HE IS.

Hubby John and I had Monster Boy Ronan and The Wee Fiend Kian stay over Friday night.  There were lots of giggles, a few tears, lots of cuddles and of course kisses.   After teasing Ronan and telling him he couldn't sleep in my bed because he is stinky and he snores, he looked at me  with the wisdom that only a three year old has, and said, "I don't snore   I don't know how to do that yet!" What could I say except "Well you're still stinky!"  He just laughed and told me that he's still a handsome boy. Sigh...he's right.  He is.

Just Let Her Be.

Well I lasted until today, approximately 6 weeks, before I contacted my mom again.  Six weeks ago she was rushed to hospital after a blood sugar drop  She was aware of what was going on but could not do anything about it.  She could not even reach up t hit her medic alert necklace.  A pot on the stove burned dry and set off the fire alarm, which alerted her neighbours, after one hour of constant ringing, that something was wrong.  Both of moms doors had been left unlocked because she had forgotten to lock them.  This was a good thing so no doors needed to be battered down and later replaced.  They whisked mom off to the hospital and three days later released her.  She's fine, they said. No problem.  She is very capable of living by herself.  There is no medical or lawful reason to have her go  into assisted living. We, the kids, have NO leg to stand on.  She is, she told us not leaving her apartment.  We can't make her.  She could sue us if she wanted to.  This is, unfortunately true.  The law is on her side.  While all of this was happening I spoke to one of her doctors and while doing so I started crying.  I told him that I could not go through another bout of this arguing with my mother. His response was" Back Away.  Tell your mother what you are doing and why you are doing it then walk away AND DO NOT HAVE ANY CONTACT with her.  Stay firm.  If not you will drive yourself into a mental hospital."  I did it.  No contact of any kind for six weeks.  I miss my mom.  I like her.  I do love her very much.  I made myself sick at Thanksgiving (beginning of October for us Canadians) because I didn't have her in.  That was the fist time in seven years. I was making myself so sad not speaking to her.   Today I broke down and called her.  She is doing OK.  There is still a bug problem in the apartment and she  still is to see that as a problem.  I actually lasted for almost ten  minutes before I told her that I loved her and rang off. God, this is so hard to do.  She's my mom and I want her safe and clean without living with bugs in a dump. The doctor and one of her case workers told me that it is her choice to live like that and only she can make the choice or not, to change her situation. So, I will speak to her on occasion make sure she is OK and will run errands or whatever if need be for her.  But I will keep my own mental health sane and will not fall back to the spot I was last year, taking extra happy pills (anti depressants) and crying in the shower and car because I felt so helpless concerning moms living situation.  I have got to stand firm in my resolve that she chooses to live like this and I have to learn to just let her be.

AN EARLY GRAVE

My mother is 86 years young and she is a hoarder, or as she say's, a collector. Not a true hoarder in the sense that her life is in danger because you cannot get around in the apartment, but there is stuff / junk / garbage EVERYWHERE!  There is not one surface in her apartment that is not piled with stuff. We, my hubby John, my brother Conrad and his wife Sue  and my sister Alison, otherwise known as 'the kids", would like her to move into a nice retirement home.  Not a nursing home.  Mom does well on her own and does not need that level of care yet.  But in a retirement home, she would have lots of company (she is very social), her room and living areas would be clean, she would not have to cook and there would be people around to keep an eye on her.  She uses a walker, is going deaf and is legally blind. Mom has diabetes which has been giving her real problems over the last few years, and she has heart problems and major problems with her legs.   We worry, constantly, about her falling or having a low sugar drop or having a heart problem when nobody is around.  We all work. I am a half hour drive away from mom's apartment..  Allie is about fifteen minutes away, and Conrad and Sue are five minutes away. I thank God for those two, especially Sue.  She is the one who takes mom grocery shopping, for haircuts and to the pharmacy. She has mom over for supper at least once a week.  I try to be the one to get mom to her doctor's appointments and will go to wherever I am needed as often as I can.  Allie will do whatever she is asked to do but she works really long early (starts at 4AM) hours.  We all try to be good kids. Mom is oblivious to what we, especially what Sue, does for her. It's as if Mom expects us to do whatever for her without question.  She rarely says thanks and doesn't buy a well deserved gift card (for Sue) once in a while.  She does not offer gas money ever.   Grrrrr....she is a very frustrating woman.  She will not clean her apartment.  She lives in a bug infested dump because she refuses to move because she will not spend any more money on rent.  She has the money but she would rather spend it on more junk that she really does not need.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't care what mom buys.  It's her money and she can spend it however she wants.  But we, would like to get her out of the dump and into somewhere nice. All without upsetting her.  We were all at her place last night to try to clean and move stuff as the corporation that owns the building is having a bug company come in to spray.  We threw out massive amounts of  stuff , aka garbage, and did not make much of a dent. Although now you can see the kitchen counter.  I don't know how long that will last.  I give it till Sunday the latest before it is piled with junk again.Mom refused to let us move out the table or clean the 3 cupboards that surround the tale. I will go back Sunday to try to get more done.  The amount of bugs was disgusting.  It didn't seem to matter how many we killed they just kept coming.  I wish the owners would give mom an eviction notice and force her to move.  I think that is the only way out of this situation. We all , love mom very much but there is only so much we can do.  She is very much of sound mind. She is not confused.  She is not dimmed minded.   She is an intelligent woman. She keeps herself clean and well dresses. With all that being said she is also a very stubborn person. She absolutely refuses to see there is a problem living the way she does.  We have had the powers that be come in assess, interview  and work with her.  They say she is a normal senior who is very capable of choosing where and how she lives and how she keeps her living space, hoarding and all. We have no legal recourse.  Our hands are legally tied. All we can do is try to keep her safe  long as we can. We all love her but  our mother will drive us to an early grave.

WE ARE ALWAYS LOVED.

Wow!  I can't believe it has been this long since my last post.  It has been a very busy six months.  Not a good six months.  More sad than happy.  But even in the dark hours there have been spurts of sunshine.  Hubby John and I have gotten lots of loving, hugs, kisses,  snuggles, tickles, giggles and laughs from our Cutie Patootie Neve, The Wee Fiend Kian and Chunky Cheeks Ronan.  Those three little people are our pride and joy.  They always turn the bad days good and the black clouds blue.  We are so very thankful that we have been blessed with them in our lives.  So we'll continue to thank God for Her blessings and will continue to love those three babies that give us so much joy and will be content knowing we are are always loved.

We are so glad he is here!

I haven't posted a picture of our newest arrival yet so here is one of him at 4 months.
Ronan David was born on the lucky date of 12-12-12.
What a great Christmas present he was!
Can you tell he likes to eat??
He is such a cutie and we are so glad he is here.

My Old Man

My dearest Hubby John turns 60 today and he is having a bit of a hard time with it.
Here, in Canada, it means that they, the powers that be, officially recognize HJ as a senior citizen.
This is not a bad thing......Really!!!
Just think seniors discounts.
People opening the door for you.
You get to say "I forgot" and have people smile at you and say, "that's OK...we all forget now and then."
You get to whine and complain and nobody will tell you to shut up. They will just smile, nod their heads and say "it will be alright" and "things are sure to get better" and ask "is there anything I can do?"
As the "officially old man" wife I will do my best to ensure all this senior power doesn't go to his head.
When HJ forgets, I will be the one to say, "What do you mean you forgot? Why didn't you write it down or put it in your Blackberry?".
When he whines about being cold or hot or whatever, I WILL be the one to tell him to stop whining.
When HJ complains I will be the one to say, "Shut up and quit your complaining!"
The way I see it, getting old gives you the best of both worlds.
HJ will have those who sympathize with him and will help him wallow in self pity and he will have ME, the one who keeps him grounded, sane and in the real world.
So HAPPY 60Th BIRTHDAY HUBBY JOHN!
Remember HJ that turning 60 is not a death sentence.
It's only a number....a big one, I will admit, but still it's just a number.
After all has been said and done in this post,I've saved the best comment for last.
Hubby John remember to "them" you may be an just another old man..
but to me...... your my old man.

Goodbye Don

It is so sad. I cannot believe that another family member, albeit a distant one, has passed away.

Don was such a nice person. He had been sick, off and on, for some time. We had hoped that he was on the way to better health. It was not to be. His wife Peggy and his children, extended family and friends will miss this wonderful man. He was really a nice person and I am sad to say goodbye to him. Heaven has another angel and if he is anything up there like he was down here then Heaven just got a whole lot nicer than it already was.

Goodbye Don we will all miss you so much.

Goodbye My Brother.

My brother Scott, passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, early Monday morning.
Scott was two years younger than me. He was only 56 years young.
Although he had been distant from the family for many years, he was still, my little brother.
I remember him as very quiet, one to stay in the background, as a child, funny and quick with a joke, the one to wear a lampshade as a young man and quiet and not easy to get to know as a mature man.
He was a son, brother, husband, father and grandfather.
He will be remembered in many ways and will not be forgotten by anyone who knew him.
Goodbye Scott, rest easy.

Goodbye Benjamin

Monday, October 3, 2011
The world has lost a wonderful little boy tonight.
He fought bravely for the last three years; with dignity and his wonderful
sense of humour always showing.
He will always be loved and remembered.
Goodbye Benjamin.
You will be missed.

My favourite blog of blogs...

One of my very, very favourite "Blogs that make me go Ohhh....." is written by my daughter Jaime. She is an amazing young woman: wife to Mike and mother to the wee fiend, Mr. B. aka Kian. Her blog, Gingham Skies, is filled with all kinds of things she makes and stuff she does. She is a sewer, knitter, baker, crafter and all around really nice lady. Of course, it goes without saying that she must get her talent from her mother....LOL! Not really. Anything that Jaime has learned to do has been self taught. Well maybe she did learn a few things from me but mostly she learned by herself or with the help of other family members. She is a very talented person. Jaime had an Etsy store for a year or so and closed it down while she is on maternity leave. Hopefully she will have it up and running again this summer.
Of course this whole post is very biased. But that's OK! Jaime really is a special person!
So why not grab a cuppa whatever, go over to Jaime's blog....Gingham Skies....and read her posts, both past and present. I am sure you'll find something that will make you smile and I am also sure that you'll be glad you stopped by.

We would have had them first.

Hubby John and I were lucky enough to have my Cutie-Patootie Neve, sleep over last night. Her mom and dad were going on an overnight trip to celebrate their anniversary which is coming up this week. After mommy dropped Neve off, the three of us went out to do a bit of shopping at Walmart and the dollar store and then went over to one of our favourite restaurants for supper. Except for the chicken dumpling soup, which is always good, the rest of the meal was quite disappointing. We haven't been there for a few months and I was so looking forward to a good meal. I was not happy with it, but the three of us did enjoy the soup anyway. We went straight home after the restaurant. Neve had gotten a new Hannah Montanna CD so that was put in for her to watch before bedtime. We were all falling asleep early and shortly after nine PM I declared it to be bedtime. Neve didn't even argue. We were all that tired. Saturday morning everyone was up and out of bed shortly after 9AM. Hubby John made a good breakfast for all of us and then off we went to buy Neve's mommy and daddy an anniversary present from her. Neve wanted to buy them each a picture frame, but not the same one. I have no idea where she came up with this choice. She picked out two very nice frames and then she got a sparkly rose that unzipped to become a shopping bag for mom and some mixed nuts for her dad. When we got home she printed a note to go in the card. Hubby John and Neve went into the hot tub for a few hours while I washed and blow dried her dog, Charlie (we were dog sitting too). He had jumped into the hot tub when they were not looking and he smelt like wet dog......which I hate. So I gave him a bath and then read for a bit while watching my Hubby and Cutie-Patootie get all wrinkly from the water. When they were all done and HJ declared the hot tub closed, I whisked CP into the house for a shower and hair washing. Then the three of us snuggled down with the newest Barbie movie, which was an excuse for Hubby John and myself to take turns dozing and for Neve to have some quiet time. Neve's mommy and daddy were home around 6:30 to pick up the dogs and the Cutie Patootie. She presented them with the gifts she had bought them, and after all the oohs and ahhhs and kisses and hugs, we all went out to W town for supper. It was our anniversary gift to them and we all enjoyed the meal very much. We all said goodbye and after more hugs and kisses, off went Hubby John and I back to KW town. Sigh....so far it has been a great weekend! We just love having Neve stay over, which isn't often enough for us. Grandchildren are the best! It's like Hubby John always says, if we had known grandchildren were this much fun, we would of had them first!

Well Done John Vincent!

Hubby John and I raised our son

John V. as best we could. We taught him to chew with his mouth closed, say please and thank you and to respect his elders.

It seems we did a good job. On Monday, July 7Th,

he met Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II of England. She was taking a tour of Research In Motion in Waterloo and John V was one of the employee's chosen to meet her. Queen Elizabeth shook his hand, asked John V. what his name was and what he did at RIM. Then on she went to the next person. I don't know what she thought of him, but John V. though the Queen was a very tiny lady, not as tall as she looks on the telly. He remembered his manners and gave Queen Elizabeth the respect she deserves.

I say there old fellow,well done!

Well done indeed John Vincent!

Picture: John Vincent is next in line to greet the Queen.

He is wearing a black suit, peach coloured shirt and a stripped tie. What a handsome fellow he is.

All faces except the Queen & JV have been inked out for privacy reasons.

Welcome to the world!

My tongue is sore from biting it.
I had to wait for the go ahead, although there have been a few little hints in the last few posts. However now I have the official go ahead. I can finally, after all this time, spread the news.
I am a Gram's...AGAIN!
Mr. B, aka, Kian John was born June 24, 2010

and I am blue with excitement.
Go here and read all about his royal highness.
Thank you to daughter Jaime and her hubby Michael.
Kudos's to you both for our new grandson.
Welcome to the world Mr.B.
We're so glad your here!

In the picture, my Cutie Patootie (Neve) and Mr. B (Kian),

are shown in their first meet and greet.

Easter Adventures of Lois, Hubby John and the Cutie-Patootie.

I have been so busy lately that I just remembered that I forgot to post about my wonderful Easter weekend. Duh! I will post about what's keeping me so busy at a later date. It seems the days are just flying by and I forget to let everyone know what's been happening in my life. Anyway, I had a wonderful, busy, looooong Easter weekend. It started on Thursday. This was my long weekend off at work and I got Thursday off in lieu of Friday, which of course, was a statutory holiday. So like I was saying, I didn't have to work on Thursday but Hubby John did. I had a list of to-do things that needed to be done. There was banking, house cleaning, grocery shopping and errands to run for HJ but I also wanted to to take advantage of a free day and get some thrift shopping done as well. I dropped by a few of my favourite thrift stores between doing the other errands. I bought the prettiest little cut glass bowl for $0.35 and some pretty paper dollies for a $0.10. I also got a pretty little basket that had butterflies on it for $0.25 and another small pale pink basket that had a pink-white-washed one inch metal rim around the top of it. It will make a lovely gift basket with maybe some flower seed packets and a pair of garden gloves or garden tools in it or maybe some nice soap with a pretty hand towel and hand cream. The best part was the price at only $0.25. I bought a little ceramic dish that will eventually be used as a soap dish. That cost me another whopping $0.25. I also bought a certain something that will be part of a certain Mr. Bump's gift at one of the three Bump Showers that are coming up in May. I fell in love with it and thought that it was perfect for the occasion. That cost me a whole $2.00. Only the best for our soon to be baby boy bump! The last item I bought was a lovely stationary box full of Christmas cards and note paper. It was brand new and I paid $3.00 for it. That item is destined for a hostess gift come November/December of this year. Pretty and inexpensive. I love finding really good deals. Thrifting was one of the most relaxing parts of my day. I got to slowly take my time poking around some of my favourite thrift stores and I got some really good deals to boot! All those pretty items for $5.20 with tax included. How great is that???? Very great I'd say!!! I was a very happy camper! I was also a very tired camper after my thrifting, grocery shopping, banking, and stopping at the pharmacy, Bulk Barn and Dollar stores to pick up Easter candy for all my kids, both big and small. I had one more errand to run for Hubby John and then it was time to head home. I didn't get the cleaning done completely because I only had a half hour or so before HJ got home from the job he had been doing. Geese...the day had just flown by. There was enough time for each of us to take a quick shower and then we were off to pick up the Cutie-Patootie from day care. We were very excited because she was staying overnight. We went out for supper at one of our favourite restaurants had a long quiet dinner while CP told us all about her day. Afterwards we stopped in for a few grocery items that had been left off the list and then made another quick stop at Zellers and the Bulk Barn and then we went home. While Cutie-Patootie and Hubby John cuddled in the easy chair to watch a movie (Mermaid Barbie) I got all the housework but the vacuuming done. It had been a good day...long, but good...and we were all in bed early because we were going to have an even busier day on Good Friday. That story will be coming up in my next post, so stay tuned for the further Easter Adventures of Lois, Hubby John and the Cutie Patootie.

Happy Birthay Baby Girlz

On....off...on....off....on...off....on....off....on....off...on...off

Thirty two years ago today I was fed up. I had had enough! Yes I was definitely not a happy mommie-to-be. Two weeks of on-again, off-again labour had worn off the "maybe this is it!" glow that I got whenever the labour pains started......again. I was more in the "Ignore it as it's only going to stop again anyways so don't get all hyped up about it" mode. Yep, two weeks of starts and stops had made me a very tired lady. Mind you with dealing with a 3 year old that never stopped, would make anybody tired. Back then we used the term "overly active", now days they use ADD, HDD, and any another "DD" description they can come up with. Anyway, with an active little boy and a Hubby John who put in long hours at work, a house to take care of and snow shovelling to do because HJ was working, I didn't have the time or patience to deal with on again, off again labour. My due date was within a few days and my doctor was not inclined to do anything more than let nature take it's course. That was ok by me but it sure would have been nice to get a full nights sleep without those false pains starting again....and again....and again....
The morning of February 20,1978 I got up with Hubby John and got him off to work. I was in an "on again" labour mode. HJ said he would call later that morning to check on me and off to work he went. Back to bed I went for hopefully another hour or so of sleep. John Vincent was good enough to crawl into bed with the mommie for some quiet morning time until he decided, 20 minutes later that he was hungry. So up we both got and brekkie was served. Around 9:00 that morning I decided I best take a shower, just in case and JV was delegated to answer the phone. HJ was calling on his break to see how I was doing and I didn't want him to worry if I didn't answer. JV did answer the call and told his daddy that mommy was in the bathroom and that the baby was still in her tummy and that mommy said daddy was not to worry. HJ stayed on the phone until I got to it and I assured him that I was OK and would phone if he was needed. All was right in the scheme of things. The day was quiet enough and at 4:30 HJ was home and took me up for my scheduled doctors appointment. Dr. McAdam took a peek and said, "Well Lois, I'll see you tonight at the hospital." I was getting "on again" labour at this point. From the doctors office we drove out to my mom and dads house to pick up my sister who was staying with JV for the week. We picked up her stuff but ended up going out to the school to pick her up as she had stayed for a volley ball game. Home to make supper and wait. While Hubby John ran over to our friends and neighbours, K & G, to ask them to keep an eye on things I got ready to go to the hospital. After 20 minutes or so I phoned over to K&G's to ask them to send HJ home. It was just a little after seven and I was ready to go. Hubby John came home, and with pains now five minutes apart he got me loaded into the car and off we went. At the hospital, I paced back and forth as much as I could before the nurses got all bent out of shape and insisted I lay down before I dropped the baby out on the floor. LOL....they were quite concerned about this happening. At 10:32 I delivered a beautiful baby girl and promptly named her after the Bionic Woman (Jaime)and my mother-by-marriage (Jean). Big brother John Vincent had insisted we call the baby after Jaime Woman on TV. It was one of his favourite shows. So we did. By the time everything was done and over with I was starving and the nurses scrounged me up an egg salad sandwich and a hot cup of tea which I promply ate. Then it was time for new daddy again to go home to bed and the new mommie again to get some much needed sleep.
Welcome to the world our baby girlz....we're so glad that your here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAIME!

The best Christmas present ever!

Thirty five years ago, on December 21, way back in 1974, I had a toasted egg-salad sandwich for breakfast. Now, truth be told, I knew better than to eat eggs...any kind of eggs. Back then they didn't like me very much and tended to give me heartburn and an upset tummy. But what was a girl to do? Hubby John had to work that day and I made egg-salad sandwiches for his lunchbox. There was some left over. I had to eat it didn't I? I couldn't waste it! And besides, why have peanut butter on toast when you have perfectly good egg-salad just waiting to be used up? Once HJ was gone, I had my tea and a toasted egg-salad sandwich and then I did the dishes and the vacuuming. Then I went back to bed for a short nap. My dear mom by marriage was picking me up to go out for a bit of shopping that afternoon (I didn't drive then) and my mom and dad were coming in for dinner and a few hands of cards that evening. I really needed some extra energy that day. When I got up from my nap I had another egg-salad sandwich for lunch and then I got dressed to go shopping. Mom S. and I had a good afternoon together. We went from the department store to the grocery store and then home. She had me back home by three. I had time to do a load of laundry, have a shower and another quick nap and I had enough time to get supper ready to pop into the oven before Hubby John got home. I remember how very tired I felt that day. My mom and dad showed up around six. We had pizza for supper (another not-so-smart thing for me to eat) and then we all settled in to play a few hands of cards and have an enjoyable evening. By eight o'clock I wasn't feeling so great. Those yummy egg-salad sandwiches combined with the sauce on the pizza started to do a real number on me. My tummy was not a happy camper. After an hour or two or three of complaining about not feeling well, trying to get comfortable with my sore back and chewing down a half a bottle of Tums, my mom said, "Hmmmm.....maybe we should time these gas pains. I think your in labour." What???? Ya sure, I was pregnant and yes, I was really, really overdue, but I had just been to the doctor the day before and he had done an internal and declared that I was not ready to go yet. As of yesterday the baby was not in the right position to start getting ready to be born. The baby hadn't dropped and I had not started dilating. Dr. M. was making arrangements for me to go into the hospital on the day after Christmas so they could put me on a drip and hopefully start labour. So how could I be starting labour now? No way! Well, I should have trusted my mom. After all she did have 11 children, so that made her somewhat of an expert on labour. As my pains started to get more intense, dad's green colour also deepened, so mom took him home to put him to bed. Sympathy labour....apparently he had it with most of mom's delivery's. After 20 hours or so, on Sunday, December 22rd, 1974, around 4:30 in the afternoon, my dad started to feel better when he was informed that he was a first time grandfather to a beautiful, bouncing baby boy. (Did he ever bounce...all the time...and he has never stopped) Grandpa D., first-time mommy and the new baby were all fine and first-time daddy John had a grin on his face that stayed there for a long, long time.
John Vincent, you were the best Christmas present ever!
Happy 35Th birthday, my baby boy.

The bright spot in my day.

The bright spot of my day today was when I got home.
My Cutie-Patootie Neve and I sat with our feet dangling in the pool and discussed bumblebees, birds, ants and flies and a few other things. All very interesting subjects. The questions and statements that she comes out with make me laugh. But of course I must remain serious because she is very serious. After all it is some very heavy stuff that we discuss. Here are some of our conversation topics that we touched on today.
1: Why do flies drink water?
2: Why do bumblebees sit in the flowers?
3: What's pollen?
4: Why are they more scared of us than we are of them?
5: Is that a dead ant?
6: Why is it dead?
7: How did it get in the water?
8: Will the bee eat the ant?
9: We can't eat ants....can we?
10: Why is that bird red?
11: Why does it come into our yard?
12: Doesn't it like the neighbours yard?
13: Why can't we see the nest?
14: Gram's did you know we have a nest at my house where I live?
15: Did you know there is a mommy bird and it sits on the eggs?
16: Did you know that Wilson went pee on the nest but then it rained and that cleaned the pee out of the nest? (don't ask!)
17: I don't think the mommy robin likes Wilson.
18: When is Papa coming back from the store?
19: Do you think he got lost?
20: Do you like my pigtails? Papa does a good job doesn't he?
21: How come my nail polish is almost all gone from my toes but yours isn't?
22: I don't want olives on my pizza.....or tomatoes.......I don't like tomatoes......
23: How come you like tomatoes Grams?
24: How come the water is warm here?
25: Are my magic paper flowers going to get bigger? (Subject for another post one of these days)
26: I don't want green pepper on my pizza.....I don't like it.....neither onions...
27: Remember we grew onions in the garden last year Gram's?
28: I am getting to be a big girl aren't I? And look how long my hair is.
29: My feet are all wrinkly dinkly... are yours?
30: Why is Papa taking so long? Are you sure he's not lost?
These are just a few of the things we voiced opinions on.
My head is still swirling from the swiftness of jumping from one subject to another.
Wasn't it just the GREATEST afternoon ever??!!??
Yes it was.

It's all in the family.

Here is a picture of my baby boy and baby girl all grown up.

Well I am happy to say that my baby boy is following in his younger sister's and the mommies footsteps. My son has started his own blog. All I can say is that it is about time. For those of you who can't get enough of

me -Sweet Somethings by Lois or Jaime -Gingham Skies,

you now have a third choice for great blog reading,

John V.-Get Out Of My Head.

Known as John Vincent to most of the family, he is a terrific son, great husband and doting dad to my cutie-patootie, Neve. Congratulations John Vincent! Welcome to blog land. We're glad your here!
So everybody reading this post should grab a cup of hot tea or coffee or a glass of wine or beer or a bottle of tequila or whatever, sit back and take a few minutes to read some words of wisdom from my baby boy.
John Vincent's mother thanks you.

A day of conversation with a four year old.

My Hubby John, AKA Papa, my four year old Cutie-Patootie Neve, and myself went out for a drive in the car this afternoon. The purpose of the road trip was to do an errand, stop at the DQ for ice-cream and then to try to lure Cutie Patooie into falling asleep for an hour or so....plus it was a beautiful afternoon to just take a drive. After errands and ice cream Cutie Patootie was quite content with her blanket and thumb and the Hanna Montanna CD playing and spent most of the drive just watching out her window and enjoying the scenery.
HJ and I also enjoyed the ride. On the way back into town, Neve started becoming more alert and was quite eager to tell Papa and me stories. She is very good at story telling and although most of it made no sense at all to us we enjoyed every thing she said. When we got back home it was off into the back yard to plant magic paper (paper with flower seeds embedded in it) and tomato plants and to scrub down a stool that has been waiting for Neve to get at it for the last two weeks or. While we were working on the various projects Cutie -Patootie kept up a steady flow of conversation. It was pure girl talk this time. We talked about hair barrettes and finger and toe nail painting, the pros and cons of her high heels and why ladies shave their legs and men don't. We talked about her getting pierced ears...when she's a big girl and she also told me why boys shave their faces but girls don't. Apparently boys are scratchy when they kiss you if they haven't shaved. Girls don't get scratchy, well maybe a little bit when they get really, really,really old. (See what I have to look forward to in my old age?) We discussed a certain boy in school, (she is in preschool BUT NOT with the toddlers, her words not mine.) and how a certain boy always calls her names. She told me that her teacher said that he just liked her and that's how boys show that they like a girl. We both decided that boys could be weirdo's sometimes. We also discussed how boys shouldn't wear too much jewellery and that boys shouldn't wear lipstick. After a small comfortable silence Neve looked me in the face and said, "Grams, I'm glad I'm a girl" When I asked her why she said, "Because girls rule and boys lick and drool!" How could I argue with that logic? She obviously gets her intelligence from the females in the family.

Who cares if the house cleaning gets done?

If you read my Thursday post you know I had big plans to clean the house today.
My Cutie-Patootie Neve stayed overnight last night and this morning Hubby John and Neve were to go off to dance lessons and I was to have the house to myself to clean, clean, clean.
I was really excited about it.
That was until I woke up at 6AM. Man my side, or maybe it was my back, hurt....bad. No matter what position I tried to get comfortable in I couldn't. Downstairs I went to go to the bathroom, get a drink and walk around for a bit trying to get rid of that side kink. I laid down on the recliner with the electric throw thinking I just needed to warm up my back and it would help. It didn't. The pain just got worse and worse and at 8AM I woke Hubby John and told him I was going up to emergency and I would phone him later. I have a really low pain threshold so any pain is not good with me and I have learned that the best thing for me to do is to go to see a doctor ASAP. Once in emergency and after being told it would be an 9 to 10 hour wait I had blood work and urine samples delivered to the powers that be and then sat down and waited.....and waited....and waited....... I was OK in the fact that I brought my book and a bottle of water with me. I would sit one way, then the other way, then get up and walk to and fro and then sit down and start all over. Meanwhile the pain kept getting worse.
I hadn't had any breakfast and had only a bit of money with me, which I thought I might need for parking so I thought I should tough it out. After about 2 hours we (my group consisted of 10 people) were taken from triage waiting room to the inside waiting room.
After another hour and after I treated myself to a bottle of apple juice I got in to see a Doctor who poked me a lot in the area that I said hurt...Really, Really HURT....as in WHAT PART OF PAIN DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!!?...... and then poked me for a few more good measures and announced that he thought I had a kidney stone and they were doing a cat-scan and did I want something for the pain. When I said no to pain medicine he asked me if I was sure and I said yes and that if I really needed it I would ask at the desk. He wasn't happy with that answer but reluctantly agreed and off he went while the nurse directed me to yet another waiting area. Maybe I should have explained to the doctor that I hadn't eaten yet, didn't have any extra money for food and I was afraid that I would throw up any drugs I tried to put down. In hindsight that probably would have been the smart thing to do.
Anyways almost 2 hours later they took me in for the C-scan and then back to a different area for more waiting. I called Hubby John to give him an update. He told me he would be dropped off at emerge once JV picked up Neve. Forty five minutes later in trots HJ. I am in lots of pain by this point and ready to gnaw on the chairs due to hunger. Off he goes to buy me a sandwich. I ate half but couldn't eat any more because I hurt too much. Later.....much later....the Doctor comes by, tells me there is a Kidney stone that might be causing the problem but that he really didn't think that that what was causing this pain. He tells me they are giving me a shot for the pain, antibiotics for whatever it is they think it might be and Percocet for any pain I might encounter over the next few days.
Instructions were also given as to when I might need to come back...I know the term "worse pain" was in there somewhere. Trust me......if the pain got any worse I would definitely be back!
I thanked him, he left, half hour later the nurse shoves a (I swear to god) 15" needle into my hip, three minutes later pain is going...going...gone........sigh.................. :)
Ta da! After only 7 hours I am out the door!
Hubby John and I went to pick up my prescriptions and while in the store, family calls to say they are almost in town and ask if we want to do dinner. I felt so good I said "of course! " Fifteen minutes later when we get home I see Hubby John has done cleaning in the house while I was gone. Awwww..... HJ you are such a good Hubby to do that.
Neve helped by arranging all the chairs along the wall in the dining area. Apparently she was making a sidewalk. I think that look could work.
Wendy & Dave arrive five minutes later and off we go to a wonderful dinner where I started to fall asleep over dessert. They announced dinner was their treat which was really really nice of them. They drove us home and we all sat and talked and at 8:30 or so they left to make their way home to Woodstock town.
So what did I learn today?
I learned that I must be allergic to housework cause every time I make plans to do some I get sick. Maybe somebody is telling me something. Maybe it's a sign that I need to give up housework.
Yeah right....maybe I just need to pop one of those little percocet pills and be happy....don't worry....who cares if the house cleaning gets done or not........