Yay for mail :)

Lloyd just ran to the store for milk and checked mail and yay my new issue of Homeschooling Horizons is here!! It is such a GREAT magazine :) I will definitely be resubscribing to it :) To that and Live Free Learn Free - great magazines whether you homeschool or not - HH always has great articles and ideas for projects....

Anyway Lloyd says I should go soak in the bath for the evening so I am off to do just that...and read my magazines (I bought Redbook yesterday too) and maybe a chapter or two of 'The Girls'

What are you all up to this evening? None of my plans for today actually happened lol.....Ah well there was nothing important......nothing that can't be done another day!

I hope your week is off to a great start!

5 a day? Or more? Or less?

One of the things I am working on at the moment is increasing my intake of fruit......I have always eaten a lot of vegetables.....I LOVE vegetables.....but I am not keen on fruit....any of them......unless of course they come in a pie with ice cream or custard ....or CREAM.....mmmmmmm

So um yes...I want to eat more fruit so last week I started increasing my fruit intake.......now I am eating 2 bananas a day and 2 peaches.....and tomorrow when I go to sobeys I plan to buy some other fruits.....

Today as well as my bananas and peaches, I have had several cherry tomatoes and a dark green leafy salad with dinner......and some new potatoes although some don't consider them a vegetable but more of a starch.....

I am not eating as much as I need to but I plan to be eating 7 portions of fruit and veg a day within a few weeks......I normally have more vegetables than I had today but we had a tuna salad with new potatoes for dinner so only had the salad.....

I was reading the new Canada Food Guide today but I think I actually prefer the literature they put out in the UK.

Anyway - I need someone to nag me occasionally so every few days or weeks please ask me how much I have had and tell me to go eat some more!

Hilarious!!

Ok for those of you in the UK...does this bring back memories or WHAT???? It's so bad it makes me cringe!!! The dancing! The hair! The clothes!!!! The song!!! Wahhhh! And Terry Wogan!!!! Hilarious!!!

I can even remember where I was when I first watched this! It was 'A Song for Europe' where the UK public get to vote for the song they think should enter the Eurovision Song Contest (cheesy song contest run every year across Europe).

I was in the sitting room in the house in West Coker....Mum was upstairs washing her hair in the bathroom and all of a sudden she ran down the stairs and into the sitting room all bent over with a towel on her wet hair falling off and her hair dripping wet! She was shouting "Thats it!!! Thats the one!!!"...

Well she was right...Bucks Fizz won Song For Europe AND the Eurovision Song Contest and then became quite a successful band!

I remember singing and dancing to this song and I wanted the skirts that undid just like the girls (halfway through the song the boys pull the girls skirts off)

Too funny! Oh the 80's it was such a wonderful decade and so much fun but boy didn't we all have just the worst taste ever????

Robbie.................

This song was on the radio at 6:50am on January 28th 1998......I wa son my way into hospital to be induced......Susannah was born that afternoon, 19 days late....

Nickelback.....

Lynne!

Congratulations on selling your house...I can't wait to hear about the new place! How exciting...I hope Luke will be happy in his new school :) He's such a sweetheart! Thinking of you!

Two Must-reads.....................

I finished Jeannette Walls book 'The Glass Castle' on Saturday......this fabulous book is un-putdownable! You can read about this book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Alex-Awards/dp/0743247531

I have read many many websites and interviews about the author and her childhood.....and I have heard numerous people talk about child abuse and that her parents were 'hateful'....but so many times in the book I can actually relate to her Mother! Not in the neglectful way.....not feeding her children.....but in many of the things she says and does.......it was very interesting.....

Yesterday morning I was speaking to my Mom on the phone and she was telling me about a book being read by a tv book club in the UK (Richard and Judys book club).....Mom said this book (written by a Canadian) sounded excellent and she thought I'd enjoy it...so while we were in Chapters yesterday (buying Bibles!!!) I picked up a copy of this book.

The book is 'The Girls' by Lori Lansons - a fictional book about two sisters...cranioplagus twins (conjoined at the head).....I started reading it yesterday and so far it is WONDERFUL......the first chapter actually mentions some real cases of siamese twins including a very sad story of Siamese toddlers named Marie and Marnie.......

You can read about 'The Girls' here:

http://www.hour.ca/books/books.aspx?iIDArticle=7743

Or at the Randomhouse website:

http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780676977950

If you are looking for a good book to read then pick up one of the above books - you won't regret it!

splodge, splat, WOW!!!

Sam had so much fun painting this morning...so did Abigail who knows all about mixing colours to get new colours...she spends her time telling me how to make purple and green and pink..........

still here...........................

Well Derek is still here working and the lightbulb has obviously gone out in the well because we now have NO WATER!!!!! So what did I decide would be fun???? PAINTING!!!! Duh me didn't think about clearing up afterwards lol!!!

Oh well it wasn't too bad...some baby wipes and kitchen spray and kitchen roll and it cleaned up fine.....now I just have about a million paintings drying all over the kitchen and table......they had so much fun and Abigail enjoyed blowing bubbles in the paint to make special designs........

Sam is definitely ready for toilet training.....he just came up and said 'me-bum' and patted himself on the bum to let me know he needs changing! Too funny! I need a potty though and all I can find are those stupid fancy ones...I just want a simple plain old style potty.......

Now I have to wait for Lloyd to come home and get the water started which means I can't go into town until later...so we may just go without the children tonight.........that way I may get a relaxing coffee in Starbucks while we are there!

Plans plans plans.....

So what do you all have planned for this week? This week is looking busy for me.......a little too busy because in winter I like to hibernate....

Derek should be arriving any minute...he is coming to do some more drywalling and at some point this week or next he is coming to redo all our ceiling in the hallways.......he's doing a 'California Knock Down' effect............I don't think he will be here too long this morning...hopefully not anyway...

After Derek leaves then I have to go into town...I have to pop into Parentlink to see a friend and hopefully let the children play while I have a coffee! I have to run to the mall to get a few last minute things for tomorrow (Abigails birthday) and for Valentines Day.....

I just ordered Abby's cake...she wanted a Sponge Bob cake for some weird reason as she is not a big Sppngebob fan...maybe because she met him in Florida!

So tomorrow is Abigails birthday....she also has pre-school and the girls have dance class in the evening....in the morning I have a doctors appt and have to collect her cake.......

Wednesday....I am sooooooo looking forward to Wednesday! On Wednesday I am meeting a friend at a local restaurant! I have never met her before but have 'known' her for YEARS!!!! She doesn't live far from me either but for one reason or another we have just never met! So on Wednesday we are planning to meet for brunch locally :) I can't wait to meet her finally!

On Thursday I am volunteering at Abigails preschool as she is having her Valentine party there that day! The weather is supposed to be great so I am planning to go into town for a walk by Broadmoor Lake with another friend..who I haven't seen in AGES because she's been busy moving house and we were away and then there was Christmas and everything.......

Laurie has a field trip tomorrow to go and see the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra...and for part of the performance he gets to join them and play the recored with his class....he is looking so forward to that...he loves the recorder and is really good at it!

Thursday Chris has a field trip to the Odyssium which is funny as he would have been there Wednesday if he was still homeschooling....on Thursday his workshop is about Africa and they are taking part in an African Martial Arts workshop....I didn't know martial arts were an African 'thing'............

Chris ended up sleeping over at his friends house on Saturday night....he called from the hockey game and asked to sleep over and then said that the family had invited him to church on Sunday.......I thought that was funny!! lol Then he phoned Sunday lunchtime to say they had asked him to another hockey game......he eventually came home just after 9pm having phoned at 8pm to say he was having supper there!!! To be honest by that time I wasn't particularly happy! I didn't shout or anything but I did say that in future he should be home when he says he will be home and that on school nights when he hasn't been home all day he needs to be home earlier.....he obviously had a very late night Saturday and was tired and cranky this morning hence the fact I don't like him being out late two nights in a row......luckily despite being a teen he doesn't answer back or anything - he just kind of mopes about the place and you KNOW he is tired and not happy......luckily none of my older three have EVER answered back or mouthed off at me.......my younger two....well they are totally different personalities and I have no idea what they will be like as they get older....

Oh the delights of having a teenager!!! This morning at 7:45 Chris was walking around in one of Lloyds t-shirts with his hair a mess and not having brushed his teeth or anything....with 5 minutes before he had to leave....no idea why he was wearing Lloyds shirt....but I made him change. They all headed off for the bus in time and looking 'smart enough' anyway......thats the best I can hope for really lol!

Derek is late....grrrrrr

Next weekend is a three day weekend here :) Monday is 'Family Day' an Albertan holiday where most people get the day off to spend it with family doing 'family stuff'....I don't know what we are planning to do this year.....I guess it will depend on the weather.....in past years we have played mini golf at West Edmonton Mall......gone to Elk Island for BBQ's (yes at -14c!!!) gone to friends for dinner....and bowling I think......so we will do something but I don't know what!

Some friends have invited us over this weekend but I don't think we will go.....

We've bought Abigail a new bike for her birthday....Lloyd has to build it tonight. Hers is far too small now and we know she will get a lot of use out of this one this summer....for now she will have to ride it around the basement! She didn't know what she wanted and there was nothing else she needed, so despite it being February with several feet of snow on the ground, we decided a bike was the thing to get!

We may give it to her tonight though as Lloyd won't be here in the morning to see her get it!

The paint can I have been decorating for the staff at school is coming along really well - I'm really pleased with it...I'm filling it with candy and treats for Valentines Day so they can have it in the staff room...I've really enjoyed altering a paint can! I have two others to decorate now!


Well I think I will make some breakfast, throw some laundry on and then wash the floors....Where is Derek???? I have to go out later so I hope he arrives! I hate waiting on people

Oh...last night Lloyd and I watched The DaVinci Code....Lloyd had seen it before as he took Chris to see it in the theatres....Chris had read the book before he saw the movie.......I quite enjoyed it.....it made a lot of sense to me and my religious beliefs.....I KNOW Jesus Christ was a real man who existed...there is a lot of evidence that he lived and was killed on the cross (as many people were back then as it was a common way to execute people. I do believe Christ was mortal though and see no reason to believe he wouldn't have relationships with women - or marry.......and have children.

I know the DaVinci Code was fiction but it is based on research done in real life too....I also don't see why the fact Jesus married or had children would effect Christian Faith though......Catholicism maybe......but not Christianity in general.

I believe he was a rebel of his time...going against authority and making people see what was really important in life.....he was actually more like a Humanist IMO.

Anyway....it was a good movie that leaves you thinking deeply.........