Michele’s Musings

Well in my mind I am….  Physically I still have to pack and get the van ready lol  We are driving from Edmonton to my home town north of Toronto.  We have a full itinerary, and I’m still not going to be able to do all I want to do with the kids and see all the people I’d like to see *sigh*   2 weeks just isn’t long enough!

We are leaving Friday night the 18th, our first leg is 18 hours of driving, we have a hotel booked in Dryden ON for Sat night.  Wish us luck!  Sunday we plan on taking it a bit easier with only 10 hours of driving, stopping along the way at Amethyst Mine Panorama  for a rest stop and for something fun for the kids to do.  Sunday night we are staying at a motel in Wawa ON, then Monday an 11 hour trip to my mom’s in Richmond Hill. While there we plan on taking the kids to Canada’s Wonderland, the CN Tower (although James says he’s not going, he has a thing about heights) African Lion Safari, Niagara Falls and a good old Ontario beach, cause the beaches in Alberta are just not the same….

Just 4 more sleeps!

I can’t believe I haven’t posted here since June 1st!  Between soccer, school field trips, volunteer commitments, work, planning our summer vacation…..  I think this weekend I can finally catch my breath!

Rowan had a great soccer season, had lots of fun, especially in goal.  Only problem is he now has exercise induced asthma.  He has had eczema since infancy so asthma is something we have been watching for in him because they are closely related.  This year he was having a hard time running, having to catch his breath, then coughing after games all evening.  Got him into the dr and he’s now taking Singulair, it seems to help.  His last couple games he had an easier time and there was no coughing.  Master Rowan is now a grade 3er!

Keely now needs to see a physiotherapist for her arm, she was doing really well with mobility, but recently as she makes a fist, her pinkie knuckle becomes indented and she gets a pain in her wrist….. I need to call and make an appointment for that!  She got her hair cut last night, it looks really cute, kind of cut like mine with layers but no bangs.  And she is now a grade 5er!

Arran is happy to be done exams.  He got a Merit award for having over a 75% average with his core subjects…. how he managed that with a 58 in LA I don’t know… I guess the 80’s in religion and gym helped?  lol Anyway he’s onto HS in the fall, grade 10!  Oh my!

I went out Wed night to Jubulations dinner theatre with co-workers and saw Grey’s House of Anatomy, it was really good!  Didn’t get home till 11 though, was very tired the next day!  Today and Monday are going to be stupid busy at work!  Word to the wise, if you don’t HAVE to go to the bank, don’t!  The line ups will be killer!  I have also been taking over the treasurer duties for the community league, wish me luck.

This weekend we have sad plans… we are bringing the cats to the shelter.  They have been fighting for about 9 months and no longer getting along.  It has become too stressful around the house, with hissing and spitting and fur flying…. We kept hoping it would improve, but it hasn’t.  We are surrendering both because I don’t have the wisdom of Solomon.  Give up one and one child is resentful…  They both seem to have accepted the inevitable, but I’m sure there will be some tears come Saturday. 

The rest of the weekend, I’m hoping the good weather will find James out in the yard sawing me some toe kicks and trim for the kitchen!  Otherwise cleaning and laundry.   James has Monday off work, while I get Tues off, so any family plans for Canada Day are shot.  We probably won’t go to the fireworks in Fort Sask as usual because we have to get up early for work on Wed!  We also need to finalize our vacation plans, get the itinerary set and hotels booked!

I have finished reading Voyager, so 1/2 way through the Outlander series, although the last 3 books are longer……  I have taken a break and am reading a Kresley Cole book called No Rest For the Wicked.  When I’m done I’ll probably try to tackle Drums of Autumn.

I hope everyone has a great Canada Day!

Another weekend over, but we got a lot done.  Friday night and Saturday morning we made the kids purge their bedrooms, got rid of a lot of stuff!  But this needs to be done ASAP because our condo has a big bin parked here for a few weeks and we think now would be a good time to rip out all the flooring upstairs and install the laminate!  Hopefully we can start next weekend, the big decision is whether to start in our room or the boys….. I think the boys but whatever….  Scratch that…. Rowan’s in a soccer tournament next weekend…. ok well maybe the next weekend?  I guess we’ll play it by ear.

Saturday night we watched The Waterhorse on PPV, it was quite enjoyable!  Very nice movie to watch with the family.  Then after it was over I went to bed and read Outlander, just continued the historical Scottishness!  I finished Outlander in bed this morning.  I am torn whether to start Dragonfly in Amber or get into the Kresley Cole books I bought…..  I think both!  lol 

Yesterday and today I did some work on the yard, I got the grass cut and trimmed, we went to Costco and a local garden centre and bought some hanging baskets and plants for the containers, cleaned up the raised bed, hacked back the climbing thing that grows there…. no idea WHAT it is.  Installed our solar lights, looking forward to what they look like after dark… if they are charged enough.  Here are some pictures!

Oh and the lilac bush is blooming again this year…… smells lovely…. but holy wasp magnet!

 On another note…. Master Rowan woke up this morning excited that it was now June, because that meant he wasn’t grounded anymore….. hmmmm *I* know it’s actually only been 3 weeks, but *he* thinks it’s been a month, and James says “he’s been really good…. let him go outside”  softy!  So he is no longer grounded but with the stipulation that he is NOT to play with that other boy again, because whenever he does he gets in big trouble, hopefully their house sells soon and they move!  Don’t need him tempted to play with said boy all summer vacation.  Rowan did get to do something interesting today, he had a bicycle safety course put on by the city at our local community hall.  He said he had a lot of fun, I asked what he learned, he said “not to stop your bike with your shoes”…oky doke then.

Two weeks ago James and I took Keely back to the hospital for a check up.  She had her cast cut off and arm x-rayed.  She had pins sticking out of her arm!  Of course they had to be yanked out, I’m not sure who was more traumatized, James, me or Keely!  I’m glad I didn’t take her alone, it took both of us and a couple nurses to hold her down while the nurse practioner pulled them out and she screamed her head off.  Afterwards a new cast was put on, she chose red this time.  That cast was on for 2 weeks, then James took her this past Tuesday morning and had it cut off.  Her arm looks very weird…. it’s just an odd shape.  She’s very happy!  But still suffering from some pain.  Here are some pictures.

Sad little girl after her cast was cut off, knowing there are pins sticking out of her arm and dreading what that means….

Some shots of the x-rays with pins in her arm.

Where the pins cross in her arm is where she broke it.  Straight across both bones.

New red cast, posing on the pedway betweenthe U of A and the parking garage lol. 

Next batch are pictures taken this week after the cast was taken off, but before she had bathed….. *yuck*

These are the holes from the pins.

Here is some of the swelling and the way it makes it look like her arm is twisted.

Dirt, discolourtion and general yuckiness.

Her oddly shaped arm..

So no monkey bars for her for awhile, but with some exercise, like swimming, she should be ok.  She had a nice soaking bath tonight to clean her arm and it looks much better after a good wash and some moisturizer

We had a great Victoria Day weekend!  Lazed around the house for much of it, got a few things done like a building a dresser for our bedroom we bought a few months ago.  We took the kids to see Iron Man, it was pretty good, different than what I expected, but I’m interested in a sequal.  The weather was gorgeous!  It started raining today though, Rowan’s soccer game was cancelled….  We have been watching the original Indiana Jones movies this week, we bought the set of three on Sunday, watched Raider’s of the Lost Ark on Monday night, Temple of Doom tonight, and plan on watching The Last Crusade Thurs or Fri night, have to prepare ourselves for the new movie coming out this weekend!

Reading - I started reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon again, I’m about 1/2 way done, but have set it aside to read a few other books.  My boss leant me Mariah Stewart’s Last Word which I read this past weekend.  I also read a small Linda Lael Miller book on Monday.  Currently I’m reading Johanna Lindsay’s The Devil Who Tamed Her, I should finish it tonight, it’s pretty funny!.  Next on my agenda are two new to me authors, Christine Feehan and Kressley Cole, who write vampire romances I have a couple of Feehan’s books out from the library, and I used a $50 GC for Chapter’s to order a bunch of Cole’s books because my library doesn’t offer them.  I’ll let you know what I think of them!

It’s been awhile since I posted…. been a little busy and stressful around home the last few weeks.  James has been working a lot… and volunteering a lot…. leaving me home alone with the kids every evening with soccer season started…  which I did NOT sign up for.  I had a bit of a breakdown this week about that, plus our wee Rowan went missing for an hour Thurs night which put me over the edge.  He decided it would be a good idea to go to a convenience store with a friend, which he is NOT allowed to do and did NOT ask permission to do.  James just found him by chance while doing a drive around the neighbourhood, I was about 5 minutes away from calling the police. Not a good feeling!  This “friend” of his is not a good influence… he comes around every once in awhile, plays with Rowan for a month or so until he gets Rowan in a huge mess of trouble, then Rowan is banned from playing with him…. another 6 months or so rolls around and this “friend” starts showing up again and the cycle starts all over.  So Rowan is now grounded for a month and the “friend” issue is being taken care of because their house is for sale so he’ll be moving, and Rowan won’t have a chance to play with him again.  Rowan gets in trouble with this kid because he is a follower, he pretty much does whatever his friends want him to do even if he knows it’s wrong *sigh*  My other two are not like this, Arran is a non-conformist, and Keely is a leader, so I’m struggling with parenting this last child of mine…..  what I don’t get is if he’ll do whatever his FRIENDS want him to do, why does he never do anything *I* want him to do??????  We have spent some time talking this weekend, about thinking for himself…. he said he told his friend he wanted to go home while they were at the store, but the friend didn’t want to go so he wouldn’t take him home.  Rowan knows he’s not allowed to go anywhere alone (safety in numbers) so he wouldn’t leave his friend and come home alone. Points for following one rule at least…. although I would have preferred him following the “don’t go anywhere without asking persmission first” rule…. which would have saved everyone a lot of worry and stress and tears.

Friday night James and I were able to go out to dinner alone and talk about everything bothering me, it’s hard to find time to do that at home.  Our only chance is after the kids are in bed, then he’s too tired and doesn’t want to listen, which gets me more upset….  anyway, we seem to have settled things.  He needs to work on balance and the word NO with his volunteering.  He’s also going to do more work from home so he’s not at the office till all hours.  I am going to work on getting the kids doing more around the house so I am not so overwhelmed.  Not that I do everything for them….. but they tend to whine and complain and ignore when I DO tell them to pick up after themselves, which I am now taking a zero tolerance policy with.  They are perfectly capable of putting their dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and getting their dirty laundry in hampers etc….

So with everyone tip toeing around me …. I got a pretty good Mother’s Day ;)  Flowers, chocolates, breakfast and dinner made for me.  Plus we spent time today working on a CSI mystery puzzle and watching TV while I cross stitched.  The only “work” I did today was folding the laundry I washed yesterday!  James even cleaned up the kitchen after supper!  Oh and I called my mom in Ontario to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, I ordered her flowers which should arrive tomorrow.  With all the crud going on lately I didn’t get around to ordering them in time to arrive for Mother’s Day.

So I am hoping for a better week….. relaxing tonight, watching the season finale of Survivor :)  Do a little reading before bed, back into the Outlander series by Gabaldon.

Woke up to this….

Look how much is on the shed and deck box now!

And there is another 5-10 cm forecasted today *sigh*  So I had to start my day off shovelling AGAIN.  The boys will have to do it after school as well.  I need to think of a comfort food to cook for supper tonight, perhaps a beef roast…..

We watched Juno last night, a friend of ours rented it and let us borrow it.  It was pretty funny.  I like watching movies like this with our 14 y/o son, he doesn’t like sitting close to me though, as whenever I think of a teaching moment I smack his arm and say stuff like “see ONE time and she got pregnant!” LOL 

I started reading Devil May Cry last night…. I’ve read it before…. don’t you hate that?  At least I didn’t already own it and buy it again, I must have borrowed it from the library lol  But I’ll finish reading it, I don’t completely remember the storyline.

I feel like the Little Engine That Could today *sigh*  Here is my lame attempt at positive thinking…

 Now if only they were growing in my garden…..

It is STILL snowing in Edmonton, compare yesterday’s snow in our yard….

With today’s view…

And to top it off MIL told me that SIL in Ontario got a sunburn this weekend working in her garden…. cry me a river!  LOL

This morning Keely had an apointment with our family dr for a check up.  We had to drive to St Albert in this mess.  Luckily the roads weren’t too bad, it was just the side streets close to where I live that are bad, and my parking lot at work!  Lots of cars were getting stuck in deep snow ruts.  I left really early to make sure we got there on time, I ended up 1/2 hour early!  Then her appointment ended up 1/2 hour late… figures.  She is in good shape my girl.  She is now a whopping 4′2″ tall and 76 lbs with cast on.  She was only 74 lbs last Wed night at the ER before the cast.  So she is just right, no longer itty bitty.  Had a good talk with the dr about puberty, and stuff.  So she’s good for at least another year. 

Here are a couple shots of her with cast on.  The first is with her “friends” Bob, Billy (that came in her flowers) and Crash who has been renamed Bubbles for some reason?  I like Crash better personally.  The 2nd is of her after school today with her cast signed by all her friends.

James is off to ANOTHER community meeting tonight, I was supposed to be at a PAC meeting at the school tonight but they postponed it till next week.  So I am home baking GIANT cookies!  After the short people go to bed I’ll sit and cross stitch while I watch TV, I am working on a Teresa Wentzler pattern called The Traveller, it is very big!  But i’m chugging along, 2/3 of the cross stitching done, then the back stitching and seed beads to add, that’s the most fun part.

I just finished reading Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dream Chaser, it was ok…. not as good as her other books though, I think it’s my least favourite so far.  I still have to read Upon the Midnight Clear, which I leant my boss, and I picked up Devil May Cry at London Drugs after work, so I guess that will be what I pick up before bed.

I honestly can’t believe I’m old enough to say that James and I have been together for 20 years…. it just seems like SUCH a long time, when really…. it flew by!    Maybe later this weekend I’ll post our “how we met” story

Tonight our Community League is holding a ‘Tween Dance at the hall, so James will be volunteering at it, Rowan wants to go, Keely says she doesn’t but I’m sure that will change. It willmost likely be a night for Arran and I to hang out at home, he’ll rook me into a game of Payday I’m sure, he’s been bugging me every night this week to play, but he asks at like 9 pm when you really need an hour or two to play and at that time of night, I’m wanting to relax, watch a little TV, do some stitching….

Saturday the 12th is our 17th wedding anniversary, 20th first date anniversary.  Usually we get a sitter, go out to dinner alone, sometimes we make an overnight of it, this year not much thought has gone into it.  I asked James if we should just make a family night of it, take the kids out to dinner and a movie, they are after all…. part of our marriage lol  He seems keen on the idea.  We also have a bunch of 2 for 1 movie passes that expire at the end of the month!  i have been talking to James about making big plans for our 20th wedding anniversary though, I want a cruise!

Other than that, with the nice weather we are expecting, I am hoping to get the yard cleaned up and some stuff done around the house.  It’s supposd to get to 17 on Sunday!

I was stuck in a reading rut this week….  I have shelves of books and nothing that interested me!  I did pick up an old Nora Roberts 3 in 1 book that I bought for $5 who knows when… I read the first story to get me through and it was ok… nothing really fabulous.  I am currently reading a book my boss leant me, Last Breath by Mariah Stewart, so far it’s pretty good!  I have read a few of hers before that my mother sent me and I enjoyed them as well.

What a great new look, and lots of neat features the old blog doesn’t have.  I am looking forward to seeing all the new blogs in the coming weeks

 As for what I’m up to….. being sick about covers it!  I caught a bug from Arran who has been sick for a couple weeks, I have a wicked cough and a fever catches me every now and then.  James took both boys to the dr for a regular check up Thursday and the dr decided to swab him for strep throat, we’ll find out Monday, gawd I hope it’s not strep I’ve caught!  Poor Arran has rarely ever been sick, no more than a regualr cold, so this has really knocked him out.  He’s 14 and never needed antibiotics *fingers crossed* it’s not strep and he can maintain that record! 

I have Monday and Tuesday booked off work for the kids spring break, was hoping we could do stuff….. but I have a feeling these might end up being “sick days” for me :(  Rowan is booked in for daycamp at the Y all week, but I’ll keep him home Tues if I feel up to taking them out and about.  Monday we are for sure home in the morning, I have the gas guy coming to read our meter  (it’s in our basement) and also the cable guy to figure out why we are missing about 20 channels.  If I feel up to it, I am hoping to make it out to the new London Drugs that is opening this week, biggest location in Alberta!  LOTS of sales!

I have got books under my belt this week….  Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning, it’s a new series, I loved her Highlander series, this one if of the Fey… it was ok, but it’s the first in a series and IMO is written as such, the book didn’t have a real ending for me, I have to wait to read Blood Fever to see if I really like it.  No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong, which I really enjoyed, another in her Women of the Otherworld series, this time starring Jamie the necromancer and her relationship with Jeremy the Alpha Make of the werwolf pack.  And just last night I started ErinSong by Diana Groe.  I have never read her before, it’s a medieval romance and it was quite enjoyable, I was up this morning at 7:30 coughing, so I got up and read until I finished it

So Keely has ringworm, blech…. this is what it looks like  Keely’s spot 
I took her to the medicenter today since it’s Sunday, and I didn’t want to wait to try and get into the family dr this week, more than likely having to take time off work.  Luckily it was only an hours wait, I bought the Can Any Mother Help Me? book along to read.  I tried to fill her Rx at Safeway but we were having issues with my insurance card, so James is going out shortly to use his, I think mine is the old one….  

Anyway, Keely and I wandered through the bookstore at the mall and bought a few things, I’m like a kid in a candy store there I tell ya….  I TRY to stay out of them and just order through the library but someimes I really, really want to own the book, especially if it’s a series :)  So I bought the two newest Sherrilyn Kenyon Dream Hunter books in paperback, Upon the Midnight Clear and Dream Chaser. I have loved all of her Dark Hunter Series!  I also bought the newest Kelley Armstrong in paperback, No Humans Involved, and she’s a Canadian author, her Women of the Otherworld series actually started off with the characters in Toronto.  And last but not least Karen Marie Monings Darkfever in, in paperback. Her Highlander series was awesome!  She has a new one out in hardcover right now called Bloodfever but I stopped myself from buying it, hardcover’s are too expensive, I do have SOME control ;) 

Otherwise today is being spent cleaning and doing laundry!  The boys managed to get their room clean but I’m sure Keely’s sty will take more than one afternoon *sigh*