Gadget Heaven and other bits of randomness

I think I've died and gone to gadget heaven. I'll admit I am a total gadget geek. This is something only newly discovered about myself. Well, I discovered this startling fact last year around this time.

You see at that time I had been lusting after a digital photo frame for a little while and my hubby delivered both a new digital picture frame plus a small MP3 player for my birthday last year and I have to say it was the most exciting presents I've had for a long time. My husband was thrilled that his wife was getting into electronics.

Plus I think you've all heard about my thing for Kindle and ebooks readers in general but can't buy because of the cost. I'm still holding on to that dream. ;)

So it was with great excitement this past weekend that my husband and I went out to purchase a smartphone. A Blackberry Curve to be exact. That was not the phone we went in for but after being assured by the clerk that the more expensive phone we had hankering for was total and utter crap, we both walked out with sleek blackberries. Mine red, his silver. Of course I would have taken pink if I could have gotten it. Of course. Oh why oh why did Blackberry discontinue their pink curve phone?

I sent my first tweet from it a couple of days ago. I have been since playing and trying to figure the various apps and tricks to getting it to work fluidly. Unfortunately, we get to find out once again the many varied things that are NOT available to Canadians. Thank you very much. I saw my blog on it for the very first time. Best of all I have this lovely neat device to send me constant email updates etc. No longer will I have to log in to see your comments or get updates on my favourite blogs, it instantly gets sent to my Blackberry. How cool is that. Of course, more often than not it's junk mail. I am looking forward to figuring out how to blog with it too. I'm having a problem getting google reader to come up well, so if any of your Blackberry users have any good tips or app recommendations, please let me know.

Know what else I discovered? The lost art of flirting with my husband. Yup. Little text messages have been flying between us like crazy. Of course, I am sure the novelty will wear off after a week or so but still, it's fun.

I read a review on how the new IPhone was all the rage but I don't like the all touch phones. My husband's gps is touch screen and I don't know how many times I press a only to have s come up. Really annoying. So a keyboard was a definite must.

So I'll admit it... Hello. My name is Zeemaid and I am gadget geek.

Do they have 12 steps for that? Back away from the phone... back AWAAAAY from the phone. *L*

Now for other bits of randomness.

The house deal fell through this weekend. Again. The buyers, who were so sure of their financing, could not get it. Good news is that we had a second showing for someone else Sunday. Hopefully we will get a good offer today or tomorrow. Cross your fingers and toes.

That I have been realizing that for a so called mommy blog, I haven't been talking much about my kids. They are still here, still alive, still driving me crazy. But more on that on another post. I think I shall entitle it "The first 6 year old to hit puberty" cause really it feels like I'm living with a 12 year old, the dramatics I tell you.

I'm not going to be blogging about the funeral on Saturday cause really, if you've been to one, you know what they are like and you all can imagine what it was like. Besides, her grief is personal and I think I ought to respect that. Thanks to all of you who have left such warm comments and thoughtful advice. It really did help me deal with my role in all of this.

Only 8 more days until back to school. Yeah. Okay, I'm not looking forward to early mornings but I am looking forward to full days for E. I think my stress load will go way down when that happens. She's the one that gets everybody hyped up in the house.

That's it for Monday. Have a great day everyone!

It Sucks to Be You

It struck me this past weekend that it sucks to be the one that no wants to be. (I know I'm a little old to be using the word "suck" but it just fits my mood at the moment) It must completely suck to be sitting there in front of tons of people knowing that every single person in that room is thankful that they are not in your shoes.

I think we've all done it. Haven't you ever looked at an overweight person and thought.. "Glad I'm not fat like that" even though you might be but are just in denial or even though you know we shouldn't set view people by such shallow standards set by society. Or at someone who's being a total bitch and think "wow, glad I'm not bitchy like that". Maybe you really are, maybe they're having a bad day. Or at someone with a special needs child and thought, "I'm thankful my child was born healthy" even though you know that special needs children are truly special and that'd you'd love your child anyways but still.. you're thankful.

Or maybe at a mom whose child was just killed in a tragic accident and think "I'm so glad that's not me."

Can you imagine what it must be like knowing that people around you are hugging their kids and thanking God that they still have their kids, that their grief for you is mixed with a sense of relief for themselves. That no one in that room would trade shoes with you even for just one day.

We pass random judgments about people constantly throughout the day. We all do it. Just some of us recognize it and work to be a better person. You could even say it's human nature and you could say that it's a good thing we are thankful that we're not in her shoes because hopefully it makes us appreciate what we've got more.

Still.... it must really suck.

(If any of you are popping in for the first time, a friend of mine lost her child this past week, the funeral was on Saturday and while this post may be blunt, it's just random thoughts that have been running through my head. Please don't take offence. If you can honestly tell me that you've never dissed someone based on looks, appearance, lifestyle, personality, fashion, life choices, life circumstances.. then by all means be offended cause apparently you are perfect.)

Top Ten Thursday - Top 10 Blogs

Welcome to the Second edition of Top Ten Thursday!

Let us introduce ourselves! We are:

Zeemaid from In The Mommy Trenches

Jennifer from It’s A Beauty Filled Life

Sara from Domestically Challenged

LZ from My Messy Paradise

We thought it would be a great idea to bring some fun to Thursdays, so we’re co-hosting Top Ten Thursday! If you’d like to play and this is your first time visiting - or your first time playing - here’s what you do:

1. Grab our button, located in the sidebar to the right

2. Choose your Top Ten topic (or use ours!)

3. Write up your list and post it on your blog

4. Link up!

Easy peasy, right? Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s play!

I just love the theme for this week. The internet is so huge and I am constantly coming across really neat blogs and there are a lot out there that I am really excited about. Non bloggers just don't get so I am excited to share it with you. Besides, I just know you all know of a lot great blogs too. So come on in and share the bloggy love. If you do decide to check out any of the links, why not comment and let the blogger know where you are coming from. Let's share the love.

BTW, I love all these blogs no matter what number I've placed them.

1. Babes in Hairland If you have little girls, you will love this site. This lady loves anything hair related and manages to get her three girls to sit long enough to get their hair done up beautifully. Full of easy tutorials and tips.

2. Just a Girl A lovely do it yourselfer. Amazing projects, amazing ideas, lots of pictures and tutorials. See her transform various rooms in her home. I just popped in to double check the links and sure enough got caught up for at least 20 minutes browsing. *L*

3. Organize with Sandy Sandy is an amazing organizer. Full of a kazillion organization tips and ideas. She also has another site where she reviews products that are supposed to help organize us. Lovely lady, lovely site!

4. Suburban Jungle Jenny is a witty and entertaining writer. I love checking in for her wicked sense of humour.

5. The World According to Me Kathy B is an amazing mom and writer. She never fails to crack us up, usually at her own expense. Her life is never dull and I do mean NEVER dull. Seriously, you would not believe the sorts of things that happens to her.

6. So Dazzling Blogs Great site, has gorgeous free blog layouts and tips for using and installing.

7. Tips for New Bloggers This site has been so helpful. Every little change I have made on this page has been as a result of tips and tutorials that I got off this site. They break it down and make it so easy to follow.

8. Penelope's Oasis I don't get to this site nearly enough but I just love the graphics and the giveaways that she has.

9. Giveaway Addicted Mommy Kari is a lovely lady with 3 boys, two wee ones. I love her honest reviews and of course enjoy entering her giveaways. I even won a YouCanQuilt This pattern from her site.

10. The Sporadic Cook I may not comment as often as I should on this site, but I do enjoy popping in and seeing what's on the menu. She often harkens back to classic recipes and is not ashamed to baking goodies in all their fattening glory.

Phew... that was a tough list to come with in a way as there are so many other blogs that I follow and stalk (*L*). We might just have to do a Top Ten Blog list part 2 in the near future.

It's Tough To Post.

Boy, posting is tough. I probably have gone back and deleted what I have written about three times now. Yet this has become how I get things out and off my chest these days.

As you can imagine, uppermost in our minds right now is dealing with the death of my friend's son. Tomorrow my friend has invited us to McDonald's so that we can at least in some way celebrate her youngest son's birthday. I asked if she was sure she was up to it but she didn't want to see his birthday go by unacknowledged. This is going to be tough.

I have never been one of those demonstrative people. I am usually worried about stepping over other people's boundaries. Some people are pretty open to hugs etc and other people seem very closed off. You can always tell when you hug someone and they are not a hugger. This I think comes from my mom. She's a very closed off person. You see her hug and kiss the grandchildren and so I know she must have been like that with me when I was a kid but as an adult, she rarely ever spontaneously hugs you. Not sure exactly why this is. She had a tough childhood and had to grow up quick. I just hope that I don't withdraw from my kids physically like that when they get older. That would be a real shame.

Still I am going to do my best to be there for her and to be as supportive as I can.

I drove by the intersection where he died, it's literally at the bottom of my street. They have a memorial up for him there. It made me cry.

Saturday is the funeral. Fortunately K's parents will be around to babysit so K and I can both go. He has been just as affected as I have. Monday, when he walked through the door, the first time he did was to come and give me a big hug. I wondered why as he hadn't put his things away yet but then I remembered. I had pushed it all back to the back of my mind so that I could care for my own kids and meet their needs. He then went around the table and kissed each one of the children. He, too, realizes how precious our time with them really are and how quickly it can all change.

I can't see having much time to post until Thursday. We have another joint edition of Top Ten Thursday coming up.

Thank you to all of you who took the time to comment and post your warm thoughts, prayers and advice. I really do appreciate it all. Unfortunately, we've been so busy with this and the possible sale of our house that I haven't had time to respond to you individually. Again, thank you.

A Mixed up Kind of Day - Warning

I don't even know how to start this post today. I don't know how to convey two points in a message and not make one seem trivial beside the other.

The fact is - we did get an offer last night. It was a good offer only it's subject to the sale of their home. A home which is not on the market yet and we have no idea how much they are thinking they'll get for it etc. We will meet with the realtor this afternoon and get an understanding of what his take is on it. It would mean that we'd still be in months of uncertainty and that E would have to start school here until their house was sold. They're only asking for 10 weeks but still. If it goes it wouldn't be a big deal. We just don't know.

The second thing is so much harder to write and if I hadn't had it to write you would have gotten a much more detailed and lengthy (and probably boring) version of the whole thing. None of that really matters right now.

What I hadn't mentioned earlier this week was that a son of a friend of mine had been hit by a car this week. He wasn't wearing a helmet although they say that likely would not have made a difference. He was airlifted to the children's hospital and was listed there in critical condition all week. Now almost a week since his accident I have just received the news that he has died. At twelve years old.

How do you comfort a mother who has lost her child in a sudden and tragic way? There are no words, there is no comfort.

Among the tears I've cried this morning not only for this boy but for his mother, it hits me how quick life can change. That morning my friend and her youngest daughter had been over for tea while that son babysit the other children. (She has 5 at home). To remember the phone call she made to him to ask him if it was okay for him to look after the kids a little longer while she stayed for tea. They live literally 5 houses away. To remember the phone call she got back as he cheekily tried to negotiate for a video game rental since he was babysitting for him and to think that it was that very afternoon that saw my friend's world come crashing down around her.

The only small thing is that they told her the helmet wouldn't have saved his life, so she doesn't have that to blame herself with. Not that he wasn't a big boy and knew the rules, but as moms we take all that stuff on. I am sure though she will find plenty of other things to regret. We always do.

You just never know when your spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, friend, whoever, goes out that door if it's the last they will ever see of them. Life can be all too painfully short for some of us.

I don't know how my friend is going to cope over the next few months. It's been one day and I am sure it seems like an eternity of misery to her already.

I am sure you've all heard stuff like this before. I know I have and I've often thought of the what ifs when K leaves for work after we've had a fight. No I Love You's were said, no have a good day honey. Just anger and silence. What if something bad happened? I'd regret it forever.

Now is a time to think on what I'd regret if something bad happened to anyone in my family today. In the meantime, I am going to go and hug my kids.

Boy am I naive

I was pretty bummed out yesterday. You see the three months are almost up. What three months you ask? Well, as some of you know, at the end of May I had sent off my short story to two children's publishers. The submission guidelines basically state that if I do not hear within 3 months, they are not interested.

You can see why I would be bummed out about this.

But the naivete? Well that's a longer story. I decided to keep looking for publishers etc and came across this site for literary agents that are interested in hooking up with authors that are getting started up and working with them until they get published. You submit some information about yourself and your story, they invite you to send them a sample and voila they decide you have what it takes and want to work with. This spanned over a week and a half and needless to say I was on pins and needles waiting to hear back.

First red flag, they like my work but it needs to be "professionally edited". Fair enough, could be true. I don't know. They will either refer me to someone or I could arrange for it to be edited myself. Blah blah blah.

Okay. This is where I stop being naive and decide to google it. Oh how I love Google. It comes in so handy like when you see that ad on t.v. for that miracle hair removal cream that promises to be painless. Yeah.. not so much.

So I google the site and am thinking okay, it pops up in the paid for advertising area of Google Links... it's looking legit. Cause what scammers would actually pay for those links. I dig a little further. Google Writer's Literary Agency Fraud or complaints and bam... it's on a writer's net watch list. This guy operates under several different names and it turns out he actually owns the other site that "professional edits" and has no records of ever having sold any books. This guy even has a page of photos from some alleged book fair.

Disappointed? You bet.

Then it occurs to me how naive I am that I actually think I would be able to sell a book this way. Duh. They don't say it's hard for nothing.

I am not only disappointed in this whole scenario but it's even broader than that. I am incredibly disappointed to realize just how much fraudulent crap there is online. Sure we get those emails and the get rich quick schemes but it just hit me how much of it really is fake. You can not trust anything you see or read on the web as being true. Absolutely nothing. And that's a sad statement about our world today.

I got to thinking about this after I watched the movie Knowing. In one scene people are beginning to panic and, of course, the looting and mayhem begins with the violence escalating till the end. Just once, ONCE, I'd like to see it portrayed that every one heard the bad news, paused and thought about it for a few minutes then began to work together in a kind and peaceful manner. To think that we as a society would actually rise above the social chaos that seems to define us nowadays.

Of course, if filmmakers did portray that as having happened, it would be deemed unrealistic and that's sad too.

I don't think I will give up but I think I will try and do a little more in person research than say internet research. I think I'll start at my local library.

Crossing our Fingers

So we had a phone call from our new realtor last night. Had I mentioned we switched realtors recently? If not, well we did. Not that I think we could blame our previous realtor for the house not selling because the market is what it is. On the other hand we needed a fresh start and since we switched we've had about 6 showings in a week and a half. Yeah. Lots of cleaning but it has also been nice because the house has not had a chance to get too terribly messy.

So the realtor calls us to tell us that he had heard back from the people who went through our house (through their realtor of course) and that realtor said they are going to make an offer but are waiting until tomorrow (today).

Could it be? They've only seen the house once but they spent a good half hour going through the house while we were out in the backyard. Oh I am so hoping this is it. But given that my husband inflates things (both in a good and bad ways) it's hard to rely on his wording and what he may have read into the conversation. After all, most of the feedback we get is that they like the house and are going to think about it.

I hope not. I hope this is it. It's getting down to crunch time with E going back to school and FIL's surgery coming up.

There is still the matter of my business as the realtor for that thinks we should get at least a one year lease in place before trying to market the business for sale. Agh. I do not want to commit to that. Last winter was really bad and I don't want to turn it into me being the one to commute all the time. Yii.

So anyways. Cast up a prayer or two for us, cross your fingers and toes and really, really hope with me that this is it. I cannot wait to get organizing and packing especially since Organize with Sandy was so lovely as to give me some tips.

Have a great weekend all.

Top Ten Thursday - Premiere

Welcome to the very first edition of Top Ten Thursday!

Let us introduce ourselves! We are:

Zeemaid from In The Mommy Trenches

Jennifer from It’s A Beauty Filled Life

Sara from Domestically Challenged

LZ from My Messy Paradise

We thought it would be a great idea to bring some fun to Thursdays, so we’re co-hosting Top Ten Thursday! If you’d like to play and this is your first time visiting - or your first time playing - here’s what you do:

1. Grab our button, located in the sidebar to the right

2. Choose your Top Ten topic (or use ours!)

3. Write up your list and post it on your blog

4. Link up!

Easy peasy, right? Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s play!

Let's face it, if you're a blogger at all, you are pretty much addicted to the internet. It's a quick and easy way to pop in and check out what's happening in the world out there at the same time you are battling the mommy world around you. The internet can also be a huge time sucker if you don't watch out. Lately these are the main sites (nonblogging) I can be found.

My Current Favourite Top Ten Websites:

1. Mom Blog Network Okay, this one is bloggy, it keeps me connected with some other great posters.
2. Project Gutenberg Free classic books online transcribed and submitted around the world. Like an online library.
3. Realtor Always looking for that dream home
4. The Secret is in the Sauce Okay... bloggy again, it's a great site to keep connected.
5. All Recipes My absolute favourite recipe site online. I've never had a bum recipe!
6. Books on Board A site to purchase Ebooks. I really am addicted!
7. Prevention Has great tips and ideas for getting in shape
8. Ebay Even if I'm not buying, I love to browse the deals
9. Business Women Network
10. Craigs List Great site for either buying or selling.

Scary thing was I didn't need to look up most of the website addresses, I know them off by heart.

What's your top ten?

Wordless Wednesday - Another Cheeky E

Not exactly wordless this week. A small peek at my family. Make sure you catch what her sister is singing. I never noticed until later when I played back the video.

Do you talk to your kids about death?

Lately we've been trying to impress upon the kids why they need to follow certain rules for their safety etc. I read somewhere that kids don't really understand about the concept of death until they are like 12 or so. Our family believes in God and the hereafter so when someone we know has died we talk about them going to be with God but I don't think they really get it.

So last night we had one of those random conversations with the kids, you know how they just throw out some bizarre topic that has no relation to what we were doing.. in this case getting ready for bed.

E: "you have to stay off the road because a car could hit you"

Me "that's right."

E: "cause then you could die."

Daddy: "yes, that's why we tell you to stay with us and not run on the road."

silence:

J pipes up "I'd get flat"

Me: "Huh, what do you mean sweetie"

J: "If I got rund over by a car,I'd be flat."

Me trying not to laugh... "yes, you'd probably be flat."

E, ever the optimist pipes in : "and dead"

J: "I'd be dead but then I'd wake up"

Me: "no sweety, you wouldn't wake up any more."

J was surprised... "I wouldn't wake up?"

Me: "no and mommy's heart would break if that happened."

J: "your heart would break?:"

Me: "yes it would. My heart would break."

And with that all three of us had tears in our eyes at the thought of one of us never waking up.

That got just a little heavy before bed. Maybe that's why E dreamed that I was being chased by a dinosaur who was trying to eat me... that or it could have been because we took her to the new Ice Age movie on Saturday. *L*

Got Free Cards Review & Amazon Card Giveaway

If you are like me, forgetful and unorganized, you may have come to rely on ecards. If you are indeed like me you are too cheap to pay. Yet I am picky and often spend too much time pouring over different cards only to pick one and find out it's for members only.

Which is why I was excited about doing a review for Got Free Cards because they are a totally free site with free ecards. You do not have to sign up and you do not have to register so no getting unsolicited emails. Thank you very much.

I was also excited to discover that you can do printable cards and photo cards. I have recently gotten quite into making my own cards (I said was I cheap) to save money. But because I don't have the expensive software I have been finding it frustrating to get just the right layout etc. (I also said I was picky, right?) So it was nice to find a site that not only offered free ecards but also provides printable cards. You can either choose their artwork or add your own photos or even add your photos to their cards. There is a quick and easy tutorial to walk you through the creation of your card so there is no guess work involved. The free printable birthday card that I chose printed extremely fast.

I have to say that they have some of the best selection in cards of any site that I have seen. The graphics are gorgeous and I particularly found the Halloween ecards and the free Christmas ecards to be absolutely charming. Would you believe they even have Knock Knock cards?


They seem to have a wide variety of ecards and I believe they are working to add more.

Plus right now Got Free Cards is generously offering a $15.00 Amazon gift card to one of my readers.

To enter simply visit Got Free Cards and come back here and tell me which card you liked the most. This must be done before earning any extra entries.

For extra entries (leave a new comment for each extra entry):

1. Follow my blog
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway;
3. Blog about the giveaway with a link to my blog http://http://www.zeemaid.blogspot.com/
4. Add me to your blog roll and come back here and provide a link.

Please list your email address in your comment if it's not listed in your profile. Contest ends September 1st.




P

There's no Place like Home

We are back from camping. I have to say I'm a bit sorry about that. If it wasn't for dirty clothes and hairy legs (I'm not kidding), I could probably have stayed another week. Once we got the sleep issues out of the way, we had fun. When it rained we did what any good family would do, we went to the mall. *L* Okay so the kids weren't thrilled with that. We did the next best thing, we bought french fries at McDonald's and let them play in the play park there. Shopping therapy for mommy, french fry therapy for the kiddies. *L* And us frugal parents know that we can get away with buying one little pack of french fries and that gets us play park entry for hours.

Okay so I wasn't that cheap, I did spring for coffees, fries and nuggets. It was our holiday after all. :)

Of course, the hot weather decided to leave as soon as we hit the campground. The second night we were there we were entertained with almost gale force winds. The weather finally improved the last two days but still swimming was out of the questions. I am one of those people that you only go swimming when it's warm out. I do not like getting into cold water, adjusting to said cold water only to get out of cold water to shake and shiver into a towel while trying to pull jeans up over damp chilled legs. So swimming was a bust. But the kids still got to play on the beach, find crabs, rescue fish and paint on seashells.

I'll probably get more into that later. I have had a ton of email to go through and I have lots of blog reading to catch up on. I am very happy to see my computer, hot running water, the microwave and the washing machine. Not to mention a comfy bed. *L*

Wordless Wednesday - A Rose

Would you believe this Rose is more than 50 years old? It is a descendant from a rose from Great Grandpa D's garden. It has been carefully potted and moved with my FIL and MIL on every move of theirs. I will be asking for a clipping to start my own descendant rose when we move. Of course this isn't the greatest photo, I was just playing around.

All I Want for Christmas.. is My two Front Teeth?

Originally posted November 21, 2008. It also represents the very first comment I ever received. Thanks court.

E came to me today utterly excited. "Mommy, Mommy, I have a loose toof". My first instinct was to ask whether she had bumped her mouth on anything as all three of them had been creating a racket on the stairs. I checked out her mouth and yup, it was loose alright. My baby girl is on her way to loosing her first tooth. Tears instantly sprung to my eyes as I gave her a big hug and told her in a somewhat watery voice.. "how exciting, you're losing your very first tooth." She quickly agreed with me and excitedly spent the next ten minutes by my side as I cooked supper telling me about her day and how she first discovered it was loose at school.

It was a lovely moment. I was able to continue my supper preparations and still spend a few minutes alone with my girl. Something we do not get to do very often anymore since J stopped her afternoon naps. It was sweet to see how excited she was over losing a tooth. Her first thoughts, of course, was sharing this with daddy when he got home and sure enough as soon as he walked through the door she told him. Daddy got down on one knee so he'd be at her level and still with his bags in his hands, coat on and the door still open behind him, he checked out her tooth. He congratulated her, gave her a big hug and as our eyes met over her head he made a sad face at me. I tell you it brought tears to my eyes again. How silly am I? I never cried when I dropped her off atkindergarten for the first time, yet I cry over her first loose tooth?

It's such a big milestone. Symbolising the advent from babyhood into childhood. All too soon we will be facing many more of those milestones. I just pray that I will be able to face each one with grace and wisdom.

Will I cry when J gets her first loose tooth. Maybe, maybe not. I love all my children with all my heart but there is a special bond with the first one. They are after all the only child you will give birth to that you get to have that one on one, 24 hours a day, seven days a week kind of time together.

Cheers,

Zeemaid
In the Mommy Trenches

P.S. Of course, E is all excited about a visit from the tooth fairy. How on earth did she figure out so quickly that you get a present from the tooth fairy. Do they absorb this stuff by osmosis?

It's Raining..... Spew?

OMG I so remember this. We've renamed that summer as the SOS...Summer of Sick. We literally had puking kids from July through the end of August. Poor O was just over 1 year old. Originally posted on August 7, 2008.

I have probably mentioned several times that we are trying to sell our house so that we can move closer to my husband's work. Well, it's been rather difficult. We go from 4 or 5 showings a week to nothing for 3 weeks. It's amazing what you let slide in just 3 little weeks. Especially with 3 little monsters running around under your feet.

We had just been through a rather dry spell when we got the call yesterday. Showing for today at 12:15. So it falls at lunch, during nap time and basically mucks up the whole day. Do I say no? No way, we haven't shown the house in weeks. So I start gearing up yesterday for the "BIG" clean. Hubby gets into the act after work scrubbing walls (why the walls needed to be cleaned when the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms were on top of the list, you got me). I finished off the job today.

We got a little rough start this morning when my 2 1/2 year old came running in to the bathroom carrying a bucket. The bucket had been from when E had been sick earlier in the week. Well, J had good intentions, she meant to get sick in the bucket only it went all over the bathroom floor and cupboards instead. That was clean up #1.

O (my son) was a little whiny and clingy this morning. Not his usual feisty self. Finally I decide I'll put him down for a nap even though it's early. He could still squeeze in an hour and a half before we have to leave.

I'm cool, collected, relaxing outside supervising the older two cause hey, I've got it all together this time. No mad dash, no rush to pick up the last toys. O wakes up, he's fussy but I figure he'll be just grand once I get him outside (he loves the outdoors). We've got 10 minutes to go. I have all the lights on like we're supposed to etc... I sit him on the bench to put his shoes on when suddenly.... GAK he lets loose sour milk spray all over himself, the bench, his blankie, the carpet and me. YIIII!! I just cleaned. I pick him and try to take him outside (we're right beside the door). Oh that doesn't work.. he just yaks some more, more on me, more on the door, the mat, the sidewalk. Crap.

I tell the oldest to run upstairs quick and tell Nana I needed her. I'm trying to console my poor wee man while his tummy's gurgling and burbling when Nana AND Papa arrive. They promptly assess the situation and begin to clean up while I'm stripping O down to his diaper. It doesn't take me long to realize that I've got sour milk spew all over my feet, my hands, my arms, my shirt. yuk.

It's too late to cancel the viewing so we clean up as best we can, spray some air freshener to cover up the puke smell and head out in the van with a bucket along with us for emergencies. Nana insisted we take it. I'm kinda wondering what I was going to do with the bucket when I'm in the front driving but hey.

So heading out to McD's and letting the kids play in the play area is off, likewise any other restaurants. While I do have one vague memory of watching a family out to eat at Pizza hut while their child periodically leaned over to spew in a bucket they had so thoughtfully brought along with them, I'd like to think I was just a tad more considerate. So drive-thru it is. My poor little O. He looked so dejected sitting there in his car seat, holding his favourite blankie and sucking his sou sou (soother). So we get our food and drive to the beach, only it's beachfest so I can't park down at the beach. I explain for the millionth time why we can't stop at the park I find us an alternative shady spot to park and divvy up the food. We're there for about 15 minutes before O decides he doesn't like just sitting. I can't tempt him with even a french fry. So we start up the van again and drive around, all the while checking to see if the realtor had come by the house yet. Finally, after driving my crying child around the neighbourhood several times I figure I'll quickly run in and see if I can see the realtor's calling card. Nothing. GRR. I drive around for 20 more minutes. Finally when there is only 3 more minutes left, I figure screw it. J is now asleep in her seat, O is crying more and more. What kind of mom am I?

I unload the kids from the van, lay J in her bed and leaving O to his sister, who's showing her sweet side by reading a book to him, I quickly run upstairs to check if I'd missed the realtor's card. Nope. It was definitely a no show. I heard the garage door so I went out to meet my in-laws and told them that it was a no show. I got totally choked up, thinking here I had busted my ass for two days getting my house in show home condition, took my sick kids out and drove them around in a warm van for a whole hour and they didn't even bother to come OR to phone to say they'd be late. My mother-in-law felt for me and called our realtor's office to find out what happened.

Well, my afternoon was totally mucked up. Poor J didn't make the transition from van to bed and promptly got up. O I couldn't get to sleep and I ended up walking outside with him when suddenly an hour after they were supposed to, the realtor and his client's show up. OMG.

Well, we let them through since the kids were awake. But we had to quickly run around and tidy up again. It's amazing how many toys kids can dump on the floor in an hour despite the fact that they were mostly playing outside!

The upshot was that when the realtor left, apologizing for being late, he told Nana that they had been through 7 homes that day and THIS was the house they liked and that he would be talking to our realtor. Well, that was encouraging. We were excited but then realized that this was the same realtor who had shown our house twice before, one time at least was just to price compare for pricing his client's house for sale and then he left positive feedback on the feedback form when we knew darn well that they weren't interested in our home.

This is getting long, but it just doesn't end there. My poor lethargic little O finally went down for a nap, I'm all set to start supper when WAAAAAAAAA alerts me and checking on the baby, I find... yup more spew all down the crib rails and over the bedding etc. Well that was an easy fix. I soothed my baby, cleaned up, started the 3rd load of laundry that day when he comes crying in to me again. I go to change his diaper and yeah more spew, this time there was tons. Poor little guy didn't have anything left by the time he was done. After that, there was no time to clean up. I had to pop him in the tub and then rock him in my arms for the next hour until Daddy came home.

Fortunately, my girls rose to the occasion by playing nicely and peacefully outside and then in their bedroom. So I was able to focus on little O. I hadn't snuggled him for that long of a time since he was breastfed. Normally he won't sit still.

Luckily I had already gotten out of work that night. I was glad because even when Daddy was home and had O for a little bit, he wanted me. The minute I took him back in my arms and cradled him, he stopped crying and closed his eyes to sleep. It's just an amazing feeling to know that you're the only one that can comfort your baby in the way that he needs. Sometimes, I am just amazed at how much they need me. Doesn't matter how crabby mommy gets, they still love me and still want me most of all.

The day ended off not to badly after that. I think we're over the worst with him. He went to bed at 6 and only got up a few times through the night.

So three down, two to go. J has had some blow-outs (poop wise) and I have yet to get it but I am sure I will considering I was covered in puke.

Oh well, as long as we all get it out of system before we go camping. I'm just hoping if I get sick it's when the hubby is home. Nothing like having to throw up and look after 3 little ones at the same time. Mom's never really get a day off, do they?

What Were We Thinking?

Originally posted August 28, 2008. We're currently on vacation. In the meantime, please enjoy a few reposts from this time last year. Have a great week!

We've just gotten back from a weeks worth of camping. No, pardon me 5 days worth. We only managed to survive 5 days in my parent's brand new travel trailer with water and electric hook-up. (So the microwave wouldn't work, something about 110 or 220 voltage, I don't know).

I'm getting a little a head of myself. We borrowed my parent's trailer, had it towed by my brother to a wonderful (albeit only visited via online website) little campsite on the beach. The site turned out to be the size of a postage stamp and the little 2 foot slope to the beach we were assured of turned out to be a two level 6 foot drop. So we had to be creative with parking our vehicle. Otherwise, the place was lovely. So we didn't sleep well, so E started throwing up again on the way there and remained sickish for the next 3 days. She didn't eat so she didn't have anything else to throw up. So she threw several hissy fits a day from her disruptive sleep and begged to go home each night to her own bed but was equally just as happy we were still camping in the morning. So O didn't like to stay with us and insisted on wandering off willy nilly entire time, us having to run like mad to make sure he didn't fall over the drop. So he screamed his little head off every time we tried to put him in the play pen. So I fell over a log (backwards) while holding my son, hurting my back, AGAIN. So, the firewood was wet and we couldn't get a decent enough fire to cook a hotdog the first night. So, the bathrooms smelled bad, really bad.

What we did have, was a wonderful sandy beach area where my kids loved to dig. Just around the corner was a gorgeous sandbar where O could run to his little heart's delight, wandering into shallow pools and hucking gobs of sand through the air. J seemed to grow up over night as she excitedly accompanied mommy to the bathroom and stayed outside the stall and checked things out and reported back to me intermittently of what she's discovered, suddenly dropping the mummy and daddyism for the more grown up mum and dad. E and J could play for an hour at a time in the driftwood fort someone had made just down the beach. Barbeque chicken never tasted so good as it did there. We went for walks to the store and savoured ice cream bars while we sat on the wooden swing overlooking the ocean. We had campfires, where my J was introduced to the glories of toasted marshmallows and as she solemnly told my husband the next day.. Dad, I just love the campfire!. As could be told by the remnant "goop" on her face and legs. Then, we managed the miracle of miracles and got all three down to sleep in a strange place and actually got to have grown up time by the fire. We even got to play scrabble a couple of times. Your's truly winning hands down. Of course, he says he won the first game (we didn't keep score that time).

And the bathrooms? They cleaned them 4 times a day. Turns out the smell must be from the well water. I've never been to a place that cleans their bathrooms 2x a day never mind 4 x.

So despite all the negatives, the headaches, I would have to say it was worth it. Life is always going to be somewhat uncomfortable but really it's only us grownups that realize it. The kids, it's water off their back. They are not even aware of it five minutes after it has passed. For them, they won't remember screaming at me because she wanted to stay five more minutes, they'll remember getting to play in the fort, run on the beach rescuing starfish and playing in the sand. Life would be a lot easier if we had more of their view of life.

Family Vacation time

After much juggling over schedule, an almost panic attack because we thought our employee was stealing from us to finding out it was a machine error... thank goodness, I really didn't think she'd still but we thought the evidence was staring us in the face... and I actually have 5 clear days off.

Let's do a little happy dance about now. Much like the famed pee pee dance only less urgent. ;0)

And what are going to do? We are going camping. In my parent's trailer. Yeah, we're wusses. We like soft beds and indoor toilets and running water. Especially with three kids.

This time we are going to do things a little different in that I am taking off with the girls all by myself for the first day and night. It's gonna be an all girls camping trip and then daddy and little O will meet us out there on Sunday. This is our version of a "staycation". Of course our staycation could always get called... not on account of rain, after this heat wave I wouldn't mind the rain... but it could get called because K's employee's dad is sick and it could cause some problems. At the moment I am crossing my fingers that it will all be okay. As long as the girls get their one night, it will be okay because we have been counting sleeps for days now.

You see, daddy has managed to get to the arcade, bumper boats and mini golf twice this week on dates with his daughters. It was worth the money spent to see E's face glow when she came back on her first night. Not only did she get to go out with daddy all by herself she got to stay up later than her siblings. Then Wednesday J had her turn and she was so tired when she came home she could barely show me Pengy.. her new stuffed penguin that now has to go everywhere with her.

So now it's my turn. Only I get both girls at once but how nice will it be to spend a whole afternoon and evening crafting, reading and playing to our hears delight without interruptions from one little monster named O. Cause O doesn't do so well with crafts. He loves the idea of mucking about but mommy's stress level is at an all time high when he decides to climb up on the table. Best of all, all we need are shells and rocks to paint. No fancy crafts required.

Anyways, so I will be away until Wednesday and probably won't have much of a chance to get online since my battery doesn't work well in my laptop. AHHHH I am going to be email less for 5 days.

I will schedule some repeat posts of some my earlier posts that you may not have read before starting with last years camping trip.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

How Dumb am I?

I generally respond to comments via gmail. A habit I had gotten into because some comments just need a little extra commenting on or maybe I just need to have the last word. *l*

So I did that as usual to some of the comments I got regarding my recent purge post only to have it strike me while I was in the shower that perhaps some commenters might just not appreciate that. DUH!!! how many of us would really tell our hubbies that hey sometimes I think about my old boyfriend. OOOPS! I quickly dashed out wet and soggy determined to prewarn those that needed it.

I am hoping and crossing my fingers that those emails didn't go through or if they did that they didn't make it very far if you know what I mean.

If it has, I truly am sorry. I just wasn't thinking at all.

Wordless Wednesday - Helping Papa in the Garden

Helping or Hindering? *L* - Picking Beans.

Purging is good for the Soul?

I believe I have quoted from the Jane Austen Book Club on this blog once before and even used this specific quote... "high school is never over". It's true. Whether you were the popular kids, the losers or somewhere in between there is, more than likely, at least one memory lurking in your mind that can still make you cringe.

I was in the inbetween crowd and I was okay with that. However, during my Grade 11 year, I decided to do a year long exchange to Europe, Holland, specifically, and when I came back to Grade 12, I found that I had changed so much I didn't really feel like I fit in anywhere. Suddenly my close friends were no longer the understanding or fun loving people that I remembered. Did they change or was it me? That year in Europe probably did change me. Who can go away from their families for an entire year and not mature a little? So while I enjoyed graduating etc... I did not really connect with all that many people any more.

You think that you're done when you get that diploma and walk off that stage but it's really far from over. If you don't move away, you will continually run into "friends" from school. These will quicly categorize themselves into two groups... those that grew up and did something with their lives and those that didn't grow up and can still be seen at the local pub getting pissed every night.

Then, of course, there are the reunions. I went to my 10th and it basically was a drag. I had just gotten married, one of my closest friends' husband worked with mine for a time and they were still ticked with him over some issue so she wouldn't talk to me, which meant the other girls I was close to either hung with her or me and it was her because I had moved away for a while and lost contact with everybody. So it was awkward.

Then there is the ex-boyfriend. For purposes of anonymity, we will call this person Steve. He was shall we say my "first" both in you know what and what you would call a serious relationship. We ended up breaking up because I had moved 2 hours away for work and he didn't like being left in the home town alone even though he planned to move to the same place in 6 months or so. He ended up dating a sister of a school friend of ours and, of course, I eventually found out and that was it.

I spent the next couple of years trying to get over him. I would actually be fine then suddenly I'd have this intense dream about him and I'd just have to call. Usually I'd get his mother and that was enough to make the dreams go away for a time. I even lived with another guy in the meantime.. talk about rebound. Then I just had to call him again, this is like 2 years later, and he was really glad to hear from me. Turns out he was still seeing the same girl he cheated on me with, although they were on the verge of breaking up and did break up shortly after I called. Thus started a weird sort of friendship between us. I was still attracted to him but whatever it was for him for me... just wasn't there anymore.

I knew when to give up and move on. I couldn't be around him, there was just some weird kind of charm he had for me. So I moved back home and eventually lost touch with him. The last I'd heard from him was when he called up to see if I wanted to rent a place with him and another friend. Turned out the other person was "the girl" and they were getting back together again. He couldn't see how bizarre and awkward that would have been for me. He thought we'd all be mature enough to get around it. I can tell you right now that she would not have been keen on having me around AT ALL.

Then I met my future Mr. Right and basically moved on. I hadn't talked to Steve since that last phone call approximately 4 years from the 10th High School Reunion.

Am I a little weird when I say that I still have this weird strange attraction to him? Don't get me wrong. I love my husband and know he's the one for me. Steve and I had different values, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't think it was wrong to cheat if we weren't in the same town etc and not officially engaged or married and he smoked pot, which I never did etc.

So I know that if I had gone down a different road in life that I would have ended up making compromises where I shouldn't. Every single "different" thing about me.. was because of him. He exposed me to music that I would never have ever listened to before. Even though I am not a fan of punk he got me to listen to it and understand it in a different sort of way. In the end, I just don't think I was rebel enough for him.

Let me just state that I don't regret my life now at all. I am 100% positive about this. It's just that I still have this weird soft spot for him and it bothers me. Cause I don't think I should. I should be able to face him completely nonchantly and not even think or remember how we used to go together. Instead, I avoid him at all costs and barely looked or said two words to him during the whole reunion. Is that messed up and immature or what? I have been wanting to talk to someone about this for some time now but I don't think even my mother would understand what I'm saying. Cause I'm not saying I'm still in love with Steve.. I just seem to still think about him now and then.

Now it's my 20th reunion and I didn't go this time. Not because I didn't want to run into Steve but because I am embarrassed. You see I have gained a lot of weight since high school and although I was heavy at the 10th... I'm even heavier now after having had the three kids.

Stupid thing is that I lost my baby weight literally in a week but after that I started to gain weight slowly but surely keeping an extra ten pounds on between each babies and with O and the high blood pressure, I'm the heaviest I have ever been. I am embarrassed to go to my 20th Reunion and show them how fat I have become.

And that makes me sad. Why am I telling all this? I don't know except that I haven't told anyone else here about it. It's funny, my husband is supposed to be sensitive but when I told him about the reunion in passing he never once asked me if I wanted to go or why I wasn't going. There was even on old acquaintance on facebook who asked me if I was working that night because maybe she'd pop in and see me. I never answered her. She never came.

The 20th reunion was this past weekend and it's too late to change my mind but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed myself. I barely enjoyed myself at my brother's pig roast in June because most of the guests were friends of theirs that we barely knew. Somehow I have lost that ability to just go up to strangers and make conversation.

Even though you should be happy with the way you are... sometimes it just beats you down and it's really hard to get back up again.

That's it. I don't have any pithy commentary with which to end all this. Perhaps it was just a little purging of my soul and I shall feel a little lighter after this because when you speak something out loud it loses it's power.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not have to show the house again on Friday morning. I did not have to race around the house like mad cleaning by myself, again. I did not have three unruly children there were determined to not drive me crazy. O did not dump out a box of baking soda in the furnace room. I did not forget to clean it up immediately. I did not get distracted cleaning another part of the house. I did not become suspicious that my two youngest were awfully quiet. I did not ignore them though because I was busy. I did not suddenly come across white spots all over the floor and did not follow piles of white powder to the two culprits where I did not find small cups of baking soda dumped all over their bedroom.

I did not find them with all their play dough stuff dumped out onto the floor amid all the baking soda. I did not have O going behind me all morning undoing what I had done. O did not

dump all the stuff off his bookcase so he could climb on top. His sisters did not sit idly by but came and told me immediately that's what he was doing. I did not have to pick everything up again.

I was not ready to pull my hair out.