feels good to be home

John decided yesterday morning to leave Kingston last night instead of today. What a great decision!! It felt great sleeping in our own bed, waking up and just being home. We met our friends Jamie and Sandra for dinner in Brockville, and were home by 10. John John had a great Christmas and got lots of nice gifts. My hubby treated me to a massage chair. I overindulged and my back was actually hurting! I now know not to use it for a few hours straight.

Sunday morning

Snow storm and ice storm. Oh what fun! Right now it's pretty quiet outside, but they are predicting more snow. I wonder if we'll have a snow day tomorrow. Yesterday John John and I braved the crowds at Toys R Us to get presents for nieces and nephews. I drove past both malls and said that there was no way we were going anywhere near there. It was crazy enough at Toys R Us. I started wrapping a while ago, but there's still tons to wrap.
Yesterday marked 3 years of my mom's passing. I was a bad daughter and did not put an In Memorium for her. Lame excuse I know of running out of time. It is hard to believe 3 years has now passed. She missed meeting her two granddaughters. We are all getting together next Sunday for a dinner. I haven't seen Andrew since last year. It is a two way street, and he hasn't made an effort either. Oh well. I feel bad because I have no idea what to get Nathan or Monika. Off to finish some baking.

ramblings

I must admit I am a terrible blogger. I haven't written in over a month. Where has the time gone? Thanksgiving and Chanukah are now over, and Christmas is just around the bend. John is in gift receiving heaven. We've warned him that there won't be tons of gifts. However he is 7, and at this lovely age presents rule.
We are now getting our share of winter. I hate rearranging my work to accomodate winter driving. Counting down the days till spring!
I have to admit that I am a bad daughter also. Saturday marks the 3rd anniversary of my mother's death. I did not put in an in memorium as I ran out of time. Tonight I need to light a candle, and neither grocery store has the correct candle. Guess I'll have to improvise.

last weekend in October

Not exactly sure why I called it a Day in my Life. I seem to be sporadic at best with my blogging. Maybe I shall try to blog a bit more. This is our last weekend with hubby. He returns from his overseas adventure on Tuesday. I've already told him that Trick-or-treating is a must with John John. Poor little guy is just anxious for dad to come home. Last night began clean house time. John John loves to vacuum and swiffer. Go for it!
The weather has been very mild for fall. I actually turned on the pellet stove again last night for the first time in a month. It's supposed to be cooler this week. Guess it will finally feel like November. I won't complain because maybe that will mean less snow?!
My boss informed me that she is leaving for another job. I will hopefully be approved to do some more work and still do my job. I am sad that she is leaving. She has been a great person to work for.

The Return

So, the anticipation shall be for the day of dh's safe return from India. At the moment he should be in Germany waiting for his flight to DC. Bad mommy that I am, let John John stay in bed with me. He is now too heavy to pick up and take back to his own room. I wish dh wasn't going away again so quickly. This next trip is also longer. I am so going to enjoy my weekend away in November.
I also hope that for dh's next trip, John John will continue being good.

Enjoying a day to myself

Not too often do I have a day of no responsibilities. John John is at school, and hubby is still plugging away in India. I am patiently waiting here at the computer for hubby to IM me, but so far he hasn't. It will be nice when he comes home next Tuesday. Short lived reunion though as he jets back out to Asia October 10th. That trip will be for 3 weeks, and I know John's ability to be golden child will disintegrate. Fortunately for me I go on my annual girl's weekend on November 10. At least I get a bit of a break then.
Last night was our second Cub Scout pack meeting. We now have 10 boys, and they are wild boys. Last year we only had 4 and it was pretty manageable. Hopefully they will settle down. My own son decided to "help" out with the discipline. Aiye. Guess I should go and do some housework and take a shower.

back on the home front

Let's see if I can get this blog to work. For some reason I haven't been able to post in months. Maybe that's a good thing as my life isn't all that exciting. For example, at the moment I should be folding laundry and getting supper started, but I am up on the computer. Today John John and I went to an open house of sorts for farming. We took a wagon ride, and got to see some animals. It was called "Sundae on the Farm", so we also had a free sundae!! Dear hubby is in India till the 25th. I can't get too excited because he is home for a bit, then off to Asia for 3 weeks. I secretly have my fingers crossed that there isn't enough money for him to travel in March. Guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Other than that, life is quiet.

Life is moving on....

Let's see if I can post this time. Sorry for not blogging in a while, but for some reason I haven't been able to. John is away in China, and will be home in a week. I'm looking forward to his return. It's tough being a single parent. I certainly wouldn't want to do it full-time. John John is also ready for his daddy to come home. So different speaking only a couple of times a day and not having your dad to tuck you in at night. Last weekend he enjoyed grandma and grandpa and all the spoiling that comes with it. Tomorrow we are going to Phil's. So we are keeping busy.
My little sister is going to be induced tomorrow so I shall have a new niece or nephew by Saturday. I'm excited for her. Nothing too much else going on.

Snow Day #2

Almost thought we could make it through the winter without using a snow day. Guess Mother Nature decided otherwise. Yesterday we literally got dumped and when the day was done had over 30 inches. It certainly looks beautiful. John John is home again due to the snow. I guess he'll finish out the week tomorrow, and then he's off for February break. He's looking forward to going to the YMCA. Happy belated Valentine's Day!!

successful party

We survived John John's 7th birthday party. Unfortunately it seems that some sickness is going around his class, so a lot of kids didn't show for the party. For the kids that did make it, a fun time was had by all. My brother and his family made the trek over from Massachusetts and the kids had a blast. It is such a treat to have my family be able to come over and be a part of each others lives. John was so happy to have his cousins at his party. Now that they live 3 hours away, honestly coming over for the night is not a problem. Next family party will be David's in June. We rented a gym and the kids just loved running around and using the equipment. John got some nice gifts, and was a good boy. Here are a couple of pics from the festivities.

Happy 7th birthday to my one and only John John..

Where oh where has the time gone?? I look at my son and think "How can you be 7?" Time has just flown by. I'm sitting here having my coffee, and remembering the night I had you. I was in labour all night. It is now 6:30am, and I just got my epidural. The contractions were pretty strong, so that epidural was very helpful. The delivery went rather quickly due to the emergency situation we were in. I had an unexpected c-section and got a brief glimpse of you after they cleaned you up. I got to go up that night to get a good look at you. And now you are just a typical 7-year-old boy. So, happy birthday to my special little guy, John David.

the cold days of January

If you can believe it they are cancelling school tomorrow due to extreme cold temperatures. Personally it seems like a crock because they are in a heated building. I guess they are thinking of the kids who have to wait to catch the bus and walk to school. So, John will get another day at home. Maybe that isn't the worst thing for him. His cough came back with a vengeance and we've been aggressively treating it with breathing treatments. "No I don't want to do another breathing treatment." Then I lovingly say "Don't you want to get better and get rid of that nasty cough?" His response, "not really." GRRRRRR!! At least he does give in and do the treatments. So, tomorrow morning I have dh staying home so I can go out and do the work I need to get done. I switched my evals from today to tomorrow.

In light of my last post

I would like to use my personal little space to publicly apologize to my sister. I made a mistake in bitching about her upcoming birth and not having a clue as to what to expect. Rereading it, I sound like quite the know-it-all, and other things that I shouldn't say. Honestly do any of us have any clue what to expect? I seriously though I knew it all having been a babysitter for many years and being around kids. How wrong was I. I will admit here that there were days when John was little I was ready to go drown myself. There were days where John would cry endlessly and for no particular reason. How could I not be able to fix that? Sleepless nights, being up at all hours cleaning up vomit, being a toddler, being plain naughty, mooning in parliament, ahh the joys of being John. But would I change it?? Not in a million years. So, to my sister, who in all honesty I wish did live closer, parenthood is never what you expect.

fun visit at my brother's

I can't believe we were able to hop into our car Saturday after basketball and be at my brother's in time for supper. It was such a fast drive!! Their new house is really nice. I have house envy. I think our whole house could fit on the first floor. Guess the flip side is I don't have to pay the mortgage! John was excellent the whole weekend. He and David got along beautifully and played well with no fights. My niece Rachel is a pip. She has inherited our sweet tooth as she loved her "happy cake". Unfortunately she was coming down with an ear infection so she was a little clingy to her mom. All in all it was a fun little visit. I'm happy to have them so close.

rain on January 5

and now a break from our regularly scheduled lives. We are off tomorrow for a quick visit to Phil's. I'm so excited to go and see their new digs. I'm also excited to have my brother so close. Then next weekend we go up to Kingston to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. It will be a quick trip up and back. I'm hoping the weather will still remain cooperative. Not that I want to go, but it's a special anniversary. Still trying to plan an excuse for returning to Kingston over Easter. I really need a creative one.

Happy Wednesday

Life is back to normal. John John returned to school yesterday, and I worked. Hubby stayed home one more day and painted the dining room. He still has more to do, but it looks really nice. For New Year's we treated ourselves and went out to dinner with another couple. John and I haven't gone out in months. Personally it was probably long overdue. Funny how life slips by like that. We enjoyed relaxing over dinner.
This weekend we are planning on taking a quick trip to Phil's new place in Massachusetts. They are now 3 hours away. I know we've had family close by for years, but now we have family we can do things with. I'm so excited!! John and David are the same age and could pass as twins. I hope that they will become closer. Plus my little niece Rachel is so darn cute. I'll have to take some pictures this weekend. Off to enjoy my other few moments of peace and quiet.

Christmas is over.......................

John, Keaton and Jamie in Parliament.
John and Jamie

It feels so good to be back home and doing our own thing. I made dh happy by working yesterday and today. Not that this paycheque will be stellar, but better than nothing right?? Right now he's downstairs painting in the kitchen. I finished typing up reports for work. John John is outside playing in the inch of snow we got. He was able to play in more snow up at our friend's in Ottawa so at least he can see that there will be a winter. Personally I would be happy with no snow and a mild winter. Wish me luck!
We hauled all of the gifts up to my in-laws, so "Santa" could make an appearance. I never believed in Santa as we didn't really celebrate "Christmas" when I was little. Can't deny John's Christian half, and he's enjoying double presents. I did remind him that going to Disney counts as one huge present, and he was sort of okay with no gifts a couple of nights of Chanukah. However, he was extremely disappointed that his grandfather got more gifts than him! LOL. He was overjoyed with the monorail, and we told him that we bought it when we were in Florida.
We drove up to Ottawa on Wednesday, and had a chance to visit with our friends Jamie and Sandra. John was a little uncooperative when we were at the Open House on Parliament Hill. Only my son thinks it's okay to walk around Parliament with his pants down and showing off his little tush. One day he will be embarrassed by this. We had a nice supper with my siblings at my brother Andrew's new restaurant. We threatened John with his life if he didn't behave, and he was excellent. Funny how threats work that way! Now if he'll be good at my in-laws 50th anniversary, we're golden.
Wish me luck as I have to go back to Kingston in less than 2 weeks. I will really have to come up with a good excuse to not go back for Easter. Any suggestions???

Where is the snow??

John seems to ask this daily, and his disappointment in the green stuff, obvious. Am I strange for enjoying this lengthy fall?? Having to not deal with snow and ice on the road is such a rare treat. I honestly don't mind this mild fall. I do know that we shall be blessed with winter soon. When the snow arrives it will be nice. Maybe for once it will only stay for a few weeks??
I purposely scheduled work for Monday and Tuesday this week. I have been doing all the last minute stuff such as wrapping presents and laundry. I hate the thought of hauling gifts up to Kingston, only to be lugged back home. My husband just doesn't understand why I don't want to go up to Kingston. He still rolls his eyes when I say that this is my home. Oh well, it's my hang up isn't it?

In loving memory of my mom, Susan Jane....

How can it be 2 years since my mom passed away. Some days it seems like just yesterday she was here in my life, and other days it seems like longer than 2 years. I hate to say her death was easy to accept because to an outsider it sounds callous. But her last 12 years were difficult, and a blessing. She outlived the original prognosis of 9 months, but she was never the same after her bouts with brain cancer. I was prepared for her imminent death, and knew it would come. It wasn't easy getting the final call at 12:30am on December 16. I certainly cried a lot of tears that night, and seeing her in the coffin at the funeral home was hard. I also found it hard watching her coffin go into the ground.
Those first few months were sad as I passed some birthdays, and her birthday without her. I think though I can tell that 2 years have passed as John John's memories of her are fading. I keep a picture of him with her (when he was a newborn) on my fridge, and we look at picture albums together. I also look at my niece who will be 2 in a few weeks, and 2 years have their impact. I also know this must be bittersweet for my sister who is pregnant with her first child, and know that my mom will never get to see her grandchild. So, on this bittersweet day I pay respect to my mom. I miss you and miss hearing your voice. Love you mom.
Ironically these pictures were taken the second last Thanksgiving my parents had with us. It's also ironic because my father passed away 8 months after mom.

I've been tagged

Thanks Amy! Here's my ABC's
A - Available or single: None of the above. Married for 11 1/2 yrs.
B - Best friend: Val, and long time best friend Marie
C- Cake or pie: Cake...I love cake chocolate that is!!
D - Drink of choice: Caffeine free diet coke
E - Essential item you use everyday: My coffee pot
F - Favorite color: Purple
G- Gummy bears or worms: gummy bears.
H- Hometown: Kingston, Ontario
I - Indulgence: Bath and Body Works
J - January or February: January - 'cause it's John's birthday month!
K - Kids & names: John David (6)
L - Life is incomplete without? laughter
M - Marriage date: August 5, 1995
N - Number of siblings: 3
O - Oranges or apples: apples. oranges are too much damn work.
P - Phobias or fears: phobia of snakes, and not having enough breathing space
Q - Fave quote: don't have one that isn't a swear word at the moment
R - Reason to smile: John
S - Season: Fall
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Val, Diane, Shannon
U - Unknown fact about me: I can swear like nobody's business.
V- Vegetable you don't like: Cooked spinach
W - Worst habit: procrastinator
X - Xrays: ?? 5 or so
Y - Your fave food: beef
Z - Zodiac sign: Pisces