Gettin' my groove back

I have decided that I just need to get myself in gear. I am being stupid and lazy - enough already! I am tidying the house today - did a good cleaning on Saturday already. I have been to the dentist this morning and now I am going to get to work on shortening Grandma's pants so that I can bring her new clothes to the lodge - 3 weeks late! I couldn't go over there because we have all been so sick. I told Arden that a cough to us can be deadly for the seniors at the lodge.
I heard from an insurance agent in Vernon today about a policy that Dad had. I didn't know he had life insurance. The irony is that when I was growing up I distinctly remember him telling me about selling life insurance and that it was a waste of money? I'm not sure what is going on with the rest of his estate and I have no idea how much money is involved. It is weird to think about the money but the way I look at it is that this is what my mom is leaving me too. When Dad died when I was 13 everything went to mom to care for us and for our lives. Then when mom died everything went to Dad (Chuck). If we didn't get anything after he died it wouldn't seem fair because both my first Dad and my mom worked so hard all their lives. They would want us to benefit from that. We will see what happens.

grrrr..

Still sick.
Still raining.
Still coughing.
Still a lazy bum!
grrrr....

Livin' in the sick house

Well, another Spring Break has come and gone but his one left us down for the count. I got sick on Sunday and spent 2 days in bed. Lily was sniffly the whole time and then Arden started to feel sick on Friday. Poor Aaron had to play nurse and super parent all week. I had no energy when Fab and Jacquie were here - I honestly just wanted them to leave so I could go back to bed. I hope Aaron doesn't come down with this next because I still feel like crap and if he gets it as bad as I had it he will be a super baby. My throat is still sore and the coughing makes me sound like I am going to cough up a lung. I might need to go to the doctor this week to make sure I don't have strep or something. I'm not sure if Arden will go to school tomorrow or not. Whenever I'm sick I always forget what it feels like to feel well - I hate that.

Being a teacher is hard

I don't think many non-teachers really understand this. Right now I am dealing with a bunch of well meaning volunteers for an organized children's program and they are oblivious to the problems with the organization of the group. I have other parents complaining to me and the leaders don't think there is a problem. I am very frustrated and mad. I know I have higher expectations because I am a teacher but these leaders don't have a clue. It is tough to lead a group of kids in meaningful activities. Part of the problem as I see it, is that these people are "free-er" with their own children so may be more used to the chaos, I however, need more structure, listening, and respect.

Up to my neck in "neckers"

I've been making neckers for Arden's Cub pack all day today. I got this great green flame fabric. I have over half of them done. If I don't get them done tonight I will finish them tomorrow. The hard part was doing it with Lily deciding it was a non-nap day.

At home retreat

Our "At home scrapbooking retreat" went really well on Saturday. We scrapbooked from 9am till 10:30pm. I only got 8 two page layouts done but it was fun. I actually just worked on family photos - from 2004! I still really want to get my Disney album done! I think I will ask Aaron to let me have a day during Spring Break where he just brings me Lily when she needs to be fed and then I can close the door on my scrap room and have some "me" time.

I'm not an overly religious person but...

I read this on 2Peas and really liked it...

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough."


May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

Doing better

Lily is doing much better today. I took her to see Dr. Nyirenda and she prescribed a puffer. She was a bit concerned because Lily was breathing loudly both when she inhales and exhales. It really seems to have calmed down this evening. Hopefully by tomorrow she won't sound like a seal.

Croup

Lily has croup. I took her to the Emergency this morning at 6am and we spent 3 hours there. They gave her 4 doses of epinephren (sp?) through an oxygen mask but there was minimal improvement. The doctor then prescribed a steroid in liquid form. Her breathing did get progressively better during the day. The good thing is that she is in good spirits. She still wanted to play and ate a really good dinner and nursed well all day. She is sleeping now. I had to put her on the spare bed downstairs as she couldn't seem to settle in her crib. I am going to sleep on the couch down stairs in case she has another attack during the night. Hopefully she will continue to improve. I am still going to take her to see Dr. Nyrienda tomorrow. Hopefully this doesn't lead to chronic breathing/chest problems. It was definitely scary.

Nights in Rodanthe

Great movie! Love how Nicholas Sparks movies translate to the big screen. I still think The Lake House is my favourite but this one was pretty good too. Aaron is in Vancouver for umpire meetings and Arden is at Emma's for her birthday. Sounded like a chick flick night to me. Watched Swing Vote too. Not really that great but ok. If tomorrow is as nice as today I am going to clean the house, open some windows and let the winter staleness escape the house.

Thoughts on being an orphan

Well, I am officially an orphan. It is a very strange feeling. My dad died in 1981, when I was 13. My mom died in 2005, when I was 37. And today my stepfather died, and I am 40. Lots of emotions today. Yes I am sad but he had no quality of life so even if it sounds cliched, it is a blessing. I had my first dad for 13 years, and this dad for 26 years. It doesn't seem long enough even combined. I always get mad at my students (or anyone for that matter) when they don't appreciate their parents - one day they will be gone - there is a sense of security in having parents, now I am alone with my own family - weird feeling. I drove to Vernon today after my step-sister called to say he was experiencing heart failure. He died before I got there. I really wanted to get to say goodbye, and I felt a bit like I had let my mom down but hopefully she could see that I was trying to get there - even through snow on the Coquihalla. Gayle and I went out for lunch then we went to clear the stuff out of Dad's room. I got a couple of photos of him which made me happy since I don't have any since he had his stroke (or whatever it was) I really felt for Gayle, all three of her parents died at Noric House (where Dad was) - that is really sad. When she phoned Sean in Costa Rica he told her that his 4 year old daughter Serena had said this morning that "Grandpa died" - even before Gayle had gotten hold of him - very strange. We don't give kids enough credit.

Anyway, I hope Dad, Mom and Dad are all having a drink with Grandma and Grandpa Chesterman and Grandpa Sayers. I hope they are playing a good game of cards and are smiling down on all of us. I hope they see their grandchildren with a sense of pride, and I hope they save a place for me at the table.

Friday the 13th

Actually, it was a good day. I went to Surrey to get Lily's passport. Had a bit of trouble with her photo - had to go get another one, but I had two people helping me who were awesome. They were so nice and really tried to get the first photo approved. We weren't totally sure that they would accept the second photo but I am being optimistic. After that I went to Langley to get some Valentine's gifts - t-shirts from Old Navy, and then to Clipper Street to take advantage of their BOGO sale on Bind-it-All coils. Next it was on to Costco (or the 500 dollar store as we call it) We then all went out to Papandreas for dinner - love!! Greek food and it was especially good tonight. So much for Friday the 13th.

Ouch

OK, so I have this tooth problem. It started on the weekend. When I eat or drink something hot I just about hit the roof. The problem is I can't isolate which tooth it is. I went to the dentist today and there is nothing on the x-ray. We think we have pinpointed the tooth but now he put some sensitivity stuff on it to see if it helps. If not, .... root canal... AHHHHHH. It is my second from last molar on the bottom right and apparently there are three nerves in that tooth. It takes about and hour and a half for a root canal. I am afraid to eat or drink anything hot right now. The dentist said it really doesn't hurt once the freezing is done but an hour and a half with my mouth open - and that sound - I dread the sound of that drill already. I am strong, I am strong, I am strong.....

Too much stuff

Holy crap do I ever have a lot of scrapbooking stuff. I have been sorting and organizing my craft room for the past two days and it is scary. I went through a phase where I would buy every slab from Costco. This has resulted in 4 Cropper Hopper vertical paper holders full of patterned paper. This doesn't include the "name brand" patterned paper that I have sorted separately. It is good to go through everything. I really want to start using this stuff. Doing mini-books has inspired me to use up this old paper. I also gave a 3 inch stack of this paper to Arden.

Lily must be having a growth spirt but she doesn't want to sleep. She was up 3 times last night and doesn't want to have a nap. Right now she is crying (screaming!) on the spare bed but she has been up since 5:30am and needs to have a nap - so do I for that matter.

Happy Birthday Bev!

Happy 49th Birthday to my friend Bev. She is the best. Very caring and giving. She is like a (very young!) grandma to Arden and Lily. I hope she has a great year.

Movement

Started to get movin' this weekend. Scrapbooked on Saturday and organized some scrapbooking stuff today. Tomorrow I am taking Bev out for brunch for her birthday. Last week I drove to the pool and walked to pick up Arden twice. If the weather holds I will keep this up and try to weave up and down a few of the streets to make the walk a bit longer. I am feeling a bit more motivated so hopefully I can get out of this slump.

Tuesday stuff

Really feeling the need to be more active. I feel like a slug and am starting to look like one. The sun is shining today and I must take advantage of the good weather. I need to go for a walk every day. It has become too easy to sit on the couch all day. I hate how I am feeling about myself and then I get angrier because I don't do anything about it. UGH!

You Are "Time After Time"

If you were transported back to the 80s, your life would be all about reflecting. You're a serious, earnest person - and you couldn't help but think a lot about how things were back then. You'd spend a lot of your time writing, researching, and learning. You would either become a social anthropologist - or a crazy guru with a knack for predicting the future.

What's Your 80s Karaoke Song?

Bind-It-All fun

Tried out my Bind-It-All today. Very cool! I made a mini book for Arden with pictures of her and her friends. Now I wish I had different wires. I bought the 1/2 inch wires but now I know I will need some larger sized wires. I think this was a good investment as I really like making mini books and now I can make my own.

Here she is...