My boy is EIGHT today!

He was pretty surprised at his cake.



This morning I made him chocolate chip pancakes with hearts cut into them for breakfast, as per his request. Supper tonight will be sweet n sour meatballs & french fries (also his request. A weird combo but it is tradition that the birthday boy or girl gets to request their meal).



So the short term income people were fucking me over stating I had to start work today for 4 hours. My regular shift is only 5 hours. Huh? How does that equal half a shift, like my fucking doctor wrote on the forms? I talked to the medisys people on Friday and the woman was totally uncool about it - said there was no way that my company would allow for 2.5 hrs and it would HAVE to be four.

So of course I'm upset - I can barely do groceries without needing a nap afterward, whiskey tango foxtrot over.

I called my boss on Friday and he said there was "no way in hell I will allow you to come back in those conditions" and "sit tight, I will handle this" and "the medical insurance company is probably pissed that we are taking the business away from them and giving it to another company" and "DO NOT COME BACK UNTIL I CALL YOU".

I called today and left a message to see what was going on - he called back and said that he was looking into it, that HR agreed with him and said there was no way I should come back all at once, that they could even set it up that I only come back 1 hour and then work my way up slowly at my own pace. And that the medical ins co could suck it. Ha and HA. So he said even if I don't get a call back in enough time today, he would *winkwinknudgenudge* give me hours as if I had (knowing full well that I've on more than one occasion stayed an extra hour and never put it on my time sheet - this is strictly a quid pro quo move on his part).

The only reason he is being so cool about this is because he knows what I am usually like - I'm that person that comes in even though I'm dying, I'm the person that is cool about staying extra time when it's needed, and I'm the person that gets a METRIC FUCKTON of accolades from fellow employees, brokers, and lawyers that call in.

He said he would rather eat glass than see me come in before I am truly ready.

So yeah, basically, health wise, I'm better than I was say 2 months ago, but still not fabulous. I am more or less biting through the pain and trying to get my life back in order. The amitriptyline isn't doing shit for my sleeping, the doctor wants me to go up to 30mg by next week to see if that will work. And during the day I get to suck back the gravol for the dizziness and extra strength advil for the pain and just pray my vision/hearing doesn't go off on me. It isn't much of a solution but what can you do, right?

I've also been set up with "telephone counselling" that may/could eventually turn into "counselling in an actual counsellor's office", depending on my needs. The first call from them was kind of weird, it was this whole "please tell me your life story and the principal characters in it" and the lady on the other side was ok but also went into tangents about herself (which I totally expected to happen - next time you talk to me, ask me what I really think about counselling). It was ok in that I got to complain to a semi-neutral ear, but bad in that, here we go again, I do more listening than talking and feel like I've wasted my time because they aren't really listening, they are pausing until there is a gap and then talking talking talking. Ugh.

Ok, time to go pick out a movie to watch with the kids (read: fall asleep to).

Itemized for future reference, I will get to this when I'm not falling over exhausted (today's activities especially took a lot of energy from me - I think I managed to fool people into thinking I was ok though).

- 2 packages coming in the mail
- Ibrahima
- doctor's appointment (aka guess who still can't go to work?)
- appointment with the school re: K
- Hammer's visit
- Sir T's visit
- K's upcoming trip to the kid's museum by way of train (I know! How exciting is that?)

I've been a fan of Wil Wheaton for a while, and not just because of his stellar performance in Stand By Me (which is what most people pair him with, if not Star Trek: The Next Generation). In all honesty, I've been a fan of his journalling, and more recently his books. So I yoinked this from his blog:

Classics in Lego

Actually, all of Balakov's photostream is pretty kickass, worth the viewing.

Haven't slept much in the past few days, due to general uncomfortableness (is that a word?) and the raging storms at night. Two nights in a row with severe thunderstorm/tornado warning type material. Whooboy. Welcome to summer!

I watched Bee Movie the other day with my kidlets. They had already seen it at the theatre with their grandparents but I hadn't, so I was more than happy to rent it for them. Afterward came a frank discussion on the importance of bees. The kids were receptive and K and C were pretty upset about the whole Colony Collapse Disorder thing. It's hard to explain this sort of thing to children, so I kept it as simple as possible, and left the conversation pretty open for follow-up questions (which inevitably come at night time when they are supposed to be sleeping).

S kept me up last night because he was all pumped about watching the season 5 finale of CSI. He said it was the best finale he's ever seen, which prompted a long discussion of how much of that was Tarantino's influence, and how much of it was the regular script writers. Then of course I couldn't sleep and I watched Pride & Prejudice because for whatever reason, to me it's the world's greatest sedative, and then of course S couldn't sleep. So we were grumpy at each other, and the end result was my coming downstairs and camping out on the couch watching re-runs of Holmes on Homes (thank you On Demand channel) until I passed out.

Busy week this week. Meeting with the school principal on Thursday to discuss K's educational plan for next year, something that was postponed due to my illness. I'm still not top drawer here but I can hold a conversation for a few minutes at least. Then after that I go see my family doc for my weekly review. Friday is K's school trip, which I had initially signed up for, and I am kind of wishy-washy about whether I will go or not. Friday is also my friend Hammer's birthday - hurrah!

Time to go and get whatever housework done that I can before I get a case of the fatigueishness (I know that isn't a word).

Ciao.

Update: My work has approved paid leave until July 7, in light of current circumstances. This simutaneously pleases and worries me. I don't like not working. It's an illness unto itself - I'm the type that will go mad when I retire if I don't have several time-consuming hobbies in place by then.

Update update: I also find it a hilarious form of serendipity that Mr. Wheaton's post today is about (drumroll) Stand By Me.

Memory from last year:

K is seven years old. We are driving to a beach and he and his sister C are each looking out a window at the passing traffic and roadside. He is meticulously counting the number of cows and horses we pass. K loves animals.

We get to the beach and start the trek from parking area to sand. The sand slips in between our toes through the sandals and the kids shriek with glee. The sun bearing down and the sand swishing, whispering at our feet. My husband S slips his hand into mine and chuckles as we watch the kids race ahead of us. K is the one to find the spot where we will set our things.

We pull the blanket out and it flaps in the air. I briskly snap it out so that it will settle on the ground nicely. The kids know the drill: sandals on the corners, so it doesn't get whisked away. They run gingerly to the shoreline, gasping and jumping with each step as the sand perfectly reflects the heat of the sun.

We are at a lake but to K it is like the ocean. Any body of water will do, so long as it is vast and can hold some secrets. K is a little bit nervous about submerging, he rarely will swim under water. He does love to look into it though, and share his observations and discoveries with me. One day soon I will show him what the ocean is really like. I will hold his hand and watch his rapture as he feels the salt spray on his face and smells the fresh, damp air. I will glance at him sidelong and drink in his wonder at the life brimming just below the surface of the water. A perfect reflection of the life beneath the surface of his skin.

C loves the water for other reasons. When she was very little, she used to pretend she was a mermaid. She loved the way her hair would float around her in the water. She used to take extra-long baths because she wanted to see what it was like living as a fish. Sometimes I think if she was given the choice, she would take water over land. She gets this from me. It is in her blood and it courses so fully through her, that I cannot fault her for it. She leaps into the water as though into the arms of a long-lost love, and it fills me with a strange sort of mixture of joy and calm to see the rapture on her face as she emerges from the water. Her laughter is infectious, and S will toss her from his shoulders in to the lake again and again until they are both gasping for air from laughter and mischief.

K loves to collect artifacts from the places we go. A leaf, a feather, a rock, a stick. A shell. He brings them to me, eyes full and the words describing his discovery will tumble out in such a rush, I have to remind him to slow down. "Look, mom, this stick looks like a spider. Look mom, what kind of feather is this? Do you think the birdie will mind if I take it home? Look mom, this rock has a fossil in it! How old do you think it is?"

On this day at the beach, he finds a little shell. He immediately puts it up to his ear. Then I note he puts his mouth to the opening of it and starts murmuring. I am intrigued but I do not want to intrude. I keep watching him to see what he will do. I expect him to come to me in excitement and show me his latest treasure. He does not. Instead, he puts it up to his ear once more, and then once more murmurs something into it. Then he does something unexpected. He tosses the shell into the water, as far as he can throw.

I don't press him for information; instead, the day goes on as lazy days at the beach do. We picnic, get an ice cream, swim some more now and again. K and I dig for treasure, while C laps up the last of the waves and S snoozes on a towel. Half an eye on C, half an eye on K, I use a stick to draw things into the wet sand you usually find a couple of inches under the surface, if you dig enough. K thinks this is great fun and then he decides to dig some moats, fill them with water, and float his toy cars into them. He makes buzzing car noises and "oh noooo, he fell into the ocean!" and he and I are giggling. C comes up and splatters water all over us, laughter and the sun.

It is time to go, and we collect our things. Wash the beach off and change into clean clothes. K makes one last trip up to the shoreline to rinse off his sandy feet one last time and looks down. He finds the same shell he had thrown a few hours before. He picks it up and dusts it off and looks at it thoughtfully. He puts it in a pocket and brings it with him to the car. On the way home, he barely sees the cows, barely sees the horses. His eyes wink and blink and then fall slowly to a close. Sweet mouth breathes in and out; K is asleep. C, beside him, recounts her adventures of the day, one by one. She herself is fighting off the sleep; she is nine, she says. She doesn't need a nap anymore. But she is no match to a day full of clean air and sunshine and exercise in the water. Soon her eyes fall heavy and she too is sleeping.

We get home and S carries them one by one into the house. Pretty soon he won't be able to do this. The kids are growing in leaps and bounds. I follow him up and tuck them each in. C first. She mumbles a thank you for the fun day. I straighten up some mussed hair out of her face and oh, child, please don't grow up too quickly. Then I move on to K. He is in that half-sleep state, eyes fluttery and he's clinging to something in his hand. I gently pry the fingers open and see his little shell. His eyes open and he says in a sticky sleepy voice, "Listen to the shell, mum. I told it a secret." I put the shell to my ear and hear whistling air. I tell him I couldn't hear it quite right. He says "Oh, the ocean must have kept it." I gently rub his back, a ritual we sometimes share when he is feeling extra sleepy. He says "I know it isn't really an ocean, mommy." I say it's okay to pretend that it is. Pretending is the best part of being a kid.

"I know," he says, and lets out a big yawn. I kiss his forehead, and while I am close he says "Mommy, the ocean will always keep your secrets. That's why it's so salty you know - it's full of your tears." I am taken aback and I don't quite know what to say to this, so I say "Is that what the little shell told you?"

I wait for an answer, but none will be given. The ocean is still. K is fast asleep.

monkeying around

Happy 10th Birthday, my darling girl C. I can't believe a decade has passed already. She is growing more and more each day into a beautiful young lady. I wish her only the best, always. I hope she'll have fun tonight, we will do our best to make sure of it.

This photo was taken on our recent trip with my mom. I let her have a ride on the baggage carrier, because what the hell right? The weekend was about having fun and believe me - she thought being carted around on that thing was hilarious.

Medicating is helping keep me afloat for a few hours a day. I still get fatigued pretty damn easy. Doctor has faxed a case study to the MRI clinic in the hopes of fast-tracking me.

Adding insult to injury, God decided to play a practical joke on me and thus I now have... JURY DUTY. I'm supposed to show up on June 9th for the excruciating process of sitting and waiting to either be selected or sent home. Good news is, I'll still get paid at my job for it. Hah!

I switched my site back to the "Lost in Translation" scheme, because Spongebob was irritating me, and because I'm too tired to make a brand new one.

Ok, time for a power nap before the kids get home and this place turns into a monkey house.

I'm still too tired to detail the minutae of my current illness, but I read Hammer's post and it reminded me that I wanted to share what K wrote to me for mother's day. C made me a card herself and was nice to K (a huge gift, she's drowning in hormone soup these days). K's class made "cake in a cup" for the moms. So basically it was cake mix in a coffee mug mixed with an egg and some oil & water. Then icing sugar & water mixed up to "top" the cake once it was microwaved. The poem inside went like this:

"Where I'm from"

I'm from great Christmas mornings.
I'm from the chirps of birds.
I'm from hugs and kisses.
I'm from the taste of chocolate chip double fudge cake (with smarties).
I'm from the smell of yummy turkey.
I'm from dinners at restaurants.
I'm from love.

To Mom from K.


Also, I am proud as a peacock about this - he had a little blurb he wrote about Canadian soldiers published in the education week special pennywhistle thing from our local paper (Pennywhistle is basically a periodical they publish in the paper, each time taking contributions from different schools. During Education Week they publish a special paper on its own with entries from each school in it. K's writeup was selected. He was pretty surprised, he didn't even know about it until I told him when I read it in the school bulletin).

That was an awful long parenthesis

Ok my fingers are getting numb again, later turkeys

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Stephen Colbert!

I'll have an update on what has been going on with me health-wise later on. It's too much to explain and frankly I don't have much energy for it, as I just got back from my doc's office and I'm feeling the meds finally start to kick in.

This Friday is C's 10th birthday. Where the hell did 10 years go? And who gave her permission to up and grow some curves? What happened to my baby? Dammit.

Something I need to be thankful for is all the support I've received, you know who you are. I owe you a million.

I wonder if Mike Rowe's insurance policy is just full of insane clauses etc... Considering some of the "jobs" he investigates & partakes in on his show, it would have to be.

I really love the show, and so do the kids. It also is great in that it gives me some perspective on my job, on the days when it really frustrates me.

Oh, man. I can't even tell you how much this amused me.

New Kids On the Block Reuniting

I just want to know... why?

In other news, my whole family has been sick - S has pneumonia and has been off work for about a week and a half now, the man asked me to take him to the hospital TWICE that is how sick he is. We thought for sure C had gotten it when she fell ill last Saturday, carrying all the same symptoms as S, but she managed to bounce back the way kids do with plenty of bedrest. K is of course now home with similar symptoms but not as bad, however because he still has a fever (they've all had a fever of about 39-40 this whole time - that's 102-104 to ye Americans out there) he is staying home.

I am mentally physically emotionally exhausted, and all this taking care of sick people has finally caught up with me. Chest heavy, bones achey, I want to just sleep forever. But I can't, because I am the mom and I still have to get stuff done. The dad in this situation is busy resting and trying to get better. I don't have this luxury, although I did indulge and call in sick yesterday at work - only to stay home and care for K who is pretty demanding when he is ill - like papa like boy I suppose.

I feel terrible that S feels so bad but even he is getting on my last nerve - I told him I wasn't feeling well and he got all sarcastic in my face and said "gee I have no idea how that feels" and I snapped right back at him "Oh right, I forgot that all sympathy must be directed at you at all times." This made him laugh at least but I was fuming - I am tired and I have been up all hours and I have been making home made chicken soup (I mean from scratch people - I am badass like that) and running to 5 different stores because nobody seems to carry dayquil & nyquil anymore (and it had to be those items, nothing else would do) and brewing tea and still helping the kids out and making sure everyone is eating and has plenty of fluids. See what this does to me? It makes me write run-on sentences that is likely going to give more than one friend reading this the hives.

In between all this I have been helping mother-in-law with preparations for Sunday - it's father-in-law's dad's 80th and they are having an open house for him. Insert rant about ungrateful old men here. I don't even want to go there, ok? It's just going to wind me up. And on Saturday is a surprise 50th for my friend Mickey's dad, and I feel like a bag of hell but I really want to go because I haven't seen Mickey or his family in a long time, and I miss him so very much. He was my best friend all through high school and university and he is a chef in St. Catherine's now so I never get to see him really. Sigh.

Ok I think I've ranted enough for one day, the exercise has taken me about an hour to write all this when normally it would take a few minutes. My head is spinny and I need to lie down for a while (for ever if I had the opportunity) before driving C to school (because I'm still expected to do that in spite of the fact that I feel like I would really like to just die, because at least that way I'd be resting).

How have YOU been?

Went out with Sir T last night (considered changing the moniker to Sir Pan, for reasons too long to get into here, but for now Sir T he remains) and fed him beer while we caught up on our daily lives as well as other stuff. It is great to have a friend like him, and I think it is seriously necessary that every woman have at least one male friend they can talk to, to get their perspective on, or to even just chit chat with. I feel that it is a mutual thing here - I give him female perspective on things as well, and a neutral one at that as our friendship circles are very different. In any case, it was my turn to drive him, let him drink, and talk talk talk. And laugh! I needed a laugh. I really, really needed the laugh.

Here is the thing. Every time we get together, we always say the same two things: "I'm so glad I can talk to you" and "we should get together more often". Which is followed up by the latter item not really happening, in spite of the former statement. Mostly because our lives are scheduling nightmares, also because it's just one of those things. Something we hope to amend. One thing I am thankful for, is that S is good about this. He trusts me, knows me well enough to know there isn't any hanky-panky going on. Also I suspect he believes Sir T is terrified of him - which could quite possibly be true, but isn't an issue here. S is a big guy - you don't want to see the Hulk get angry, all that jazz, but the truth is, Sir T is a pretty upstanding guy, has a good moral backbone. Clark Kent with a serious need to save the world, one drunken mishap at a time.

Enough on that. On to the London trip. The night before I went with C & my mother to London, at around 3 am the fire alarm started beeping intermittently. We couldn't sense any fire, etc, but to be safe S cut off the electricity for upstairs and then I stayed up the remainder of the morning until the kids got up, worrying about fire anyway. The issue was, the alarm is older than dinosaurs and finally just went kaput, not with a bang but a clatter and clang. On barely any sleep, I drove myself and C and my mom to London. We did a bit of shopping, and then went to our hotel to check in. The suite was really nice - like a little apartment almost. Fridge, stove top, microwave, dishwasher, the whole shebang. Two humongous beds, living room, etc. C was in Heaven and immediately began unpacking and settling her things in. We rested up a bit in the room, C played on my laptop for a while (whee, free wireless with the room! Fantastic!) and then we went out shopping some more. This weekend was about my C, so she got to direct us to the stores she wanted. Most of the things I bought this weekend were for my kids, and C made out like a bandit as usual. There was a pool in the hotel so C and I went swimming after supper while my mom took a little nap.

Breakfast the next morning inclusive and buffet style, fit for a king. C in her glory - all the bacon she could eat! Muffins! Waffles! Eggs & home fries! Seriously, it was wonderful, and you don't often get to say that about hotel faire.

Came home to S & K playing a new Wii game, the new fire alarm installed & a new light for the upstairs hall as well. I was just pooched - no sleep, driving all over hell's half-acre all weekend. Took a nap and felt refreshed, and glad I managed to squeeze in a little mini-break for C and me. She's getting to a tricky age, and I feel it is incredibly important to make time for just her and I. K takes up a lot of my time, and I don't want C feeling as though she is left out all the time. C was in her glory and you can tell - she really enjoyed our time away. Next year we'll probably just go back to London - while Toronto was nice, it's hectic and I hate driving there, the cost of everything is ridiculous, grumblemumble complaincomplain, walking barefoot in the snow uphill backwards, kids these days and their crazy rock music.

Health-wise, nothing new to report. The meds work wonderfully. They carried me through a migraine that lasted 14 days. I want you to think about that - 14 days of your head feeling like there is a vise gripping it, your eyes twitching and sometimes seeing stars. Feeling like if you could only just reach in and pull them out of their sockets, the pressure might go away awhile. Feeling like you wish someone would stop pushing down on the top of your head with a jackhammer. Fourteen days of it. The meds helped as far as the not needing to vomit and the eyes mostly obeying, took the edge off the pain, but not much more than that.

How is it that I'm still sane again?

I don't know.


I have that Rolling Stones song "Play with Fire" stuck in my head, because of that movie the Darjeeling Limited. I sort of liked the movie, sort of didn't. I like Wes Anderson films, that is something in his favor, but I found one or two of his casting decisions rather poor, and parts of the film could have gone better. In general it was okay though. And his song choices are always spot on, thus the earwig digging into me chanting "but don't play with me cause you're playing with fire"...

I can't believe it's almost Easter already. Hammer sent me some fun factoids about this being the earliest Easter we'll ever see in our lifetime. It's pretty neat, and amazing to think on - time is such a funny, funny thing that way. Hammer is another person I need to spend more time with. Again, life is a nightmare, bla bla bla.

Ok, I should probably go make the most of my morning off by getting the kids' Easter things together. We're going for low-key this year - get them what they need maybe, mostly some chocolate eggs or whatnot.

I'm typing this from our hotel suite in London. C, my mother and I took off for the weekend. I'll keep this short until later but a few tidbits:

- woke up to a fire alarm going off at home (don't worry, no fire, long story)
- mmm bacon
- shopping
- a hotel room with a kitchen!

Okie day. Later.

Went and saw Juno on Sunday with my friend Hammer. Since both our husbands had no wish to see it, but we both did, we decided to go without them. There was a bit of a fun mix-up as far as meeting up at the theatre, but we made it and all was well. Except the popcorn. That sort of tasted like it had been festering there for a year or so. But I digress.

The movie was good, though terribly unrealistic. Full of clever lines, and some things I could relate to and remember. I can see why it got so many accolades, but at the same time it isn't life-changing work here. It was just a good, clever movie that I enjoyed. You know what I found terribly amusing? Jason Bateman singing Hole's "Doll Parts". Fantastic.

I've been pretty busy and there is just so much that I am tired even thinking about writing it all down. I think it must be a tradition for me that my February is always rife with drama, doctors, and depression. I think that last bit just comes because of the former two.

Tonight is a parent council meeting, it's the dinner one where we all go meet at a place I would almost never eat, and exchange pleasantries we don't mean, and skirt around issues we have skirted around a million times before. Somehow Hammer managed to get conned into going though, so at least I'll have someone there that is beyond the "small talk" stage with me. It isn't that I'm a snob, or anything like that. It's more that... oh I can't explain it and there's no use trying. I just feel like I'm on a very different wavelength from most of the parents there. I don't know if it's an age thing (if someone tells me I'm just a baby one more freaking time I swear to God I'm going to punch them with my little baby fist. I'm 31 years old for crying out loud and I've likely seen more than most of the women there could dream of, thank you very much. Except you Hammer, you can call me a baby, I get that you don't really mean it) or if it's just that I don't care how much money a person makes, or what their husbands do for a living. I don't know.

I was driven home from work last night by my boss. She had a co-worker follow us home, and she drove me home in my neon. I literally saw stars and only stars - focus was impossible and my head felt like it was being crushed in a vise. My right arm was tingling, then it was on fire, then it went numb. Then the same thing happened to my face. I got in the door after she brought me home and I crashed on the couch. Hard. S brought me some meds and then I managed somehow to crawl up into bed.

I don't remember much after that except for S waking me up telling me he had to go to work, and I had to at least get myself on the couch so that there was parental presence among the young fry. I told C that I couldn't take her to guides and she said ok, that was fine. Then she called her friend Z to say she wouldn't be going, and Z said they could come get her. You know how there is that friend that would just drop everything to help you? That is Hammer. I can't even tell you how glad I am for her, I keep meaning to do something nice to thank her but there isn't enough time for me to even breathe lately, and I know she doesn't expect anything in return (she knows I would do the same for her in a heartbeat) but I still want to.


Ok, time to get the kids off to school. Thankfully my vision is back, although my head still hurts. Aren't tumors fun?

So S's friend JG told him earlier this week that our presence was needed at a pig roast today, it was imperative we come, blar blar blar. Tonight we made plans to go to my friend's house and taste wine (they just came back from a Niagara wine tour) but we said sure, we'll come to the roast as it was going to start at 11 am.

Last night I got almost no sleep, and as a result, I almost sent S off without me.

I am so very, very glad I didn't do that.

JG & ME got married today, in front of a minister in their own home, with a small gathering of family and close friends.

They didn't even tell their parents. NOBODY knew what was going on for this. We all showed up in our civvies and ta-da! There they were, and ME looked lovely in her gown and JG in his suit also looked swell. The ceremony was short and wonderful, and yes, they still had roast pig for us to eat. JG had asked her to marry him back in November, and together they planned this surprise ceremony. This is the second marriage for them both, and I think they wanted it low-key, but knew if they announced an engagement it would snowball into something bigger. ME's 4 boys were the doormen, taking coats, arranging us, etc. It was very cute. All in black pants and black turtlenecks. ME's baby girl was dressed up in the smartest little gold & black polka-dotted dress. S was JG's witness, and ME's sister was hers. S was a little in shock, and kind of wished he would have known ahead of time. He felt terribly under-dressed, but then again, so did we all!

All in all, it was perfect, and suited them fine. And what a surprise! I was so glad I changed my mind and went. The kids were a bit confused at first, but in the end they were also glad we dragged them along. Of course, L and I will still be setting up a bridal shower for ME - she can't get away with that part, muahaha. It will be low-key as well, but we want to celebrate this.

So now I'm hoping this wine tasting isn't another surprise wedding - don't know if I could take another in the same day!

I gave up coffee for lent. So far, so good. It's been trying because I go to Tim Horton's about every other day to get coffee for my S as it is right around the corner from where we live. Our coffee maker is a piece of gos se and doesn't brew anymore. Because I gave up coffee I'm foregoing purchasing a new one, and S will have to deal with Timmy's in the mornings (which doesn't bother him one iota, he loves their coffee).

K gave up chips & ice cream. This may not seem like much, but when you have 2 sets of doting grandparents that LOVVVE to junk you up with treats, this one is tough. C gave up computer and nintendo games - something I am lifting the ban for this Saturday for one day, for Z's birthday. I told her Jesus would understand - it's not every day your bff turns 10 and we'll go right back on track afterward.

I ran into someone the other day that left me very discombobulated. I hadn't seen him in literally years, and it was so strange because he approached me, and spoke like an old friend, which was nice but a bit surreal because we weren't really friends in school. Acquaintances, yes. He drove me nuts sometimes, but in general he was a good egg, and we got along well enough. Whatever, it was nice but a little... strange. He was shocked to see that I had not only one, but two children, and not even babies - the kind that go to school and can actually converse with him. The encounter was brief, and the kids were a bit confused - why was that man acting like he knew you mum? "Umm, because he does. I went to school with him." How come we've never met him before? "Because life takes you on strange paths, kiddo." What the heck does THAT mean? "You'll understand soon enough."

Ok, time to go do house-y type things before heading to work. Have a fabulous day folks.

P.S.
Here are some procedures for emergency situations.

How old are you on other planets?

So. A bit of an update. Took K to psychometric testing thinger, with a psychologist who didn't give me the impression that he was a quack, and had been working with kids for 35 years. Turns out K's IQ in academics (reading, writing, arithmetic & comprehension) is 118-120, which is above average (average being 100-110). The kid reads and comprehends at a grade 5 level (he's in grade 2) and math is around grade 4-5. His IQ in perception, logic, & something-or-other-I-forget-now is 134. That is beyond anything the doc anticipated, and he said "oh yeah, there's no doubt, your son is gifted. I see a case like his very rarely". I got to witness the testing, and even I was having trouble with some of the patterning logic etc. and I'm no dummy. Bottom line however, K has issues keeping focus, partly because he's bored with the material being presented to him, partly from external factors. He is a pretty active kid too - always moving, always on the move, however the doctor feels that it's more about him being a boy, than anything else, and he'll probably outgrow it in time. So the doctor is writing up recommendations for the school, for us, and a report for our family doctor as well.

It cost a kajillion dollars for us to find out that something we sort of already knew. Worth every god damned penny, if you ask me. Not just for the being smug that our kid is smart thing, but because we're finally getting K the tools he needs to reach his potential, as well as help him relieve some of the boredom & etc.

C came with us today for the testing, and the psych. asked her some questions, and made some observations on things she was drawing, etc, and said he wouldn't be surprised if she was also above-average intelligence etc.

Um. There's more on that topic, but I'm kind of tired now. I've been having seizures again, for the first time in years (since K was born at least) and they wear me out. I don't know what's going on; I have to go see a neurologist again.

Check out these fantastic aquariums!

This just in: Tom Jones is crazy.

This has got to be one of the neatest sites I've seen in a while. Talk about a wonderful comprehensive way to teach the kids how to navigate the night skies!!!

I recently re-discovered our public library. The kids were happy as crickets to get a bunch of books out - C's arms were stuffed beyond belief. K was more conservative, only choosing one book and one dvd to borrow. He says he worries about forgetting a book and would rather borrow one at a time. C says she doesn't have time to go there every day, and would rather get a bunch and then return them and then get a bunch more.

So I digress. I got out a bunch of books, sort of all over the place in the choosing. I have a tendency to randomly type something into the search, check that call# and then let Dewey lead me where I'm meant to go. One of the books I randomly picked up was Angela's Ashes, and I'm already halfway through after starting it up last night. It's a pretty good read, although terribly sad, and some parts made me angry, but a lot of parts made me realize just how damn lucky I am to have all that I have.

Next up on the list when I've done that book is Ysabel, by one of my favorite authors (if not my very favorite), Guy Gavriel Kay. I don't know why I've resisted the purchase of this book, but it was at the library mocking me so what the heck, I'll borrow it. And then of course I will kick myself for resisting the purchase of said book, and end up buying it anyway. Because that's what I do.

There are more, but no sense listing them until they've been read.

I can't stand all this snow dropping down on us. Winter is my least favorite season, for so many many reasons. Time to go shovel off the car & get the kids to school.

Oh! I also managed to get my shift changed, so that I could both drop off AND pick up the kids from now on. Whee!

So below is a photo of GIR in all his glory. I had to frog the arms once (forgot to change from blue to gray on shoulder part) and the tongue twice (the pink yarn I used is thicker gauge than the worsted used to make his body) but all in all, I think I did pretty swell!

Tonight was a meeting for K's first communion. It was the typical blar blar blar. I nearly fell asleep during the video, no joke. Then I talked Hammer into taking a spin with me through the drive-through of Tim Horton's because it beat her freezing her knickers off while talking with me in the parking lot. Apparently there is drama going on in the other Gr 4 class that doesn't involve either of our daughters, which suits me fine and is a nice change from the norm. However it also makes me pretty sad - ugh. Already, it starts.

My Dad is leaving for Brazil this weekend. He'll be gone for a while so in the meantime I have to keep an eye on my mom and her healing up etc. No word on what is going on yet, but I remain positive.

I have had serious bouts of insomnia, probably brought on from the stress of dealing with family member dying and my mother having issues.

Tomorrow I go for breakfast with Sir T, an event I am looking forward to because frankly I miss chit-chatting with him. Ok. Enough posting, I need to take a hot bath and uncoil all the tension. Breathe deeply. Wax on, wax off, Daniel-san. That sort of thing.

Ciao.

Today I:

- Managed to get the kids to school on time, in spite of all of us sleeping in.
- Got out of having to actually answer the phones by offering to take training on a certain aspect of the job I haven't learned yet
- Had to borrow the fil's car in order to get a friend from work so she could come over and make a soup to be judged tomorrow for entry into the "Soup's On" thing
- Comforted my daughter resonably when on the way to fil's house she tripped and fell all over herself, getting mud all over her new jacket and favorite jeans.
- Got the friend from work and got to show the kids my workplace. They were delighted that I had not only their photos up, but little things they had drawn for me were on display as well. It is one of those things that drive the point home to them that even when I'm at work I'm probably thinking of them.
- Made some kick-ass garlic cream soup. I can't even tell you how awesome it is.
- Disbursed a great sweet n' sour sauce recipe
- Got in a huge fight with my son when it was time to take friend home, as he wanted to finish watching a show. The words "I hate you" and "I wish you would disappear" came out of this boy's mouth. A bar of soap was considered for entry into said mouth but I decided to let it go. When we got home he mentioned he had had a really bad day and was tired and sorry and didn't really mean anything he said, etc etc. Man oh man. I didn't expect to hear that until they were into their teens. Isn't parenting fun?
- Got home and ignored the dishes in favor of sitting down with the kids and a book. Showers already had and pajamas on, you could see the remnants of a cruddy evening just uncoiling from them and releasing.

The really big thing I did all by myself:

- I managed to configure our wireless router so that all PCs in the house are now connected wirelessly. I also managed to set up an encryption for the wireless access in order to prevent others from reaping the benefits of our connection. I did this all by myself, within about an hour. I don't want to tell you how long today my S tried to get all this done. It was enough hours that a lot of swears were said when I told him I had it all figured out and working.

As a result, I am typing this from the comfort of my bed. Hurraz for progress, I guess.

Ok, time to finish up the last bits of GIR so I can stuff it and give it to sisterinlaw. Cheers~

For the first time ever, as in ever in my entire life, I bought a lottery ticket for myself yesterday. I don't know what impulses were working there, but it just seemed like the thing to do.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I am so sick and damn tired of snow it isn't funny.

In other news, I'm knitting GIR and I just finished one of his arms and realized I forgot to switch to grey after doing his shoulder in blue and now I'm all flustered and angry and I realize I'm going to have to rip it out but I just finished the damn thing and doing a four-string I-cord on 4 separate needles is HARD do you hear me????? The gad danged needles keep slipping and ARGH! If this weren't for my sister-in-law I would have done with it and feed the yarn to the cat already.

*heave*

*sigh*

Ok.

Today is the last day of vacation for the kids, and frankly I'm glad because they are driving each other and as a result ME up the bend. They stay at grandma's while I'm at work for the 5 hrs a day I'm required to go in, but the minute I'm home they are like rockets, ROCKETS I TELL YOU around the house. But ANGRY ROCKETS that shoot laser beams at each other all the damn time but the laser beams in this scenario are sharp pointy YELLING WORDS.

I have that stupid damn Amy Winehouse song stuck in my head and it won't go away and I want to gnash my teeth.

To end this post on a happy note I found out yesterday that one of my co-workers is having a baby in July. This is happy news because she's had some real trouble not only conceiving but managing to keep a baby in her belly over the 3 month mark. So hooray! I'm very glad for her as she is the type that truly wants a million kids and stuff.

Ok off to make breakfast for my family. Ciao.