The "Pre" Season

It seems like we have been doing a lot of "pre" stuff lately, which make me come to the realization that things are going to be changing once again very soon.
Sunday, Ethan and I went to his "Great to be 8" presentation. For those who don't know, it is a presentation given to fill kids and parents in on what they need to do to prepare for baptism, cub scouts, etc. I think Ethan thought "Great to be 8" was going to be something different and was very disappointed that it was another meeting in his eyes, but was very excited for Cub Scouts once he heard he got to go on camp outs. We even got his baptism date and time: December 4, 2010 at 4pm. I know it is 10 mouths away but when each ward has a set time on the 1st Saturday of each month it is pretty easy. Ethan is the only one in the ward with that date so we get to put together the whole program. So mark your calendars and be prepared to participate.
We also just got the packet in the mail with all the paperwork for Holly to start Kindergarten this fall. The "Kindergarten Round Up" as they call it, is on March 12th. That is when we will register her for school, take the tour of the school and meet all the teachers. She has to have all of her shots before we can register her so we have an appointment with her doctor for tomorrow morning. She hates shots but she is willing to go so she can go to school.
Holly keeps asking me if "today is her last day of preschool? Am I going to Kindergarten tomorrow?" She is so excited and just doesn't understand why she can't start right now.
Mason will be old enough to start preschool in the fall (barely) but I think we might wait until January 2011 to start him. He is talking a lot but it is not always clear enough to understand and I didn't think that he was going to be ready to potty train this summer. I might be wrong about that. He keeps going into the bathroom, stripping down to nothing and sitting on the potty all by himself. Mind you, it is often after the fact but he is making the effort all on his own so I think we are on our way.
What is boils down to is my kids are growing up far to fast. That once you start getting used to something, it always changes. I'm getting old and my kids are starting a really fun time in their lives. I want them to slow down and enjoy their childhood but they are all too ready to be "big". That is the way life goes, eh? I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it yet.

Itching....

I am itching to start a new project! I had my last photo class on Tuesday. The new dishwasher (isn't it pretty) was delivered and installed on Wednesday and here it is Thursday. I have started making a list of the things I want to do with notes on measurements and ballpark costs. I know our downstairs shower needs to be done but I haven't figured out how to do that yet and wont until we start pulling the old stall out. Ryan is not up to it yet and I know if I start it without him I will be in trouble. We also have our upstairs bathroom floor to do but we were advised that laminate flooring is not the best to put in the bathroom because of the humidity so....it is either vinyl or tile. I don't want to do a really nice floor until we can do it right which means a new vanity because the one we have is not put in right (big surprise). So we need to do a inexpensive fix but have no idea how to do it, especially how to seal it so water doesn't leak through the floor when the kids are in the tub. (sigh...)
So I have started with things that I can do in a day or two, that is not to expensive and can be done in stages. Which brings me to the longing to go to Lowe's by myself tonight. Do you think I can convince Ryan? Maybe but we will see because I know it is a dangerous prospect, me at Lowe's by myself. That store is my down fall....
Anyway I think I can convince Ryan into letting me get a wall mounted shelf for our office. We still have 3 boxes that I haven't unpacked since we moved in two years ago. They have all of my scrapbooks, memorabilia and stuff in them. If I can get the office into better working order maybe he will go for that project.
Next I want to repaint the railings in my entryway. My good friend Cathie Hughes did an awesome job with hers and we would like the same look in our house. Then add a shelf along one wall in our tall entryway to match. I really am excited about this project because Ryan came up with it all by himself and I really liked the idea. A first for us - to both agree on something right off. Miracles do happen you know.
Then I want to paint and put vinyl floor tile down in my laundry room. This is where Ryan and I are going to have a difference of opinion. He wants a black and white floor, which I like but it will cost twice as much as just a regular vinyl tile. I figure it is not a room we really are going to be showing off so why go to the extra expense. The cats are the ones who use the room the most since their litter boxes are in there, so this might me the last thing we do.
As you can see I'm itching and very excited to get started.

Change

I think that spring is finally on the way and a little early at that. The snow has all melted and the big snow storm we were suppose to get came, went and melted as quickly as it came. So on to spring cleaning/de-cluttering, not only our house but ourselves. Ryan got sick a couple of weeks ago and stayed really sick. He ended up going to insta-care and was told he only had the flu. Then he went to his primary care doctor who did a few more tests and found out that 1) he had Mono again and 2) since he doesn't have a spleen, he needed to be getting an inoculation every 10 years to help his immune system to do what it needs to. So he got his shot and has been taking his meds and hopefully is on the mend. I have really missed the help around the house, but with all the crap that has been going on with our health lately (Ryan sick and my back) we have found we really need to be taking better care of ourselves. So we are doing little changes here and there.
As with anything I do my homework. Finding good healthy recipes and getting rid of the junk. Replacing our stores of junk food with health snacks, and both of us not eating after 8 pm at night, which is hard because we both get the munchies around 9 pm. The hardest part is laying off the sweets. It is both of our comfort foods, chocolate for me and cookies for Ryan. When we get stressed out that is the first thing we crave. So we are having to figure out something to replace it with and I don't know about Ryan but I haven't been able to figure that part out yet.
Now we just need to get our bodies feeling well enough to start exercising, which is hard when your in so much pain. I had the last of my injections in my back yesterday and am hoping this one does the trick. The first one helped a little, the second one didn't do anything and even made it worse in some respects. Now with this last one I am hoping for a miracle. I have been achy and in a lot of pain yesterday, not the same kind of pain but just achy all over the lower half of my body. Today is a little better but I am waiting for tomorrow. The second day after my injection is the worst because all the anesthetic is out of my body and I really feel it. I have to wait two weeks after the injection to see if it has done any good. If it doesn't they are going to have to go in and drain the cyst and that means surgery. Surgery on the back and anywhere near the spinal cord makes me nervous but it is ether that or living in pain for the rest of my life, so what do you do?
Our dish washer finely died (almost). It still runs but we have to pretty much rise every last food particle off the dishes before we put it in the dishwasher so it was time to get a new one. We picked it out Saturday and it will be delivered and installed tomorrow. We lucked out because we get our installation cost back through rebate and then there is the energy rebate from Rocky Mountain Power for getting a "energy star" rated model, which is always a plus.
Then of course we have to start the bathroom floor in the next few weeks and then on to the downstairs shower. That should take up most of our tax return but at least we don't have to go into debt for those things. Can you tell I'm trying to have a positive attitude?
Well I'm trying to look at the bright side and not get so stressed out about things. It's cheaper than chocolate. ;)

Spring Fever

I officially have spring fever!! Almost all the snow is gone and the weather is in the mid 40's. I want to go to Lowe's Home Improvement and spend some of our tax return and get our much needed new dishwasher but I'm finding my practical side is kicking in. So I will do my homework first and get the best dishwasher for our budget.
I also want to just spend a whole morning/afternoon at Lowe's looking at different things, like flooring for our upstairs bathroom, a shower stall for our downstairs or maybe tile (I know Ryan you don't want to worry about tile) and paint. Always paint....you can do so much with paint. Right now I would have to take my kids and I don't want to because they are all over the place and I leave frustrated. Lowe's should be a happy place. I know, I know I have a problem, but I honestly LOVE seeing how I can decorate/re-do a room for the least amount of $$. My husband really hit the jackpot when he married me because the greatest gifts I get are power tools!!! Oh to have a table saw, miter saw, router, etc. Forget Ryan wanting a garage with a full workshop - I'm the one who would die for one!
This time of year my sickness gets bad as I am finding that I want to take on BIG projects. Last year at this time I started redoing my kitchen cabinets, which I love but have yet to finish the little details for lack of the proper tools. Cutting molding at the right angles, especailly in my kitchen is a challenge when all you have is a circular saw that attaches to a drill, but I'll figure it out because it is REALLY starting to bug me.
Oh well I guess I will take one thing at a time and enjoy the journey, right?

Getting Better

Well Ryan is starting to feel a little bit better but is still "working from home" today. I guess it's nice that he can sleep while having his phone on counts as working, but it helps that today is Presidents Day here in the U.S. which means that most banks are closed except Ryan's. I'm starting to get worn down and would REALLY like Ryan to be back up and running, and I'm sure he would be too. My husband isn't a very good sick person as most men are but I guess he is better than most as he just wants to be left alone to suffer in peace. The kids are really starting to miss their Dad though.
Today it is over cast and raining which I hope is a sign that spring will soon be on it's way. Although I don't miss the heat I do miss the sun and being able to open up all the windows in my house. We are starting to feel the staleness of not having any fresh air through the house for awhile and spring fever is starting to set in. The kids wanting to be outside all the time but not wanting the coats on and the lack of a swing set. The over cast day doesn't help these feeling either.
I have to admit that I am wanting to get out and start planting. I think maybe we should look into getting a green house then maybe we could have a longer/earlier growing season. I love having fresh vegetables just outside our door, but I guess that once the planting is done Ryan does do most of the work. He tells me that the yard and all things outside the house are his, so I am more than willing to let him once the heat comes.
Now we are just trying to get out of the winter blues and find the energy and motivation to start the spring cleaning, as well as lose some weight. Ryan and I REALLY need to and we just don't have the motivation. We love our comfort food too much. Maybe we could get Jillian Michaels to come to our house and help us out. I hear she has a new show where she does that and I bet Ryan would just love it. ;)
Anyway this is just a hodge-podge of things to help keep me going with the blog update thing. I hope you enjoyed it because I know I did. (ha,ha)

Home Sick

So the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics start tonight and I have found that with all the coverage that two things have happened to me at once. The pride I feel for my homeland has grown (if that were possible) and that I am getting home sick. I have been to Vancouver and love that city. If there was a city that I would think to be perfect it's Vancouver with it's mountains to the east and the ocean to the west; with Stanley Park and Water Street it just has a little of everything. But I am also missing Alberta, it is so beautiful there, as you can see in this picture that my very talented cousin Heather Palmer Ward took. And of course I miss my family because they are just the best! They are just cool to hang out with, so fun and accepting. I find myself wishing my kids could grow up around them; to have time to get to know them. We really don't see Ryan's family all that much because we do live 40 minutes from his parents, so I feel a little isolated at times. Besides lets face it, Ryan's family and I have not always been on the best of terms. I know that I am "different", and I'm Okay with that. It's one of the reason's I think Ryan married me because I wasn't really like his family. That doesn't make anyone better than the other just different, but it does make me want to be around my crazy family more because I'm just like them. Does that make any sense?
Oh, just to let you know I will be staying Canadian for now. I looked into getting my US citizenship and it is twice as much $$ than just renewing my Green Card. Ryan is telling me "we still have a few months". I think he is going to try and talk me into finding the money somewhere to get my US citizenship but that would mean not going to Canada this summer and I am not willing to give up my trip for something I'm not for sure I'm ready to do yet. In the oath you take to become a US citizen you have to "renounce all ties and affiliations with other counties". To me that has a lot a meaning and maybe I'm taking it too literally but I feel it's a very serious statement. I'm trying to take it as such.
But right now I'm just very proud to be a Canadian so I hope everyone enjoys the games because I sure will. GO CANADA!

Struggles

I haven't written anything lately mostly because of the internal struggle I continue to have with my self, that goes something like this..."I don't have anything positive to write", "I have too many things to do and writing on the blog takes too much time.", "I have too bad of an attitude to write anything nice and I complain too much as it is." and "No one reads it anyway so why should I bother." I have finally overcome. I decided that someday I will look back on this, laugh and be glad that I took the time to write it (type it) down.
As you can tell I'm not in a positive emotional state today, or have I been for the last little while. Don't get me wrong I am keenly aware of everything I have and that I have SO much to be grateful for but I find that when I/we (I should include Ryan in this) have so much thrown at us at once I tend to get really tired. And when I get tired my natural reaction is to look at all I don't have and want...want being the operative word. Then of course I am not very fun to be around. I don't verbalize it, I'm just really quite and my temper is short. I have a tendency to hold things in until I blow up. Those that are closest to me bare the brunt of this which of course leads to more guilt about how I'm a terrible wife/mother and that I really am blessed. That I am an ungrateful person and I shouldn't feel this way in the first place. (sigh...)
So I should recap those things that have happened in the past little while, good and bad, for posterity's sake. Let's start with the bad and get it over with, so that the good is the last thing anybody reads and hopefully will stick with you longer.
First, a few weeks ago I went into my boys room to find that the carpet was wet in one corner. I thought that they had been having a "tea party" with their sister and had spilled some water. Ryan went down latter and noticed the same thing, but he thought enough to explore it further only to find that their closet along with the everything on the floor in there where soaked through. Long story short our downstairs shower is located on the other side of the wall and the drain had not been sealed properly, so that every time the shower was used all the water wasn't going where it needed to. Now we get to replace the shower, (which we knew had to be replaced eventually) as well as carpet and fix dry wall. We are trying to look on the bright side..."at least it wasn't the pipes inside the walls."
Second, I try to be a good wife and use coupons to do my shopping, so I was on the computer the other day printing some coupons off at a websites that offers "free printable grocery coupons". While on one that I have used many times before our computer started freaking out! I had windows popping up everywhere saying that we were being attacked by a virus. First thinking that the firewall, anti-virus software we had on our computer would be doing it's job. Then I disconnected the Internet line from the computer and tried to close things up so I could run a "scan" with our security software, but I wasn't able to. Our Internet browsers kept pulling up window after window trying to get to different porn sites! Talk about Mad! I couldn't believe that someone would make a virus like this, secondly that they would put it through a coupon site that women used. Long story short we tried 3 different anti-spy ware software still unable to get rid of it, finally doing a complete system restore. It seems to be working okay for now.
Third, night before last the kids had just gotten out of the tub when I went down stairs to find the ceiling dripping and the floor of our downstairs bathroom flooded. Again we thought we had a pipe leak especially since the light in the bathroom and the laundry room on the other side of it wasn't working, but after much stress and investigation we found the reason. The good thing, it wasn't a pipe and that the safety switch on the outlet in the bathroom just need to be reset (for some reason the lights to both rooms are connected to the plug) The bad thing, Mason had pored 1/2 of the tub water on the floor and it had leaked through the tile on the floor, through the backer board (which we now think is not there), through the sub-floor and finally through the downstairs ceiling. Now we get to replace the bathroom floor. Tired doesn't even begin to explain how I am so done with problems!
Now onto the GOOD....First, Ethan has lost is two top front teeth. He looks so cute and even sounds cute because he can't pronounce his words very well without his teeth.
Second, I am enjoying my photo class for the most part. I am learning a lot but am finding that the more I learn the more I want a new SLR camera, that we can't afford. ;( On the plus side I am able to take better pictures with the camera that I have now. I would post some but I lost them when our computer had all the problems with the virus. I will take some new ones and post them soon as I have an assignment this week.
Finally, Mason got a new hair cut and looks very cute. I think he might make his way into some of my pictures for my photo class assignment.
That is about it for now. I now have to make call to get a copy of my MRI for my next back injection and download the paperwork for my US citizenship. My green card is expiring in December and I have to find out if it would be worth it to get my citizenship rather than renewing my green card. I'm torn at the moment because for reasons my husband and others can not understand I am very proud to be a Canadian. I am very proud of my country even with it's draw backs. It still is a place of great people, beauty and heritage. I miss it all the time, but I guess since the chances that I'm ever going to get to live there again is slim to none I should just get over it and try to embrace the country I live in, eh?

Something Fun

My cousins wife, Emily posted a note to her Facebook page that I thought was kind of fun. She had 22 questions about herself that she asked her little boy to answer. So I took her advice to ask my own kids to see what they would say. Now remember Ethan is 7, Holly 4 1/2 and Mason who is 2 didn't answer any.

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Holly: Clean up
Ethan: CLEAN UP!!!

2. What makes Mom happy?
Holly: When I brush my teeth
Ethan: I help you out

3. What makes Mom sad?
Holly: Not helping
Ethan: When I don't listen

4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
Holly: When you shake your booty
Ethan: Tickle me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Holly: She helped her Mommy out
Ethan: You had yellow hair, right?

6. How old is your Mom?
Holly: 28 (I like)
Ethan: 38 (right)

7. How tall is your Mom?
Holly: 38 inches
Ethan: 100 inches

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Holly: Make dinner
Ethan: Sleep

9. What does your Mom do when you're not around?
Holly: Clean
Ethan: Get some turns (that is what my kids say when they mean get to watch a TV show of their choosing)

10. If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Holly: Giving water
Ethan: Owning a fancy house

11. What is your Mom really good at?
Holly: Playing Wii Fit
Ethan: Making dinner

12. What is your Mom not very good at?
Holly: I don't know
Ethan: Spelling (true)

13. What does your Mom do for a job?
Holly: Clean
Ethan: Taking care of us

14. What is your Mom's favorite food?
Holly: Spaghetti
Ethan: I don't know

15. What makes you proud of your Mom?
Holly: Cleaning the playroom (that is their chore)
Ethan: Good Mom

16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Holly: Ruby (Max & Ruby on Nick Jr.)
Ethan: Garfield (???)

17. What do you and your Mom do together?
Holly: Clean
Ethan: Make dinner

18. How are you and your Mom the same?
Holly: Birthday (true, I had her on my 34th Birthday)
Ethan: We both like Canada

19. How are you and your Mom different?
Holly: I like TV & you don't
Ethan: Your a girl & I'm a boy (he rolled his eyes as he said this)

20. How do you know your Mom loves you?
Holly: Just because
Ethan: Cause you take care of us

21. What does your Mom like most about your Dad?
Holly: Kiss (giggling)
Ethan: He makes a good steak

22. Where is your Mom's favorite place to go?
Holly: Wal*mart
Ethan: Canada

This was fun to do and it made me laugh. I also saw a reoccurring theme through out, cleaning. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but this was fun enough I think I will do it again when they get a little older and Mason can answer some questions too.