Boy! Do I ever feel lighter!!

I went to one of our local charity drop-off places and man, did I EVER drop off. I took all that we had put in the shed and all that I had recently taken out of our house and I left them with 10 bags of stuff. 10 bags!!!!! 10 big bags!!!! 10 big, full bags!!! 10 big, full, heavy bags!!!!! Sadly, I have to tell you that I am sure I can still get more crap out of my house...(hear the small, quiet voice that says...) oy vay.

Back to the purge

Today we are doing some massive cleaning, a making sure we can come home to a spotless house when we go on our trip(Jewel willing). We are taking our bags of stuff to give away (we are talking teddybears, clothes that some of our children have left here, tupperware, lunchkits, etc) out of our house today. By out of the house I don't mean transfered to the shed like any other time; I mean out of the house, out of the shed, into the van straight to the donation spot.

This purge has done one other thing for us. It has saved us $100 that we owed to the library due to 2 lost books and a lost kids vhs tape of Thomas the Train! We found all 3 items and that has me completely pumped!!!

I echo my previous sentiments from an earlier post; purging is wonderful!!!

The last we heard...

...some gang members were escorted by the police out of the school. Whether they belonged at the school or not is unknown. FYI: This was told to us by one of the few students who ended up staying the entire day as she couldn't get a hold of her parents and we thought she was gone all ready.

More chaos for our children

Today I went for lunch with Renee and at the end of our lunch I received a call on my cell. At first I almost hung up because I couldn't hear anyone there. A small, fearful voice quivered on the other end of the line, a shaky, "Mom...?" and then silence.

Immediately I had to fight the tears back even though I still had no idea what the matter even was there was that much fear in her little voice.

I found out that she wanted to come home and most of the students from Carlton had all ready gone home. There is a threat or rumor of a threat/attack on our children. The rumor is that today, possibly Monday there will be a shooting at the school. There is no particular target. If you are in their way or in their sight you are the target. This threat is being taken seriously enough that the students were locked in their classrooms and teachers were encouraging them to go home if they felat scared or nervous in anyway; also there were cop cars stationed outside the school today, not just the police liasons.

It is rumored that gang members from Saskatoon and Regina were in the student lounge first thing this morning. I was downtown today and there was a lot more security related issues today than I have ever seen and quite a few more shady characters lurking about.

Apparently, this is not supposed to be linked to the murder this past weekend. That was apparently just a rumor too. Kids were told by other kids not to go out that night because something was going to go down...that rumor turned out to be true. I certainly don't want to risk this rumor being true too...

A little irony with supper

Rush didn't like what I quickly made up for supper tonight, grilled ham & cheese sandwiches with orange soup (to all of you who don't know, that is what Bug calls tomato soup because he doesn't like tomatoes and that is his favorite soup but, I digress.). Anyway, Rush decided to make a taco out of our last night's leftovers. She grabbed some taco meat and dished it up, put it in the microwave to heat it...


...the next thing I knew the microwave was sparking and shooting some small flammage! I ran to the microwave and, in a panic, pushed the button to open the door to find...


...she had put the meat in a metal measuring cup to heat it and threw that in the micowave causing our pyro show. Apparently she thought you couldn't put metal in the microwave only if it had water in it! (Grin)

Okay people prepare your funny bones because this is where it gets good!!! The shirt she was wearing at the time of the incident reads, "What a difference a brain makes".

Ah the memories my children give me. So, to the people who will care for me in my last days, please cut me some slack, don't think I am losing my mind if I start laughing for no apparent reason. I have a lot of reasons to be laughing; you see, by then I will have raised 7 children and have a lifetime of memories just like these.

Success!!

We were up, dressed, fed and ready in plenty of time to get to Pa & Grandma's on time this morning and I made it to work with 6 minutes to spare!!!

First morning of solo parenting for a week a smashing success.

Tonight we have Reading with the Raiders 5:30 - 6:30 and I have school 6:30-9:30. An impossibly tight squeeze but I am thinking we will ditch the Raiders early this week so I can get to school on time. Sounds fair to me...

Edited to add:

Due to an unfortunate mishap at school of gym lockers not opening and of ones needing to get her gym teacher to help her once all the other girls were out, Rush missed 2 buses and had to walk home causing supper to not be quite on time. That folks, was the worst thing that happened regarding solo-parenting day one.

Bug & I got to the library in time to get him registered for Reading with the Raiders; he was too shy to talk to any of the 4 there or even look at them for that matter. We also decided to register Jellybean. I got to school on time (barely but on time) and home. Unfortunately home time was met with Bug crying in his room because he is "sad at Rush because she didn't give me a bed time snack" at 6:30 pm and when he asked to be put to bed at 8 and was offered a snack he declined. This whole school thing is going to take him some getting used to I think...it really tuckers him out and then he gets very emotional.

Tragedy strikes our children

And all we can do about this is teach our children how to hopefully avoid these situations and these people and pray...pray our butts off!


Extra grief counsellors have been taken to the school near by to help the kids out with this situation they find themselves currently in. Things have sure changed a lot since I was in high school.

It continues...

in Bug's room. I have been purging all afternoon and I have so far gotten rid of a huge bag of garbage including but not limited to broken toys and puzzles with 50% of the pieces missing. I have returned half of Jellybean's toys to her room and I also have a laundry basket full of toys to donate somewhere but I don't know where. So, if you know of any place or body who could use some toddler/preschool toys let me know.

Please, do not disturb...

...purge in progress and boy, oh boy, is it ever feeling good.

Why does it feel so good getting rid of things? I completely understand why it feels great once you have them organized because you feel a sense of order and along with that comes a peace and a place you can relax. Perhaps that is all that purging comes down to...order. As you purge, you put back where (insert item here) belongs and you get order.

You can't tell by looking at my house most days (especially when we would have all the kids here) but I love order. I love organizing but with this many kids and a husband, who occassionally doesn't understand my reasoning or my plan, well, you know that saying, "the best laid plans of mice and men...".

Anyway, today I have gotten rid of the mismatched lids and bottoms of rubbermaid containers. Where do those things go?! You can't even blame that one on the dryer!! I also organized that cupboard and created an area and a plan that everyone will be willing and able to follow. No longer are there popsicle containers and sticks strewn about the cupboard; they are all in a nice little container...contained. Ah, bliss...where have thou been my glorious friend.

The 3 million lunchkits we have for 5 people have been purged. Oh! I am not even exaggerating! Ok, maybe a tad. But now, the numbers are normal!!! Normal...oh to see your face again...

I still have so much to do but it will be done! Oh yes, it will be done!!!

And now that I am done sounding like a geek; I must get back to my purging so I can feel even more weight lifted from my shoulders and those fingers loosen from my neck...and that, is not an exaggeration.

It looks like I'm on the right track

Tonight I took that test Marc has on his blog and it looks like I have at least made the right decision career wise...30 out of 40 of my ideal career choices have to do with Healthcare. So, here are the top 10.



1.
Pediatrician
2.
Child and Youth Worker
3.
Family Practitioner
4.
Mental Health Nurse
5.
Psychiatrist
6.
Physician Assistant
7.
Funeral Director
8.
Social Worker
9.
Licensed Practical Nurse
10.
Adoption Counselor

Included in the rest are a variety of different specialty doctors and nurses etc. Not so shabby huh?

Missing

Tonight Rush & I were looking through some of our pictures as she is wanting to do a scrapbook of her own. I thought it would be a great time for her & I to spend some time together while she picked out the pictures she wants to print off and it was fun. We had a good time laughing at some of the silly pictures and remembering some good times. It was great until...

I came across a picture of my soon to be ex-sister-in-law and it really, really hurts. Not only was she my brother's wife but she was my sister and she was my friend and now, she is gone...I am angry at her for what she did to my brother(and I realize & respect that there are 2 sides to this) and I am angry & hurt that she has decided that she wants nothing to do with us. I am angry that I have to retell my younger two children that they don't really have an auntie R anymore because she has chosen to cut herself off from every single one of us and it breaks my heart to see how much it breaks theirs. I feel betrayed by her in so many ways and on so many levels that I can't even begin to sort it out in my head and my heart just doesn't even want to try.

At first it seemed as if their break up would alter our relationship but not eliminate it and I sent birthday cards and phoned and she came to see Rush when she was in the hospital and there has since, been nothing and there is a void...and it hurts...and I feel like there is a big part of my support system gone and that person who I know I could be silly with has disappeared and that big sister who was always there to laugh, to cry, to celebrate, to mourn has just decided to not exist in my world and I can feel her missing...

I haven't cried...but I can feel them there

I only worked until lunch today, went to my dad's and Jude's and picked up the Bug. He & I then drove to the school where I proceeded to snap pictures of every possible part of his first day of pre-k...the only thing I didn't get was a picture of him with his 2 teachers...

He had so much fun and it was great! I loved watching how he immediately felt comfortable enough to let my hand go and socialize with his new classmates but, inside, I felt a bit of loss. My baby has grown up so much and he is the baby. There will be no more. This is the last first "first" day of school. He even let go of my hand at one point on our school tour to take the hand of his new teacher and as beautiful as it was to watch him...my heart bowed down in sorrow...

I will post pictures but right now I am almost late for my class...

Chemistry nightmares

Well, it has officially begun; my stomach is one huge ball of twisting, turning, churning knots. Jellybean always tells us she has butterflies. Well baby, these butterflies have sharp claws and a vicious sense of humor and may even be sadistic...

I know once I get to my first class I will be fine but for the next 12 hours I will be a wreck so, health records girls, I apologize for my airheaded behavior, my possible quick temper and my sudden crying spells (just kidding). Seriously though, yikes!

Shiver me timbers

If today is any indication of what the rest of this fall is going to be like, I think I am really going to look forward to it, even with the cooler weather.

After church and the pizza lunch/worship meeting following service, we packed up some sandwiches and juices and met up with some friends, took the drive to Kinesao (sp?), went for a beautiful 3.7 km hike (according to my husband's recollection but I could be misinformed), stopped for a picnic supper and watched the kids throw rocks into the lake.

It grew quite cool once we reached our picnic destination as the sun was setting and the air off the lake was giving us a bit of a chill but nothing the kids noticed just us oldies, mainly Dixie and I. The chill was nothing the heater in our van couldn't cure once we were on our way home. Oh yeah, and those chocolate chip cookies that Dixie made didn't hurt either. Yummy!!!

It was a nice walk and one that I think will be even nicer once the leaves turn colors even more.

The fresh air from today's walk will help me sleep well tonight I am sure and there is something so relaxing about the smells of the outdoors. Perhaps it is from growing up on a farm that it relaxes me so much but I really let my guard down and the stresses seem to evaporate. Just the smells of the moss, the berries, the moist vegetation and the cool, crisp fresh air carrying the scent of "lake"...soothing.

It started off bad

and the cloud is just sort of hanging over my head. I woke up this morning with the aid of a terrible dream where we were searching and searching for our friend's boy, Simon, who had disappeared in a HUGE mall and was gone for 3 hours before they finally closed shops up and declared a code ADAM. He did get found; I found him but I never did get to see myself take him to his terrified mom and dad and I woke up shaking. It was so real, so vivid and so absolutely terrifying. Bug disappeared on me, in real life and was gone for about 10 mintues before we found him sitting calmly at the race car game at the arcade just outside of Zellers. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life and I relived that panic through that dream.

I got groceries today...Dollar Days here and flyer specials there and then went to Superstore to get the bulk of the groceries. They had no stew meat, no rice and no purchase worthy produce so I left feeling unsuccessful in my mission. I did however manage to get Bug 2 new pair of pants for $9 each and a $21 pair of Toronto Maple Leaf pj's for only $6. That was cool.

If I could get rid of this headache that is clinging to me, not wanting to ease at all. It would be a good day. I just feel like I am walking in a haze or outside of myself or something...bad dreams seem to effect me like that...

Plus, I think I am freaking out about starting school on Tuesday and I may be internalizing that fear, stress, tension, etc and I don't think that is helping get rid of this headache at all...

The first step to the end of the road

I mean, Bug is going to Pre-Kindergarten and is he ever excited and we are excited for him.

That being said, I remember taking Rush to her first day of Preschool/Daycare and it certainly doesn't feel like it has been this many years. It feels as though it was weeks ago and she is now in Grade 9!

His teachers came to our house today to meet him and get a bit of information about him. It was nice and is it ever reassuring to have a friend as one of his teachers but...

I still wanted to cry when they were gone which, I know, means...

I am really going to cry when I take him to his first afternoon, Sept 13, 2007. The day my baby takes his first step on that road that leads him to not being my baby anymore! The day he is that much closer to growing up and leaving us...(which, technically, is what this whole parenting this is about...but why must we grow so attached to the little buggers?)

The little 6 year old girl said WHAT!!!!!?????!!!!!?????

We ventured on a little day trip the other day. Whilst on the highway, a crazed coyote ran across, tail tucked between his legs, running for, what seemed, his life. My beautiful, pink wearing, hug and kiss craving, doll snuggling, nail polishing, earring wanting, sweet, innocent little Jellybean said, "You shoulda killed him, Daddy."

"Uh, exsqueese me...?" came the shocked words from her mommy. "Why should we have killed him?".

"I think he would have made a nice decoration."


That, just so you all know, has to come completely from her father!!! The only thing I could shoot an animal with is a camera...Darn that father!

Do you see what I see?

There is a dark and increasingly frightening image in the sky these days...the geese are gathering, flying in V formations and making a lot more noise than I heard this summer. It's a tad reminiscent of Spring only scary and sad instead of exciting and joyous. The leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow and showing tinges of red and orange...

Yup, this is the beginning of the end...summer is done.

The weather man, he lied!

What happened today? I thought we were supposed to have nice weather; I thought it was supposed to be the August day we never had. I thought they said that the weather would be perfect for me to take my family to the lake for one last day and have a weiner roast.

The weather man lied!

Aside from that, I woke up this morning, threw some clothes on and headed to JanRichards to utilize a gift certificate I had gotten from BigB. By the time I left there I was so relaxed that if I would have had the money to add a facial and then go some where for a massage I would have been in a coma. I ended up being able to get a manicure and pedicure with my gift certificate; I have never had either and it was just what the doctor ordered and I think there will be repeats. Unfortunately there won't be repeats from JanRichards as this is their last week open before everyone ventures out on their own.

I got home did a bit of work, also known as purging; I got rid of bags of clothes and teddy bears from this house. BigB was doing chores around the outside of the house and came in to tell me that 2 of our bikes had been stolen from our yard last night. I feel sick and it makes me so mad!!!

I have been on a roller coaster today. I don't like it at all.