stock :( They sold 3 the day that I tried to purchase mine. The lovely people at www.vintagedressesoutlet.com were extremely kind though and offered a discount on my next purchase to make up for the fact that the dress was sold out. Thank you Lee'Ann!

On a happy note, my black polka dot dress arrived in TWO DAYS. Two days is almost unheard of to send something to Canada from the States. I was extremely impressed with ModCloth.
The dress is cute, though I really have to do some work on my arms...they look a tad large!

Someone please dig out the Gazelle!

So, my cousin Adam is getting married in October. It has been eons since I actually went to a wedding (other than my own!). The past few have been out of town and I have not been able to attend. This wedding will be here, so no worries about being able to go.......

Or are there? What the heck is an overweight, out of shape, doesn't-fit-into-any-of-my-old-dresses girl to do????? Well, my quest for a dress started last week, during my semi-conscious concussion week. I checked out a bazillion online vintage shops to no avail. Apparently Vintage Chicks were a tad thinner than me. Imagine that!

My focus this week has been on "retro-style" dresses. I may have found one (hope so, because I ordered it), but I worry that it may be too plain to wear to the wedding. I don't necessarily have buyer's regret because I love the dress, but I don't know if we have the funds, with birthday season upon us, to buy a dress just because I love it.

Anyhoo, here is the picture. I really like it, but is it appropriate to wear to a wedding? The wedding is in the afternoon at 1pm - cocktails are at 5pm. I was thinking of getting my pearl earrings fixed (one needs to be glued) and finding some funky retro looking shoes, but I'm still worried that it won't be dressy enough. Funny thing to say for someone who NEVER wears a dress. This wedding business is so stressful!!!!!!!!!

I Fought The Stroller and The Stroller Won

Okay, technically, it wasn't much of a fight since the nasty Graco DuoGlider double stroller hit me from behind (and about 6ft off the ground), sending me straight to the floor. Well, towards the floor....I ended up stuck in a bin of toys. Luckily, the little ones were in the basement at the time and were able to fetch their older sisters to help me. It took twenty whole minutes to get me turned around and ready to try to get up. The nausea and dizziness was too much to handle. By that point, Terry was home and helped get me upright.

After about an hour and a half, we decided to get to the hospital, since my pupils were very unequal in size. The verdict : I have a concussion. I was monitored for several hours. Nurse Hatchet stabbed me in the arm with a shot of Gravol and caused me to bleed all over my fashionable hospital gown. I went home and was under strict supervision and instruction to return if things got worse. Darling Kiki stayed up all night watching me. Bless her heart.

It is getting better. My pupils finally returned to normal size yesterday. The headaches are not constant anymore; they come and go throughout the day. I can remain upright for more than a minute. I pushed myself a little too much today and am paying for that (Please stop the room from spinning). Seems like it may be a slow and steady road to recovery.

I have managed to do some online window shopping though! Well, I bought a few things.
Firstly, I ordered Boy1's violin. I figured that renting a violin that looked obviously banged up a bit for $25/month didn't make sense. I got an inexpensive internet one as the seller had good reviews and I was told that Boy1 would outgrow this size (1/8) in a couple of months. This way Boy2 can use it too, if he has the inclination to learn violin.

Secondly, I ordered picture invitations for Boy1's birthday party and for Miss A & Boy1's shared Birthday BBQ for family. They rock! I hope they look as nice in person. I ordered them this morning from Kodak and they are already at Best Buy waiting for pick up. That will have to be tomorrow after Terry gets off work, since I am unable to drive. I will try to remember to post pictures when I get them.

Finally, I ordered a birthday t-shirt on etsy from AddieKakesKreations. It is adorable. Here is a picture of what style it will be:

It will, of course, have Boy1's name and "5" on it instead. I am getting so excited for his birthday! We are having his birthday party at the park. There is a water/sprinkler park there and new play structure. I also bought a discounted bean bag toss game and we have a ring toss already. I was considering the Bocce game too, but I am afraid that the children might hurt each other with the balls. We shall see.

After Boy1's party, we are going to have a family BBQ at our house. Our barbeque is really horrible though, so I don't know how that will work out for us!

As for my window shopping, I have been searching the vintage clothing e-world for a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding in October. So far, I have found some beautiful dresses, but none that were definitely "the one". Two months until the wedding ....hopefully enough time to find something.

This typing is giving me a headache, so I need to rest. Hopefully, I will remember to blog again soon!

Reflections

Did any one of my three followers ever watch the show China Beach? It was set in Vietnam and starred Dana Delany & Marg Helgenberger....and some hot dude whose name I can't recall. Anyhoo, the theme song was Reflections by Diana Ross and The Supremes. I just googled the lyrics and they are much more sad/heartbreak-y than my mood today, but the title of the song certainly represents the theme of today for me. I'm definitely in a reflective mood.

For your listening enjoyment, here is the youtube video of The Supremes performing the song, as well as another song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0HE7TC8y5g

Ooh! And here is the actual China Beach theme!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceiEnbOb_jE

I find myself reflecting on those that used to be such an integral part of my life, but that, for some reason or another, I no longer have in my life. Now, I'm talking about people from years ago, friends, neighbours, other peeps......it is strange how time doesn't seem to pass, yet when I look back I can't figure out what happened to all of those "constant" people. I suppose for me the easy answer is children. Children happened. But I suppose that isn't fair to blame it on procreating. I mean, it does take two to tango. My blame can rest on my self-inflicted seclusion and sudden lack of social butterfly-edness. I remember being on the phone for countless hours a day when I was younger. So, at least, I was keeping in touch. I just don't know what happened.

Worse than that, I can't seem to figure out how to remedy the situation. How do I turn this around and reclaim friendships or even hope to make new ones? Baby steps are great, if you actually take them. Baby steps aren't worth a damn if you simply stand there paralysed. They are just meaningless words. I guess it's time to make an actual plan. I like, make that love, lists - so I will have to make a "Reclaim/Make New Friends List. Wonder if it will work.

Now off to prepare for this evening's visit from my daddy and his lovely wife Marie. Firstly, I must make a preparation list ;)

Where Has The Time Gone?

There we go....just changed the blog name, as I feel the last one was a tad on the negative side. We'll try this one on for size and see if it fits.

The March Break sped by us and I am ashamed to admit that we did not have the chance to do all that I had hoped. My ear is still troubling me; the doctor said that it is viral and all I can do is wait for the fluid that is behind my ear drum to drain. Fun times. Regardless, it put a damper on my mood and my energy levels. I am trying to be possitive about it though. I now have the oppurtunity to have THREE coffee tins to paint instead of two. I think that I will do the base coat and perhaps have the children help paint on some added touches. I also found a bunch of seeds for planting, so we can always plant seeds instead of putting full grown plants in the painted containers.

The boys got their room back on Friday and since then I have been fixing it up for them. It now looks like a proper little boys' room, though I seem to have misplaced the red mirrors that used to hang in there. I will have to keep looking. Miss Hollywood likes the room so much that she is insisting on sleeping in there. If we do manage to get our Dream Home, I may be able to convince her to share the third floor with the boys. It would be practical, as they always like to end up in the same room anyway. The closet is certainly big enough and the adjoining bathroom is an added bonus. If we wind up doing the addition later on, she can then move to her own room. She will be older by that point and want her own room. We shall see.


Speaking of moving, I painted the kitchen yesterday. I really love the colour and can't understand why I haven't updated this room earlier. It is such an easy and brilliant change. Yay for me! I still have to do the trim. Terry says that the job is so good that he can't understand why I want to hire out the staircase. I informed him that I don't enjoy it at all and I REALLY don't want to do the staircase again. Once in a lifetime was fine for me. It is nice to hear him appreciate my work though.

We visited Terry's mom on Sunday to celebrate her 86th birthday. She is such an awesome lady. She still seems so young. I swear she is going to live to be 100....at least! It was a hoot visiting with her and Terry's sister Shelagh. It is refreshing to see Terry with his family. He actually CAN be funny! I wish we could get together with his family more often. It always makes me feel differently toward him. It kind of reminded me why I fell in love with him in the first place.

Ah! The sound of the boys' fighting is everywhere. Time for Referee Mom to step in.

(*update on court case for Christmas Day noise violation...met with prosecutor today and trial is set for the morning of June 25th. 6 months to the day from Christmas. How ironic! Ulcer is growing, despite the fact that everyone keeps telling me it's a good thing.)

CHEERS TO BIRTHDAY GIRL JULIE "J-BUCK" BUCHANAN!!!!!! I am so going to lift a pint in honour of you tonight!

Confessions of a Former Social Butterfly

Perhaps I should rename my blog that. It seems quite fitting.

Well, I am happy to report that Project March Break Living Room Tent is a go! Boy2 and I spent the morning tidying, vacuuming, rearranging furniture and setting up the tent. Boy1 was thrilled to see it when he came home from school. It was a good Mommy Moment. Later this aft, we are going to attempt JMom's mac n' cheese again. It wasn't saucy enough last time. Well, I liked it, but the kiddies weren't overly thrilled. The boys are looking forward to cooking with Mommy again. They will make fine husbands some day!



I wonder if we will be in this house next year to set up the tent. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I do love my house, and know that it would be even better with a finished basement. But when I look out my front window and see pavement, it is kind of depressing. I know that once the flowers start to bloom, things will look better, but for some reason, this year, the proximity of all of my neighbours and the winter trouble with one set in particular, is making me almost claustrophobic.

I never wanted to raise my family in a townhome (not that there is anything wrong with that), but with housing prices so astronomical, I am truly grateful to own a home at all. I always pictured myself being a stay-at-home mom. I spent my childhood in daycare and always admired those children with moms at home. With a one salary income, I don't see us being able to move for a couple of years to a single family home in the neighbourhood.

I have obviously been mulling over the possibility of moving out of town! I have to admit that it is causing anxiety. I know that Kiki really wants to move now, but I worry that she is simply going through a phase and that after the move, she will regret being so far from the only friends she has ever known. There is something to be said for living in the same neighbourhood your whole childhood. Perhaps this is another reflection on my childhood. I had quite a few major moves. I envied those that had known each other forever. If we move away, I will be robbing my children of that opportunity. It is not a huge deal for Boys1 & 2, as Boy1 is only in Junior Kindergarten. Miss Hollywood will be more difficult, since she is so shy and at the end of this school year will have been with these friends for 3 years. That's half of her life!!! Miss A is such an outgoing child that she will make new friends and I have no doubt will keep the old ones too. Plus there is still the possibility that she would travel into the city with Terry and continue at the same school.

As for us, the adults, we have no social life here. I'm not sure when it happened..probably around the time that I started my pregnancy marathon, but we lost all semblance of a social life a long time ago. I LOVED my birthday party this year and vowed to keep having parties, but alas, that didn't happen. Quite frankly, I am afraid to make a peep with the Wicked Witch of the West living next door. Not to mention how anxiety/depression can make a gal not feel much like party planning.

For some reason the thought of moving away gives me hope that we will have that social life once again. Of course, Terry would be gone all of the time....hmmmm...

The real estate dude was super friendly and lives 2 doors down from the Dream Home. He seems like he would be a hoot to live beside. When my friend Liz lived in Rockland, east of Ottawa, it would take us an hour to visit her from our home in the West End, so I'm sure that we wouldn't seriously be leaving our true friends behind. It's not like we see them often anyway.
Also, the house has enough space that we could actually entertain. I get giddy thinking of the size of the house and the yard and the NO ATTACHED NEIGHBOUR thing.

I am slightly afraid of having to make new school friends. I have been associated with the younger ones' school for 10 years now. I would be the newbie mom if we moved out of town. What if people don't like me??!!

Moving would get rid of the stigma that has been thrust upon us since the wicked ones moved in next door. Those that know us, know that they are insane, but what about the other neighbours that don't know us that well, what must they think of us? I am embarrassed to think about it. I definitely like the idea of a fresh start.

On the phone this morning, my mom didn't seem too keen on us moving an hour away. She kept going on about how an hour drive each way is way too long for Terry, "escpecially at his age". The man is almost 49, not 80! Good Lord, what does that woman think? I'm not sure how much of this is concern for Terry and how much is disappointment because when I sent her the link, she automatically wanted to sell her house and move into MY Dream Home. The nerve!

This is all just speculation at this point. I am so excited to see the inside of the house on Sunday, that I can hardly concentrate on anything else. I suppose after the viewing, we will have some serious decisions to make.

Until then, I will continue to fantasize about what life could be like living in a small town.

I Love My Little Chefs

I have come to the realisation that I need to engage in more fun activities with my boys while they are home during the day. My friend, Julie, recently went from being a work-outside-the-home mom to being a stay at home mom. She has been dreaming of this forever and circumstances with her job enabled her to finally do this and she is taking full advantage of this precious time with her daughter.

I've had it easier in a way, when the older girls were young, I worked part-time (about 20 hours a week) and still was able to spend most days with them. Then about 10 years ago, a work induced chronic tendonitis forced me to quit my job of 9 years and I stayed home full time. At this point, I volunteered regularly at the school and enjoyed a nice life despite my unhappiness with their father. I was happy as a mom and proud of myself for being a good mom.

When the older girls and I moved into our own home, I treasured my time with them and we had fun. I missed them terribly on the weekends when they visited their dad, but treasured the rest of the time.

Then came Terry and our whirlwind romance. Everything happened very fast and we were so happy. After a year together we decided to try and have a baby. A month later I was pregnant. Within 3 years and 2 months of Miss Hollywood's birth, I had not only had her, but her 2 younger brothers. I worked it out to over 6 years of the 8 years that Terry and I have been together, I was either pregnant or breastfeeding. It really did take its toll. Talk about feeling constantly drained!

I suppose it doesn't help that I have always gotten easily exhausted..my whole life I have been this way. I just don't seem to have the same amount of energy as most other people. I have no idea why. Regardless of the reason for my exhaustion, it has left me at times feeling like less of a mother, because I don't have the energy to do the things that I want to do with my children.

Add to that one crazy ass neighbour that makes me feel like a prisoner in my own home and my life certainly is not what I want it to be. I only have a year and a half until my O-Bear goes to school and I need to start treasuring that time a bit more.

Back to Julie........her blog shows her fascination and pure happiness at being able to share this time with her daughter. She keeps giving me ideas of ways that I can enjoy my children a bit more. Today, Screamy helped me to get supper prepped and into the crockpot. He just loves helping in the kitchen and I really don't know why we don't cook together more often. O-Bear joined in as soon as he saw what we were up to. I really hope that they like it, so that they can feel pride in the great meal that they helped make. I think we will try baking tomorrow.

March Break is coming up next week and I haven't even made my usual plan for the week. I have to set the tent up tomorrow, as they always sleep in the tent in the living room on the first night (then I argue with them about taking it down for the next 8 days!). I have some can/vases to paint and some seeds to start inside, but I am really very unprepared compared to years past.

Given my boys' love of cooking, I really want to get them each an apron as well. Forever, I have been wanting to get them personalised ones that I saw on etsy. Plus I just found this new etsy store today called Bloom Woosie .

Here are some of the personalised ones:

The first two are from an etsy store called firefly63.

The black one with the rocket is from an etsy store called tinygreenapples. I am undecided on which apron to go for. If I go with the rocket one (there are also dinosaur ones), I will have to have one of my American friends order it for me as tinygreenapples does not ship to Canada. Mind you firefly63 does ship here, but it is $10.95 PER item. Hmmmmmm......

**Update** I searched around the tinygreenapples shop a bit more and discovered that they do offer shipping to Canada. WOOT! The shipping is less expensive and they offer discounts on shipping other items. Looking like tinygreenapples is winning this competition!

Here is a picture of a Mommy/Son Set that I'm sure would be a hit around here:

O Canada....why doesn't everyone ship to you?!

I am a proud Canadian. I am proud of our uniqueness and proud of our kick-ass athletes ;) (still recovering from Olympic fever).

I am not happy, however, with our online shopping choices at times. How many times have I found the perfect something that I just can't have because I'm not American. I suppose it has saved me all sorts of money over the years, so maybe I should just shut up and be grateful for that!

One of my favourite sites is Land of Nod . It makes me crazy how absolutely adorable everything is on that site. If I had a million dollars.......Now, L o'N does ship to Canada, but I would have to send them my list each time to have them give me a quote. That could get embarrassing, since I really like to know the shipping cost when I am web-window shopping.

A while ago, I found this cool site Bed Bath & Beyond. It has such nice things. I wanted to share what I want to get the boys:

This set comes with SO much. It has the comforter, of course, and not one, but two sheets sets, two throw pillows, bedskirt and two 70"W x 16"L window valances. All for $129.99 for a twin. Whoa. Needless to say, this bedding is on my wishlist.

Wowsers, Time Sure Does Fly!

My stepson turned 18 today. How did that happen?! He can vote! And legally drink in his home province - la belle province - of Quebec. According to the articles following the women's hockey team's gold medal celebrations (this world is so very sexist when a man can win gold and walk down the streets drinking out of a pitcher of beer and women are frowned upon for smoking cigars and drinking beer in private), I now know that the drinking age in Alberta (where the women's team trains) is also 18.

I still remember him as that skinny little dude, all into hockey and not yet into girls. Now he is officially a man, an adult. Whoa. It's amazing how regardless of our wishes, time keeps ticking by at such an alarming rate.

I didn't sleep well last night. My ear was killing me....it is making my eye and cheekbone hurt too, which is what I think kept me up. I am currently waiting for the ibuprofen & acetaminophen to kick in. Yes, I have to do the combo to take the edge off. Sorry to complain again. I'm just so tired of feeling pain. I think this is good news - my ear has been doing little popping things all morning. I think it is fluid draining. You know it's a good day when fluid is draining from your ears ;)

During my hours of inability to sleep, I tried to concentrate on happy thoughts, like the house. My fear is that my preocupation with it is causing me to ignore reality. In another 2 weeks, I get to meet with the prosecutor over the noise complaint again. The more I think of moving, the more I feel like just paying the fine and getting it over with. I hate the anxiety. It has a tendency to consume me. I wish that I had been considering moving a few months ago. Then the path to preparing the house for sale wouldn't be so intimidating. I swear Miss A's room looks like something from the tv show Hoarders. I am afraid of that room!!!

Baby steps.

That being said, time to do some work around here. My life is so glamorous.

The More I Try to Change Things, The More They Stay The Same

I think that one of my problems in life is that my expectations of others are at the same level as my expectations for myself. Like when I ask for something to be done, I expect the other person to do it with the same perfection that I would expect from myself. When someone says something of importance to me, I expect it to be with the same honesty & with the same conviction as I would have if I had said the same thing.

I know I have seemed negative lately, and maybe it is mostly due to this undying cold/ear infection, but always being the only one putting forth the effort is starting to have its toll. I am currently talking about the house issue, though this can relate to the children, the pets, neighbour issues, etc.

Say we do decide to sell our house, and I am honest with the fact that I honestly don't know if I want to move. Though it is interesting that my current misgivings are due to the fact that our house is nowhere near ready to sell right now, not the fact that I am considering moving 100km away. Back to my point....I'm not sure that I can single handedly get this house in order, well, not in the amount of time needed to get my dream home. Afterall, let's face it, I had not considered Renfrew (or any other town) seriously, until finding my dream home. Though, that house in Perth last year had me thinking about moving out of town - at the time Kiki out right refused to leave Ottawa (now she wants to move).

Kiki and I worked like dogs yesterday on the kitchen. We got rid of one garbage bag full of junk, tons of recycling (mismatched plastic containers) and have one garbage bag of stuff to donate. And that was just after doing a couple of cupboards. This is going to be a long process. I did a little cupboard today and had been wanting to do the pantry, but my ear hurts so much that I decided to take a break. It also really helps to have a helper - the team effort made things zoom along. Plus my need to gain control of my laundry on the dining room table takes priority today. It's so very difficult to prepare a house to sell when the mundane daily chores keep getting in the way.

It doesn't help that Terry is still suffering from his PMS (Persistent Male Sydrome) and has been throwing his share of Mantrums, which makes for an unhappy co-conspirator in our battle to reclaim our house.

I wish that I could enlist the help of my mother, but for now it is best to keep her at bay. An appeal for help would cement our decision to move and put undue pressure on us. I think for now I would prefer to continue prepping, but not necessarily commit to anything publicly. Not to mention that I wouldn't let my mom upstairs at the moment, even if you paid me.

We see the dream home on Sunday...yay!!!! If the inside looks as good as the outside & the pictures, it will be hard not to go house-selling crazy!

I suppose when all is said and done, I will at least have done a major spring cleaning this year, even if it takes until the fall ;)

Pretty Things Make Me Happy

Giving a big shout out to my friends at BusyBs (http://www.2busybs.blogspot.com/) for inspiring me to web-window shop new websites. I simply love finding new sites over which to drool!

After the painful night that Boy 1 and I managed to survive, I needed something pretty to lift my spirits, so I decided to check out the Anthropologie website (http://www.anthropologie.com/). I found the most gorgeous things there.

Miss Hollywood and I NEED to get these:

Wouldn't my little princess look perfect in this????


I'm not sure how my body would look in this one, but I need a new apron and she would be thrilled if we had matching ones.

And the set wouldn't be complete without the pot holder!

I think I have an obsession with pretty things...take that dream home of mine. Imagine me in that dream home, baking cookies with Miss Hollywood, both in our matching aprons. Ahhhhh.....what a nice fantasy. I should throw a Kitchen-Aid Mixer into that fantasy, perhaps make it green apple coloured (though I am also partial to the ice blue, tangerine and buttercup):

[Sigh] I'm in love with all of these beautiful things. Maybe I will take a nap and dream of clean houses with funky little pretty things strewn about.

This all reaffirms my belief in the need for a playroom in the basement for the wee ones...well, it would also be a rec room for the older ones too.

Part of me simply wants to fix this house up to maximize the space and get rid of oodles of things. Regardless of whether we stay or move, we still have to do the purging. If planning a move, I wouldn't finish the basement, but things definitely must go. Sometimes I think that Terry is right [GASP] and that we have outgrown our house.

My friend Val doesn't keep anything she doesn't use. I love that philosophy, but unfortunately that concept is somewhat lost on the children.

I will need one of those Junk-it bins, if we ever try to prepare to move. I will also most likely need the services of either PODS or PUPS to store some things as a 4 bedroom townhome does not offer a lot of space for a family of seven.

As of the 20th of March, the boys will have their room back. I am soooo looking forward to that! Owen will finally have a dresser of his own and I can remove their clothing from the wardrobe in the foyer. I need to get to IKEA to pick up a duvet cover for Owen to match Liam's and deep clean their carpet, hang up their canvasses and YAY they have their room all set up. Let us not forget that their closet is big enough to store some of those toys in my dining room . Woot!
C'mon 20th!!!

Time to make a pot of tea for me and my darlings. We're all so sick of being sick! Think I will web-window shop while waiting for the water to boil :)

Mama, Please Pass the Bucket....

Oh, what a night! (late December back in '63, what a very special time for me, what a lady, what a night..... sorry, I couldn't resist)

Just when I think it can't possibly get worse, I end up holding a bucket for Miss Hollywood while she sits on the toilet at 1:30 in the morning. Poor thing managed to empty her system. At 4am, Screamy woke up - you guessed it - screaming. For the past 36 hours, he has been having sudden urges to poo and at this happened again at four o'clock. Luckily, the little dude didn't vomit.

This morning, Boys 1 and 2 were both complaining of stomach pains. Miss Hollywood said her tummy her a bit, but insisted that she was well enough to go to school. Bless her heart.

Both older gilrs are ill as well, but Miss A's is just a bad cold and she is trying to get her bum to school. Better late than never, I suppose. Kiki is only a couple days behind me on the symptom scale (though her body seems to be trying to fight a bit, while mine is continually deteriorating).

I had a bowl of rice for supper last night. My stomach has been massively cramping ever since.

Regardless, I have work to do today. I have to finish typing up some minutes that I have to email out today. AND I am determined to reclaim my foyer and dining room.

Send Chicken Soup! STAT!

I have recently found myself envisioning life for my children, if I were seriously ill or, Heaven forbid, even dead.

Life around this house is so bloody dysfunctional when I am sick!!!!!!

Miss Hollywood has been late for the umpteenth time in the past week and a half. Two days this week have resulted in Terry simply leaving to go to work, stating that he can't wait any longer. Therefore, two days this week have resulted in me phoning to apologize for her tardiness and a sick Kiki having to walk her little sister to school. Somehow the fact that T-man has no matching clean socks is somehow to be blamed on the older girls, as is the fact that he slept in. Huh???

The Blame Game infuriates me, especially when the one blaming could have easily woken people up when he awoke, instead of first having a half hour Morning Constitutional and then complaining that everyone was falling behind.

To make things easier tomorrow morning (TGIF!), Miss Hollywood and I will be picking out her wardrobe as soon as she gets home this afternoon. The darling has agreed to make feeding the cats her job. I hope that the extra responsibility helps steer her away from the rebelliousness that she has been overcome with over the past couple of weeks. She actually openly laughed in her father's face the other evening when he was getting upset with her. She has also been outright refusing to go to bed, so bedtime has been a struggle. And she is my best behaved child!

My hopes for this afternoon is to de-stuffed animal her bed and remake it properly, so that we can get her properly cozied in tonight. I promised her that Nessie could try sleeping on her bed for the first time, so I am hoping that all of this will be incentive to behave.

Project Hollywood is officially under way. I figure tackling her issues first will a) be easier than the other peeps' and b) stop her from constantly riling her younger brothers up....like they need any extra help there ;)

Now if only I can open up my left eye enough to see, today might not be a total write-off.

Hello Dream Home....Where Have You Been All Of My Life?!

This evening we loaded the hyper-crazy hooligans into the van for a field trip to stalk our dream home. After an argument over which dvd to watch on the ride, Kiki accidentally closing the foyer door on Little O's fingers (poor little dude) and me saying a prayer that the older girls would not kill each other while we were gone, off we headed to the 'Frew.

O was asleep within a few minutes and the other two behaved very well on the ride. Screamy, of course, konked out about 58 seconds before we reached the house and awoke 58 seconds before we reached our house, flipping out about having not seen it. He also seemed to believe that we would be buying the house, like one does a loaf of bread. Cute kiddo.

I digress....what a gorgeous house it is! All I can say is WOW. Actually it is way beyond wow. The picture that I posted does not do it justice. It looks much bigger in person as well. It is so hard not to picture a life there. T-man wants to book an appointment to see the inside. Though the thought of that makes me drool, I can't help but wonder why we are even going down this road. I am not sure that relocating to Renfrew is really the way to go. Terry is in love with the idea of a new life there; he says he has always loved and wanted to live in Renfrew (he has said the same thing about Perth and Eganville). I really just love the house. I like the idea of being closer to the cottage and mostly love the idea of getting away from the evil neighbour, but if I am honest, I know it is that beautiful house.

Now, truth be known, it wouldn't change my lifestyle too much to move to Renfrew. I certainly worry about the children. Miss Mex is very happy with her social school life and does not want to move (a year ago, she wanted to move and Kiki did not. Arg, can they never agree??) T and I even discussed the possibility of her commuting with Terry, but I tried that before and it really sucked. Though, she is much more outgoing than I ever was, so she would make friends easily.

I am exhausted and have developped pink eye in my left eye this time, so I must say good evening. Toodles.

Another Day, Another Blog

Okay, so technically I have already posted today, but that doesn't matter.

My ear made me cry today. Luckily, ibuprofen is enough to take the edge off. I am in desperate need of a shower. I'm afraid of getting my ears wet, but seeing as how I disgust myself at the moment, there is little choice. Terry took the day off to take care of us sickies, but, instead of helping out, he seems intent on walking around, doing nothing. I was presumptuous enough to make a list, but between his failing eyesight and lack of observation skills, the list is sitting there being unappreciated. He did take pity on me by sweeping up the dirtpile that I had swept. Now he is upstairs.....doing something. Noone ever knows what, but I assume it is something.

Perhaps he's not. I have never met a soul before who had the ability to sit for such long periods of time just staring.....or rubbing his forehead. I would seriously be bored with myself, if I did that - hence the floor sweeping of this morning that I managed to complete between ear throbs.

After his several Mantrums of the past couple of days (I will testify to the fact that men have some sort of PMS), everyone is avoiding him. I am not really avoiding him, but merely too weak to climb the staircase to satisfy my curiosity.

Now on to much more lighthearted things. I spent yesterday reading 2 different Bachelor Recap blogs. Both are Texans and both are ridiculously hilarious. Lincee Ray's blog is http://www.ihategreenbeans.com/ and some guy from austin is at www.guyinaustin.blogspot.com .
If I don't move to Renfrew, perhaps I will move to Texas.

Back to complaining for a moment - if T-man so desperately wants to move, should he not be taking advantage of this day off to make the house look a bit better....he could finish the bathroom paint job that he started FOUR months ago.

***************************************

Alrighty, just checked on him. He was lying down. Some medication he took is making him feel sick. I should feel worse for him, but honestly, this seems to happen everytime he is home. Maybe I am simply feeling bitter because I have been getting worse for a week and a half now, with little sympathy from him.

Time to force myself to do at least one chore from my list. If I am going to be miserable and in agony, I might as well make myself feel better by accomplishing something. Almost time to take more pain meds. Woot!!!!

Two Blogs in Six Hours....Sure beats One Blog in all of 2008!

The meds that were supposed to konk me out did no such thing, so here I am at midnight, too tired to concentrate on watching my beloved Lost on timeshifting. I, of course, missed the original showing 3 hours ago...T-man was having what I like to call a Mantrum and was best sitting alone downstairs brooding, while I forced my eyes open with toothpicks and tried to convince the hooligans that sleeping was a good thing.


I, just moments ago, happened upon an awesome blog by my soul sistah and favourite future in-law, J-Buck. She is a rock star. My anxiety cripples me at times. Hers, makes a wonderful blog about fun fabrics, smelly candles and yummy recipes. Hats off to her! I admire and am inspired by her. If I ever recover from this plague, I think I will attempt to embrace housewifery the way that Julie has.

Oh, this is the house to which, I dream of moving...........


It's in Renfrew - an hour away. It's only about 20 minutes away from the cottage. How perfect is that?! I would probably drive my mom nuts if we went to the cottage that often, yet the proximity to that lovely lake, makes me giddy!



The thought of ever moving scares me to death. Our house would need to be purged so flipping much before even considering putting our house on the market. By that time, my beautiful dream home would be sold, so for the time being this is simply a fantasy.....a really nice fantasy. You should see the pictures of the kitchen!!! Oh wait, I can show you ;)







Now that's a kitchen! Pretty, pretty! Enough exclamation marks!!!! According to Google Maps, the house is a 2 minute walk to the public school and a 15 minute walk to the high school, which wouldn't matter since I always end up driving anyway. Actually the Google Earth map - which makes me feel like a peeping Tom - seems to have the house directly across the street from the public school. Not sure about that though. I obviously would NOT be driving children across the street.
Miss A doesn't want to move because, she informed me, "I actually have a life". Seeing as the rest of us don't and Kiki desperately wants a change of scenery, if it came down to it, Miss A would have to "have a life" somewhere else. Like I previously stated though, this is simply a really nice fantasy. I really am troubled by even the thought of uprooting my children, eventhough I truly believe that they would have a wonderful life out there.....and certainly a nicer, bigger house, with a fair sized yard and so much more space to play.
The other aspect, is the ever present, evil neighbour. It is very hard to picture living beside such a miserable, spiteful, unstable wretch for the next couple of years. IT IS NO WAY FOR MY CHILDREN TO LIVE!!!! Nor for the adults. It's like living in a prison, not a home...always paranoid of doing something to provoke the mental case in the next cell.
Darn you Ottawa Housing Prices for being so high!!
I am feeling completely drained now, so I will head to bed and hopefully dreams of big old houses with modern kitchens will dance in my head.
Tiffy out!

Wanted: Doctor That Makes House Calls

Let me start by saying, OUCH!

I have not had an ear infection in years and I think I'm making up for lost time. Last night was pure hell; I considered making T-man take today off, but then when I awoke this morn, it wasn't so bad. I couldn't hear out of my left ear, but it wasn't hurting. Then, just as a child's fever starts to rise in the evening, so has the darned pain.

Ow-freaking-ch!!!!

Think I will take some of those wonky pills my mom gave me and hope that I can hold onto enough sanity to watch Lost tonight. I'm not feeling too hopeful for the sanity thing, but I'm pretty sure that my family will keep the volume loud enough to prevent me from nodding off.



Update on Nessie:
On Saturday afternoon, I dragged my tired, sciatic, bum to Navan to pick up the little darling. She is a complete sweetheart! My only complaint (other than occasionally piddling on the floor) is her desire to hunt the cats. FUN TIMES.
Shelly seems to have accepted her fate, but young Seamus is feeling absolutely disgusted and betrayed by us. I really hope he comes around and starts playing with Miss Nessie soon. They make a cute pair of bookends, with her prancing around behind him wherever he goes. Too cute.

Off to my comfy chair to snuggle up under the covers and try to miraculously recover in the next 2 hours 45 minutes. Wish me luck!

Puppy Mills and Broken Hearts

Happy 2 years to the day since my last blog. Have I mentioned how positively crappy I am at blogging?

Drum roll please....I drove on the Queensway today. I hate the Queensway, but I did it anyway. My palms were all sweaty and I was shaking, but I made it. Small accomplishments are a great boost to the ego. The reason that I was on the Queensway was that we were visiting a puppy rescue shelter today in Navan.

My heart is now broken. We were going there to meet a little girl Westie, named Nessie. She is a smaller, gentler, yellower version of Seamus. She was a very sweet dog and it broke my heart to have to drive away without her. We have filled out the paperwork and now have to convince Terry that we have to save her. He seems resigned to the fact that we may be getting another dog. He's definitely going to be pushing for living in the country now!

One day at a time....I may actually post again about whether or not we bring Nessie into the family. The poor thing deserves a loving home after being in a puppy mill for her whole life. Heart. Is. Breaking.