The snow has finally found us. Not that it's here to stay for long..... 

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!

...and accumulating.......

Mmmmmm....

pork stew and cornmeal muffins on a blustery winter evening.......

Beware the Fish!!!

As I said yesturday, we went to see Grandmother. We rang her buzzer and she didn't come. We waited a while as sometimes it takes her a minute to get up and hobble to the intercom. After a few minutes I buzzed again. No response. I was a little anxious, as she had trouble a week or so ago with a fall. I could not for the life of me remember her phone number so we left and stopped at my birthmoms to drop of some boxes for moving. Brian said that Mother had taken Grandmother to emerge, something to do with a fish bone. The homecare workers said she choked on one but seemed fine. This being a few days later and her still complaining of a sore throat, they thought she should be seen. Well, it turns out that there was no bone stuck in her throat, instead it was in her tongue. On examination, her tongue was swollen on one side. Mother had to hold the tongue out while they froze it, then the Doctor cut her tongue open dug around for the bone and then stitched her tongue. Poor grandmother. 84 years old, frail as can be, just waiting to get into permanent care and now this.

I always check my fish for bones, especially for the kids, always thinking of the choking factor. Never once did I think of a bone getting stuck in ones tongue.

The Wave Pool

I took the kids to the wave pool last evening. I thought for sure that Claire would be terrified as the waves are crashing up on the deck at the rate of a strong ocean. She absolutely loved it, and I had to work hard to keep up with her and Sam who were ploughing off in different directions. The waves settle out every fifteen minutes so for a few minutes we had just normal water. That was a little easier. Then the siren goes again and the waves start rolling. The crowd goes wild, all crashing into each other. It's hilarious to see wee kids trying to surf in a pool. The water was soooo warm, rather beach like in fact. Poor Daniel was beaned by a stray flutter board in a rather sensitive area which made things even funnier.

Rainy again today so we are off to visit Grandmother, and the grocery store and maybe take in a movie at some point. Hope you all have fabulous weekends....

Just what I needed....

A night out with some friends to celebrate all of our birthdays. Six of us have birthdays all within weeks of each other and we figured we deserved a night out to celebrate. We went to a place called Niche. None of us had ever been. We had our entertainment cards from the entertainment book so were able to get six dinners for the price of three. Share that out between us all and we ate for not much at all. They had some live jazz that was great except when the guy on trumpet let it rip. It killed the conversation and he would hit these notes that just are not meant to be hit in a low ceilinged space. We opted to eat dessert elsewhere. The Fireside Cafe is a fabulous spot full of intimate little clusters of couches and comfy chairs as well as tables. We sat in front of the fireplaces and had incredible cheesecakes and the like. We were having so much fun, it wasn't until Rosa and I went to the loo that we realized it was after eleven. We packed up and headed for home. I was so wired I had to watch the news before I fell asleep.

Daniel has an appointment with a psychologist on Monday, and we are anxious to see what she thinks of the situation.

We continue to have freaky weather. My crocuses are coming up, and either daffodils or hyacinths are on their way as well. Snowboarding is out of the question for Daniel, and so we struggle for weekend entertainment.

Tidbits and beyond.....

I have nothing profound to say. Things are pretty mellow around here, although my body is doing strange things. I am losing weight, not feeling great, have bits where bits should not be, etc, etc, etc. Had a doctors appointment on Monday where she told me that the bits were a problem but they could be fixed. My cervix does not look as one that has birthed three children. Have you ever had your cervix shoved around? It's not the most pleasant of experiences. As I answered her questions she scribbled notes which to me is never a good thing. I had to go for blood work today, and now I guess we just sit and wait. For what? I'm really not so sure.

Sam and Claire were put on time out yesturday for disturbing the peace. They were told to sit apart on the kitchen floor and not move. Almost simultaneously, they both lay down and Sam said that they were taking their time out on the beach! Freaks!!!!

Tonight Sam and I were saying his prayers. He started asking the questions we all get asked. Where is God and Jesus? I told him that they were in heaven. Up in the clouds? Yes Sam. I want them here. Well Sam, ask them to be with you while you sleep. Will they take me to heaven? Yes Sam, but I hope not for a long time. Mom? Are there good people in heaven? Yes Sam. What about bad people? Well Sam, if they love God and tell him they are sorry then they will be in heaven too. But mom....not the pizza man!

Delayed reaction...

Since the death of the teacher from Daniel's school, he has maintained that he is ok and has no worries or concerns. Since finding out she was murdered, he still holds that all is well, and that he doesn't need to talk about it. I'm beginning to think differently. He has started wetting the bed, and although that was a problem for awhile for him, he had long outgrown the habit. Last night was no different, and when he came into my room, he said that he had dreamt that Claire had been murdered. I think it's time to get some help. It's obviously playing on his subconcious mind. There is another information session at school on thursday evening and I think I will be taking this one in.

FAMILY FUN

The new Cranium Family Fun game is fabulous. We spent the afternoon playing it. Too hilarious! And yes, Daniel and I won!

We spent the day yesturday with friends from the valley. The husbands went to MEC with the oldest boys where Daniel bought a spedometer for his bike. HE was most excited that it will also track his mileage, has a clock, and keeps track of his various speeds. They then hit Home Depot where they got the supplies to finally finish my bathroom. We hung out here for a bit then Karen and I took off pajama shopping. After three stores we met success, grabbed a whack of pizza on the way home and then enjoyed some more hanging out til it was almost bedtime for some.

Good times with good friends.

and as an aside, I'm going to be an auntie again.....

Spring has Sprung yet again....

The air is mild, the ski hill closed, the birds are chirping, and my plants are budding and sending up new growth. This is simply NOT normal for the 13th of January. I miss the fun of playing in the snow, of spending weekends at the hill with Daniel and friends. I love to garden but now is not the time. I want SNOW!!!!!!!

It was in fact murder....

Our teacher was in fact found to be murdered. Reporters were at the school yesturday when I went to get Claire, and there were more on our street when we were heading home. This is very disturbing for all of us and especially those who knew her personally. The question remains about who killed her and why. The school has informed the students that although Ms. Gallant was harmed, and found in the trunk of her car, in the school yard, that they are safe at school.

Our community is a quiet little place. Scary to think that murder happens anywhere, let alone literally in your back yard!

PANIC!!!!!

Poor Claire. She was asked to eat some spanish rice tonight for supper. I separated the meatballs from the rice as she prefers to have "naked" meatballs. I also gave her the tiniest little pile of rice. The kids wanted chocolates after supper and I being the evil mother that I am, told her she needed to try some of the rice or she would get no sweets. She didn't want anything on the rice. Major panic ensued as Hud tried to take a grain of rice at a time, clean it off and give the fork to her. DAD, DAD, I saw an onion!!!!!!!!! EEEEEWWWWWWW get the tomatoe off it!!!!! She did manage, in the end, to eat about twenty grains of rice one or two at a time, and gag down (literally) three meatballs. It's amazing to me that she is growing at all.

Girls Night Out!

The girls from the book club and I went out last night to see Memoirs of a Geisha as we had read the book a few months ago. Before the movie however, we went out for Japanese food. Some of the girls were a little afraid that we would be dining on raw fish but they were in for a treat. We ate and ate of the most sumptious food imaginable. One of the girls however thought that the wasabi sauce was avacado so scooped it up and put it in her mouth in one go. She was in AGONY!!!! She felt the burning all through her head and she expected to see flames coming out of her ears. She survived and was eventually able to continue on. So many different flavours, all prepared different ways. It was a real experience.

The movie itself was great, not following the book completely but that was really no surprise. It didn't really portray some things as much as the book had but it still was amazing.

Of course, a bunch of girls can't just go home so we went out for dessert. After figuring out what we would each have and being brought desserts big enough to feed a family we enjoyed much laughter as we picked on the poor waiter. He humoured us in fine form, and didn't seem any worse for wear when we left.

At the end we were all ready to crash as most of us are early to bedders. We made it home and I crawled into my cozy bed and fell asleep in minutes. I still feel full this morning, maybe I won't eat today!

Tagged by Jodi.....

"The first player of this game starts with the topic five weird habits of yourself and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals."

1) I can't stand the kids walking on the carpet after I have vacumned it.

2) I have an obsession with brushing my teeth. So far it has served me well, I have no cavities. I am so obsessed however that before I call people on the phone I need to make sure my teeth are clean!

3) Hud, when driving, puts his left foot on the side of bump at the far left of the drivers floor. It irritates me to no end as it gets it dirty and in this weather, salty. I can't help myself and I have to tell him to take it off.

4) I am obsessed with my living room curtains hanging just right. To the entertainment of neighbors etc if they get messed up due to the kids, I go in and out of the house frigging with them and looking at them until they are as I think they should be.

5) I have a hard time making a decision without talking to Karen first. Big decisions anyway......

I now tag: Connie, Margie, Busymom, Lori, and Cathy

It was a dark and stormy night......

Dark, rainy, and mild. Not so much winter weather. Jammies, homemade pizza, and a movie, and the kids and I are settled in for a night of cozy relaxation.

After school we went out to get the kids some badly needed new clothes. The boys have grown inches in the past month or so. We hit Old Navy and managed to walk away with much for not much. Jeans for Claire rang up at the cash for $3.97. You can't get much better than that!

Frustration abounds when......

~One is expecting something and it doesn't happen.

~One is trying to build a train track with one's three year old and one simply cannot find the pieces one needs to do as one wants.

~One has a hankering for something and the cupboards are empty, yielding anything other than what one is looking for.

~One's son packs himself to go away to a friends, packing extra in case of wretched weather that would keep him from getting home, and then neglects to bring said extras home thereby leaving a large gap in his wardrobe causing his mother to double time on the laundry so that although he is wearing the same clothes over again at least they are clean.

~One gets the house all back in order again after the festivities of the season and no-one pays any heed and simply dumps their things willy nilly here and there.

I guess that's enough rant for today, and now I feel better and will head back to train tracking with Sam who couldn't care less whether or not the track is set up as mommy wants it. He's just glad to be having fun!!!

Poor Sam couldn't handle anymore fun, flopped upside down on the sofa and went to sleep.......

So .....what's new?

We seem to have settled nicely back into the regular swing of things without really any incident. The kids were back to school yesturday, and Sam to pre-school today. One of his classmates, the son of one of his teachers ,was diagnosed with leukemia over the holidays. He is three. This world is full of such sadness and not so nice turns. I can't imagine being given such news. They say the prognosis is good, but it is a two and a half year long treatment with no way of knowing the outcome until the very end.

We got an e-mail from a friend today telling us that as of last night he and his girlfriend are engaged. Some good news in all of the unpleasant anyway.

The weather is still so unwinterish except the temperature, that playing outside is not so much fun. One can't make snowforts with no snow.

Karen and I are now in the process of planning a trip for spring break. It likely won't be anywhere far afield but will involve a couple nights stay in a hotel. So long as it has a pool that is. Two moms, six kids.....that'll be nothing but chaos but think of the fun.

From our house, well actually the neighbors, to yours.....

FESTIVITIES......

New Years Eve was spent over at the neighbors house with fun for all. We had a Twister tournament which Claire and I seem to be very good at. Not looking forward to seeing some of the photos I know were taken. Unbelievably, all of the kids managed to stay awake until midnight at which point much noise was created. We enjoyed beautiful weather so were even able to have a bon-fire. Good food and good fun made it a great night. New Years day found us with a house full of friends from the valley with much more good food. The kids were thrilled to have all their friends here. Daniel went back to the valley with Adam and is on the ski hill today snowboarding for the first time this season. He and the rest of them should sleep well tonight.

And so begins our year. I dismantled many of the decorations today, and the tree is at the side of the road. Seems sad in a way but I do look forward to all this year holds for us. The kids head back to school tomorrow, and then real life begins again......