Checking in

It has been eight days since my last confession... OK that struck me funny, just humor me! On Monday I went for the sixth Monday with children at home. After I thought about it, I'm not really sure she needed to stay home. Finally on Tuesday, I was alone. YYyyyeeeeeaaaa! I went for coffee with a friend and I tried on about ten pairs of jeans and get this, they were all too big! A big plus for being really sick for a week! I also cut my hair. I got about four inches taken off and then a bunch of layers added. I like it. My hair had just gotten too long and heavy and lank. It was so healthy after I got it cut and today I went to the pool so now it is dry. WWwwaaahhh!
My family is here for the weekend. I am having so much fun. Brian and Paul are missing and I think they would like to be here. We went to the pool at the hotel and the kids were good and tired. Then we came home and made pizza. It was really good. Aunty Connie gave the twins a mega block race car. In lieu of a Dad I had to help them put it together. By the time it was done, it was 9:00 pm. Yikes! I hope they can handle everything tomorrow. It will be day 3 with the cousins and that is usually the limit before things start to fall apart. Hopefully we will be able to make it until Sunday before everything falls apart.
I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit of my life. My regular reader is here so please leave me a comment, just so I don't feel like nobody cares! Kidding, but I do love comments!

Pity Party

Today I was in a funk. I like that word. Regardless, I was in one. All day I was short tempered. Jamison stayed home AGAIN. Not that I blamed him, I was just ticked. I spent the day wondering , 'Why me?' Really, why not me. I have been very blessed by friends while I have been sick, and while not completely better, I am definitely able to do the basics. Diane brought a huge crock pot full of chili which the kids never complained one bit about. (Usually it's too hot). I had to pick up Jonathan at 3:00. He wasn't waiting where I told him to which I really wasn't surprised at since I've never told him to wait there before. Then I had to go back to the school at 4:30 to pick up the older two. They were with a choral director who was testing and giving pointers. They didn't let out until 4:45. We had to be at Vanier Hall at 6:15 to a showcase for the local school choirs. Well, we get home and wouldn't you know it, Michael got sick. Welcome a new symptom. This time a stomach thing. Yea. I rushed around trying to find someone to take Adriana. Well, she was crying because she wanted me to go with her. Reasonably enough. Finally, I got a sitter and we girls went. It was great and I must say our choir was the best. Poor Michael missed it ( he really like choir too). He was hucking. I had resolved my pity party and was waiting for the choir to start and a friend came to sit beside me. We got talking and she told me about an acquaintance who's children have been very ill. She almost lost her 6 year old to pneumonia 3 times and her older girl got scarlet fever and it damaged her ankle so for the next 4 years she will be on a walker. The mom is Bi-polar and all the stress has thrown her meds off and now she is really not doing well. Suddenly my life looks great. My children are healthy and I have absolutely nothing to feel sorry for myself about. So, tonight I realise God wasn't ignoring me, I was being self-absorbed. Now. I've fixed that problem and I so am thankful for my healthy family.

Ramblings

Today I spent flat on my back sick as a dog. All the kids have had this flu I think and now it is my turn. I don't know where I'd be without good friends. One friend picked up the kids from school. Another brought home subs from Subway for the kids for supper. She also took the kids to the Science Fair at school. Michael got a participant ribbon again and finally I have seen him wanting more. I see today just how great my kids are. Last night they were so helpful and tried to take care of me. Today it was every kid for himself. I couldn't feed the kids so it was whatever they could find. Jamison stayed home again today and took care of me. He is so cute and loving. He got all ready for school today and fell apart at the door. So I had company which I needed! My mom phoned too any commiserated briefly before going skiing! I'm seriously looking forward to this flu season to be over. We have been sick off and on again for almost six weeks so I'm really hoping this is over soon. Just today, I have used a whole roll of TP just blowing my nose. Yes, tissue would be softer on my nose but I forgot to buy some and now my poor nose is a nose in need indeed!

Glorious Marmot Basin

One really good way to break up the winter blues is to have a ski trip. My Aunt Connie was on a ski trip with her ski club from Nova Scotia. They went to Banff to ski the slopes there. My sister, Michelle was going to meet her in Jasper to take her home to spend time with Michelle's family. They decided to make it into a ski trip and invited me. Lucky me! My kids were still sick but Wonderful Heather and Fabulous Barbara took care of them anyway. Poor Barbara is now sick and I'm sorry, but not so sorry that I wish I'da stayed home!
I arrived in Jasper Tuesday evening and met Michelle. Together we waited for Connie. Once Connie arrived we had a toast to a wonderful holiday, of course! We went to dinner and laughed our heads off.
Wednesday started at 6:30ish. After an hour of watching dear aunty lookin' for her gloves, we went for a quick breakfast. Well, it could have been quick, I was fast but Connie and Michelle had to sip their coffee. It's been established that I have psychey scars about sitting at a table doing nothing! We made it to the mountain by about 9:00. After gearing up we hit the slopes. It had been 11 years since I skied last. Wow was that fun! It's kinda like riding a bike, it comes back pretty quick. We ski all day long and we still had to peel Michelle off the slopes. "Just one more run!"
That night we went to Jasper Lodge for dinner. I was completely unprepared. I was going on a ski trip so I packed for a ski trip. Most of my makeup was at home and so was my hair care. I was ski-ing, not looking good. Lucky for me I had thrown my black cords in the suitcase just in case. Jasper Lodge is definitely upper crust. Uncomfortable doesn't even begin to describe my feelings before I relaxed a bit. It had been ages since I've been in a situation like that. They put my napkin on my lap for cryin' out loud! After the wine began to take effect, I adjusted to the situation and enjoyed myself immensely.
Thursday was even more fun. I went on more challenging runs and conquered the mountain. Connie did trick me into one run. Although she will probably deny any memory of it, she told me that a black diamond run was a blue one. It was well worth it and definitely one of the best runs of the day. One of the chairs was so high above the ground I was freaking out. I skied until my legs threatened to give out. We started at the top and didn't stop until the bottom. What a rush!
Friday morning was sunny and crystal clear. The temptation to stay another day was strong. We had breakfast and parted ways. It was a long drive and I must say I'm glad for the rumble strips on the road side. (No Mom, you doing have to worry, I wouldn't have hit the ditch.) I was very glad to see the kids again. After the twins realized that the rules still existed and stopped pushing my buttons we were happily existing in peace. Well, as much peace as can exist in a small house with 4 kids!

Sick of sick!

ARRRRRRRGGGGG!! This is my rant and I can rant if I want to! This is the fourth, yes fourth Monday that I've had sick kids at home! I'm supposed to go skiing tomorrow and meet my sister, the loyal reader, and my Tante Connie. AArrrrgggg! I want to have somebody else cook for me and clean up the bathroom after me. I Like Mondays. It is a day to move about freely without tripping over kids. I can clean and go shopping. I have one pair of pants, one. They are so worn out that I fear breakage when putting them on. I have returned 4 pairs because the darn company isn't consistent with their sizes. Yes it is them, not me! Today I was gonna go buy a pair of jeans before I go to Jasper. Oh well, I guess my snow pants will cover a multitude! I am truly grateful for the possibility of next Monday. No, I'm not wishing my life away but without hope, I would probably flip my bean for real!

My Valentine

Happy Valentines Day my reader! (Michelle!) Today is a busy day for school moms. My duty was to make heart shaped Jello Jigglers. Not to difficult which was good since I don't remember volunteering. One batch flopped. How you can screw up jello is beyond me but I can! My oldest was home sick and the twins were on a day off. They were thrilled to see the leftovers from Adriana's classes Jigglers. In the bowl full of waste were some hearts that kinda flopped from the first batch. Jonathan was eating them and teasing me by bringing them to me and then gobbling them down. Little Brat! I thought he had a change of heart when he brought me one and actually gave it to me. What a sweet child, now I remember why I had so many. Aaawwww! As I pop the Jello symbol of love into my mouth, he starts to giggle. "I licked it first Mom!" he says as he runs as fast as he could to hide behind his Dad. Dad was ever so proud of his son, too! Some days I wonder what I ever did to deserve soooo many wonderful, mischievous little boys. So next time you accept a 'loving' gift from your little boys, think twice before popping anything into your mouth!

Missing

Nothing is really missing, just my mind. But then what 's changed?! My dear sister has been nagging me to post again so this is for her! I must have been busy for the last two weeks since I didn't really have time to waste writing a blog. Paul was home for one week and the computer took it's rightful place. Every time I turned around this week something didn't go the way I planned. No surprise there. Monday, a day I personally look forward to, I had a child home sick. Tuesday I was driving on a field trip and I finished a project I've been working on since May. (More on that later) Wednesday morning I awoke to a chilly house. Not really anything out of the ordinary so I just flipped the thermostat and nothing happened. Hhhmmm, great, two kids to get off to school and I have to figure out why we have no heat. I poked and prodded around and couldn't find what was wrong. Called a friend over and he couldn't find anything either. So I had to call the pros. The twins and I were freezing our little butts off, we could actually see our breath. Finally they came and two hours later we had heat. I am very thankful for a few things. This could have happened when it was minus 30 instead of minus 16. The other thing is it was still warranty! Yea! All the repairman said was I didn't want to see the bill. I think I'll take him at his word. The rest of the week was relatively uneventful. Which was good. Today we are all sick. Now that's fun!