Just Jordan

Our holiday starting off with a BANG.  Hugh and I left Leask (where his parents live) on the morning of the 20th hoping to drive at least 1/2 of the 1200 km to Rapid City, SD where my brother, Luke, lives.  We had spent the previous night at Hugh's hockey teams "Sweater Party" Caberet.  We felt a bit queazy in the morning, but chalked it up to one beer to many (I was a bit depressed at this point, only having drank 4 beer all night). By the time we got to Martensville, I was on our bathroom floor moaning. This was not a hangover.  I don't know if a dozen beer could cause the pain I was in.  Hugh and I decided to plow on, but by the time we made it to Saskatoon, we were already questioning the decision.  We stopped for a gatorade, thinking the elecrolytes would save the day.  Hugh went in to grab them and in the 2 minutes he was gone, I decided we should turn back home.  Hugh hopped in the van with a skip in his step and gave me a "suck it up but...

I took a drive tonight to P.A.  I met my parents there to give our dog, Cleo, to them.  My grandma will be looking after her while we are visiting my brother in Rapid City, SD. The best part of the drive was the time alone.  I found an old, old CD in the car, circa 1997 and rocked out (dancing and all) to Aqua, No Doubt, Our Lady Peace, Lisa Loeb, Meridith Brooks, The Wallflowers and Everclear.  What a great night.  It took me right back to milk shakes at Chicky D, laps after school and going to Trojan games.  Not to mention the great times that took place at TUCS, my old high school. I arrived home safely and was quickly brought back to 2009 unloading groceries, cleaning the kitchen, and the realization that there will be no partying tomorrow night.  After my night off, I am totally psyched for Calder's bath, bottle, book and 7 o'clock bedtime.

I think they need to make some kind of protect helmet for kids.  At different times, Calder has had bruises all over his head. Forehead. Temple. Eye. Cheekbone. Chin. I was watching The Hour  a couple of nights ago and Mark Messier was on talking about the new technology being introduced into hockey helmets. (Seriously, CBC needs to start paying me) Basically, it is just way better foam. Why can't they make this into a helmet for kids.  It could be shaped like a ski mask.. .think Man in the Iron Mask ( visual ), with hinges to get it on and off.  I wouldn't make Calder wear it all the time, but when he is tired, or learning a new skill (like walking), it could save a lot of tears. You could even have a mesh insert to put in the mou...

My new 2nd favorite show is CBC's Being Erica .  In the past I have steered away for Canadian programing.  I think this is because I remember my parents saying it was bad, which it probably was in the past.  But in spite of this, I got hooked on Being Erica this summer (the ads for The Tudors also intrigue me and I may just check that out too). Being Erica is about a 30-something woman who attend therapy sessions.  The therapy sessions allow her to go back to her past and relive her regrets. Those of you who don't like science fiction, please, don't shy away.  It is a show about Erica's life and nothing she does in her past changes her future (things always basically turn out the same).  Her therapy just changes her. If you are interested, it comes on Tuesday nights and you can catch all the episodes in their entirety on CBC's website (they contain one 30 second commercial).  So, if you don't already have enough to do this holiday season, give Er...

This weekend, I was at a Christmas party and ended up chatting with a lady (Judy) I just met. The conversation shifted to how we had met our significant others and although I love all "how I met my spouse" stories, I particularly liked hers, so I thought I would share it. I guess I will start you with what I started with.  Her husband is dying.  He is in the hospital with cancer.  The doctors said he wouldn't make it until Christmas and now it looks like he will.  She talked about how every day he is here, is one more day she gets to spend with him and that although they had plans to live out their retirement traveling the world, you can't control where life takes you.  As she told us this she had such an air of grace, strength, and perspective..... I am not sure this is necessary to enjoy her "how I met your spouse" story, but I could feel her love for her husband as she told us their present situation and maybe it made me love her other story eve...

Today was a very good day...my family came to visit.  Mom and Dad drove up from Tisdale, my sister, Jes was here from Regina, and my brother, Luke visited via Skype from South Dakota.  On top of that we had Calder, 2 dogs and 2 cats all hanging out in the basement.  It was a full house and it couldn't have been better.

I was so excited today. Hugh had meetings downtown and had time to meet Calder and I for lunch. I picked him up at the board office and we headed to Earls. The hostess quickly took us to our table and as we sat down, we asked for a high chair. We were then politely informed that they don't have them there. Manager's policy. Needless to say, we got up and left. There was no way we could feed Calder and eat ourselves with Calder on our laps. I was MAD. Side Note: My mom and I were in Vancouver in early November and had lunch at Earls. With Calder. Who was in a high chair. And no, I did not bring one. Earls provided it. Why the manager here thinks it is good business to exclude families with younger children is beyond my realm of thinking. We then headed to Boston Pizza on 8th. They provided a high chair, quick service and great food. I will be thinking twice before I head to Earls again. With or without my son.

Where is my Christmas spirit this year? Usually, I am waiting for the end of November to come so that I can start Christmas. I put up decorations, make cookies and put together our Christmas cards. This year I don't have that excitement. Hugh and I have written our letter but have yet to take the picture. And as for decorations, I have no desire to put them up, when I will only have to take them down in a month. YUCK. I hate that I do not have the Christmas spirit. Where has it gone this year? It all just seems like work. I think for some motivations I am going to have to put in my favorite Christmas movie. Which, in case you are wondering, is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation or I will check out Love Actually, which has been lent to me by Deena, who swears by it. Then I am going to have find the Christmas tune channel on the dish and dig out the decorations. Oh wait. I will get Hugh to dig those out while I watch Love Actually, because I can't imagine h...

I attended the Shellbrook Elks hockey game last night to cheer on my wonderful husband, Hugh. Although I missed the first period and a bit putting my son to bed, it was nice to feel like I had a bit of my "pre-Calder" life back. Like every other parent, I could not image my life without my son. I love my family and Calder is the center of my world. But in the same breath, I can honestly say I do miss some of the freedoms that come with not having a child. I think the two things I miss most are an adult social life and SLEEP. Most of my friends now have families, so we are all in the same boat. We know that afternoon coffee's worked around nap schedules and early suppers are the best way to go. Bedtime for most of our kids is between 7 pm and 8 pm. Unfortunately, this leaves very little time for the adults . We all make an effort to get a sitter so that we can get together, but that only happens on occasion, not like before kids when it happened every weekend. ...

So, with some encouragement from Deena, I have started blogging! The title "Just Jordan" comes from my love of the sitcom "Will and Grace". One of Jack's nicknames in the series is "Just Jack" and when Hugh and I started dating, I always joked that I should have a reality t.v. series called "Just Jordan" because it seemed like everyday funny stuff happened to me (well...I thought the stuff was funny). Although I wasn't able to convince TLC to tape a pilot for my series, I hope you will still enjoy reading about my reality. Welcome to Just Jordan

Here it is.