Category: Life

Oh today…..

We just heard news that we didn’t get the house. I mean, there is sill the remote possibility that the accepted offer could fall through, but it’s unlikely and so we are now headed off on the wild adventure of searching for and offering on another house…or townhouse or something……who knows what the future holds in store for us.

I’m sitting outside on my deck in the shade and a GORGEOUS hot breeze is blowing and today is literally one of those perfect days. If you go and sit out in the sun, you stand a great chance of burning because the breeze will deceive you into thinking that you have a bit more time. Seeing as I am a MOLE-Y freak, I tend to embrace my inner Snow White and either stay in the shade or slather on the sunscreen.

I do try to get a bit of sun – ya know, with the imprtance of Vitamin D and all….

I don’t relish the actual looking for a house part, and definitely am not rockin’ the waiting after you put in an offer, but getting into my own place…that’s the part that I’m really looking forward to.

But today, I will relax. Possibly clean my house a tiny bit. Snuggle with the baby and hopefully plan the meals for this week. It helps so much when we know what’s happening for dinner instead of hitting 6pm and just then starting to think about it all.

And right now…I might just go and get another coffee and sit out here in the warm breeze. MMMmmmmm, so nice!

Yah…….Hmmmmm?!?!?

I am SO grateful to those who asked me how the house hunt went.

Honestly, I am feeling so disappointed and discouraged with a few things in my life and feeling down and well….overwhelmed and….. to have some of you ask about me and my life – it makes me feel like someone cares and with the way I’m feeling….that’s a really nice thing. It’s a really REALLY nice thing. I don’t think I am really adequately expressing how good it made me feel to feel like someone out there cares……. I know that’s stupid thinking (the part where I feel like someone cares because of comments) ….but it’s where I’m at…

Okay! Here it goes….

The house hunt…we’ve been approved for a mortgage. In Vancouver, we’ve been approved for a very VERY modest mortgage. Like, we are looking for a town home…probably a 3 bedroom town home and most of the town homes that are available in our price range are….well…they are iffy! If we could find one with a rec. room in the basement, we could possibly make that into a room for the girls to share, but MANY if not most, of the town homes have NO YARD AT ALL.

If you’ve heard me talk about my kids at all especially Jeremy, then you KNOW that the kids need some where to be able to burn off some energy. We are not a TV or electronic entertainment family – in fact we’ve once again cut our cable. We unhooked the TV about 2 weeks ago and then today canceled the service because why are we paying for something that we are not using. It is initially difficult to wean the kids, but then, as if by magic, they become happy cheerful playing children instead of television zombies ready to snap the heads off each other in the event that one should stand between them and their beloved TV.

All of that to say that we need some sort of a yard….or at the very least SOME PLACE for the kids to play and to keep Siah safe while getting some fresh air.

For the very same cost in Walnut Grove….which is a part of Langely – which is 6 cities or about 35 minutes from Vancouver…..you can get a HOUSE with a YARD….that needs no fix up except to re-paint.

In Walnut Grove, we would be close to family….lots of family….it’s a HUGE family community…I have dreamed about living there for years…..

So which do we choose? Closer to work….like a LOT closer to work but with no yard and seriously compromising space for the family.

Or Further from work, (it’s about half way from where we are now and we have been commuting for an hour each way since January) but with a house, yard, community, family, and enough living space… We could possibly bus to work in just over an hour if we needed to.

So, I am conflicted……I want a house. I want to be able to plant a veggie garden. I want the kids to be able to play outside. I want a place where the kids will WANT to bring their friends home to “hang out”. I want the kids to not feel like we have compromised them and their needs for our “work”. I want them to be comfortable and happy. I want us to be comfortable and happy. I really want a house. I don’t really want a town house.

And, then we are getting comments about how we “need” to be closer, and about how it’s better to live closer and that we will need to compromise. I do recognize that there are compromises but I want to compromise where my kids don’t lose out. We could live a little bit closer (but not in Vancouver) but there would be NO family around in the event that we would need to ask them to help them out.

We are not expecting our family to raise our kids as we go and do our “job” but sometimes we do need family and there is a better chance of having them available if we are closer and slim to none chance that they’d be available if we lived further away (from them).

So that is the whole house thing……FUN, EH?

I’m also struggling with feeling like what I’m doing (at work) is pointless. I’m way to early in this game to be feeling this way, but in someways it feels like I’m trying to run against the current and after 5 months of running against the current while at the same time trying to not rock any boats that are floating past me – I’m tired and frustrated!

I LOVE to be able to organize and work with structure and to create and make things easier. I get frustrated when it feels like there are things outside of my influence that I am relying on to get done so that everything else can also get done and those original things don’t get done and then that effects me and my “effectiveness”. That probably made no sense but think of domino’s….if the original ones are not knocked over then the rest don’t get knocked over either….you need to start at the beginning and you are counting on the beginning ones to start and complete the task. When they don’t get done….then it effects everything. Does that make sense? If not, then oh well….

I also feel like we are living in limbo land. We want to be able to sign the girls up for Late French Immersion School, but if we don’t know where we are going before school is out, then we can’t do that….there there is no guarantee that we will even be able to get them into the program…. At this rate, if we don’t make a decision, then the kids could still be in the school where we currently are, and if that’s the case, then I feel like I might be a little bit crazy in September after trying to do the whole kids out of school and work and commute forever and ever and just the thought of it all it messing with my head.

I feel like I really need to get settled. I want to get settled. This is year number two of unsettled-ness and I’ve about had it. I need the stability in my life. I do SO MUCH BETTER when things are stable.

At this point, I feel like I’m going to start whining about my life and so now I will stop. Or else you will hear a lot of whining and moaning and no one really wants to hear that.

So that is where we are at…..I’d love to say that everything was awesome and amazing but honestly that’s not how I’m feeling right now.

I’m feeling pretty discouraged. I know that it’s just a “feeling” and that I’ll feel differently soon, but right now….this is where I’m at. Warts and all…..life is fun(ny). There are ups and down and if you ride the waves as opposed to fighting them – you don’t get quite as tired out as if you try to fight through it.

And so I ride through this bit of a down turn in my life…..

Something’s Gotta Give

I feel this……….”shift”……about to happen.

I’m not happy with the pace that life has taken recently. I like simple things. I like a slower pace. I like to pare things back to the essentials and to not be freaking out and rushing, rushing, RUSHING!!!!!!! all the time.

I can feel this…..something….something inside of me is saying, ENOUGH!

And so I’m starting to re-think and pare things back and am working towards a mind frame where I am prepared to let something slip if they just can’t fit in.

It’s SO VERY HARD when I tend to feel responsible for things, but I have to grasp a hold of what I “can do” and “need to do”, versus what I “think I should do”.

I know this is a crappy post, but things have been in a bit of a crappy place for me….probably not even in reality, but just up in my headspace. It’s that whole mind thingy……

I am going to shut my computer and tidy up my kitchen and then I’m going to sit down with a piece of paper and think through what needs to happen for the rest of this week and into next week. Preparation….I always do so much better when I am prepared.

What do you do to handle crazy busy schedules? Do you have any tips or easy suggestions that work for you that you’d like to share?

Quick Connect

dsc_0817HEY! How’re you doing?

Don’tcha hate it when life gets in the way of blogging?

Things are okay over here, but really freakin’ busy and I’ve just not had any “extra” time. I’ll be back soon….with pictures and stories and updates. Here’s a teaser until then…..

Talk to ya’ll soon.

One or the Other

So, we had Geli’s 12 Year Sleep Over Birthday Party last night. I was a bit apprehensive as she had initially invited 10 girls and last we had heard 6-8 were going to show up. I was expecting CHAOS and NOISE to rule in our house last night.

Instead, 3 little girls showed up and only one was “allowed” to sleep over as the other had to be at a family function early the next morning and the other little girl had been grounded. So, Geli and her friend were in bed and asleep by midnight and then woke up at 6:30am.

Jon and I have been geeking out and setting up our new 13 inch Macbook Pros. He’s geeking and I’m just along for the ride….right?

We went to bed shortly after midnight and it was then, that all the fun started.

Jeremy came crying and stumbling into our room, moaning that he was barfing. He vomited on the carpet, on the bathroom floor and then finally made it to the sink where he continued along his merry barfing ways. In between heaves, he managed to inform us that he had also christened the main bathroom sink as well.

OH JOY!!!!!

I hate barf. With everything in me…..I would rather wash the toilet than deal with barf, and if you know me at all – you will know that the germaphobe in me despises the toilet and all it’s germ infested bits. So, seeing as Jon was dealing with the “bulk” of the mess in our room – I headed to the main bathroom to clean out the sink. Serious nastiness as I had to scoop the crap out with my hands……and well….I’ll just stop there. It was awful.

We got everything cleaned up – it took a while – and got Jerermy back in his own bed. I really didn’t want him in mine if he was going to barf again, and I was sure that he was going to have another go at it all. I was wired at this point and sent a quick text off to twitter about it all….I was seriously awake. I lay in bed for a while and then Siah woke up……he nursed and nursed and nursed and all the while popping off and on as…..he has a runny nose and can’t breathe. OH SO MUCH FUN!!!!

After who knows how long, Jon finally took him to try and settle him down and well….lets just say that it didn’t go over too well. Then Jeremy woke up again with more barf and then Siah woke up again, and between the two of them they tag teamed the night away.

The most amazing part is that they were both actually asleep from about 6:30am until 8am. That was SOOOOO nice. Who’da ever thought that I’d be grateful for an hour and a half of sleep, eh?

And then….when we finally crawled our tired bodies outta bed – we realized that we had NO COFFEE. Isn’t that horrid? We did find enough for one cup of coffee each in the back of the freezer, but Jon had to make a quick Starbucks run….mmmmmm, Heavenly!

We were supposed to go and have a nice family brunch with my family today and I was really looking forward o being together with everyone, but didn’t feel that it was fair to take my sick kid and expose everyone else to his germy goodness. So, we stayed at home.

This was both a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT and a MAJOR BLESSING.

I really wanted to see my family, and we’ve been crazy busy. The forced down day today has been awesome. We just stayed in our jammies ALL DAY LONG. We’ve done absolutely nothing today. Watched a little hockey. Played on some computers. Fed the kids. And now, Jon is making dinner and then we are sending them all to bed.

I’m hoping that no one is sick tonight. I need a few straight hours of sleep. Mmmmmmmm, SLEEEEEEEEEP!

Mismash

So, I got a few things that I could talk about and really I have NO idea where to start.

I had really high hopes that I might be able to post everyday this month, and here we are only a week in and I’ve already blown it.

It’s okay! I’m not too upset. I’ll get over it. It’s not really that big of a deal, and I’m not really sure why I’m so fixated on trying o accomlish this…..*shrugs*

I’ve put some pictures up over in Flickr….one Saturday we went to Graville Island. It’s always so much fun. You can click on the picture to see the whole set.

Kisses

This particular picture is of Jeremy kissing Aunty Amy. Amy is Jonathan’s psuedo adopted sister. We love her dearly and she’s getting married in ONE MONTH. SOOOOOOOOO EXCITING!

We had a great afternoon hanging out with family and checking out the little shops and taking pictures. It was a great day.

You can also check out this set of pictures that I took on that most fabulous sunny day. The kids were DESPERATE to play outside in the sun and they wanted to play on the slip ‘n slide. Again, just click on the picture to click through to see the whole set.

Siah & the Hose

I’ve already gone on and on about the sun and sadly…there isno sun out today and that SUCKS!

Add into the mix that Jon and I are supposed to be going on our “lunch date” today, but he is barfing because he ate some samosas that I told him to not eat because I thought they would have gone bad and he “pooh poohed” me and well…..he’s barfing. So, that wrecks my day. Thanks so much, darling.

You can also check out the pics over here on Chris’s side of the world and well….if you were feeling so inclined or helpful or whatever…….you could help us out….Think about it? Huh. Huh. Please?!?

I’ve got to get ready for Geli’s 12 birthday party – a sleepover with a few of her school friends…..AAAAAAAAKKKKKK!

And actually, Geli has been practising for MONTHS for a musical that she’s in.

Her school is putting on BEAUTY and The Beast and we went and saw it last night. She did such a good job – she’s a knife – and I loved watching her be apart of something as BIG and FUN as this. It was an absolute blast. She had 13 people from our family out to watch her last night and tonight another 8 are going. She feels special and I hope that tonight goes really REALLY well.
Here are two pics of her in her maid costume after the spell has been broken and they are all “Human Again!” They are crappy pics because I dind’t have my camera – only my phone….

Geli the Maid

Geli in her costume

I do have a few things that I have to do today and so I can’t hang around here all day – much as I’d like to just chill and relax. Duty calls.

So, happy clicking!

Shine Down on Me

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Today was a glorious, GLORIOUS day!

Can you tell that I’m running on a sunshine high?

It’s been SOOOOO LONG since I’ve felt as good as I did today. Which is funny because I actually felt pretty cruddy today. I woke up…well, lets back up a few hours. Jeremy woke up at 4isham and then Siah woke up at 4:30am and Jon took Jer back to his bed while I nursed Siah and then he rocked Siah for a minute and put him in his bed…..not sure what the problem was, but Siah PUKED! Nothing wrong at all….maybe just a burp or he coughed or something. I dunno!

I figured we were up for the day, but again…I was wrong. We all went back to sleep and slept until after 7am.

I woke up with a wicked headache and after chasing it with 600mg of Ibuprophen and then some Robaxacet…..coupled with coffee and water and finally some pressure point thing……I finally had a few hours of relief. I think it’s “monthly” and we’ll just leave it at that.

Siah went to sleep at 11:30am and ended up sleeping for 2 hours. It was amazing. I’m not sure what’s going in with him. It’s absolutely AMAZING. He’s just potty trained and then just this last week he started staying dry ALL NIGHT and sleeping through the night. (Sleeping through -in my mind – is going down at 8pm and waking up after 5am only to nurse and then sleep again until after 7am) Only as recently as a few weeks ago, he was up several times a night….and so this is heavenly. He’s also just started having a BIG afternoon nap instead of a piddly little nap. I’m just loving it.

So, after Siah woke up, it started to get a bit warm in the house and we opened up ALL the windows and let some fresh air in and I honestly felt like a part of me was waking up from the dead. I know that I struggle over the winter and I fight and fight and fight to stay on top of it all, but I’m always so amazed at how FABULOUS I feel when I get even just a bit of sunshine in my life.

I got a bunch of stuff accomplished, today and I, well…..I just feel happy. And this is a good thing……..a very VERY good thing.

The sun was shining in through the window today and this corner of my front room just look so cheerful and happy and so I had to take a picture of it as it did a pretty good job of reflecting how I felt about today.

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Looking on the Positive Side of Things

So, I am at home today.

I was supposed to be going into the office today, but with Siah feeling so poorly yesterday, we decided to give him an extra day to rest before throwing him back out into the world of viruses, germs and sick people who like to share.

I LOVE what we are doing and woul love to be going in to work today, BUT Jon had an appointment that was important and so he is going in todayand I am staying home with the boy.

I could be all sorts of bummed because I don’t get to “go and have fun”, but…..I’m spinning this whole situation for my benefit!

I “get” to stay home today. I “get” to have a quiet day without 2 hours in the car or without trying to rush around. I “get” to cuddle with Siah in his special “rocky chair” and to put him down in his own crib. I ” get” to have a great day. i can pick up around the house and take it easy and get a few work things done….great thing about being able to do admin stuff remotely.

This is going to be a great day.

I’m choosing to focus on the positive which can only help me. If I choose to focus on all I’m missing out on…..I will be a miserable person at the end of the day. That doen’st just suck for those who have to be around me….that’s hard for me too.

So, I make a CHOICE….I choose to have a good day and be happy about it.

What have you had to make positive choices about recently? How has it worked out for you?

Stealing Internet

I’m sitting in the parking lot of the Rec Center. Jon’s gone inside to get the kids who are swimming with my mom and I feel a bit creepy sitting here in the dark banging out a post while I wait for everyone to come out so we can go home.

We’ve been in town working today and my mom watched the kids. I have exactly 2 minutes left before the stupid battery on this thing dies and so I may or maynot get a chance tonight to finish the post, but it’s been a long day and we still have to go home, put the kids to bed, tidy up a bit and then off to ed to start all over again tomorrow.

i’m feeling a bit whiney and so it’s probably a good thing that I don’t have very much time.

Things have been so busy for the past little bit – I feel like I’ve had almost no time to do anything. I have e-mails piling up in my Inbox and I’m sure that some people are wondering why I’ve not responded…..I’ll have to try to catch things up.

Well, my times is up. Gotta go. Later!

Relaxin’

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Hey, didya miss me?

I had planned on posting EVERY DAY this month. I was doing pretty good, too! I had made it 8 straight days and then…..

Well, Jon and I and Siah went to Harrison Hot Springs for a few day and I did bring my computer so that I could post and upload pics and continue on my little plan of posting every day and well……Jon was the one who actually packed my computer and he forgot to pack the power cord.

See, I have his old cruddy laptop that is seriously considering dying. The battery lasts for about 20 minutes. The Enter button is broken off. And……I have 16 lines running vertically across my screen……………and well, this baby has been running non-stop for almost 4 years and has been though one melt down already and she’s pretty much on her last leg.

All of that means absolutely nothing to you, but it’s a frustration to me…..

So, back to the power cord – Jon forgot it and so I was screwed. And……once I figured that out – I just relaxed and enjoyed our time away.

So, this is the lame post for today and tomorrow we shall resume with the regular scheduled nonense.