It took 2 years for the kitchen to be finished.........

......and 6 DAYS for this!!!! (I put a little pressure on after the spray paint -- could you tell??)

Garnet and I started ripping it all apart last Tuesday....and stayed up until 4 a.m. Saturday night to do the floor - up at 7:30 to finish it. Everything went so smooth, and Garnet did an amazing job on everything. I am a lucky girl to have such a multi-talented hubby!!

We just need trim and then we can hang the curtains....nmew couch and chair are coming this week!! I love it!!

One of two things;

1) Garnet has decided to speed up the renovations on the livingroom

or,
2) Garnet is in need of a very good divorce lawyer...........

Sugar Bush

Great Wolf Lodge

We had an awesome time at Great Wolf Lodge....Tim brought a little friend from school and they had an awesome time sleeping in their Wolf Den and being maniacs in the wave pool and crazy slides. We'll definitely be going again!! Some videos to come too.....sometime ;)

Wow.

This is the kitchen on the day we moved in. Someone barfed up flowers.

This is the kitchen now.....just needs trim!

Bad Temper?? Who Me, Officer??

I've been pretty honest about my bad temper. I have written about it plenty of times before. Garnet thinks it's cute and fiesty....god love him. I know it's a vice, and a force to be reckoned with -- but I never thought it could have the potential to get me a ticket!!

I had worked all day and was on my way to pick up Tim from school. I was at a stop light - ready to turn left. I am used to bad drivers around this area -- there is a bingo hall and a border crossing within 500 metres of this particular stoplight. Not that I am saying old people and Americans are bad drivers....I have just made some observations, and may have been on the defensive and ready for an attack.

There was a car in front of me that started turning left, when the light turned green. He pulled out into the intersection, turning into the oncoming lane and then decided to straighten back out and wait....because OH MY GOD I THINK I MAY SEE HEADLIGHTS, THERE IS A CAR!! This driver then decided to wait for the other oncoming vehicle that was off in the distance -- faint headlights creeping towards the intersection from miles and miles** down the road. It took the ENTIRE length of the green light to wait and then turn after waiting for this car.
(**this post may contain some slight exaggeration)

Needless to say I was not sitting patiently waiting while this person decided to waste time --- my precious time. My hands 'may' have flown up in an exaggerated fling in the air so that this person could see my obvious frustration in their rear view mirror. Although they couldn't hear the dirty words coming out of my mouth - I knew that they'd be able to see my lips flagging and cursing and that was enough satisfaction for me. I ripped through the yellow light behind them.....because I too had been out wating in the intersection since the initial "oh, i might turn here....or....maybe not"

As they turned I saw the logo on the side of the car door, indicating the student driver behind the wheel. I felt sad. I may have shown them a little more patience if I had know that they were just learning. But my sadness was quickly replaced by horror when I saw the cop car out my rear view mirror. He had been stopped at the red light perpendicular to me and it hadn't even occured to me until now. He had been watching the whole thing. And I looked like a jackass.

Sure enough - the lights went on and I pulled over, even using my signal to pull over. My heart started beating a million times a minute - I had never been pulled over before. I rolled down the window and met the nice officer who was trying to make small talk first, asking me if I was just getting off work. Then he got down to business;

"Perhaps before you yell at student driver's -- you should learn the rules of the road yourself."

"Uhhh, I'm sorry?" yeah, cause you didn't look like an idiot enough -- now you have to make yourself sound like one?

"You do realize that you were stopped in the cross walk and then ran through the amber light?"

"Uhhh, really?" Again, an idiot soaked response, you idiot.

"And that running an amber is the same fine as running a red? Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

He paused a moment to let my bad choices sink in to kill my pride a little and I mustered up the courage to say something that I thought would save me.

"For the record I didn't know that it was a student driver - that's not why I was yelling at them....I would have yelled at them if it was anyone."

"Yes, that's reassuring." He said flatly.

And, grande finale of idiotness; taaa daaa!!-- I was done.

Thankfully, I didn't get a ticket -- just a stern warning, and a big bruise to my ego. I drove like an angel fresh out of driver's school myself for the rest of the day. And now, I look around a little bit before I yell at the guy in front of me........

1 Month, 4000 km's, GPS love, Snowdays, Hotels and Dentists

I am about to cover a lot in this one, big, catch up blog, which seems to be the new trend with my blog. So fasten your seat belts and I will try to remember all of the great details of the last month.

December 1st, Saturday

We started Garnet's training trip with a trip through North Bay. We figured that since we weren't able to make it up for Christmas this year we could have a mini Christmas with my Grandma and Cousin Bobbi. We arrived around 1 am on Saturday morning and had some fun times with my Grandma. Sunday was the day of travel through the winding Highway 17 up to Ottawa. The weather had been calling for a big dump of snow -- but we had yet to see any. Garnet and I took off - leaving Tim with Bobbi and Rich and their little girl, Dakota.

Arriving in Ottawa around 2 that afternoon, we got Garnet settled into his Hotel room and I was off. Have I told you about our new friend? The GPS unit that I fought Garnet on buying? Have I told you how much I love her? Yes, I call her "HER"......you have to. She becomes a part of your family and you soon realize that you are unable to make a trip to the local grocery store without her sugary voice leading the way. "Turn Left" ....."Arriving at Destination! On Right!"

I have a special bond with her now because, just as I was leaving Ottawa, getting onto the 417, the cell phone rang and distracted me. Unknowingly, I took the East exit instead of the West. I felt the panic mode set in, my hands started to shake and I cursed myself...2 minutes into the trip home and I was already lost! And then I heard her. Sweet, syrupy....calming; "Re-calculating...." She doesn't tell you how stupid you are for making a wrong turn, she doesn't even raise her voice she just simply recalculates and fixes your mistake in seconds. See why I love her so much? She took me off the 417 East and got me turned around in minutes -- and I was on my way again.

The snow started 2 hours into the trip home in these little dust particles of ice. Tiny, pretty, sparkly pieces of winter surrounding me. In minutes, it looked as if someone were throwing snowballs at my windshield at alarming speeds. I felt surrounded as these big, soft, chunks of ice came down heavy and hard.....reducing visibility to none. The highway curved and crawled up these hills of trees and rocks. Soon I couldn't see the edge of the road. There are no snowbanks, hardly any guard rails, just ravines and rockcliffs lining the curvy 2 lane highway. The headlights seemed to jump at me over the hills as both myself and the oncoming traffic inched toward eachother -- hoping that we were on the right side of the road. My white knuckles, aching tense neck and thumping heart in my chest convinced me that I should just pull over. I could not see at all and continuing on would be deadly. I looked in my rear view mirror at the line of headlights following me. I screamed very loudly as if to convince all of them that they were stupid to follow me. "I AM NOT A LEADER!!!" But, I was the leader. And stopping now - where there was no clear shoulder would be even more deadly than continuing. So I lead those followers 30 km's an hour and kept my eyes on the 3 inches in front of the car that I could see. The oncoming traffic and slight glimpses of the yellow line would help reallign me as I would carry the trail of traffic back to the right side of the road. At one point, when the yellow line caught my eye in the front window -- out the passenger side, I cried out a little prayer. My first prayer in a long, long time. I was thankful that Tim wasn't with me. I was thankful that according to Ms. GPS I only had another 20 minutes until I was in familiar territory. And could I please just make it to Mattawa. I knew then, that I was close enough for someone to come rescue me -- and that it was familiar enough stretch of highway to know where I was. And I continued on, somehow making it back to North Bay.

The snow continued that night - hard and heavy. I was supposed to travel back to Sarnia Monday morning when I woke up. We decided against that when I shovelled my cousin's driveway only 2 hours after Rich had done it -- and it didn't even look like it had been touched. I stayed in North Bay one more day and headed back on the Tuesday instead.

December 7, Friday

Tim and I were one week into our 3 weeks without Garnet. The time had flown by, but Tim (of course) was coming down with something. I had to work all weekend and it ripped my heart out to leave him with a babysitter while he wasn't feeling well. The coughing and hacking were horrible and keeping us both up at night -- so at 3am I decided to head out to Shopper's Drug Mart to finally give in and get him some cough medicine. You know, that cough medicine that makes every kid throw up just by the smell? So now we weren't only up with coughing but up all night with barfing too. Good times, good times!!!

December 11, Tuesday

A week and a half in and I was really missing my other half. You don't really see or appreciate how much they do until they are gone -- and you've got to do it all yourself!! I had 1 day off so far - and that was my first day back from North Bay. So now, I was going on a solid 6 days of work and was heading into the dentist. I have been suffering since Thanksgiving. No lies or exaggerations whatsoever. This appointment was originally a scheduled filling -- and I had been having severe tooth aches and jaw pain for weeks now. I figured he would just fill my sore tooth and be done with it.

"This is a perfect tooth - there is nothing wrong with it." He was looking at me like I had 3 heads.

"But it hurts!" My lame excuse made him look at me even more pitiably. He made me bite down on his little plastic stick and looked completely stumped when I cried out in pain.

Finally, his conclusion was that my wisdom tooth on the other side was now infected and my procrastinating to come in had caused the infection to spread to the sinuses. The sinus cavity is touching the roots of the teeth and causing root pain in my upper teeth. To sum it up; Frickin OUCH!!!!

He put me on antibiotics and made a special "I will stay late for you" appointment on Monday to have the Wisdom tooth removed. I was taking 2 extra strength Tylenol every 3 1/2 hours and they weren't even touching the pain.

December 16, Sunday (day before surgery)

Dental receptionist calls me from home to inform me that the dentist was calling a snowday tomorrow. I would have to continue suffering until they could fit me in again. Fun.

I went out and shovelled the driveway 4 times. Cursing Garnet and his @#%#@# training. Cursing the Dentist and his @#%@#$ snow day.

Tim and I had fun playing in the snow though -- so it wasn't all bad!!

December 15,17 & 18, Saturday, Monday & Tuesday

We enjoyed Garnet's work Kids Skating Party -- it's great to feel the support of his co-workers and offers to help if I needed anything. Gene even offered to come and inspect all my lightbulbs to see if any of them need changing ;) - Mike forgot it was Christmas and was trick or treating all around the ice....and I think Santa may have had a few 'pops' before handing the presents out....but it was a fun time!

I took my handsome little sweetheart out for a date to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Cutest, funniest kids movie in a long time!! Then we enjoyed his Christmas play; this is how he dressed up for it!!

December 20, Thursday

It was already the day to go and get Garnet in Ottawa. The time had really flown by. I had 3 days off total and felt rottenly ill and in pain for all 3 weeks. I was so thankful that we had done all of our Christmas prep and shopping before he left!!

I worked until 1:30 that day, picked up Tim from school and we were off. So, if you do the math -- leaving Sarnia at 2 meant arriving in Toronto around 5. Yes, I am STUPID! It took us 2 hours to get from Milton to Ajax. It should have taken about 40 minutes. A little voice from the back seat in the middle of stop and go traffic (meaning; no where to stop!) "I think I am going to be sick..." Luckily, the car sickness passed with no barfies. But the trip in it's entirety took 9 hours instead of 7. Thank god for the portable DVD player, great weather and a great kid like Tim!!! He was amazing!!! Even the dog was heavenly for the whole trip!! This is how we amused ourselves the next day at the hotel while waiting for Garnet to be done his last day (we're not allowed to jump on beds at home.....but it's so much fun at hotels!!)

It was great to see Garnet again. Man, I really missed him. I am very thankful to have a great husband who is in tune with our lives and a huge help around the house and in parenting.

And it was really, really nice to let him drive the 800 km's back home......bringing our grand total to over 4000 km's traveled in those 3 weeks!! We are already due for the oil change that wasn't supposed to be due until February!!

Christmas pictures and updates are coming. We stayed home for Christmas this year (can't understand why?!?!) stayed in our pj's all day, had a Christmas nap together and didn't go anywhere. It was PERFECT!!!

xoJ

For the Family far away.....xoxox

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Santa brought Tim a go kart!!!! It's not supposed to go outside but riding it back in forth in the living room wasn't ctting it so we let him have a spin outside for one chance at full throttle ;)



....and Santa brought a Wii!!!!!(but we already knew that didn't we ;) Check out Tim's awesome serve! (hint: you don't need to throw it up first like he does -- but it's so cute we haven't told him yet ;)

You may pee your pants.....

when you click here!!!!

North Bay Visit Pictures.....stories to come later ;)

Beavers

Tim decided that he didn't want to do Hockey this year (although now he regrets his decision and will most likely be back in next year) So he decided on Beavers. I think he looks so cute in his uniform....he says it's like Daddy going to work. And he is very serious about hanging it up every night when he's done with it!!

Update....from Bad Blogger #1

I know, I know....I'm one of those boring blogs that never update anymore and you've stopped reading. But for those few faithful, that actually check up on me once in a while; this is for you.
We are all still alive, I think. It has been a few months since I've actually seen my husband but he's around here somewhere I'm sure.....
I'm kidding. Overtime at his work has been rampant, so he's been working these crazy hours for like 9 days in a row and we get to see him for a few minutes each morning and a few minutes before we collapse into bed. His days off are usually spent running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get caught up. He's still somehow managing to fix people's computers and all that nice stuff.......but don't even ask me how my kitchen is coming along. Remember the one that was supposed to be done by my birthday LAST YEAR? He says definitely by this birthday. Yeah, sure.
My new job has been going great -- I love it even more than I thought (most days). It's still balancing quite well with my other job and things seem to fit together like a puzzle. Although Tim LOVES his after school program we have still only managed to use it or a babysitter a few times a month! That's how well we are balancing our schedules.....incredulously!

Garnet will be away on training for the first 3 weeks of December. It's kind of a crappy time -- right before Christmas. But we managed to get ALL of our Christmas shopping done in the last few weeks - so that we could both be involved. It helped that our dollar was so good in exchange for US funds. We decided to get a babysitter one night and head over without Tim (run our shopping errends for Santa, if you know what I mean....:) We exchanged $300 Canadian and got $317 American....so that paid for the babysitter! It's maddening how low their prices are over there.

I'm sure when Garnet's gone I'll have plenty more time to update my blog....there have been a few things that have happened in the last few weeks that I think "Oh, I should so blog about this!" (like Garnet buying and exchanging 5 GPS units, in about a week, which included 2 trips over the Bridge in one day, before finally deciding on one (the second one he originally bought!!) --- but then the sit down in front of the computer seems like a waste of time when there are a million other things I should be doing! I haven't seen much of Garnet in the last few months -- so it really shouldn't be much different.....but then again he still somehow manages to make quite a few messes around here in the few minutes he's running in and out. Funny how that is...... So expect more updates in the next month or so, I'll have so much more time on my hands when I don't have to pick up Garnet's dirty socks from everywhere in the house!

The Grandma's are fuming!!!!

It's one thing for everyday blog readers to be awaiting a post.....but when the Grandma's haven't seen Halloween pictures yet --- WATCH OUT! These are for you Grandma Anne and Grandma Vicki. I'm sorry it took me so long!!

Tim showing off our spooky house

Tim in his make-up face for school (masks aren't allowed)

Hugging the friendly ghost

Spooky mask

Garnet and Tim went out as matching spooky guys

October 7th......Thanksgiving Weekend

AND WE HAVE OUR CENTRAL AIR ON!!!!!!

It is so odd to be gearing up for turkey and stuffing and warm apple pie......when we really feel like we should be eating popsicles in our bathing suits at the beach. The last few days have been in the 30s C (90s F)......and smashing the records. Weird.

Whirlwind

So I'm now working 2 jobs. I am extremely lucky that both jobs fit into my schedule and both employers are willing to work around my schedule, my husbands schedule and my need to see my kid and not dump him off to a babysitters. I'm now deciding whether or not to quit Volunteering -- which I love. It's a hard decision to make -- I've been volunteering for almost 2 years now and would hate to give it up. But my new job is doing homecare for the elderly - which is giving me the experience and interaction that I was getting at volunteering as well. And the day I volunteer was one of only 2 days off that Garnet and I could have together on one week. And my need to see him is a little more important!

Just another little excuse why I'm neglecting my blog...

Something I am VERY excited about; My best friend Emily and I having a weekend together with no kids - and no husbands! Hopefully happening later this month. :)

The art of wii.....(a.k.a; the best thing about being the 'parents')

So Garnet and I bought Tim a Wii for Christmas.
Already.
Let's see if we can keep it a surprise until Christmas. We have a hard time with that. Like the Christmas that Garnet and I had all our gifts opened by November 30th. It all started with "Ok, but just one." And then, it got ugly.

Garnet and Tim drove all the way to London on Friday while I was at work to buy the wii because a) Garnet likes driving all over the world to buy things, and other things and b) he was afraid that they would be hard to get and wanted to snag one as fast as he could. Yes, Tim went with him -- No, Tim doesn't know what he bought. The cool thing about childhood innocence is that you can tell your child little white lies and they BELIEVE you!!(ie; Daddy is buying a new cable box -- why don't you go watch the movie on the cool Future Shop couch!)

So, OF COURSE, Garnet and I totally ripped the box open that night and had ourselves a wii little time after Tim went to bed. And may it be noted; I totally kicked his ass in boxing and bowling!!! (we won't mention the 7 over par, I guess golf is not my specialty) It was such a huge workout -- we are clearly out of shape -- we were both breathless and begging for drinks of water after the boxing round.

Ok, so I'll admit it; I like the wii. It's probably the only video game that I will ever like. There may just be a lot of little wii times going on over here after dark.....and that has nothing to do with anything dirty, or any sexual innuendos of any kind.

Hmmm...

I found this poem in a kids poetry book.

Manners

Telling a lie is called wrong.
Telling the truth is called right.
Except when the truth is called bad manners,
And telling a lie is called polite.


Just one of the many reasons why parenting is so difficult. And life is so much easier when you're a kid and black and white really is black and white.

We always make life more difficult than it has to be.

Our Luck

Garnet drove over to the states yesterday. Waited almost an hour in line and then another hour because he was chosen for a random search. He found a bike that met his standards for Tim -- and was on a mission to get it. He came home and had to fill in the time until 4:30 when Tim got home from Day Camp. He put on a water bottle holder and a kickstand....maneuvered the bike rack to fit our bikes -- I went to work and finally Garnet picked up Tim. They stopped by my work with an Iced Cap for me and Tim excitedly told me all about his new bike! They were going biking at the park! He was so excited!


A great thing turned into a horrrible thing - proving Garnet's luck once over. Some puny ass little teenager threw a rock through our windshield. Garnet heard the bang just as they were exiting the path -- but couldn't see the car from where he was. And figured the kid had done something to a car but figured ours was far enough off the path to be safe. As he was putting the bikes on Tim said "Dad, there's a big crack in our windshield!" Garnet was pissed but knew he couldn't chase after the kid when Tim was right there. As he is backing out, the little jerk drove by on his bike again!! Just to see if anyone had noticed yet? Garnet threw it into park and yelled at the kid. Who took off once again. Garnet , being the responsible father didn't abandon our child in the car to chase after some useless piece of shit. (can you tell I'm a little angry?)

A friend of ours was there at the park jogging and Garnet asked if Tim could ride around with her for a few minutes while he went and looked for the slime. To no avail.


He left the park resolved that we were just going to have to pay for the damages and he wasn't going to be able to drag the kid back to his parents and demand them to pay for the little puke's actions. He also mentioned (which is probably true) that even if he did find the parents they were probably every little bit the useless leeches of society that the kid is - so they probably wouldn't have taken responsibility anyways. Jen called anbd said that the kid hung around the park for awhile afterwards -- she passed him while she was jogging about 3 times. She called the police and they wouldn't even dispatch anyone. The kid got away with it -- and he'll do it again.



You know what pisses me off the most? Where are the friggin parents? What the hell is wrong with society these days that a 13 year old kid would ride around by himself throwing rocks at cars - for fun? FOR FUN!? I already had the talk with Tim that he better not EVER do something so stupid -- maybe I'll eat my words when he is a teenager. But god help him if he turns out like that kid.......

Tim's New Bike!!

Tim got over $100 for his Birthday this year -- he is spoiled!!! Of course he is saving some of it for a ceiling fan for his room -- cause that's what every kid wants. Isn't it?

He used the rest - along with some of Mommy's and Daddy's money to buy a new bike! He LOVES it. Seven gears and hand brakes, water bottle holder and a kickstand -- just the important stuff for him ;)

Healthy....and that kind of stuff.

I just finished my Rock Hard Abs Tae-bo video. I can feel a difference after 3 times -- Garnet just laughs and tells me I'm cute.

Since I quit working at the Y and thus quit working out at the Y -- I haven't exactly been the epitome of health. I've been biking to work a little bit, and walking the dog a little bit -- but I know we just haven't been healthy. Garnet tried at the beginning of the new year and lost a little weight -- started eating whole grain bread. And like any other person with a horseshoe up their ass - that was enough for him to lose 20 pounds. But the brown bread isn't enough anymore. And I think the bags of Popcorn and chips, topped with Cake and Ice Cream cancel out the health benefits of Whole Grains pretty quickly, anyways.

So, we start again. It should be a concious decision all the time to be healthy -- not just to lose the extra love handles -- but for the overall health of our bodies. But it just seems like a struggle all the time. I've always said - I wish I could be one of those people that don't like junk food - that can pick an apple over chips and drink their 8 glasses of H2O without a second thought. Oh, and get up at 5 am for their morning jog and NEVER feel tired. But I'm not one of those people. So, it will always be a struggle.

And as always I read DOOCE this morning and she says it exactly like I always want to. While I'm adding to my wishlist; I wish I could write like her too.

Honestly....

....this time it was due to being so utterly busy. I can't believe the summer is almost gone! This week Tim is going to Day Camp and I am excite dto catch up on things that get pushed aside when there is a 7 year old complaining of boredom. Although it doesn't seem that we've stopped long enough for him to get bored -- it seems the first day that we have where I can sit and enjoy my coffee (and maybe linger in my PJ's longer than is socially acceptable) I have a little voice in my ear; "MMOOMMMM.....let's DO something!"


On Saturday, the idea to DO something turned into a great idea to bike to the big park in town. We have brought our bikes there to go biking - but we have never biked all the way there. So Tim and I packed our bag full of drinks and headed out. It took us about 45 minutes. (Mostly because of walking across big intersections and over the overpass) but we made it there and were enjoying the paths for a few minutes when Tim took eyes off the path way and lost control long enough to catch the edge of the pavement and go flying down an embarkment/ditch sort of thing. His right armpit caught a tree and stopped him from going anyfurther. When I heard the piercing scream all I could think of was "Oh my God we have to bike all the way back home!!!"


My little trooper shed a few tears, nodded solemnly at the little "that's why you should always watch where you are going!" speech from Mom, and had a few hugs and get better kisses and he was back on the bike, headed home. A few times on the trek home I heard a little whimper and saw him shake it out but other than that - he toughed it out and we made it home to some band-aids.




Even after all that - he's still a bucket of giggles while I'm taking pictures of his batttle wounds. Man, what an awesome kid!





In keeping with the bike theme -- and the messed up Birthday traditions of the Little house; I got a new a bike for Garnet's birthday!!! Notice I didn't say I got a bike for Garnet - for his Birthday. No, because I am the new owner of a beautiful Green and purple sexy baby!!!! Remember how Garnet got a Big screen TV for my birthday? Well, I figured I better get something nice - since his birthday is on Wednesday.






Isn't she beautiful?!?!? I fell in love with the colour and the seat designs....Garnet researched all the specs and they were "good enough" for him to agree to ;)

North Bay Visit

North Bay August 2007

Cedar Point

Our Season's Passes this year include Wonderland, Cedar Point and 10 other amusement parks throughout the States! We won't be making it to many others but our 3 visits to Wonderland and 1 to Cedar Point along with one (hopefully) to Michigan Adventures have been a blast!! Josh came with us to Cedar Point -- here are some pics for your enjoyment;)



Tim has NO FEAR!! He was raising his arms throughout all the rides -- even though I was near tears on a few ;)


This ride is the Millenium Force. 300+ foot drop -- at an 80 degree angle. You honestly feel like you are falling all the way down. Tim turns to Garnet at the end of the drop and says "Wow, that really surprised my tummy!!"

And a BIRTHDAY POOL PARTY!!!

Tim had a bunch of friends over for a Birthday Pool Party -- they had a blast as you can see!!

Another Birthday.....

Grandma Anne and Papa Gary spoiled Tim again ;) With a little bit of Cameron craziness with the cake in the face!!

#7

Thursday night I said to Garnet. "Hey honey, do you realize that seven years ago tonight you were throwing me in a pool at 9 months pregnant, trying to get me to go into labour!!"

To which he replied "Wow that's unbelievable...."

"What is? The fact that it's been seven years, or the fact that you could lift me?"

I can't believe it's been 7 years. I know I say this every year -- but 7 just seems so old. Like 7 more years and he's a full blown, back-talking, hormonal teenager. Excuse me a minute as I weep a little.

It was a good day yesterday. I think he enjoyed his Birthday. Although after all the presents he still had to say "It's too bad I didn't get a ceiling fan...." But we'll leave that for his therapist to deal with.

Josh is here visiting, which I think may becoming an annual birthday event. Here are some pictures from yesterday -- we still have a day with the Cameron's and a kid's party on Monday.

Time to start again...

I have started this particular blog so many times I've lost count. Sometimes only getting a few sentences in - sometimes paragraphs. I have tried to sort things out in writing - and about 500 times in my head. Truth is, I don't really know why I needed the hiatus - I just knew that I did.

We were going through a few things - I had some medical issues, and then there were some other personal issues. We had to make some decisions that were emotionally driven -- and I found myself feeling obliged to share them on my blog. Obliged to justify them. Which was, obviously, never the purpose of my blog. I love writing - and I love being open and honest. After a life growing up in religion where I had the constant need to pretend to be perfect -- I liked sharing the shit that we went through and not having to feel like I was pretending. Life is wonderful - and sometimes it's not always wonderful! And it all feels good to share.....but I never wanted to feel like I had to share it all.

There is also an insatiable need in me to please other people, which doesn't aid the constant need to justify my decisions. I kept thinking. "If I share this - what are people going to think of me?"

We decided that I am going to wait a year for School. Now that I am fine with it, have dealt with my issues on it and declined my acceptance - now, I'll share.

At first, it was a decision based on financial needs, after I broke the cars. Then, it became a time in our lives where we could sit back and look at a few things, regain a grip on our priorities. At one point we even decided to sell our second vehicle - the Kia. Garnet said he was determined to pay for school anyway we could. We live in a city where everything is within a 20 minute bike ride -- and we have a perfectly good bike that never sees the road. In fact, I can make it to work on the bike in almost the same length of time as it takes in the car!


I realize, now, that I was watching life go by without really enjoying it. I was dreading going to school next year, dreading missing that time in Tim's life, dreading having to find some way to keep up with the house and family - while exceeding at school. But yet, I was still barrelling ahead because this was the plan. My decision to wait didn't upset me -- in fact it brought a peace. I would be lying to say that I saw that peace immediately though. No, I needed to go through a rough patch first. I was crying one day and the words poured out of my mouth -- "I don't want to say 'I just work at M&M's' for the rest of my life!" I was shocked at myself. And it made me think -- so what if I do? Am I going to school for the prestige of a career -- or because this is what I want to do? What defines me? Will I be a better person when I am a nurse?

We've relaxed a little bit now, been able to sit back and look at all that we have -- instead of wanting more we are learning to be content. We have come a long way in the last 8 years. I remember a time when we had $20 to last us a week in groceries in our little Devine st. apartment. Me, with a baby and post-partum feeling very alone - and Garnet an 18 year old kid with no idea how to be a father or a husband. I still might not be at the point in my life where I have the career and the dream house and all that we dream about having one day -- but I do have a great husband, who is an amazing father -- and we have a amazing son who fills our lives with contentment, love and pure joy everyday.

So the way I look at it now; I get one more year to enjoy class trips and after school snacks with Tim and breakfast dates on days off with my husband. I get to sit and read a book if I want, go for afternoon walks with the dog I work a few days a week at a great job, with wonderful co-workers. One more year of being able to stay on top of housework (except, of course folding -- but that's another blog in itself ;)......one more year to enjoy life and all that I have. Life is busy enough -- I should be thankful that I have had these few years to enjoy my wonderful family -- before jumping head first into a career. This means I graduate when I am 30 instead of 29. Will that be a regret when I'm 80? Pretty doubtful.

Tim turns 7 this coming week. SEVEN. Hard to believe it's been that long.....hard to believe how far we've come in 7 years. And we still have a lifetime to enjoy.


Time to start again. Blogging. Breathing. Living. Enjoying. Seeing what's important. And I hope I can stop myself before I get into the rut again of letting anything else take me away, define me or rule me......

Bat Videos

Tim and Jess....look at his face. (Mine was not so happy.....)



Garnet and Tim's turn;

Wonderland

With our season's passes to Wonderland and Cedar Point.....we're in for a lot of roller coaster fun this summer!!! Tim's favorite is "The Bat" at Wonderland - NO FEAR! Videos coming.

I still don't think if my Aunts as elderly.....!!

My Aunts visited Detroit and it went a little bad! Is it horrible that I giggled a little when they described one jumping in front of the car and waving her arms and screaming -- cause I could totally picture her!

I'm glad they are ok, those tough Quinn women!! (even if they are a little "knocked up", right Aunt Sue?) Now, be careful!! Just because we have good genes and you still look like you under 40 --- doesn't mean you are!

***UPDATE JULY 2nd****

Their amazing ability to laugh it off ;) I love it!!!!!

(From the reunion that I missed this past weekend )

My Private Life

So, I've discovered that my lack of blogging may be coinciding with the fact that I have a lot going on in my life that I can't blog about. Nothing huge -- just private stuff that I don't feel like sharing over the internet. Big decisions being made and life being lived. And I find it hard to write about surface stuff when I feel ike writing about my feelings about other things. Especially because I started this blog with the intention of not having just another narrative 'this is what we did today' kind of blog. But, I think that's what it's been lately.


In some recent news -- I can joke about the cars now. Not that I need to give Garnet's friends permission to have-at-er....because they already have. Gene thought it would be funny to offer to direct me out of the parking lot today when I dropped Garnet's lunch off. Yeah, laugh it up clown! And I even like your music and your girly nature shots.....


I had a great Mother's Day. Seeing as I was only expecting to get the cars repaired and repainted as my gift.....and Garnet's usual line on Mother's Day is "Why do I have to get you anything - you're not my mother." I woke up Sunday morning to this;

All that I had asked for was a little bit of a sleep in -- which I didn't get -- but I am not complaining! They picked out things that I had said in passing that I would like weeks ago sometime in my life (not even for Mother's Day)...... It's a huge step for Garnet to remember my name and where his keys and wallet are everyday -- so for him to remember these little things was very special! And then I got a call from my great friend Nathan (who clearly should not cook and talk on the phone at the same time!!) I thought it was so sweet for him to think of me on Mother's Day as well.



I am blessed, and it's nice to see what I have in a wonderful husband and an amazing son -- no matter what else happens in life. Through it all -- in the end it is our loved ones that keep us sane, grounded and the only things that really matter.

The worst (and most expensive) two seconds of my life....

Within the first few weeks of Hillary owning a car-- I did something very embarrassing and stupid. I never blogged about it because it was so embarrassing and stupid, and I can only make my idocracy public every once in a while. I wasn't ready to make it public -- until now.

Taking a sip of my morning coffee, on my way to drive Tim to school I slipped the Kia into reverse and started creeping backwards. That coffee must have tasted good, because I completely forgot that Hillary's car was parked directly behind me. That yummy coffee ended up being splurted out of my mouth and all over me when I backed right into her car. Yes, right into it. Luckily, there was no damage (except to my ego) because I was going so slowly and I think it was really only the license plates that hit.

Why am I ready to air my stupidity out for the world to see now?

Because I did it again this morning.

Only this time it was backing the PT into our Kia. And this time I was not so lucky about the damage. This time the damage is about $1000-$1500 to get them both fixed. Which in my language right now; One term of my tuition. I have been crying a lot this morning and feeling REALLY stupid. Like, REALLY stupid. So, I'm not ready to really joke about it yet.....(warning for any of you who want to start with me, even though Jay has already informed me that he may have to contact the authorities to get my license suspended and thinks it may be cheaper for Garnet to hire a driver for me.)

I could start trying to justify and tell you how it takes some serious maneuvering to get the PT out of the carport and around the Kia behind it -- without turning too sharply and ramming the front into the side of the house. I could. But really, it doesn't matter now. My head was in a cloud, my foot on the clutch - drifting backwards and trying to fix the mirror and tell Tim that yes, he would be wearing his jacket because no, it was not summer yet.....and CRUNCH.

The most surprising thing yet? Garnet is actually being understanding and supportive!! Maybe he does love me more than the PT......just maybe.

Presents

Packages in the mail from Grandma Vicki and Papa Don are so cool!!! Tim got this T-Shirt with a book and the character in the book has the SAME shirt! (No Clean Clothes by Robert Munsch) He kept saying "How did she (grandma) do that???" So you have him utterly amazed, Mom!

Perfect, except of course when chocolate pudding is involved.....

For You, Anne.

We had two special visitors today;

A Thousand and One Reasons Why I Love Spring.....

I've been working very hard at salvaging the garden in the backyard (that Sammy has decided to help me with) --- into the front garden. More pictures of that coming - but today we were enjoying a lot of the beauty that hasn't taken any work at all. The lilacs and the beautiful pink trees, that I love about our street, have started to bloom.


Garnet and I are doing our part in saving energy and decided to put up a clothesline today. It also serves a nice purpose of blocking the nosy neighbours from staring at my bikini once the pool goes up. Now that is worth it all, right there.

Dance, Dance, Dance....

You KNOW you wanna dance like me!!