I am now an official stay at home MOM!!
The past few months I have been having hallucinations about our home life with me being a full time Mom...however I am being reminded daily that I kinda suck at being a stay at home Mom!
The dream:
Breakfast will be homemade oatmeal with fruit. The kids will get up and revel in the fact their clothes are neatly in their dressers. The morning walk to school will be filled with happy conversations between the kids and I.
The reality:
Breakfast is whatever is fastest, with one out of three not happy with the choice and wailing their displeasure. We are running 20 mins late, it has rained everyday. The only conversation is, 'Hurry!!!' (from me) and 'There are NO pants in our drawers!' (cause I am behind like 20 loads of laundry)
The dream:
I will clean the house Flylady style, it will be clean, fresh, tidy and flowers on the table.
The reality? The kids are up at 5am and going through the cupboards and eating anything they can reach and swearing the dogs (who are still in the crates) ate the leftover cookies...the house is in spots knee deep in laundry...and flowers? Who am I kidding? The weather is still cold and WET! lol
I am enjoying it...way more then I ever thought. I have been getting calls and people are asking if I am going to start back up...nope...not now...not sure when and not making plans.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Long days...big changes
I love my job and normally the time flies by and I look up and realize it is 4pm and I have to FLY home...now the days are creeping, I am sore and achey and whiney...I have 9 days to pack up 4 years worth of stuff in my shop...and I don't have time or energy...
But on a grooming note that is very positive, I was asked to do a seminar on grooming! That is excited! People actually want to pay money to listen to me babble about my day job! (Insane huh??!!) Organizing it is turning into a wee bit of a fiasco, I need to find a space and the hotel I was hoping to have it at is convinced that my professional groomed dogs will cause severe allergies...compared to their ancient dirty carpets...i have my doubts. So, I am still looking for a place to host the event.
Josh bought me a new phone, a fancy schmancy iphone...someday I will figure out how to turn it on an off. Those basic functions are still a mystery. My sister told me I just need to sit and play with it...right...in all my many hours of spare time. Bahaha! I cannot remember the last time I was just sitting and bored and waiting to do something.
The hardest part of the phone? The SLIDE keyboard...you don't touch or tap you slide your fingers along the screen to wear the letters are (looks like you are reading braille) and the phone figures out what you are typing...but I think the phone and I speak different languages...I will type, 'Hi Tina, see you soon!' And I would get "Hi tunafish, seaweed you schooner!' I keep sending emails from my computer explaining to people that I did not have a lobotomu, just my phone is evil.
Josh bought a new car, 2005 Kia, paid a REALLY low price and it only has 24,000kms on it which is AWESOME! (considering our late Kia Spectra 2006 had 200,000 kms on it as of LAST YEAR....). Josh changes jobs on Friday and no longer can carpool, which is a bit sad because it has been GREAT having one vehicle for savings wise...but it is also pain when I work 40 mins west of our home and he works 30 mins EAST...so when he cannot carpool or our schedules don't mesh we need to call in some favors.
We are still madly in love with that house, Josh is waiting to start his new job and then off to the bank he goes...he got one part of the paperwork done and got an okay...the big question is can we keep the old house we live in and buy this one and hold both mortgages? Things will be tight but I can do without to have this home!
Other news....my sister Leah has finally decided after being engaged for 5 years they are getting married this summer!! She is the worst reluctant bride but I asked to handle and pay for her family dinner aka reception and she agreed and now we are having a BLAST!!! We chatted all night about wedding stuff and it was awesome!! She and I really lost touch and there was too much distance between us, but now it is like old times.
So I need to plan a wedding and make it CHEAP:)
But on a grooming note that is very positive, I was asked to do a seminar on grooming! That is excited! People actually want to pay money to listen to me babble about my day job! (Insane huh??!!) Organizing it is turning into a wee bit of a fiasco, I need to find a space and the hotel I was hoping to have it at is convinced that my professional groomed dogs will cause severe allergies...compared to their ancient dirty carpets...i have my doubts. So, I am still looking for a place to host the event.
Josh bought me a new phone, a fancy schmancy iphone...someday I will figure out how to turn it on an off. Those basic functions are still a mystery. My sister told me I just need to sit and play with it...right...in all my many hours of spare time. Bahaha! I cannot remember the last time I was just sitting and bored and waiting to do something.
The hardest part of the phone? The SLIDE keyboard...you don't touch or tap you slide your fingers along the screen to wear the letters are (looks like you are reading braille) and the phone figures out what you are typing...but I think the phone and I speak different languages...I will type, 'Hi Tina, see you soon!' And I would get "Hi tunafish, seaweed you schooner!' I keep sending emails from my computer explaining to people that I did not have a lobotomu, just my phone is evil.
Josh bought a new car, 2005 Kia, paid a REALLY low price and it only has 24,000kms on it which is AWESOME! (considering our late Kia Spectra 2006 had 200,000 kms on it as of LAST YEAR....). Josh changes jobs on Friday and no longer can carpool, which is a bit sad because it has been GREAT having one vehicle for savings wise...but it is also pain when I work 40 mins west of our home and he works 30 mins EAST...so when he cannot carpool or our schedules don't mesh we need to call in some favors.
We are still madly in love with that house, Josh is waiting to start his new job and then off to the bank he goes...he got one part of the paperwork done and got an okay...the big question is can we keep the old house we live in and buy this one and hold both mortgages? Things will be tight but I can do without to have this home!
Other news....my sister Leah has finally decided after being engaged for 5 years they are getting married this summer!! She is the worst reluctant bride but I asked to handle and pay for her family dinner aka reception and she agreed and now we are having a BLAST!!! We chatted all night about wedding stuff and it was awesome!! She and I really lost touch and there was too much distance between us, but now it is like old times.
So I need to plan a wedding and make it CHEAP:)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday Afternoon...
We took the dogs in the afternoon to get their pictures taken. Randi Gallant is awesome, so hard to get into but somehow I managed it! (could help that we have done some charity work together)
Crosby of course was awesomely behaved but ignored Randi...she would try to get his attention and he was looking at me, as if to say, 'Mom someone is squeezing a squeaky toy but and I sitting like I am supposed to?'
Reggie was next and he was not too badly behaved for an old fart...but his poor mouth won't stay shut and where the jaw was broke, it hangs open and his tongue hangs out...but he was thrilled that I had not only blueberry doggy treats but salmon ones too! (a way to man's or beast's heart is through their stomach)
Kenzie...well she was normal Kenzie...weird, freaked out, completely paranoid over the whole situation. Bonus: she didn't pee on anything. I was happy.
Randi wanted to get a a group shot of all the dogs...right... Reggie and Crosby were no problem, they like each other and will nap together. Kenzie and Reggie are brother and sister and connected at the hip...but Kenzie and Crosby? Well...Kenzie likes to scream at him and he gets fed up with her strangeness (I mean he has been around for nearly 6 years now) and bops her on the head with his paw (which results in her turning ballistic and bit like the Tasmanian devil).
So, we tried and Kenzie was 'stiff' to say the least, Reggie wanted more food and Crosby was BORED...he knows every trip to the city means a visit to his best buddie's house or a trip to the dog park.
Trip to the dog park was funny for other reasons...Kathleen fell face first into mud, we were the only ones there and therefore I let the kids have free reign. The yorkies stood in the mud whining...they are not used to such harsh conditions like real dogs. Crosby got bored again with his sucky siblings.
Crosby of course was awesomely behaved but ignored Randi...she would try to get his attention and he was looking at me, as if to say, 'Mom someone is squeezing a squeaky toy but and I sitting like I am supposed to?'
Reggie was next and he was not too badly behaved for an old fart...but his poor mouth won't stay shut and where the jaw was broke, it hangs open and his tongue hangs out...but he was thrilled that I had not only blueberry doggy treats but salmon ones too! (a way to man's or beast's heart is through their stomach)
Kenzie...well she was normal Kenzie...weird, freaked out, completely paranoid over the whole situation. Bonus: she didn't pee on anything. I was happy.
Randi wanted to get a a group shot of all the dogs...right... Reggie and Crosby were no problem, they like each other and will nap together. Kenzie and Reggie are brother and sister and connected at the hip...but Kenzie and Crosby? Well...Kenzie likes to scream at him and he gets fed up with her strangeness (I mean he has been around for nearly 6 years now) and bops her on the head with his paw (which results in her turning ballistic and bit like the Tasmanian devil).
So, we tried and Kenzie was 'stiff' to say the least, Reggie wanted more food and Crosby was BORED...he knows every trip to the city means a visit to his best buddie's house or a trip to the dog park.
Trip to the dog park was funny for other reasons...Kathleen fell face first into mud, we were the only ones there and therefore I let the kids have free reign. The yorkies stood in the mud whining...they are not used to such harsh conditions like real dogs. Crosby got bored again with his sucky siblings.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Love at First Sight
Do you believe in it? I sure do cause it happened...and I have literally been swept off my feet!! Josh knows and understands cause he feels the same way....
Oh yes, we found a house....
We have been looking since Kathleen was a baby, we picked a neighbourhood that I grew up in (about an hour away)...it is upscale and lovely and horribly expensive....but the houses are nice and there was lots for sale in that area. We started going to open houses, and more and more...till we knew the neighborhood pretty good and the real estate agents knew us....
But we could never find the 'right' house, either too big, too ugly, not enough bedrooms, yard was too small, or the yard was just a cliff....or the big one was the price!! Prices out there are 3 times the cost of our current area.
A few weeks ago my husband mentioned a house down the street from us. It is older, looked larger and has not been lived in for many years. It had been taken off the market but the for sale signs are still up.
I emailed the real estate agent and a few days later I got a returned mail message. Being phone phobic I gave up but Josh ran into the real estate agent at his work place. They chatted about the house, another co-worker had worked in the house...
Josh works like a maniac and so do I, finding a day for us to see the house would be short of a miracle. This weekend we both had it off but Saturday was filled with a photo shoot for Kathleen's Kloset and then the doggy's had a photo shoot in the afternoon.
Sunday rolled around and Josh tried to call the real estate agent and no answer, in fact the phone kept sounding like a fax machine...but he did return our call to say he had been trying to reach the home owner for a few days and no luck and no chance to see the house this weekend. Bummed, we headed out for the afternoon at the family woodlot with my parents. On the way there we noticed the cell was near dead again and refused to charge again...(we need a new cell but I am hanging on to my blackberry!!). Enjoyed our time at the woodlot, kids had a blast, Mom and I had a nice talk, Crosby has fun running around loose and carefree.
On our way home, we noticed the cell decided to charge...and then it rang. Agent said he reached the owner and yes we could see the house! I called Mom and Dad and they met us at the house to go prowl through.
OH WHAT A HOUSE!!!! The kitchen was nasty and needs to be gutted, but there was a cut little sewing room that could be a nice shop/laundry room. A hidden set a stairs that was for the maids to the upstairs. A dining room that had cupboards built into the wall and a little door that opened from the kitchen so food could be served through. A living room with a real fireplace that works, another living room, a sun porch, a hallway so large it could be another room...hardwood floors and gorgeous woodwork.
The upstairs was insane...there are 6 bedrooms in this house! The furniture was antique and I was terrified of the kids knocking over anything! There are little closets in every room, one room has a hidden set of stairs to the attic, which was as spooky and huge and cool as any attic I read about in books. The yard is insanely huge, and the view...oh it is amazing since it faces the bay and the house is next to the falls.
The downer? It needs work...lots of it just to move in. Needs electrical, heat, a new kitchen, insulation, a fence....so much work and the owner wants a bit too much money for all the work that is needed...but I want it! And so does Josh! This house has some magic to it! It has rooms to be filled and I can see us living there and making it ours...
So the next scary step is Josh going to the bank. If they say no I am hoping we will have time to do what is needed to make the house ours before someone else snatches it away.
But for now I am madly, deeply in LOVE!
Oh yes, we found a house....
We have been looking since Kathleen was a baby, we picked a neighbourhood that I grew up in (about an hour away)...it is upscale and lovely and horribly expensive....but the houses are nice and there was lots for sale in that area. We started going to open houses, and more and more...till we knew the neighborhood pretty good and the real estate agents knew us....
But we could never find the 'right' house, either too big, too ugly, not enough bedrooms, yard was too small, or the yard was just a cliff....or the big one was the price!! Prices out there are 3 times the cost of our current area.
A few weeks ago my husband mentioned a house down the street from us. It is older, looked larger and has not been lived in for many years. It had been taken off the market but the for sale signs are still up.
I emailed the real estate agent and a few days later I got a returned mail message. Being phone phobic I gave up but Josh ran into the real estate agent at his work place. They chatted about the house, another co-worker had worked in the house...
Josh works like a maniac and so do I, finding a day for us to see the house would be short of a miracle. This weekend we both had it off but Saturday was filled with a photo shoot for Kathleen's Kloset and then the doggy's had a photo shoot in the afternoon.
Sunday rolled around and Josh tried to call the real estate agent and no answer, in fact the phone kept sounding like a fax machine...but he did return our call to say he had been trying to reach the home owner for a few days and no luck and no chance to see the house this weekend. Bummed, we headed out for the afternoon at the family woodlot with my parents. On the way there we noticed the cell was near dead again and refused to charge again...(we need a new cell but I am hanging on to my blackberry!!). Enjoyed our time at the woodlot, kids had a blast, Mom and I had a nice talk, Crosby has fun running around loose and carefree.
On our way home, we noticed the cell decided to charge...and then it rang. Agent said he reached the owner and yes we could see the house! I called Mom and Dad and they met us at the house to go prowl through.
OH WHAT A HOUSE!!!! The kitchen was nasty and needs to be gutted, but there was a cut little sewing room that could be a nice shop/laundry room. A hidden set a stairs that was for the maids to the upstairs. A dining room that had cupboards built into the wall and a little door that opened from the kitchen so food could be served through. A living room with a real fireplace that works, another living room, a sun porch, a hallway so large it could be another room...hardwood floors and gorgeous woodwork.
The upstairs was insane...there are 6 bedrooms in this house! The furniture was antique and I was terrified of the kids knocking over anything! There are little closets in every room, one room has a hidden set of stairs to the attic, which was as spooky and huge and cool as any attic I read about in books. The yard is insanely huge, and the view...oh it is amazing since it faces the bay and the house is next to the falls.
The downer? It needs work...lots of it just to move in. Needs electrical, heat, a new kitchen, insulation, a fence....so much work and the owner wants a bit too much money for all the work that is needed...but I want it! And so does Josh! This house has some magic to it! It has rooms to be filled and I can see us living there and making it ours...
So the next scary step is Josh going to the bank. If they say no I am hoping we will have time to do what is needed to make the house ours before someone else snatches it away.
But for now I am madly, deeply in LOVE!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Flying with Feather Dusters
I am a rotten housekeeper. I truly am!! I am not going to post any gross pictures of how BAD of a house keeper I am but if you look closely at any of the pictures I do post wiht the kids insde you can clearly see what I rotten little housekeeper I really am.
I despise dishes, those I can let build up and up and up....I am ashamed that it was the number one reason my roommates hated me:(
IU love clean and tidy houses and I wish my house was clean and tidy but I have found that after work and kids and laundry...I am BEAT! I just don't have a clue! Please don't tell me to JUST DO IT...well that doesn't just happen! i run around tidying and then look around and see the house looks no better.
BUT!!! (oh yes! I have a but in there!!) There was ONE time in my life my house was NEAT as a FREAKIN PIN!!! When I was pregnant with Charlie, I followed Flylady.
I have known about flyady since 2004, when I was pregnant with Peter but I only half followed it...but then we bought our FIRST house!! Oh, I wanted to be the housekeeper in my dreams!
I followed Flylady hardcore, I had the control journal, did the tasks, read the emails, etc... it drove me nuts and in 3 weeks I realized my house was SPOTLESS!! I was so excited!!! it hardly took any time but I felt so in control and I really was on cloud nine.
Even after Charles was born, I went back into my routine and the house stayed tidy and clean and I was so proud!!
When Charlie was 11 weeks old I went back to school, opened a business and the house went to hell in a handbasket.
Since then, I have been a rotten housekeeper, very rare do we have company over because I cannot handle the stress of crisis cleaning!!
My career days are coming to an ending due to an injury that has reared its ugly head and making my working life miserable and making me considering just folding my business SOON. but I am secretly VERY excited because I am going back to Flylady!!
(I know there are tons of people who work and do Flylady...lovely for you, I cannot, not in my genetic makeup.)
I know Flylady works for me and I was so proud of my home...when I was in the hospital with Charlie my darling husband decided he would make ME proud and go through my cleaning journal and follow my routine...he started in the mid afternoon and was still cleaning till 3am...not realizing that there was a method to the madness and the routine only took an hour but it made me feel like SuperHousewife!!
I am excited about getting my daughter's room TIDY...it has been a wreck for over a YEAR...I have not had the entire house tidy since Charlie's infancy....
Sounds funny that the girl who HATES housecleaning cannot wait to leave her job she loves to clean...
I despise dishes, those I can let build up and up and up....I am ashamed that it was the number one reason my roommates hated me:(
IU love clean and tidy houses and I wish my house was clean and tidy but I have found that after work and kids and laundry...I am BEAT! I just don't have a clue! Please don't tell me to JUST DO IT...well that doesn't just happen! i run around tidying and then look around and see the house looks no better.
BUT!!! (oh yes! I have a but in there!!) There was ONE time in my life my house was NEAT as a FREAKIN PIN!!! When I was pregnant with Charlie, I followed Flylady.
I have known about flyady since 2004, when I was pregnant with Peter but I only half followed it...but then we bought our FIRST house!! Oh, I wanted to be the housekeeper in my dreams!
I followed Flylady hardcore, I had the control journal, did the tasks, read the emails, etc... it drove me nuts and in 3 weeks I realized my house was SPOTLESS!! I was so excited!!! it hardly took any time but I felt so in control and I really was on cloud nine.
Even after Charles was born, I went back into my routine and the house stayed tidy and clean and I was so proud!!
When Charlie was 11 weeks old I went back to school, opened a business and the house went to hell in a handbasket.
Since then, I have been a rotten housekeeper, very rare do we have company over because I cannot handle the stress of crisis cleaning!!
My career days are coming to an ending due to an injury that has reared its ugly head and making my working life miserable and making me considering just folding my business SOON. but I am secretly VERY excited because I am going back to Flylady!!
(I know there are tons of people who work and do Flylady...lovely for you, I cannot, not in my genetic makeup.)
I know Flylady works for me and I was so proud of my home...when I was in the hospital with Charlie my darling husband decided he would make ME proud and go through my cleaning journal and follow my routine...he started in the mid afternoon and was still cleaning till 3am...not realizing that there was a method to the madness and the routine only took an hour but it made me feel like SuperHousewife!!
I am excited about getting my daughter's room TIDY...it has been a wreck for over a YEAR...I have not had the entire house tidy since Charlie's infancy....
Sounds funny that the girl who HATES housecleaning cannot wait to leave her job she loves to clean...
Searching...
Josh is back on night shift...feels like lately all he does is work (cause in fact he does work nearly all the time, no days off here!) and I am doing my usual 5 year old routine of not going to bed when I should. Instead of crawling into bed like a sensible person, I am scrolling through blogs, entering new sights, reading, hoping to find some thing that will pique my interest.
The simple truth is I want something to ease the lonely feelings. Drives Josh bananas that I am this needy...cause lordy knows he is not but 'I yam who I yam!', I know there are millions of woman just like me and I wish I could take come comfort in that.
I would rather both home bored with him then alone and bored.
Besides? Who can get bored sitting at home with a guy like him? :)
The simple truth is I want something to ease the lonely feelings. Drives Josh bananas that I am this needy...cause lordy knows he is not but 'I yam who I yam!', I know there are millions of woman just like me and I wish I could take come comfort in that.
I would rather both home bored with him then alone and bored.
Besides? Who can get bored sitting at home with a guy like him? :)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Not too shabby...
When I arrived in Atlanta I had a split moment thought that I would never leave...cause the grass was green, the air was WARM, the roses were in bloom....and well...Canada had 6 feet of snow covering everything...can you understand why it was tempting to just call hubby and ask him to drive down??
I belong to an awesome soriety of sorts call the CATS aka the Cape and Tiara Society, we are all dog groomers and we do good things for others by raising money sending cards, etc. And we wear dorky crowns and walk around the convention like we own the place (cuz we are so cool...)
Competing was time consuming, you have to bond with the dog, play with the dog comb out the dog, get a bathing time at an ungodly hour, wake up at 5am to get ready...in the ring I nearly cried. Normally you have 1-3" of extra hair...I had 18" (we measured cause it was so funny). The dog was well behaved and looked like a new dog when i was done but I was SOOOO tired and terrified and MAD!! I was! I KNEW I did not have a chance in hades to win, and I like to win...I had 2.5 hours to groom and the first hour was spent HACKING off extra hair...when i should have been sculpting...
But after the winners were announced i was ready to leave the judge waved me over and told me she had me pegged at 4th!!!! That is insane!!! it is the world largest grooming competition and I came 4th in my division!! But I got a free lesson and learned a ton, got a ton of sleep and lost 17lbs eating nothing but junk food and good southern food (YUMMY!!!).
I am glad to be home, I took the remaining week off because of march break here but I do NOT want to go back to work...and I also now know that my grooming days are very numbered, my rotator cuff is torn and not getting better. So between eating Ibuprofen (which causes stomach/liver issues) and wishing I could stay home to get this house CLEANER...ugh....I am feeling less and less like going back.
I am saying for sure I am DONE July 1st....but that date may move up sooner...
I belong to an awesome soriety of sorts call the CATS aka the Cape and Tiara Society, we are all dog groomers and we do good things for others by raising money sending cards, etc. And we wear dorky crowns and walk around the convention like we own the place (cuz we are so cool...)
Competing was time consuming, you have to bond with the dog, play with the dog comb out the dog, get a bathing time at an ungodly hour, wake up at 5am to get ready...in the ring I nearly cried. Normally you have 1-3" of extra hair...I had 18" (we measured cause it was so funny). The dog was well behaved and looked like a new dog when i was done but I was SOOOO tired and terrified and MAD!! I was! I KNEW I did not have a chance in hades to win, and I like to win...I had 2.5 hours to groom and the first hour was spent HACKING off extra hair...when i should have been sculpting...
But after the winners were announced i was ready to leave the judge waved me over and told me she had me pegged at 4th!!!! That is insane!!! it is the world largest grooming competition and I came 4th in my division!! But I got a free lesson and learned a ton, got a ton of sleep and lost 17lbs eating nothing but junk food and good southern food (YUMMY!!!).
I am glad to be home, I took the remaining week off because of march break here but I do NOT want to go back to work...and I also now know that my grooming days are very numbered, my rotator cuff is torn and not getting better. So between eating Ibuprofen (which causes stomach/liver issues) and wishing I could stay home to get this house CLEANER...ugh....I am feeling less and less like going back.
I am saying for sure I am DONE July 1st....but that date may move up sooner...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Leaving on a Jet Plane...
ON WEDNESDAY! (sorry I had to use caps I am that excited!). I am flying out to Atlanta, GA, for a dog grooming seminar and competition! (without the chillans and hubby!) Poor Josh is going to have to care for all three kids for 3 days with no help from me! Then my mother and mother-in-law are splitting up the kids for the weekend.
My kids are so excited for me to leave it isn't funny! (to them it means getting away with murder and presents when I return!).
I need this trip! Some people didn't think I should be going (leaving others to the mercy of my kids!!) but I need a little ME time, a refresher! I will be homesick by day three (I always am!), but it will feel good!!!
This trip has already had some speed bumps in the way...we didn't know if Josh would have a job come April 1st, flights were insanely expensive, trying to find sitters, sitters backing out, family voicing opinions that I should not go (which hurts, I would kill for some support), application snafu's, hotel snafu's, dog snafu's...I am hoping all the little bumps are DONE and now I can go with no issues.
I am renting a dog (yes you can rent dogs!)...a chubby black standard poodle with a short tail (not great but will do!). I am terrible nervous, not a bit packed, and in no way ready at all!!
I also do not plan to win the competition...this is the world's LARGEST grooming competition! I mean to place there is like AMAZING...and really short of a miracle...I may need a little miracle there!
I am also realizing this is probably my LAST seminar and trip and competition for a few years...which kills me in some ways! There is a competition in Ontario that is not too expensive to attend but it is being held in the middle of summer...and you cannot fly dogs in the summer (lovely heat embargo...right now it is a winter embargo...cannot win!)...so I scratched that off my list...and come fall? Well if you read my blog (very few do so I am may be talking to outer space right now) then you know we are planning/thinking/dreaming of having Bagley #4....travelling with a nursing baby is not going to happen...
So, off I go in a couple of days! Wish me luck! I will be happy with a smooth travel, no hiccups, a decent groom (a placement would be pretty sweet but good comments would be nice) and FUN! Spoonfuls of it!!
My kids are so excited for me to leave it isn't funny! (to them it means getting away with murder and presents when I return!).
I need this trip! Some people didn't think I should be going (leaving others to the mercy of my kids!!) but I need a little ME time, a refresher! I will be homesick by day three (I always am!), but it will feel good!!!
This trip has already had some speed bumps in the way...we didn't know if Josh would have a job come April 1st, flights were insanely expensive, trying to find sitters, sitters backing out, family voicing opinions that I should not go (which hurts, I would kill for some support), application snafu's, hotel snafu's, dog snafu's...I am hoping all the little bumps are DONE and now I can go with no issues.
I am renting a dog (yes you can rent dogs!)...a chubby black standard poodle with a short tail (not great but will do!). I am terrible nervous, not a bit packed, and in no way ready at all!!
I also do not plan to win the competition...this is the world's LARGEST grooming competition! I mean to place there is like AMAZING...and really short of a miracle...I may need a little miracle there!
I am also realizing this is probably my LAST seminar and trip and competition for a few years...which kills me in some ways! There is a competition in Ontario that is not too expensive to attend but it is being held in the middle of summer...and you cannot fly dogs in the summer (lovely heat embargo...right now it is a winter embargo...cannot win!)...so I scratched that off my list...and come fall? Well if you read my blog (very few do so I am may be talking to outer space right now) then you know we are planning/thinking/dreaming of having Bagley #4....travelling with a nursing baby is not going to happen...
So, off I go in a couple of days! Wish me luck! I will be happy with a smooth travel, no hiccups, a decent groom (a placement would be pretty sweet but good comments would be nice) and FUN! Spoonfuls of it!!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Selling the Dream
I did it! I put my little shop up for sale! In some ways it was bittersweet. I worked so hard for that dream. I have spent too many hours in that shop and I really have enjoyed working there. I made it successful and I am proud over my accomplishment.
In some ways I am scared when (or if!) I get that call and someone is interested...not for the change but rather the paperwork that will be involved to legal sell the business.
I am already anxious and wishing the place would SELL already! I am worried because shops in my area do not typically get bought or sold...they just close.
But this is perfect for someone who doesn't want the risk of opening a business (95% of new businesses close within one year...) because it is already established...I already did all the hard work! I will admit I didn't give it my all the past two years because I have been trying to balance work and family (family seems to win...) and the shop could be bigger, my clients, more money coming through the doors.
Once it is sold I will work from home (once the new home shop is built) cause I really cannot just stop dog grooming, I mean it is FUN...and I like making money doing things I love. It is also nice knowing that if need be I could support my family.
Now I wait....for it to sell...
So, wanna buy a pet grooming shop?
In some ways I am scared when (or if!) I get that call and someone is interested...not for the change but rather the paperwork that will be involved to legal sell the business.
I am already anxious and wishing the place would SELL already! I am worried because shops in my area do not typically get bought or sold...they just close.
But this is perfect for someone who doesn't want the risk of opening a business (95% of new businesses close within one year...) because it is already established...I already did all the hard work! I will admit I didn't give it my all the past two years because I have been trying to balance work and family (family seems to win...) and the shop could be bigger, my clients, more money coming through the doors.
Once it is sold I will work from home (once the new home shop is built) cause I really cannot just stop dog grooming, I mean it is FUN...and I like making money doing things I love. It is also nice knowing that if need be I could support my family.
Now I wait....for it to sell...
So, wanna buy a pet grooming shop?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Crafter ADD
I love to craft and create and buy things to create things with...and I have a massive hoard to prove it!!!
During and directly after high school I had a TON of crafting stuff. Back then I painted, and did miniatures and some bad sewing. The hoard filled the one and only closet in the apartment. Between my full time job and full time university load I never had time, and it sat there...and sat there...and every time I had to open that closet I was ashamed...so I stopped buying craft stuff and forced myself to sit down and decide what to keep and FINISH and what to throw out.
2 years later...I finished the last craft. I was pretty decent about buying no more craft stuff...then I because a dog groomer...and had retail and made most of the clothes. i bought stuff for that and it sold very well! I had a lot of fun making cute doggy stuff! (yes, for you non-dog lovers we do like to dress our dogs, some people are not blessed with children and dogs are more then willing to fill that empty spot).
The third baby and pregnancy from hell, stopped the sewing...(hard to sew and not get vomit on anything!). I packed up the sewing stuff and material in ONE tote (I am proud of that!) and stored it.
Last summer came a new venture...bows! Tutus!! Then a new serger for Xmas which I have had no time to use!! I am seriously having too much fun with girly stuff!! I found out how to get really good prices (and no, I cannot share tell you why someday).
The hoard now has two sections in the house, is a permanent wreck...more keeps coming cause I keep buying but life is very busy right now...I start something and stop, start and stop, too tired, not now...and all those other excuses.
I am going to try to be more diligent about finishing some things!!!! I am telling myself NO new projects till I FINISH something...and that feels like pulling teeth sometimes.
I will post them here...I am still on a personal ego high from having something featured on Prudent Baby!!
During and directly after high school I had a TON of crafting stuff. Back then I painted, and did miniatures and some bad sewing. The hoard filled the one and only closet in the apartment. Between my full time job and full time university load I never had time, and it sat there...and sat there...and every time I had to open that closet I was ashamed...so I stopped buying craft stuff and forced myself to sit down and decide what to keep and FINISH and what to throw out.
2 years later...I finished the last craft. I was pretty decent about buying no more craft stuff...then I because a dog groomer...and had retail and made most of the clothes. i bought stuff for that and it sold very well! I had a lot of fun making cute doggy stuff! (yes, for you non-dog lovers we do like to dress our dogs, some people are not blessed with children and dogs are more then willing to fill that empty spot).
The third baby and pregnancy from hell, stopped the sewing...(hard to sew and not get vomit on anything!). I packed up the sewing stuff and material in ONE tote (I am proud of that!) and stored it.
Last summer came a new venture...bows! Tutus!! Then a new serger for Xmas which I have had no time to use!! I am seriously having too much fun with girly stuff!! I found out how to get really good prices (and no, I cannot share tell you why someday).
The hoard now has two sections in the house, is a permanent wreck...more keeps coming cause I keep buying but life is very busy right now...I start something and stop, start and stop, too tired, not now...and all those other excuses.
I am going to try to be more diligent about finishing some things!!!! I am telling myself NO new projects till I FINISH something...and that feels like pulling teeth sometimes.
I will post them here...I am still on a personal ego high from having something featured on Prudent Baby!!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Groovin to the Oldies...
Happy V-day...Josh I spent a good 20 minutes playing with that...Happy VROOM Day! Happy Vacation Day!! Happy Venereal Disease Day!!! (Josh blurts that one out as we were paying for something at the cashier station...he thought he was pretty funny...)
Every year Josh gets me lovely, over priced red roses...and he buys me more and more every year. I do love flowers!! They are pretty! They smell nice!! I also have small children that love to pick the petals off...and no where to place flowers in this tiny house. They usually end up sitting on the counter till they die...(now my sister Leah hangs her up and lets them dry and they displays those...not my thing, in my house the spiders would think I gave them a new scented pad).
This year roses were not going to work....
Mister Arthur is 7 months old and has no brains. He will eat the roses...we all bet he will because he eats everything else.
Cards are nice...you spend too much money on paper and then throw it away...or keep it out of guilt and throw it away someday or hope it is ruined somehow, while in storage ...and takes up space.. Ugh!
I wanted to do something romantic!! Timing was a massive issue too, Josh has had like 3 days off since Christmas...the man is going to have to change her personal address from home to work.
This year we were cheap, but thoughtful. We did playlists! 14 songs for the 14th of February...songs that made us laugh and smile and walked us down memory lane. We had some fun with this project. We both like music, not fanatics but we do like it. it was better then the usually valentine hoopala.
I started mine with the MOST romantic song. I remembered our favorite song from high school, we used to ALWAYS slow dance to that one. Josh and I love to dance and it is so rare that we get to do so, his work party had a dance and we had a blast!!! We danced to some new favorites. I also added an old stand by favorite, gotta love the oldies!
Josh's playlist made me laugh! I can't post what songs he picked but needless to say it was funny, made me laugh, was so NOT romantic but would make me blush scarlet in public.
It was a good day. A truly romantic day, which is rather significant considering we are as unromantic as you can get but we try.
Every year Josh gets me lovely, over priced red roses...and he buys me more and more every year. I do love flowers!! They are pretty! They smell nice!! I also have small children that love to pick the petals off...and no where to place flowers in this tiny house. They usually end up sitting on the counter till they die...(now my sister Leah hangs her up and lets them dry and they displays those...not my thing, in my house the spiders would think I gave them a new scented pad).
This year roses were not going to work....
Mister Arthur is 7 months old and has no brains. He will eat the roses...we all bet he will because he eats everything else.
Cards are nice...you spend too much money on paper and then throw it away...or keep it out of guilt and throw it away someday or hope it is ruined somehow, while in storage ...and takes up space.. Ugh!
I wanted to do something romantic!! Timing was a massive issue too, Josh has had like 3 days off since Christmas...the man is going to have to change her personal address from home to work.
This year we were cheap, but thoughtful. We did playlists! 14 songs for the 14th of February...songs that made us laugh and smile and walked us down memory lane. We had some fun with this project. We both like music, not fanatics but we do like it. it was better then the usually valentine hoopala.
I started mine with the MOST romantic song. I remembered our favorite song from high school, we used to ALWAYS slow dance to that one. Josh and I love to dance and it is so rare that we get to do so, his work party had a dance and we had a blast!!! We danced to some new favorites. I also added an old stand by favorite, gotta love the oldies!
Josh's playlist made me laugh! I can't post what songs he picked but needless to say it was funny, made me laugh, was so NOT romantic but would make me blush scarlet in public.
It was a good day. A truly romantic day, which is rather significant considering we are as unromantic as you can get but we try.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A kids theory of sweat and pain....
Do your remember yourself as a kid? Especially at recess? If you were anything like me, you ran through the playground at least twice, jumped rope for the full hour of lunch, played in gym and never stopped or slowed down, slid down hills for hours, public skating on Friday nights, you skated till the Zamboni forced you off...
Fast forward 20 years...jumping rope is a form a gym torture, screw the playground...I don't want bust anything, when I exercise I need rest periods...you get the picture. It is HARD now!!
I went sledding with my kids for the first time (sad excuse for a mother I know...). Instead of doing the parental thing I standing and watching and advising ( Please don't slide into the neighbors boat!!! Mommy cannot afford to replace that!) No I WENT sledding. I also took Miss Kathleen for her first time. Walking through the snow to the hill was HARD...well I thought I was going to die, cause 2-3 feet of snow that you sink through and is heavy...makes walking very, very labor intensive.
Flying down the hill, on a plastic saucer sled, with a squealing two year old was insanely fun!!! The ride of 5 seconds was awesome!! Walking back up the hill made me reconsider the awesomeness...and I thought of going into parental mode of watching but I HAD to go again...and again...and again...and faster...
As the kids and I trudged up the hill I realized that it was no picnic for the kids to climb up that hill either,they were tired and cold, and their legs hurt from dredging through that snow but payoff was FUN!! So what if it was torture to walk up that hill? We talked about how the last ride was, how cool and how fast! Once at the top we were all giddy with the next ride, my kids do not even think of that climb afterwards!
Last summer we did some geocatching, we thought it would be way fun! It was!! But sometimes we (as in the adults) would get cross with our kids who would cry and stumble and fall, while walking through brush and swamps...but they wanted to do this! It was fun because you were really treasure hunting! Our GPS died (yes it worked great for finding coordinates!!) and that ended the geocatching but last night we discussed saving and buying a nice little tool especially for geocatching. it makes hiking so much cooler!
So, here is to to fun and pain and maybe slimmer thighs for Mommy if she just focuses on the fun!
Fast forward 20 years...jumping rope is a form a gym torture, screw the playground...I don't want bust anything, when I exercise I need rest periods...you get the picture. It is HARD now!!
I went sledding with my kids for the first time (sad excuse for a mother I know...). Instead of doing the parental thing I standing and watching and advising ( Please don't slide into the neighbors boat!!! Mommy cannot afford to replace that!) No I WENT sledding. I also took Miss Kathleen for her first time. Walking through the snow to the hill was HARD...well I thought I was going to die, cause 2-3 feet of snow that you sink through and is heavy...makes walking very, very labor intensive.
Flying down the hill, on a plastic saucer sled, with a squealing two year old was insanely fun!!! The ride of 5 seconds was awesome!! Walking back up the hill made me reconsider the awesomeness...and I thought of going into parental mode of watching but I HAD to go again...and again...and again...and faster...
As the kids and I trudged up the hill I realized that it was no picnic for the kids to climb up that hill either,they were tired and cold, and their legs hurt from dredging through that snow but payoff was FUN!! So what if it was torture to walk up that hill? We talked about how the last ride was, how cool and how fast! Once at the top we were all giddy with the next ride, my kids do not even think of that climb afterwards!
Last summer we did some geocatching, we thought it would be way fun! It was!! But sometimes we (as in the adults) would get cross with our kids who would cry and stumble and fall, while walking through brush and swamps...but they wanted to do this! It was fun because you were really treasure hunting! Our GPS died (yes it worked great for finding coordinates!!) and that ended the geocatching but last night we discussed saving and buying a nice little tool especially for geocatching. it makes hiking so much cooler!
So, here is to to fun and pain and maybe slimmer thighs for Mommy if she just focuses on the fun!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Some Days Are Longer then Others...
I have a child who hates sleep, fights sleep, resents sleep...as a result I am sleep deprived! But the dirty truth is she is just like me!! I hate to go to sleep, I am sad when the day is done...I want to just stay up and keep going!
Darling little Kathleen has taught me to ENJOY sleep and try to get as much as I can...I am still working on that part...tonight I really wanted to go to bed early but my little daughter is still up and midnight is fast approaching.
On a brighter note my little headband was showcased on Prudent Baby!
I am absolutely THRILLED!! It has really brightened my tired spirit!
Wish i could say I am off to bed but the nighttime tantrum continues...I wish I had Charlie's gift of sleeping through the noise!
Darling little Kathleen has taught me to ENJOY sleep and try to get as much as I can...I am still working on that part...tonight I really wanted to go to bed early but my little daughter is still up and midnight is fast approaching.
On a brighter note my little headband was showcased on Prudent Baby!
I am absolutely THRILLED!! It has really brightened my tired spirit!
Wish i could say I am off to bed but the nighttime tantrum continues...I wish I had Charlie's gift of sleeping through the noise!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sleeping Alone...
I never sleep alone...ever...Kathleen always makes sure that if half the bed is empty, she will occupy it happily. the trouble with Miss Kathleen is she really doesn't like to sleep...she can go on 2-3 hours in a 24 hour period...oh ya! I have never seen a kid that can eat as much and sleep as little as this monkey!
Josh and the boys are all great sleepers (when healthy...when sick, I am up hourly nursing cause you know guys and colds??), once asleep I hear nothing till 6:50am.
Me? Well, I am a former insomniac (guess where Kathleen gets her tendencies?) but since having chillans I have learned to TREASURE sleep! I still have an issue with GOING to bed at a decent hour...I just want to stay up, keep reading, keep checking things online, keep cleaning (no, not that very often, I will be honest but there have been a few times...), keep watching television.
I feel guilty because I harp at my kids and husband to go to bed at a decent hour, my kids are in bed between 6:30pm and 7pm, I kid you not. Josh falls asleep at 10pm, every night in front of the television...then I growl at him to go to bed, which he finally does around 12:30pm and I am up till 1pm...then woken 3-4 times by Kathleen...and up at 6:50am (thanks to Charles, who has an internal clock like a rooster).
Josh also works shift work...and works night shift. I have such a hard time going to that cold bed alone, locking up for the night...not because I am nervous or scared. I have three yappy dogs that bark if a snowflake falls too hard, and yes the big guy gets nasty with strangers when Josh is not home (wonder why no one pops by in the evening??), and my parents are next door.
It is really the loneliness of doing the bedtime ritual by myself. The finality of the day...to me, it is a wee bit depressing. So, I put it off and off and off and then out of pure exhaustion I realize it is SOOO late and I am going to be SOOO tired the next morning and I dread the morning. Nice self destructive pattern!
I was at church on Sunday (yes, I FINALLY made it back!! I was sicker then a dog but I decided no more excuses, and me dying wasn't going to count), and a friend commented that when her husband worked nights she did not go to bed at all, she stays up the entire night and HATES it...I completely understood but at the same time I had one of those moments! I was not alone in this but i really have to learn to accept it and make it better in some way or form.
This shift of nights, that Josh has been working, I have been getting my chores all finished before 9pm, then I allow myself that luxury of ME time. 10pm is a nice hot bath, jammies, a book. I have made new ritual I am LOVING!! I have a cold bed, our house is ancient and COLD upstairs...our room is the worst because I keep the door shut to keep the pets out...and no warm air. So, I took a pop bottle, filled it with HOT water, nice tight cap and placed it in bed! It is SOOOO nice to slip into a bed with fleece sheets and warm bottle at my feet! My toes are so toasty warm! It literally stay warm till morning.
Kathleen always joins my bed by at least 4am and we snuggle till morning. Our days of snuggling will get less and less as she gets older. I also know that part of her problem of not sleeping is being alone is her little bedroom...she needs a sister;)
Josh and the boys are all great sleepers (when healthy...when sick, I am up hourly nursing cause you know guys and colds??), once asleep I hear nothing till 6:50am.
Me? Well, I am a former insomniac (guess where Kathleen gets her tendencies?) but since having chillans I have learned to TREASURE sleep! I still have an issue with GOING to bed at a decent hour...I just want to stay up, keep reading, keep checking things online, keep cleaning (no, not that very often, I will be honest but there have been a few times...), keep watching television.
I feel guilty because I harp at my kids and husband to go to bed at a decent hour, my kids are in bed between 6:30pm and 7pm, I kid you not. Josh falls asleep at 10pm, every night in front of the television...then I growl at him to go to bed, which he finally does around 12:30pm and I am up till 1pm...then woken 3-4 times by Kathleen...and up at 6:50am (thanks to Charles, who has an internal clock like a rooster).
Josh also works shift work...and works night shift. I have such a hard time going to that cold bed alone, locking up for the night...not because I am nervous or scared. I have three yappy dogs that bark if a snowflake falls too hard, and yes the big guy gets nasty with strangers when Josh is not home (wonder why no one pops by in the evening??), and my parents are next door.
It is really the loneliness of doing the bedtime ritual by myself. The finality of the day...to me, it is a wee bit depressing. So, I put it off and off and off and then out of pure exhaustion I realize it is SOOO late and I am going to be SOOO tired the next morning and I dread the morning. Nice self destructive pattern!
I was at church on Sunday (yes, I FINALLY made it back!! I was sicker then a dog but I decided no more excuses, and me dying wasn't going to count), and a friend commented that when her husband worked nights she did not go to bed at all, she stays up the entire night and HATES it...I completely understood but at the same time I had one of those moments! I was not alone in this but i really have to learn to accept it and make it better in some way or form.
This shift of nights, that Josh has been working, I have been getting my chores all finished before 9pm, then I allow myself that luxury of ME time. 10pm is a nice hot bath, jammies, a book. I have made new ritual I am LOVING!! I have a cold bed, our house is ancient and COLD upstairs...our room is the worst because I keep the door shut to keep the pets out...and no warm air. So, I took a pop bottle, filled it with HOT water, nice tight cap and placed it in bed! It is SOOOO nice to slip into a bed with fleece sheets and warm bottle at my feet! My toes are so toasty warm! It literally stay warm till morning.
Kathleen always joins my bed by at least 4am and we snuggle till morning. Our days of snuggling will get less and less as she gets older. I also know that part of her problem of not sleeping is being alone is her little bedroom...she needs a sister;)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sew what's Up?
I love to craft, I have always been crafty. Going to my grandmother's house was a treat because we would be sewing, or making crafts with fabric. My mother encouraged any art work, bought me a sewing machine when I was in grade two or three.
I always thought that when I had a baby girl I would sew her anything and everything...I would be one of THOSE mothers....well life got in the way or rather work did.
In the past few months I have been crafting up a storm, I started making hair bows, started sewing for my daughter for the FIRST time...
I am such an oddball around people I know due to the fact I owned a sewing machine, I was excited that I got a serger for Christmas...and I knew what a serger WAS!
Then I discovered CRAFT blogs!! I was so excited!!! I am still excited when I see a new post!
So I have been having a little bit of fun, learning new things, getting new ideas, trying new things and going out of my comfort zone.
My projects so far:
The headband from Prudent Baby had me grinning, I whipped my version up for Kathleen and she was quite happy with my results, not perfect but we love it:)
Only picture I have of her wearing it...the blond twin cuties are not mine but cousins of my kiddies..cute huh?
I cannot wait till have have some free time and energy (aka no cold...) I have some BIGGER plans in mind...and I need to learn how to use power tools (told you I was going out of my comfort zone!)...Josh is scared!
I always thought that when I had a baby girl I would sew her anything and everything...I would be one of THOSE mothers....well life got in the way or rather work did.
In the past few months I have been crafting up a storm, I started making hair bows, started sewing for my daughter for the FIRST time...
I am such an oddball around people I know due to the fact I owned a sewing machine, I was excited that I got a serger for Christmas...and I knew what a serger WAS!
Then I discovered CRAFT blogs!! I was so excited!!! I am still excited when I see a new post!
So I have been having a little bit of fun, learning new things, getting new ideas, trying new things and going out of my comfort zone.
My projects so far:
The headband from Prudent Baby had me grinning, I whipped my version up for Kathleen and she was quite happy with my results, not perfect but we love it:)
My next project was pure excitement because it followed a long day of trying to figure out my new serger...only to find out I was doing it correctly.
So, I had to tackle the pillowcase dress, and yes, I did have this fabric just laying around because it was so pretty and girly...and I bought it before Kathleen was born...
I cannot wait till have have some free time and energy (aka no cold...) I have some BIGGER plans in mind...and I need to learn how to use power tools (told you I was going out of my comfort zone!)...Josh is scared!
Baby Power
Someone very dear to me is trying to quit smoking. Now, I have never smoked and have no idea how hard it is but I obviously understand that the struggle is tough.
She called yesterday trying to hang on to day three, she has helps in the way of meds but it was a difficult moment.
Straight to the point I asked the REAL reason why she was quitting...well she wants a baby and feels strongly about having her body clean and home clean for her child. So, as much as she LOVES cigarettes and as much as her body craves this one desire she was giving it up, making her self miserable, cranky, irritated...she wants her own family.
To give her mind ease we talked about babies, names, clothes, supplies...she felt stronger and then I had inspiration. I told her if she could hang on ONE week...just four more days, I will bring her a baby gift and a nice tote to start packing into. I will keep adding to this gift stash and when the scent and desire of smoking feels too much, go and open the 'Baby Box', smell that baby scent, look at those items and and feel the strength that you have!
When we got off the phone she said she was alright, excited and fine till the next round.
I lover her to death and I am excited to start shopping for this much wanted baby. I know there is a little one waiting and cheering her on across the veil.
She called yesterday trying to hang on to day three, she has helps in the way of meds but it was a difficult moment.
Straight to the point I asked the REAL reason why she was quitting...well she wants a baby and feels strongly about having her body clean and home clean for her child. So, as much as she LOVES cigarettes and as much as her body craves this one desire she was giving it up, making her self miserable, cranky, irritated...she wants her own family.
To give her mind ease we talked about babies, names, clothes, supplies...she felt stronger and then I had inspiration. I told her if she could hang on ONE week...just four more days, I will bring her a baby gift and a nice tote to start packing into. I will keep adding to this gift stash and when the scent and desire of smoking feels too much, go and open the 'Baby Box', smell that baby scent, look at those items and and feel the strength that you have!
When we got off the phone she said she was alright, excited and fine till the next round.
I lover her to death and I am excited to start shopping for this much wanted baby. I know there is a little one waiting and cheering her on across the veil.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Go..No, RUN!!!
I never win stuff. but here goes to hoping! I love blog's, I love what people say, what the create, how the reacte.
If you love beautiful homes and such go to the House of Smiths, her stuff is AMAZING!! Makes me wish my house were more beuatiful!
Better yet she is having a nice giveaway a lovely Silhouette!! It is on my list of things I GOTTA have!! Oh the things I will make!! I already have big plans...like a church shelf (not revealing what I totally mean till I get one!!)
The best part about the Silhouette? They will take your house from boring generic to one of the homes you sigh when you enter from contentment! I have always wanted a home that was memorable for GOOD reasons...(at the moment no one is forgetting the half finished reno's or the the falling plaster walls...
So run over and enter and hope *I* win;)
If you love beautiful homes and such go to the House of Smiths, her stuff is AMAZING!! Makes me wish my house were more beuatiful!
Better yet she is having a nice giveaway a lovely Silhouette!! It is on my list of things I GOTTA have!! Oh the things I will make!! I already have big plans...like a church shelf (not revealing what I totally mean till I get one!!)
The best part about the Silhouette? They will take your house from boring generic to one of the homes you sigh when you enter from contentment! I have always wanted a home that was memorable for GOOD reasons...(at the moment no one is forgetting the half finished reno's or the the falling plaster walls...
So run over and enter and hope *I* win;)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hockey Hookey and other Ramblings
I hate hockey...really loathe it...not the game itself, that is exciting, fun to watch, fun to cheer on! But the practices!!! UGH!!!! Josh is gone three nights a week to his games...i wish he was home but the alone time is nice and he gets out with his friends. It does get annoying when he has been working like crazy and I have not seen him in a while but he has to run out to hockey!!
Peter also plays...he is cute, so little, he loves it!! When Josh takes him, he volunteers as a coach, the kids LIVE for Tues nights and Sat mornings.
But when Josh is working? Oh the fun! I have to rush home from work (some days it is harder then others), pick up the kids from daycare, scrounge some food.
I can say I am now pretty proficient about getting him in his gear, that I can do quickly but it is interjected with Peter telling me I am doing it in the wrong order...but he cannot remember the order either...
Once he is on the ice, I then have the fun hour is freezing in an unheated arena, entertaining a 2 year old and a 4 yeard old...who only want to run the length of the bleachers, to the annoyance of the the other watching parents. They fight and throw tantrums, complain they are hungry, whine they are cold...
Other parents give me the 'look', you know the, 'If they were MY kids...' look. Majority of the parents have one of two children, that are respectively spaced 4-5 years apart. if I only had to watch one, it would be a different story but two??
They are tired becauyse hockey ends AFTER their bedtime...and we have not even had supper...home we go, supper is quick and usually toast.
Bedtime is filled with the sounds of howling and yelling.
So, here I sit. I am so tired, work was what I call a failure. Half of the clients called on Sunday and cancelled, I go into work on Tues so I arrive and half my pay is gone already and no time to rebook. I am over tired from Kathleen being up half the night, slightly shaky from not eating (there were 6 pieces of bread left...the kids got two each, you do the math). The kids all went to bed howling, the boys are cold and tired, the house is cold from the fire not being tended all day.
I wanted to play hooky!! OH I SOOO wanted to!!! But I played hooky Saturday morning, and he missed that practice...and Josh was NOT happy. He called me this afternoon to make sure I took him down.
(***Please note that Josh has NEVER taken all three kids to hockey, directly after daycare, or working all day***)
I know my kids LOVE their activities and I want them to be involved but it is hard working a physical job (with a bum shoulder...nother vent for nother day), on 4-5 hours of sleep, having a messy house that I have no time or energy to clean, no meals made because their is not enough time to even throw a crockpot meal together...
I should add the roads were horribly slippery because of the snow that is coming down rapidly...summer tires just aint cuttin 'it!!
I am really living for my weekends...I love the money I bring in but on days like today...I made no money. The kids are unhappy, I am unhappy...this evening would have been 100% better if I could have laid down for 15 mins, had a decent lunch, cooked a nice supper and we all ate early, little ones bathed before we left, homework done. That I could suffer out, coming home to a nice warm house, kids could go to bed knowing that if they are tired in the morning no biggie cause we have no reason to be up at the crack of dawn.
I got through my day thinking of exit strategies! I am going to start packing up the stuff that has accumulated at the shop and is not needed! I am pushing dear Joshua to get the plans ready for the home shop, I have to call my landlord and find out what steps need to be taken to leave my rental (thankful I have NO lease and it is month to month!!!)
I am trying to keep my motivation going by thinking about the things I want to buy. I need to order some stuff for my crafting. I just scored a Sizzix BigKick for $32 at Michael's! Still in original package, never opened...there was a little plastic doo-hickey that was bent and kinda broken, but when I was looking at it I realized it was a cap that comes OFF and you insert the handle into it!! I was SOOO excited because I have been price shopping and trying to find the best deal on these babies!
I did not buy any dyes yet, I am going to order them online (so much cheaper then what our local store was selling them for). I also need to order some felt...I did my research and I want wool, not the fake stuff...wool. Now the hunt for the best price and quality...
I need to order my ribbon (of course!), desperately need to get my flower stock back up (It is VERY low), order some tulle...oh ya! Craft show season is coming up...I have two shows in May...then November I have three major ones and one minor.
But my next big toy? I want a Silhouette!! Oooh!!!! Oh the fun I am gonna have with that!!! I have some BIG plans! Christmas Gifts are going to be 100% handmade by ME this year!
Where am I going to find time? Well since no one I know reads my blog, I am going to spill the beans...we are planning to start trying for a baby in April! I am REALLY excited! My baby is now 2.5 yrs, I miss having someone who wants to cuddle all the time, or can walk (I really love'em when they are immobile!)
Some people in our families do NOT want us to have more kids, we constantly get glares or speeches of why we should not have more kids, why it is a bad idea and not to dare tell them we are expecting.
With the way things are now, I can see their point, we are too busy (well I am)...but my big worry of course is the morning sickness. When I was preggers with Peter, it was not an issue, with Charlie...well there were a couple of weeks that were rough but Kathleen? it was BAD! I know I cannot go through that again and try to work.
Josh of course wants me to work till he gets the new shop completed (around August), i am thinking of a different course...more like get my orders all completed and set for craft show season, get my entries all paid. Set a wee bit of money aside...by then I will was TTC...slowly clean out my shop, have my exit plan in place. So, if and when morning sickness hits, I will be OFF, DONE, KAPUT! I would rather suffer it out at home, in privacy, then try to function as a human being working with the public!
Maybe I am jinxing myself and I I will not get MS at all? Doubt it! My gut feeling is saying I will be the same as last time.
And is all truth I want OUT!! I am not a budget er by any means but I would rather learn to be frugal and learn to budget them keep working outside the home and try to raise the family.
My mother kept saying, 'you are not superwoman', she is 100% correct, I am tired of trying to pretend I am. I know what I truly want and that is to be home with my kids. I won't mind making a little money on the side with my crafts and grooming from home but not at the pace I am going at now!
Peter also plays...he is cute, so little, he loves it!! When Josh takes him, he volunteers as a coach, the kids LIVE for Tues nights and Sat mornings.
But when Josh is working? Oh the fun! I have to rush home from work (some days it is harder then others), pick up the kids from daycare, scrounge some food.
I can say I am now pretty proficient about getting him in his gear, that I can do quickly but it is interjected with Peter telling me I am doing it in the wrong order...but he cannot remember the order either...
Once he is on the ice, I then have the fun hour is freezing in an unheated arena, entertaining a 2 year old and a 4 yeard old...who only want to run the length of the bleachers, to the annoyance of the the other watching parents. They fight and throw tantrums, complain they are hungry, whine they are cold...
Other parents give me the 'look', you know the, 'If they were MY kids...' look. Majority of the parents have one of two children, that are respectively spaced 4-5 years apart. if I only had to watch one, it would be a different story but two??
They are tired becauyse hockey ends AFTER their bedtime...and we have not even had supper...home we go, supper is quick and usually toast.
Bedtime is filled with the sounds of howling and yelling.
So, here I sit. I am so tired, work was what I call a failure. Half of the clients called on Sunday and cancelled, I go into work on Tues so I arrive and half my pay is gone already and no time to rebook. I am over tired from Kathleen being up half the night, slightly shaky from not eating (there were 6 pieces of bread left...the kids got two each, you do the math). The kids all went to bed howling, the boys are cold and tired, the house is cold from the fire not being tended all day.
I wanted to play hooky!! OH I SOOO wanted to!!! But I played hooky Saturday morning, and he missed that practice...and Josh was NOT happy. He called me this afternoon to make sure I took him down.
(***Please note that Josh has NEVER taken all three kids to hockey, directly after daycare, or working all day***)
I know my kids LOVE their activities and I want them to be involved but it is hard working a physical job (with a bum shoulder...nother vent for nother day), on 4-5 hours of sleep, having a messy house that I have no time or energy to clean, no meals made because their is not enough time to even throw a crockpot meal together...
I should add the roads were horribly slippery because of the snow that is coming down rapidly...summer tires just aint cuttin 'it!!
I am really living for my weekends...I love the money I bring in but on days like today...I made no money. The kids are unhappy, I am unhappy...this evening would have been 100% better if I could have laid down for 15 mins, had a decent lunch, cooked a nice supper and we all ate early, little ones bathed before we left, homework done. That I could suffer out, coming home to a nice warm house, kids could go to bed knowing that if they are tired in the morning no biggie cause we have no reason to be up at the crack of dawn.
I got through my day thinking of exit strategies! I am going to start packing up the stuff that has accumulated at the shop and is not needed! I am pushing dear Joshua to get the plans ready for the home shop, I have to call my landlord and find out what steps need to be taken to leave my rental (thankful I have NO lease and it is month to month!!!)
I am trying to keep my motivation going by thinking about the things I want to buy. I need to order some stuff for my crafting. I just scored a Sizzix BigKick for $32 at Michael's! Still in original package, never opened...there was a little plastic doo-hickey that was bent and kinda broken, but when I was looking at it I realized it was a cap that comes OFF and you insert the handle into it!! I was SOOO excited because I have been price shopping and trying to find the best deal on these babies!
I did not buy any dyes yet, I am going to order them online (so much cheaper then what our local store was selling them for). I also need to order some felt...I did my research and I want wool, not the fake stuff...wool. Now the hunt for the best price and quality...
I need to order my ribbon (of course!), desperately need to get my flower stock back up (It is VERY low), order some tulle...oh ya! Craft show season is coming up...I have two shows in May...then November I have three major ones and one minor.
But my next big toy? I want a Silhouette!! Oooh!!!! Oh the fun I am gonna have with that!!! I have some BIG plans! Christmas Gifts are going to be 100% handmade by ME this year!
Where am I going to find time? Well since no one I know reads my blog, I am going to spill the beans...we are planning to start trying for a baby in April! I am REALLY excited! My baby is now 2.5 yrs, I miss having someone who wants to cuddle all the time, or can walk (I really love'em when they are immobile!)
Some people in our families do NOT want us to have more kids, we constantly get glares or speeches of why we should not have more kids, why it is a bad idea and not to dare tell them we are expecting.
With the way things are now, I can see their point, we are too busy (well I am)...but my big worry of course is the morning sickness. When I was preggers with Peter, it was not an issue, with Charlie...well there were a couple of weeks that were rough but Kathleen? it was BAD! I know I cannot go through that again and try to work.
Josh of course wants me to work till he gets the new shop completed (around August), i am thinking of a different course...more like get my orders all completed and set for craft show season, get my entries all paid. Set a wee bit of money aside...by then I will was TTC...slowly clean out my shop, have my exit plan in place. So, if and when morning sickness hits, I will be OFF, DONE, KAPUT! I would rather suffer it out at home, in privacy, then try to function as a human being working with the public!
Maybe I am jinxing myself and I I will not get MS at all? Doubt it! My gut feeling is saying I will be the same as last time.
And is all truth I want OUT!! I am not a budget er by any means but I would rather learn to be frugal and learn to budget them keep working outside the home and try to raise the family.
My mother kept saying, 'you are not superwoman', she is 100% correct, I am tired of trying to pretend I am. I know what I truly want and that is to be home with my kids. I won't mind making a little money on the side with my crafts and grooming from home but not at the pace I am going at now!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Waiting for Silence
It snowed last night, the sticky stuff that froze this morning. The roads are nice and slippery...I am not brave enough to venture out in our van. Summer tires are just not cutting it, the new tires are due to arrive this week. Doesn't make the driving less treacherous but it does give me a little more of a chance.
Peter had a difficult morning and we finally convinced him to go outside with his brother. They love the snow and I think if they never got wet or cold they would stay out till bedtime. Last night they begged to be allowed to play in the dark, didn't happen, maybe some evening when their father is home but not now. I worry too much about them, plus it is hard to watch them from the windows if i cannot see them.
Kathleen is fussing and wailing only like Kathleen can. She is miserable because of some molars trying to peek through her little gums. My kids have never been 'easy' teethers but Kathleen takes the cake. She is miserable, feels rotten and is making sure everyone knows it!! Trying to get her to nap it like trying to cuddle a porcupine! It can be done but who wants to go through with it?? The alternative of letting her stay up? No, I prefer MY sanity!! By 5pm she will start screaming that will last till 6:30pm...IF she falls asleep or we go into the realm of over tiredness...then the game is over and no one wins.
I only had to work three days this week, one day I cancelled due to another snowstorm. I LOVE staying home!! I really do! I never get bored, I have so much to do, things get done, laundry get folded and put away, dishes washed, yummy suppers concocted. I thinking today I would love make doughnuts...I have not made them since university days. I only made them once and they turned out but I have yet to even try them again.
Josh commented the other day that the number of loaves of bread we consume is staggering...I mentioned it would probably be cheaper to make it...another project for when I get to stay home permanently!
I do feel guilty about the thought of staying home! I am always wondering what my good and loyal clients would think? They have been coming to my shop every 4-6 weeks, faithfully staying with me and keeping my business going. But my shop is 40+ minutes away from my house, the drive is getting to me, my babysitting fees are over $800 a month, my rent is going up, I pay over $100 a week in gas, wear and tear on the car...I do make a good income but I could work from home and do only 20% of the work and make more money.
But some grooming injuries are showing up...back issues, a rotary cuff that is damaged, carpal tunnel, sciatica (and to think that while pregnant I worked and worked HARD with all these fun ailments!)...it is getting worse and worse and I do not want to rely on pills to get me through the day...knowing if I just stopped working like I do I wouldn't have problems.
Sad, us groomers love our jobs but the job doesn't love our bodies:(
While writing this post Kathleen feel asleep to the rhythmic sounds of me clicking on the keys.
Peter had a difficult morning and we finally convinced him to go outside with his brother. They love the snow and I think if they never got wet or cold they would stay out till bedtime. Last night they begged to be allowed to play in the dark, didn't happen, maybe some evening when their father is home but not now. I worry too much about them, plus it is hard to watch them from the windows if i cannot see them.
Kathleen is fussing and wailing only like Kathleen can. She is miserable because of some molars trying to peek through her little gums. My kids have never been 'easy' teethers but Kathleen takes the cake. She is miserable, feels rotten and is making sure everyone knows it!! Trying to get her to nap it like trying to cuddle a porcupine! It can be done but who wants to go through with it?? The alternative of letting her stay up? No, I prefer MY sanity!! By 5pm she will start screaming that will last till 6:30pm...IF she falls asleep or we go into the realm of over tiredness...then the game is over and no one wins.
I only had to work three days this week, one day I cancelled due to another snowstorm. I LOVE staying home!! I really do! I never get bored, I have so much to do, things get done, laundry get folded and put away, dishes washed, yummy suppers concocted. I thinking today I would love make doughnuts...I have not made them since university days. I only made them once and they turned out but I have yet to even try them again.
Josh commented the other day that the number of loaves of bread we consume is staggering...I mentioned it would probably be cheaper to make it...another project for when I get to stay home permanently!
I do feel guilty about the thought of staying home! I am always wondering what my good and loyal clients would think? They have been coming to my shop every 4-6 weeks, faithfully staying with me and keeping my business going. But my shop is 40+ minutes away from my house, the drive is getting to me, my babysitting fees are over $800 a month, my rent is going up, I pay over $100 a week in gas, wear and tear on the car...I do make a good income but I could work from home and do only 20% of the work and make more money.
But some grooming injuries are showing up...back issues, a rotary cuff that is damaged, carpal tunnel, sciatica (and to think that while pregnant I worked and worked HARD with all these fun ailments!)...it is getting worse and worse and I do not want to rely on pills to get me through the day...knowing if I just stopped working like I do I wouldn't have problems.
Sad, us groomers love our jobs but the job doesn't love our bodies:(
While writing this post Kathleen feel asleep to the rhythmic sounds of me clicking on the keys.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Couch War
You would think that a blog,as such titles, would be referring to couch space, who takes up too much room, or the kids fighting on the couch...but no.
This fight is between me and the dogs. (I gave up on the cat, cause he is down right evil and never obeys).
Before we had kids we had dogs, two cute little yorkies...and then we started our family and added a standard poodle...and more kids...
We spoiled our dogs because we, frankly, felt guilty. Guilty because they don't get walked as often as they should, don't get played with are often ignored and hushed and pushed aside due to the two legged children coming first. So, we let them on the couches. They cuddled with us, kept our spots warm, snuggled in blankets on the couch and made us say, 'Awwww!' at their cuteness.
No biggie? Well, now a new problem has emerged...and it stinks. Well. the couches stink. They smell like dog...and it is GROSS! I will admit I was nasally (is that a word?) blind. I could not smell it...I mean I work with dogs all day, and my dogs are probably slightly cleaner then the dogs I groom daily. Coming home I never smelled a thing.
Then we renovated and the couches were moved temporarily into a new room and for some strange reason my nose woke up in the strange surrounding and could smell the couches!
I think I turned red...and I was alone...I was THAT embarrassed!! How gross! How nasty!! I hate doggy smells!! ( I know someone is scratching their head wondering if I hate doggy smells that bad why I work as a dog groomer...well I make that gross smell go away!!). My girlfriend has a house full of dogs and cats and it NEVER smells doggie, it just smells clean at all times.
There is only one solution, get the couches professionally cleaned...but what would be the point if the stinkier-then-I-realized dogs get back on it...
I went to Costco and bought a nice large round dog bed, all for $22.47 (gotta love a deal) and brought that home...and officially BANNED the dogs from the couch.
Sounds easy?
Well my dogs are spoiled, and daily, hourly, ever 10 minutes...defy my orders and jump back on and I yell, 'OFF!' and they glare, I then stand up and stamp my foot and yell again and sometimes they stand up (hoping I will forget what I just said) and turn around and lay down again to go back to sleep...
But the key to training a dog is to be smarter and more stubborn then the dog.
The battle continues...I keep kicking them off the couch and they keep trying to get back on...it is working a little, now and then they voluntarily go to the huge dog bed by themselves without me ordering them there and now they get off the couch at one command because they know I am not letting them get away with nuttin...
I am a sad little woman cause I am so excited to get the couches all clean!!!
This fight is between me and the dogs. (I gave up on the cat, cause he is down right evil and never obeys).
Before we had kids we had dogs, two cute little yorkies...and then we started our family and added a standard poodle...and more kids...
We spoiled our dogs because we, frankly, felt guilty. Guilty because they don't get walked as often as they should, don't get played with are often ignored and hushed and pushed aside due to the two legged children coming first. So, we let them on the couches. They cuddled with us, kept our spots warm, snuggled in blankets on the couch and made us say, 'Awwww!' at their cuteness.
No biggie? Well, now a new problem has emerged...and it stinks. Well. the couches stink. They smell like dog...and it is GROSS! I will admit I was nasally (is that a word?) blind. I could not smell it...I mean I work with dogs all day, and my dogs are probably slightly cleaner then the dogs I groom daily. Coming home I never smelled a thing.
Then we renovated and the couches were moved temporarily into a new room and for some strange reason my nose woke up in the strange surrounding and could smell the couches!
I think I turned red...and I was alone...I was THAT embarrassed!! How gross! How nasty!! I hate doggy smells!! ( I know someone is scratching their head wondering if I hate doggy smells that bad why I work as a dog groomer...well I make that gross smell go away!!). My girlfriend has a house full of dogs and cats and it NEVER smells doggie, it just smells clean at all times.
There is only one solution, get the couches professionally cleaned...but what would be the point if the stinkier-then-I-realized dogs get back on it...
I went to Costco and bought a nice large round dog bed, all for $22.47 (gotta love a deal) and brought that home...and officially BANNED the dogs from the couch.
Sounds easy?
Well my dogs are spoiled, and daily, hourly, ever 10 minutes...defy my orders and jump back on and I yell, 'OFF!' and they glare, I then stand up and stamp my foot and yell again and sometimes they stand up (hoping I will forget what I just said) and turn around and lay down again to go back to sleep...
But the key to training a dog is to be smarter and more stubborn then the dog.
The battle continues...I keep kicking them off the couch and they keep trying to get back on...it is working a little, now and then they voluntarily go to the huge dog bed by themselves without me ordering them there and now they get off the couch at one command because they know I am not letting them get away with nuttin...
I am a sad little woman cause I am so excited to get the couches all clean!!!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
My Day Sucked...
Today was the first day back to work...I should have been elated to get out of the house! I should have reveled in the child free time! I should have been excited about making some money!!
I really should have stayed in bed!
The day started fine, I was a smart girl and had made lunches the night before, laid out clothes, did shop laundry, piled everything I need to take with me in the morning. So we were moving along fine. Peter had a mild meltdown when getting his outdoor gear on but I was ready for this and had his favorite shirt set aside for him to wear, a special lunch and we chatted about his friends and the possibility of sliding at school.
In all honestly I was horribly sad and depressed driving him to school and then the little ones to the sitter's. I was so down about leaving them, I wanted to turn around and drive home! But I needed groceries and I have obligations to meet, people have been waiting for their appointment for months.
I arrived and had some tummy troubles...now this is a problem when you work alone! Rush to the washroom, pray your client doesn't arrive, pray your tummy settles, curse the entire issue!
But alas no client...and they never showed. Another NO-SHOW! Now for anyone who has missed an appointment for their hairdresser or dentist, please go in the washroom, look in the mirror and slap yourself. I know things happen in life and we miss appointments but please put yourself in that other person's shoes. Imagine going to work daily (or your spouse), and then payday comes and GUESS WHAT!! You are not being shorted 4 hours of work! Yay!!! Know why??? Cause the person who was supposed to pay you didn't, cause they never showed up (I know YOU were there to work and had set aside the time and realized 15 mins into the appointment timing slot, they were not showing and now cannot fill that spot)! Lovely huh?? I have about 2 no-shows a week (or last minute cancellers)...that averages about $5000 a year in lost income...so folks try taking THAT off you yearly paycheck, and smile about it! Kinda hard to do? ya, me too.
So, needless to say I get really twitchy with no-shows. Today I had three. Great start.
The dogs that did shows up? One is lovable but crazy as she barks and screams constantly and jumps around when you are scissoring.
And a puppy...
Someone out there is thinking, 'OOOOHHHHHH!! PUPPIES!!!! YOU PLAY WITH PUPPIES ALL DAY!!!!! HOW FUN!!!!!!'
Please allow me to burst your bubble. Puppies are NOT fun to groom. They looks cute but they are babies, usually very spoiled babies and I am a meanie and I am going to tech and train them to stand still. Folks, when you picture a puppy, I know what your mind sees...a bouncing, frolicking little dog!! You are so right....now picture that sweet little furball having a temper tantrum, yup. BIG fun. (that was dripping in sarcasm)
This puppy hates water so he yodeled and screamed when the water was running (it had not even touched him yet) and them he started doing back flips and clawing my arm and hand (which was holding on to him safely so he didn't injure himself). Every second he behaved he got praise but those were few and far between.
The groom was no better because he was not having anyone touch his head...so lots of training and clawing.
One nail went through my thumb, which is now nicely infected only hours later.
My arms/hands look like I put them in a lawnmower.
I had 57 messages to answers.
I had 4 people who I had to call and tell them I don't take new clients and then listen to two of them give me an ear full because it was a DOGGY EMERGENCY!! (they were not thrilled when I told them it was not, it was just dog hair)
I had clients that were late and then come to pick up their dogs early.
I had dogs that barked the whole time.
I had one dog who is usually cranky and nippy, be an angel and give me some comfort. I was so tired and discouraged. I was finishing his groom and I sighed...that 'I may run out of here screaming but I am too tired' sigh. He leaned against me and rest his head against my own. When I looked down at him he gave me a look with those brown eyes and then snuggled in a bit more.
Those are moments that make me love my job.
Got my mail and found a lovely notice that my shop's rent is going up, but not high enough that I can say it is insane and time to close! Just enough to make me gripe.
I braved the grocery store. There is normally two large grocery stores in this town but because of the flooding we are down to one and it is a nut house. After massive lineups I was feeling a wee big lightheaded and realized I had forgotten to eat lunch (heck, I forgot to pack a lunch) and I didn't buy anything to snack on...off to pick up kids, rush home, rag Peter to get ready for hockey, massive meltdown, wake Josh up (who is taking Peter to hockey)...poor Josh has been working straight since December and has no days off in sight.
All the while all three kids are wailing because they want supper...which is yet to be cooked because the groceries are still in bags...
While making supper Kathleen dropped a glass (which her brother shared...how can I get mad at him for sharing?)...while trying to clean it up I sliced my hand...the dogs are trying to lick the broken glass, supper was burning...
STICK A FORK IN ME! I AM DONE!!!!
Kids are in bed, no baths, dishes are not getting finished because my poor fingers are aching and hurting, cut and bruised. I need to do the shop laundry (the towels are brought home each night), clean, put away groceries, feed dogs, play with dogs, etc ....ugh!!!!!!
I am cold, whiney, stinky (the irony of dog groomer's...dog's leave smelling good, we leave smelling like they did when they entered), sore and discouraged.
A hot bath is calling my name!
I really should have stayed in bed!
The day started fine, I was a smart girl and had made lunches the night before, laid out clothes, did shop laundry, piled everything I need to take with me in the morning. So we were moving along fine. Peter had a mild meltdown when getting his outdoor gear on but I was ready for this and had his favorite shirt set aside for him to wear, a special lunch and we chatted about his friends and the possibility of sliding at school.
In all honestly I was horribly sad and depressed driving him to school and then the little ones to the sitter's. I was so down about leaving them, I wanted to turn around and drive home! But I needed groceries and I have obligations to meet, people have been waiting for their appointment for months.
I arrived and had some tummy troubles...now this is a problem when you work alone! Rush to the washroom, pray your client doesn't arrive, pray your tummy settles, curse the entire issue!
But alas no client...and they never showed. Another NO-SHOW! Now for anyone who has missed an appointment for their hairdresser or dentist, please go in the washroom, look in the mirror and slap yourself. I know things happen in life and we miss appointments but please put yourself in that other person's shoes. Imagine going to work daily (or your spouse), and then payday comes and GUESS WHAT!! You are not being shorted 4 hours of work! Yay!!! Know why??? Cause the person who was supposed to pay you didn't, cause they never showed up (I know YOU were there to work and had set aside the time and realized 15 mins into the appointment timing slot, they were not showing and now cannot fill that spot)! Lovely huh?? I have about 2 no-shows a week (or last minute cancellers)...that averages about $5000 a year in lost income...so folks try taking THAT off you yearly paycheck, and smile about it! Kinda hard to do? ya, me too.
So, needless to say I get really twitchy with no-shows. Today I had three. Great start.
The dogs that did shows up? One is lovable but crazy as she barks and screams constantly and jumps around when you are scissoring.
And a puppy...
Someone out there is thinking, 'OOOOHHHHHH!! PUPPIES!!!! YOU PLAY WITH PUPPIES ALL DAY!!!!! HOW FUN!!!!!!'
Please allow me to burst your bubble. Puppies are NOT fun to groom. They looks cute but they are babies, usually very spoiled babies and I am a meanie and I am going to tech and train them to stand still. Folks, when you picture a puppy, I know what your mind sees...a bouncing, frolicking little dog!! You are so right....now picture that sweet little furball having a temper tantrum, yup. BIG fun. (that was dripping in sarcasm)
This puppy hates water so he yodeled and screamed when the water was running (it had not even touched him yet) and them he started doing back flips and clawing my arm and hand (which was holding on to him safely so he didn't injure himself). Every second he behaved he got praise but those were few and far between.
The groom was no better because he was not having anyone touch his head...so lots of training and clawing.
One nail went through my thumb, which is now nicely infected only hours later.
My arms/hands look like I put them in a lawnmower.
I had 57 messages to answers.
I had 4 people who I had to call and tell them I don't take new clients and then listen to two of them give me an ear full because it was a DOGGY EMERGENCY!! (they were not thrilled when I told them it was not, it was just dog hair)
I had clients that were late and then come to pick up their dogs early.
I had dogs that barked the whole time.
I had one dog who is usually cranky and nippy, be an angel and give me some comfort. I was so tired and discouraged. I was finishing his groom and I sighed...that 'I may run out of here screaming but I am too tired' sigh. He leaned against me and rest his head against my own. When I looked down at him he gave me a look with those brown eyes and then snuggled in a bit more.
Those are moments that make me love my job.
Got my mail and found a lovely notice that my shop's rent is going up, but not high enough that I can say it is insane and time to close! Just enough to make me gripe.
I braved the grocery store. There is normally two large grocery stores in this town but because of the flooding we are down to one and it is a nut house. After massive lineups I was feeling a wee big lightheaded and realized I had forgotten to eat lunch (heck, I forgot to pack a lunch) and I didn't buy anything to snack on...off to pick up kids, rush home, rag Peter to get ready for hockey, massive meltdown, wake Josh up (who is taking Peter to hockey)...poor Josh has been working straight since December and has no days off in sight.
All the while all three kids are wailing because they want supper...which is yet to be cooked because the groceries are still in bags...
While making supper Kathleen dropped a glass (which her brother shared...how can I get mad at him for sharing?)...while trying to clean it up I sliced my hand...the dogs are trying to lick the broken glass, supper was burning...
STICK A FORK IN ME! I AM DONE!!!!
Kids are in bed, no baths, dishes are not getting finished because my poor fingers are aching and hurting, cut and bruised. I need to do the shop laundry (the towels are brought home each night), clean, put away groceries, feed dogs, play with dogs, etc ....ugh!!!!!!
I am cold, whiney, stinky (the irony of dog groomer's...dog's leave smelling good, we leave smelling like they did when they entered), sore and discouraged.
A hot bath is calling my name!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Raindrops are falling on my kitchen floor...
Today is the second anniversary of my 29th birthday...tis!! My cake even says so!! ( I think Josh was afraid of the sad look he would get when I read the truth)
Nothing special about the day except cute cards from Josh and kids, no gifts but no problem...I know what I am buying myself! (yes, when you get no gifts that is a gift itself...means you now can go buy what you want, guilt free)
What did make this birthday special and memorable...cute little words from Charlie, ''Mom you gotta come see this! it is RAINING in the kitchen!"
Darling Kathleen decided to shove tissue in the bathroom sink...let me remind you that our house is OLD...ANCIENT...the plumbing is a little ion the old side...the taps are pre-WWII and they drip...(soundlessly, thank goodness for small blessings)
When I raced upstairs I found 2 inches of water, on one side of the bathroom (the floors are sloped too...nice feature), a full sink, full potty underneath filled with water...
Many towels later, one super smart 6 year old who grabbed some popcorn buckets and shoved them under the pouring water (nasty yellow/brown water)
And then the worry...the ceiling was bowed!!!! We have had collapsing ceiling problems before (will share that story someday!) and I was panicked that history would repeat itself....but birthday wishes DO come true!!!
The ceiling held! The plugged sink was remedied with a pair of tweezers! And it was a happy birthday!
Nothing special about the day except cute cards from Josh and kids, no gifts but no problem...I know what I am buying myself! (yes, when you get no gifts that is a gift itself...means you now can go buy what you want, guilt free)
What did make this birthday special and memorable...cute little words from Charlie, ''Mom you gotta come see this! it is RAINING in the kitchen!"
Darling Kathleen decided to shove tissue in the bathroom sink...let me remind you that our house is OLD...ANCIENT...the plumbing is a little ion the old side...the taps are pre-WWII and they drip...(soundlessly, thank goodness for small blessings)
When I raced upstairs I found 2 inches of water, on one side of the bathroom (the floors are sloped too...nice feature), a full sink, full potty underneath filled with water...
Many towels later, one super smart 6 year old who grabbed some popcorn buckets and shoved them under the pouring water (nasty yellow/brown water)
And then the worry...the ceiling was bowed!!!! We have had collapsing ceiling problems before (will share that story someday!) and I was panicked that history would repeat itself....but birthday wishes DO come true!!!
The ceiling held! The plugged sink was remedied with a pair of tweezers! And it was a happy birthday!
Bad Mormon
Ya, I said it...no secret here, we are bad Mormons.
In any other religion being born into a religion is enough, if you were born into a Jewish family, you are and always (unless you convert) Jewish, and the same of Catholics and Anglicans...but Latter Day Saints? You ARE or you are 'inactive'...or our pet term, 'Bad'.
We have a terrible record of inactivity, we will be faithful, going weekly, 'good' Mormons for months and months. For no apparent reason we stop. Jobs change, schedules get tight and we find excuses.
One Sunday I had every intention of attending, the kids were excited because they LOVE church and Miss Kathleen decided to get up at 4am and stay up...the kind of night where she screams and fusses and fights...by 8am I was such a zombie and so tired. I knew I wasn't safe to drive an hour on icy roads with no snow tires (we keep meaning to get them but saving $1000 for tires has not been easy with me off work!).
The last Sunday I was in the mind set that I was going no matter what...and to find out that both boys have no good church shoes, their little feet...well frankly they are not so little anymore. I could NOT take my kids to church wearing big clunk snow boots or ratty dirty sneakers...(yes, my ego and pride got in the way...sounds petty...okay it IS petty!!!)
Some Sundays, Josh needs the van for work (we share a vehicle cause we are cheap), the weather does not always cooperate, or kids sick or us sick...
But we try to keep the Spirit in out homes. We do bless our meals, have evening prayers, read scriptures, do bible stories, sing hymns (well what I call singing...never in tune but thank goodness for online church music!!!). We watch online church messages and General Conference we watch it all as a family (if you count the kids playing, fighting, wrestling...being snapped at to be reverent, answering questions....)
I am always ashamed at our inactivity. It is hard some days being an hour away from our ward, and being the only LDS family in our town. I know we have to try harder.
I really try to go DEEPER and find out why I am such a slacker? I LOVE my faith! I love how I feel when we leave! I love dressing up and seeing my kids all nicely dressed....what is my problem?
I am sure there are thousands of other LDS families in the same mindset, falling away from the church is so easy!
I will admit I hate going without my husband. Josh works shift works and has months when he works every single weekend. Trying to manage all three kids alone is never fun...it is honestly stressful and makes me grit my teeth.
My other great excuse is that all week I am so busy with work and kids, and activites and Satuday there is hockey...and Sunday there is no pressing obligation to go anywhere...(sad thinking I know!!!!)
I really should have no excuse...there is a lady in my ward with many more kiddos then me and is ALWAYS there...I can barely function when I am over tired, but I need a backup plan.
I am hoping this post will shame me enough to get my bottom moving and get myself to church.
In any other religion being born into a religion is enough, if you were born into a Jewish family, you are and always (unless you convert) Jewish, and the same of Catholics and Anglicans...but Latter Day Saints? You ARE or you are 'inactive'...or our pet term, 'Bad'.
We have a terrible record of inactivity, we will be faithful, going weekly, 'good' Mormons for months and months. For no apparent reason we stop. Jobs change, schedules get tight and we find excuses.
One Sunday I had every intention of attending, the kids were excited because they LOVE church and Miss Kathleen decided to get up at 4am and stay up...the kind of night where she screams and fusses and fights...by 8am I was such a zombie and so tired. I knew I wasn't safe to drive an hour on icy roads with no snow tires (we keep meaning to get them but saving $1000 for tires has not been easy with me off work!).
The last Sunday I was in the mind set that I was going no matter what...and to find out that both boys have no good church shoes, their little feet...well frankly they are not so little anymore. I could NOT take my kids to church wearing big clunk snow boots or ratty dirty sneakers...(yes, my ego and pride got in the way...sounds petty...okay it IS petty!!!)
Some Sundays, Josh needs the van for work (we share a vehicle cause we are cheap), the weather does not always cooperate, or kids sick or us sick...
But we try to keep the Spirit in out homes. We do bless our meals, have evening prayers, read scriptures, do bible stories, sing hymns (well what I call singing...never in tune but thank goodness for online church music!!!). We watch online church messages and General Conference we watch it all as a family (if you count the kids playing, fighting, wrestling...being snapped at to be reverent, answering questions....)
I am always ashamed at our inactivity. It is hard some days being an hour away from our ward, and being the only LDS family in our town. I know we have to try harder.
I really try to go DEEPER and find out why I am such a slacker? I LOVE my faith! I love how I feel when we leave! I love dressing up and seeing my kids all nicely dressed....what is my problem?
I am sure there are thousands of other LDS families in the same mindset, falling away from the church is so easy!
I will admit I hate going without my husband. Josh works shift works and has months when he works every single weekend. Trying to manage all three kids alone is never fun...it is honestly stressful and makes me grit my teeth.
My other great excuse is that all week I am so busy with work and kids, and activites and Satuday there is hockey...and Sunday there is no pressing obligation to go anywhere...(sad thinking I know!!!!)
I really should have no excuse...there is a lady in my ward with many more kiddos then me and is ALWAYS there...I can barely function when I am over tired, but I need a backup plan.
I am hoping this post will shame me enough to get my bottom moving and get myself to church.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Forget toys...get boxes!!
My dear children love their toys...they keep them entertained from minutes to a an hour or two depending on the toy.
But a simple box? Oh the fun!!!! It becomes a house, an airplane, a hideout, a shell, a car, a tank...oh ya!!! Boxes are FUN!!!
I think next year I am going to save myself a whole lotta hard earned cash by just picking up a few free boxes from the grocery store and giving those for gifts!! I think I would be voted coolest (or cheapest) Mom of the year!
But a simple box? Oh the fun!!!! It becomes a house, an airplane, a hideout, a shell, a car, a tank...oh ya!!! Boxes are FUN!!!
I think next year I am going to save myself a whole lotta hard earned cash by just picking up a few free boxes from the grocery store and giving those for gifts!! I think I would be voted coolest (or cheapest) Mom of the year!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Special
Peter has always been special. He was our first child, he was our parents first grandchild and the first nephew to our siblings.
He was born after 26 hours of labor and 5 of those lovely hours were pushing...and he was PERFECT! We stared and stared at him for hours, looking at his tiny hands, staring at his lovely eyes (when they were open). We were 23 years old, he was only a minute old and the world was right.
When he was about a week old we received an urgent call from the doctor's office to rush to the blood clinic at the hospital, something was seriously wrong and they were keeping the clinic open.
We were in a panic, Josh FLEW....and got pulled over and we begged as any terrified parent would do to ticket us later just let us get to the hospital. That blessed RCMP officer let us go but told us to go slower and then followed us.
After blood work and sad looks from the nurses who would say nothing we raced to our doctors office to learn that our son had failed his thyroid test.
We learned that with treatment who would be 'near normal'. As parents we were horrified! What the heck does a doctor mean by 'near normal'? Would he read? Ride a bike? Get a job? Talk?
We spent 3 days, surrounded by family, crying and praying and begging. Our prayers were answered on day three when his blood work showed his thyroid WAS working and at perfectly normal levels. We were thankful and felt as if we had dodged a bullet.
Over the years Peter tested every ones limits, as baby he was easy going, happy in his routine, but we soon learned that letting other people hold him would mean a very long night of him screaming.
As a toddler he was the master of tantrums! My parents would grin and giggle and say it was the universes way of balancing things...God was just giving us a taste of what i was like...and so I plundered through days peppered with 20-30 tantrums a day, head banging, and wails. Peter was very touchy as a toddler, he liked his routine to be as tight as a ship's schedule. If his granola bar broke...there was hell to pay!
When his little brother arrived there were many nights I sat up with a fussy infant and a screaming toddler.
Day cares and family members learned very quickly that Peter liked things one certain way and his temper could rival the best. When things went his way and were in order he was the happiest little guy. He played, danced, followed my father (Papa) and babbled.
At two I worried about his babbling but was assured he would form words any day, at three he used two words put together here and there, babbled and lisped the rest and then 18 month old Charlie started speaking clearer then his older brother.
Off to speech therapy we went!! Peter made great strives, threw some mighty tantrums, and some days shut down and refused to do anything. In his good moods he was a dear!! But with Peter he was night and day...
Time marched along and a new sister arrived, school started and new worries for Josh and I...school. I worried about his temper but was assured he was just 'young for his age'...the tantrums continued, odd little behaviours emerged, bathroom routines that became such elaborate rituals that this 5 year old little boy would hold his bladder till he got home. After school was a nightmare of crying jags and tantrums. He showed to be very, very bright but easy to tear, easy to agitate, and some days just terrible difficult.
Phone calls home were commonplace and he got the reputation as being 'difficult', 'bratty' and people openly pitied his teacher.
As horrified parents we spoke firmly to Peter, tried to get to the root of the crying, put him in sports to burn off some of this energy. Josh coached his hockey team and many practices ended early because Peter was crying. We kept in constant contact with his teacher, discussed each incident.
Then around March, at school his behaviour seemed to settle, he was quiet, withdrawn but at home he was moody and volatile.
April we received a phone call from a stressed out teacher,
"If you do not find out what is wrong with him, he cannot return to school."
My heart dropped, I mean expelled at 5 years old? Nice...
Part of me was sick...wondering what was wrong with him? One part prayed we found the answer but another part prayed that there was nothing wrong with him and it was just us.
Appointments with a clinical psychologist, a referral to a pediatrician who specialized in social disorders...and we had the diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Extensive testing revealed he doesn't understand facial expressions, crowded areas and large crowds can cause him to feel like he is overloading. He has OCD, high anxiety, issues with pain receptors. This year we are dealing with texture issues that we have never had trouble with before.
All in all he is just wired a little differently.
The more I learn about autism, the more my head hurts. No case is the same, it is political, it is social, for others it rules their lives, for some there is shame.
Two weeks ago, I braved the malls and took the three kids shopping alone. We were having a fairly good day and the kids all had gift cards from Christmas. We had just bought a few new books, and the boys spied the video game store.
Parents can see where this is going...big tantrum!!! But not for what you think...Peter noticed all the games had bar codes and he was reading the bar codes...after 10 mins he was frantic...and we left.
To the woman who walked by and saw me standing new two my three toddlers, one who was standing quietly (Charles), one who was in the stroller and being good (Kathleen) and the one who was on the floor screaming, 'GO BACK!!!', she commented to her partner, 'What a brat!'...
Ma'am, if I did not have the worry that my screaming little boy would not bolt and run (which he does and why we keep a firm grip on him at all times), I would have chased after you and told you he is autistic. He is high functioning, he is brilliant, he can remember conversations from 2 years ago, he is athletically gifted and is in gymnastics. I would have told you to keep your comments to yourself and instead of judging why not asking if you could help. Instead of laughing, why not walk over and offer encouragement. Instead of assuming why not ponder that maybe there is more going on then meets the eye?
I still cry for my son, I don't want him labeled, I don't want him to be set apart, I don't want him to be ridiculed. I want him to be perfect, I want him to be accepted, I wish for people to understand.
I am thankful and blessed that now that he has a diagnosis his school has stepped in to offer him every resource available. He has speech therapy, social play therapy and soon to come occupational therapy.
In so many ways he is a normal little boy, he plays with trucks, he fights with his brother, he loves intensely and in so many ways he is a little out of sync with the world.
But I would not trade him for a million 'perfect' boys, he is my son, he is autistic and he is special and I am so very blessed to be granted the chance to be his mother.
He was born after 26 hours of labor and 5 of those lovely hours were pushing...and he was PERFECT! We stared and stared at him for hours, looking at his tiny hands, staring at his lovely eyes (when they were open). We were 23 years old, he was only a minute old and the world was right.
When he was about a week old we received an urgent call from the doctor's office to rush to the blood clinic at the hospital, something was seriously wrong and they were keeping the clinic open.
We were in a panic, Josh FLEW....and got pulled over and we begged as any terrified parent would do to ticket us later just let us get to the hospital. That blessed RCMP officer let us go but told us to go slower and then followed us.
After blood work and sad looks from the nurses who would say nothing we raced to our doctors office to learn that our son had failed his thyroid test.
We learned that with treatment who would be 'near normal'. As parents we were horrified! What the heck does a doctor mean by 'near normal'? Would he read? Ride a bike? Get a job? Talk?
We spent 3 days, surrounded by family, crying and praying and begging. Our prayers were answered on day three when his blood work showed his thyroid WAS working and at perfectly normal levels. We were thankful and felt as if we had dodged a bullet.
Over the years Peter tested every ones limits, as baby he was easy going, happy in his routine, but we soon learned that letting other people hold him would mean a very long night of him screaming.
As a toddler he was the master of tantrums! My parents would grin and giggle and say it was the universes way of balancing things...God was just giving us a taste of what i was like...and so I plundered through days peppered with 20-30 tantrums a day, head banging, and wails. Peter was very touchy as a toddler, he liked his routine to be as tight as a ship's schedule. If his granola bar broke...there was hell to pay!
When his little brother arrived there were many nights I sat up with a fussy infant and a screaming toddler.
Day cares and family members learned very quickly that Peter liked things one certain way and his temper could rival the best. When things went his way and were in order he was the happiest little guy. He played, danced, followed my father (Papa) and babbled.
At two I worried about his babbling but was assured he would form words any day, at three he used two words put together here and there, babbled and lisped the rest and then 18 month old Charlie started speaking clearer then his older brother.
Off to speech therapy we went!! Peter made great strives, threw some mighty tantrums, and some days shut down and refused to do anything. In his good moods he was a dear!! But with Peter he was night and day...
Time marched along and a new sister arrived, school started and new worries for Josh and I...school. I worried about his temper but was assured he was just 'young for his age'...the tantrums continued, odd little behaviours emerged, bathroom routines that became such elaborate rituals that this 5 year old little boy would hold his bladder till he got home. After school was a nightmare of crying jags and tantrums. He showed to be very, very bright but easy to tear, easy to agitate, and some days just terrible difficult.
Phone calls home were commonplace and he got the reputation as being 'difficult', 'bratty' and people openly pitied his teacher.
As horrified parents we spoke firmly to Peter, tried to get to the root of the crying, put him in sports to burn off some of this energy. Josh coached his hockey team and many practices ended early because Peter was crying. We kept in constant contact with his teacher, discussed each incident.
Then around March, at school his behaviour seemed to settle, he was quiet, withdrawn but at home he was moody and volatile.
April we received a phone call from a stressed out teacher,
"If you do not find out what is wrong with him, he cannot return to school."
My heart dropped, I mean expelled at 5 years old? Nice...
Part of me was sick...wondering what was wrong with him? One part prayed we found the answer but another part prayed that there was nothing wrong with him and it was just us.
Appointments with a clinical psychologist, a referral to a pediatrician who specialized in social disorders...and we had the diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Extensive testing revealed he doesn't understand facial expressions, crowded areas and large crowds can cause him to feel like he is overloading. He has OCD, high anxiety, issues with pain receptors. This year we are dealing with texture issues that we have never had trouble with before.
All in all he is just wired a little differently.
The more I learn about autism, the more my head hurts. No case is the same, it is political, it is social, for others it rules their lives, for some there is shame.
Two weeks ago, I braved the malls and took the three kids shopping alone. We were having a fairly good day and the kids all had gift cards from Christmas. We had just bought a few new books, and the boys spied the video game store.
Parents can see where this is going...big tantrum!!! But not for what you think...Peter noticed all the games had bar codes and he was reading the bar codes...after 10 mins he was frantic...and we left.
To the woman who walked by and saw me standing new two my three toddlers, one who was standing quietly (Charles), one who was in the stroller and being good (Kathleen) and the one who was on the floor screaming, 'GO BACK!!!', she commented to her partner, 'What a brat!'...
Ma'am, if I did not have the worry that my screaming little boy would not bolt and run (which he does and why we keep a firm grip on him at all times), I would have chased after you and told you he is autistic. He is high functioning, he is brilliant, he can remember conversations from 2 years ago, he is athletically gifted and is in gymnastics. I would have told you to keep your comments to yourself and instead of judging why not asking if you could help. Instead of laughing, why not walk over and offer encouragement. Instead of assuming why not ponder that maybe there is more going on then meets the eye?
I still cry for my son, I don't want him labeled, I don't want him to be set apart, I don't want him to be ridiculed. I want him to be perfect, I want him to be accepted, I wish for people to understand.
I am thankful and blessed that now that he has a diagnosis his school has stepped in to offer him every resource available. He has speech therapy, social play therapy and soon to come occupational therapy.
In so many ways he is a normal little boy, he plays with trucks, he fights with his brother, he loves intensely and in so many ways he is a little out of sync with the world.
But I would not trade him for a million 'perfect' boys, he is my son, he is autistic and he is special and I am so very blessed to be granted the chance to be his mother.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Homey Resolutions
I get very ambitious, especially when I lie awake at 3am, then I am at my most ambitious, lying in bed vowing vehemetly that I will eat better! Excerise more! Clean more! Oh yes!!! I can do anything I put my mind to at 3am...
8am is a totally different story...I have no ambitions at that hour except sleep (however my children's only ambition is to rouse me enough to cook them food...)
Every New Years brings out more diet books, new exericise equipment...sore legs from squats!! You would think after decades of this madness I would realize that my ambition is all spoiled by the 10th because it is my birthday and by Zeus! I am eating CAKE!!
And from the cake it is a downhill ski hill of ambition...
This year I kept joking that my New Year's resolution was to eat junk food, gain weight and clean less...
Knowing my track record I decided on some resolutions that I would actually enjoy...
#1. Doing the dishes after supper each night.
This is something I hate to do, and I honestly rarely do! Gorwing up we did dishes immediatly after supper, no matter what. When I moved out I drove roomates to distraction by my advid hatred of dishes. My husband joins me on this hatred (what apair we make). So, dishes were often only done from necessity...because there were no clean ones left.
I am turning 30 this year and it is time for a LITTLE self discipline!! Since, Jan 1st i have been very good about doing the dishes after supper. I have also been teaching the kids to help. Just little things like bringing the dirty dishes to the counter, sweeping the floor and washing the table. There 'help' is not always pefect but it is better then not being done at all!! Plus, they are helping!
#2 Be more crafty. I love to craft, I love to create and I get a weird little high from people commenting on my pretty things I make. When it comes to the house?? ugh! This house is getting mildly generic and ugly. We live in an old, drafty, 1850's farmhouse...we are slowly renovating and the house is looking better and better. People always get that stars in their eyes look when I tell them about the house and they comment on how 'romantic' it must be...well in truth the romance is long over. Somedays my house and I are not on speaking terms.
There is no storage, no closets, no shower (one dinky little bathtub)...and a whole lotta ugly!! Our furniture is mostly hand-me-downs, press board cheap, broken and mismatched...
Reading crafting and renovating blogs has inspired me to work a little harder to get some creative juices flowing...this house has POTENTIAL. So, I have been happlily wasting time online getting ideas of how I can spruce up this place and agree with people that this house is romantic and beautiful! (on a budget of course!)
Really my resolutions are about making this house a home, a nice refuge for our family.
8am is a totally different story...I have no ambitions at that hour except sleep (however my children's only ambition is to rouse me enough to cook them food...)
Every New Years brings out more diet books, new exericise equipment...sore legs from squats!! You would think after decades of this madness I would realize that my ambition is all spoiled by the 10th because it is my birthday and by Zeus! I am eating CAKE!!
And from the cake it is a downhill ski hill of ambition...
This year I kept joking that my New Year's resolution was to eat junk food, gain weight and clean less...
Knowing my track record I decided on some resolutions that I would actually enjoy...
#1. Doing the dishes after supper each night.
This is something I hate to do, and I honestly rarely do! Gorwing up we did dishes immediatly after supper, no matter what. When I moved out I drove roomates to distraction by my advid hatred of dishes. My husband joins me on this hatred (what apair we make). So, dishes were often only done from necessity...because there were no clean ones left.
I am turning 30 this year and it is time for a LITTLE self discipline!! Since, Jan 1st i have been very good about doing the dishes after supper. I have also been teaching the kids to help. Just little things like bringing the dirty dishes to the counter, sweeping the floor and washing the table. There 'help' is not always pefect but it is better then not being done at all!! Plus, they are helping!
#2 Be more crafty. I love to craft, I love to create and I get a weird little high from people commenting on my pretty things I make. When it comes to the house?? ugh! This house is getting mildly generic and ugly. We live in an old, drafty, 1850's farmhouse...we are slowly renovating and the house is looking better and better. People always get that stars in their eyes look when I tell them about the house and they comment on how 'romantic' it must be...well in truth the romance is long over. Somedays my house and I are not on speaking terms.
There is no storage, no closets, no shower (one dinky little bathtub)...and a whole lotta ugly!! Our furniture is mostly hand-me-downs, press board cheap, broken and mismatched...
Reading crafting and renovating blogs has inspired me to work a little harder to get some creative juices flowing...this house has POTENTIAL. So, I have been happlily wasting time online getting ideas of how I can spruce up this place and agree with people that this house is romantic and beautiful! (on a budget of course!)
Really my resolutions are about making this house a home, a nice refuge for our family.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Twas the Season....
Well the holidays are now over and I can say with a full heart is was FUN!
Josh was lucky enough to be off on the morning of the 24th, so we had plenty of fun at our family's annual Christmas Eve Party.
The party is held at my parents house, next door, tons of food, family and friends and this year we decided we needed a few giggles and did an ugly sweater competition (glue guns were out in full force!) and an ugly gift competition.
Josh was lucky enough to be off on the morning of the 24th, so we had plenty of fun at our family's annual Christmas Eve Party.
The party is held at my parents house, next door, tons of food, family and friends and this year we decided we needed a few giggles and did an ugly sweater competition (glue guns were out in full force!) and an ugly gift competition.
My sister Sam had to 'plug' her sweater in!
Notice my pink sweater...and the sleeves? Nothing says festive like feathers!!
This was Sam's ugly gift....I have been staring at this for 4 years...not by choice! the store next to me is a pawn shop and this beauty has graced their front window.
Josh brought this lovely! What every home needs! A shiney horse head!
A 'BABY' and kitchen set...everytime someone asked her what Santa was bringing she would scream 'BABY!!!' for a month now.
Charlie got his beloved tool bench.
Daddy was tired....did you know that kitchen set was 1000 pieces??? Needless to say he was up late trying to put it together. Took her 2 seconds to rip the top part off.
The kids were thrilled with their spoils...
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Midlife Crisis??
Yes, I think I am in the middle of one...
I love my job! How many people can say that? But, the truth is I really do love my job! I am a dog groomer by day and mommy after hours. Dog grooming to me is making a math equation beautiful! There is art and there is math, and then of course there are soulful doggie stares. I know you are thinking puppy kisses but let's get one thing straight...puppies SUCK. And so do doggie kisses...why? Well puppies, wiggle and bite. and scream, and throw tantrums, and paw and scratch....and you are holding a sharp pair of scissors close to their eyeballs and pray you don't cut yourself or worse the dog. And kisses? I have trained the client dogs to NOT kiss...kissing scissors and clippers equals lots of blood...I know and do not care to repeat it, plus dogs have bad breath and lick unmentionables. Nuff said!
I own my very own store in another town, it is tiny about 300 square feet but it is on the main street, it is cute and it is MINE! I have been open now for 4 years, by appointment only. At my grooming shop I am queen and I like it that way. Somedays are yucky, like when you are drying a dog with a high force dryer and the dog poops and it hits the air wave and then you look and you have splashed poop all over the wall, the floor, the dog, the table...yup those days are poopy. Majority of the days are great, the time FLIES by and I am always shocked that the day is over.
It also pays really well. When I leave work I can easily talk 'dog' with other people for hours, most of my friends are dog groomers, I can research hair cuts and techniques for hours and never lose focus.
I like it so much that I went in a grooming competition in Toronto and placed second in my division...2nd in my division for Canada is purty awesome...so not only do I love my job but I am also really GOOD.
The downside? My kids. Well, they are not a downside but I adore/love/worship...you get it, the mornings are nuts here. We are always rushing, some mornings with Peter are rough, he does not do good in rushed situations. The commute is an hour and then an hour back. Kids have to go to a sitter...now I LOVE my sitter! She is truly awesome and I appreciate everything she does but flat out she is not ME.
Evenings are rushed for supper, errands, activities, homework, laundry, bathtime, bedtime...
My job is very, very physical. I am sore and physically tired at the end of the day. Housework is not high on the agenda...so by the end of the week the house looks like a bomb went off. Everyone is short tempered because we cannot find items, clothes, homework, shoes...
Josh has a great job now but it is contract work and ends shortly...my nerves are on edge because right now there is no work at the end of the yellow brick road. He is confident that something will come up in his field soon.
So obviously you can see my 'midlife crisis'...work vs kids. I want to stay home, I did when the boys are were VERY small for a short time and I admit I was so excited to go back to school and then off to work. It was exciting to have a career! Most importantly it was exciting to be making MONEY!!! (we were horribly poor!)
Now, three kiddies later and dreams of more babies, I am tired!!! I am older (I hit thirty in a few days) and more patient.
In some ways it seems stupid to leave my career, I am at the top of my skill level, my business is BOOMING, I get paid awesome money and to top it off I really do LOVE it!
But I miss my kids.
I had been struggling with this little personal battle for a few months and I kept thinking about how I had a career and how awesome business was and how I loved the money and could buy my kids things. One day, I left work a bit early (due to someone not showing up for their appointment) and hit the grocery store and was waiting at the check out line (funny how so many events happen at the checkout line?) and saw a woman struggling with her two naughty kids that were about the age of my boys. The kids were cranky and showing it and she was tired....and suddenly I was WICKEDLY homesick for my kids!!!! I missed my three little monkeys sooooo bad!!
I had hated taking my kids to the grocery store, alone, before that moment. But I envied that woman so much!!
This little epiphany happened about two months ago and since then I have ventured shopping more and more with my kids and weirdly enough I am SOOO patient with them and all their rotten behaviour. I still hate grocery shopping but I have learned I would rather go with them then alone.
I have been on vacation since the 22nd of December and I do not go back till Jan 11th and I am NOT looking forward to it at all! I am really enjoying staying home with the kids! I am enjoying getting my house clean for the first time in 4 years! I love being able to laugh at their little antics, hold a sick toddler cause the cold is a rotten thing, nurse boo-boo's, listen to the tails of a 4 year old, and get caught up on the mountain of dirty clothes that threatened to take over the upstairs hallway.
Once upon a time I never thought I could walk away from my shop and my grooming clients but a clever little six year old is pleading his case.
Peter: 'Mommy, how bout you take some more time off from work.'
Me: 'Is two weeks not enough? How much more time?'
Peter: 'You could stay off till I grow up and I am big enough to go to work with you but if I have to stay home then you can too.'
Peter, buddy, I am struggling with that decision more then you will ever realize! It isn't about love or ego anymore, it comes down to finances and placing my trust and my faith in Josh to provide for our family.
We will see what the future brings!
I love my job! How many people can say that? But, the truth is I really do love my job! I am a dog groomer by day and mommy after hours. Dog grooming to me is making a math equation beautiful! There is art and there is math, and then of course there are soulful doggie stares. I know you are thinking puppy kisses but let's get one thing straight...puppies SUCK. And so do doggie kisses...why? Well puppies, wiggle and bite. and scream, and throw tantrums, and paw and scratch....and you are holding a sharp pair of scissors close to their eyeballs and pray you don't cut yourself or worse the dog. And kisses? I have trained the client dogs to NOT kiss...kissing scissors and clippers equals lots of blood...I know and do not care to repeat it, plus dogs have bad breath and lick unmentionables. Nuff said!
I own my very own store in another town, it is tiny about 300 square feet but it is on the main street, it is cute and it is MINE! I have been open now for 4 years, by appointment only. At my grooming shop I am queen and I like it that way. Somedays are yucky, like when you are drying a dog with a high force dryer and the dog poops and it hits the air wave and then you look and you have splashed poop all over the wall, the floor, the dog, the table...yup those days are poopy. Majority of the days are great, the time FLIES by and I am always shocked that the day is over.
It also pays really well. When I leave work I can easily talk 'dog' with other people for hours, most of my friends are dog groomers, I can research hair cuts and techniques for hours and never lose focus.
I like it so much that I went in a grooming competition in Toronto and placed second in my division...2nd in my division for Canada is purty awesome...so not only do I love my job but I am also really GOOD.
The downside? My kids. Well, they are not a downside but I adore/love/worship...you get it, the mornings are nuts here. We are always rushing, some mornings with Peter are rough, he does not do good in rushed situations. The commute is an hour and then an hour back. Kids have to go to a sitter...now I LOVE my sitter! She is truly awesome and I appreciate everything she does but flat out she is not ME.
Evenings are rushed for supper, errands, activities, homework, laundry, bathtime, bedtime...
My job is very, very physical. I am sore and physically tired at the end of the day. Housework is not high on the agenda...so by the end of the week the house looks like a bomb went off. Everyone is short tempered because we cannot find items, clothes, homework, shoes...
Josh has a great job now but it is contract work and ends shortly...my nerves are on edge because right now there is no work at the end of the yellow brick road. He is confident that something will come up in his field soon.
So obviously you can see my 'midlife crisis'...work vs kids. I want to stay home, I did when the boys are were VERY small for a short time and I admit I was so excited to go back to school and then off to work. It was exciting to have a career! Most importantly it was exciting to be making MONEY!!! (we were horribly poor!)
Now, three kiddies later and dreams of more babies, I am tired!!! I am older (I hit thirty in a few days) and more patient.
In some ways it seems stupid to leave my career, I am at the top of my skill level, my business is BOOMING, I get paid awesome money and to top it off I really do LOVE it!
But I miss my kids.
I had been struggling with this little personal battle for a few months and I kept thinking about how I had a career and how awesome business was and how I loved the money and could buy my kids things. One day, I left work a bit early (due to someone not showing up for their appointment) and hit the grocery store and was waiting at the check out line (funny how so many events happen at the checkout line?) and saw a woman struggling with her two naughty kids that were about the age of my boys. The kids were cranky and showing it and she was tired....and suddenly I was WICKEDLY homesick for my kids!!!! I missed my three little monkeys sooooo bad!!
I had hated taking my kids to the grocery store, alone, before that moment. But I envied that woman so much!!
This little epiphany happened about two months ago and since then I have ventured shopping more and more with my kids and weirdly enough I am SOOO patient with them and all their rotten behaviour. I still hate grocery shopping but I have learned I would rather go with them then alone.
I have been on vacation since the 22nd of December and I do not go back till Jan 11th and I am NOT looking forward to it at all! I am really enjoying staying home with the kids! I am enjoying getting my house clean for the first time in 4 years! I love being able to laugh at their little antics, hold a sick toddler cause the cold is a rotten thing, nurse boo-boo's, listen to the tails of a 4 year old, and get caught up on the mountain of dirty clothes that threatened to take over the upstairs hallway.
Once upon a time I never thought I could walk away from my shop and my grooming clients but a clever little six year old is pleading his case.
Peter: 'Mommy, how bout you take some more time off from work.'
Me: 'Is two weeks not enough? How much more time?'
Peter: 'You could stay off till I grow up and I am big enough to go to work with you but if I have to stay home then you can too.'
Peter, buddy, I am struggling with that decision more then you will ever realize! It isn't about love or ego anymore, it comes down to finances and placing my trust and my faith in Josh to provide for our family.
We will see what the future brings!
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