Dear Auto Glass Repair Man

Hi, Yes, it is I, the lady whose car you have at your shop. You know, the one who was told to be home at a quarter to one to ensure I was home for you to pick up my vehicle? The one who needed to take an hour off work to be home in time for that one o'clock pick up? Yeah, that one.

Well, one o'clock came and went and there was no sign of you so I called my husband, who is working about 5 hours away right now to make sure I had the right time and to double check that I had the right day. Um, I did. You didn't show up. My husband called you at 1:15, and you said you were on your way. I am thinking that you need to get your GPS checked or replaced as I know where your shop is and I know where it is in conjunction with my house and there is no way it should take one and a half hours to get from there to here. Um, now that I mention it, it only takes 15 minutes to get from one side of this town to the other and THAT, sir is if you hit every red light along the way.

I know you don't really care but I do have a lot of things to do as a mom and there are a great many of them that involve me needing my car and that don't involve me sitting at home waiting 2 hours for you to come. I have now had to recruit my father to pick up the little boy from my house, take him to the school so he can be reunited with his mother and so he can pick up my daughter. I realize that lunch is the most important meal of the day. Oh, it's not? That would be breakfast? Then, sir, I don't understand why our one o'clock "right after lunch" appointment has been detained for so long. I certainly hope it wasn't because you had to send your steak sandwich back because it was over-done, tough and chewy, and all your little garage friends had all ready eaten and you were still waiting for yours and when it came you had to eat all by yourself while your friends stared at you because they were all done. (Excuse me while I pause to breathe after that incredibly long, run-on sentence.)

Sir, I appreciate the fact that you did eventually show up, looking like a grease monkey. (Oh wait, you kind of are, except you work with glass not oil and the like so how, pray tell, did you get that filthy?) I know my car doesn't look like much, especially with that whole back window thing happening but I am really hoping that you put down one of those seat protector paper thingys. (Don't look at me like I am stupid. You know what I mean.) This car carries very precious cargo; it carries my kids to and from school and the food I feed them from the store to my house; it also transports us, dressed in the finest we have, to church. Please take care of it and try to keep it clean.

Oh, just so I know, the whole 5:00 ready thing? Yeah, is that still a go, since the whole 1:00 pick up thing was delayed by almost 2 hours? I would hate to pack up my kids, bother my dad for yet another ride today, get to your shop to find out that someone brought doughnuts for coffee time and your coffee order was messed up. I'd hate for that to have happened to you.

Just out of curiosity, you don't happen to be related to the cable guy or the phone man? No? Oh, no reason; just wondering.

By the way, I do appreciate you fixing my car. These Canadian winters can be tough and, while it is certainly beautiful now, I know that winter will rear its 'ooglay' head again so, having a glass barrier between it and us will be really swell.

Turn it on, wind it up, blow it out...GTO

My family ♥ cars, well, not just cars; we ♥ good ole American muscle cars (except for Rush; she ♥ them too but her favorite is the 2009 Acura NSX and if you were to ask her, she would even add silver on there because it doesn't hurt to be too specific).

BigB and I took the younger two kids to a small, local car show yesterday and, more often than not, the thing we heard most from their adorable faces was "OH! I LOVE THAT ONE! THAT ONE'S MY FAVORITE!". We have discovered that Jellybean loves Challengers (any year) and if they are purple that makes them even BETTER. Bug loves Challengers, Mustangs, GTOs and, pretty much anything that screams American muscle car. His favorite seemed to be a '71 Boss Mustang, orange in color but I didn't end up getting a picture of him with it.



We found the cutest Austin Mini Pickup that the kids HAD to get their pictures taken with it as they were almost taller than it.

At this point I think they were distracted by a lime green Challenger.


"Heh! Yook (look) at dat Mustang!"

Mama's favorite...

I have stalked coveted loved this car from the very first time I saw it, about 10 years ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I still love me some muscle car and I ♥ the Challenger and the Mustang but this car, {sigh}, she is SO pretty!!!!

As much as I love that beautiful navy blue 1932 Buick, as we neared the end of the vehicles, I gave my ♥ to another but check it out! How could you not love this big ole boy?

A Boss Hoss with Nos (and no, I am not channeling Dr, Suess.)


C'mon Dad! There's lots more to see!

And just like Bug rockin' the faux hawk, these cars ROCKED (according to my 2 young children - um, and me...)

Girls' Night Out

By the end of the day yesterday I had decided I didn't want to go but I have a dear husband who loves me and gave me a gentle kick out of the nest (or the mild pity-party as it may have been). I had decided that sitting at home was going to be WAY more fun and beneficial for me than going out, after all I went out to Krisann's bridal shower the night before and, apparently that means, I am destined to stay at home for the rest of the week bound to the washer and dryer. (C'mon, it made sense in my head during my mild pity-party and, heh, who has a party and doesn't serve refreshments? Apparently I do because I failed to offer myself any kind of appetizer or gooey chocolate treat. Some hostess I am!)

So I hopped on over to my friend Char's house and we headed off, Char, J1 and I, too Loretta's and then off to the party. There were only 7 of us, not including the MaryKay lady and it turned out to be a blast but what else could you expect when you get 3 Newfies, 2 Indians and 2 Cowboys in the same room? We laughed, we primped, we preened and we looked, dare I say, gorgeous!

So, a big thanks to BigB for kicking me out of my house and "allowing" me to spend money! Yay for MaryKay and for good friends who are ready to compliment each other on how fabulous we all looked. Shazam!

The bride-to-be, Krisann (center), her mama, Rose and J1.

Here I am, making a brief appearance (it happens here sometimes; I am on occassion in front, and not behind, the camera) on my blog, pre-makeup but post skin care and foundation. Oh and I know I said I am glow-in-the-dark white but I seemed to have been proven wrong; I din't have to use the lightest foundation in Ivory, and was, in fact, Beige 300! And we haven't even had any summer weather yet! A'RIGHT!!!

Our fearless (you'd have to be to take on this group of friends) leader.

The trouble-makers My friends, Char and Loretta.After make-up (including bronzer, for. the. first. time. ever.) Too bad I always have such squinty eyes when I smile.

I have gorgeous friends, inside and out!

The hostess with the mostess, for this month anyway...the lovely J1!

Rose lookin' swe-et!

We had loads of fun and there is another party in July! *Tingle* We got a sneak peak of what the special is and I am now on my way to the ditches and garbage cans to get me some pop cans for recycle and save my mula!

Not Me Monday

I came upon this fun Not Me Monday idea through MckMama's blog & although I have never done one, until tonight, I have always found her not me entries amusing and NOT something I would ever do.

I did not wonder if I was hallucinating when I saw two very well dressed, clean-cut men walking down the middle of my street with their glass latte cups in hand and a HUGE blue & white ball. Nope, not me.

I did not panic when I looked at Bug's car slammed hand today just to see his entire hand is tye-dyed black, green & purple and it did not breifly cross my mind to call my doctor at home to see if we need to make him an appointment or if we should just ride this bruising out.

I did not feel God "slap" me upside the head when I was telling Jellybean that she doesn't always need to know what is going on and sometimes she just needs to trust us because sometimes the not knowing just may be worth it and I did not hear God say "Cha! What have I been trying to tell you!?" No way, not me.

I did not completely freak Bug out while he was whining at me by using my mad parenting skills and telling him I saw something in his mouth and he had better let me help him get it out. When he wide-eyedly (cool adverb inventage moment brought to you by the letter 'W') looked at me, I did not tell him that there HAD to be something in his mouth making him whine like that because my children don't whine.

I did not use my hands and feet to keep Jellybean pushed over onto the far side of her bed while our neighbor daughter tried to climb into bed so she could have her completely unplanned sleepover as Jellybean kept going right back to where her body wanted to be...sprawled across her entire bed (can you imagine that?) and she did that each time I tried moving her until I didn't pin her to the wall so J2 could get in bed.

I did not decide at 8:40 that it was my bedtime and wish that I could be going to bed instead of an hour later (which I still did not do)and I did not pout i the least when my husband called to tell me he and the girls would be late from WIC when I won't really see the girls the rest of the week and hubby is going to MN for the week.

I did not do any of these things especially the ones that don't display my superior parenting skills. Nope, you've got the wrong guy; it wasn't me

Thursday, Mar 27/09 to Thursday April 2, 2009

This past week: in pictures.


Dog days of Spring. P.B. & J's dog Daisy shared her love with us through snuggles and kisses.


P.B. & J (everytime I think of P.B - Pickle Boy- I get a craving for a McDonalds cheeseburger with extra pickles...that boy gave a LOT of extra pickles! Hence the name.)


It wouldn't be a complete week in pictures without this photo even though it is on here once all ready.


LilB, Rush & Jellybean helping set up for Friday evening's church service.


CherylB in the ice cream truck ride at L.H. Mall in "The City".


Rush in same ice cream truck.


Rush had a run-in with her closet door but I think she won and, we hear, it is not as bad as her brother (LilB) and his toe - the one he dropped a 50 lb printer on...Sheesh!


Bug discovered his love of "doing" his own hair, making his own lunch AND, gasp!, tucking himself in! Oh the agony of a mama!


It was backwards day at school today and so, I willingly sent my children to school looking like they don't have a mama who cares for them. Jellybean started off in this pink sweater with pockets onthe front but decided it wasn't evident enough that said shirt was backwards so she changed into this shirt...




Rush was backwards too but she changed back to "normal" at first break as it was " really uncomfortable".

There you have it. A week in the life of us. I didn't put any work stuff on here as that would overwhelm anyone and I don't want to be responsible for that! (Grin) We are in the middle of getting new flooring, started doing inventory and are going to be painting next week. It has been a chaotic and completely lonely venture as none of the girls have been around much as they can't do work and there has been no place for them to sit even...We have had unplanned trips from the plumber and little to no planning on Boss lady's part but she is the boss and she must be respected and I must make the best of the situation and do what I can to the best of my ability - no matter what. Don't grumble, murmur or complain...sometimes it is easy to fall into that trap but I have done my very best ta not ta (to steal a 'Mater from Cars line). I know that all of this hard work and inconvenience will look really nice in the end and give us a much nicer work environment (esteticly -sp).

What was I thinking!?!

We began our Family Camp on Wednesday and that included people going on adventures on the 3 seater tube that the church purchased. Rush said it was the funnest, most scariest thing she had ever done (her words...school is out). I, on the other hand, chose life and did not want to go on it especially since I don't swim at all and have a paralyzing fear of water any deeper than my hips.

Yesterday they convinced me to go on the tube...well, Char did! She went with me and BigB said he would take it easy on us.

He lied!!!

(Not intentionally but still...)

Another boat came along and decided to "help" us out and began creating some nice waves for us. (By nice I mean incredibly evil, horrible, life threatening waves.)

Char fell off which left our tube unbalanced as we (meaning me) bounced over these waves. The moment the tube hit the water it was being thrown through the air again which means I hadn't even gotten my butt back on the tube and we were once again airbourn! I hung on for dear life but, alas, it was of no use.

I hit the tube for a brief moment with my butt before I was hurled through the air backwards over the tube. I was told by everyone who saw that I was thrown apporximately 10 feet into the air (get this picture) while doing my backwards sommersault. When I hit the water (which hurt a lot by the way) I went under so far that BigB said I probably could have stretched out my toe and touched the bottom of the lake ( I think we were only about 8-10 feet deep at that point.); when I opened my eyes, still under water, all I saw was greeny murkiness and I thought I was going to die. Yes, I had a life jacket on but I am so petrified of the water that I figure that my life jacket will be the one be faulty in some manner.

I eventually (sooner than it felt to me) got back to the surface and lay there bobbing in the water, panicking, thinking I was going to die and waited for the boat to come back to get me...Oh happy day!

Believe it or not they managed to get me back on a second time which was uneventful...minus the tears and screaming...LOL!

Here are a few shots. Unfortunately we didn't get the mid-air shot...you'll have to use your imagination on that one.

Uh, yeah. I am so brave; we hadn't even left the shore yet...lol

This was a genuine scream, unlike the joking one from above where we hadn't even left the shore...

Yo Ho Ho, a sailor's life for me.

Our church bought this boat so we could go out and have some fun. We work hard all week long, every week so we also want to play hard when we get to play. We also thought it would be great since we have a lot of single moms, to give them and their kids a chance to do something that they may not be able to do otherwise. Primarily though, we bought it for us all to have some fun...There will be other posts of how much fun it was while tubing...complete with pictures.The captain and his first mate.

Jellybean and Yoshi took a ride with BigB and Pastor Rob.

I think he may be too cute for words...

What a great day!

I don't know if this day could have been more fun while being so productive; I really don't. Today BigB & I went with the kids and got them 3 new fish. It has taken us this long to get over the last fish dying fiasco but we, today, have 3 new white mollies. One of which looks really neat with black spots all over; he kinda looks like a dalmation.

After all the fish shopping was taken care of we stopped by the church; BigB went with Wayne and Shar came with us. BigB and Wayne went and bought a boat for the church and Shar & I went to the store and got water skis for the church. Camp time next week is going to be so much fun!!! We can't wait.

BigB & I took the kids out for a nice lunch to celebrate their fantastic (Jellybean's outstanding) report cards. (I say outstanding for Jellybean's report card because she got all Acheivings and Excellings this term. All this on the little girl who was told she wouldn't pass Kindergarten due to her disability and each year has been the same thing...we're told this is the year she will be held back and each year she astonishes her teachers because she excels at all her classes. Yay Jellybean and Yay God!!!)

After lunch we went to the playground to play and to get some "fun shots" of us. (It wasn't until later this evening I realized that I burned my back quite badly). We dropped the kids off and headed back to the church to sketch out plans for the renovations and additions to the church, had supper there with Wayne and Shar and came back in time to get kids tucked into bed, "mommy made up stories" told and hamburger frying to make and share nachos with our "family" from across the alley for a movie night.

It has been full and fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we get to spend the afternoon with Pam & Eugene & their two kids for supper after church. It will be a fun filled, laughter filled time!

Looking at fish at Petland. He sure did take a fancy to this big guy but our tank is too small just for him.

Watch out!

We all enjoyed the swings but this was, by far, the best shot.

It is way easier to attempt this with 3 children than with 7.

This is called the art of point and shoot. Why else would she be able to shoot with her eyes closed.

Aw...how cute!

Me and my huney!

Health Records Laughs...

This is a copy of an email I got from my cousin and since I work in Health Records I found it particularily funny...thought I would share it with you.


"Actual sentences found in hospital patient charts"

She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.

Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.

On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.

The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.

Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.

Healthy appearing decrepit 69 year old male, mentally alert but forgetful.


The patient refused autopsy.

The patient has no previous history of suicide.

Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.

Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40lb weight gain in the past 3 days.

Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.

Since she can't get pregnant with her husband, I thought you might like to work her up.

She is numb from her toes down.

While in ER, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.

The skin was moist and dry.

Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.

Patient was alert and unresponsive.

Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.

She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce.

I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.

Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.

Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.

The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.

The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.

Skin: somewhat pale but present.

The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.

Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Blank, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.

Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

Finally, the sushi pictures

Here are the pictures from our sushi making fun. I know, I know...finally.

The first is our dear friend and teacher, Yoshi.




Yoshi helping Jellybean roll and form her sushi. She put rice, cucumber, fried egg, hot dog and shrimp crackers in her sushi. (shudder)

First anticipated bite of sushi and the verdict was...she really doesn't like the seaweed wrapper...


...however, she LOVED the inside!

1st Annual Family Day

The Provincial Government has given us this day as "Family Day" so we decided that we were going to definitely take advantage of it. First thing this morning we headed over to my dad's and visited with him and Judy. Judy had to go to work but we stayed and had a bite to eat for lunch with Dad. After that we decided to go to the bowling alley and asked Dad to come along to watch. He had so much fun watching the kids and teasing us as we were bowling and then he watched us take out our aggressions with 3 games of bumper cars. A word to the wise watch out for Jellybean on those bumper cars; she gets an evil look that frightened us all.

Bowling scores:

Jellybean 95
Bug 85
Rush 101
Jay 114
Me 114
BigB 228

BigB got lucky let me tell you; Pa figures it is because he is BigB's good luck charm.

We had so much fun and I will put up pictures later. I need a rest and it is off to work I go.