Tree Trimming

I can't help but laugh when I see our tree. (And secretly wish to run out and buy any other tree I can find.)

I almost want to deck it out in the tackiest ornaments known to man-kind.

It truly is horrible.

Like make-you-want-to-cry horrible. Or wish the Grinch down the road would come and take it.

It is tall and free so it does have some merits.

However, on a night when the kids were going crazy (and we were going insane) and I thought that the idea of trimming a tree would be another horrible experience (see last year), it turned out to be a wonderful time.

I blared on some old Christmas carols, the kids really got into decorating. Single lines from virtually every Christmas song known to man were strung together in one song by Jackson.

The experience even became (gasp) peaceful.

I think Jackson said it best as he sung out, "It's the most beautiful time of the year . . . "

It is.

Even if our tree looks a little funny. It has a lot of heart put into it, and inner beauty is most important, right?? (But Santa, if you feel impressed to leave a new tree behind this year, we won't be offended.)

** The next day Jackson came into the living room to admire the tree. "We really did a good job decorating it!" Yes, we certainly did our best.

Charlie Brown

Every day I drive past a house where a family has moved in about a week after us.

They have a beautiful, large window in the front, much like us.

They also have a gorgeous, exquisitely lit Christmas tree twinkling there.

We have a tree in our large, beautiful windows.

But it is only half-lit.

And exquisite, it is not.

We are hoping to finish lighting and decorating it tonight . . . but even after all of our work, it will not be the "Jones'".

For one, it is a real tree. About as "real" as you can get. We hiked out to a forest with our little family and Brad's dad. Saw the top of a tree about 30 ft high that looked like it could work.

After hacking it in a few places, we dragged it home.

It seriously gave "trimming the tree" a new definition.

First off, the bottom branches (or at least the ones that were there . . . since there were some bare patches) needed to be cut in half so it could fit in our living room.

Second, there were lots of bare spots through out. (Brad offered to use his family secret "fix it all" weapon--duct tape--and add more branches. Even sadder was that I actually gave it some serious thought.)

Third, the last 4-5 feet of our 18 foot "tree" isn't much more than a green, needle-crusted "shaft"

Fourth, right before the "shaft" is a nice little "crook" that we like to pretend "symbolizes" the shepards' canes.

Fifth, the trunk is too narrow to fit in our tree stand so we are supplementing it with scrap wood and cardboard from the construction site. (I'm currently on the hunt for some loose bricks to put in the front to prevent it from toppling over into our wall.)

Mostly, it symbolizes imperfection, but heart for me. (And a definite "free pass" to buying what ever pre-lit tree I find next year . . . regardless of the price.)

As a perfectionist, it is sometimes hard to let go of having the perfect Christmas display. However, the experience of trudging through the snow with the kids and their grandpa to find the best tree we could, was well, special.

And since we didn't have to spend $100 on a beautiful tree (or even $30 on a slightly disappointing tree) makes it even better.

Of course, next October I will be first in line for a brand-new, pre-lit beauty. And I am sure I will look back on our "Charlie Brown Tree" with a smile and fond memories.

Sifting . . .

The boxes are starting to come to an end . . . and floor space is becoming available.

Which is both good and bad.

Good because it means everything is finding a new home (even it it means hanging out in the dreaded basement indefinitely).

Bad because it is now showing the effects of not cleaning for the last two weeks . . . and having a constant stream of workers in our house. (Seriously, last week I had someone in here almost 8 hours of every day . . . and this morning one showed up at 7:15am!!)

Unpacking went quite quickly that first week when the house was novelle and the kids were so well behaved. Naturally, we never left our house so I had lots of time to get things done. And not having any appliances meant no cooking . . . or clean ups! (Great time savers!)

But, suddenly life was back up and running full tilt. Kids started school, Brad worked overtime to make up for the week before, and said workers came in constantly, messing things up and keeping me from being able to get things done.

I'm not sure when everything will really get "done," but we at least have a few rooms that are presentable to guests and places of refuge from "catch alls" such as my office. And, at least Christmas decorations are getting put up. That really helps make it feel "homey."

A Breakdown in the System

My records were meticulous.

Really, they were. Every box was colour-coded, numbered and then written up in "the master list" with incredibly detailed contents.

It came in so handy during those weeks where things were packed that should not have been packed so soon.

And, upon move in, looking for particular items was a breeze . . . check the master list, find the box, location, and number.

Highly organized.

Except for one little breakdown.

For some reason, my winter boots have gone off the radar. I've looked in all the laundry room boxes, all the family room boxes, and all the last minute boxes, particularly the unlabelled ones.

No such luck.

And, as Murphey's Law would have it, we've had mud, rain, and blizzards here for the past week.

Let's just say that my feet are getting awfully cold trudging through 1 foot of snow to get the kids to the bus stop and back.

So, Santa, if you are reading this, kindly consider bringing me a pair of boots. (I've tried to going to the mall to get a pair but they have THREE--THREE--pairs of boots in my size to choose from. And none of them seem to work.)

Moving Day

In honour of Moving Day, I thought I would write up "The Anatomy of a Move":

Phase One: Organization

This is where you start tackling your skeletons hiding in the dark corners of your basements and closets . . . trying to purge as best as you can.

It lasts a few weeks (if you are lucky) until you realize you way too much crap to spend your very limited time on.

Phase Two: Semi-Organization

You are still making lists of things that are going into boxes, but the purging is now relegated to anything moulding or furry and lifeless--those items that you cannot determine get thrown into the box for future sorting. (But hey, at least you have record of an unidentified object in box 78!)

Phase Three: Dumping

Just grab armful after armful of junk and throw it into a box. Colour-coded sitckers and box numbers are appreciated, but are not necessary at this point.

Phase Four: Trash

If you are still finding junk lurking beneath furniture, on top of furniture, or breeding in closets, just throw it into a garbage bag.

You haven't realized it existed until this point so you probably don't need it, right?

Phase Five: Cleaning and Breathing

You can take a deep breath, right? All your hard work over the last two months has paid off and everything is packed . . . you just need to do a quick cleaning job. And, since it's 6:30 am and the movers won't be here for 2.5 more hours, you're in great shape, right? Absolutely . . . until you open your kitchen cabinets and realize that all the expired food you've been housing wasn't able to go out with the trash last week as planned because you ran out of garbage tags.

Can we say Panic Attack??

And somehow all those "last few things" are taking up far too many boxes. (Seriously, how can so few things fill up an entire box??)

Phase Six: Pack Rat

Have you ever seen the movie Labrinth and paid any attention to the trash lady? Yup, if you live where they limit your garbage (and the garbage man himself refuses to help in a trash emergency) you have no other choice than to pack your trash and garbage up with you.

The bright side is that at this point, all those millions of boxes that seemed as though were too many, are now used up and all that is left are trash bags. (Just be sure to label the bags with bedding and last minute stuff clearly!)

Phase Seven: Empty

(For the most part . . . just need to come back and pick up your Christmas lights that are still hanging and of course, all your bags of trash.)

Delivered

Our Life In A Garage (It may not be pretty, but it sure sped things up on moving day.)

Even though the house closed on the first, we didn't move in until the second.

Which made us very glad to have listened to others and move the day after closing . . . our keys weren't in our hands until at least 5 pm on the first.

It did make appliance delivery and installation a little annoying though. Being out in the country there are only certain days that Sears delivers. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. (Closing day was a Tuesday.)

(We ate a lot of crackers in the interim and made some good use of our mini fridge, mini freezer, and convection oven.)

Moving Day went pretty smoothly. Of course there are always moments of panic when you think you have everything packed and then find a cupboard miraculously full of food.

And the garbage, oh the garbage!! I have been getting rid of stuff for the last year, but especially the last month or so, buying extra garbage tags . . . but somehow the 25 tags we bought the last few weeks ran out far too soon.

I found myself standing on the curb at 8 am on closing day with $10 in an attempt to bribe the garbage man to take our stuff. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He refused and I was left, cash and trash in hand, wishing I had tried the cookies instead.

The movers we got were super fast. I thought that while they were loading I could get to cleaning the whole house . . . but it was quite a bit of work keeping up with them. They loaded every room with amazing speed. And, the fact that we had the majority of our boxes in the garage waiting for them helped tremendously.

Fortunately, the weather was really good. The temperature was very comfortable to be outside without a coat, and the rain stayed away until the late evening. The ground outside our new place was pretty dry . . . which was amazing since only the day before we were wading in calve-high mud.

Usually packing the truck takes way more time than unloading, but this time it was the unloading that was time consuming.

I had all the boxes colour tagged and had several maps around the house and entrances to direct them to which room each box needed to be placed. It worked for the most part, but as the afternoon wore on and the sun went down, lighting was an issue. (Next time I need to have glow in the dark colours on the boxes.)

Now as I sit here in flurries and subzero temperatures, I am so grateful that things went so well on moving day. It really made it easier. And as the forcast calls for blizzards in the next few days with freezing rain . . . I am SO grateful that we had an early December closing . . . and that Someone up above was playing with the weather. (This was the first year in about 80 years that our area has not had any snow in November.)

Sealed

Usually, a Pre-Delivery Inspection is just that.

PRE-Delivery.

Ours wasn't. (Although it really frustrated my plans of the "perfectly" planned move, it didn't surprise us given the frustrations we've had with the sales staff over the last few months.)

In fact, we had pretty well closed before the inspection started.

It was a good thing that most of the house was approved by us . . . there were several things that either weren't complete, or had problems of one sort or another. But, since there are always problems with a resale . . . and it is your financial responsibility to fix them--as well as endure the fixing process--we take great comfort in the fact that we only need to endure "the fixing." And that will be annoying enough, I think, after our experiences this week with phone, cable, appliance deliver and set up this past week.

The Good:

The House

The house overall looks stunning. I mean, really. I pinch myself several times a day to make sure I'm not just dreaming. And even then I only feel like we scored some great deal on a rental. It's really hard to believe that we own this place. (Or we will in 30 years. ;) )

Dining Room.

Foyer and main floor hallway.

Grand staircase

Avery's Room.

Jackson's Room.

Boys' Bath.

Jayden's Room.

View from top of landing. Beautiful, yes. But we have since learned that we need to invest in house coats because the construction workers can see EVERYTHING up here. ;)

The Master Bath

Of all the gross counter tops I had to choose, I gave the least thought and hopes to the master bath counter top. I figured we'd be replacing it soon anyway and went with something that seemed tolerable. Well, it turned out beautifully. Really. Had I known it would have been this nice, I would have done the kitchen in the same. And I would have let them do a molded back splash so that I wouln't have been in the situation we're in now: needing some kind of back splash, loving the counter top, but not being able to find something to match the floor and wall tiles and the counter.

Master bath cabinet and counter top.

In fact, the whole master bath is beautiful and will be even better once we get our sconces, mirrors, and accessories in there. Oh, and shower walls. (Apparently, those are still on order.)

Brad's closet.

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom (again)

My closet.

The Kitchen

I seriously never thought it was possible to run out of things to fill kitchen cabinets with . . . but I have. At least 3-4 remain empty while others are mildly full. (Of course, we haven't gone grocery shopping in about 3 weeks so after tonight it may be different.)

The cabinets are gorgeous . . . but so high maintenance. And with all the future work to be done on our place, the dust is just going to pile. (I've decided I need to invest in some great dusting equipment.)

The Tile

When we were making our selections, it was basically choosing between white white tiles, grey white tiles, beige white tiles, aqua white tiles, and some very horrible shades of brown?? I was really worried that the tiles would be too white and impossible to keep clean.

Well, the tiles are still pretty light, but they aren't as pristine white as I was expecting and I really do like them. Maybe even enough to sweep and mop them every hour . . . because honestly, every time I have cleaned them, someone walks into the house and tracks clay, mud, and gravel in and I have to start all over again.

The Fireplace Mantle

Turned out wonderfully. So glad I upgraded to it.

The View

Okay, so out the front we see excavators and dump trucks, but since no one has bought beside us, we have fantastic views of trees, blue skies, and local landmarks. Out the back is beautiful too since our neighbours have gorgeous back yards. (We like to pretend that our property extends to theirs.)

The Bad:

Avery's Bath Room

You can't really see the detail in the inserts, or even how the colours on the floor go/don't go with the counter top. They do kind of go, just wouldn't be my first pick.

Not a huge fan of how it turned out. However, over the last few days it has started to grow on me. Perhaps it is because that is the place we have been showering in, but with the curtain pulled over the bath tile, I can forget about the tacky inserts in the tiles (which I am still not convinced I would have ever picked out).

The Flat Panel TV Conduit
Are they supposed to end in the basement? We were quite positive we asked them to make it come out of the wall to the left of the fireplace. What are we going to do with a cable box and DVD player in the basement hooked up to our TV?? I sense that they might be ripping up our wall in the near future.

The Kitchen

Most of the kitchen is beautiful. However, the counter top is a bit nauseating. It's faux granite. And I hated it during selection, but it was the only one that I could really have chosen to match the rest of the kitchen. I really hope we get to know a wholesale granite dealer soon. (Which is highly possible given that our entire community is made up of Italians . . . who are in some kind of construction.)

The Master Bath

Um, shower doors and walls would really be helpful. Really.

The Hot Water Heater

We started the inspection in the basement and it didn't take us long to realize that the drains were working. Because there was water gushing out of our hot water tank! YIKES! (Fortunately, they fixed it for us before we moved our stuff in the next day.)

The Powder Room Toilet

Missing water. And a hose to connect it to the water system.

A Curved Wall

In between a coat closet and the kitchen. Not sure how they will fix it.

At any rate, we signed and sealed the deal, hoping that these little things (and other things) would soon be fixed.

Signed

Signing day.

It finally came.

It definitely wasn't as fun as we imagined. Well, a lot of that was probably undue stress that we caused because we left the mortgage to the very last second.

In our defence, it did work to our favour since we got an awesome rate. But it caused quite a bit of panic and confusion on the parts of our lawyers, mortgage brokers, and set us back two days in our packing schedule.

Cold feet got to me, I have to admit. Much like what I imagine most other people get before their wedding day.

"Am I making the right choice? Should I have stuck it out with my ex?" (See here and here .)

As I drove through the town where we almost bought last spring, a little bit of pining for our first house love broke through.

Should we have bought that one months ago? We would have had grass. (And more than just four blades--even that is being generous since we will be sitting with a pile of mud for a year before they sod.)

We would have had neighbours. Like people ones instead of empty lots and exavators.

We would have had a big, beautiful house that we loved. . . months ago . . . and not be stressed for the last few days. And not be moving into a house that we haven't really seen.

But, we also would have been stuck in a three bedroom house . . . with a mortgage double what we have now.

And, we would not be living in a really cute, quaint town with a ton of community spirit.

I think that is what we are most excited about. In fact, this weekend, there is a big Christmas festival. We can't wait to take a break from unpacking to check it out.

It certainly made signing all those dotted lines easier. (Not that there was any choice at this point!)

So, everything is signed.

Money is transferred.

Everything is ready to go as soon as we seal the deal on the inspection. (Which ironically takes place after we will have closed. YIKES.)

Why

Why is it that the more boxes you pack, the messier your house seems?

Artistic Expressions

About two months ago, Jackson came home excited to tell me about his new friend. He couldn't remember her name, but she was really nice and played with him. She'd play at the sand table with him, and play tag. She was the only one who was faster than him . . . and he loved it.

I tried to find out who this "mystery" friend was.

I'd watch as they lined up to see who might be standing near him. I even asked his teacher who she might be. I didn't have any luck.

Then, about a month ago, he came home with a name. The name.

Ramasa.

And, a few weeks later we discovered that she even lived across the street from us. (Too bad we are so close to moving away.)

He would always try to walk with her if she was going our way. Or at least be on the look out for her if she wasn't walking near us.

Yesterday, my usual happy, bounding boy sulked home. He dragged his bag on the ground for the whole seven minutes.

I asked what was wrong and he replied,

"Ramasa doesn't want to be my friend anymore. She didn't play with me today. Instead, she played with someone else."

"Well," I began, "perhaps she just wanted to play something different than what you were doing? Did you ask her to play with you?"

"(Sigh) She's not my friend anymore."

He was pretty distraught, but I hoped that he would soon forget and move on.

Today proved otherwise.

Apparently he drew picture (shown above) to show Ramasa. He chased after her all over the classroom to make her look at it. His teacher found him and asked some questions.

"Are you giving this picture to Ramasa?"

"No, I just want to show her how I feel when she doesn't play with me."

The teacher looked at the picture of one person.

"Jackson, how do you feel when Ramasa doesn't play with you?"

"Lonely." He broke into tears. "I am so lonely," he sobbed.

The teachers' hearts broke as they brought him over to Ramasa and prompted him to ask her if she'd play with him for the rest of the day, and even tomorrow.

She beamed a big "Yes."

And Jackson came home so excited and happy.

He drew a new picture as soon as he got home.

Wish List

The world crumbled a week ago.

If you didn't feel it give out from underneath your feet, you might have heard an anguished cry from the Great White North.

It seems his mother was not on the ball this year at all. Going into Sears to pick up the Wish Book in early November was clearly silly.

They had been sold out for months. Worse still, you couldn't even order anymore. There is not a single, unclaimed Wish Book on this planet. (Or at least so said the sign at the catalogue register.)

If you remember to last year you'll recall how much Jayden poured over that magazine. I mean, for months. He even carried it around to April, picking out the perfect present for every one who entered our house . . . or even passed by on the sidewalk.

He was devastated, obviously.

Last year Brad snagged the store copy that was wired to the desk. I will admit that thoughts of doing the same thing did occur to me. (Desperate times call for desperate measures.) However, each page was laminated and firmly secured to the desk so I knew my chances of making it out inconspicuously were very small. Or even non-existant.

Now I know that I need to be in there mid-Auguest to have a chance at a copy.

It's a little sad, since we are moving I was really hoping a copy of the Wish Book could occupy my kids for at least a solid week while we transferred from one place to another.

In the mean time, they have been pouring over the online version and Avery has found her present at pbk.

Today as we were browsing, she came across all the dolls. After a lot of contemplation, she picked out a doll outfit and this package of twins.

"In bag!" She ordered me to put it into our shopping bag, like we were robbing a bank and needed to split urgently.

I explained that we couldn't put it into our bag because we haven't bought it yet. And since I had $15 on me, we were clearly unable to pay for it.

"Maybe you should put it on your list for Santa," I suggested.

Avery carted her two dolls all around the store and into the play house. When I was exchanging something at the counter, she brought her package over and plunked it down by the register.

"Mom, buy it." A very demanding order from a little girl. But it was so darling I almost pan-handled for change to get them for her.

I hoped that the act of putting it up on the counter made her feel like we bought them and that she'd soon forget.

But, as we walked out of the store she began crying for her babies.

In the past, Santa has frequented pbk . . . but I'm not so sure about this year. I think he's planning on buying out Home Depot and Lowe's for all of our stockings.

Believe

Perhaps it's the talk from older kids on the playground. Maybe it's the millions of Santa's they see all over the malls, streets, and parties. Or, it could be that they have watched a few too many movies.

Whatever the reason, I have read many a blog entry about the challenges with eight year olds teetering on whether they should believe in Santa anymore.

It is much sadder out here.


My little six year old has come home with questions about The Man in Red.

Apparently, one of his classmates has been telling him there is no such thing. And, since he is a member of x faith, he obviously knows everything about everything.


I appreciate how an immigrant would want to hold onto their mother culture. And, I appreciate how challenging it is to come into a country whose traditions are so different than yours. And, how heart-breaking would it be to hear your children come home crying because some of their classmates had a visit from Santa over the winter holidays while they got nothing. (I say only "some" of their classmates because out here, our children are 2 of the 6 caucasian children at their school of 350.)


However, when your child is ruining someone else's culture and tradition, I draw the line. (Or worse, ruining Christmas for your four and two year via the 6 year old pipeline.) True, the parents may not have "encouraged" their child to spread the news of the Big Guy, but it happens anyway.


What do you really say?


All I could think of was, "Well, everyone has their own beliefs. His is not really true. Haven't you gotten lots of nice presents from Santa?"


Jayden insisted that his friend was wrong so his little friend said that he would do a test. This Christmas he was going to leave milk and cookies out and see if anything gets left for him.


If we were staying here permanently, I'd consider breaking into their house and leaving a gift or two. But, fortunately we are leaving before Christmas and will be surrounded by a majority of families visited by Santa.

All In The Name of Love . . .

. . . for a burrito.

Now this isn't just any burrito. No, not at all.

Nor is it about some crazy pregnancy craving. (I seriously crave these things any time of life.)

If anyone reading this has ever had a Cafe Rio burrito (steak or chicken) served enchilada style, and moved away from a Cafe Rio restaurant, you know the craving. And how intense it can get.

All I wanted was a burrito. Okay, maybe I wanted two. (It's not like Cafe Rio is just around the corner!)

Last July Brad went off to Vegas for a weekend with the boys in his family. In exchange for watching the kids for him to have a blast, all I asked for were a couple of shopping items and two burritos.

As he was heading out to the airport, he picked up a couple of burritos for me and carried it on the plane with him.

Or at least he tried. Until the security stopped him saying that he couldn't board with aluminum containers. So into the trash can they went.

It left me a heartbroken and now starving pregnant lady. (I had been saving calories for these babies all weekend long. Well, the nausea of early pregnancy might have played a factor too.)

This time as Brad packed his bags, I carefully got out our soft cooler. I found our two best tupperware containers (so he wouldn't have to waste time and money buying them, and also to keep my dear burritos fresh through the whole plane ride), and gingerly packed them into his suitcase.

Brad left for his trip laughing, but secretly I am sure he understood my pain.

Again, as he got ready to head out of the City That Never Sleeps, he picked up my two burritos, stuffed them into the tupperware and filled the cooler with ice from the pop machine.

Instead of carrying them on, he thought it wiser to put them in his suitcase . . . so no one would think he had a bomb in the cabin.

Once he got to the airport in Canada, a customs officer pulled him aside with bad news. Apparently the bomb and drug sniffing dogs had taken a keen interest in his suitcase and alerted officials to something suspicious.

Out came the cooler and my beloved burritos, and a few other things. The whole suitcase was riffled through and pillaged. Brad was chastised for even thinking of bringing meat and poultry across the border.

My blood boils both at customs for depriving me of a decent burrito . . . and the thought of those happy dogs . . . whom I am certain were ecstatic to have found mouth-watering burritos instead of drugs . . . and probably gobbled them right up.

Worse still, we think that we may now be "tagged" for border crossing to be forever checked when we cross.

Which is a lot. But may be a lot less very soon.

And I am still left craving a burrito from Cafe Rio.

Help!

My closets and drawers are all empty . . . but they seemed to have thrown up all over my house!

I have discovered that while I may be an organized packer this move, I am certainly not a neat packer! (Maybe I will improve on that for the next move . . . should there be one.)

To help keep me focused in the mess (and strap the kids somewhere where they couldn't make an even larger mess), we took a drive up to our new house to check on it; see if it will indeed be ready for closing.

They have finally locked the doors . . . which means two things. 1) Strangers will no longer be wandering through our house, and 2) The last finishing touches have begun. (Like flooring, cabinets, etc, etc.)

The tiles have been laid and, although they are white with a trace of gray (as opposed to white with a trace of yellow, beige, aqua--yes aqua?, etc . . .) they are very pretty. At least from the front porch window. :) The baseboards and moldings are in everywhere but where the hardwood will be laid and it really makes the place look like a home . . . instead of a bunch of walls placed together.

The only thing that was distressing was when I peered in through the garage door to the powder room and saw concrete towel holders cemented to the wall.

I cringed. My blood boiled. My heart broke for my beautiful walls that would soon need to have holes ripped into them . . . either by the builder or us. (We put in several requests for changes to "standard" things on our house and, although we could let some things pass, concrete towel holders, toilet paper holders, and soap dishes were NOT negotiable. And we were VERY specific about that.)

I put in a complaint to the sales office right away . . . so hopefully the builder will be taking care of it this week since time is really running short. And, I don't want to have to do it or pay to have it done after we move in.

(A curious aside: while in the sales office I checked out the lot sales. Just about every single available lot has been sold . . . which is considerable seeing as there were about 200 dwellings. However, not a single lot has been sold on our street. Nada. Zip. I really can't tell if it's a good thing . . . that we have the largest lot by default . . . or that there is something fundamentally wrong with our street that no one has told us about . . . like it's an Indian burial ground or something. Should we be concerned???)

In the mean time, Christmas carols are being played on the radio and thoughts of decorating a new and beautiful house in time for the holidays is keeping me cheery. That, and thoughts of sipping hot cocoa by our stunning new fireplace while listening to Christmas carols, all in the flickering light of a Christmas tree.

Sigh. I need to keep this image in my mind as I slowly sift through this clutter.

The Breakfast of Champions

Sort of.

While Brad was away playing, uhm, conferencing in Vegas, the kids let me sleep in a little bit on Saturday morning. (Like to 8am.)

They brought me breakfast in bed.

Jackson brought a yogurt and a sippy cup of grapes.

Jayden brought me the "chef's special" (aka: crushed brownies in yogurt) accompanied by a bottle of water.

While I am a chocolate lover to the bone, I'd definitely have to say that in this case, it was the thought that counts.

Definitely sweet that my kids would go and do all this on their own . . . before they tore my house apart. :)

Where Does Time Go?

It seemed like we had ages and ages before a move was imminent.

Months and weeks stretched before us, with all the time in the world to make important decisions like choosing a lawyer, finding a moving company, and picking the right school for our kids.

Somehow, only some of these decisions have been made and time is running short. Very short.

Fortunately, we've been able to find a lawyer to take us on last minute, a mover, and have been able to get everything else in order . . . for the most part. However, schools have posed some trouble.

Catholic vs public vs French immersion. So many things to consider: hour long bus rides EACH way to school, religious issues, facilities (or lack thereof), and standardized test results.

My head has been spinning.

Obviously, test results have to bear a bit of weight. However, I learned an important lesson while shopping for colleges. Of the three I toured, one was ranked #1 in the country, another was well known for it's co-op program and strong academics, and the third was known for partying and business . . . neither of which was up my avenue. Surprisingly, I felt very much more at home at University #3, demonstrating to me that while academics are important, the facilities and feeling you get while at a school is far more important. I think that if you feel comfortable there, you can learn much better and then meet your full potential.

So, as we toured two schools in our new town (sending them on an hour long bus ride just to get to school was out of the question, especially since it meant they were in French immersion), I kept this lesson in mind.

The Catholic school "front line" of this new and well equiped school was very much unwelcoming. Even though I called a week in advance and asked for a tour and to meet the principal, I was only allowed in the office long enough to leave my name and number and have the principal call me back later. Not only did it seem as though they didn't care whether I sent my kids there, it seemed as though they just did not want me. In spite of my Catholic background. Not a great start for Mormons in a small town Catholic school.

The public school was very warm and welcoming. Unfortunately, the receptionist remembered me completely from my previous trip there. (Refresh your memory here.) She even guessed who Jackson was off the bat. The principal took us on a tour of his meek and very outdated school. (We are talking about 1927 school house with a bell on it.) It had been renovated, in 1985, to include a gym. The floors and desks seemed to have been around since the school first opened and the only thing modern was surprisingly "smart boards" in every single classroom. The principal appologized for the poor facility and said that he totally understood if we would choose the Catholic school over his, because, well, everyone else seemed to.

As I looked around, I saw happy kids and staff that knew everyone's name and worked hard. From the window of the "hall library" (not even a room, but an alcove in the hallway of shelves with books) I saw a fun playground for the kids to play on. Some bushed areas to make forts and hide out, and a little hill for sledding in the winter.

For sure my kids would love recess here, and since the staff had already assigned my kids parts in the Christmas concert, it seemed easy to slide right into this school.

But as I filled out the forms to transfer their records I stumbled across the standardized test rankings.

Pitiful. Really.

I was quite sure that anything in a rural area would be heads and shoulders above our current school where my kids are some of the only English speakers.

It is true that the school is very small and the class who was tested had only 18 students. Total. But still, should I be concerned?

The Catholic school scored decently, but the neighbouring school that our school would eventually feed into for grades 7 and 8 had very strong results.

So I find I am back to square one.

Catholic or public? Or do I try to weasel them into the neighbouring school with some financial bribery?

Time is running out. And quickly.

Tonight Was A Good Night

Tonight was good.

Great, in fact.

The kids all polished off their dinners without me even having to ask them. Even Jackson didn't leave a drop of alfredo sauce or salad dressing. Or even lettuce leaves. (Usually Jackson touches his food with a fork prong and then claims he is too full for anything and leaves the table.)

(I suppose it helped that I made homemade penne alfredo, but the salad was well tolerated and that was a surprise.)

We had such a peaceful dinner that we even had a decadent dessert . . . brownie cheesecake.

And, I was able to clean up afterwards while the kids went up stairs to get into their pj's. There wasn't any fighting, yelling, pleading, heads hitting walls . . . So, after teeth were brushed and scriptures read, I felt energetic enough to read everyone their choice of story. (This is our "usual" routine, but have not seen it for a while since dinners and bedtime routines have rarely followed this pattern for some time.)

And after everyone was tucked nicely into bed, (or screaming in their crib), I was able to settle down and watch the "Office."

Yes, tonight was a good night. It reminded me of how much I enjoy my children.

Which is good. Because yesterday, well, yesterday three little people almost didn't make it to see the morning.

H1M1

There is a serious bug going around out here. The H1M1 (House 1, Monday 1).

My house has been sick for quite some time, but lately, it has gotten even worse. Usually, it just has a good vomit fest on Mondays . . . but these days, it seems to have extended to every day of the week.

In fact, my house has passed this virus on to the laundry and garbage. I keep emptying containers, and they keep overflowing again and again . . . within minutes it seems.

Clothing and toys seem to spew from every corner.

The experts say that there is no vaccine available yet and that my only hope is to treat the symptoms.

I am hoping that the act of packing will help treat the symptoms and, hopefully with a few weeks of isolation in boxes, our belongings will not carry any of the live virus to the new house.

Costume Found

Avery's missing costume was finally found, a week later.

Apparently, I checked all the garbages except the laundry room garbage.

For Those Sitting on Pins and Needles

Some photos of the interior of our house . . . with the drywall.

(I know that for most of you, actually all of you, watching our house go up is probably akin to watching grass grow, but nonetheless . . . )

Garage.

Kitchen. Can't you just see some green topiaries or herb pots sitting on the window sill?

Family Room. I can't wait to see the mantle. We upgraded it since we will be hanging the TV above. We still haven't decided what to do about the wall we took out between this room and the dining room beside it. Maybe we'll do some French pocket doors one day . . .

Dining Room. I am so glad we took out the columns that come standard under the archway.

Laundry Room. A tight space considering there's a washer, dryer, tub/cabinet going in there AND it is our mud room.

Hallway/Foyer. I'm hoping that seeing two tables diagonal from each other won't be too weird. I am currenly on the hunt for a square table that extends to seat 12 . . . anyone know of one in Canada?

Living Room. The piano will go against the far wall and we are going to find the largest Christmas tree possible to go in the front window. Won't that be so pretty? Especially in a construction site?

Stairway. (Eventually there will be a railing with metal pickets.)

All in all, it looks pretty good. Although, now that the walls are in it does make the rooms feel a lot tighter. I try to keep telling myself that it is merely because we don't have furniture in there to see it "relative to anything." I hope so. 3400 sq ft should not feel small!

We are pretty excited about moving in though. Here's our Top Five:

1. The new appliances. That's really exciting for me . . . except I am a little nervous about having a gas stove with our children. Any one have experience with that?

2. We're excited for Brad's shorter commute.

3. Excited to be in a country setting. And close to great sledding hills this winter.

4. Getting out of this place. (We have had a leak from the master shower into the kitchen for over a year now and the mold is really getting gross in both the shower and the kitchen.)

5. A brand-new kitchen . . . with tons of storage space. I've already mapped out where everything is going . . . I just hope it is as big as I think. (But since I was really stretching to fill cupboards with making a "play-doh" and "Guillermo" drawer, I guess I have some wiggle room. ;) )

Today I Am Grateful That

the garbage man comes by 8am.

Seriously, it is embarrassing that we have so much garbage all the time. Granted, we are moving, and we did clean out our garage and 1/4 of our basement this past week . . . but our regular garbage pile isn't ideal anyway.

We have a two bag limit and most weeks we average about 4. Ooops!

I am sure the garbage man just cringes every time he comes near our house. Maybe I will make him some cookies??

Packing

We are now in the midst of the "great" pack.


Our last move was a bit of a nightmare. About half of our stuff lay hiding in closets, dark corners, underneath furniture until a few hours before the truck was loaded. I am still haunted by thoughts of throwing armfuls of "junk" into boxes, thinking, 'There can't be much more!' only to find that there were another five boxes that lurked beneath the one pile.


In our defence, we hadn't even signed a lease to move until about 6 weeks prior to the move . . . and I was two months pregnant, while trying to care for a three year old and a one year old. AND, our little town house left little space for any boxes to be stacked up.


Nonetheless, we have been determined to avoid the nighmare that was our last move and so we have carefully scheduled our packing. And I have scanned the internet for efficient packing and moving techniques.


They are a beautiful sight.


My boxes, that is.


We have since learned to invest in U-haul/Penske boxes, even if they cost a bit. (It ensures that we won't have cockroach eggs or bugs in there.) And, I have them all colour-coded, numbered and have the contents listed on a note pad that is carried around in our "moving supplies bag."


Well, for the most part. My system worked pretty well until we hit the basement boxes. I thought that all my work last February would prove useful and would have cut our work time to about an hour . . . but it still took ages to get through the "wall of boxes." I had to make up a lot more basement tags and what exactly do you write for "more junk?"


At the two hour mark I got fed up with it all and wanted to move over to the Christmas section of our basement, you know, for a change of scenery. Brad called me back, stating that I was lazy for not finishing the first job. However, after going back and finding mostly his books, papers, and reports from BYU classes and UCMT, I called him on slothfulness when instead of sorting through things and tossing them, he would just dump one box into another and tape it up.


"One day we will have to face these demons," I chided. "No, not likely," was his reply.


Maybe next summer would be a good time to sort through the rest of our basement skeletons?


Fortunately, the "unknown" boxes are stacked neatly in our garage (thanks to Brad) and we can go back to our brilliant packing system.


It's really hard to believe we only have three weeks left. And still so much left to pack. Yikes!

Sometimes . . .

You have days where you feel like this.

Nothing seems to go your way and any attempt to fix things somehow makes it worse.

Fortunately, there are "tomorrows" and, with the knowledge of what a burr bush looks like and does, there is the prospect that "tomorrow" will be better.

To The Kinkos Man . . .

Thank you.

Thank you for seeing that my brain has been fried all day long by whining children home on a PD Day. Insomuch that I could not figure out how to work the photocopier. Or, that I was clumsily trying to copy page after page with a stapled document . . . 30 pages long while holding a screaming and wild child in my other hand.

Thank you for seeing that the other two whirlwinds with me were taking my concentration from my copying to the candy they were finding through out the store.

Thank you, for making my copies, even though I was at the self-serve counter.

I know I said "Thanks" while I was at the store, but really, "Thank you."

You made my Kinkos trip worth the 30 minute drive in traffic both ways and the 7 minutes of driving around the parking lot looking for spots to park worthwhile.

January

It seems like everyone bemoans January.

I know I certainly have in the past.

Nothing really exciting happens other than bills and the remnants of Christmas to put away for another year.

This year, we are excitedly counting down for January.

2009 has not been the best of years . . . from house heartbreaks and stresses, too many funerals, and then the stress of building a new house and office . . . and then paying for it. ;) Add to that moving and swine flu and you have a year that will not be greatly missed.

Yes, things were somewhat exciting, but for the most part we spent the year on the edge of our seats, up and down, riding a crazy roller coaster.

Fortunately, things look good from December on. I mean, who could be sad at Christmas time? (Unless all Santa will be bringing them is toilet paper roll holders . . . which is very likely this year.) And after that, things look very good for work in the new year. We have our vaccines, so hopefully we'll be healthy for winter, and with only a few weeks before the birth of baby number four, 2010 has got to be better.

So, admidst all this craziness of packing and moving . . . I am feverishly counting down for January. It just may be the first "calm" month for us in a long time.

Halloween Bah-Humbugging

Another crummy Halloween hits our family.

Fortunately, it is only me that is sick this year . . . and no one in our family is puking on a doorstep. (Like what happened during the "Puke or Treat" stomach flu Halloween of 2007.)

But, the flu got the better of me so out Brad went with the kids to hunt for candy and I remained with my ginger tea and "Say Yes to the Dress" to pass out candy.

Brad dressed up a bit and the boys were transformers. Avery was supposed to be a fluffy white kitten. However, five minutes before everyone was leaving her costume went AWOL. Seriously, how can a costume just up and disappear?? I checked under couches, in every closet, in the garage, the basement, even the garbages.

Granted our house was a little untidy since I've been sick all week, but it wasn't THAT bad.

Fortunately, two years ago I found a witch's costume on sale for $7 and still had it hanging in Avery's closet . . . with the tags on. Voila, new costume just in the nick of time.

Guillermo, who wasn't crazy about costumes ever (especially this year's) was more than willing to be humiliated if it meant he could escape our house for a while.

So off they all went to find mountains of candy. (Brad never lets anyone do Halloween half-heartedly.)

And I made myself comfy on the couch with my tea and show . . . for a few seconds.

Seriously, the moment I would sit down, the door bell would ring. It was a workout!

Naturally, it is freezing cold here for Halloween (it IS Canada, afterall), many a tot would come up to the door, bundled in a snow suit.

Wondering if the immigrant parents misunderstood the concept of Halloween, I would ask what they were.

"Optimus Prime." I looked them up and down and at the very tip of their ankles I saw a glimpse of the multicoloured leotard that I knew so well from Jayden's costume.

"Oh, Happy Halloween!"

My favourite though were the teenagers who came up without a mask, without a costume, just a ski hat, warm coat and a garbage bag for loot.

"Trick or Treat!"

Hmmm. You've got to be kidding me! You really think I'm giving you candy?

But while I was contemplating their candy fate, Avery had let the crazy, barking lobster out of the bathroom and he made a dash out the door.

"Uhm, is he supposed to be out here?"

"No." And I watched the red lightening bolt leave our property and b-line striaght for our neighbour's open door across the street. (I guess he was hoping that he could make a break for a new home that wouldn't make him wear such stupid things during any given holiday.)

"Okay, I'll give you guys double the treats if you go bring him back."

"Cool dude!" And off they ran.

Eventually they came back huffing and puffing with a lobster. Grateful that I didn't have to chase him myself out in the cold, I was more than happy to give them handfuls of our "gross" candy stash.

The best were the teenagers that Brad got.

Teen Group One:

"Hi! What are you?"

"I'm myself."

"And you?"

"I'm myself too. But I have a mask." And she turned her head to the side . . . no mask in sight.

Teen Group Two:

"Hi! What are you?"

"I don't know."

"Oh. Happy Halloween?"

I think next year we skip the whole charade and just hold a Halloween party. Maybe the day or so before and then turn the lights off and hide come Halloween night.

Avery after the first candy rush.

Brad soon realized he bought WAY too much candy and sat on the door step "begging" kids to come and take his "gross" candy away.

The gang. Notice Guillermo's lack of enthusiasm.

Just For Moms

On the top of my Christmas list.

Or for a little "pick-me-up" sooner.

I am in the market for a new planner. Previously, I have been using "GoMom," but they spoiled me last year with a deluxe version that had a vinyl tri-fold and no longer carry it.

For the past few years I have used a planner called, "Go Mom!" and last year they spoiled me with a tri-fold version in a vinyl portfolio cover. Now they have discontinued it and I have been on the hunt for something similar.

Being full grain leather, this one is quite a bit pricier than my old one. So, I would also consider this less expensive desk top version of the planner.

Find them here.