Happy Canada Day (a day early)

Oh, Canada

Welcome to Canada, it's the Maple Leaf State.

Canada, oh Canada it's great!

The people are nice and they speak French too.

If you don't like it, man, you sniff glue.

The Great White North, their kilts are plaid,

Hosers take off, it's not half bad.

I want to be where yaks can run free,

Where Royal Mounties can arrest me.

Let's go to Canada, let's leave today, Canada, oh, Canada, I Sil Vous Plait.

They've got trees, and mooses, and sled dogs,

Lots of lumber, and lumberjacks, and logs!

We all think it's kind of a drag,

That you have to go there to get milk in a bag.

They say "eh?" instead of "what?" or "duh?"

That's the mighty power of Canada.

I want to be where lemmings run into the sea,

Where the marmosets can attack me.

Let's go to Canada, let's leave today, Canada, oh, Canada, I Sil Vous Plait.

Please, please, explain to me,

How this all has come to be,

We forgot to mention something here.

Did we say that William Shatner is a native citizen?

And Slurpees made from venison,

That's deer.

Let's go to Canada, let's leave today, Canada, oh, Canada, I Sil Vous Plait.

~Five Iron Frenzy.

I saw them perform this song live the first time they had ever performed in Canada

Do ya? huh? huh?

Ever feel like you look DAMN fine before you leave the house, only to feel gross and self-conscious after you've left?

I had one of those days today...

Oh, I'm in trouble!

Please, take a moment and take a good look at this picture... What do you see?

First, take a look at where the baby is.

Next, take a second to spot the diaper.

Lastly, check out the look on the kid's face!

***

In other news...

The other day, I repeatedly told Cherry "No thank-you", "No touch please", and "I mean it", while she kept on sticking her hand into the VCR. Finally, I yelled, and took two fingers and gave her hand a good little snap/smack away from the VCR.

How did she react?!?

She sat back and smiled at me.

I had to run out of the room to laugh.

I'm going to have lots of fun with this little one!

Gotta share the cuteness!

We have visitors! A family of racoons has taken up residence in our big maple tree outside! They just came out of their nest which happens to be INSIDE our old, hollow tree. There are four babies that we've seen so far, and no-one has seen the momma yet. They made their appearance yesterday, and were up ALL night chittering away and exploring the yard. Every time I woke up to pee or other wise, I could hear them excitedly yelling and playing in the yard. It's a good thing we no longer have chickens! I just have to make sure the cats are inside in the evening now! And keep the garbage can lid on tight! The picture is of two of the pups cuddling and sleeping in the fork in the tree.


And Cherry couldn't let me take pictures of the racoons without snapping some of her too. So, for your veiwing pleasure, here's Cherry!

The Long, Hazy Dazy Days of Summer are Here.

My Dad has been going crazy these past few days. He started out by buying us a new lawn mower. A really nice, expensive electric mower which has wheels that can be adjusted by moving ONE, very easy lever.

Then he mowed the front lawn. (I mowed the back).

He then weeded and completely turned over three of our gardens. (I weeded one and a half).

He has purchased and planted tomatoes, squash, herbs, some sort of melon, and a crap load of various types of flowers.

He even sprained his ankle part way through all this.

And he's not done. He wants to make our yard "look so good that people stop to look at it."

Hey, that's awesome Dad. You do what you gotta do! 'Cause I sure don't have the time to do it!

***

Grumpa's actually doing a good job at being a grandfather these days. He's interacting more with Cherry, including doing the horsey ride on the leg thing. The other day while I was mowing the back lawn, Cherry woke up and instead of panicking and running to get me, he actually picked her up and changed her diaper. She was totally freaked out though, and screamed the whole time, probably not having a clue who he was in her half-awake stupor. Hearing her screaming, I ran in to rescue him/her, and was able to calm her down with some formula and by *ahem* re-changing her diaper. (He put it on backwards. hee hee hee)

Having my dad here is going ok over all, but even though he's doing all this work in the yard, I find it seems like I'm still doing more work with him here than if he wasn't here. There's more dishes and more mess, and I feel guilty when I'm relaxing and he's out working in the garden, so I'm working more outside than I would normally. (Which is probably a good thing, but DANG, I'm tired these days!) I am glad he's here, but it's not making my life any easier. There are bonuses (like the yard), but it's not easier. And I guess I'm a little worried that the "big girl" room isn't going to get done, because he's always working outside and doesn't seem to interested in working on the room, and it's not like I can just go into "his" room and start sanding and painting without him there to help or approve.

One thing though, about him being here, that IS making things easier, is I'm not stressing about the yard, which I was before. I was trying to arrange free babysitting so that I could mow the lawn, and trying to figure out if it was going to be possible to mow the lawn with the baby monitor on, etc. Now, I don't worry about that. Which is good.

***

Armondo called the other day. He had good news and bad news. He called me from Ucluelet, a small community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, close to Tofino. He was in "town" because one of the guys on the boat had broken his foot a few days before, and had become useless, so they had to travel close to 200 miles to shore to drop the guy off. Since they were losing a day of fishing anyway, to bring the guy to shore, they also took the time to get a freezer fixed and Armondo was able to call home.

So, good news: Since that guy has been let off the boat, they are now a man short, which means Armondo, and some other dude, have to pick up the guy's slack. Which means the two of them make their regular wages (Armondo's being a little less than a regular crew guy, 'cause he mostly cooks), AND, they split 50/50 what the other guy would have been making for the remainder of the trip. Apparently, this is the first time in this boat's history that a guy has had a "raise" on his first trip!

Bad news: Well, at the beginning of the trip, they left a couple of days late due to electrical troubles, and now they've lost a day due to taking this guy to shore, AND, they might end up being a day or so behind because they have to pick up this guy's slack, and it's "quota" fishing. MEANING, Armondo might miss Cherry's birthday.

If he DOES miss Cherry's birthday, that will mean he will have missed this year, Valentine's Day, My Birthday, Our Anniversary (I think), Fathers' Day, and her birthday. He'd better not miss her birthday! In fact, I told him that if there's a chance that he's going to miss it, that he'd better jump off that boat and swim. I didn't tell him what would happen if he missed it.

Things won't be too pretty around here though. My Dad thinks I'm a bitch for harassing Armondo about missing these occasions. He's all "Armondo's out working hard for his family, making money to support his family and get out of debt, and here YOU are hassling him about missing these dates, when he already misses his family.. blah blah blah"

Well... You know what?!? Armondo didn't HAVE to go fishing. He WANTED to go fishing. In fact, if he hadn't fished at all this year, he would have only missed Valentine's Day due to working at a job that he HAD to work at. I didn't tell Armondo "No, you can't go fishing, because I hate it when you go away, and really, the money isn't that much better than when you were working in a restaurant making sushi and making tips.. .and.. and..." No, I let him go, because he LIKES it.

And darn it already, maybe if he would just "Show me (all this) money" that we're supposedly going to be rolling in, then maybe I'll start to like this a bit better, but for now, I don't see it. In fact, I crunched some numbers last night, and the money he's making right now has to cover paying back our parental leave money for these weeks, plus pay for all of July's bills, AND, pay for all of August, because if he goes out fishing again next time, we won't see another pay cheque until the end of August. Oh, and then in Sept, we have another dreaded three mortgage month.
And after doing the number crunching, it turns out that we'll have a total of $250 ish extra dollars for food and gas. And I don't even want to mention how much we owe on our credit cards right now. That raise better be a good one!

Did I mention that he actually got offered a new Sushi Chef job at a different restaurant that paid $2 more an hour than his last sushi job and that had nice, regular 8 hour shifts?!? He chose to go fishing instead.

***

The last couple of days have been HOT, Hot, hot! I'm not a huge fan of hot weather. I always seem to burn in the sun, and sunscreen makes my skin swell. I often get heat exhaustion and blah blah blah...

ANYWAY, what I DO like though, is that we didn't sell our house. I love my great big maple tree in the front yard that shades the whole yard. I love watching my kid run around the yard with a huge smile on her face as she chases the cats, dogs, and picks dandelions.

But most of all, I love my river. Where we live, we can just step out our back door, walk for about 90 seconds, and we have access to a nice, clean, cool, (but not too cool) river. Right by our house is a nice shallow patch, and a rocky little beach, and if we just head up or down stream a little, it gets deep enough for a good swim. Our little access point is just far enough from the public access points that we can have privacy, but close enough that we can wander down to the sandier beaches if we feel so inclined.

Cherry's still a little wary of the water. I have a friction burn on the back of my neck from her pulling on my bathing suit and trying to cling onto me. Yesterday we went into the water for the first time (I'm always scared at the begining of the season because I'm a wuss in cold water) and then we went again today. Yesterday, both Cherry and Jacy were total little wimps, crying and sputtering in the water, but today Cherry was a little bit better, and Jacy actually swum out to us in the middle of the river, in water that was several times deeper than her height! I was pretty proud of my little poodle. Sure, I had to pick her up every time she swam out to us, so she wouldn't drown from exhaustion, but still, I was proud of her. (Can you picture me, standing chest deep in the water, 11 month old kling-on in one arm, and a poodle in the other?!?) Annie, of course, is totally fine in the water and just swims around us and explores the river banks on the other side, and such. Ozzy hasn't joined us at the river yet, but I'm sure she will one day soon. She usually follows us to the river, in years past, and log-hops until she gets to the little beach. She then mows and talks to us while we paddle around. It's always pretty cute. We'll be going back to the river again tomorrow. It's the only thing that keeps me sane during these hot days!

***

Don't forget to go say hello to my renter. I picked her out esp for YOU guys. I chose the blog that seemed the most likely one that YOU guys would like. So please, go say hello!

ttfn!

Clicky, Clicky!

I've got a renter! Go say hi to Fidget! She's cute, she's sassy, and seriously guys, you HAVE to show her some love, because she just got her wisdom teeth pulled out! And most of us know how sucky that is! And she's from Florida, and lately, I've had a thing for Floridians. (Must be because of CSI Miami). So, go say hi!

Standing in line at the unemployment office.

No, not me.. not Armondo either...

So my dad, aka Grumpa is coming to stay here again. I didn't even get a chance to wash the sheets on the bed he slept on since the last time he was here. In fact, I didn't even get a chance to write about his visit!

Last week, my dad pulled a surprise visit for a couple of days. He bought and brought over $200 worth of groceries, AND filled my gas tank. We had a pretty good visit this last time, mostly because I've had the cable turned off for the summer, so he wasn't able to hide in his room and watch TV all day like he did the time he was here before.

On a side note: While he was here last week, Cherry had a REALLY bad diaper rash that caused her to scream every time she sat down, peed, or was picked up with a hand on her bottom. It came all of a sudden, seemed to be caused by diarrhea, and after I got cream from the doc. it went away as fast as it came. It was some sort of yeast infection. There's still a little bit of evidence of it left, but it stopped hurting her right away after I slathered on the cream. It's darn scary when your kid starts screaming for NO apparent reason, and you can't seem to figure it out! (I thought she had been stung by a wasp or something.)

Anyway, So, my dad is coming back again. This time for a long time. He got fired from his job. I can't really talk about WHY he got fired, because if I do, I might sound racist, or he might sound racist. Let's just say he was one of the only white drug and alcohol counselors on an Indian reserve, and he pissed off one of the natives. It's one of those things where he could probably take it to court for wrongful dismissal, but he's not going to bother.

And he LIVED on the reserve. So basically he got fired from his job, AND his house.

It's a good thing Armondo's not here right now. I mean, the two of them get along, but having an in-law around all the time can wear on you. I know all of you know what I'm talking about. (Armondo's sister lived here for quite awhile, and although, I love her lots, it was a trying time in A.'s and my marriage!)

But he's not going to live here for free, that's for sure! I will now have a live in babysitter, and someone to paint Cherry's "big girl" room.

If he doesn't find a job right away, we also have someone to housesit while we go on vacation at some point this summer. It might all work out just fine! (I just hope Armondo isn't pissed when he finds out! He shouldn't be, but I think I'd be a little miffed if I was away for weeks and came home to my family and HIS mom or dad.)

Not overly impressed.

Know what I hate? Columbia House.

They sucked me in when I was a teenager. I bought all their stupid CD's (only to have them all stolen on a cross-Canada bus trip). They hounded me for YEARS after I finished my obligations. I became a "Gold Member" (insert joke here). But, somehow, I broke free....

THEY'RE BACK....

Armondo recently signed up for their DVD club. Yippee! Being the nice guy that he his, he got the "three Dvds for real cheap " deal and let me choose one for myself and one for Cherry, while he chose one for himself. So, Scarface, The Wizard of Oz, and Happy Gilmore later, Armondo is now a full fledged member of Columbia House.

Why am *I* worried about this? What does this have to do with ME?!? Well, Armondo is away right now, and will be going away over and over, so it has now become MY responsibility to answer those stupid cards with those stupid monthly selections. The good thing is that you can do it online now. The bad thing? I think there might be a copy of Cheaper By the Dozen Two headed our way, because I think that they only leave the option to cancel it online for a few days, and I think Armondo missed it, 'cause when I went to go cancel it, it said that there wasn't any selection to cancel.

Oh, and yeah, those CHEAP Dvds he ordered? Well my silly* husband didn't pay for them. Leaving me to not only pay for them, but to also pay the LATE CHARGE. They originally cost $10.65 for three, and now cost $13.15. Now, I'm not a math genius by any means, but DUDE, that's over a 25% penalty!

Grr.. Columbia House Bastards!

F*#&ers make you pay for the postage too to send the payment, and don't allow you to pay online!

Armondo is SO not allowed to see the "Science Fiction Book Club" offer that came for him in the mail last week!


*"silly" is code word for "stupid" in our house. It's not nice to call someone stupid.

Current Events.

Here's the thing. I'm not STUPID, per se, but when it comes to current events outside of Britney's latest breakdown and the incredible cuteness of baby Shiloh, I can't seem to retain anything. I listen to the news every day so that I can at least sort of know what's going on in the world, but quiz me half an hour later on what I heard and I'd be like..

Uh.. the teachers want more money. That Sims lady never actually answers questions.

Some kids got hurt in some city on the lower mainland while driving back to school at lunch time. What kind of school was it? Why are they still in school anyway?

Um, there's a war.. over there... And, lots of people are dying, and it has to do with oil... but I don't know if Baghdad is a country or a city within a country.

And a Canadian man has been kidnapped in Haiti. And I only remember the name of the country, because it's on the same island as the Dominican Republic, where we had our honeymoon, but dang it if I can remember the name of that island!

Oh, but some guy who used to coach Montreal is now the new head coach of the Canucks. They now need to find a new coach for the Moose. And yeah, Bertuzzi HAS to go.

Now I get onto my point...

Some country in Asia has missiles. I know it's one of the Korea countries. NOW I even know that it's North Korea, 'cause I googled it. (But was it North Korea, or South Korea that we had a war with in the 70s? or was it the 60s?)

Anyway,

I'm a little worried. North Korea has some missiles that they may or may not test out sometime soon. The missiles may or may not be powerful enough to travel to Alaska or California. North Korea may or may not have the capability in the near future to put a nuclear bomb into one of these missiles and send it over here. To read more about it, click here. The States may or may not have the ability to stop the missile from making it all the way over the Pacific.

Wait a second... BACK UP A BIT... The missiles may or may not be powerful enough to travel to Alaska or California. And, The States may or may not have the ability to stop the missile from making it all the way over the Pacific.

What happens if the missile is headed to Alaska or California, but someone mis-calculates, and actually sends it HALF WAY BETWEEN THE TWO PLACES?!? Um, yeah, that'd be EXACTLY WHERE I LIVE.

And right now, my country, and my province in particular, is involved in some dispute about some wood right now, and wouldn't it just be ever so easy for the American Government to see that that missile is a little off course, and just decide not to do anything, UNLESS, we give in and let them continue to rip us off and steal our lumber? 'Cause we all know CANADA has no way to defend ourselves!

Hey, was that really a stray eyelash, or just some chocolate?

Just when you thought you couldn't love 'im more...

Armondo called today from the boat. The conversation was short. I wished him a Happy Fathers' Day, and he told about how one of the guys had brought a flu onto the boat and had made them all really sick. He also told me that the boat was built like a canoe, and food and drawers were always flying all over the place.

He then told me that he had forgotten to tell me about the video tape he had made for Cherry.

He put 30 min of reading books and singing songs on tape for Cherry to watch, to have something to remind her of him.

The tape is absolutely precious. I can't show you any of it though, 'cause it's too cute, and you'll wish Armondo was YOUR husband, and your kids' father. But he's MINE, ALL MINE!

Happy Fathers' Day!

Silly dog!

Belinda wasn't kidding when she said Jacy was a "garbage dog".



This silly little pooch stuck her head through the lid on the garbage can, only to have the lid come off and get stuck around her head!

A Video.

Dancing Cucumbers on Vimeo

Armondo filmed this a little while ago. Look how graceful this preggo mamma and her little one are!

***updated to add: We had no idea we were being filmed. As soon as Cherry caught on (at the end), Armondo flipped off the camera. If you look closely, you can kind of tell that Armondo is filming from another room.

Meat, fishing, work, shoes, child tips, fertility, a rant, and some closure.

There are a few things I feel I need to talk about. You know, some loose ends to tie up.

I got some of Jack's meat. It was dang tasty. I got some of his rump, his sausage, and some hamburger, among other cuts. Usually, when someone gives you some of their meat, you only get pepperoni or sausage, but Jack (and his wife) are very generous with the meat, and I have to say that moose meat roast is very yummy!

***

I only quickly mentioned it before, but Armondo is off working on a boat right now being the cook. He's hoping that it will work out well and that the guys on the boat will like him enough to offer him a crew position when one comes up. A crew spot would give him two to three times the amount of money he's making cooking. This particular boat is a dragger, and has many different licenses, so it runs year-round with the two crews taking turns taking three and a half weeks on and three and a half weeks off. If Armondo stays with this boat, then he'll try to get two shifts off in a row in Dec-Jan so that he'll be home for the birth of the baby. Right now they're dragging for a type of fish called "idiots". He was planning on trying to get some experience up on the deck when he wasn't actually cooking, but I found his fishing license lying on the bedroom floor today, so I don't know if he'll be allowed to.

***

So, I'm no longer working. I still have my foot in the door at both places, but I'm off the schedule. Since I quit at the restaurant, I have covered one shift, and I'm open to cover more if needed and if I can get a sitter. I might cover shifts at the hardware store when Armondo's home if they need me, say, if someone goes on vacation or something.

***

When I saw Tricia the other day, she had a nice gift for Cherry. It was a pair of Robeez. I've always liked the look and the idea of these shoes, but the high price tag turned me off. But not anymore! I have been convinced! They average at around $30 a pair, which seems like a lot for baby shoes, but not only are they made of REAL leather, they're comfortable, they STAY ON, they're durable, and they last through several sizes. I was turned off by the price tag, but after thinking about how long they would actually fit, I would have to buy 3-4 pairs of $5-$10 shoes to last the same amount of time. And Cherry has never kept a pair of shoes on for longer than a few minutes. These ones she doesn't even TRY to take off! In fact, I'm so convinced that these are a good buy, that I hopped over to Ebay and bought a gently used pair there. (Don't tell Armondo-it's on his credit card hee hee).

***

Also, while visiting Tricia, we also spent some time with her aunt and 12 year old cousin. Her aunt runs a day care out of her home, and Cherry was VERY excited to get to play with all the toys there. It was interesting hanging out with Aunt E. I like to get good advice from people who have more experience than me with stuff, so I took the opportunity to ask questions, and to take in some suggestions. One thing I've been having troubles with Cherry with is that she really squirms and struggles when we change her diaper. Aunt E. suggested that I was just firm with her and didn't laugh or encourage the behaviour. These, of course are things, I KNEW, but to have someone who had actually DONE it with SEVERAL kids tell me how, it sort of sunk in. It's only been a couple of days, and my firmness is working. Cherry cries now when I change her diaper, which isn't so fun, but it gets done quickly and we can get back to playing.

Another thing that Aunt E. does that I thought was good (And it was something Tricia pointed out as being a good thing) is that she doesn't tell her kids "no", she tells them "no thank you." What a brilliant thing! I mean, I believe that "no" is necessary. I don't think that "redirection" or whatever is always do-able, esp, if you're yelling across a room to tell a kid "no". But, putting that "thanks" on the end, just makes it that much more polite, and respectful, that it just seems like a good thing to do. Tricia tells me that because of this method, the little kids in the daycare now yell "no thank you" to eachother instead of just "no". Perfect. Genius!

***

The night before last was a bit of a mixture of heaven and hell. I ended up going to bed at 9pm, and not the 8pm that I had planned, but it was still "early" by my standards, and it's a good thing I went to bed when I did! Before my head actually hit the pillow, Cherry woke up crying. I let her fuss for a few minutes before I went to check on her, trying to allow her to fall back to sleep on her own. She wasn't going back to sleep, so I went into her room, and seconds after giving her a soother and covering her up, she fell right back to sleep.

At 9:30, one of my close neighbours started mowing their lawn. Who STARTS mowing their lawn at 9:30pm?!? A couple of minutes later, I heard some yelling, and the mowing stopped. I guess it pissed off another neighbour as well.

At 11pm, Cherry woke up. Time for a diaper change and a bottle.

At 3pm, she wakes up again

SORRY, I JUST NEED TO INTERRUPT FOR A SECOND!!! THE OILERS JUST WON!!! THE SERIES CONTINUES!!

Whew.. sorry about that.. where was I?

Right, 3pm. The kid wakes up AGAIN. This time, there is no easy way to put her back down. She is PISSED OFF. She's not going back to sleep. Mommy needs sleep though, so I scoop her up and take her into bed with me. I remember that I had to do this the last time Armondo went away too. That time, I think I attributed it to teething mostly. I know now, that she really DOES miss her dad once she realizes that he's really gone.

Anyway, a little side story here. My kid isn't really all that cuddly. The last time she was REALLY cuddly was when she was five months old and still breast feeding. Giving up the cuddling was the saddest part of giving up the breast feeding. Lately though, she's been coming around. She's been giving way more hugs, and will sit still for a few seconds at a time for cuddles.

So, I took her into my bed, and for the next 45 minutes the two of us had a nice, quiet cuddle. She spent some time pulling on my eyelashes, and sticking her fingers up my nose, but most of the time was spent gently stroking eachother's hair and poking at my belly button. It was very nice, and I thought, for just a minute that she might actually fall asleep in my arms. I was mistaken. At quarter to 4 in the morning, Cherry started jumping, crawling, and walking around the bed, laughing at the cats, and taunting Annie. It was time to put her back into her own bed. I gave her some more milk, and put her in her crib, and she fell asleep right away.

At 6am, she woke up. I ignored her. I came up with a new rule. "Baby stays in bed until at least 7am. Period." So, she just babbled to herself for half an hour or so, then went back to sleep and woke up for good at 8am.

At 9am, that neighbour finished mowing his lawn.

She then had two big naps yesterday, and slept well last night, waking up only once for a diaper change and a bottle, which is normal for her, and just how I like it. She fussed at 6am, but I ignored her again, and she slept until 8am again. Beautiful. We then had two very long naps today. I'm starting to feel a little more human again.

***

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but we've got plans for Cherry's "big girl" room. We bought her a "junior" bed and we've picked out some paint and some bedding for her new room. I'm not sure if/when I'll get some time to actually work on her room, but the plan is to have it done by her birthday, or shortly there after. I'm really excited about the switch. Cherry might still be a bit too young for the junior bed, but I'd like to give it a try. If it doesn't work, then we'll just move the crib into her new room, and try again in a couple of months. I'd like her to be in the junior bed before the new baby arrives. I don't want any jealousy issues.

I have all sorts of plans for new toys and stuff for her birthday and for the "big girl" switch. I would love to just go out and buy a bunch of stuff now, but I'm going to wait until after her birthday, so I can see what she gets for gifts before I run out and buy stuff. One thing for sure that we'll buy her will be a sandbox with a lid for the yard.

I'm planning her birthday by myself, because, of course, Armondo isn't going to be around for the planning, but will be home for the party. We're going to have two parties. One will be with friends, and the other will be for family.

How does this sound?
Saturday, party from 3-5pm, cake at 4pm. Rainbow theme. Guests wear head-to-toe all one colour. Rainbow cupcakes. Rainbow colour balloons.

Sunday, family dinner. Free cake from local grocery store.

Short, simple, to the point.

***

I'm so sick with this pregnancy. It's just as bad as the last time. I had this wishful thinking that I wasn't sick in the beginning. I was so wrong.

I'm thankful though. Being sick means I'm pregnant. I'm blessed to even BE pregnant. So many women I know either can't get pregnant, or have major problems getting pregnant. It also seems like a lot of women around right now are having miscarriages.

It makes me feel a little guilty. I know so many women, so many WONDERFUL women who can't have children. Women who LOVE children so much, but can't conceive. What makes me able to have children when these women cannot? I'm so happy about being pregnant, yet I bitch about being sick. I feel like a jerk sometimes. When I talk to these women, I feel so bad anytime I talk about my pregnancy. I feel like maybe they might think I'm gloating, or rubbing it in their face that it's so "easy, he only has to look at me." I'm sorry. But I'm also thankful. And I know I'm lucky and blessed.

But, it brings up something else that really pisses me off...

Ok. OBVIOUSLY, I'm fertile. As soon as I made up my mind to get pregnant, and once I had the timing right, I got pregnant. Twice. In ten years of having sex.

Why is it that in Canada, where medical is cheap and birth control is easily and cheaply available, are there women having unwanted babies? We have sex-ed in schools, there's "planned parenthood", you can just walk into the health unit and grab handfuls of condoms, as well as buy birth control for $5 a month. My doctor gave me 6 months worth of "sample" birth control when I was a teenager, and then gave me three more months worth a couple of years later when I was strapped for cash.

Why are there unwanted babies? Why is our foster care system overloaded? STOP HAVING UNPROTECTED SEX! IT'S REALLY EASY TO PREVENT UNWANTED BABIES! And for those of you who have used a particular type of birthcontrol to have it fail, it might be a good idea to switch to something else, instead of continuing to use it and have a third unplanned pregnancy. (In this particular case, the first pregnancy was unplanned and without protection, the second one was with an IUD and ended with a miscarriage, and the third was with an IUD and ended up producing a healthy, yet pre-mature baby, who wasn't planned.) Sorry, I'm done my rant.

***

I'm happy that the house if off the market. It's such a relief. I can relax now. The house isn't perfectly clean, and it's ok. I don't have to worry about someone showing up in an hour to look at it. I can bring my barbies out of storage and put them on display again. I can clutter up my office nook again. I can get ready for the big girl room switch and freshen up the baby's room, because I know I'll be here for at least a year. And I think it's all part of God's master plan. I don't think we were really meant to move to that particular town we were thinking of. I mean, if the sinking of the ferry up there wasn't a sign, I don't know what is. But we're going to go visit up there sometime this summer. Armondo actually still has some stuff in his work locker that he left up there 'cause we thought we'd be up there by now.

I still want to move. I think we need a bigger house. One more room would be good. Another bathroom would help too. We're still planning on moving next year, but we're going to fix the roof and fix some flooring issues by next year. And I don't think we'll be moving north. We'll probably head east.

Another good thing about not moving is that I can make friends now. I've met some people lately whom I have wanted to befriend, but didn't bother because I thought we were moving. But now I can just invite them over and hang out. It feels good!

***

And now I must clean the kitchen, then go to bed. Who knows how much sleep Cherry will let me have tonight?!?

SAHM recap.

Today was my first day jumping back into SAHM. Here's the recap.


Had to get up several times last night to deal with various pets and the baby.

Was extremely tired this morning when we got up.

The first nap wasn't long enough.

Cleaned the bathroom. Including using an old toothbrush to scrub parts of the sink and toilet during the second nap.

Threw up due to pregnancy sickness.

Cleaned the kitchen.

Need to clean the kitchen again.

The house is still a disaster.

Did I mention I was tired?

Heading to bed for 8pm tonight.



But you know what? I'm happier than a pig in muck. I was meant to do this.

It's Picture Time!

It's been a week for pictures!
Our cheeky little babe refusing to let me put her pants on her, but being oh so cute!


Some nice times spent in the garden!



Recipe for Happy Baby:

Take
1 part sippy cup,
1 part arrowroot cookie,
1 baby,

Throw them all in a diaper box and get:Happy Baby! (with cookie all over her face)


I tried colouring with Cherry for the first time the other day.

The crayons never connected with the paper.



She was happy though!



Today we said buh-bye to Da-da as he headed off for a three week stint of cooking on a fishing boat.

Then, we met up with the lovely, beautiful, and talented Tricia, who is visiting from WAY UP NORTH, and we went to the town with the goats on the roof.
For real, see?



They even have T-Shirts with drawings of goats on the roof. (that's Tricia)
And we took some silly pictures too, but Cherry didn't quite "get it" with the whole head through the hole thing.

Geez Louise.

The previous post was just a glimpse into the hell that has been the last 24 hours.

Our toilet has been leaking a little bit for awhile, and the constant wiping of pee-water was getting to me, so I requested that Armondo replace the wax seal and put a better flange on the toilet.

Well, he started the task last night, and what started as a small repair, became a full out floor reno. The wood under the toilet was all rotten and all needed to be replaced. Not wanting to do a half-assed job, he also re-inforced the existing joists with new 2x4s and made sure the whole thing was level. He got this far at 10pm tonight:


And then a pipe broke and water started gushing all over the place. So now, our water is turned off, because there is no where to go at 10pm at night to pick up plumbing parts.

I have been peeing and pooing in a bucket for 24 hours now. I now have to go to the gas station to pick up some bottled water, because we have exactly 6 ounces of tap water sitting in Armondo's water bottle. And we're using baby and travel wipes to wash our hands!

My Man is awesome, none of this is his fault. He's been working tirelessly for many, many hours. But still, I am not a happy camper. In fact, I'd be happier if I WAS camping!

Wordless Wednesday.

The Date.

Oh, it was nice! Just the hubby and I, munching on yummy food at one of our favourite restaurants, then going to watch a movie that's part of my favourite comic book empire.

It was weird though. I really got into the movie, and there was more than once where, for half a second I thought to myself "Turn the movie down, you'll wake the baby!" It freaked me out that I would think such a thing! I mean, that's weird, right?

L.B. is totally awesome for looking after Cherry so we could go out. She's a great friend. She's great for other reasons too, but especially awesome for watching the kid for FREE! Everyone needs a friend like L.B.

***

Ok, so the other day, my old TV/Film acting instructor came into the hardware store and came through my till, and I'm all "Hey, I saw you on 'The L Word' playing a waiter. Have you had any good roles lately?" And he says "Um, well.. have you seen 'The Fog'?" And, of course, I haven't, 'cause I don't watch scary movies anymore....

Anyway, stupid, modest prick, is

IN THE OPENING SCENE OF X-MEN, PLAYING JEAN GREY'S DAD!!!

Um, hello?!? Yeah, maybe that'd be a good role you could have mentioned, silly!

And on a similar note, the bald kid that's in the movie, you know, the IMPORTANT kid... well, he's played by Cameron Bright, and that kid lives in my town. He's a big star!

And the movie was filmed in several locations, two of which were REALLY close to where I live. And no, I didn't know about the extras' call until the day of, and I was either pregnant or had a newborn at the time, so I didn't get to be in it, but I KNOW people who were. Does that make me cool?!?

***

Ok, so we watched X-Men 3 last night, and if you haven't seen it, then STOP READING HERE! TOTAL SPOILERS AHEAD!!! GO AWAY, STOP READING NOW!!

Spoilers!!

Spoilers!!

(Are you gone yet?)

Ok, so for those of you who have already seen it, I want some discussion here!

1.) Is this it? Is this the last movie in the series?
I think it must be, I mean, three movies is tidy. Anymore, and it can get messy, boring and lame. And really, I mean, can you REALLY make another movie without all of those major characters? And is Prof X just going to have the same VOICE, but a different body (if you didn't watch the scene after the credits, then you've missed out.)

2.)Do you remember the comic or the cartoon? Rouge was one of the most powerful X-Men. Maybe not as powerful as Jean/ Phoenix, but probably at least a "Class 4". It seems lame that she would just "cure" herself before she realized her full mutant potential (flying, etc.). Of course, it could very well be that the "cure" doesn't last forever (as hinted by Magneto moving the chess piece) and she could get her powers back, and figure out her other ones. And now that that "cure" kid is at the school, if she WAS to get her power back, she could just hook up with him, 'cause she wouldn't harm him. Either that, or he'd just have to hang around her and Bobby as they got it on! Oh, and yeah, if Rogue can wear gloves and not harm someone, then, couldn't she just figure out some sort of "dental dam" sort of thing to kiss Bobby with?

3.) What was WITH that dude who grew horns under his skin and could just rapid fire them all over the place?!?! Don't you think that was a little crazy, and perhaps a little unrealistic!?!?
(There I go again, thinking about how the TEETH on the talking turkeys is what is unrealistic!)

Anyway, I'd love your input! Esp. since all of you who have seen it, have been TOO CHICKEN to let any spoilers out! I've done it for you, now, we can talk about it!

Good/Bad

Good news: They REALLY loved the house.

Bad news: Not enough to make an offer. They thought the floor was too wonky. It's an old house, the floor is wonky. Can't do too much about it.

Good news: I asked for a cheese burger, Armondo dropped everything and is now making it.

Good news: For the first time in... well, for ever... Armondo and I are going out on a real date. Dinner and a movie! X-men 3, of course! Tomorrow night, the awesome LB is looking after Cherry for free, and we get to go out and do adult stuff! I'm very excited, let's hope I'm not sick.

Cherry Update:

SHE'S WALKING EVERYONE!! That's right, the child WALKS!

Also, she's really smart. I say "Where's your ball?" and she grabs it. "Where's your fish?" and she grabs it. "Where's your juice?" and she grabs it.

"Duck", "dog", "dada", "cat", "hi", and possibly "mama", "what's that", and "fishy" are in her vocabulary.

She's clapping her hands now too, which seemed to take a while for her to get the hang of.

And her top front teeth? They have a big gap, just like her mama!
Bathtime fun

Don't get too excited, but....

I called our realtor two days ago and told him we wanted to take the house off of the market. He said ok, and told me he'd put the wheels in motion.

Yesterday, the realty team calls and says that a bunch of people want to see the house over the next few days. I was at work when the call came in, and Armondo took the call, agreeing to show the house until the end of the weekend, with Monday being the absolute cut off for any showings.

So, the people who were supposed to look at the house yesterday didn't show up. That totally pissed Armondo off (I was at work, so didn't really know about it). He half-flipped out on the realty team, because the people who decided not to show up apparently weren't interested because the house was too far "north" from the town they're from. COULDN'T THEY HAVE FIGURED THAT OUT BEFORE THEY MADE AN APPOINTMENT?!?

Anyway, a couple of women (sisters? friends? lovers?) came to see the house today, and instead of taking off, we just hung out around the yard, and Armondo took the dogs for a walk around the block. They women stayed for quite awhile. They checked out the interior, the back yard, and even asked to look in the locked shed (which no-one has ever done). I overheard them saying how much they liked the back yard, and one of them even told me straight to my face that they loved the house.

So, after they left, Armondo and I started giddily talking/dreaming about how it would be funny if the house actually sold two days after we were taking it off the market. We agreed not to get our hopes up though, and we put Cherry down for a nap, I changed into PJs and I was headed for a nap too.

Then the phone rang.

The women wanted to come look at the house again. Right away. In 30 minutes. Armondo said that we couldn't leave the house this time though, because the baby was sleeping, and apparently that was fine and they're on their way. Right now.

Cross your fingers!