Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A POX upon you...

Well we knew it had to happen sometime (being that we don't vaccinate for anything, never mind the chicken pox.) Madeline was complaining of a stomach ache all saturday, Jeff took her to the er that night and they said it was a bladder infection... put her on sulfa drugs. Fast forward to monday when she appears to have a rash ALL OVER her body. First culprit? Sulpha drugs... or... you know... chicken pox. The clinical diagnosis is the pox and she appears to have a pretty classic case of them. She's got between 100-200 spots. They have almost all come to a "head" and are bursting like crazy. About 2/3's of them have crusted over already. She was doing really well with them and not scratching (I'm keeping her doped on Benedryl... though it does not dope her, it actually excites her instead) but at about midnight she came upstairs with a forlorn look... "I HATE the chicken spots!!!" Some cream, Benedry, kisses and water later... she was back in bed and slept through the night.

We've done all of our school work for the morning. A science package on Chucky the salmon, two sheets of printing, a journal entry and three worksheets on ordinal numbers. Yes she's in grade one. No she's not doing grade one work. Most of what she's working on is grade two stuff. The advantages of being in a 1/2 split. This afternoon we'll work on skip counting, do our home reading program and practice spelling words. THEN when all of that is done, we'll pop some popcorn, cuddle up on the couch with Olivia and watch a movie.

Olivia is colouring Christmas pictures and humming "Jingle bells." We just ate some strawberry waffles and juice for lunch. I changed a massively disgusting Phoenix poo and we're good to go.

I'm sad for Madeline that she has to miss this week of school. Thursday the entire school is going to see a live showing of "Annie" and then report card day is Friday. She also has her ballet exam on Friday but come hell or high water SHE'S GOING. It should be fine since everything is crusting over already.

I'm tired. I'm run down. We're instituted a chore chart for Jeff and I to keep everything organized. During the week I'm in charge of most everything except after dinner dishes and maybe one other thing a night (like monday night he had to clean the rec room and last night he was SUPPOSED to clean the two bathrooms.)

One problem... he's tired. He sits on the couch as soon as the kids are in bed and trys to pass out. Well that's all fine and good but now I HAVE to do his chores... and that was the whole point of HAVING a chore chart... to lessen the burden on me. So I guess tonight he'll have to clean the bathrooms PLUS whatever he's supposed to do tonight. My jobs for today are a general tidy, clean my room, laundry and that's about it. So I guess I'll put away the last load I folded and start some more.

What I really feel like doing is curling up on my couch with a blankie, a cup of Chai, a really good book and reading till I fall asleep... and then napping for a good couple of hours. Instead I'll nurse the baby, feed kids, have a shower, get dressed, tidy up, do some laundry, clean the bedroom, read stories, play cars, spell words out for Olivia, homeschool Madeline, read Phoenix more stories, nurse a bit more, change another diaper....

It's NEVER dull moment... never.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Anyone want a best friend?

Cause I think I'm free... lol.

My best friends daughter is on house arrest until she potty learns (she's almost five and goes in and out of being completely learned but is currently out) and therefore that means that my best friend is on house arrest. No play dates, no sleepovers... I guess this means my four year old needs a new best friend as well. Any takers?

This is apparently daddy's plan of action on the potty learning front. *shakes head*

Le sigh. I'm going to miss my friend. I hope her daughter potty learns for good quickly... although if the last almost three years are any indication I am taking resumes ;)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

life... amoung other things...

My sister and niece arrived safe and sound from Alabama on Friday morning. It was SO NICE to see them in person, be able to hug them and feel their energy. I've missed co-parenting with my sister, knowing someone loves my kids with the intensity that I do and would lay down their life for them. My kids are her kids and visa versa... it's strange. I feel like I can leave the room and not have to say "watch my kids kay?" because she already is... she's already there. She's already in that head space.

Phoenix took to Dawn in an instant. He's madly enamored with Kylee and loves to follow her around. She's such a little "mommy" and watches him, looks after him... wants to be with him. Between Madeline and Kylee he's very well loved.

Mom's last chemo went well. She's very tired and very sore and very much not letting herself sleep and rest... I know that she does not want to miss even a second of the time that Dawn and Kylee are here but she NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF HERSELF!!! It seems like every single time she does lay down someone is there needing her... I told Dawn to lay the smack down and when mom is in bed? She is not to be bothered. I spoke to mom tonight and she was very grouchy. Long days make for a grouchy mama.

My mother has a "friend" that is driving me slowly to the brink. She loves mom to death, would do anything for her... but has about all the tact of a porcupine. Some of the recent gems were...

-(to my grandmother who's had a stroke and is in a nursing home... it was her birthday today and she was cutting her cake) Oh you cut crooked... just like your life.

-(to my other grandmother, when asking her how she takes her coffee) Oh... black like your heart?

-(to my grandmothers care provider) Well I hope you washed your hands now that you've had them all over that cake

Just no tact. At all. At any times. G double Rrrrr I tell ya.

/rant

Phoenix ran up to me today and said "nana... PEAS PEAS PEAS!!!!!" (nurse me, please please please!) It was adorable! He usually takes me by the hand, leads me to the bedroom, grabs his blanket, lays down beside me and opens his mouth. He's not subtle AT ALL.

Madeline got in trouble for the first time ever at school today. Apparently she accidentally grabbed a kids lunch kit, he punched her and then she told the teacher. She left out that she had grabbed his lunch kit. She lied about it when questioned (she didn't want to get in trouble) but then told the truth. She got a warning and a note sent home. She was devastated... she went to the bathroom at school and bawled, bawled some more at home. Told me how sorry she was that she lied and that she wants people to trust her and be her friend. I'm pissed because the OTHER kid just got a warning as well. He fucking PUNCHED her. Not even on the same scale. He showed violent behaviour and I am not impressed. I will be talking to her teacher tomorrow. I can almost guarantee that Madeline will never do this again.

Okay wow... this was a rantyish post ;)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

owwwww

I fell down the stairs. Holding Phoenix. On to a ceramic tile floor. ON MY KNEE. I hurt so freaking bad. I took 3 advil AND a tylenol 3 and JUST NOW am I starting to feel a bit better (well really zoo'ed but not so pained).

My knee is very red, a bunch of skin missing and quite swollen. I screamed when I tried to walk on it. Phoenix and I layed on the floor at the bottom of the stairs and cried for a while before I crawled up the stairs for the phone. I was on my way to pick up Maddy so thankfully Tammy (a friend who's little girl Emma is in the same class as Mad) could bring her home. I managed to put Phoenix down for a nap (he's fine... I pulled the landing so he'd be okay but managed to hurt myself that much more), get some frozen corn for my knee and now I'm laying on the couch (I AM NOT STUBBORN JEFF!)

Apparently I'm heading to the ER when Jeff gets home.

Fun.

Not.

sigh.

I really should have called Rose or someone to take care of me. It's unfair to Madeline to have to watch Phoenix while I can't move. I know if I called Jean she would have come down but that's a long ways to drive. I don't want to be a burden but FUCK THIS SO FUCKING HURTS!!!!!!!!!!! I was trying to get up the courage to ask Robyn to stay but they have a friend to help set up some speaker thing so they were already busy with things to do.

I guess I'll muddle through somehow tomorrow. Drugs will be my bestest friend.

Buy buy buy!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5118712

Go to this shop. Buy these dolls :) These are all waldorf inspired dolls that are portraits of children from an orphanage in Niger. 100% of the proceeds go towards the orphanage and the children. Can you think of a better gift for any child (or woman for that matter!!!!)

Monday, November 12, 2007

it's a gray day

and I'm feeling grayish to go with it.

I'm tired, my back is sore, I'm tired of telling my girls to be quiet while Phoenix is attempting (for the third time) to have a nap. I'm tired of not having ANY couples friends to do things with as a family and yet it's totally not my style to say "hey you have kids, we have kids, lets hang" and yet I know that's what needs to be done in order to change this. I'm tired of not being able to arrange a time to hang out with Jean and her brood. I'm tired of not driving and therefore stuck to the house unless I can finagle a way to get out. I'm tired.

I would like an entire day to do WHAT I WANT. With no kids. With none of anything I didn't want around. With no housework or "mommy mommy mommy", with no dinners to cook and laundry to fold. And entire day to focus on MYSELF and no one else. Do these days exist? Not for me they don't.

I would like someone to cook me dinner, clean my house, watch my kids, run me a bath and fetch me some wine. To go with my whine ;)

Okay. Suck it up Princess. Real life awaits and it waits for me. Constantly. Annoyingly so.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Emo? Why?

Now this is Olivia at the age of 1 1/2 or so? But yah... she looks like that today. And a good portion of most days. She's emo, moody, acts pms'y. She's currently laying on the couch on her face ignoring me. I've snuggled her, joked with her, played with her and she's STILL BEING FUCKING EMO. OMG. Why? This is pretty much a constant state for her over the last year. Seriously now... do they make antidepressants for four year olds? I'm considering it.

She just informed me that she is bitchy because she does not want to clean her room. It's not MY room. I didn't leave a weeks worth of laundry on the floor. I didn't spread her stuffed animals from one end to the next. SHE DID. She is four and a half. She can clean her damned room herself.

/end rant

So this little person
decided to wake me up just after seven am... took a massive dump in his diaper and then stood by my head shoving his blanket on my face pleading "mama, nana PEASE!!!!!!!!!!" Over and over and over. I was suffering a codeine hangover (taking it for my cough) and not exactly wanting to be awake and on duty quite so early. Oh course with a diaper change, nursing and breakfast he is now standing in front of me grooving to "dance baby dance" and dancing he is! It's cute. He's cute. I guess he can stay.


Miss Madeline is at school and therefore cannot annoy me. That's the great thing about school ;) This is however an adorable picture. Note the blue ring around her mouth? Blue sucker. You'd think at the age of six that she could figure out how to get the sucker IN her mouth and not AROUND her mouth. Apparently not. Also note the adorable puppy on her lap. That is Ozzy. My newest nephew ;) He is a puggalicious pug and I *heart* him.

Well dinner is in the crockpot (baked beans) and I should change Phoenix, get him dressed, check Olivia's room, have a shower, feed Olivia lunch, fold the laundry, vacuum the floors, put more laundry in the washer, let the dog out.................. oh this could go on for a while ;)

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

An update...

cause my loverly sister asked so nicely for one ;)

There is snow on the ground. Nice, wet, soggy, heavy snow. It was fluffy for about a nanosecond but it's far too warm to have very good staying power. So mostly what it's doing is compacting and making things far too slippery on the roads. Thankfully we were able to purchase and get installed new winter tires on friday; about three hours after the dumpage started to take place.

Another thing about snow... it makes you realize very quickly that your extremely tall six year old outgrew her size 6X snowsuit. Your four year old is no longer a size 7 boot (and is now in size 10's!). Your baby needs something warmer than robeez for the -40 weather that is surely to come... and you can't possibly spend another winter wearing just crocs.

So we're now the proud owners of a lovely cream and pink snowsuit (size 8) for Maddy. Olivia has some snazzy new blue and white boots. Phoenix has the most teeny darling pair of Olive boots (that he HATES with a passion I have never seen. We're talking fall to the floor screaming, kicking feet, trying to rip them off of his legs and then when he succeeds? Chucking them to the other side of the room just as fast and as far as he can. It's fucking hilarious!) I also have boots. Cute, leather and fake furish type boots. They are warm.

Due to the upcoming holiday season and due to the new neighborhood we live in ( http://www.getawaybc.com/story.cgi?id=4647&section=5 ) we went lights shopping tonight and ended up with a metric assload of "crystal iced rope lights" which are multicoloured and very pretty! That combined with our blow up snow globe will have to do for this year. I imagine we'll collect stuff as the years pass.

I finally got an eye exam and my eyes have not changed one iota in the last eight years. I also got fitted for contact lenses and my trial pair should be in this week. Jeff also made an appointment for his eye exam but yesterday morning woke up with his eyes glued shut... enter... PINK EYE! Ironically enough he has not had an eye exam in eight years either and has never had pink eye... he makes an appointment? Gets pink eye. He's in a world of hurt. He went to the clinic yesterday and has prescription ointment now. Fun.

Phoenix has been taking Benadryl at night for his allergies/sinus inflammation. Our doc said to keep him on for the next couple of nights and allow him to get some rest. He cough was getting so bad that he was awake for most of every single night for 6 weeks. Poor duck.

Olivia is on her very first sleepover (that she's actually staying at!) There was a failed attempt earlier this year but she's confident that she'll stay. Robyn called and the girls are asleep and everything! It started as a play date at 1:00pm today and turned into a playdate/sleepover and now Robyn is taking her to preschool tomorrow too! That makes it 26 hours that Liv will not have been home. Weird.

Madeline is a source of worry for me. She's being bullied by a grade two girl. She takes pleasure in telling Madeline that her colouring is "gross" her shirt is "hideous" and tells everyone who will listen not to play with Maddy. Good thing that Maddy is friends with almost everyone and no one listens to Eden. It just pisses me off. Politics in grade one? I mean come on! Maddy is dealing with it fine but we are keeping our ears and eyes on the situation.

Oh and hey... MY SISTER IS COMING HOME! They bought their tickets, got their travel documents and my neice and my sister WILL BE HOME NEXT FRIDAY!!!!!! They are getting to stay for about a month and a half and I have not been happier in about two years ;) I miss them so freaking much and I can't believe that I have survived without my sister for this long. We all need her here for a bit.

Well I just told Jeff to go do his eyes. The dog is passed out and needs to go to his crate and the cats need to be fed. I sleepy.