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Showing posts from March, 2014

The devastating demise of the baby orange (UPDATED)

I have never laughed as much as I did single parenting Calder last night. First a bit of back story. On Friday night, our little fox, snuck into our bedroom and was on the iPad without asking. When he lied to me about doing it, I told him I wouldn't be mad and that I just wanted the truth. He admitted what he had done. I spoke to him about telling lies and sneaking around and we moved on. He had completely forgotten this lesson on Saturday. Before lunch I was folding laundry when I noticed it had been quiet for a couple of minutes in my room. Low and behold, Calder had snuck onto the iPad again. This time I moved him to his room for an extended time-out before lunch. After we wolfed down some soup, I tidied up the kitchen and again noticed the eerie sound of quiet. Calder had snuck onto the iPad again. This time he had locked our bedroom door and hid under the covers. He was swiftly barred from using the iPad for the rest of the weekend. Now to last night. I had just pulled Boone

Five on Friday

My favorite drink at Star Bucks? Vanilla Latte. Half sweet. Low fat. I know you are thinking. . . Why doesn't she just get a skinny Vanilla Latte? It tastes exactly like aspartame, that's why :-).  My favorite drink at Tim Horton's? Either a French Vanilla with 1/3 coffee or regular coffee with 2 cream, one sugar. My favorite alcoholic beverage? Beer and orange juice. My favorite pop? Ginger Ale. My favorite milk? Homo (3.25%) with ice.

Set the timer

Ten minutes. . . . Go! My transition back to work is going well. I have honestly felt like supermom until this morning. I got a bit impatient with Calder. Not the end of the world, but I hate leaving the house in a huff. I will be better tomorrow for Calder and for me. I have turned into super super organized (because I already was super organized). We are running like a well oiled machine around here. I need to give credit where credit is due and I couldn't have done this without Hugh. He is definitely turned into superdad. Now, Hugh has always been great, but while I was on leave I did all the laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and cooking during the week. Hugh has stepped up and done so much in all of these areas. It has really been great for all of us. Great for me, because I only carry 1/2 the load and great for Hugh because I am not cranky because I am carrying more than half the load! The weather is bringing me down. This winter is terrible. I probably think that ev

Five on Friday

Back. To. Work. It has been crazy. So crazy that I looked at my blog for the first time in 4 days, yesterday. The first day of school was chaos. On the second day, things started looking up. By yesterday, I felt like I was finally catching up to the pace the treadmill was set at. I am definitely still running really hard, but I am in pretty decent shape so I can manage it. I think. Last week Hugh and I were reading with Calder and he came across the word, "Yes". He got so excited, threw his arms in the air and exclaimed, "That is my favorite word." Hugh and I were confused until Calder explained that when he is playing his monster truck game on the iPad, "Yes" is the button he presses to buy a new truck when he has made enough "money." Oy. Boone refusing to drink milk at daycare. He doesn't care if it is in a cup or bottle; he doesn't want anything to do with it. My doctor said that he should be getting about 20 ounces at his age. I a

First day back

Sunday, 7:01 pm What a weekend. We took Calder skiing to Wapiti on Saturday with my brother and sister-in-law. It was a beautiful day and Calder did amazing. It was such a fun time. Boone had a good visit with Grandma and Grandpa in Tisdale. I know he was spoiled with loving (Grandma followed him up and down their stairs dozens of times, so he definitely enjoyed himself!). Both boys had started getting colds and coughs on Friday. Today they are worse and I have the cold part. I had a 3 hour nap today which seemed to help. Hopefully some orange juice tonight and a good nights rest will leave me feeling well for my first day back to work. I am flat out of sick days, so I need to get myself mended! My first day back to work. . . . I am feeling a myriad of emotions, but I am trying not to think about them. Tomorrow is going to arrive and I have made my decision. And it was a good decision. I don't want to let anxiety and sadness ruin the bit of excitement I have for starting some

Happy Birthday, Boone

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Boone is 1 today! We are so glad he is ours. He is a happy, go-with-the-flow, kind of guy. We loved watching and guiding Boone through his first year. We are so lucky to spend our days with this little man. Boone's favourite things to do are look at books, have a bath, dive into blankets, carry around hockey sticks, chase after his brother, and explore outside. Boone also adores our dog, Cleo. Unfortunately, she is a bit of a grump and the feelings aren't mutual! She will tolerate him for short periods of time though ;-) Boone loves the dishwasher. He has been known to wipe ketchup off of dirty plates directly onto my pants and he is forever splashing around in water pooled on the door after the dishes have been cleaned. I am getting great at manipulating things so that Boone is nowhere in sight when I have to open it! Boone's least favourite things to do are have his face washed, nose wiped, or lotion put on, which is probably like most kids! I wouldn't say Boo

New Clothes. Part 2.

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I have surprised myself with my new wardrobe. I have been thoroughly enjoying piecing together outfits and trying on all my new stuff. I have only worn 4 or 5 of the items out of my house, but that will change next week when I am back to work full-time. The outfit on the left is one I have worn, but I guess not technically out of the house. I wore it for Calder's birthday on Sunday (minus the shoes of course - those were replaced with slippers!). My friend, Delayne, remarked that because she is a stay-at-home mom, she doesn't have anywhere to wear anything like my new work attire (She does work evenings and weekends, but you will find her in scrubs!). To be perfectly clear, Delayne dresses really well. She always look put together. In fact, I remember going over to her house for coffee not long after her oldest was born and she was showered, dressed, hair done, AND wearing making. Delayne has it together, so I was surprised to hear her say this. That being said, I have alrea

There is nothing more fun than winning

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On Friday night, Hugh's hockey team, the Shellbrook Elks, claimed the top prize in Senior Men's hockey in Saskatchewan by beating the Rosetown Red Wings 5 - 2. For the first time ever, Shellbrook won the AAA provincial title.  When the dust settled, I took a moment to announce to the Facebook world the excitement. At first I considered putting, "There is nothing better than winning", but hesitated, thinking there might be people out there who would start a Facebook argument with me over how high I place winning on the hierarchy of things in my life. I then considered putting, "There is nothing more fun than winning", but again, I hesitated. I thought that the absoluteness of the statement might still open the door for criticism. Finally, I settled on "There aren't many things more fun in life than winning " and added a couple of photos.  When I got home, I began thinking about the two statements I discarded. I started thinking about the t

Happy Birthday, Calder

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Calder turns 5 years old tomorrow! We are so excited we get to share the ENTIRE day with him. As with all birthdays in our house, the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the supper of their choice. Calder has chosen noodles,  perogies, mashed potatoes & cream corn, and a salad. And of course, it will be cake pops for dessert! Calder has learned so much this year. It has been incredible to watch him grow and to learn more about who he is. . . Calder is strong-willed and loves to laugh.  Calder is wild, loud, and sensitive.  Calder loves to tell us stories and speculate about things he sees.  Calder loves playing games and is learning to be a good loser. But let's face it - I'm not that best at it, so we won't be looking for perfection with him on this front!  Calder is athletic and loves to play any kind of game that contains movement.  Calder gives great hugs and does an excellent job of using his manners.  Calder is curious and is always asking questions.

New Clothes. Part 1.

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Deena had me take some photos of my current wardrobe so she could see what I had. After taking a dozen or so shots for her, I realized that many of the things had to go. Some didn't fit anymore. Some were really out of style. Some were pilled and one was even stained. The following are a few of the things I kept. Most of them contain "newer" pieces, which were bought in the last two years.  The solid brown sweater and the grey sweater dress were bought at my cousin's store, Bliss , in Tisdale. You must check it out if you are ever there. They have great, unique pieces. You are basically looking at everything brown that I own in these four pictures. There is only one sweater missing and you would have it all. I love brown, but tend to lean more toward black. In fact while shopping with Deena, I didn't buy one brown item! This is an example of something I learned from Deena and one of the fashion blogs she follows, Pinterest Told Me To. . .  The sweater is

2 weeks

8:29 am At this time in 2 weeks I will be sitting at my desk, waiting for students to arrive. Some may even already be in my classroom. They won't be talking. They will be nervous that someone new is seated at the front of the room. When the bell rings and students flood in I will have my first look at my new day. These will be the teenagers I get to spend my time with while I am away from my favorite 2 little men. Over the past year I have made a note on my phone called "Teaching". From time to time I have jotted down ideas and thoughts on education and things I want to do in my classroom. The very top point is my favorite, "More than anything, care about every student." I remember the article I read that made me write that. In elementary school Calder and Boone will spend more time during the week with their teachers than they will with us. Above all, I want my kids to feel love. Love from us, love from their friends, and love from their teachers. As much