Mom or Logistical Superhero?

It all started out so innocently. Emmett had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I took Charlotte to school, then went home to kill an hour before the appointment.
It suddenly occurred to me that I should find something to do with Matthew so I could actually talk to the doc about my concerns. I quick IM conversation with a helpful friend and Matthew had a morning playdate. I thought I was sitting pretty. I only waited ten minutes in the waiting room. I thought life was pretty good.

I got too cocky.

Something suspicious turned up on Emmett's urinalysis. The doctor said it was probably a contaminated specimen, but we had to re-do it AND add some bloodwork just to be on the safe side. He said to "just go up to the lab and have the blood drawn." Yeah. Right. The lab waiting room looked like Grand Central Station. My watch told me I had to be at Char's school in 20 minutes to pick her up. My blood pressure rose. A lot.

I smiled at the receptionist (always smile--your problem is rarely their fault.) I explained my predicament. She said "Come back in an hour. I'll hold your spot in line." That was the second best thing she could say--the first being "Oh well, let's just take you back right now." I took the gift. I picked up Matthew, I drove to Char's school. I made a few calls in the parking lot and thanked my lucky stars my MIL was home and could stop over and sit while the kids ate and then napped. Ronald McDonald took care of lunch.

I got Matthew and Charlotte settled down at home, sped back to the lab, had the blood drawn. (My boy was a trooper and earned THREE Spiderman stickers for his trouble.) I managed to get him back to school for the afternoon with one minute to spare.

Did I earn my respite sushi last night, or what????

Our Summer in Three Slideshows.

Matthew goes to camp.

Our New House.
I didn't want to post these pictures, but I realized if I waited to shoot for a day when the house was tidy, you would never see it. This is our house on a normal day. I am not a neat freak.

Our visit to our CSA farm.

Please be patient...

Guess what?? The cord to the camera disappeared in the move. Hubby is at the electronics store buying a new one right now.

Slideshows of our summer and new house will be forthcoming.

By the way, we love the new house, and have found out how completely wonderful a backyard hot tub is. Our neighbours are friendly and Emmett is adjusting to his new school. We have only had one bump at school so far. I raised holy hell and the staff were properly apologetic.

So far, so good!

I'm Back!

Hello! We are moved in, 95% unpacked and getting nicely settled in. I LOVE our new yard. I am figuring out where everything goes. I am still mortified by by the dust bunnies revealed by the movers at the old place.

Emmett went off to his new school today. I think things are going well--he got really mad when I told him I would be back at lunchtime to pick him up. My heart went out to his classmate who was crying and clinging to his mommy as my guy was hanging up his coat and remembering where he put his shoes the day before.

A week without the internet has been good for me. I need to learn some new routines and break some unhealthy habits.

I will post pictures of the new place very soon!

Cautiously Optimistic

Yay!

• Richard killed a mouse.
  
• We have not seen signs of any more.
• My friend Kathy very helpfully told me about how she makes sachets out of grated Irish Spring soap to keep mice out of her camper.
• My house now reeks of Irish Spring.
• We are having fantastic late-summer weather. Sunny, warm, no bugs....my favourite time of year.

Ugh!

• The road out front is still not finished.
  
• This means we have to move out of our cramped back lane.

Holy Crap!

• Possession day is Tuesday!!!!!
• I suppose I should finish packing!
  

The mouse came back....

......the very next day.

Yep. I went down to the kitchen this morning to make coffee and the mouse (or a relative??) ran across the kitchen and dove under the stove.

I also found a neat line of dog kibble lined up along the baseboard of my pantry behind Lucy's dish. (And I thought of Tara, who told me to look out for that)

Do you think I could ask our neighbour to lend us a cat for a week????



I bought traps yesterday....but hub wanted different ones. I am on that today!

There is always a silver lining.

I live in a very old house. I am used to sharing my space with a certain amount of creepy crawlies that get in through our unfinished basement. Chances are, if you pick up a laundry basket in my basement a millipede or little beetle will skitter away. Spiders love my floor joists. We tend to live in harmony. They don't bother me, I won't bother them.

I do have a line, though.

This morning I was chatting on the phone with a friend. I heard a strange noise coming from my garbage can. I opened the lid and a mouse looked up at me from his (her?) rotten orange breakfast.

I did the stereotypical thing. I screamed like I was in a horror movie.

I then picked up my entire garbage can and took it outside and left it in the back lane. After that, I looked around for telltale signs and found little mouse poops in my pantry (darn it!).

I promised the kids we would go to playgroup so I put off the clean up until after lunch. When we got home from playgroup I found the lid knocked off my garbage can and hoped against hope it was the neighbour's cats that did it. I also noticed my garbage bag was shredded and there was a perfectly round hole clear through the side of my garbage can!

Since I am a stereotype, that can is not ever going to enter my house again.

What is the bright side?

• The mouse didn't chew on anything that contained actual food (I think the open bowl of dog kibble was the reason.)
• The dreaded job of cleaning my pantry before we move is done.
  
• I filled a garbage bag with random bits.
  
• All of my bulk items are now in Tupperware or jars.

I also found out that for a sporadic tea drinker I have a LOT of tea. Like two four-litre ice cream pails full.

It is really hot outside. Maybe some iced green tea is in order.

I hate meeses to pieces.

Final Countdown

We are down to our last week in this house.

You can tell the stress of packing and preparing is starting to take it's toll.

Emmett wet his pants in public for the first time in many months today. His stimming behaviour is back to happening several times a day. He can't control the volume of his voice and has taken to hoarding small bits of paper and spare change. He cries very easily.

Charlotte is being more willful and obstinate than usual.

I am coming very quickly to my wits end. I am not sleeping well and have no patience for anyone.

Seven more sleeps until we get the keys.

I am packing, sorting, ripping my hair out, hoping the road out front gets built in time.....you get a meme. I don't tag, but if you feel moved to do it, let me know I and I will come check out your answers.

Thank you, Ami for the blog food.

Question 1 : Who do you think is the hottest movie star?

I think Ewan McGregor is the complete package. Handsome, can sing and dance, has a lovely Scottish accent, and adores his wife and daughters. He isn't afraid to stretch his acting wings and has been in every genre you can think of.

Question 2 : Apart from your house and your car, what is the most expensive thing you've ever bought?
Our honeymoon cruise, the new washer and dryer for our new house.

Question 3 : What is your most treasured memory?
Hmmmm....This one is a toughie. I could mention the time I used to spend with my dear Great Grandma--we were very close and her name is Charlotte's middle name.

The thing that stands out most in my mind right now as one of the single most amazing things in my life was giving birth to Matthew, at home, in my own bed. I can still picture the autumn light as it came in my bedroom window and smell the changing leaves outside. I remember how wonderful it was to have Richard and me snuggling our new little boy in our own bed. I remember the Earl Grey Tea and home made apple pie I ate. I remember the ratty t-shirt I threw out after I had him. I remember how calm and peaceful everything was. No drama, no flashing lights and buzzing alarms, just the sounds of new life entering the world.


Question 4: What is the best gift you ever received as a child?

My Barbie RV. My Barbies went on many, many camping trips in the back yard over the years I had it. Santa needed a lot of coffee to put it together on Christmas Eve, I think!

Question 5: What is the biggest mistake you've ever made?
I can't even begin to list the huge mistakes I've made. I do find comfort in knowing that everyone makes them, and some make larger ones than mine.
I try to be forgiving, since we all screw up.---I am totally stealing Ami's answer since I couldn't have said it better myself.

Question 6: Give four words to describe yourself.
Mama Bear Loves Fiercely

Question 7: What was your highlight or low light in 2008?
Hmmm....I can't think of anything right now. I just think that my life gets better and better with each passing year. I feel more and more comfortable as myself and am not afraid to be me. Growing up is hard, but I am starting to reap the rewards.

Question 8: What is your favorite film?
Today, Moulin Rouge pops into my head. The music! The costumes! The crazy story! The cast! (Hello, Ewan!)
Ask me again tomorrow, and I will probably have a different answer.

Question 9: Tell something not generally known about yourself.
I used to sleepwalk when under stress. It mostly happened before tests or music recitals. Once, I woke up standing in the shower with the water running. I think I must have thought it was time to get up and go to school. I'm sorry for scaring you all those times, Mom! I finally get it now! I must have been a handful.

Question 10: If you were a comic strip/cartoon character, who would you be?
Elly Patterson from For Better or For Worse, or the mom from Baby Blues

That's it. That's all I've got!

Stay tuned--in a couple of weeks I will have an article published in a local parenting magazine. I will post the column here once it goes public.

It's officially official.

Last week Richard's mom bought our house. She is still deciding if she is going to rent it or put it back on the market after we leave.

We bought new washing machines for our new house. I changed my magazine subscriptions. I spent an evening taping boxes together I liberated from the cardboard recycle bin behind a strip mall.

In three weeks I will have a new address.

Holy Moly!

Busy Doing Nothing.

It's August. Every August we drop our kids off with Richard's Dad and then get a week off. Sometimes we do home renovations, we went to New Brunswick one summer, two summers ago I spent the week off having Braxton-Hicks contractions. The summer after that I chased one kid instead of three.

This year we were supposed to be packing and moving during the kid's holiday. This has not come to pass, so I get to do nothing.

Do you have any idea how wonderful the chance to do nothing is?? I have not been away from my kids for two years. Right now, as I am typing this, I am sipping coffee, there is Irish Soda bread in the oven baking and Weeds, a show I can't watch while kids are awake, is on the TV. Richard is sleeping without anyone fighting outside his door.

Yesterday I lingered over my coffee and newspaper in an empty house and then my Grandma and I shopped for a washer and dryer. I went to three stores. I lingered over things besides washers and dryers. I poked and prodded and pushed buttons. No one nagged me to hurry up. No one tried to break things. No one ran away to reprogram the TVs in the TV room while I tried to find what I needed. The person I was with was happy to be there and was patient as I looked and pondered.

Delicious.

Yes, I will miss my babies by the end of their trip, don't get me wrong. Right now I am enjoying the fact that we ran out of milk yesterday and it was not a big enough emergency to warrant running to the store when I knew it would be mobbed. I am out of coffee now. THAT is an emergency so I guess I will have to go to the store today. I will probably pick up ingredients to make sushi while I am there. Mmmmmmmm California rolls..... (Emmett was super sweet and left his DS behind so I could use the cookbook game he has--that is where my sushi recipe is.)

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to refresh my coffee and get the newspaper.
Richard and I might go to the midway later and go on the big person rides. Or, we might not. Who knows? This weekend, we don't have to plan too far ahead for anything.

Delicious.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I have worked as a camp nurse off and on for the past 10 years. The camp I work at is one I used to go to *ahem* twenty years ago. It is so comforting to hear the same graces sung at mealtimes, hear the same songs ringing out from the campfire circle and hear about the activities the kids are doing--I did them too!

Of course, things change too. The photography class no longer needs a darkroom. There is a shiny new shower house. Kids bring mp3 players to listen to during quiet time instead of walkmans and portable CD players.

Nursing changes too. When I first started camp nursing my med box was usually brimming with various antibiotics that the campers came with. Years went by and for a while I saw a lot boys using a nasal spray for bedwetting. This spray has since been banned from use. For a while there were a lot of kids coming to me on ritalin. Ritalin use seems to have peaked and is now on the decline. I only had one boy on it this summer, but I had a very large number of kids using anithistamines on a daily basis. I also had one little girl on daily doses of Prozac. This really made me sad. I spent a lot of time wondering about this girl and what made her parents think that it was ok to put someone not even fully grown on a drug that will alter her brain's chemistry and set her up for potentially fatal side effects as she grows into an adult. The director of the camp, also a nurse, was disturbed by the sheer number of supplements and herbs her teen campers came with the week before.

You get to see a real picture of how kids are raised as a camp nurse. Most of the campers were very concerned about Matthew when they saw him gleefully splashing in puddles or tasting the sand under the volleyball net. I often heard them tell me very seriously "He's getting dirty!! His feet are getting wet!" I know their hearts were in the right place and they all relaxed when I reassured them he would be ok if he got a little (ok, a lot) dirty. That is what camp is for!!!

I love that camps like this still exist so that urban kids CAN get dirty. One of my campers took great pride in getting Swimmer's Itch--he even counted his spots (over 100) Another girl took a teatherball to the face and wore her bloody nose like a badge of honour. Of course, I also had kids coming to my cabin to show me hangnails--you can't toughen them all up!

Mommy and Me

When I agreed to work at camp this summer by big fear was Matthew. Will he run away and get lost in the woods? Will I find enough to do with him? Will he have fun? What would I do with him if there was an emergency?

Well, my fears were completely unfounded. Yes, my boy ran a lot. He seemed to know to stay away from the dense forest that bordered the camp property, though. A few times he got quite far away from me but there was always a camper or counsellor willing to round him up and herd him back to me. Everyone loved him. He could run right into to the middle of a soccer game in progress and steal the ball and people would just giggle and then invite him into the game. The boys played basketball with him. The girls invited him to the end of camp dance. He had a friend in the kitchen who would sneak him cake. Thankfully, I never had to find out what would happen if an emergency came up.

He figured out my supply drawer and would hand a camper a bandaid when they came to my cabin for attention (even if all they needed was a Tums or meds for a headache)

He slept three hours every afternoon--running all day will do that to a guy!

It rained quite a bit at camp. This did not stop us from having fun. Matthew had his favourite puddles that he would visit and gleefully splash in. Since I am not new to the camp nurse gig, I knew to pack three pairs of shoes so he would always have a dry pair. The lake blew his mind. Swimmer's Itch was alive and well in the lake while we were there, so I kept him out of the water but he spent a lot of time standing on the camp's pier tossing rocks in the water. We made sand castles under the volleyball net.

I loved being able to have one on one time with him--he loved having an entire camp wrapped around his finger. He cried when I packed up his bed on the last day and loaded him into our car.

We were invited back. I really hope we can go again next year.

Home again, home again, Rig-a-jig-jig

I'm home!

Matthew and I had a blast a camp (more on that to come). Emmett and Charlotte loved their time with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa did too.....Grandma called me this morning to check on her Sweeties because she misses them already. As soon as she emails me her pics (yes, I am talking to you, Mom!) I can show you some of the adventures they got up to.

Getting back to real life is tough. I got home to find my water disconnected because of the construction. Not cool when you have seven days of camp laundry to do! My car barely made it home alive (when it sounds like a lawn mower and smells like burning, it can only mean bad news, right?) so it is in the shop and we are on foot for the next while. I am thankful we live where we can walk everywhere we need to go and it is summer, so no one suffers.

On the bright side, we were greeted by a clean house and fresh cheesecake brownies yesterday. Yum yum. Oh, and an hour after my no-water freakout a friendly sunburned man in a hard hat rang my bell to hook up my temporary water supply. (What a relief!)

I am now trying to learn to cook and do laundry again. After a week of camp food I am looking forward to grilling a steak tonight. I am also looking forward to the goodies that will be in my CSA box.

Talk to you soon!

Good Bye!

Nothing new to report on the house front. It is still for sale. Our offer expires in two weeks.

I am taking the kids on a little road trip. Richard and Lucy will be keeping the home fires burning. I left him an itemized list of everything he needs to do to get the house ready for a showing.

Of course, there has to be a little drama before we leave--yesterday I tried to pack my suitcase. Richard was at his office doing CPR on a server so I was alone with the kids.

While I was upstairs packing, Matthew was flooding the kitchen. He put the stopper in the powder room sink and just sat back an enjoyed the show. By the time Charlotte came to tattle there was so much water in the kitchen it seeped through the floor and left puddles in the basement. I had just finished doing ALL the laundry (a major feat when you wash clothes for five people) It took all of my towels to mop up. Sigh.

See you when I get home!!

Summertime.

People are growing up so fast around here! I have been a neglectful blogger lately, but here is some stuff that has happened recently:

• Someone finished preschool for the year.
• Someone else graduated from Kindergarten
• The Kindergarten Grad also turned six and has shot up to collarbone level on his mother.
• The shortest one here is rapidly zooming towards his second birthday and is practicing his tantrum throwing skills for the event.

I meant to have pictures of the little grads here, but my desktop computer is at Grandma's being stored and I have not yet figured out how to make my camera talk to the Linux-speaking laptop. I will nag hubby later to teach me how to do it.

Since summer is officially here I am always trying to come up with things to keep the kids occupied. I have playgroup once a week, and friends to harass for playdates, and this:
The Usborne Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do

The book is full of fun crafts that call for easy to obtain supplies and they all have a little science lesson to go along with them. (I guess hanging out with homeschoolers has worn off on me)

So far we have made monster shadow puppets and did rudimentary paper chromatography. Maybe today will be the day we make wind-powered sailboats??

Of course, having the house on the market has stalled some of our crafty plans--on days when there is a showing I turn into mean yelling mommy and all the toys and fun stuff are stashed away. On those days go to one of the various parks around the city, usually with sandwiches. I am happy to be house-sitting for a nearby friend who has a lovely fenced yard. She gave me permission to use her place if I needed somewhere to go for showings . I wonder what her neighbours thought yesterday when they saw us let ourselves in and have a picnic on her patio?

Speaking of which, there is nothing new to report on the home-selling front. We have had close to 10 showings with largely positive feedback, but no offers have been forthcoming. I am starting to get anxious about that. I feel like time is running out.

How is your summer going so far?

Jack: the answers.

Here are the answers to the quiz presented in my previous post. I anticipate a lot of forehead slapping and "Oh Yes!" after reading it.

Jack Be Nimble

Jack and Jill

Little Jack Horner

Jack Sprat

The House That Jack Built.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Do you know Jack?

This was our bedtime story last night. The kids picked it up during a recent trip to the library. I was sceptical at first, expecting a politically-correct, watered-down version of an old fairy tale.

Truth be told, there is quite a bit of sugarcoating and tweaking of the story, but there is also a great surprise. The giant takes you on an adventure through Fairy Tale land, where you meet all sorts of Jacks. I forgot how many Jacks there were in this world.

This book introduces you to six Jacks (including the one who climbs the beanstalk)

Could you name them all??

I'll post the list in a day or two.

Superstitious

Yep. Colour me superstitious.

First, let's backtrack a bit.....

The transmission died in our washing machine yesterday. Our trusted and reliable repair guy gave me a $200 quote for repair. Crappy. Forget the fact that going a day or two without doing laundry can make a pile taller than Emmett, we wanted to include a washer and dryer with the house when we move. We are planning on buying shiny new HE machines for the new place since the washer and dryer are not included in our offer to purchase.

Now, if I was to buy a new machine to replace the broken one, I would want a shiny HE model. It of course would come with us when we move, and then we would have to take it off the bargaining table.
We could buy a secondhand one and pray it limps along until we move or swallow the $200.

We are opting for the last option. Repair the machine we have and hope it lasts at least another month. This didn't stop me from doing a bit of poking around for deals on new machines. I found a pretty great sale. I mentioned it to Richard. He wondered out loud if they would hold the machines for a month. (Is there such a thing as layaway anymore?)

This is when I stopped him. I said no. We shouldn't buy appliances for a house we don't have yet.

Where did this come from? Usually I LOVE shopping! I got the go-ahead to price out appliances I have been coveting for a very long time and I stopped it?????

I don't want to jinx anything. We have already lost one house and the last time our house was on the market (when I was pregnant with Matthew) we had no takers.

I KNOW this is a different market. I KNOW we have made many improvements on our place since then and I KNOW that in this little corner of the world, the recession hasn't hit as hard as other places.

I am still not ready to start counting chickens.

(I do have a shopping list in my head though....you know, just in case.)

PS--if you want to be a Nosey Nelly and peek inside my house, email me and if you are a regular reader who comments frequently I will send you the pictures of our listing. I just don't want my address published here, of course!

It's nail biting time.

It happened. We made an offer on a house this past Friday. By Saturday the owners countered. We accepted. The blood drained from Richard's face as we filled out the paperwork and promised a purchase price that is kind of staggering to us.

Tomorrow our house hits the market. We have a month to sell and counter any other offer that may come. Yesterday started the month that I will be insufferable to be around.

Do you know what it takes to keep a house show-ready with three kids, a stinky hairy dog and a stinky hairy husband? Nagging. Yelling. Constant cleaning. More nagging. More yelling.

Please hope our place sells fast.