Vacation? What vacation

With only a couple of weeks left of school, I've being going over the details of vacation dates and working the line to coordinate coverage to reduce child care costs (when 1/2 of my salary goes to child care, I look for places where I might be able to save a bit!)

I thought I had it all figured out, then WHAM! I'd forgotten about CU-4's care giver who, of course, gets a summer and winter break! With luck, our weeks overlap a bit. It still means that there's got to be a bit of dancing because The Huz is taking off one of his two weeks jointly with the family, though he'll be working on a construction project while I'm at the Mothership's cottage (keeping the kids away from The Zone).

The next week of vacation he's going to take off to be with the kids while I go back to work. So much for R&R eh?

Then we tag off yet again. I go into camp mode again, and possibly back out to the cottage. All is well and good until I actually figured out that "Ta" as CU-4 calls her, is actually on vacation one week longer then our vacation. Oh ratz!

That means I've got to find care for him or take the week off while CUs 1 and 2 are with their father. It's a lighter load, but not particularly how I'd want to spend a week.

Where's CU-3 in all of this you might ask? Well, Monday next we'll confirm her entrance schedule into school. Yes SCHOOL! (queue the music)




Evil Maman alert here! I've ALREADY bought new school shirts to add into the mix, and have dug out the uniforms for NEXT FALL! Though, really, it was because it was in the way of the impending construction zone. Oh yes. That's it!

Run Forrest run!

It's race weekend where I am and we're billeting a runner who's taking on the half-marathon this weekend.

In talking with him, I was mentioning about how I wished I could do what he's about to do. That got us into a very interesting, those twisted discussion about performance training, laziness and
other sundry excuses (kids being the biggest of them all!)

I am in awe of those to pursue things of which they are passionate about. I struggle with it. In fact, I joke about being a reformed smoker. Well yes, I was one once. It was all tied to working late nights and going out for coffee and a donut at Tim Hortons (when they allowed smoking in the store). I think I lasted all of six weeks of Monday nights then got bored. This side of my personality is kind of sad really (though it also serves as a great joke about Crack addition and how I think I'm immune!).

Doing the rounds

Cripes! A whole week since I last blogged.

I just got back from two days at the mothership's cottage. It was a little bit restful. We had a lot of rain and a lot of cooler weather. That didn't stop me and CU-4 from making a break to the pocket beach to build a few castles. Alas, that's when my camera's battery decided it was tired and needed a recharge. Oh well.

For those of you traveling through the Pontiac area, stop on by to take a peak at Zephr-Rose's studio. She's offered a corner of the space to put up a live pick-up-and-poke site for some of the coop's products. She's also got some one of a kind drawings and prints that she's made for sale.

I called it, didn't I?

And I quote:

"From this day, CU-1 and CU-2 will no longer attend after school care while in our care. XXX and XXX have been advised of this change."

I figure I've got six more years.

Just makes me sad.

Oh, and on top of that CU-1 spent an hour crying about a Social Studies test he's going to have Thursday. He told himself over and over and over again that he was going to fail. How do you beat that logic?

I know other's have it hard. Days like this make me want to push the easy button and say "Dear X, you want him to badly. Here you go."

The Huz's comments to my sentiments? "You think long and hard about that one." It seems like the fight has gone out of him too.

Funk

I finally got a chance to do my rounds after a stupidly nutty week of getting stuff together for an photography exhibition, getting CU-3 and 4's room ready for habitation (a LOT of late nights), and then all the kids are home this weekend.

We've also been checking in on Grandma Tim who took a tumble last week and broke her femur.

The tour was distraction 'cause now I'm having a Church of Latter Day Saints moment (remember those commercials about changing the crappy into something different/better?). Meg started it by sharing her list. Josie's mood has prompted me to go nostalgic with



And now I'm play it continually until I've got three kids rolling their eyes and dancing around with me. So Josie, I invite you to play the funk for what it's worth.

Oh, and happy Mother's Day!

Come on rain

So tonight is supposed to rain. I say bring it on. ANYTHING to drive me in doors to startfinish my chores.

For the last week I've been working outside to move the fence out to the property line, to clean up the yard of winter detritus, to think of planting, and to walk around putting flyers up about the many many initiatives I have going. I'm hoping things clear up so that I can post flyers about a weekend show I'm having at a gallery, just in time for Mother's Day.

Then there is the painting. OMG how I hate painting. But, it's the last of the last of things to do for CU-3 and 4. Then I can clear out the crap from the older CU-s rooms and life can resemble some sort of normalcy. Yahoo.

Dora

Ok - so we made it through the Super Dora party that CU-3 ordered.

I pushed the easy button (or so I thought at the time) and had the party organized through one of those give-me-your-credit-card-number-and-I'll-
give-you-a-supervised-and-coordinated-
party-for-a-zillion-dollars.

Well, CU-3 and nine of her closest daycare buddies met at the community centre that was hosting the event for us. THAT was a good idea, because half of the invitees were boys. And boy where they BOYS! (Picture trying to bath cats. Six of them.) There was swimming, with a supervisor and almost every kid with their parent in the water. (Only the father of the "Group of seven" and I left The Huz to guard over the masses (remember - there was a coordinator there too, and seven other adults in the water, PLUS three life guards!).)

The swimming just wasn't enough to poop out anyone, especially CU-3's love interest since they were both 1 year old. (This is a romance that's been going on for three years now.)

The hand-off to the next activity coordinator happened after the kids were dried off. The poor girl had the right idea, but the wrong kids. We'd all have been better off taking them outside to the playground for an hour. Her games were about as successful as trying to catch wild rabbits.

Thankfully we made it to the cake part of things and the kids accepted my version of Super Dora.

Thank goodness for four year olds. They certainly don't care about aesthetics.

Oh, and seeing that her real birthday isn't for another week, I get to make cupcakes to mark that date too!

Another meme

Many thanks to Speak into the Mike for continuing the tag and to Houdini for opening the invite. (I don't get around much, so this is fun stuff when I stumble across it!)

This is a familiar one that goes like this:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about me
1. I owe Speak into the Mike thanks for leading the way on discussing his photography course. It got me going to find something local.
2. I can freehand a kick-ass Scooby Doo cake, but Dora comes out looking a bit odd.
3. I thought my hair was auburn. I found out the color is actually Amber Shimmer (according to Ms Clairol).
4. I've lost .25 of an inch since having four children (I guess my spin has compressed).
5. Despite making my living as a writer for the last 13 odd years, I struggled with grammar and parts of speech all my life. I attribute part of my success to Mrs. Spinney who was my home room and English teacher in Grade 7. Without her, her 3:15 club, and her belief in me, I would probably would have become a plumber after university.
6. I wanted to become a plumber but was such a home body that the idea of leaving home for trade school (a whole TWO HOURS) away scared me. So instead, I applied and made it into graduate school two provinces away. Go figure.

Now I leave the randomness to fate. (I'm lousy with chain letters too.)

Let me know if any of you pick up the stick and run with it!