Back to Life, Back to Reality

I hope everyone is having a good start to 2011.  Our new year has been a little less than smooth.  Julie went back to work on Monday, and that went pretty well.  She's doing all right so far - just half days this week.  The girls are not adjusting quite as well.  CeCe remembered being left at the sitter's place before Christmas and immediately voiced her displeasure with being left there again on the first day.  And on the second day.  And on the third day.  Tomorrow?  We'll see - I'm guessing more of the same.  Ginny seemed to do fairly well on the two practice runs before  Christmas, and the first day wasn't too bad.  The second was not pretty and today was even worse.  It started last night before she went to bed - she was crying  that she didn't  want to go.  Then she was up at 6:30 saying she didn't want to go.  Jorja has done remarkably well with this change - maybe her reaction is still coming.  Needless  to say, there  is going to be a bit of an adjustment period. 

I start work at 6:00 am, so Julie gets to be the drop-off person.  I get the pick-up job.  Who got the short end of that stick?  The first day I picked them up, CeCe was so excited she didn't know of she should laugh or cry.  It was kind of a mixture.  The other two gave me a greeting fit for someone  they hadn't seen  in years.  Yeah, I've definitely got the easy job.

Anyhow, one more day of work for me, and then I get the three little darlings all to myself on Friday.  We've got a trip to the pet store planned  - I had to give Ginny something to look forward to and that seemed to do.  It's a cheap and easy fix - there probably won't be many more of those as they grow up.

By the way, what the heck happened to Canada tonight?  5 goals.  Really guys?  Really?  Later.   

Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year

It's been a busy couple of weeks here, and a while since I've written anything.  I guess I should squeeze one more post in before the new year.  I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a safe New Year.

Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve.  We went to the evening service at church which started at 6:30.  It's a tradition that the last song (Silent Night) is sung by candle light.  Everyone gets a candle and the lights are turned off and the flame is passed from one person to another starting with the Christ candle.  We decided this year that the girls could each hold a candle.  Ginny did fine (surprisingly), but Jorja had a bit of a mishap.  She was getting into things and decided to hold the candle above her head.  The only problem with that was that she didn't keep it very level and dripped hot wax onto her head.  Ouch!  It wasn't a very silent night after that, but we made it through and combed some wax out of her hair when we got home. 

We then opened presents Christmas eve when we got home from church.  (Except for CeCe - she had had enough and was ready for bed)  The girls were pretty excited and had a lot of fun.  We got them a doll house this year.  It's funny, one doesn't realize the scale of a doll house when it is set up in Toys R Us.  It didn't look that big, but once it was home and set up, it is a real presence in the room.  Oh well, it will only be around for a few more years, and the shade of hot pink looks great in the family room.

Christmas toes

Jorja and Ginny in their new PJs opening presents

CeCe in front of the aftermath

Christmas day the weather was beautiful and I took the older two girls to the park to go sledding.  Jorja had mentioned once that a friend of hers brought a sled to school one day and they went sliding down the 'biggest hill ever'.  I've seen the playground and I wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about, but I thought we'd see.  Her 'hill' was basically a large trench through the park - pretty lame.  Across the field at the public school, there is a bit of an actual hill, so that's where we went.  We had a lot of fun.  The hill wasn't too big, and for the first few runs, I ended up being the chair lift and pulled the two of them in the sled up the hill.  I came to my senses and made them walk up.  Then we all piled in and went down a few times.  Here's the view heading down.

Not the biggest hill, but we had fun.

On boxing day, we set out for Julie's parent's place where we feasted that evening.  We had another Christmas and the girls had fun again.  CeCe wasn't too into the presents yet this year, but she did have fun with a bow for a while.  The weather there was nice, and we went sledding in some hills in the field.  This was considerably bigger than the school hill, and I think the adults had more fun than the kids.  The girls had fun playing with their aunt and uncle and Nanny and Poppa.  They also got to spend some time with both great-grannies, so that was nice. 

Jorja must have been hearing some politically correct greeting this year, because one afternoon out of the blue she said to me, "Seasons ingredients!"  I smiled and said "Seasons ingredients" back to her.  (Yes, I did correct her after a while.)  Another afternoon she was helping Poppa in his office punching some holes in some papers.  She proudly came up afterward and declared she was his 'secondtary'.  So close on both occasions.

We came home on the 29th, and now it seems like the crunch is really on.  Julie goes back to work on Monday, the girls start at the sitter full time and Jorja goes back to school.  I'm back at work too.  It seems like this January back-to-work date for Julie has just sort of been looming in the distance, but now it's here and there seems like there is so much to do.  We went on a big shopping excursion yesterday to buy all the supplies for the sitter - diapers, wipes, zinc cream.  Plus we needed all that stuff for ourselves.  Julie needed some new shoes and uniforms for work, so we got that taken care of as well.  It was rather draining by the time we were done - physically, mentally and financially.  But we're getting there.

Now we are having some friends over tonight, my parents tomorrow for one last Christmas and then it's back to reality.  Have a good New Year's and try to stay warm.  Later.

Runnin' back to Saskatoon

To be honest, I'm feeling a little bummed out today.  We were supposed to go to Tofield and visit my parents this weekend.  The added bonus to that was my brother and sister-in-law had a baby girl a couple of days ago and we would have been able to see them too.  Why are we still in Saskatoon then?  It started early Friday morning with some retching.  It appears Jorja has a stomach flu.  She threw up a bit Friday morning and didn't feel very good at all.  Given her history with throwing up, we weren't sure if it would just be the once and then she would feel fine, or if she was actually sick.  She had a nap (should have been our first clue she was sick) and then seemed a little perkier after that.  We decided we would still set out, a little later than planned.  We got to Borden and decided to turn around.  She was getting greener and greener and then she ended up with a fever last night and more throwing up during the night.  Not exactly what you want when travelling.  She seems a little better this morning - actually asked to eat something, so we'll see if that sits all right.

I wrote that first paragraph this morning, and it is now evening and since then Julie has succumbed to the same bug Jorja had.  I feel I may not be far behind either.  That's unfortunate.  I really hate throwing up.  Like really hate it.  Kids always seem so resilient - puke one minute, smile the next.  I don't know how they do it.  I guess the long and short of it is that it's a good thing we stayed home this weekend.

We had our first parent-teacher-student three way conference on Thursday.  I guess they don't just have parent-teacher interviews anymore.  It turns our our child is brilliant.  Well, maybe I'm bragging a bit, but she is doing great.  She showed us how to use the 'smart board' (apparently blackboards are out now to) and all the other stuff she can do.  There were several stations that we went through before we got to the teacher where she had little activities to do.  Pretty basic stuff - letters, numbers, shapes, colours.  Just the basic shapes and colours though - it's a wonder she doesn't get bored with some of that stuff.  She wasn't even three yet and she could tell you what a turquoise parallelogram was.  The teacher had no concerns with Jorja either, so that was good.  She was impressed by how much Jorja can read already.  Jorja loves her teacher too.  I think Kindergarten teachers are a special breed of people - how you can be that kind and loving and patient day after day is beyond me.  I had a great Kindergarten teacher and it looks like Jorja will have similar fond memories to look back onto.

I took the youngest two kids to Walmart this afternoon to get a few things.  What was I thinking on Saturday afternoon?  It was a zoo in there.  Ginny was remarkably well behaved though and we survived relatively unscathed.  I left Jorja home to look after Julie, a task which she took to heart.  Jorja was on the upswing this afternoon, so she felt confident in that role.  She is quite the little mother hen that one.  It breaks her heart when someone else in the family isn't feeling well.  She really mother Ginny when she doesn't feel well.

I guess we will be home for the Rider game tomorrow, instead of on the road like the last game.  I can get the girls to watch it on TV, but listening to it on the radio is a bit of a stretch.  Jorja and Ginny are taking quite the interest in the Roughriders this year, well as much interest as they can manage for something that isn't animated with catchy music.  At least they don't ask to turn it off.   

Work is going good, but I'm back to the day shift this week, so we'll see how everyone else fares.  Hopefully alright.  Later.

Halloween

Thursday was Julie's birthday, and it was a good day.  She enjoyed her presents and cake, and the girls had fun too.  We all wore our party hats for cake at lunch time, and then we went out for supper.  Jorja told Julie that she got to pick the restaurant because it was her birthday.  In reality it wasn't entirely Julie's decision because we have to go somewhere that serves either chicken fingers or pizza (that is all the girls will ever eat at a restaurant).  We went to Boston Pizza.


The girls in their party hats.



Just to prove I had a hat too.

Jorja was asking Julie something about her birthday, and Julie said that she wasn't going to have any more birthdays.  Jorja replied, "You have to keep having birthdays so that you can die.  Don't you want to go see that golden place?"  At least the thought doesn't frighten her I guess.

After church today we went to Jerry's for lunch (as we do most Sundays) and after we were done eating the girls were playing in the play area.  Jorja had to go to the bathroom and Ginny continued to play.  She introduced herself to another little girl and found out this girl's name was Isabel.  She knows another little girl who also has that name.  As I was buckling her into her carseat to go home, I asked her about her new friend.  She told me that 'she is one of the Isabels.'  Maybe there's a whole gang of them, I don't know.

Tonight we took the girls out trick or treating.  They had a blast and ended up with way too much candy.  Ginny was dressed as a kangaroo, and her costume had a little joey sewn into the pouch on the front.  She spent the entire evening with one hand on her baby and said at one point, "When Joey gets scared, I just cover his eyes."  The later she said to Julie, "Joey is doing awesome, isn't he?" 

It is obvious which one of them takes after their father with respect to eating Halloween candy.  Ginny.  We let them have a couple of things when they got in, and Jorja was taking her time, and Ginny was 'can I have one more? ...chomp chomp... I'm just gonna have one more... chomp chomp ... can I have another?'

The kangaroo.

The skunk.

The princess.

The haul.

This marks my last Sunday evening without having to wake up for work in the morning.  It's not like the girls ever sleep in anyway, but I'm not looking forward to that 5:20 am alarm clock.  I guess I better make the most of this week.  Later.

The making of a masterpiece

Well, as promised, here it is:  the making of Julie's birthday cake:

My contribution:  the 'crumb coat':

The future cake boss?

The concentration...

Just a little more magenta over here:

Almost done: 

The masterpiece:

 And CeCe, the trooper, forced to watch all the fun from the playpen:

Later.

Birthday Eve

Tomorrow is Julie's birthday, so today was spent in eager preparation.  I think Jorja may some day be an event planner.  I baked the cake yesterday, so today we decorated it (Jorja, Ginny and me).  There are several words I could use to describe decorating a cake with a two year old and a five year old, but I think I'll just go with interesting.  I would post pictures, but I'll have to wait until after the big day as to not ruin the surprise.  Like anything with Jorja is ever a surprise.  Anyway, the cake turned out pretty good, so then it was time to make party hats.  After all, what is a party without party hats?  I fashioned five little cones out of paper and Jorja busily decorated them.  Oh yes, it is going to be quite the party.  For the girls' last couple of birthdays, Julie has made big poster-sized banners saying happy birthday along with pictures of the theme of that year.  Jorja also had to make a banner which I have been told I am to hang up tonight while Julie is sleeping to it's a surprise when she wakes up.  Who does she think I am, Santa?  I think I'll just do it in the morning.  She also thinks there should be balloons, but I don't think we have any, so I hope there aren't too many tears over that.  Don't laugh, there may very well be - she takes these things very seriously.  You also have to imagine her talking 90 miles an hour throughout this whole process as to what I am supposed to be doing and why we're doing this and how that will turn out.  It's very exhausting.  On that note, I've got some gifts to wrap.  Later.

Broccoli

I like potatoes.  I like cheese.  I like broccoli (really, I do).  I like cheese on broccoli.  So when I saw the baby food jar labeled 'Potato Broccoli and Cheese Casserole,' I thought it sounded like a good idea.  Let me start by saying that each of the girls had at least one flavour of baby food that made them gag.  For the older two, it was peas.  Once they were old enough to eat real peas, they loved them.  But the pureed variety - not so much.  CeCe has had a few flavours that she is not that fond of, but nothing that she absolutely couldn't stand.  Well, I found it.  I gave her a spoonful of the 'casserole' and she proceeded to gag and sputter.  Hmm.  I gave her a few spoonfuls of cereal and then I thought I'd try again.  Maybe she was just choking.  No.  Again the gagging and heaving.  Enough said.  I brought out some fruit and all was well.  I guess I was an adult before I liked broccoli, so we'll see.  Maybe once she is onto more solid food she will like it.  Maybe she'll be like her sisters and not like it.

Let me tell you about one of the first times I ate broccoli.  The year was 1999.  Julie and I had just started dating and she lived in LaRonge at the time.  I went up to see her for a weekend and she cooked for me.  Now my idea of vegetables at that time were peas and corn.  Well, she made a stir-fry with all sorts of things that scared me half to death - broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, zucchini.  What was I going to do?  Here was this girl that I really liked and wanted to impress, yet every fibre of my being told me I wasn't going to like this.  One rule my Dad had always impressed on me as a child was that when you are at someone else's house, you eat what's on the table.  So, sweaty palms and all, I bit the bullet.  And it was actually good.  I was shocked and impressed all at once.  Who knew?  To this day, that is one of my favourite things.  Later.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving to everyone.  A lot has happened this year that I am truly grateful for.  Julie is doing much better, CeCe was born a beautiful and healthy little girl, Jorja and Ginny both continue to amaze me.

This year Julie cooked her first turkey.  We took the slightly more citified approach (as opposed to Jorja's method) and bought a turkey breast from Costco.  That way it was already dead, much less hassle than taping it's beak shut and cutting off it's wings.  Anyway, it turned out awesome.  She made stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey (obviously), carrots, cranberry sauce, cherry pie, banana cream pie (we don't do pumpkin pie).  The two older girls ate everything except the potatoes and gravy (they never have liked potatoes).  Somehow, they prefer ketchup on their turkey rather than gravy.  Crazy.  CeCe on the other hand, loved mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as the cranberries and banana cream pie (minus the crust - basically pudding I guess).  Maybe if we start her early, we will have one potato eater.  We picked up a bottle of sparkling fruit juice in a wine-looking bottle complete with a cork, and let the girls drink out of wine glasses.  They thought that was pretty cool.  We even got out the fine china which I think we'll need another setting of when CeCe gets a little bigger.

All in all, it was a great long weekend.  The weather was super - I heard on the radio that we had snow last thanksgiving.  Here's to a week filled with turkey sandwiches and farts.  Later.

Kindergarten

So today was the first official day of kindergarten. Jorja seemed pretty excited all morning right up until she went. Julie took her and then we all went to pick her up when she was done. The 'drop off' went well - everyone kept it together. Julie had a few tears when she got home, but all in all, pretty good.

We kind of thought Jorja would be beside herself when she was done, talking nonstop the whole way home, but she was surprisingly subdued. She was quiet and almost a bit sad it seemed. We got home and she and Julie had a chat. After much coaxing, Jorja said that she had been quite nervous and scared beforehand. We never would have guessed, she just seemed excited. She definitely is hard to read and a worrier sometimes. Here's hoping everything is better tomorrow.

Ginny was quite out of sorts for the afternoon. She wasn't quite sure what to do without her boss around. We played snakes and ladders, read some books, listened to some music, but she just seemed kind of sad too. Hopefully she comes to see this as some special time alone with Mom and Dad (CeCe sleeps during most of this time).

So all in all, not exactly the way we saw this day playing out, but at least we didn't peak too soon. Later.

Metashlope

Today we hit a milestone. Julie and I were both able to have a nap upstairs together at the same time. We got home after lunch and felt the need for a Sunday afternoon snooze. When I was growing up, Mom and Dad used to call it a 'metashlope'. I have no idea how to spell the word (it's German), so I just went with how it sounds. Most Sunday afternoons, after church, after lunch, Mom and Dad would have a metashlope. Up until now, the kids haven't been old enough for this to happen. Sometimes one of us can have a nap while the other dozes on the couch - being in sight seemed to be good enough. But today was different. We put CeCe down in her crib, put 'Sleeping Beauty' on, and told the girls we were going to have a nap. They did awesome. It was so nice, and we were so impressed with them. The house was still standing too.

Here's one for the category, 'you know you're a princess when...': We were getting ready for church this morning, and the girls noticed Julie putting on lipstick, and had to have some too. I like to tease them a bit, so I asked Jorja if I could have a kiss. "No Dad, not until bed time, I have lipstick on." All right then. As we were leaving, Ginny wanted a drink of water. "I'm thirsty!" Then Jorja chimed in. "Me too! I'm thirsty too!" As Ginny was having her drink, Jorja started to think about this. She asked, "Will my lipstick come off?" Julie replied that some if it would. "I'm not thirsty anymore."

Tomorrow morning is Kindergarten registration. So it begins. I believe there will only be one more half-day this week, with a small group of kids, and then it gets into full swing next week. Should be interesting. It's still kind of hard to believe. Later.

38

Today was my birthday - it was a good day. It began with Jorja serenading me with Happy Birthday. She was beside herself wanting to give me my presents first thing this morning. She and Ginny had a good time 'helping' me with my gifts. Julie got me some really cool beer glasses made in Poland. Since I began tasting beer, she thinks I've become a bit of a snob. I no longer like drinking it out of the can. You can't really experience the whole aroma and flavour if you don't have a glass. These are tall and narrow, thin-walled with a heavy base, perfect for experiencing a cold beverage.

I went for lunch with the lab people from work. It was the last week for the summer student we've had for the last four years, so they were going out for lunch. It was nice to catch up.

This afternoon we had eye appointments - all of us except CeCe. The girls did really well. Julie and Jorja ended up going together, and Ginny and I went together. Ginny was a little reserved at first, but she did really well - sat a lot better than I thought she would. There was one time though while I was having mine checked that she wiped out and started to cry. So she came and sat on my lap and was wailing. The technician then asked her if a bouncy ball would make her feel better. Through the sobs, she mustered a yes. It was pretty cute. Both girls got free sunglasses too, so that was cool. My eyes are still perfect. Apparently the age things usually start to go downhill is 42. We'll see I guess.

We ended up ordering some supper in and then eating cake. Julie made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream covered in a chocolate ganache. Are you sensing a theme? She put a layer of cherries in the middle, which was nice. She called it 'Death by Chocolate Covered Cherries.' It was awesome. Later.

Green

We went to church this morning, then for lunch, and were going to come home and have a dip in the pool. It was smokin' hot here today. We got CeCe laid down for a nap, had the girls changed into their swimsuits, sunscreened up, Julie and I changed and ready, bald spot sunscreened, baby monitor plugged in outside - we were ready. Then I pulled back the cover to the pool. It had been over a week since we were in it, and I hadn't really looked at it. Bad pool boy. Our nice little pool was now a green, algae filled swamp. Gross. No pool today. That sucked. So I threw a whole pile of chlorine into it, and started filtering the green stuff out. It is going to take a few days I think. So we did the next best thing, probably just as much fun for the girls - turned on the sprinkler. They had a blast. Julie was relaxing reading a book and they were filling a Frisbee with water, carrying it to her, and keeping her feet cool. "It's like you're getting a pedicure," I heard at one time. Then they decided to wash their soccer balls, beach balls, etc...all the plastic balls they have in the back yard (5 or 6 I think). Jorja said to me, "We're just washing our balls Dad. It's important to wash your balls every once in a while." Yes it is Jorja, yes it is.

CeCe was six months old yesterday - hard to believe. She goes for her shots tomorrow morning, so that should be fun. She is such a good baby - happy, laughs lots, doesn't make strange yet, puts up with a lot of 'attention' from her sisters. The last week or so, she has really started to eat solids well. Some days she barely has a spoonful in and her mouth is open wanting more. She's getting close to being able to sit by herself, but not quite there yet. A couple more months and I'll be back to work. Scary. Later.

House Hunters

There's not much for TV on during the days (or late at night for that matter) but we usually like to watch something while feeding CeCe. It usually ends up being HGTV. At first I didn't think the girls ever paid much attention when it wasn't a kids' show. Apparently I was wrong. It started with Ginny asking, "Is this House Hunters?" every time I turned on the TV. Hmm. Now lately, the girls have started playing 'House Hunters.' Jorja is the real estate agent and Ginny is the client. The other morning they came up to me and Jorja asked me if I knew of any nice houses for this little girl. I replied that I thought the pink house (their room) would be a good house for her. So she took her there and showed her all the features, and I guess it must have been a sale. Then Jorja came and asked me if I needed a house. I was just about to feed CeCe, so I replied that yes, I did need a house, and one that would be good for a baby. She took me down to the family room and pointed out the chair where we always feed CeCe and the pillow we use under our arms. "I think this would be a good house. It has this chair and this pillow. It would be very good for a baby." Another sale. She's good.

Julie had to have a mole cut off today at the doctor's office. Sometimes Julie doesn't do that well with needles, so I took the girls to check on her when it was done. It just so happened that Julie's appointment was at the time when I had to pick Jorja up from DVBS, so we couldn't just drive her. So I took the other two girls, picked Jorja up and went to the doctor's office. On the way over, Ginny asked if the doctor used pink scissors. I replied that I wasn't sure. Then she asked if she used a pink knife. Jorja replied that the knife would just be silver. "Everything in a doctor's office is either silver, white or clear." It turned out Julie was fine. I guess after three children and all the needles that go along with that, having GBS and getting a spinal tap, she's getting better at handling needles.

Julie's Dad was in town today on some business and he stopped by with Jorja's birthday present. They had also got some fold-up canvas lawn chairs for the girls that they could have today. They even have cup holders in the arm. So they wanted to take them out this afternoon to try them out. They asked for their water bottles immediately of course. Now I know they always like to sit at the top of their play centre to sip their water and I've seen plastic lawn chairs up there before. I thought I would preempt anything bad from happening so I said right off that bat that these chairs were not to go to the top of the play centre, they were not to sit the chairs on top of the swing, and that the chairs were to stay on the ground. They kind of gave me this look of disbelief like I was asking for some outrageous request. I'm glad I did. Later.

Peas

All right, I know I said I was done talking about the big V, but I have one more story. This morning we were getting ready to take Jorja to DVBS. Julie had taken her yesterday, but I was going to today. So we're about to walk out the door, and she says to me, "Oh, you're taking me Dad, I thought Mom was going to. I thought you were going to sit at home with your peas and rest."

Ginny was a little better today, but she sure likes to go pick Jorja up. It was the same when preschool was still on. It was nice to have a little one on one time with her this morning though. We read some stories, and had a little tea party. She didn't want my tea though, only wanted to give some to me. If only life were always like that...Later.

My animal

This morning we attempted to go for a bike ride with the whole family. A while back, we had bought an attachment for Julie's bike where Jorja can ride behind her. It has handle bars, pedals, and one wheel, and attaches to the seat post of the big bike. Ginny rides in the seat on the back of my bike, and then I pull CeCe in the chariot. It turned out that there were some kinks to be worked out in the assembly if Jorja's bike attachment (by kinks I mean that after they took one corner, the trailer bike shifted so much that she was leaning something fierce). We were all helmeted up and the other two kids were loaded, so I just took Jorja's trailer off and got out her bike. Well, she's not really up to going anywhere too far too quickly. So Julie went for a ride by herself while I rode with Jorja and then I took the other two girls for a ride while Julie biked close to home with Jorja. CeCe really enjoyed the ride - she fell asleep. I just came in from the garage now, and I believe the kinks have been worked out, so we'll have to see when the sun shines again. Maybe we can make it as far as the park or something.

A few days ago, our super dandelion puller broke. I think maybe it has already done a lifetime worth of work, but we thought we would try taking it back anyway. We no longer had the receipt, but we gave it a whirl. We walked into Canadian Tire, I explained the issue, the clerk said that the Fiskar has a lifetime exchange warranty, so she went and got a new one off the shelf, and we were done. We were so impressed.

This evening Jorja was getting ready for bed, and I was teasing her saying I wanted to sleep with one of her stuffed animals (she has a Care Bear that she got when she was 18 months old and a panda bear she calls Bamboo that she must sleep with every night). I said I really wanted to sleep with Bamboo. She replied, "No Dad, Mommy is your animal." If you only knew Jorja, if you only knew... Later.

Sunshine

Today, the sun was finally shining, and we took advantage of it. Julie had a physio appointment this morning, so I took the girls outside. It was nice, but it wasn't super nice - jackets were still needed before lunch. They had been so starved for the outdoors that they insisted on having a picnic. I didn't really think it was that nice, but I gave in. I just made buns with some ham and cucumber slices. They were sitting there eating, and Ginny picks this little bit off of her bun and asks Jorja what it is. "Oh that's okay Ginny, that's just bun skin." Who knew? By the time they were done eating, I was holding CeCe because she had woke up and was fussy. They were both sticky and in need of washing, so Jorja decided that they should use their water bottles. They then proceeded to pour their water out onto their hands, and had a blast attempting to wash. I'm not sure they were any cleaner than when they started, but they sure enjoyed themselves.

After lunch we decided that it was time to put in the garden...finally. We started with potatoes. I dug the holes and the girls took turns putting in the potatoes. They were having a lot of fun. After that, we got into some seeds, which were a little harder to control. It could look kind of like a patchwork quilt when things start to come up. Some spots will be fairly heavy, some will be a little sparse, and some will be a little erratic. Every time I looked, Ginny was planting things no where near the row they were supposed to be in. Oh well, some things aren't that big of a deal.

The break in the weather meant that the scheduled soccer game this evening was a go. I think Jorja had more fun in her time off the field than on. She did however kick the ball..."twice, one little one and one big one." She and one other girl were having fun with dandelions for a while. Then she was playing with a boy who was in her preschool class. It's funny because this was the third soccer game and the first time that they really acknowledged that they knew each other. They were making funny faces and having little sword fights with blades of grass. When we were walking back to the car, she said that this boy was there. I replied that I saw him and asked if she had fun playing with him. "Yeah," she said, "we were doing silly things to each other." If I hadn't been sitting right there, I might be a little worried.

The forecast for tomorrow is for more sun. Hopefully it's true. Later

Off to see the Wizard...

Psssstttt.....

Hey...it's me. I know, I know...I haven't had anything to say for quite a while. To be honest, Dave does a really good job of speaking for both of us. Plus, he's far more entertaining than I am! ;P

Today, I was off to see the Wizard, aka, Dr. K, my neurologist. It was time for another check-up. I told him that I was experiencing more numbness back in April, and that it felt as though things were getting worse again. Now, these sensations have seemed to have levelled out, and have backed off a bit. He said that he would still considered this "setback" to have occurred within the postpartum period, but basically, anything that happens now re:numbness, weakness, etc., counts. SO, I still don't know if it was "simple" Guillain-Barre Syndrome (although my case was never simple), or if I'm headed down a chronic path of CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). I am scheduled for another nerve conduction study next Monday (the electric shock therapy test), and that will be the true definer as to how I'm really coming along.

I have to give Dr. K kudos...I almost NEVER have to wait on him. I was about 20 minutes early for my appointment and got in immediately. He's always very personable, to the point, and never pulls any punches, and if I needed to get in to see him, I would never have a long wait - 2 days at the most!

I'm not sure how I feel about the possibility of this being a chronic condition, but the one thing (of many!) that I've learned is to not put the cart before the horse.

After this, I headed to Shopper's Drug Mart to mail off my first two tu-tu creations! I am so excited about this and am really enjoying making these foofy creations for lucky little girls. I can't believe how expensive it is to ship something. The tutu and packaging weighed .090 kg. It cost me approximately $11 to ship this to Golden Prairie. Say What?!?? But get this! It cost me approximately $9 to ship it to Edmonton, which is further away and in a different province! I asked the post-mistress why the cost was different and she said that it costs more to send things to a rural community. Huh. Who knew?

Next stop was to pick up a triple barrel curling iron that I purchased for super cheap off of Kijiji. I love Kijiji.

Then, home, to rescue Dave from the monsters. We ate lunch, and then, as Dave mentioned, it was off to the Market Mall for some fun and adventure. I needed to stop at Fabricland, so there was lots of warnings and reminders about good behaviour and such. Of course, that lasts for all of 3 minutes, and then the naughtiness and misbehaving starts to kick in. At one point, while we were standing in line, an elderly lady came to stand in line behind us. She asked me how I had time to sew when I had three little ones. I replied that I did this while they were in bed! To be honest, I find making these tutus rather relaxing. Freakshow!

We then headed to "PlayLand". The girls had so much fun, so it was worth it. I was sitting near the back of the play area, and I can hear Jorja bossing Ginny around from where I was sitting. "Ginn....Ginn....no, no..don't go up there, you have to go up the red stairs first....Ginn....Ginn..." What a bossy little thing, not to mention a loud talker! Ginny still does Jorja's bidding, but it will be interesting when she starts to exert her personality more. It won't be long before Ginny's wearing the pants in this sisterhood. It will be interesting to see what CeCe's personality brings to the mix. CeCe had a nice snooze in the car seat, and then woke up and was content to sit and stand.

Then, it was homeward bound. I must admit, I was feeling thoroughly thrashed after surviving this little outing. I still notice that my stamina isn't what it used to be before this "issue" struck, but hopefully it will continue to return. Screw you, Guillain-Barre! I WILL win! Hah.

Anyhow, I hope that you're all having a great evening. Don't be shy...feel free to post a comment and say hello! We are always curious to see who is reading this thing!

TTYL

~Jewels

Cleaning

Things have been a bit quiet on the writing front here for a few days now. I think I blame the weather. It is getting seriously depressing. I think we're all starting to go a bit stir crazy. Hopefully things turn around tomorrow.

We used to have a university student come in and clean the house every two weeks when we were both working. However, with Julie on disability and me on parental leave, we decided that that would be one of the things we had to cut. Boy, do we miss her. It is so hard to get things done with the kids in the house. One wants this, one wants to help, then the first wants what the other has. Soon, there's screaming and someones having a meltdown. And sometimes it's one of the kids.

Anyway, we decided that in order to get a handle on things today, Julie would take the kids out for a couple of hours, and I would clean. I worked like a dog, but I think I still got the easier deal. The three of them are definitely a challenge. Julie took them to Market Mall, and let them play in the little play centre there, and things seemed to go fairly well. She came home with all of them anyway. They even made some new friends. Ginny would go up to another little girl, get in her face, and say, "What's your name?" "Ava." "Oh." And then she would carry on her way. She's got tact.

Does the laundry ever end?

Here are some random observations of a four year old:

• I like ketchup, but I don't like tomatoes. Isn't that weird?
• I like honey cheerios and honey ham, but I don't like honey. Isn't that weird?
• I like peanut butter, but I don't like peanuts. Isn't that weird?

Here's hoping we can get outside tomorrow. Later.

Preschool graduation

Today was Jorja's preschool graduation/year end party. The day was spent on a field trip to Market Mall. What better place to have a preschool trip than to a mall filled with old people. It was a great time though.

Jorja woke this morning almost beside herself with excitement. Julie did her hair all fancy, and she was thrilled. So she and I set off for the school this morning (the day started at 9:00). We all boarded two school buses (I forgot how much I dislike school buses) and headed for the mall. First on the agenda was mini-golf. I was a bit worried about this - I didn't know if she would enjoy it. But she had a blast. She has never held a golf club before, so it was interesting. I helped her with her first shot to show her how, and then she did most of it herself. Mind you, most of the holes she played resembled more of a poor example of stick handling than golf. As far as mini-golf courses go, this one was fairly tough, complete with sand traps and water hazards. A few holes had downhill slopes with water at the end, so I told her to just lightly tap it, and it would be all right. After that, she kept asking me on her first shot if she should shoot it light or hard. Like it made a difference. If she thought the ball was heading for trouble, she ran after it and stopped it. It was pretty cute. At one point, she told me I could call her Miss Shooter.

After the golf, we killed some time in the mall, and then Julie, Ginny and CeCe met us for lunch. There was enough fundraising that every preschooler, one sibling, and two parents got a free meal. The meal consisted of 2 chicken fingers and fries for adults, and 1 chicken finger and fries for kids.

After lunch, it was off to the children's' museum for the program and some craft/play time. Jorja sang her heart out during the program, and was thrilled to get her 'diploma'. After that, there was a craft, some structured play time, and lots of free time. They had a whole outdoor scene with a canoe, tent, logs and red ribbon for a fire. The girls enjoyed the canoe, and managed not to hit anyone with the oars. It looked scary at first. There was also a stage with a bunch of dress up clothes and musical instruments, so we got treated to quite a few rock stars.

When it was all over, Julie rode the bus back and I drove the other two girls home. I though for sure Ginny would fall asleep, but she stayed awake.


I'm not sure what it was about the day, but both Julie and I felt exhausted when we got home. The girls were well behaved, they played well, CeCe was good. It was a pretty easy day for us, but it welt draining.

Anyway, time for bed. Later.

Tutus

Today was a cold and miserable day. Rain, rain, and more rain. Well, most of the rain was last night, but it was still cold and miserable today. To get a little bit of fresh air, I took the girls out for a little walk with umbrellas. They thought that was pretty cool. Ginny held hers kind of in front of her face, and couldn't see where she was going. It was just kind of misting at the time, so the umbrellas were more of a novelty than a necessity, but it was fun all the same.

Julie made the girls some tutus, which they enjoyed prancing around in. They're cute, but they're no ballerinas. Not yet anyway. They seem to lack a little coordination and balance. And grace.

Yesterday was Jorja's second last piano lesson. Next weekend is one more lesson and then the recital. Everything is ending for the summer. Preschool is done Wednesday, two more weeks of Sunday school. It's hard to believe she's going to be 5 this summer.

This is kind of boring, but it's been a lazy couple of days here. Later.