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

Successful Disney trip

We made it back in one piece! Our trip went pretty well. It was a bit more crowded in the Magic Kingdom than I expected, but better than if we went at Christmas. John's favourite ride was the Indy Speedway (what a surprise!). We didn't make it to Epcot, but were able to get to the other parks. We went on Safari at Animal Kingdom, and did the animation tour at MGM. We had breakfast at MGM on Monday, and John wanted to go again. Poor guy didn't understand that reservations were required. All in all it was a fun trip!

and we're off again to Disney

We had a blast down in Lancaster. I'm so glad to have this little yearly getaway with my girlfriends. We shopped till we literally dropped on Friday, and then had an excellent dinner over at Miller's. Saturday we toured around the little towns. It was unfortunately really busy on Saturday, but we just decided to move on to other sites. We ate way too much junk food and laughed a lot. It's a nice treat to do this every year.
Tomorrow we head out for Florida. I haven't been in 3 years. This will be John John's first trip to Disney. I'm excited, and I know he is. He's been a little on the testy side and some days have been a struggle. However I know this is exciting for him. It will be fun to see his reaction to the park. Will post more after we return.

Weekend getaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited that we are heading out in a few hours. I desparately need this time away. Yesterday just about killed me. Day starts off with John John being a brat, and me yelling. Take him to school, and get a parking ticket, thank you very much. Two evals scheduled, and both were cancelled. Then after Cub Scouts John John was his absolute worst. All I can say is "THANK GOD I"M HEADING OUT!"

3 days till my girl's getaway

I so deservie this trip! This is the 3rd year in a row we are heading to Lancaster. I know this is going to be difficult for Val because her mom died two months ago, and she always took care of Ben and Nia while we went. Sad to think it was me last year who had just buried my last parent. I don't want to trip down memory lane here as in a lot of ways I'm over the day-to-day grief I had last year. It's still a tough pill to swallow, but even tougher realizing that life goes on.
I'm excited to get away for a few days without my John's. John has travelled for almost 5 weeks this fall, so I deserve 3 days. They are heading up to John's parents while I am away. I don't mind one bit on that. Then next Friday we head out for Disney World. Busy busy month!
John came home last Monday and it's nice to have him back. His laundry sat unwashed till he realized that he needed to do it. Sorry Charlie, the laundry fairy ain't doing 3 weeks worth. Of course it's still in the basket needing to be folded. Makes him realize that I do some things for him the rest of the year.

Woohoo DH returns today

As I type dh is flying high in the sky back home. I am excited to have him home as almost 3 weeks away is a long stretch. I am also trying to not be too annoyed that he planned the last 3 days of his trip enjoying some R and R in Hong Kong. I know he worked hard and flew a lot over this trip, but in some ways I'm kind of thinking why couldn't he come home to relax. I guess that will make my trip to Lancaster less guilt induced.
I have also made a decision to not invite guests here while John is away. My dear husband thinks it gives me a break, but in all honesty it causes me more stress. John John acts like a goof and doesn't listen when we have people here. I feel like damage control is just not worth it. Plus when John was in India John John was fantastic. I will get a sitter if I really feel a desire to get out. I am done with guests when John is away.

Can I just go titleless??

But of course I can because it's my blog! Last night was the Cub Scout's Halloween party. John had fun. They did a cute job and it was a nice evening activity. John comes home in 4 days. We are ready for his return. We also have John's sister coming down today. It's nice to have guests but in some ways I would rather not. Oh well. Guess it makes them feel better knowing they are helping me out. I just hope John John doesn't act like a complete idiot. I'm getting geared up for my girl's weekend to Lancaster. My getaway!!

I so hate titles

Seriously, I am just not creative, and can never think of witty titles. I remember in High School and University trying to create witty essay titles. Sadly, I feel I am just a literal gal and catchy titles always elude me. So, if you are searching for headliners that draw your attention, don't look here.
So, the in-laws arrived Thursday afternoon to spend quality time with John John. I don't know why he has to act the way he does when they are here. I feel like they are quietly commenting behind their back that I have no control of him and am a terrible parent. John usually ignores almost every rule and does what he wants. Plus he is spoiled by them and damage control takes a while after visiting.
On top of that the tv stopped working. I have absolutely no clue how to fix it. We came home Thursday afternoon and the screen was blue. I called Time Warner and they rebooted to DVR box, but it wasn't that. My father-in-law pulled and replugged in wires but still not tv. It is frustrating to John John because he can't watch his shows, and my father-in-law also is not happy. So, he brought down a little tv and has watched some sports on it. He's a true tv addict. At least John John hasn't totally melted down and has been fine without the television.
Tomorrow the in-laws head back home. We have a couple of days and then my sister-in-law comes down. I sure hope my son doesn't act as terribly. One can only wish.