Yay and Boo - 2010 fall edition

Okay,
Nay. seriously, I have NO time to be here on the computer. But I hate not posting for so long! And really- there isn't much 'news' to put up anyways.

Nay AND Yay! I've been so occupied with readings and homework that blogging or all the good, fall TV shows are taking quite a backseat. I have too much to do like laundry and all that. Thankfully everything I'm reading is fascinating and exciting to me.

Yay. Thankfully, I am no longer a 'psuedo'mother to 5 adorable kittens. We managed to off all of them on unsuspecting poor fools who took them from us FOR FREE from the front of the grocery store. Nothing says "take my adorable kitten" like my three little monkeys at the doors, holding them. So yay for no more kittens.

Yay that I'll be taking the cat in this week to be 'fixed'. er.... broken... whatever. Potatoe potahto.

Yay that I handed in my first nursing paper. It was on people of a different culture, so Will to me out to the Hudderite colony where I interviewed a family on their health and cultural beliefs. After writing the paper, I got it back. The teacher gave me 100%!! And even asked to use my paper as an example for future classes! I am relieved that my being out of school for 12 years or so isn't totally kicking my trash. BIG YAY.

SUPER yay that I got out of that horrid English class I disliked so badly. And hopefully there's another Yay coming up in a day or two when I should find out about the Biology. Less work = more time with my family.

Nay. My home renos are stalled, currently. It's a work-able kitchen, with appliances and running water, so I'm doing fine with that right now. Since I'm not home all day, it's not really getting under my skin anyways. And Will has SOOOOO much work right now that I'm happy when he just comes home and chills with me.

Yay. I got a new calling for my church. I am the music director in the Relief Society (women's organization). Will is the secretary for the Elder's Quorum, so he has his hands full with that too. House renos will have to wait.

Yay. I have this gym class at school. They're making us do 21-days of change, where we have to change something about our health, journal it each day, and report on is after the 21 days are done. You guys know me-- I'm a juice junkie. Me and my Redbull have quit our love affair and my 21-days of change is about me drinking WATER and only WATER. Boo. I miss flavour and carbonation. But I know it's a really good change for me... even if it sounds ridiculous to most. You guys know I do NOT drink water. ew. I'm on day 9. .... it's going to be a LOOOONG 21 days!!!

Nay. When I went to get my readings done last night, my little Em came into my room to talk about boys and all that. A few hours later, Will and I were feeling copious amounts of anxiety and frustration and fear.. It is NO fun having a teenage daughter. She's such an amazing young woman, though, I just hope she figures that out about herself sooner than later. I remember being her-- EXACTLY like her, at that age, and my heart hurts just knowing what she's going through. Heartache sucks. Finding a personal testimony with so much opposition sucks. Giving into peer pressure sucks. Feeling like you're all alone sucks. As parents, Will and I are realizing more and more each day our role in developing our children's spirituality. As I heard in church yesterday, these children born to us already have a stronger testimony than we do-- it's just our job to help them unwrap it.

Forget school papers and assignments and all that-- dealing with the knowledge that I'm building a spirit is FAR more work than I'd imagined. And, lucky for me, I have a SUPER partner to do it with. Yay.

Letters say it Betters

Dear Dave.
Firstly, I curse you with a thousand curses of hot grill pans and burning vegetable oil. I am VERY unimpressed with you for STEALING the recipe for a McDonald's Big Mac, and selling it here, in this tiny town of Mo. You may have called it something else, sure, but you're not fooling this fat-prone chick-- I KNOW it's a Big Mac! Which is why I curse you-- I moved somewhere to get AWAY from my horrible obsession with Big Macs, and then, the love of my life introduces me to your yummy 'Biggy D'.
Curses,
Mrs. Likely-to-gain-400lbs-this-week.



Dear Toilet Paper,
I am so glad that you, my favourite Purex brand, are on sale at the local store. Do you know how happy that makes me and my bum? (and making my bum happy is no easy feat!) Honestly, TP, I only let YOU that close to my behind, and you've got to know that's saying a lot!!! I love you so much, that I bought THREE TIMES the 'limit' amount yesterday, coercing my hubby to go through the lane behind me, JUST FOR YOU!!! I can't get enough of you! To all your friends on the shelves still, you can reassure them that I will be there shortly to ensure a hearty year's supply of softness.
forever thankful,
soft bummed me.


Dear Kitchen,
it has been my joy and my bane to watch you progress. I am loving having cupboards again, having running water, having a countertop that isn't made out of wood. Someday, I will enjoy floors I can clean, and electricity!
-Your OWNER

Dear Lovely Daughters of Mine,
To the two of you who share a room here at this house. I really truly appreciate when I can use the "if you're room isn't clean, you can't go see Chris Daddy" bribe (although, only me and your fathers know that threat isn't ever going to be followed through). But, what I don't appreciate is when I go to pack your "Chris Daddy" bags, you, my lovelies, have shoved ALL THE CLEAN LAUNDRY that was on the floor, into the dirty clothes hamper! This, in spite of it seriously irritating me and Daddy Will who knows how much work it was to clean them in the first place, wouldn't be so bad if I could just gather them out of the hamper and put them away. But what REALLY gets under my sunburnt skin, is that you've USUALLY put some dirty, wet towel or swimsuit ON TOP of these clothes. Making them stink. And wet. And NOT clean, yet still freaking folded! I am NOT sorry for this last time making me SO irate that I then threw the clothes all over the room.
No. I am not 4 years old.



Dear Laundry,
GO *4-letter F word* YOURSELF!
(fold, obviously!)


Dear Tropical Island.
You've been a penpal long enough, and it's apparently NEEDED(from the letters above) that we meet in person. SOON. If it isn't too much of a hassle, can I please request a few things? First of all, I would really like it if you found some extra room at your place for Will, too. And NOT ENOUGH ROOM for anyone else. If you decided that children aren't allowed on your island, that would be okay with me. Because, I don't want to bring mine since they annoy me so easily, but I SURE AS HECK don't want other people to bring theirs!!!! Secondly, I want to ensure that there is FULL room service (including laundry!). Third of all, I do NOT want to see any renovations going on in the ENTIRE island. It must be perfect, finished, and functional. And I want to ensure that there are NO McDonald's nearby. Thanks.
Sincerely,
A Deteriorated Woman!
PS- You needn't stock the bathrooms with toilet paper- I'm bringing my own!

When it all comes together, it's freaking awesome

okay, before I hear about it--

LIFE IS BUSY!!!

I've got lots of little things going on, and, frankly, it's summer and I am outside working on my skin-cancer. (okay, I'm NOT-- I am outside, gardenning and sitting with the kids at the pool and occasionally getting more sun than usual)

There's not much to report to the masses anyways.

I took engagement photos for my brother and his fiancee, my first time doing something like that. I'm no photographer, but it was an honour that they'd ask me and trust my abilities enough. When you're this good looking, though, how hard is it to take good looking photos? Fun kids, I tell ya.

I went to parades and family reunions over the past few weekends. Good times, and Will's family is great.

Went to a lame circus. I am getting laser eye surgery next week-- so I DEFINITELY won't be around a computer to be able to blog. No worries, peeps, I'll either find a ghostwriter or I'll pre-post my blogs. OR, I'll just make Will take funny photos of me in my granny glasses.

In house news,

My countertops came. They're nice.

The installers broke my sink. Not so nice.

The pantry is done, and I've started putting food in it. REALLY nice!

I finally planted something that will flower non-noxiously in my front garden. Maybe my yellow house will look less ghetto next summer! :)

And, that's me.

Off to drop off kids with Chris, play with friends, shop...

you know,

just enjoy the summer.

Six Word Saturday- Hard Hats required

I Live In A Construction Zone.


Sculpturing children, marriage, kitchen and waistband. :)





Play with Cate at www.showmyface.com and share your own 6 words of life.

"Sum it up. Write it down."

In Point Form- July

• Chris took the kids this weekend for the next week, camping with his family. I am a bit jealous-- only because his Mom and I are really close and the campsite is a great place to camp. I am lucky to have great (ex)in-laws, great in-laws and great parents. Seriously. All three of my sets of parents would do anything for me, and anything for my kids and Will's and my happiness. With the kids gone, I have been able to throw out a bunch of broken toys they were too attached to, and hopefully get ahead of the laundry and the cleaning. Not if I spend too much time blogging, though.


• Will and I took the two oldest kids (Big Guy and Em) to the Calgary Stampede on Saturday. Sucked, though, as it rained really hard and we were cold and wet. And, after a few rides and one too many handfulls of cotton candy, we also had horrible tummy aches/headaches. The last ride we went on literally made ALL of us queezy, so it was a good thing we saved it for last.


• It was Will and my 1-year Anniversary on getting engaged on Sunday. (See THIS POST if you forget our awesome day). By going to the Stampede, we were able to walk to the same spot where it all happened, and show the kids. It was really fun to 'relive' that amazing moment.


• We spent a day in Waterton, with his parents and the two big kids.


• The boys spent last night until 9pm working on the house! :) Only, it is super cold today (JULY, MY BUTT!!) and because they took out a door to the outside, our home is really cold now! :( Hopefully, they'll get it insulated and drywalled quickly (today???). The pantry is also on its way to being ready to actually HOLD my food! YAY! Soon I won't need to worry about mice getting into it! :(


• I'm such a cool step-mom, I CLEANED Em's room (no small task) and tonight we're painting it PURPLE!! Yep. Cuz purple is a happy colour. She's seeing things much differently lately, and we're talking a lot about stuff. I am glad that she is doing so much better lately! :)

Our Greatest Lessons In Life Come From The Journey, Not The Destination

It is simply amazing how "life" gets in the way of truly living. How, for so many days and weeks and even months, Will and I forgot that. How we remember and remind each other that we need to have US moments, but we never seem to MAKE them happen.

Dating was so easy before.

And when REALITY sets in, I tend to believe that in ANY marriage, dating is harder. Which is sad.

So, we finally changed it. We took off for the weekend without any of the kids. We were REALLY going down to the USA to buy appliances at HALF the cost they charge in Canada(THANK YOU YANKEES FOR HAVING A RECESSION!!!) for the house here. So, why not make a mini-vacation out of it?

We drove out through the most beautiful road I've been on yet! You're driving on the side of massive mountains, literally a FOOT away from sheer rock cliffs and driving off into certain death. It was amazing! Beautiful waterfalls and rivers and rock formations, snow and glaciers and wildlife. I sat there, just wanting to see over the side, LOVING it. When Will asked me later, once we were back home, what my favourite part of the weekend was, it was honestly the drive. The time in the van together, just talking or reading to each other. The views. The laughter. The in-depth conversations about who we are and what we want to be separately AND together. The feeling that we didn't HAVE to be anywhere, we could stop whenever we wanted, and we could go as fast as we liked. Like they say, sometimes it's not the final destination that matters, but the getting there.

We got into town really early, where we looked for appliance deals, checked into our hotel, took a nap and then grabbed some supper.

Famous Dave's is soooooo yummy. We stop and eat there everytime, and LOVE it. The company is pretty yummy too. Just sayin'! ;)

It's crazy- after eating to the point of OHMYTUMMY!!! we went to a 10 o'clock movie, and we got out of the theatre at 11:45. The theatre was PACKED!!! What in the world? Turns out, they show movies that START at 11:55 pm! We were sooooo close to just hopping into another movie, but decided to head back to the hotel instead.... After all, we're old. (And we had better things to do! ;) )

The Fourth Of July wasn't anything really special. I mean, on TV you always see American cities and towns all decked out and patriotic, but really, we could hardly tell that it was even a holiday! Nonetheless, we had a wonderful day. Just being together and playing and not having to get ANYTHING done was sheer perfection.

We found a place where they were lighting off fireworks, and we spent a great evening partying with thousands of strangers. Fireworks were going off EVERYWHERE-- something Canadians can't appreciate unless they've seen it before... because we do NOT all light fireworks off in our front yards. At least, not at the magnitude the Americans did. Too fun.

Another night and morning WITHOUT waking up to fighting children or someone needing to pee, we grabbed our appliances and headed BACK down the Going To The Sun road on our way home!

We are sooo refreshed. We are so rejuvenated. We are so in love and gushy again.

Why can't we just do this every week?!

In with the new.

OOOH, it's sooo exciting round these parts!!!!

Today my cupboards are being installed. The very same cupboards that have been sitting in my sunroom and kitchen/laundry/dining room for MONTHS. He tells me that it won't be DONE today, but hey, I'm okay with the majority of it getting started. Because without the cupboards, I can't finish the rest of the house. Without the kitchen cupboards, I can't get to my sunroom. Without the sunroom, I can't get the front room couches out of the front room. Without moving those couches, I can't get the ceiling scraped and textured. Without the ceiling, we can't finish the floors, and without the floors we can't put baseboards and trim up. And without the baseboards and trim......

nope. that's it. Will tells me it'll be mostly done by October, when my brother is getting married and the family will all be together again. So let's hope. We probably won't have ALL the renovations done-- let's be serious, our house needs a MAJOR overhaul in EVERY room. But the main parts should be finished. :) The floor will be a HUGE one.

I'll post pictures soon. Eeeeee.

Wanna play along?!

I'm having one of those days.

Technically, this day kinda built up to being one of "those days". And, as much as I should try to punch everyone in the face stay all positive and optimistic, it's just not going to work today.

So, I'm gonna play the blame game. We all LOVE the blame game!

Let's just *starts singing* blame it on the rain (yah yah). Don't think you won't have that song in your head all day! Muahahaha. You're welcome.

It has been raining for two days now. People are getting flooded basements. And last night, as Will was working on the house (can I get a woop woop!?) we realized that our roof has a leak. Good times. And the rain hasn't stopped. So, that leak??? Yah, STILL leaking. I must say, in the midst of all the dirt and dust, the ceiling is starting to look really good though.

Let's blame it on the rain that everybody is tired today. Because, I don't know about anyone else, but I sleep SOOOOO well when I can hear the rain outside. A little white noise or something, and I'm out. Which then turns into "Debbi's sleeping so soundly that she starts to dream really ridiculous things ALL FRIGGEN NIGHT" and thus I wake slightly MORE tired than when I went to bed, I'm sure. Getting out of bed when there is no light streaming through the windows is tough. Getting out of a WARM bed to a rainy day is tougher. Getting out of bed to have to go outside immediately to pick up some daycare kids... REALLY sucky. I got there, and everyone at THAT house had also slept in so I had to help them get ready. Which really isn't that big of a deal to me. I thought I'd just complain about it like it was.

Blame it on the rain that I have been feeling really self-conscious lately. Just the thought that I can't fit into ALL of my pants a certain pair of pants. The thought of seeing someone beautiful and wishing you had her lips, or her eyes, or her butt! Not that I was checking out some girl's butt.. I mean... uh... just sayin'...so... uh..yah..

Blame it on the rain that I feel VERY house-bound, which in turn, makes me feel very small-town-bound and a tad resentful of the community that I live in. Which is a good community. But grrrrrr to not being able to walk through a dry, warm mall and windowshop just to get out of the house.

Blame it on the rain for crappy messages from people. Or for my inability to get over the messages. Or for Mimi breaking my wall clock by accident. Or for kittens crapping on my floor behind my sofa. And stinking up my house-- one of my BIGGEST pet peeves.... I hate stinky houses.

Blame the rain for the possibility of snow, and the fact that I have to drive my kids to Calgary tomorrow to see their Dad for the first time since MARCH! And, you know, not to complain or anything, but I'm SO SICK of hearing about "Chris Daddy", and how much they miss him. I have to stay neutral and pleasant, but I just want to shout SHUDDUP ABOUT DADDY CHRIS ALREADY!!! I don't want to hear about him. Not because it hurts, or because we're angry at each other, or because the kids have said certain things, but because I just don't have the energy to deal with them missing him so badly. To put them to bed each night and answer "I don't know" when they ask when they'll see him again, and to see the hope in their eyes die a little each time I answer. And I don't have the energy not to snap at Chris himself because of how much him being gone hurts the kids... even though him being away isn't really his fault. Although they are definitely bonding more to Will, often just referring to him as "Dad" (instead of "Will" or even "Daddy Will"). Them missing their Dad is something Will OR I can't replace. And my heart hurts for that.

Blame the rain for my frizzy hair. I dyed it last night. Well, I taught Em how to dye it. RED. Because I think red hair is fun, and feisty and I was ready for a bit of a change. I'm not used to looking in the mirror yet, and if I don't like it after a week, I can always change it back. But Will likes it. It's like he's sleeping with THIS: (who doesn't wanna channel their inner Bree Vandecamp anyways?! ;) I mean...uh...what I was trying to say was...um...yah...I think I hear my Mom calling... I've had fun being several colours ;)

(the blonde a.k.a Summer me)

(the dark a.k.a Winter me)

(the red a.k.a.FIESTY me)

Don't throw your junk in my backyard.

I have a HUGE backyard. LIKE, huge. Those who have been to my home here in Motown know what I'm talking about.

Sure, it's not as big as some other people's backyards. Motown has a LOT of huge backyards. I've gone for walks with Will and we would walk past other people and their yards and our eyes would bug out in shock. And, sure enough, there are also a few small backyards. But mine? It's fairly large. Just sayin'. :)

In Cowtown I spent a LOT of time on my backyard. My girlfriends and I would gather round in my yard, laughing and spending some quality time together. I'd keep the lawn tidy. I'd cover it in flowers and occasionally you'd find fertilizer on it. :) It wasn't always a GREAT backyard, but, funny enough, once Chris and I split, I spent a LOT of time working on that yard. Amazingly enough, I learned to love my backyard. It was gorgeous. :)

I moved here and now own a backyard that, according to the neighbours, was REALLY lovely at one point in time, but has since gone to pot. So, I'm working on getting it back in shape-- mowing the lawn, decorating it again with flowers, and spending time with Will planting seeds.

Hopefully by the end of the summer, my backyard will be in a much better shape than it is currently, and I will, once again, have a backyard to be proud of. A backyard my friends won't be afraid to be around!

What kind of backyard did you THINK I was talking about?! ;)

I'd give you some food for thought, but we have nowhere to cook it!

I haven't figured it out yet-

I don't have a job...well, not REALLY. I mean, I'm a mom, and I work very occasionally with my mother-in-law, and I help Will paint some days, and yes, once or twice a week I watch kids.

So, how is my house so messy? How is my journal unwritten for a few weeks? How is my scale moving in the wrong direction?

And how the heck has my blog suffered? Like, honestly, I got SO MUCH MORE done in Cowtown when I ran a full daycare, when I was home all day. I had a clean(er) house, I made money, I got stuff done, I had a meticulous yard (most of the time) and I blogged nearly every day-- sometimes twice.

Is waking at 6am really all that I need to do? Because, as good and well as that sounds-- it's just NOT gonna happen. I wake with Will at about 7:30, groggily pull my lazy butt out of the warm bed, and wake the kids. Then, mom-of-the-year goes BACK TO BED while they eat and get dressed. Sure, I'm up to watch them leave and say goodbye (and make sure they're not wearing mismatched socks or t-shirts in the snow), but it takes hours before I get around to attacking the mess of this house.

Maybe it's just because we're so upintheair regarding our home renovations.

Although it's just a kitchen, it really isn't JUST a kitchen. A kitchen is the heart of a home, usually. It's a homework room. A discipline room. A spot for company to gather, where neighbours gather and families laugh together. A spot for children to play with playdough and crayons. It's a place where we actually SEE our teenagers (briefly) before they disappear again into the abyss of their rooms with their paws full of something fried and microwaved. And since tearing down the walls that separate the kitchen from the front room, our home is one BIG, happy, one-room mess.

And it's overwhelming. I mean, I can keep it tidy. But CLEAN!? How do you clean a mess? And, better yet, WHY would you try? How do you vacuum underlay without it shredding each time? How do you clean a cooktop that burns everything and an oven that starts things on fire? It's just gonna get messy again. Wires hanging from the ceiling and poking out of the floor boards, and floating sinks and dishwashers on wheels...

Why clean it?

So it begs the question- if the renos were done, would I seriously have a cleaner house? Would I get to know my neighbours better? Would I bake or cook more? Would I find time to be outside, tending a messy garden or talking walks? Would I spend more time with Mimi? Would I get into school? Would I stop feeling a horrible twang of 'baby-itch'? Would I make friends? Would I visit with family more, serve more, learn more?

Would I blog more?

Not Me Monday- Tuesday edition!

This weekend, NOT being Easter and all, was NOT a barrel full of monkeys. And by 'barrel', I mean household. Because all 7 of our kids are here this holiday, PLUS an additional (nephew) with Autism. Let me tell ya, it has NOT been one crazy set of days!

We did NOT take all the kids out to Waterton yesterday. We did NOT take our chances with the Autistic child and did NOT not give him his medication for the day. Lucky for us, he was NOT great. We did NOT take a hotdog picnic, where we ate salad and fresh fruit and hotdogs over the fire. (Okay, wait, for reals, we did NOT put fruit or salad on the fire. ew.)
(
We did NOT have the most perfect weather. We did not skip rocks, where my three kids exclaimed that Daddy Chris can skip rocks 100 TIMES!!! Will did NOT make sure to skip them 101, just to be on the safe side!
The kids did NOT find a few patches of snow, where a snowmen/snowbear did NOT erect. They did NOT also find a dead fish. ew. Notice said fish in the bottom of this picture.
We did NOT climb rocks, we did NOT see deer and elk, and we did NOT have fun. We then did NOT trek over to the golf course where we did NOT stealthily walk around the brush finding stray golf balls. Lemme assure you, we did NOT come home with nearly 150 balls, and Mimi is not the best ball-finder in the family. (which, I'm sure, is NOT because she's shorter and closer to the ground to see them! Unlike me, who is NOT mostly blind. That would have NOTHING to do with it at all!)

We did NOT reward the kids with hard ice-cream cones. That did NOT cost us over 25 dollars...because, seriously, I would NEVER spend that kind of cash on ice-cream! :)

And, in reno news: Will has NOT lovingly hooked up a make-shift sink in the middle of the 'kitchen' where I can now use the dishwasher. YAY!! My lazy butt My awesome self does NOT love that. He is also NOT amazingly finishing mudding the drywall, which makes us NOT that much closer to the next step of having cupboards up! eeeeeeee!!

Six Word Saturday

Six Word Saturday returns! It's only been, what, a month of Sundays since I did it last!!

So, here's where I sum up my current life/week/thoughts into one sentence of six words only. Good times. Play along with Cate if you want to!


Who Needs A Kitchen Sink Anyways?
or
Paper Plates are Making A Comeback!
or
Cadbury: Best Friend and Biggest Enemy
or
My Advice? Marry Someone Handy!!!


Come back next week where I talk about baby kittens and gunny sacks. ;)

We've Only Just Begun

We have a new computer!! And no, that's NOT an April Fool's joke. Yes, tis true.. a new computer. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but now I have this huge desire to catch up on everybody's life... and not a bunch of time to do it.

We are smack-dab in the middle of pulling the kitchen completely apart. So far, we have no walls, only half our electricity/plug-in receptacles working, a few hot wires that are dangling from the ceiling, and a sink. For the day. I think, so they tell me, that I'm losing my sink as of 4 pm today, but who knows. With electricians and cabinet installers and plumbers and gas fitters constantly coming and going, I'm almost at the point where I actually know what's going on! :) Let me assure you, I am getting so well-versed in the interior workings of a home, because every time we try to 'fix' something, we find that three other things need to move/be adjusted/be bought/be installed! It's loads of fun. But, I jest-- renovating is actually kinda exciting. I've picked out flooring and cabinets and appliances, and although nothing is installed, seeing the two-inch samples on my mantle is fun. It's like a giant painting coming together, with only the buckets of paint at this point. Matching colours and textures and choosing sinks and light fixtures reminds me of the building process, which I enjoyed a lot. Twice. I may not have the BEST sense of style, but I actually DO enjoy decorating and designing. I'll be happy to have places to put things, and a floor I don't have to vacuum 20x a day!

They say renovations are tough on a marriage. But Will and I are sooooooo laughing our way through this. Sure, it may resemble one of those "WE'VE GONE CRAZY" laughing fits, but in actuality, renovations is NOTHING compared to everything else we deal with.

• Lice. (gotta love living small-town, where we've had to deal with this plague TWICE now in 6 months. I'm ready to shave the kids' heads. Almost my own, too! And, at the mention of the L-word, if you're like me, you can stop itching your head now....)

• Vehicles being broken into and/or stolen. ALL THREE of our vehicles have been broken into in the past 2 months. It's getting a bit redundant, and I now lock the van even when I'm still sitting in it on the driveway! :) I haven't gotten hardly anything replaced, just because insurance companies are SUPER FUN and make claims literally not worth the hassle. But we have sooo much to claim, that I have to get it all done, and it's taking a LONG time.

• Blending children. It'll probably be the most talked-about topic on this blog, seeing as it's a constant battle/struggle/process. Every thing that you have to figure out and struggle through in a marriage (who does what role, what traditions you want to incorporate, what parenting styles you grew up with and what you expect in a spouse) is multiplied by a thousand when there are so many other little souls affected and along for the ride. Not that we didn't know this going INTO our marriage... I soooo get that. But there are things we just learn as we go. Communication. Expectations. Feelings. Just everything.

• Blending exes. It's an easier process for Will and I than it would be for some others, seeing as we have fairly good relationships with our exes. There was no 'abuse', no HUGE fights... no animosity, really. So, the biggest struggle is sometimes the financial issues of who's expected to pay for what in regards to the children's upbringing, when and where "the exchange" will take place, who claims what in taxes... thankfully I feel like Tawny and I are on good terms (something that is very important to me) and continue to build our comraderie. I've had many conversations with her, some in depth about being mothers to these beautiful children, and it's nice to actually be on the same page in pretty much everything.

So, what's a renovation in the middle of it all?! Really? If we can make it through things that we already have done and DO every day, this is nothing. In the big picture, Will and I may not live in this house for ever. We may not live here until we retire. We may not even be here in a year or two. We may not have a working kitchen for a few days... possibly a month or more. We don't have unlimited funds. We have carpet at the front entry that rivals Cookie Monster's attire for "fuzziest blue ever seen". But we also know it's just a house. Just a shell where the REAL home is...

My To-Do Lists

For Will (aka, the "honey-do" list)

-Finish taking apart my kitchen, including removal of the kitchen sink.
-purchase Costco-size bag of disposable dishes so I don't end up doing my dishes in the bathtub
-Replace missing sink with NEW sink in NEW location
-Move existing plumbing (via basement ceiling) to NEW sink location
-buy NEW sink that will be put IN new location
-get the electrician to actually SHOW UP one of these days
-ensure that there is no mess to clean up!
-continue to love me in the seriously best way I've ever been loved, put up with me more than anyone ever has, and make me think that, 5 pounds heavier or lighter, I'm still absolutely beautiful.

-take out the garbage. It's Tuesday tomorrow and I ALWAYS forget :)



For Em (the teenager)
-clean your room. As in, use some sort of disinfectant... ie: bleach? Peroxide? How about Fire?
- remove all my contents from your room before starting said 'disinfecting fire'.
- apply same procedure to downstairs bathroom.
-reapply same procedure to downstairs bathroom... let's be serious... it's pretty bad in there!
- put your laundry away
-practice your piano
- teach me how to be wayyyy cooler than I know I am. (*note to self, how was I so much awesome-r BEFORE I had a teenager?!)
-attend singing lessons, as you're a GREAT singer.
- stop slacking in school. Your mother's gonna think I don't care about your grades!
- call those two boys who gave you their phone numbers this weekend! Esp. the one I have the "cougar-crush" on!
- be absolutely gorgeous, as you always are.

-*ahem* lose the 18-year old boyfriend.... it seriously stresses your 4 parents out!



For Myself (aka: the lists of the lists list I'll never finish!)
-finish the LIST for the insurance chick who needs EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. OF. THE THOUSAND. STOLEN. THINGS. from the van written down with distinct and very deliberate recollection of its origins, colour, price, sexual orientation, race...blah blah blah
-finish the list for the Burnaby Police station where the vehicle went missing from of said things above.
-finish the list for the Coquitlam Police station where the vehicle was FOUND of said things above because, well, quite frankly, the two don't communicate and I'm getting the run-around of who's in charge of what files and who's registered for dealing with the insurance adjuster and who's on first.
-finish the laundry. (hahahahahahahahahah. Oh, I funny)
-help Will finish the renovations. (hahahahahahah! I even funnier!)
-pick out the granite for the countertops.
-Travel to Calgary to see samples of said granite.
-pay for said granite.
-sell right breast, and possibly left ventricle of heart in order to PAY for said countertops.
-be thrilled for losing 5 pounds of breast tissue. Hey, if that's the ONLY way to lose weight lately, I'll take it.
-go for a run. Seriously. Until Thursday. Non-stop.
-stop eating like a cow.
-attend play practice for "The Sound Of Music" where I play a nun. yah. laugh it up, guys. *I* play a nun!!!
- look into getting into school/ a full-time job
-look into restarting a dayhome, as I am currently already watching kids 3 days a week.
- buy a new computer so I can blog MUCH more often and feel like I'm not completely cut off from the world.
-sell left breast to pay for said computer, as money is unlikely to crawl out my butt anytime soon.
-Submit taxes to accountant to be filed for 2009.
- rejoice in tax season totally screwing Will and I up this year and making it LOOK like we have a LOT more money than we really will this year.
-learn how to eat mice.
-call gramma, who probably has the recipe. And for those of you who think I'm kidding-- you don't know my gramma!
-jump up and down with joy over Chris' new job...with less child-support.
-remember there are hidden blessings in so many things.
-look into selling my spleen so I can celebrate Will's *40th* birthday in a few weeks!!!!!
-look into taking a trip in September with the kids to be sealed in a temple? (Salt Lake? San Diego? Vancouver? Guatemala?)
-love more. Pray more. Read more. Teach more. Exercise more. Clean more. Work more. Save more. Play more. Listen more.
-argue less. eat less. sleep less. criticize less. judge less.

Wednesday Ws- Motown Edition

Who: Will and I
What: have no more real excuses
Where: around these parts
When: anymore
Why: because the holidays are over. Other than the Olympics, which will take Will and I away from home for over 1/2 a month in February YAY!!!, there is no other real reason to procrastinate tearing this house apart. The money stresses me out-- just the thought of buying a million things that aren't cheap (floors, appliances, windows, cupboards, counters, bathtubs...). I know my house will be a hurricane of messy drywall and paint splatter (okay, NOT the paint splatter, as my painter husband doesn't splatter. Me, on the other hand, should NOT give up MY dayjob!). We have incentive to get things bought by the end of the month (tax rebates and such) even if we can't really get many walls taken down or cupboards up until we return in March. So, here's a few ideas of things and looks I like.

Who: Me. It's ALWAYS about me anyways! :)
What: Ran 3 miles
Where: in the basement, on my treadmill
When: Monday and tonight. I missed yesterday.
Why: Because I'm doing it again.... remember me talking about doing a marathon last year, and everything kinda went south once I went for a 13k run in -26 weather that kicked my trash royally REAL LIFE occurred and I didn't know how to balance pain from more pain important things? Dating and running was fun, but selling houses and driving 2 hours each way to visit the man I love wasn't conducive to long-term Saturday runs. So, I'm gonna try again. Whether or NOT I go to the marathon, training for it is the MAIN goal. That way, my WWWIIIDDDEEE LLLOOOAAADDD overly scrumptious butt will at least fit into my skinny skirt again. Don't even say it. Yes, I don't fit. I tried it on this morning, and couldn't get it past my too many glasses of eggnog, a few too many cookies, thunder thighs, lovely saddlebags. I shall be running. A lot. Thanks to Becka, who introduced me to this site a bit over a year ago, Mr. Higdon can kiss my jiggly butt will become much better of a friend soon. Him, AND my daily inspiration from my running calendar.

I'm gonna be making a 'goal' board. And pasting it to the wall above the treadmill for discouragement inspiration. Pictures and quotes and things that I love and want to be. So, when I'm running 10 miles inside, I won't be TOTALLY bored of the white wall and my iPod on repeat with this song!

And don't forget to play Word Verification Wednesday, where you make up a meaning to that nonsense word the computer makes you retype before leaving a comment.

My Decorating Style

So, one of the biggest excitement for me comes in decorating. Alright, I may not be GOOD at it, but I sure enjoy it. I like simple things like rearranging furniture, or buying a new piece of art for a wall, or simply making my bed like in the magazines. Yes, I'm that pathetic cool.

So, with the last three months left in oh-nine, there are so many ways to decorate the house!! :)

But, I live in Motown now, and there are SOME decorating styles that just won't be acceptable round these parts!

Like, these turkeys Em showed me. With the tagline "For ANY time of the month" Yes, these cuddly, super-absorbant turkeys are made with none other than my friends, O and B. *that's Tampons, for you who are wondering*

I thought, okay, so I can't make these turkeys. But cummon-- these ghosts are CUTE!! Still, I don't think people would be too impressed with me. Instead, I think Hallowe'en needs pumpkins and scarecrows.



No? Nobody else things that MAYBE Will won't approve? Hrm. Alright, let's try something else.

It's Christmas time soon-- let's just skip to the love and peace of Christmas decorating.

NO, not these. The tampon-deco is sooooo last paragraph!

Last year, if you remember, my house looked like this. *you can view the whole post HERE on the Daisyhalos blog*

I think this year, with the blue carpets and shag, I may have to resort to THIS!!


Ugggggg.

Instead, I'm just going to apply for the Home Depot Ugliest Kitchen in Canada contest. Maybe they'll take pity on us! RIGHT?!