Survival

I've lived in Calgary most of my 35 years, and although we don't experience real hurricanes, I can say that I have survived a hurricane of the human kind. She blew in...stirred everything up....left some damage (repair may or may not happen)...and now she's left. All I have to say to that is, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

A sigh of relief & rejoice is heard throughout the land. Moving on.

I did some planting over the weekend. Of course, on the day I did this there was a gala force wind, but I so badly wanted to get it done that I just carried on. (weather today - sunny and no wind....figures). I'm doing some flowers & some edibles. Tomatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, asparagus... so we'll see how those go. I'm going to do more food type stuff... but this is just a start. For flowers I did things that were recommended as very easy to grow, and will come back each year....bleeding hearts have always been a favorite of mine, so they went in...and some other things that looked great but off the top of my head, cant remember their names. I still have room in my flower bed....so I need to get some more bulbs in the ground.... and then in a week or so (weather pending), I'll put in some colorful bedding plants to really pretty it up. Should look really good when everything is popping up. Pool will go up in a week or so. Bought a larger one than we've had in previous years as now we have a bigger yard...and the kids are bigger....so bigger pool. As we're sticking close to home this summer, between the pool & Calaway Park passes, that should keep kids entertained.

I cant believe that it's already so close to summer. That was a very fast school year.....hoping it slows down during summer so we can enjoy it.

6 weeks left.....

The count down is on until the end of the school year. 6 weeks left!! The mass field trip forms have started coming home and the newsletters regarding next school year. Once Easter Break is over, end of the school year really sneaks up on me. I really look forward to it. Last summer was spent in a constant state of stress & uncertainty regarding the move...so this summer is going to be a welcome 2 months of r&r. We dont have any huge summer plans, staying around home & getting some yard stuff done. Which is fine with me. With Cody working and Keith really busy with the business, it will be good to have a low key summer. I'm not sure what my work hours will be like during the summer. Will most likely depend on Cody's work schedule as he is my babysitter. But I doubt I'll have to go in very often, so tanning on the deck it is :)

Mother's Day was yesterday and it was wonderful. Keith and the kids made a wonderful brunch, I was showered with gifts, cards and lots of hugs & kisses. Keith bbq'd dinner...YUM! It was a great day!!

One Down.....

So, as mentioned a few posts ago, I am doing the 100 book challenge. Despite a crazy busy weekend, I managed to finish 'Pride & Prejudice'. It was a great story - although I found it a bit tough at times as the vocab was from like a million years ago...to which I became very thankful that people do not speak like that anymore LOL
I think it's once of those, "glad I read it, but unlikely I'll read it again". There are a few more though on the book list that I'm also certain are from that same era, but maybe now that I have some experience with it, the upcoming ones wont be so difficult.
So, the next book on the list says 'The Lord of the Rings'....which I'm taking to mean the trilogy. So, I downloaded it onto my iPad yesterday and began it last night. I'm actually really looking forward these ones as I've seen the movies and loved them, I'm looking forward to the books. I'll keep you posted!

Wicked...

Since getting together with my fabulous husband, he has made me a better person - a happier person. He has taught me to be strong, independent and has shown me that I am smart, deserving of love and am a good person. Since being with him, I am more confident and rarely say the word 'cant' anymore. I love him so much! On a lighter note, one thing that he introduced me to is the world of musicals. Sure, before him I knew they existed, but I had never attended one until I married him. There are some I've seen that I LOVED and some that I'm glad I've seen, but probably wont see again. Our daughters have followed our lead and also now share a great love for musicals. Keith took them to see 'The Wizard of Oz' in January... and now in July, I get to take them to see....



YAY!!!!! I've seen it before when Keith and I traveled to the UK for a holiday a couple of years ago. The moment I saw it I knew that if it ever came to Calgary, come hell or high water, I would take them. So, my fabulous hubby bought us FANTASTIC seats...to Wicked in July and then Beauty And The Beast in January....then he and the boys are heading to see the Blue Man Group next March.

I cant wait to take my girls to this! We've already decided that a pre-wicked shopping trip is needed for new sun dresses & flip flops (as the show is in July) and dinner after wards will also be a must! Cant wait!!

Proud Mommy!

For the past few months, the children & staff at Bearspaw School have been working on hard on a very special performance. They have joined forces with the Calgary Opera and have been working on an Opera... 'Bearspaw Time'. It is such a huge deal that the media coverage is crazy & they had to hold 4 shows....2 matinees and 2 evening dinner performances. In order to involve all the students, they split them into 2 choirs, which meant that in order for me to see all my kids, I get to see it twice. Cole & Brooklyn (Zachary did not want to participate as this was way too much for him to handle) are in Choir A and Emilie & Morgan are in Choir B. I'm attending both afternoon performances. Today, Zachary & I went and watched Cole and Brooklyn...it was awesome! Of course, the element of surprise was great as the kids had kept all the music and the story line completely under wraps -- so tomorrow, it might be a bit lacking as I already know how it ends ;) Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going on my own to watch Emilie and Morgan. The night time performances are opposite their day time performance (so tonight Emilie & Morgan hit the stage - and tomorrow...well you get the idea). Thankfully, the costume was simple....blue jeans, a plain white shirt (of any style) and a bandanna (any color and anywhere on your body). Very simple & cute!
You sort of assume the older kids will do well as, well, they're the older kids. It's easy for them to behave through a 50 minute performance, remember their lines & do a good job. But for my wee ones.... watching Miss Brooklyn today was definitely something I will never forget. She is a lover of the stage. Not only did she remember all her words & the actions....she has some swagger. She has some definite flair - you'd think she'd spent her life performing. We'll have to check pursue that as she is already sad that tomorrow the Opera is over.
Cole, of course, is also a very animated guy and he added his own personality into the performance. He did a great job!
I'm so excited to see Emilie & Morgan perform it tomorrow :) Morgan has been so excited and Emilie is a lot like Brooklyn in that if there is a stage and someone to listen, a performance must happen. I am ALWAYS proud of my children....this week is just a little bit more :)

How I Feel.....

Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words.... so, this picture pretty much sums it up. There is something to be said for the power of the sun. We get pretty gorgeous sunrises & sunsets in our new digs. (Not sure if I can still consider it new as we've been here now for 7 months). I love it out here! Even with the construction going on - honestly, I barely even notice it.
I'm starting to plan for what flowers I want to put out. The new patio furniture I want. Plans for the yard..... plans for summer....

I believe that people are responsible for making their own happiness. If you are not happy with how things are going in our life, you need to make the right choices/decisions to make things how you want them. Some of those decisions are easier than others. I've made some of these decision. Some of them were one decision - cut and dry. Others, have been small choices that then led to the big change. Sometimes, in the process of making these changes, I would wonder if I was doing the right thing...for me...for my children.... interestingly enough, they were absolutely the right choices.

Well it's bound to be an exciting week at our house. My 5 youngest are involved in an awesome musical production at their school. There is local media coverage and everything so I'm going to post some of it up here in a couple of days when the performances have happened. Also, looking forward to a great weekend with friends. And with this gorgeous weather we're having.....Happy Spring!

A Great Day

I think there are few days that are actually 'Great'.... not saying that days are always bad, but usually just normal, good days. Today, was pretty great!
It started with 2 hours of complete me time this morning. This did require me waking up (no alarm clock) at 7am, but when I tried to decide whether to try and fall back asleep or to get up, I thought to myself "I would have complete peace", so up I got. While my Van Houtte was brewing, I let the dogs out, watched the dozens of birds eating at the bird feeders, let the dogs back in, took my steaming cup of good morning, my recently purchased copy of 'Pride and Prejudice", a blanket that was my Grandpa's and on the couch I landed. 2 glorious hours of reading, watching the sun rise.... when a day starts like that can it go bad? Probably, but not today.
By 9:30am I had to wake the kids up as we had errands to run. Shoe shopping for the three youngest as last weeks massive house cleaning left them without sneakers that fit. So since I also to take a child to Chestermere for a sleepover birthday party and a gift was needed, we were headed to WalMart. Very easy & productive trip. Took our road trip to Chestermere to drop off the sleepover child. Then home we came with the task of doing as little as possible once the homemade chili was simmering on the stove. The rest of the day was basically reading, watching the kids play outside (YAY!) and stirring the chili once in a while. It was just a great day!

Book Challenge!

So I came across this thing on Facebook where it asked you to take a survey on which books you've read of this list of 100 top books. I do not think there was one that I've read. So, I've made the goal to read EVERY book on the list -- in order -- which my girl T has informed me is going to be work :) She's going to do it with me and E....so at least I'm not in this alone.
The first book on the list is....


I've heard of this...I've heard there is also a movie version (.... ok, I wont).... and I was relieved when I stopped at Chapters today that it's not a very long book and it was only $10.99

So, tonight I will begin. Hopefully it's an exciting read...if not, you'll hear about it!

Spring....Winter....Spring...Winter.....

I have lived in Calgary most of my life and it still pisses me off when the weather freaks out. +13 a few days ago....today is now -2 and an absolute blizzard outside. I'm a summer girl. Born in the summer. Love to lay out in the sun. Never say 'it's too hot'.... perhaps living in the snow capital of the world (or that's what I think) might not be a good match for me. Alas, this is where we are.

Yesterday we took on 'operation disaster zone'....a.k.a. the girls' bedroom. Good lord! It was so bad that to just walk in and clean it up would have been impossible. So, we hauled everything except furniture upstairs to the living room and the task began. 8 bags of trash later and almost that many loads of laundry - a beautiful & clean room is born. I've threatened them with their lives if they ever trash it like that again - we'll see how long it lasts before I have to lay down the lay again ;)

All better.....for now

Zachary's EEG went well yesterday. It was more comfortable this time as it was not our first. Still, I always worry that he wont fall asleep like they need or he'll fidget too much and pull the wires off his head. But he did very well. Fell asleep, did everything that was asked of him, now we just wait for the results. Should be within the week -- lets see how much sleep I do or do not get in that time. Yes, we already know that he has epilepsy, but there has to be something that is making his behave the way he does. Not that I want anything to be wrong with him, but it would at least be comforting if they find something so that we can deal with it instead of going back to the drawing board (again) to figure out what is going on with him. So we wait.
As for the rest of the kids - Morgan and Brooklyn have been sick for a couple of days....Morgan is better and back at school and it appears that Brooklyn is better too :) Now just waiting for Zachary to wake up and hopefully we'll be back to a normal day.

Early Bird Gets the Nap....

Well there is not going to be enough coffee in the world to get me through today. Zachary is having another EEG this afternoon, so in preparation for that, he had to stay awake until midnight last night and then we had to get up at 5am so that he is good a tired when they do his EEG at 12:30pm. Last night he kept asking "mom is it bed time yet?"...of course, on the one night I need him to stay up, he's asking to go to bed. We made it until midnight though....barely. He crashed about 2 minutes to midnight on the couch, to which I snuck off to my own comfy bed. But having the alarm clock go off 5 hours later was less than delightful. So now he and I are up watching a movie...just need to keep him awake until this EEG. The last time we had one of these, we were only at the hospital for about an hour, so I'm hoping to then get home and have a nap as I'm going out to dinner with K and some guys from work tonight. It will be nice, but I'm going to have to drink some pretty strong coffee and catch a nap to avoid falling asleep at the dinner table later :)

I'm Just Me

This song has always been a favorite of mine. Mostly as it's just a great song & one of my most favorite uncles does an amazing job singing it, but lately it is more an anthem for my life. I'm just me. I'm not afraid of being true to myself, despite the ruffling of other peoples feathers. I cant imagine living a life that does not make me happy. I wonder how many people are living a life to please others? I know many. I wonder if they asked themselves what they actually wanted or how they wanted to live their lives....and if they knew that no one would judge (or better yet, not care what other people think, which is the path I took), if they would actually be honest with themselves. Too many people are living a life that they told to be living. They make choices based on what other people will think of them. Doubtful that it is even close to what they want. There is constant proof of this when they say 'we cant do that' 'we're not suppose to do that'. How sad to live a life where you can not be your real self. I had to make a choice. To continue to live a life of hypocrisy and unhappiness...but keeping the people around me happy or to live the life that I wanted, a life that makes me happy and makes me a better person, mother & wife - but came with the consequence of having people turn their backs on me and treat me differently. But when you are living a life that makes you happy and that you know is the life I both wanted and was meant to have - the opinion of others mattes very little.
So I'm just me..... but I'm a pretty great me!

Why Dont They Listen.....

After being in our new home 6 months, the phone call that I knew would at some point come....came. I'm not exactly sure why the message was not sent from our last location...you know, the one that said "The Young family have been asked to not be contacted". But I guess they had to try. After the first phone call with a very snotty person (mind you her attitude changed quickly when she realized I was not going to be bullied into doing what they "think is best for us") I was fairly certain that we would not hear anything further as I was pretty honest. But oh no..... two other people called within 2 days of each other, the last of which claiming that since I seem to have an attitude, perhaps it would be better if they spoke with my husband.... LMAO! I was quick to let them know that if they thought I had an attitude, they'd never survive K. It's now been about 4 days since the last brave one called...funny how when you start mentioning 'harassment' and 'legal action' that they finally will leave us alone. I don't call them every 2 days asking them why they go and wanting to fight with them about what they do and do not believe in.... so don't do it to me.

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Back to Work I go!

Yep you read it correctly....I am back in the working world! Since Keith started the company, I've been doing various bits of the work from home. When you have as many kids as we do and especially that the youngest three are so close together, it made almost no sense to have me go into the office. But, now that they are all in school in the afternoons and we have brand new office space downtown (which is about a 15 min drive), I've started working the afternoons at the office. I LOVE IT! Not quite sure what will happen in the summer....but come September, I'll be working full time - cant wait!
Keith and I work very well together. I don't think a lot of spouses can do that..spend all day together at work and then come home and deal with each other there too. You definitely have to be able to distinguish between your work relationship and home relationship. Which both of us are very good at doing.
It's fun working in the office with him though. I get to see him more - although not much more. I'm absolutely getting more done as there are too many distractions at home and with being in the office, of course, I can take on more duties of the business.
Plus, with my hubby being the owner of the company, if I need a day off for appointments or a sick kid...or have to leave early for something....it's not like he's going to tell me no :) And the shopping trip he sent me on yesterday for new work clothes didn't hurt either :)

One More Sleep

K has been out of town on a business trip since Tuesday. It's nice to have a break once in a while, but after about the second day, I want him back. As much as I miss him though, with everything that's gone on lately with his brother, I'm glad that he was able to get away. The training conference was only 3 days of the trip, so yesterday & today they've been doing some sight seeing and shopping. He's with 4 other co-workers...a couple of which are close friends, so I know he's in good hands. I think the trip was good timing. Yes, he's swamped with work..... but to have a few extra days in Miami to just get some r&r.. I'm glad that he was able to do that.
I try not to hover over him. I know him too well though. He's likely to just bury himself in work and I guess I just worry that at some point, loosing Phil is going to hit him and I'm afraid that I wont be there when that happens. As much as I hope to never have to see him that sad again, I don't want him to be alone should be feel that way again.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. This is the first Super Bowl in 8 years that I wont watch the game with K. Usually we have friends come over, tons of food and a friendly little wager. But even though we're watching the game 4800 km away from each other.... we still have a friendly little wager :) GO STEELERS!!

I Do Not Like Roller Coasters.....

When attending an amusement park, I keep myself safely planted to the ground. I do not think that it was intended for humans (or at least this human) to be tossed about in the air, or going a million miles an hour while strapped into a tiny cart. Nope - not for me. But I've determined that I'm not a fan of the emotional roller coasters either.
K's brother passed away 2 weeks ago after a long battle with a rare lung disease. Even after a double lung transplant in 2005, he did ok for a while, but then last year the lungs started to reject and he spent the last year very sick. Although, it was very sad, it's comforting to know that he is not suffering anymore. He's definitely in a better place, so it's more that we are sad for his wife and children that are left to piece their lives back together. My SIL's life for so long has been taking care of P, that now she's not sure what to do. The funeral was last week and we spent 3 days in Edmonton for it. It's such a strange situation to go from crying (or comforting those around you) to then laughing about a funny story that someone would tell about P to then going back to sadness..... exhausting to say the least.
So, now that the funeral and all that comes with that is done, my SIL is left to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Whether to move. Find a job. Get her bills in order. So she is coming for a visit this weekend to that we can help her to get organized. It's a crappy subject all the way around, but it's nice to know that we are some what helpful.
If anything, this situation really made me thankful that I have K and I told him he was never allowed to die. Doubtful that he'll be able to keep that promise, but hopefully he'll be able to keep it for many many many years to come.

The First Step

Despite the fact that at the time & shortly there after this feels like torture, I have always liked pilates. Not sure why....maybe it's that good burn you feel...or just the fact that if it hurts it's got to be working right? Well regardless, it was my first step towards my goal. Back on drinking what feels like 8 gallons of water a day....but really it's not that much. But with that comes going to the bathroom a million times a day....but my thought is that the more that comes out the better right? I rarely watch Dr.Phil but yesterday I watched him as he was talking about the '17 Day Diet'. It appears that it really works so I went online and ordered the book...so when it arrives, we'll give that a try. Until then, it's eating better, pilates, lots of water and possibly getting a work out disk for the XBOX Kinect... that ought to get me through until the weather is better and I can go walking outside.
I'm not sure if I want to put the pressure on to loose X lbs by X date....because I disappoint easily and would be likely to eat back anything I'd lost if I didnt reach my goal as planned. They way I look at it is anything lost is better than not...and as long as I look better & fit into smaller clothes by summer (spring would be better), thats good enough for me :)

Back Into Pumpkins....

This morning (well actually it began last night) we all turned back into pumpkins as the alarm clocks were set, the school lunches were made, kids up and out the door with the sunrise...and now here at 2pm, an empty & quiet house for me. Yes, happy that I have my 'me' time back...but already missing the little monkeys. Amazing how fast a house can go from 8 kids all bouncing off the walls with holiday excitement to just me and my 'furry children'.
Today's is my baby's 5th birthday. Where did those 5 years go? I suppose now that she's 5, I can no longer use the phrase "I'd like to lose my baby weight". Crap!
She is quite the little human (babies are 'tiny humans' so I guess she'll now join the little human category). Very smart - school wise and in the world. She was quite excited to take her birthday party invitations to school today to deliver to her friends...only the girls though. Thankfully at 5 years old, boys are still yucky.
I've tried to turn my emotions around. Instead of being sad that she's not a baby, I'm trying to go about it with being proud at what a wonderful 5 year old she is. It has it's moments, but I guess I'm just a sap.
It's nice to have the house back to normal and the schedule back. I miss Keith already. He really stuck to his promise of not working during the Christmas - New Years break. But it seemed like New Years Day a switch went off, and I've hardly seen him since. He works hard and I know that aside from him not really having a choice, he does enjoy it and he is so good at what he does...and although I'm so thankful for how hard he works, I do get my selfish moments sometimes and miss him. But that just makes that time he his home very special.
Well I'm off to do some planning for Brooklyn's birthday party this weekend. Always fun planning a princess party for 6-8 little girls!