Last Day

Today is the last day of the kids' winter holidays from school. Back to the grind tomorrow. Two out of three kids are thrilled by this. The other one? Already plotting a way to stay home. "What if I'm sick?" "What if I don't sleep well tonight?" "My throat feels funny *fake cough*" ... that sort of thing ... it's total BS. Lucky for me I have a sense of humour and a sense of adventure. I can hardly wait to see what the creative imagination will bring as the day goes on.

So while they're relaxing, tv watching and playing video games, I'm playing catch-up on laundry; aka making sure the kids don't go to school naked.

After a short hiatus of not running, I'm back at it again, and as crazy as this sounds I am only signed up for one race so far this year. I'll be running the 3 person relay of the Around the Bay Road Race. My team mates are my sister, Vickey, and my BRF, Jenny. Jenny is running the first leg, Vickey is running the second leg, I'll be running the third and final leg. Each leg is 10km.

I officially started my training yesterday. My goal is to run my 10km stretch in approximately 58 minutes, which is a pace of 5:48/km. I'd love to run as fast as Michael, and man oh man he is fast so this will be a huge challenge. He will be running the 30km race. He ran the 30km last year in 2:45:19 which put him at a pace of 5:31/km and this year he plans to do it faster. So good luck to me. I know, right?

6km in 41:12 = 6:42/km

My run yesterday was a nice easy (read: fairly slow for me) pace. I plan to do some speed training later in the week. Hopefully I can break the sound barrier by the time Around the Bay gets here. LOL

I need to get my ass signed up for more races.

Canada for the WIN!

Woohoo! Canada's women won gold in both curling and hockey yesterday. The hockey game was AMAZING. I felt bad for the Americans at first because they played damned hard (and I still feel some empathy for their hockey team), but after reading online some of the comments American citizens were making about Canada I'm ABSOLUTELY disgusted about their reaction. They're horrible sore losers. The hashtag #FuckCanada is TRENDING on Twitter because the Americans are using it to diminish our awesome win. I know not ALL Americans are doing it and some have even congratulated the Canadians on the win (it really was a good game) but it just goes with the stereo types of the USA being ignorant and catty.

Anyway, we won and anyone who doesn't appreciate how hard those women (on both teams) fought can take a long walk off a short pier.

A huge icicle on the side of my house (has since come down)
A Photo A Day #49

Ethan wore his "Tuxstedo" to school. No reason.
He's just cool like that. :) Snazzy.
A Photo A Day #50

Moose!
A Photo A Day #51

Have a good one folks.

Family Day Weekend

It's a long weekend for us; Family Day is Monday.

I love long weekends (and holidays from school and work). A lot of parents I know are anxious to have their kids go back to school during the summer or winter vacations. Not me. I love having them home. There will be a time, in the not too distant future, where their time off will be spent with Michael and I, and I am going to cherish every single moment now when they are home. 

Friday was Valentine's Day, so it was only suiting that my photo for Friday be one of my greatest four loves.

My funny Valentine
A Photo A Day #45

Today Ethan had a play date with his friend who recently moved to a new school. This kid has smart parents, they gave all his friends his new phone number before they moved. They had a great time. 

Ethan (left bent knees) and his friend (plaid shirt) and Dozer
A Photo A Day #46

I hope you all have a great weekend. Cheers!

Waiting and A House Guest

Today I'm waiting to hear some news. It is something I'm not at liberty to spill the beans on in such a public forum, but something that affects me pretty deeply. I'm patient though, so I'll be okay.

I also have a lovely little house guest for the next day or so. My parents' dog Bessie has come for a visit. She's a sweetie pie, but I'm not kidding, she's the nosiest dog I've ever met, snoops in everything, bags, laundry baskets, whatever, she's as bad as a cat like that. And stubborn to boot.

When Ethan found out about her sleepover he cleared off his bottom bunk. We weren't sure if she would be comfortable there, so my parents sent her bed along too. I don't think it's going to be a problem though because she disappeared and was very quiet so I hunted her down. I found her snuggled in on the bottom bunk of his bed. Yeah. She's good.

Little Miss Diva found a place to relax.

Speaking of Ethan. Guess who is home sick today AGAIN? Yup. This time he has a cough and cold and a slight fever. Owen had a cold over the weekend (and still has it, but it's not as bad) and he shared. His worst days were on the weekend so he didn't miss any school, which is good. I'm going to bet Lily gets it next. Hopefully it avoids me.

Poor little gaffer, not feeling well.
A Photo A Day #22

And because I think this is funny -- and sort of ironic given it's Hump Day.

Tee hee

Have a good one folks!

Zoom!

Today had just zipped by. It only seems like a few minutes ago in which I was dragging my sorry arse out of bed and getting the kids all up and at 'em. I didn't want to get out of bed. I wanted to hit snooze and get out of bed tomorrow ... or Friday. Now that I've had a whole day it's almost like I've blinked and missed it.

Ethan was a little tough to get out bed this morning too, which isn't unusual, but he's usually not the hardest to get out of bed. Owen holds that title, but once he's up, he's good to go. Lily is good about getting out of bed, but she dawdles ... get a little bit ready, play a little bit, brush a little bit of hair, fiddle with something else a bit. Kids. Geesh! This morning Ethan brought his favourite things to the living room with him. They've been keeping his spot on the couch warm all day. I knitted (knit?) the green and beige blanket when I was pregnant with him. We call it "The One" because when he was born he latched onto it and hasn't let it go since. When he was one year old, ish, I made the red, white and blue blanket. We call it "The Two". It was made as a spare for The One in case he ever forgot it somewhere. Now he favours The Two, but they're both dragged around most places. The chocolate lab is PuppyO. It's the first ever stuffed animal he named himself. He was very little. PuppyO is very loved. The little orange and white guy is Sprite. Ethan got him for Christmas and named him Sprite because (a) Sprite is his favourite pop and (b) because he's a Soda Pup (that's what Webkinz labelled his "breed" of dog). I cherish the moments when I see Ethan toting his favourite things around with him, because it's not going to last forever.

Ethan's Favourite Things
A Photo A Day #20

I will update you on my knits in tomorrow's post. I will tell you I've finished Lily's hat and that Pagona Too never made it to the blocking board ... I'm bad, I know. LOL

Lazy Saturday

My kids were given the strict instructions to not let me sleep passed 9am this morning. I woke up at 8:20am and thought "I'll just close my eyes for a minute and then get up." The next thing I know my daughter is knocking on my bedroom door at 10:30am and my husband is giving me a wake up call ... on his break at work ... ooops. I must have been tired.

Yesterday I got the call that my ring (the beautiful sapphire and diamond ring hubby bought me just before Christmas) was ready to be picked up. I had worn it over Christmas (too big) and then taken it back to be resized. So rather than waiting, right after work I threw the kids in the Tahoe and drove 40km (80km round trip) to pick up my ring. I couldn't wait ... lets face it, I like my beautiful shiny ring. It sparkles and I wanted it back. :) I wear it in place of my wedding ring. Michael hasn't worn his wedding ring for about 8 years when he had to have it cut off, but we recently got him a (temporary) replacement. My wedding ring is yellow gold, but my tastes have changed and I much prefer white gold and I much prefer sapphires to diamonds, so yeah, this works out well. :) I say "temporary" for Michael because his ring is silver and while it's nice I'd like to get him something nicer, something white gold, like mine, but without the stones. I'm hoping to pick something out for him for our anniversary this year.

Yay shiny!

We got a little more snow last night, as it was coming down it was beautiful huge flakes. Not so much fun to shovel, but we didn't get that much, so it's okay. My neighbour has a snow blower and is kind enough to do the entire side walk on the block. It really makes a huge difference. We have a one hundred and some-odd foot long frontage so it's really helpful -- and appreciated. :)

Mr. Snowblower
A Photo A Day #18

As well as today being lazy because I slept in, it's also a bit lazy because once I had a few household chores done and got supper in the slow cooker (honey, ginger ribs) I sat down to work on Pogona Too and watch an episode of Sons of Anarchy. I've been watching about 2 episodes a day, while I knit or do housework. It's great laundry folding entertainment, not so good when I'm running the vacuum though. ;)

Knitting and Sons of Anarchy

My nails look like crap right now. I've had fake ones for about 5 months and have decided it's time to let them grow out and let my real nails have a breather. I hate this stage.

Try Try Again

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

Right?

I'm going to knock wood on this one, because it's still early.

All three of my kids went to school today and all three were happy and healthy when they left the house. I'm feeling hopeful we can get through an entire school day without one of them coming down with some sort of illness that paralyses my day.

KNOCK WOOD.

I'm finally sitting down for some quiet time after a morning of busy busy busy. I headed out for groceries, dog food, yarn (yay!) and got home around 11:45am and put everything away, did some housework, ate some lunch and now ... rest ... and there will be coffee and knitting too.

This is what cup holders are really for.
A Photo A Day #17

Lily requested a new hat, the same as her old one, but a different colour. She is very picky about texture so I picked up some Bernat Satin for her. I picked a couple colours I though she'd like ... she might pick both. I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday and Thursday a couple of my knits hit the blocking board. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate blocking? Yes, lace is magic and all that jazz, but bleh, blocking.

Scarf With No Name
Wandering Cat Yarns Solo Cat: Lagoon

The scarf is the same yarn I'm using for Pogona Too. It's such a lovely colourway. I really do enjoy those blues and greens. Though it looks so much different in each pattern. You'll have to take my word on it because I don't have any pictures of Pogona Too right now. :) I do have my other (freshly blocked) Pogona though. Yay!

Pogona
Wandering Cat Yarns Alley Cat Sock
Firestarter

My mail was exciting today ... More yarn! YAY!

Wandering Cat Yarns ... AWESOME!

The yarn on the left is for a pair of Reading Mitts. The yarn on the right is for a super secret project for a super special person. Lucky them. ;)

While my day is still quiet I'm going to keep knocking wood until it's 3:15pm and time to get my kids from school. :) 

Cheers!

Short Lived

Well that was short lived.

Yeah. The silence that was so golden came to a screaming halt yesterday around 1:40pm. The school called. Ethan was feeling unwell and "could you come and get him?" Of course. That's what a mom is for. His tummy was hurting ... yuck ... and that's how Owen's tummy troubles started last week. So I brought him home and we watched Tangled and hung out and his tummy didn't stop hurting but nothing else happened. He didn't want to eat dinner, which is not usual. He's picky, but generally eats without too much of a fuss.

A boy and his dog ... snuggles make everything better.

This morning I woke him up to see how he was feeling. Guess who's staying home today? He's not feeling extremely horrible but he's feeling bad. Bleh.

So today I run on the treadmill, rather than in the glorious outdoors with my best-runner-friend Jenny. We have a race in 10 days (8km) and I know I can do it but I'd really hoped to do some training with her before hand. Our lives have been crazy busy, between Christmas and vacations in warm climates (her not me -- jealous!) and kids being sick we haven't run together since last year, before Christmas. We're aiming for next week. Fingers crossed.

What do you do when you've got a little boy at home who isn't feeling well? You watch superhero movies of course.

Yay X-Men
A Photo A Day #16

We have lots more superhero movies than just these three, but he has only seen the first X-Men movie, and that was the other day. I just got these (3 bluray movies, $11.99 -- score!) so we'll watch these. A little boy being home means no Sons of Anarchy for me today, but that's okay, I will survive. LOL If we get through these and he still wants to watch movies I will start us on the Iron Man trilogy -- our favourite.

There will be knitting too. :)

What's That I Hear?

What's that I hear?

If you listen carefully you might hear it too.

It's the sound of three kids at school, a husband at work, two napping dogs and a lazy kitty.

This was the view out my front door around 8:50 this morning. Don't let the door hit you on the way out kids! LOL I love them, but it's nice to have some peace and quiet. I haven't had this in awhile. December 20th was the first day of their xmas break, and last Monday was the only day since then without any kids in the house, because Owen was sick. Now everyone is well and at school and it's all good. :)

See you after school, kids!
A Photo A Day #15

Also, there's the sound of knitting needles, a washer (and dryer and the silent swoosh of folding laundry) and Sons of Anarchy Season Five. **Spoiler** I knew he was going to die, but BOO. They shouldn't have killed Opie, but they did ... I know who gets killed at the end of season six, but I don't care. I don't like that character. So unless between now and then the character changes personalities I still won't care when I get to that point in time.

Saskatchewan, Here He Comes!

Today was the day Michael was flying back to Saskatchewan, to our "summer home", so he can go to work. I love that he is able to have a job he loves, make a good living at it and provide for the kids (and I) like he was never provided for growing up. It just sucks he has to go 4000 kilometers away to do it. It's a lifestyle choice we made, but that doesn't make the day he leaves any more fun for either of us. 

At the Airport
A Photo A Day #14

I dropped him off at the airport around 3pm and then headed home to meet the kids ...

I miss him already!

I beat them home. I hadn't planned on beating them home, rather I'd planned for Owen to walk the other two home and them to hang out until I got here. No worries, he's old enough to babysit and Lily is old enough to be on her own for a little bit.

"Hi Mom!!"

And now it's dinnertime. 

Adventures of Being Mom

I missed posting yesterday, but I promise I didn't do it on purpose. I had a bit of a situation ...

To make a long story shorter ...

Michael's Tuesday flight was cancelled due to the Polar Vortex, so he booked himself into a different flight Wednesday. Yay. Wednesday I got a call from the school that Owen was feeling unwell and needed to come home. He had several symptoms of appendicitis so I called the family doctor, there were no appointments available and they suggested going to the after hours clinic. I didn't think I should wait so I called Telehealth. Telehealth suggested (after about 30 minutes of over the phone diagnosis) going to the ER. So I called the school and had them get the other two ready so I could drag three kids to the ER.

There was lots of waiting, but not too much, they were really swamped and they were keeping everything moving the best they could. After about two and a half hours my sister came and got the younger two kids so they wouldn't have to hang around and be bored and exposed and whatnot.

More waiting, blood work, an xray and more waiting later it turns out Owen does not have appendicitis. He has a viral infection and his body is working exponentially hard to get rid of it.

Whew.

Michael arrived home shortly after we arrived home from our adventure in the ER.

Pictures? Yes!

My photo for yesterday is one of my favourite bits of a dog. Big floppy ears.

Dozer's Ear
A Photo A Day #8

This morning is another of my favourite things -- a sign that Michael is home! The only time Tasimo Latte is used is when he's here. I don't drink it.

Michael's Latte
A Photo A Day #9

I didn't get Pogona done yesterday as planned, due to the above situation, but I only have the bind off row to do. Yay! Hopefully today!

I'm finished Sons of Anarchy season 4, and now I'm in need of the 5th and 6th seasons. I'm not going to be able to wait for them to get on Netflix. I will need to buy them. NEED.