A Pointless Post

Well I didn't actually have time to eat any fudge yesterday, and I'm in a much better mood today. MUCH better. Which is very bizarre, because the more that I think about it, maybe it was the fudge that caused my mood to crash so drastically. Shaggy has the same reaction when he eats chocolate or eggs or anything with preservatives. Which is really a bummer because I still have fudge leftover.

I just had some gluten-free pizza for lunch and it's leaving a weird aftertaste in my mouth. Hard to describe, other than it's not very pleasant. I bet some fudge would wash the taste away.

So. As you've noticed, I've got nothing of substance to talk about.

The Princess is awesome. Even when she's hard to get along with, she's still awesome. She's funny. Once she hits her point of extreme tiredness, she is soooooo difficult to get along with. We struggled through lunch today because nothing was good enough. Thumbelina is a picky eater, so I offer her a variety of foods and hope for the best. Today's entree was a yogurt tube. Except I gave her the blue one, and she wailed because it wasn't the colour she wanted. She was tired, so I gave in and gave her the pink one. And then she wailed because it made a mess on the floor. Next on the menu was a cheese string. And she wailed because the first one broke. Again, because of her tiredness, I gave in and gave her a new one. And then she wailed because she threw it on the floor. Dessert was pudding. She wailed because I put the spoon into the pudding before I brought it to her. So I took the spoon out and gave her a new spoon so that she could put it in herself. And then she wailed because she spilled pudding on her shirt. But she was happy happy to go down for her nap and she is quiet now, so all is well in our world. I find her behavior amusing.

Alright, so I've bored myself to tears with all of this jarble, so I am signing off for today.

What Happened to September?

Hey Readership, how are you? What's up? What's new? Lookin' great, milkshake!

Have you ever been extremely crabby, with no apparent reason for your crabbiness? That's the state I'm in today. And it's Thanksgiving, no less. So, I'm thankful that I have children with which to be crabby at. Oh, is that not how giving thanks is supposed to work?

Okay, then. I am thankful that my homework-induced stress headaches are gone. We still have quite enough homework coming home, some of the children are not doing the best in their classes, but the 4:00 -bedtime headaches are gone. Funny, that.

So, yes. School is going okay. And I find myself in shock that 6 weeks have already gone by and our first 4 day weekend is now at an end. Which reminds me, I need to make lunches for tomorrow and pack up backpacks, and do all the fun stuff that is my life.

I am thankful for gluten-free fudge. I've been recently 'diagnosed' with having celiac disease. 'Diagnosed' meaning the doctors I have been to said, "Well, it sounds like celiac to me." It's a hard disease to diagnose if you are not consuming gluten in your diet. Which I am not. And I am not willing to eat gluten just to get a positive test result.

I am thankful for the new girl who is working in my office, who takes instruction without huffing and getting all snotty, and who really knows her stuff.

There are a lot more things I am thankful for - such as the both of yous who take the time to stop by and read my ramblings - but now I need to bathe my two-year-old beauty. And eat my gluten-free fudge.

Barnyard Ramblings

So I have this coffee mug. With my name on it. And I thought I would take it to the barn because whenever I go to make myself a cup of coffee, there are never any clean mugs available. And me, being all innocent and naive-like, honestly thought that the people at the barn wouldn't touch a coffee mug that says JAJ, especially since I'm the only JAJ that works there. At the barn.

Oh how wrong I was, dear readership.

Today when I went to the barn, I was really in the mood for a cup of coffee. And so I went in search of my JAJ mug. And it was nowhere to be found. Suspicious. Maybe there is a coffee mug thief, I thought. So when a bunch of the crew came up to the kitchen for their break, I went and asked, to no one in particular, "Has anybody seen a mug with JAJ on it?"

Says the guy who is bi-polar: Oh, yeah, it broke about two weeks.

Me: It broke?? My mug broke??

BPG (Bi-Polar Guy): Yeah, like two weeks ago. But it wasn't me.

Me: And when was somebody going to tell me it broke?

BPG: When you asked about it.

Meanwhile in the background, the guy who two weeks ago told me I look much more beautiful in the barn, kept saying, It broke? Such a shame. For today's story, let's refer to him as Guy Who Needs Glasses, or GWNG for short.

BPG: It was that Hershey's one right? I guess I'll have to get you a new one.

Me: You'll have to get it from Pennsylvania because it came from Hershey's Chocolate World.

Such a shame it broke, mumbles GWNG.

GWNG: How long have you had it?

Me: I got it when I was 12 years old.

GWNG: 12 years old! Such a shame.

Me: I dog-sat a family's dog, and they brought me back the mug.

GWNG: Such a shame. 12 years old.

BPG: 12 years old, that must have been what - 8 years ago?

GWNG: 12 years old. Such a shame.

Me: You're right! It was 8 years ago.

GWNG: Such a shame.

How can I stay mad at BPG when he so sensitively guessed my age? So I guess that only means one thing - ROAD TRIP - to get a new coffee mug, of course.

And yah, by the GWNG kept mumbling such a shame, I'm guessing he knows who broke my mug and was trying to guilt the guilty party into buying me a new one, or else he's the guilty party and was just trying to throw suspicion off of himself.

Camping, Jaj Style

So last week was my birthday, and in honor of me turning one year older...but feeling slightly less mature...Mr. Happy decided that the two of us should go on a little camping trip together.


Keeping our campsite a surprise, I was delighted to find out that we would be pitching our tent here. Mere feet away - FEET, I tell you - from this magnificent wonder of God's beautiful creation. I truly appreciate the small pleasures in life. Some good friends of ours, who make their abode not too far from where our tent was, treated us to dinner. They sure know how to make the most of a campfire!


The next day, being the anniversary of my birth and all, Mr. Happy sent me on a little adventure of my own. Thrilling and exciting does not even begin to describe my day, made even better because my good friend was able to join me. Again, it's about appreciating the little things in life. Because we had been roughing it for the past 24+ hours, Mr. Happy decided to take me out to dinner. It was not busy. In fact, I think we were the only patrons in the whole establishment, therefore our maitre d', who also served as our waiter, hung around our table...just out of eyeshot but definitely within earshot...and listened to our dinner conversation. And every time he left the room, Mr. Happy or I would sneak over to his station and help ourselves to the candy that was set out in his giant candy jar. What?! It was going to go stale if we didn't eat it! Anyway, after dinner, I enjoyed walking through the magnficent wonder that was mere feet from our campsite, and I just appreciated the beauty for all it is.

So the following day was when we had to pack up and head back home. I wanted to share the awesomeness with Mr. Happy of the magnificent wonder that was mere feet from our campsite, so that is how we spent our morning. On our way home, we stopped here, because really, it was still my birthday week. Why do the celebrations have to end just because the day has ended? Anyway, all I can say is that it's a good thing we had the pick-up truck with us.

There you have it, camping Jaj style. And I can't wait for our next trip!

They All Look the Same

Today I was working at the barn. In my job, I don't have a lot of opportunity to interact with the other staff...except for Lola of course...because Lola and I are mostly in the office while the rest of them are out in the barn. But parts of my job do require me to head out into the barn, and there I see my co-workers.

I should mention that the pigs in our barn are extremely healthy, and it's because we are required to shower at the barn...before we are allowed to enter...and to shower when we leave. And healthy pigs are what our customers want. There are 4 showers (one for the ladies), so up to 4 people can shower at a time. On the inside of the barn, we are given generic t-shirts and shorts to wear; there are a couple of washers and dryers there as well, so barn clothes stay inside our securely healthy facility. Just bear with me, you needed to know this.

At the barn we have a cultural mix of people working. Three are from the Caribbean, 1 is from Mexico, 1 is from Denmark, and I'm pretty sure the rest of us are from the local area.

So.

As I was leaving this afternoon, there were 3 of us in the shower (3 separate showers, people! Get your mind out of the gutter!), and I could tell the other two were some of our Caribbean Crew (they call themselves the Caribbean Connection) because of their singing. They have the rhythm and it's really fun to watch them just break out in song wherever and whenever they feel like.

As I'm leaving the change room, I saw the other two guys in the entryway, getting ready to leave as well. The one guy looked at me and said, "Were you just in there?" I was a little confused because I've had at least 3 separate conversations with this particular fellow just this afternoon. And so I asked, "In the shower?" And he, looking confused said, "No, were you just in the barn?" And I said, "Yes."

The other guy who was with him said something, but all I caught was "Lola." Maybe they thought I was Lola??? The other guy has a very thick accent and I have a hard time understanding what he says, so I usually just laugh and nod. Mr. Happy says that he smiles and says yep, and then bangs fists with him...not really knowing what they just talked about...

So back to the first guy. He said to me,"That was you in the barn? You're much more beautiful in there."

O-kaay. Um. So have I just been complemented or insulted? I can't imagine I'm very attractive in the barn...wearing the same t-shirt and shorts that everybody else wears...with my hair flat and straight and my bangs hanging in my eyes, because unlike some former employees, I don't feel the need to blowdry and curl my hair and apply make-up before I start my shift. Anyway, it was just an odd conversation.

I guess white people do all look the same.

Always Wear Clean Underwear

You know how when you were a teenager and you were just about to leave the house to go out with friends, and your mom would say to you, "Are you wearing clean underwear?" and you'd roll your eyes...much like you're doing now...and sigh and say, "Y-es!" And then your mother would say, "Because if you're in an accident you should be wearing clean underwear." And again you'd roll your eyes...(I'll let you finish)...as you left the house.

Well.

To the lady who was at Shopper's Drugmart holding up the line because she kept buying lotto tickets, PLEASE! For the love of all things chocolate! Wear some underwear!

I jest not.

She was a little large and was wearing a pair of shorts that were jogging pants material, and when she bent over and leaned against the counter, her cheek was exposed. And not the cheek attached to her face, either. I didn't know whether to laugh or throw up. A lady who was in line a few people behind me, said to her husband, "And here I thought I looked a mess coming into the store wearing this!" There was no mistaking who the comment was intended for. But the Lotto Lady was too intent on buying more tickets.

So, dear readers, if you're not going to wear clean underwear, at least wear underwear. Please. For the rest of humanity. And for those stuck behind you in line at Shoppers Drugmart.

How To Really Tick Off Your Teenager - 101

Lesson 1 - Send him to camp. But make sure it is an over-night, week-long camp with all his buddies, filled with energetic activities where your teenager is guaranteed a maximum of 6 hours sleep each night. Give or take.

Lesson 2 - Don't make him take a nap on Sunday afternoon to catch up on his sleep.

Lesson 3 - Give him chores to do.

Lesson 4 - Give his leftover pizza pockets, which have been sitting out on the kitchen counter for 2 1/2 hours, to his little brother.

Lesson 5 - Give the easy chores that your teenager is grumbling about to his little brother, and appoint harder chores to your teenager to do. This one was his grandfather's suggestion...to give said little brother a turn to cut the grass. I didn't want you all to think that we were giving the teenager harder chores to do...such as using the push mower...because he was grumbling about cutting the grass. But now that I think about ....

Lesson 6 - Sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

Close Only Counts in Grenades

So last week, Thumbelina and Shaggy were standing at the dining room window watching the lightening as a storm was moving into our area. And somehow, Thumbelina managed to knock down the curtains. And bend the rod. They were so outdated - lacy balloons with a valence. They've been in my window for 13 years. It was definitely time for a change.

And then Thumbelina said to me, "Uh-oh, what Shaggy do?" Heh. My girl already knows who to blame.

So this weekend, I patched the holes from the old curtain rod, because the new curtains I bought are not the same style, hence there is a new rod with different holes. And the white from the patching looked terrible with my green walls. I managed to find the old can of paint from when the room was painted 4 years ago...and it was solid as a rock. Rock solid. Very solid. Solid. So then I had had this brilliant plan to go through my craft paint and mix colours together to come up with the shade of green currently on my walls. I came close. Zoomer said to me, "Close only counts in grenades. And horsehoes." I wish he would have said something before I painted it.

It is hideous.

It is true - close only counts in grenades.

This Child Needs More Supervision

Hey Mom! I was colouring!
Ooooh, I wonder how it got on my foot?
You have your camera? Sure, I'll say Cheese!
Hey, take a picture of my Fish Face!
I just find it all so shocking.

There's a Squash in My Purse

This was the scene in my driveway at 7:00 this morning when I got up. Makes you go Hmmmm, doesn't it. Yes, dear readership, we had another break-in. The thieves were smarter this time than they were the last time. So the quad was stolen, as were 3 chainsaws, many tools, a laptop, possibly Shaggy's bike...he said he put it away beside Zoomer's bike and now it's gone...Zoomer's bike is still here...at least they didn't take Thumbelina's bike:
Shaggy fixed it up and painted it for her. She loves it. Forensics was even called. And then Shaggy went out with his CSI kit after they left looking for footprints and fingerprints. He found lots.

Meanwhile, our Pal left his truck at a dining establishment in town over night because he went home with his girlfriend. This morning his truck was out of gas. Empty. As in not a drop left. And he didn't leave it that way.

Wednesday night at church, our pastor was giving away produce from his garden, so I took home a squash. And put it in my purse. And then Zoomer and I went to the grocery store...with a squash in my purse...I was actually quite nervous that a grocery store employee would notice it and report me. Could you just picture the headlines? Local Woman Arrested for Pursing Produce Oy. Zoomer thought I was over-reacting. We didn't get caught. And the next time I go to the store, I'll try to remember to leave the squash in the truck.

So You Know It's Not Always About Me...

Melvinette seems to be having some issues, as is a bit obvious by her comment left on yesterday's post. You need some stronger meds, girl! Or a straight-jacket. So Melvinette, this is for you, so you know the blog isn't always about me...although it is my blog...

This is why we only use Colour Wonder markers:

Where Has the Summer Gone

It's the last week of July and the boys start back to school in 5 weeks. Their break is officially half over. I apologize that I've been absent lately, I really intended to do better and post more regularly.

But then we had The Great Crash of 2008. Yup, our server. I didn't even have e-mail for about 10 days. I'm still sorting through the bookkeeping information that was lost and trying to restore it. The worst thing was that all my pictures from the last 4 years were stored on our server. Mr. Happy assured me that it was the safest place for them to be. It wasn't. Some have been found, but not very many. I'm very thankful that our pictures from China are safe, but now I've got a couple hundred pictures on my camera from the last month and I'm afraid to download them in case they disappear. A part of me is still hopeful that they will be found, but I think I'm slowly realizing that they're gone. I do have a lot of prints awaiting to be scrapbooked, so it isn't like I have no pictorial record of our lives over the last 4 years. But I can't think about it too much because it does bring me to tears.

So Tigger fell on Sunday while he was playing outside and had to get 3 stitches in his knee. He didn't even cry until I told him I was taking him to the hospital. And you know the weird thing? I didn't even get excited...no adrenaline coursed through my veins...and then I realized that this was the 7th episode of stitches/staples between the 3 boys. I guess it's become somewhat of the norm for us. Tigger is fine; he's back to his bouncy little self again. This morning he was even kneeling on his knee, which made my stomach flip, so I settled him on some pillows with the PS3 remote and told him to stay there for the day. Shouldn't be a problem.

Thumbelina is now sleeping in her own bedroom...without a TV and Anderson Cooper. Since I've been working at the barn 2 days a week, the grandmothers have been taking turns babysitting for me. When she is over at Millie's, she sleeps soundly in a dark room with the fan on. When she was home with my Muther, she wouldn't fall asleep until about 4:00 in the afternoon, which makes everybody grumpy. So then I started moving her playpen into my bedroom (I couldn't fold the stupid thing up and my bedroom is on the main floor), which worked really well for her. We'd take the playpen into our bedroom for afternoon naps, and then it would go back out to the living room for bedtime. And then one Sunday afternoon, Mr. Happy wanted to have a nap in our room, so he was able to wrestle with the playpen and get it folded enough to go up the stairs. Where she's been ever since. I feel like we're starting to approach a state of normal-ish-ness!

Zoomer will be 14 years old next week. Some days he is full of attitude and it's all I can do to restrain from strangling him, and other days I don't know how I get along without him. Which is why he hasn't been strangled yet. Of course you know I jest. Mostly. He and Fil will soon be travelling south of the border to witness in person a NASCAR race. It's a joint birthday present for the two of them, even though Fil's birthday is in January. It's just belated.

Shaggy got his hair all buzzed off the other day. Millie took the boys in for a haircut and Shaggy wanted a buzz cut. Millie said no, but the hairdresser said yes. Millie was furious. I'm thinking I should call up the place and just complain, because a hairdresser should have enough respect for the adult in charge of the child, to comply with the adult's wishes...not stand there arguing with the child against the adult and then doing it anyway when the adult's back is turned in conversation with somebody else. I know it's just hair and it will grow, but it's the principle of it all.

The office and the barn are keeping me very busy. I'm a little panicky over the start of school, because I don't know how I will keep up with work, work, housework, homework, and 4 kids. But that's tomorrow's problem. Mr. Happy keeps saying to me, "I fail to see how I'm supposed to hire somebody to come in to the barn and work full-time, when you're doing the work in a day and a half. I can't even hire somebody part-time." Sometimes I'm just too good at what I do. Heh.

I've missed you all - I don't even know what's happening in your lives! I'm still trying to manage my time more efficiently, and as a result, I'm only allowing myself 30 minutes of free-computer time a day. I know. I know. Impossible. But I'm really trying hard. So please forgive me for my absentness in the blog-world; maybe someday things will get back to how they once were.

Twofer

Wow, you guys are lucky today! Two posts in one day!

So I've been busy working in the office, and my little assistant was too grumpy to assist me, so she busied herself in the kitchen:

Apparently she was wanting to snack on some goldfishes:
And pancake mix:
But she did help me clean it up:
Pre-bath self portrait:

Long Time No Read!

I've started receiving complaints that I haven't posted on my blog in eons, so an update is in order to keep the peanuts in their gallery content. What has been going on in the world of Jaj, you ask? Well, let me share.

About a month or so ago, one of the girls at the barn quit. So I've taken over her duties and now I work at the barn on Wednesdays and Thursday mornings. And then last week-ish, my assistant quit as well. We had a nasty argument. Don't worry, I called about an hour later and left an apology on her answering machine, but I think she was the most upset when she told me she wouldn't be coming back and I didn't say anything. Lola wanted me to post our argument (I had e-mailed her and told her the whole sordid story), but it's so embarrassingly immature - on both our ends - that I can't bring myself to do it. I really do wish her well, I'm just relieved I don't have to work with her anymore. And it wasn't a personality thing...although she hasn't liked me for quite some time and has made that obviously clear...and now that I've fully taken over everything in my office again, I've come to realize that the girl didn't know her alphabet. At all. There's a right way to file and a wrong way to file...I like things done the right way. Needless to say I'm doing a lot of grumbling and muttering under my breath as everything gets rearranged and back to working order. No wonder she couldn't find anything I asked for.

Enough about that.

So now I'm working full-time at the office, part-time at the barn, and full-time at home as mom and housekeeper because the boys are finished school for the summer. I am just hugely relieved that we don't have to worry about homework or matching clothes or socks. Tigger tends to wear t-shirts and shorts as his jammies, so I never know if he's dressed for daytime or bedtime.

Thumbelina is a hoot and is growing like a bad weed. She is very bossy with her brothers (all of us really) and flips out if she runs into the living room and the TV is not turned to Blue's Clues or Elmo's World.

Zoomer just had his Grade 8 graduation last weekend. I guess he's officially a pain-in-the-butt now. Isn't that what all teenagers are??? Heh. He's a big help with Thumbelina but he does have his moments of pain-in-the-buttedness. But we all do, right?

That's what's been happening with us in a nutshell.

Thumbelina is calling me, "Mommy, are you!" and it sounds like she is getting into something she shouldn't be...I promise I will try harder to post more regularly from now on...I have all these wonderful stories floating around in my head...

Tragedy

Please keep the Steven Curtis Chapman family in your prayers. Their little girl, Maria, died yesterday when she was struck in the family driveway. My heart is breaking for them.

Dentists and Dentalatia

So I had to go to the dentist this afternoon to get a filling repaired. It's the second time this particular filling has needed to be fixed. Because when you're a kid and need to wear retainers, you tend to get more cavities than your non-retainer-wearing peers. At least that's what I tell myself so that I'll feel better. So my fillings are all very old, and because I grind my teeth at night, the fillings are not as sturdy as they used to be. And I'm getting a night splint as well...to help with the grinding...because I'm wearing away my teeth. I had a night splint a few years ago, but when I woke up in the night because I was choking on it, I decided to stop wearing it.

And getting impressions for said splint. How fun is that. Do I hear any cheers out there? If you've never had the experience of getting impressions done, let me just tell you that it really isn't that bad...until the goo from the metal plate that's plastered to your teeth starts to drip down into your throat...all the while fighting the urge to gag...and after what seems like an eternally long time, the impression technician can't get the tray unstuck from your teeth because the suction is so strong. Seriously. But other than that, it's not bad. Until it's time to do it all over again...because since there is nothing more that can physically fit into your mouth other than one tray, the top and bottom impressions are done separately.

It's a joy.

It's been awhile since I've had cavities filled, and all these new-fangled tools and contraptions are just quite futuristic-looking to me. What with that little white thingy that looks like an ear thermometer, except it has an orange light and shield on the end of it. What exactly is that for? Does that little one-inch shield protect the hygenist from radiation or something? And is it normal for the freezing to last 5 hours? My freezing was very bizarre because I had feeling on the inside of my lip; it only felt like my tooth was frozen and not any other places in my mouth. Until, of course, I had to rinse. And then I made a mess of my bib because everything dribbled down my chin. Sexy. I couldn't even drink my protein smoothie at supper without dribbling...even using a straw. And by the time I went to church tonight, the freezing was gone except the right half of my top lip was paralized. I couldn't move it, and when I smiled the right half of my lip went over to the left side. At least that's what it felt like. Lola got a kick out of it. I was the highlight of her day. I was starting to get worried that it was going to be a permanent thing, but now my lip is normal and I'm just left with a toothache.

You so wish you were me.

Telemarketers

Telemarketers are not my favourite people. For one thing, they always call when you're busy - I think they do that on purpose because they know you're mind is elsewhere...like rescuing the baby as she's climbing onto the counter...or trying to stop the boys from beating each other up...your mind just isn't into the conversation at hand and you'll pretty much agree to anything just to get off the phone and extinguish the small fire now burning on the stove. And they think they're so clever when the first time they call you're eating supper and you ask them to call back another time...all the while secretly hoping they forget...and they make little notes about you to try to impress you. Except sometimes, if they write down the wrong information, their devious little plan backfires on them. Heh.

This was tonight's conversation with a charity who is hosting a laser lightshow or some such deal. Now bear in mind that there are charities that I do donate to, but there are so many around, I just can't give to everybody.

TM (Telemarketer): Hello, is Mrs. Jaj there?

Me (Me): Speaking.

TM: Oh hello, Mrs. Jaj. I'm with a really good charity - you remember I was talking with you, oh when was it...last Thursday or Friday and you were about to go out for supper and shopping or something? And you asked me to call you back?

Me: We were eating supper.

TM: Oh. That's right. Well, anyways, the show is really great and blah blah blah. Can we count on your support again this year?

This is a charity that I've never heard of before, therefore I have not supported them in the past. I don't like it that they're assuming I won't remember which charities I support.

Me: We're not financially able to help out this year.

TM: That's too bad. Not even to sponser anybody?

Me: No.

TM: Well, I hope you had a good time shopping. I don't know what you were shopping for, maybe groceries, or...

Me: We were eating supper.

TM: Um...Mumble Mumble...click...

Hopefully I won't be hearing from them anytime soon.

And speaking of charities, if you are able to help out the China earthquake victims in any way, Half the Sky Foundation, Love Without Boundaries, and Canada Helps have all set up special funds to take your donations.

Happy First Long Weekend of Summer!

Here in the Great White North we are just wrapping up the first long weekend of summer - the Victoria Day Weekend - where typically barbeques are had and pools are opened for swimming. This weekend? Winter coats. And rain. So how did the Jaj's spend the holiday weekend? Mostly catching up on the homework that Tigger missed when he was off school last week. And I made up a chore schedule for the whole family, and so far everybody is excited about it. And willingly doing their chores.

Remember how I told you about this allergy test I had to take last week? With the 96 different foods I had to eat? Yah well, I postponed it because it just wasn't happening. Except now my test is tomorrow, and I'm still only a little half-ways through the list. But I do know that a filbert is a nut. A hazelnut, to be precise. And I don't like them. And almonds and sunflowers? Don't taste very good when they're not coated with the smokie saltie coating. And I still have 4-5 different varieties of fish to eat. Blech. And mushrooms. Blech. And goats milk. Blech. I wouldn't make a very good hippie.

And I've been invited to share pictures of our trip to China with the seniors at church tomorrow. So that's where I'll be at lunchtime. And even though I've had a month to prepare, Mr. Happy is helping me with a power point presentation right this very minute...or rather, Mr. Happy is doing the power point for me and I'm sitting here blogging. While eating Honey Comb (without the milk)...to get the taste of the filberts out of my mouth.

Wish me luck!

Chicken Spots

Yesterday:

Today:

Sunday:
She looks thrilled, doesn't she.

So. Is it possible for your brain to become infected with the chicken spots? Because I swear Tigger's is being eaten alive by the pox. We've been working on Math, to try and stay caught up with his classmates, and the poor boy couldn't even remember how to make a $ sign let alone add.

We're both taking a break.

It's Finally Happened

The measles and the mumps and the chicken bumps...

Have you ever heard that song? That's the only phrase I know and it's running through my head at the moment. How long has Tigger been wishing for chicken pox? It's been about 6 weeks now that he's been diligently checking for spots each day, right? Well. Wish no more, my friend, wish no more. He officially has the chicken spots, as he calls it. Is he excited? Heh. He was last night, but this morning he was in tears because, "I didn't the chicken spots would look like this! I thought they'd be the same colour as my skin!" Poor guy; and he only has about 2 spots that are starting to look gross. You know the kind...you can't help but get wide-eyed at the sight of them...and it's only the beginning...

I haven't taken his picture yet, but I will. Because I'm mean like that. I took Zoomer and Shaggy's pictures when they had the chicken spots, too, so it's tradition. I'll have to dig those pictures out and scan them for you. Shaggy was quite a mess.

So. I get to make jello today to make my spotted little friend feel better.

At least he can stop wishing now.

Happy Mother's Day and Other Stuff

Well, dear readership, I guess it's about time I turn off Scrabulous and Facebook and start paying more attention to YOU. Although, Scrabulous. It is addictive. I've been limiting my fun time spent on the computer because my office work is piling up. Because when mistakes are being made - not by me, mind you, but I'm the one who needs to fix them - it's just easier to take the job over and do it myself properly to begin with.

So. What have I been up to, you ask? I've started seeing a Naturopath again and on Thursday I will be taking an allergy test. And I have a list of 96 foods to eat by then. That gives me 2 days, people. And I've only eaten 18 foods off of the list and I started on Saturday. And it isn't like it's good food like cake and pie, it's all yuppy food like fish and lentils and filberts. Seriously, what is a filbert?

In the meantime, we've celebrated Thumbelina's 2nd birthday and Mother's Day. A belated very happy Mother's Day to everybody out there. I'm sure there was something else I was going to talk about, but now I can't remember.

There was a rumor that Melvin was going to guest-post. Believe me, that's one post you won't want to read. Oh, I totally meant to say miss.

The chicken pox are still making the rounds throughout the school, and Tigger is home today (and yesterday) with a fever. No spots, though, so I'm not sure what's up with him. And Thumbelina is beyond grumpy this morning. She's downright PMS-y. With a runny nose to boot.
So I'm sure you're bored to tears by now and just really only want to see pictures. I aim to please, to here you go:

I saw a similar shirt at Rubber Duckies blog, and of course since it was Elmo and Thumbelina is in love with Elmo, I knew I had to get me one. I mean her one. It came from here.
Her birthday cake came from a local grocer; I took in one of her storybooks and they scanned the cover and made an edible image. How cool is that!
She was very excited about presents!
And she LOVES her aquadoodle.
Tigger is having a great time playing with Thumbelina's new toys!

Boys

Wow - we're starting May off with multiple postings! Is it just me, or does it seem like Christmas wasn't all that long ago? And here the year is almost half over. Two hundred and forty-four days left.

So back to the subject at hand - boys. Is it just me, or are they not very bright? Or is it just my offspring that aren't very bright... Awhile back, some relatives were over to make sure the kids got to bed on time and didn't burn the house down while we were out- I'd like to say they babysat, but a certain 13-year-old wouldn't appreciate me saying he had babysitters, so I will just say that Mr. Happy and I had a previous engagement on the same day that various relatives came to our house. So after our said engagement was over and we were once again home, it was brought to our attention that the 13-year-old did not, in fact, go to bed at the appointed time, but stayed up and watched TV with the relatives. And rather than just run off to bed like said relatives were hoping he would, he made an appearance and let Mr. Happy and I know that he had not yet been sent off to bed. I really thought he was just being honest, but now I'm thinking he's just not very bright because he's a boy.

And to fully support my suppositions, I would like to present to you Exhibit A:


Let's take a closer, shall we?
Yes, that is ink, on a leather office chair. Thumbelina actually did the long stripes, but Tigger was the one who wrote Tigger's Chair. With pen. On an office chair. Not very bright. Because now he's not going to look very believable when we confront him with this transgression. I mean, he wrote his name on the chair; it will be hard for him to say he didn't do it. Unless of course he didn't do it and one of his brother's did it to try to get Tigger into trouble. But then that's just plain dumb because they're older and should know better. At least better than Tigger. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't Thumbelina...other than the stripes...even though she is a very bright toddler and can draw circles quite well, she just hasn't mastered her ABC's yet.
How does one get ink out of leather anyway?

What Kind of Cereal Are You?

I stole this from Sunshine & Rubber Duckies, but since that blog is password protected, you don't even know that I stole it, do you. Except that I just told you.

Anyhoo, I found this to be rather creepily accurate. Corn Flakes. Huh.

You Are Corn Flakes

You are traditional and easy going. If something is high quality, you're satisfied with it. You don't need much variety or novelty in your life. You're happy with what you have. You're quite loyal. You're the type of person who eats the same breakfast every day... And likely at the exact same time each day!

What Kind of Cereal Are You?

Word

It seems that we have an explosion of language happening here in Jajville. Every day Thumbelina has a new word that she'll say all day long. The other day, it was toilet. Don't ask me why. She would just say toilet. And then she'd yell, 'Mommy! Toyet!' And then she'd run to flush the toilet, all the while saying toilet. We've also had sauye (sorry), cheek, cayon (crayon), and I don't remember what all else this week.

AND last night she said her first 3-word sentence - 'Juice fall down'. How cute is that! I'm not sure if the juice was a legitimate drop or if she threw it on the floor. This morning she yelled at Tigger, 'ME do!' She hasn't figured out the pronoun I yet (not the part about it being a pronoun, just that it's a word to refer to oneself instead of me), because every time she hears the word I in a sentence, she goes around and touches everybody's eyes, while saying 'Eye!' Again, very cute.

So yesterday our social worker was over for her last visit. It was kind of sad, in a way, that this was our last visit because it's been a really positive experience for us in every way. Our social worker (SW thusly hereafter) was quite impressed with all the tricks of our Little Miss, and our Little Miss put on a fine show for her, despite only sleeping maybe 45 minutes for her happy nappy. She sang, she coloured, she bossed her brothers, she hung off the edge of the peninsula and swung while saying 'Weeee'... she bossed her brothers, she counted and played Seek! Hide!, she bossed her brothers ... it was a fun time. Really.

Her first recommendation was to slowly adjust Thumbelina to sleeping in her own bedroom instead of the living room (which is on the agenda soonish rather than laterish), and to get a 42" plasma TV to mount on her wall so that she'll have the noise throughout the night ... do we have an awesome SW or what! Actually she only said that for Zoomer's benefit. He just looked at her with one eyebrow raised and couldn't quite figure out if she was serious or not. I'm going to start looking for a TV/VCR combo to put in her bedroom. I know. I know! I've always been against TV's in kids bedrooms, and I was horrifed when I saw pink TV's and VCR's in the toy section of Wal Mart a few years back. Now I'm thinking it was a desperate adoptive parent who came up with that brilliant idea.

And her second recommendation was to put Thumbelina into some sort of program or activity with other children where she can learn that she's not Queen Bee and she can't go around bossing everybody. Because she is a smidge bossy. And on more than one occassion, our SW said, 'Boy, she just rules the house, doesn't she.' Not that we give in to all her demands ... but she's a girl who knows what she wants and doesn't mind telling you in no uncertain terms.

Word.

New Help

My assistant called in sick today, so the temp agency that we use sent over someone new for today. I think we'll keep her.

She's been doing a fine job, even if her work attire isn't 'professional'...

I think she likes her new job, too!
So Shaggy mentioned to me on Tuesday - 2 days ago Tuesday - that he needed to do a demonstration speech for today. Today. And he didn't know what he wanted to do, other than something 'Scientific'. I scoured the internet and came up with 3 options for him - dancing raisins, fake blood, or slime. He thought the dancing raisins were cool, but didn't think he'd be able to talk for 3-5 minutes about it. He really wanted to do the fake blood, but ours was a hideous mess that looked nothing like blood, so then he was pretty excited about the slime.

Our first experiment with the slime turned out pretty well, except it used up the glue that I had, so Thumbelina and I had to go shopping yesterday to buy more glue. When Shaggy came home from school yesterday, he immediately made another batch of slime...without my knowledge...with what little of the old glue was left. This batch turned out better than the first batch. So after supper, he wanted me to sit and watch him so he could practice in front of an audience. It was disastrous. It didn't turn out at all and was just a hard clump of solidified glue in a bowl of green liquid. I bought a different brand of glue, so I promised Shaggy that I'd buy him more glue before today. He was okay with that and told Mr. Happy that it was a pretty good speech until it all went horribly wrong at the end.

So back to Wal Mart I went in search of glue. I found the same brand as the first bottle he used, so hopefully his speech went okay today without his experiment going horribly wrong.

Tigger's speech about how to make a banana split went very well, thank you for asking. But we all knew it would, right? Nobody quite has the gift of gab like Tigger.

Switching gears, let's talk about chicken pox once again. Remember how I said that Thumbelina's little friend didn't actually have the chicken pox and it was just a false alarm? Well, it still is a false alarm. However, a second kid in Tigger's class is off school with the pox. And the two siblings of the first kid who contracted the virus are now both off school with the pox as well. And because I'm being all paranoid about missing our playdate on Saturday, I noticed a red spot on Thumbelina's belly when I was changing her diaper for happy nappy time (which she is rebelling against).

And because my daughter is rebelling at the moment, I have not been able to dust or wash the kitchen floor...because she still sleeps in the living room and the living room is right off of the dining room, which is right off of the kitchen. Not a big deal, except that our social worker is coming over this afternoon for our 12 months post-placement visit. Do you think she'll notice the dried ketchup on the floor??

Out of the Loop

So my much younger cousin, who turns 19 this summer, has recently acquired a tattoo. He has pictures of it posted on his Facebook page and one of his friends left a comment. And I quote, "Sick Tat". What on earth does that mean??? When I was a kid, we called things righteous, and rad. And we thought we were uber-cool when we said, "no guff" (see, look at me being all hip with the uber talk). But sick tat? I don't get it.

I think I'll go put some moisturizer on my old lady hands now.

Tids & Bits

I have nothing of substance to say. Be warned.

• My hands look old. It's true. I'm starting to get the old-lady bumpy vein look.
• The other day, somebody asked me if I was 40. Forty. 40. No, I'm not. I'm younger, in case you were wondering. I guess my old-lady hands are telling a different story.
• Mr. Happy won 2 tickets to see a Toronto Raptors game (it was a door prize at a dinner meeting he went to). Zoomer was going to go with him but has since gotten himself grounded, so then I thought it would be a nice father/son thing for Mr. Happy to do with Shaggy.
• Is it selfish of me to want to go on a date with Mr. Happy, even though I'm not interested in basketball, instead of Shaggy doing the father/son thing?
• But then we'd need to find a babysitter for the kids.
• Tigger broke his glasses. Again.
• I don't trust people who smile at me. I think they have a hidden agenda. Or that they're laughing at me.
• My basement is mostly cleaned out, except for a somewhat large desk. Next on the agenda is stripping. Wallpaper. Get your mind out of the gutter.
• Whoever inveted wallpaper should be hung by their toenails and publicly flogged.
• Except for the modern stuff, because that's pretty cool.
• It's a pain where the sun doesn't shine to take off the walls.
• Yesterday Mr. Happy asked me how come we have so much laundry. We have 4 kids (I just typed in 34 and had to change it - some days it feels like 34, especially when I'm doing laundry).
• I think it's safe to say that Thumbelina is now starting the Terrible Two's. They're not all that terrible, especially compared to Shaggy's Terrible Two's...but she sure can be disagreeable by times. And bossy. And whiney. But she's still cute.
• There are no chicken pox on our horizon. Thumbelina's little friend that she plays with in the nursery didn't actually have them, it was a false alarm.
• Unless, of course, Thumbelina or Tigger break out this week with them, but then I'll be really bummed because we are going to a playdate with our travel group on Saturday.
• Zoomer graduates from Grade 8 this year. Grade 8. Soon he'll be able to drive legally.

I can't really think of anything else to say, so I will end my post now.

Yay For Sweater Weather!

And new swings!

Just Junk

So it's Friday. The boys have just left for school and my goal is to make it through the day with my sanity intact. Why, you ask? Because it's raining, I'm tired, and we've been living with Miss Crabby Von Crabberstein for the last week. In all fairness to her, she has been exposed to chicken pox - her little friend that she plays with in the church nursery broke out with the spots yesterday. So maybe she already has the virus working it's magic inside her little body, making her miserable.

And I think it's probably time to retire the highchair. Our beloved highchair is now a hated contraption of belts and trays. The wailing and the thrashing that took place yesterday at lunch as I tried to strap Miss Von Crabberstein into it...I tell you it just wasn't worth the effort. I did get a big hug as she was gasping for breath once she realized she would not be subjugated to that form of torture.

Tigger has to give a speech in his class next week. A demonstration speech, no less. Tigger has no talents when it comes to anything involving manual dexterity...I'm not being mean, I'm just stating the obvious. He was born at 24 weeks and weighed a whopping total of 734 grams (which is 1 lb 10 oz).

I'll have to scan the pictures we have of him wearing Mr. Happy's wedding ring on his little foot. So as a result of Tigger's prematurity, his fine motor skills are somewhat lacking. And I've been trying to think of an easy enough demonstration for him to give his speech on, and then as I was looking at the bananas on my counter turning all brown and gross, it hit me. A banana split! Guess what we're having for dessert tonight...and Saturday...and Sunday! Tigger's got the whole weekend to practice.

And speaking of Tigger. There's a kid in his class who has the chicken pox - it's an epidemic, I tell you - and since Tigger has not yet had them, he is convinced he is sick to the point where he is even trying to force himself to puke. My poor little hypochondriac. There are no spots yet and no fevers yet, so he's off to school today.

And I'm in the mood to get rid of all the junk in my basement. I'm in the mood to have a giant dumpster come to my house so that I can shovel everything into a heap and toss it all in.

I'm also in the mood to go back to bed.

Untitled

I seem to be in a bit of a blogging slump. Not to worry, I'll get my groove back soon enough and then you'll all be wishing I'd just shut-up for a bit. It's okay, I'm not offended. So I'll just leave you with some pictures of the Princess.





China must be so proud!

Pictures as Promised

It's Thumbelina Day!!!

Last year:

This year:

Last year (notice how her pants are pulled up to her armpits??)

This year (they fit a lot better):

Last year:

This year:

Love those split pants!

Thumbelina has grown so much in the past year; we've had a blast!