This Will Just Have To Do Ya Today

Because, WOW! Did we ever have a busy, tiring weekend.

Leon's Fire Department family Christmas party was at West Edmonton Mall Waterpark. It is a pretty big place, with huge water slides, wave pool, tube rides, kid's splash area. That is just one of the features in this mall. There is also an amusement park, where my friend's work function just happened to be this same day, a skating rink, sea life area, movie theatres etc. I suppose it's pretty impressive if you weren't here growing right along with it.

We also fit in a soccer game and date night today (The Blind Side with the gorgeous Sandra Bullock and uber sexy Tim McGraw.) along with the Christmas party. Friday set up our Christmas tree and watched My Sister's Keeper. Saturday we had another soccer game, and a family movie night. (Old Dogs - Definitely a renter, just FYI)

This gal is tired.

I know. Same old story. I just desperately need a whole day, if not a weekend, at home where I can organize and have a therapeutic cleaning day and just mentally de-stress.

Maybe this coming weekend, the four soccer games not included of course.

Have a happy Monday!

You Want Me To Touch WHAT?

Welcome Thursday visitors from Mama Kat and big hugs and high fives to my regulars!

Today I chose prompt number one:

An ER moment. (I'm assuming real life, not the show, right?)

Having kids, there were a few ER visits to pick from, especially from our acreage days. However, I am opting to tell you about something that happened during one of my ER shifts.

Nights in the ER were actually a lot of fun. This particular night I was working the same shift as the orthotech, who assists in casting and amputating appendages.

It was about two in the morning, and I was on "B" side, which is a little quieter than "A", but not as quiet as "Minor".

I was still quite new, so didn't get involved a whole lot; more of a people watcher. Suddenly the orthotech came up to my pod group and showed us an amputated finger packed in ice in a specimen jar.

"Touch it!" she said.

"Touch THAT?"

"Yeah! Just touch it. It's okay. It's sterile. It just feels really rubbery when the blood is drained and (naturally) the circulation has stopped and the ice is packed around it making it cold." she tried again.

"Um. Not a chance." There was no way on God's green frigging earth that I was going to touch some poor fool's amputated finger.

The other nurses around me wouldn't even touch the thing.

Well, can you believe that within a couple of minutes she had me convinced?

So I slowly and gently reached over....

I turned my face slightly away and watched out of the corner of my eye as my finger moved, seemingly with a life of it's own, toward the speciment jar....

And ever so bravely, I stuck my finger down into the container....

And wouldn't you just know it?

THE DAMNED THING MOVED!!!!




OH! MY! GOD! I screamed bloody murder.

And woke all the patients trying to get some sleep.

And scared the hell out of the nurses huddled around me.

My delightful orthotech had cut a hole in the bottom of the container and stuck her own finger in through the bottom, packed it with ice and went around to each pod playing her little trick.

Yup. Definitely my favorite ER moment.

Go see Mama Kat for more! And say hello to Victor E while you're there!

Whose Shoes Would I Choose?

While walking around the hospital today in a bit of a funk, I noticed a mother pushing her shiny-headed, IV-toting, teddy bear-snuggling child down the corridor in a wheelchair. I realized that while my shoes hurt right now, I wouldn't want to be in hers.

Nor would I want the burden of my dear friend's shoes right now.

My 15 year old? Nope. I don't want that ordeal either.

So that led me to realize that as much as they hurt, and as tired as I am of wearing these shoes, and as petty as my own shoe troubles are, other's ARE definitely worse for wear, but it doesn't make wearing these shoes any easier to put on every morning.

But, then, whose shoes WOULD I choose?

The person, and I feel I must add that this is a real person in my life, whose shoes I would choose is my age, but she isn't me.

She is smart and confident and successful in her career.

She knows the direction she is going and is well on her way.

She is natural and very likely doesn't swear at her hair for 30 minutes every morning, just to throw it back into a frigging pony tail.

She is outgoing and energetic and easily fits a size 8.

She has friends and time to enjoy them.

She is financially chuckling just a little bit.

She is happy.

But then, perhaps if I wore her shoes around for a little while, I'd find them, too, uncomfortable. Just because she doesn't wear her problems on her sleeve for all to see, doesn't mean she doesn't have them, right?

I guess my shoes are okay. They're broken in pretty good. And the devil you know is usually better than the devil you don't, right?

Sigh....

Sidenote: My shoes just came down and bitched me out pretty good. Maybe the devil I don't know IS a better option.

I Really Hate It When You Walk Into The Bathroom To Find A Coworker On The Toilet.

It's so true what they say about that "gut feeling", that "sixth sense". Oh so true, in fact, that you should listen to the damned thing.

I seriously had doubts when I was pushing the bathroom door open at work today. Part of my little brain registered that someone not overly concerned with the hospital electric bill and current need to cut costs left the lights on.

Next was just the fact that I was turned away as I was opening the door, perhaps subconsciously shielding myself and my victim from what was to come.

My third clue was the little "oh!"

I turned to see a co-worker, granted not one I know well, just from seeing her in the halls, as she shrunk to her tiniest self and she said "I swear I locked the door!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned and walked away without a word.

I then went back to my office and explained to my peeps to make sure the door is locked when they go to the biffy. Apparently our lock is broken again.

Like, I swear, HOURS after I heard the bathroom door close and I knew she was out, I went back, knocked and peaked, ever so gently, into the bathroom. I then tried the lock several times myself before I was confident enough to risk my pride and go to the bathroom.

I seriously pushed my pee out so hard I think I ejected my uterus - which is actually fine by me, because I'm done with it anyway, and from a preventative medicine perspective, it gives me one less place for cancer to inhabit - but I made it out without being anyone's peep show.

So, now, I ask you, W*H*A*T do I do when I see her tomorrow or the next day. Do I make light of it and say "Fuck, I hate it when that happens!" Do I apologize?? Do I instruct her on our finicky lock? Direct her to a bathroom down the hall with a code AND dead bolt?

How on earth do I handle this incredibly awkward moment????

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Liv had been eyeballing the cookies and decorations for a few days and we just couldn't hold her off any longer....

So Proud!

Cassie's masterpieces!

Fun was had by all! Or should I say both....

And the poor dog watches on and catches every last sprinkle that falls....

What Does The Evening Of A Day On The Ski Hill Look Like?

'Nuff said.

Have You Ever Painted Tabasco Sauce On Your Fence And Later Decided That Those Were Two Hours Of Your Life You Would Love To Have Back?

I am participating in Mama Kat's homework assignment this week. It has been a while, due to lack of interest in life in general and just being too darned busy.

Her prompts:

1.) A Thanksgiving to be remembered...(inspired via Twitter by @knitmyrhino from Crafting With Rhinos)

2.)Describe the most destructive thing your pet has done.
(inspired via Twitter by @alisha41481 from A Day In The Life Of Okie Rednecks)

3.) Describe in 1000 words or less a time when something happened and you knew that life would never be the same.
(inspired via Twitter by @lesleehorner from Waiting For The Click. Entries can also be emailed to Leslee at clickstories@gmail.com)

4.)Share a diary entry from when you were 13...feel free to make one up!
(inspired via twitter by @EricaVoll from I'm Still Fabulous)

5.)Describe a moment you felt embarrassed by your parents.
(inspired via Twitter by @MamaOtwins1 from 3 Boys + 1 Hubby = What Next?

My choice is number 2.

We had a couple of brothers many, many moons ago. They were Rottweilers. Now, don't go getting your panties in a twist. They were good boys who never, ever posed a threat to my kids. Seriously. Porky (June 17, 1993 - November 1, 2002) was the best dog E*V*E*R! (Ringo, my boy, I promise that you are a very close second!)

Let me tell you, when Rotties are young, they are chewers! They will gnaw on ANYTHING!

For example, I left them in my little hatchback for a few minutes while I went into the grocery store for something.

They ate my stick shift.

Another time? They ate my driver's seat.

They ate our stairs, the heater for their doghouse and our fence.

Their vet told me that they would not go near tabasco sauce. So what did I do? I went and bought me some tabasco. In bulk.

Next, a paint brush.

And then I spent Asia's entire nap time outside painting the damned fence with tabasco sauce.

And you know what?

They LOVED it!

Little buggers.

They eventually stopped chewing. And barking. And whining. But J.C. went to another home for a questionable attitude, and my Porky stayed on. Through to the end, that boy was a wonderful friend. He put up with the neglect that a busy family can dump on their pet. The rules that were enforced, like not coming onto the carpet, that kept him away from the family make me want to steal that time back and use it to its fullest. It was Porky, once he was gone, who showed me the errors of my ways. And while I didn't want Ringo, I now shower him with the attention that Porky so deserved.

Rest in peace, my boy. One day, when we meet again, I'll owe you a huge apology and one big-ass doggy bone!

Do You Smell That?

So, there we were, trying to go to sleep our first night in Jasper.

Suddenly we hear Asia say, "Sorry". A split second later, she farts. REALLY loud! Like, I'm sure the neighbours heard her! And if they didn't hear that, I'm sure they heard us laughing!

Then Leon lets one rip.

Laughing and crying and laughing and crying.

You have to know, before I go any further, that I would not normally participate in activities like this. Well, there was one time when I was having a sleep over at Donna's house when I was in grade five, but otherwise, NEVER!

Anyway, I'm a belcher, and let me tell you that I am GOOD at it. No one can beat me there. It turns out that I take the cake when it comes to flatulence. It was truly something that would require standing in awe over, if you didn't pass out first.

Seriously.

THAT good.

And the neighbours DEFINITELY heard that one!

After a few minutes, we had all calmed down, and Liv says, "Hey guys!! Wait for it.... " and Asia could feel her squeezing her hand tight as she tried so hard with her tiny little quarter inch speaker to let one rip. All she got was "poof". Then we were rolling again!

This happened again the next night.

It was all just in good fun.

Try not to judge us....

W-W-W-Wipe Out!

Unfortunately, these things happen so fast that there are no pictures. They still bring tears to my eyes thinking of them though!

I think Cassie was the first. Full on, one ski forward one ski backward, needed help getting up. The whole kit and kaboodle.

Then Cassie. Again.

And again.

Then, however, it was my turn. On my favorite run, Old Road, just going at a nice easy coast, I turned to point out another chair lift to Leon, when suddenly, WHAM! Down I go. I have a knee injury from soccer, so I was worried about that, but I managed to protect it for the most part. I did, however, land on my left cheek and shoulder, and I have a very interesting bruise on my butt and STILL a sore shoulder and tricep. I am confident that while I turned, one of my skis just hit powder and stopped dead. My witnesses seem sure that when I turned to chat, my skis crossed. And that would be just silly. They laughed at me for a while.

Another time at the top of the hill, just off the chairlift, Leon suddenly slammed flat on his face. Sound effects and everything. He "says" that his ski came off and he tried a fancy flip to get out of his other one, which didn't quite work out. Phooey. He just plain old fell and can't own up to being human.

Asia only fell twice, I think, and for one she wasn't even moving at the time. I haven't a clue how that happened, but me and some random lady had a good chuckle over the way her pride took over in her attitude. lol

Leon, I am happy to report, had another fall before the end of the day (putting me in first place!). He was waiting for Cassie, looking uphill at her, and stuck out his pole to lean on it and somehow missed the hill and went down like a tree! Oh. My. God. I laughed so hard at that one I had tears streaming down my cheeks! What a dork.

It's okay to make Leon look like a putz, because tomorrow, my friends, it's all about making ME look bad.

Which isn't as difficult as one would think...

What Happens In Jasper, And Gets Photographed In Jasper, Most Definitely Goes On My Blog!

My family went off to the mountains for a few days. We were hoping for an all inclusive week in Mexico, but, alas, we couldn't afford it, so off we went for an Alberta holiday. Might as well keep the money in our province for now.

We left on Remembrance Day and took the four hour drive west to Jasper. We spent that afternoon and evening at the pool, going out for dinner and then trying to hit the hay early for our day of skiing on Thursday.

To the tune of almost $600 my family skied for the day.

We paid for a day camp for Olivia so that we would be free to ski for the day with the older two.

And it was AWESOME!!

Toward the end of the day, we were coming down the mountain and what do we see?

Miss Olivia skiing down the BIG hill with her instructor and the other little girl. The BIG MOUNTAIN, my friends, not just the bunny hill anymore!!

We left her to her following her instructor like a little duckling after its mother for a little longer, and then took her up the chairlift ourselves for her/our last run. She was so little and cute!

I haven't yet decided if tomorrow will be about our wipe-outs, our farts or our visit. Stay tuned....

Forget Me Not

I am happy to report that my family is having a great time in Jasper. We went skiing yesterday at Marmot. We booked Livvy into a day camp where she was practically one on one with an instructor all day. By half way through the afternoon she was going up the chair lift to the lower mountain and skiing down. I was totally floored!!! She is just this tiny little person skiing down a mountain!! Holy crap. I had to ski the rest of the way down with tears in my eyes!!!

We were free to ski with the older two all day. It was just a fabulous day all around.

I might phone an old friend who lives out here to see if they want some company tonight. That would be pretty cool. She has a little girl Liv's age. It turns out the nightlife here kind of sucks and there are no pay-per-view movies. So I'm at a loss. Short of driving around again tonight and finding more elk licking people's front windows and walking down the street, we are quite boring. Har-dee-har-har-har.

Today is a shopping day and hopefully get in a short hike tomorrow before we head home.

The good blogger that I was in the past would have made sure that I preposted fabulous reading for you in my absence, but, alas, that good blogger is long gone. In her stead you get me. That's all.

Just me.

Love me anyway.

:-)

Remembrance Day, November 11

Today's post is dedicated to our Canadian military.

November 11 is Remembrance Day.

I hope you will take the time to watch this video my friend Kim put together to honour our fallen soldiers. I love that we get to learn a little something about each one. I laughed through a couple, smiled for many, and full out sobbed over the rest.

Kim's husband is a soldier, and I'm sure it was with a very heavy heart and with much love that this video was made.

My hat is off to our Canadian soldiers, and because I have connected with so many American bloggers, my hat is off to their soldiers as well.

Well done, Kim.

Books I've Read

What I've read this past month: (At least the ones I remember!)

Currently reading:

My Children Are My Teachers

These things I have learned from my kids:

1. Livvy's squeaky little voice is probably enough to make other people's ears bleed, but to me it fills my heart and and rocks my world!
2. No matter how hard I try to parent my kids and guide them, all they are learning from me is what they do not want to become.
3. It hurts to hear my five year old yell out "I hate you!", but it is even harder to hear her say "You don't even love me."
4. I'm too strict. I'm not fair. And I suck.
5. I always love one of my kids more than the other two. Which one that is depends on who is accusing me of it at any given moment.
6. Partnership in parenting is just as important as partnership in a marriage.
7. Having the same size feet as your daughters is not good. There go my soccer shoes.
8. Clean is great, but tidy works too.
9. Being a stay home mom is a thankless job, but it is the most important one in the whole world. I know that for certain now that I'm no longer there.
10. Their friends are stranger than mine.

What have you learned from your kids?

Random Dozen - Stolen from my friend Betty!!

1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?

First I would look for a red light camera, the walk/hand light, etc ... Then I'd run that sucker!

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?

I would have mooned her back. Don't ask.

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)

I'm such a horrible blogger these days. Sigh... Normally I would email, but if they have the "no reply" on, then I would comment on their blog.

4. Your favorite Disney movie is:

Oh, most definitely Mulan!!!

5. Do you recycle?

Only when my garbage can is full. We just don't have room to have blue bags and blue boxes and regular garbage bags and bottle bags going. It's insane!

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?

I totally suck at both, but prefer games of chance. I'm really not very bright and hate for people to discover that! lol

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?

I'm thin, and fit and beautiful and have tons of friends and a busy social calendar full of all things fun. And then I wake up.

8. What did you learn from your first real job?

I worked at Wendy's from 14 and stayed for a couple of years. Amin, the manager, was an ass.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?

I beg, borrow and buy. I just love to read. In fact, if I was smart, and I was a better blogger, I could do a "What I've Read" post, but alas, I forget what I've read five minutes after I put it down.

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?

There are many things that I can tell you I will never wear again, such as balloon pants. Quick zips were fun, but the body that did them justice is long gone. '80s hair was totally awesome in an "I'm such a loser" way. I can tell you some things that I wish people would STOP wearing, like skinnies and plumber pants!

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?

Before Livvy came along on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), that was my day of choice, but now it is her day, so I start sometime in October.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?

I worked a bingo the other night, and someone I had been selling cards to all night won "the big one". I literally ran, jumping and twirling across the hall to get to her before anyone else, and calling out "Pick me! Pick me!!" Have I mentioned before that I'm a loser? Well, I am.

Thanks Betty for letting me steal your post!

That's It For Another Year....

Short and Sweet.

I had two kid's soccer games today, plus worked a bingo, then picked up kids from a movie.

I'm fatigued. lol

This is what our Halloween looked like....