Thursday flying by......

Lloyd left for work late today so he stayed and had coffee with me before he went....thats always a niceway to start the day compared to waking up when he has aready left...

I took Abgail to preschool and ten went into town with Sam to get a few things...we stopped at Grandma Lee's for chocolate milk and shared a cinnamon roll before heading back to Abigails preschool for the Valentine party.....Sam and I jined in with the parachute game at the end.....the frut platter I made for the party went down well -there is hardly anything left :) ..............Abgail came hme wit lts of treats and Valentines from he friends......

once home my Dad called to say that my Mum had her op yesterday and came home today! Still a little groffy from the anaesthetic!!!! I guess they needed the bed!!! So Dad is playing nurse I guess.....Mum had assumed she ould be in for the weekend! Dad said her tummy s very brised...hope you feel better soon Mum!

I did some laundry and vacuumed (I vacuum almost every day at some point...it's my favourite chore! and tidied my bedroom...cleaned the kids bathroom......spoke to Lloyd on the phone who met Darren for lunch today.....no news or gossip though!

Then the school phoned to say Laurie had a migraine so I drove down and picked him up and we just got back....he seems ok now and just made a tea for himself and a cup of coffee for me......

Lloyd is going out for drinks after work to say goodbye to a colleague who is leaving....they are going at 4:30pm but he only wants to stay an hour so he will only be a little late...he's picking dinner up for us on the way home :)

I bought some Disney and Florida scrapbooking supplies today so I can get started on our trip scrapbook......

Today has been a good day..I feel so much better...it was above freezing today woohoo!!! I went to twon in a t-shirt!!!! It's funny but back home you can't go out in just a t-shirt at 0c......but here after -25c 0c feels like a heatweave and all us Albertans head out in t-shirts and no jackets :)

It would be so nice if this was IT for winter.....but we still ave March to come and that is when we normally get the most snow.........so we can't put away the coats and snow boots just yet :( No matter what the Groundhog says!

We met :)

And so I met Val today....after years of emailing and chatting and planning to meet...we finally met! We met at the restaurant at the Esso garage which is just around the corner from my home really yet I had never been. I walked into the restaurant and was met by a lady with a big welcoming smile so Val was easy to spot!

It was so comfortable...it didn't feel like meeting a stranger at all! She had her gorgeous baby boy with her - who was fast asleep in his car seat having just had his injections.......The menu is vast for a roadside cafe...everything from steak to chinese to pizza to all day breakfasts....

I had cinnamon toast and coffee - VERY good coffee by the way! Sam had pancakes and Abigail had toast and bacon...I was still on breakfast really but Val had been out for the morning and was on lunch time lol so she had pizza and it looked really good!

Anyway we chatted about this and that....about people we knew and about acreage life......it was fun and I hope we do it again soon!

I think I may take Sam to that restaurant on Tuesdays when Abby is in preschool....and I think I may also go there now and then to write in peace!

My Dad just called to say that when my Mum got to the hospital this morning there was no bed for her so she had to wait 4 hours.....they called Dad this afternoon to say she finally went down to the Operating Room late afternoon and is now back on the ward.....Dad visited and said she seemed fine but drowsy from the anaesthetic still........he will call with an update tomorrow.

The children finish school early today so will be home soon.....although I am not sure who is coming home...whether Susie and Chris are going to their friends for a few hours or whether just Chris is......

Susie came home yesterday to say that her friends are starting a band and would like her to play the drums.....she asked if she could earn some extra money for a drum kit......I said I am NOT having a drum kit in this house lol.....but she said her friends parents have agreed she can leave it there for practice (are they insane???)

She's 9 and she wants to be in a band.....I know I know as a good parent I should be encouraging her but why the drums??????? I moved to this acreage for some peace and quiet!

I still have the most awful heartburn and indigestion imaginable...just awful .....off to take more Eno's and curl up and read until the kids get home....Lloyd is finishing work early hopefully.....we have plans for tonight :) I am looking forward to it :)

I hope you are all having a great Valentines Day! I am sat beside a card addressed to me from Lloyd but I think I will wait to open it when he opens his....he said my gift is in the house somewhere up high but I have no idea where.......we will open them together later.

Happy Valentines Day 2007!!!

We had a difficult night here with Sam.......he fell asleep on me on the sofa last night at 6pm........and by 4am this morning he was wide awake and very restless....keeping Lloyd and I awake too :( we are very tired now. I also woke up with the most awful heartburn too and I have no idea why.....terrible heartburn so Lloyd got me some Eno's and I had two glasses of that which helped a little......YUCK!! My chewable heartburn things didn't work at all and I have no Gaviscon.

Lloyd went into work later today and stayed to have coffee with me......the children went on just before 8am with my altered tin and all their Valentine treats for friends......

It is so windy outside this morning...it was 25c out here at Northern Bear....and -35c with the windchill...needless to say the children were wrapped up well to go for the bus!

I don't think they are doing much work today at school...it seems to be all parties and celebrations......I think Susie and Chris are going back to their friends home on the bus tonight for a while.....

I have to leave in just over an hour so I should go and get dressed....I'm so looking forward to meeting Val! I need to go wake myself up properly.....Abigail is dressed and ready but Sam and I are still slobbing out in pj's....although actual Sam isn't in pj's as he fell asleep in his clothes last night which is how we left him!

Abigail is currently riding her new bike around the main floor in her snow boots!

Oh I am so so sleepy....could do with curling up in bed and watching daytime tv junk all morning! But I AM looking forward to brunch! :)

Have a great day everyone....

A quote for Valentines Day......

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
by Lao Tzu

Two little five year olds.......

The top picture is Abigail this afternoon with her 5th birthday cake. The bottom picture is Lloyds Mum Terry, with her 5th birthday cake!

Unfortunately taking a picture of Abigail with her cake outside was not possible today as it was -19c most of the day!

two bites...........

Sobeys two-bite cinnamon scones are to die for! They are so so good but they do not take just two bites to eat them...and they are so good you can never stop at two bites! I knew I shouldn't have bought them!!! I am sat here having a coffee and some scones while I wait for the potatoes to boil....

The children got home around 3:15pm...they'd had a good day and had lots of news......Susannah took a poem to show her teacher - one she had written at home last year...and the teacher loved it so much she asked to keep it and wants Susie to read it to the class tomorrow!

They are all excited about the Valentine Celebrations at school tomorrow....if they were still homeschooled we would have been heading to the science centre tomorrow for the homeschoolers workshops....we were really disappointed in the last ones though....so I don't think they will mind missing that! We will head to the science centre soon though to see the Lego exhibit...it was in Calgary last Fall when we were down there.......I wish they would change the science centre exhibits more often...the children get bored after a while...we didn't bother to renew our membership this year.

Val called to confirm brunch tomorrow....I am so looking forward to meeting her!

Christie - remember the words you gave us...the magnetic words? Well we didn't have anywhere to use them as our fridge is not magnetic......so today I bought a magnetic board and I am going to attach it to the big mirror in our bathroom...and then Lloyd and I can leave each other messages each day! I am going to leave the first one there for him to find tomorrow morning! Thank you!

So the Doc gave me new meds today and this afternoon I looked up the monograph for the drug (handy that DH works with Pharmacists sometimes lol!) and it says I should take these new meds with Imitrex or other drugs that effect blood clotting properties in the blood!!!! So why on earth was I prescribed them when the Doc knows I am on Imitrex???????? So Lloyd is checking with his colleagues as to whether I should take them or not......you know some people would just take any drugs they were prescribed and trust the Doc...or would just read the drug company's info sheet and be satisfied...but I like to know the truth about drugs I take....so I always read up as much as I can and search for people who have taken them and ask about side effects etc.....half the time people get side effects not mentioned in the info sheet......

Anyway, we will wait to hear back from Lloyds colleague...he works on the Electronic Health Record so these are the Pharmacists MOST up to date with drug interactions...

Tomorrow Chris has to take money to school for an auction...(did I already write about this?) the girls in his class were given a brown bag each and they have to fill it with a lunch they have made......then the boys have to bid for the lunches...and they get to eat lunch with the girl whose lunch they buy! So how much would you send???? How much do you think he should pay for a lunch? Of course he wants to buy the lunch of the 'hottest' girl in class...so he wants to take the most money...but his friend says he is taking $25!!!! $25 for a brown bag lunch!!! Am I being mean or is that a lot???? I think $10 would be better but I will give him $20 and no more!!! It's a sandwich and a bag of chips kind of thing lol!

Lloyd just called to say he's on 21 and will be home in a few minutes :) actually he called and said 'stick the kettle on!' and I told him he would be home in time to stop me eating the whole box of cinnamon scones!

Tonight I want to work through some of the book club questions about The Glass Castle. Once the kids are in bed at least!

Finished!!!

My first altered paint can is finished......it's a gift for the staff at school...full of candy and treats for Valentines day. I love the handle but I'm not too happy with the actual sides of the tin......

I have a few more of these to do though so I have some to practice on......I love them! You can by the empty (unsused) paint cans at Home Depot for about $2 or $3!

For Isaac..............

Here is a picture of Abigail with the lovely card Isaac chose for his cousin! Hello Isaac....you see, you chose the card and posted it and it came all the way over here to Canada on an airplane and the postman brought it to Abigail!

Abby says 'Thank you'!

loss..............in all shapes and sizes.....

Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion, a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same size.
by Mark Twain

New bike

Abigail sat on her new bike...for some reason we forgot to pick up stabilizers even though we talked about them in the store so Lloyd is picking some up tonight....but I have pushed Abby round this floor a few times and she has enjoyed sitting on the bike :) She can ride it later tonight :)

Gift opening time..........

Laundry is in but I haven't washed the floors yet - thought I'd get distracted awhile here :)

Here are some pics of a very sleepy looking Abigail at 7am this morning opening some of her gifts!

Ok off to firefox to add the pics...grrr at IE!!!

cold hands...

It was -23c when I went into town this morning.......Sams gloves are always ALWAYS threaded through his winter jacket....ready to go! Well not today! -23c and NO GLOVES!!! So I used Abigails spare winter coat (that we leave in the care for emergencies) and put his arms in the sleeves and use it like a kind of blanket over him.....he is NOT happy and constantly pulls his arms out......his hands then get VERY cold VERY fast and he cries and cries...but will he keep them tucked up??? NO!!!

Poor Samsam...he was NOT very happy in the dollar store today with red sore and cold hands! Silly boy!

Home for a while...

1:11pm......sitting and relaxing finally.....Abigail had fun at preschool and Sam seemed ok so we headed into town and I went tot he Dr's......he changed my meds so I have to go back in 3 weeks and see how I am reacting to them......wish me luck! Sam was great in the Dr's office luckily.....and I went straight in as they had had some cancellations...

After the Doctors we went to Sobeys for the cake and a few bits and pieces...then to the dollar store to get some shovels but there are NO shovels to be had in Sherwood Park :( I need 15 shovels (spades) like for a sandbox/pit.......but the stores won't have them for another month :(

I guess I will have to go with plan B....although I don't have a plan B so thats something I need to work on!

Get home and the phone is ringing....my Sister Clare to wish Abby happy birthday......but Abby wasn't home so we chatted a while...she has flu right now - silly girl didn't have a flu jab this year!!! CLARE - HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON!!!! Clare is my newest reader to my blog.....I spoke to my Nephew Isaac too...he's almost 6! I asked him if he had cooked dinner for Mommy because she was ill and he said he didn't know how to cook anything...so I asked if he had given her a get well hug and he said no because if he gets too close he'll get the flu too! I thought that was cute!

I ran around the house tidying up after this morning when Abigail shredded all the paper from her gifts....and envelopes....tidied the kitchen and packed away the groceries and then ran out to get Abby from preschool. I stopped off at the local store to pick up a copy of the Edmonton Journal.....

Back home and we have lunch.....then my Mum phones to say Happy Birthday to Abigail.....my Mum is going in to have her Gall bladder removed tomorrow......GOOD LUCK MUM - WE'LL BE THINKING OF YOU!!! Then I spoke to Lloyd on the phone for a while...now the phone hasn't rung for a while YAY and I have vacuumed the main floor ready for me to wash the floors...although part of me is wondering why I am bothering as Derek is coming tomorrow to scrape the ceilings so I will ahve dust and mess EVERYWHERE!!! But the floors NEED washing so I really should.

I have to finish the paint can for the staff tomorrow for Valentines Day...I'll take a picture later......I also have a special picture of Abigail that I need to take later to go with something special Terry gave me......I'll post that later too!

So now I am going to stick another load of laundry on and then wash the floors....the girls have dance class tonight and we have to cut the cake and all that jazz!

Mommaspaz we should meet - I would sooo LOVE to meet you!!! That would be so great! I'm not as scary as you'd think lol! Honestly!!!

shouldn't be here.............

I shouldn't be sat here right now...I should be upstairs getting dressed...getting Sam dressed.....but I can't seem to get going today.

I have so much to do and have to leave the house in less than an hour but here I am sat at the computer drinking coffee.

Today is Abigails 5th birthday which I find really hard to believe because that means Lloyd and I have been together 6 years this weekend.......and that is UNREAL! The time has flown and yet we have done SO MUCH in those 6 years......moved across the globe, built two houses (one in Scotland and one here)had two children....homeschooled, schooled, and endless other 'adventures'........

And Abigail is now 5. She woke up this morning and came down to find her new bicycle all set up for her......and then she opened her other gifts before the children left for school.

I have to take her to preschool and then go into town.....so much to get and my Docs appt too.....

Sam has a fever.....not sure I should even go into town with him...he won't let me give him any meds....but if we don't go this morning then that means I have to go this evening......and Lloyd would have to pick the cake up......

So yes...I should go upstairs and get dressed.

Have a great day everyone...

Happy Birthday Abby Banana!!!! I hope you have a wonderful 5th birthday baby girl!