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!

One word answers

Here's a meme from Wrecking Crew. I thought it was a great challenge.

One word answers please!

1.Where is your mobile phone? purse
2.Your significant other? couch
3.Your hair? frizzy
4.Your mother? cottage
5.Your father? far
6.Your favorite thing? laughter
7.Your dream last night? dream?
8.Your favorite drink? dunno
9.Your dream/goal? success
10.The room you’re in? dark
11.Your ex? close :(
12.Your fear? broken
13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
14.Where were you last night? here
15.What you’re not? thin
16.Muffins? two
17.One of your wish list items? physical
18.Where you grew up? Maritimes
19.The last thing you did? lunches
20.What are you wearing? jammies
21.Your TV? large
22.Your pets? many
23.Your computer? mediocre
24.Your life? happy
25.Your mood? crispy
26.Missing someone? yes
27.Your car? car?
28.Something you’re not wearing? parka
29.Favorite Store? neighborhood
30.Your summer? aaaaahhhhh
31.Like someone? yes
32.Your favorite color? blue
33.When is the last time you laughed? morning
34.Last time you cried? recently

The clean and the dirty of it

Ok. It's time for a poop story. I don't think I've posted one here before. If I have, this is the updated version.

A long time ago, oh, about three years now, when CU-3 could start taking shared bathes with CU-2, things went well. It was a good form of water conservation. All went well until CU-3 started making deposits in the bathwater. Eventually, she was banned for co-sharing tub water.

Speed forward three years. CU-4 has graduated to co-sharing the bathtub with CU-3, with CU-2 being an observer and supervisor now. All is well ... until ...

"Daddy! Daddy! CU-4 has pooped in the tub!"

Papa goes to the first aid kit and hauls out the latex gloves which CU-2 volunteers to wear. "I liked picking up the dog poop when we had a dog" she exclaims.

While she pulls and snaps the gloves onto her hands and fingers, she glances over to the offending matter in the tub "That's not really from CU-4 is it? It's really got to be CU-3's right?"

"No CU-2, it's CU-4s", I replied with awe mixed with disgust.

"No way Mom! That's to big too come out of such a little guy."

And there you have it. Your late Sunday night/welcome Monday morning! poo story.

Muffins and a coffee

Gotta love my neighborhood. It's one of those up-and-coming ones. It was actually written about in one of those in-flight magazines that they pass around on Air Canada.

We're slowly getting known for more then a beaten-up community. We still have more then our share, but that's what makes it interesting.

Like the phone call I got earlier today from The Huz.

He's taken to calling me after he's dropped off the kids, and enjoys the little bit of contact about the eventful or uneventful drop-off he may have had.

The Huz: "How handsome am I?"

Me: "Huh?"

The Huz: "How handsome do you think I am?"

Me: "What are we talking about? ... Well, there is the picture I call "Lord Have Mercy". That one show's you in a particularly good way."

The Huz: "I think I got propositioned."

Me: "Huh?"

The Huz: "It was in front of XYZ. A lady asked me if I wanted to go out for a coffee and a muffin."

Me: "HUH? Was this before or after you dropped off CU-3 and 4?"

The Huz: "Oh before. They were with me."

Me having a WTF moment. "What'd you say?"

The Huz: "Ohhhh, no thank you."

Oh he's sooooo Canadian.

The meme

Beyond stolen ... from Guider and Jen and now Josie and on it goes.

• Where is your cell phone? in my purse, which is in my locker (aka individual closets - it doesn't help get us organized, really)
  
• Your significant other? chasing kids in and out of the house
• Your hair? it's humid, so that'd mean my hair big (think white chick with an afro)
  
• Your mother? at her summer home in Québec
  
• Your father? Washington State
  
• Your favorite thing? candied cherries, kids (sometimes not my own!), Spring time, warm rain, subtle success, good health, my special some some
  
• Your dream last night? that I'd got to sleep earlier
• Your favorite drink? summer time, Cervesa, all other times, room temperature tap water
  
• Your dream/goal? short term (3 years) that the Mirigo Cooperative goes some where (preferably not down the shitter), medium term goal (6 years), to see child unit #1 actually graduate from high school (it's going to be a stretch), long term goal, retire to just two jobs when I'm 65.
  
• The room you’re in? computer room at home
  
• Your ex? What about him?
  
• Your fear? Jail, heights, school principals, stuffed grape leaves
  
• Where do you want to be in 6 years? Still here, with great experiences behind me, loving life with gusto.
  
• Where were you last night? Home. Panicking about silly stuff.
  
• What you’re not? Not sleeping. Not eating smaller meals. Not being patient when it really would be the best thing to do.
  
• Muffins? Oh yes please. I do love my carbs.
  
• One of your wish list items? Success for my kids (particularly CU-1), a car (maybe, someday, peace between the two households. Oh. You said one ... oops.
  
• Where you grew up? Fredericton, New Brunswick was the longest stint in any one ville (16 years)
  
• The last thing you did? Snapped at CU-3 for putting her hands in front of my face (continually) while I'm trying to update my meme
  
• What are you wearing? green t-shirt, capris
  
• Your TV? is in the front room
  
• Your pets? too many - André the harp seal (17 lb cat - his choice, not mine), Papa Le Chat, Purr (another cat that we're fostering), Steve the hamster
  
• Your computer? it's a PC. I'd LOVE a Mac
  
• Your life? not so good that it couldn't be better
  
• Your mood? mixed. Feeling brittle and impatient.
  
• Missing someone? yes ... absent CUs
  
• Your car? in my dreams
  
• Something you’re not wearing? a barrette
  
• Favorite store? Giant Tiger, Old Navy
  
• Your summer? Planned
  
• Like someone? As I get older, I look more like my sister
  
• Your favorite color? 1950s blue
  
• When is the last time you laughed? Maybe yesterday
  
• Last time you cried? A couple of days I let some leak out.
  
• Who will repost this? I dunno.
  

Ratz

So I missed getting a table at Arts Park by two weeks. (The cut off was the end of March.) Ratz.

There are other cultural festivals going on across the city, but they may require more work then I can muster (with a 16 month old probably in tow, it's kind of hard to staff a table, let alone flog wearables).

But, on the other hand, the cooperative and the shop and are just coming to being a week old. Oh I have so many expectations of my offspring! ;-)

On the other most talked about subject - the weather - boy have we got some nice stuff, and in spades. +++ 20 degrees and it's taking people by surprise. So much so that it's becoming a bit of a problem. People don't have their AC up and running and certainly have been slower to put away the winter gear (though not abandon it quite yet).

Today, while visiting a friend for breakfast, she lamented that she enjoys the slower transition from Spring to Summer and that she'd just bought new close toed shoes that she'll get to wear twice now before fall! (I have to secretly agree with here - I just bought myself new sneakers that I want to wear and I don't want to go fishing for my summer sandals just quite yet.)

Sometimes divorce isn't such a bad idea

No really, it has it's good sides.

I've been on a roller coaster this week. Delivered a MONDO project that felt like giving birth or defending a thesis. It was that big. Now I get to coast a bit. Well, at work. At home things are firing off in all directions like the freaking fourth of July.

Today I was approached by the director of the after school program three of my kids go to. She told me that there have been some issues regarding the comportment of the eldest and that they've been escalating. We talked for a while and she reassured me she'd be talking to the kids father (she stressed the father, not the partner ... apparently she too has had his special deflection treatment).

What's stressing me out about this is that I think there's a good likelihood history will repeat itself and he'll make an all encompassing decision to jack the two eldest out of the program and make other arrangements (that being his partner's parents will swoop in and start caring for the children after school as the septuagenarians are moving in with them all).

This is great for the children's father - one more level of people carrying for his children so he doesn't have to deal with them. Possibly lousy for me. School ends at 2:45. Core office hours run at least to 3 and then the fastest I can get from the office to them is 30 minutes ...

So, I've had my panic attack about this already, and have laid out three plausible options of what to do. (One being the kids IS 12 years old and could stay at home alone ... however, he has issues which are the reason we may be having to attend to his premature removal.)

Plans are a good thing. Now it's to sit and wait to see what the father does.

Now, on a good note. I'd been involved in an organization that I believe translates to Parent-Partners in Education. It's an Ontario wide initiative to support families who have one parent who is primarily an English speaker and another parent that is primarily a French speaker and who ultimately decide to school their kids in French. This group has a two-fold aim. Support the English parent who may feel at a disadvantage placing their child in a school where they may not be able to comprehend what's what.

I'd participated in launching the initiative and then the group presentation. Over the summer they changed direction and decided to put together video clips of families with this type of make-up and build a CD and web presence to get the message out broader.

Tonight we were treated like movie stars (on a very small budget). Two camera guys came over and set up in our scratch of a back yard while the kids did tricks for them and we talked about what it's like to be in a "mixed" marriage (the irony being that that was my first marriage, my second is with another Anglophone and *I*'m serving as the French representative!)

So, at some point this fall, we'll be notified that the video (bilingual - the huz in mostly English. Me in my version of French.)

It was a fun experience, something I would never have thought of to do while behind the iron curtain of the first marriage (it was very controlled).

A cute moment of the interview? When I was asked what the children would say if they were asked what their language status was (Francophone, Anglophone, or something else). I suggested she ask that question of CU-2 who replied "I was born a Francophone, but now I'm bilingual.) CU-1 said he was a Franco-anglophone. My goofie boy brings tears of pride to my eyes!

Back to arg

Holy moly, how many times do I turn to the web to whine?

Let's borrow one from Meg and write up a list ...

Things I'd like to do this week:

. sell my children to the circus
. sell my project manager to the circus
. open my window at work (I'm on the 11th floor) and pitch my desk top computer out (it's a construction site next door, the guys are wearing hard hats, so no one would be harmed in the process)
. clone myself

My kids have been bad. Very very bad this week. Cats and dogs get along more harmoniously.
The older two have been concocting science experiments in their lockers at school. And, lucky Mom! I get to clean out their lockers there, as well as pick up after them at home. Oh joy. Don't I feel fulfilled now?

My project manager at work. In his defense, he did go away to a warm, sunny spot for a week during a major snow dump, and right before that happened, the project I'm working on was transferred to his domain, but that was a freaking five weeks ago! Wake up and smell the mangos man! Today, while in a status meeting, he asks for a run down of where we were as there's a client meeting tomorrow. Besides my sharp retort "Um, the board room?", I was able to confidently identify that I'm good to go. Afterwards, in order to line up ducks for this meeting, I talked to him about details of the project, only to find out that 1. he's looking at version 5 of the document (I released that back in February and we're on version 13 now!), and 2. he's never read the thing. Ok. It is 135 pages, but over 1/2 are freaking pictures!!

Which segways nicely into my next point - my desktop computer. The actual punting of this computer out the window wouldn't do much good as it's the archaic software applications that are running on the computer. Microsoft Word 2000 - ring any bells any one? I hear we're supposed to be getting an update. My guess is it'll be Microsoft Word 2003 and that will come through in, oh, about 3 years.

Regarding cloning myself. I think I need an inside me and an outside me. The outside me wants to poke around a bit in the garden, do some general tidying and some subversive trash dissemination. The inside me wants to clean.

Geeze. It must be Spring!

I did it! I did it!

A full two weeks + before my self-imposed deadline, I've taken the plung and have set up shop with mirigo.etsy.com and mirigo.esty.com! (Sorry! You'll have to cut and paste these addresses into your browser address. There seems to be a problem linking at this time.)

I'm very excited about working in the cooperative model. The other artists and artisans will add their wares to the sites as they are created, so there will be new things coming on board regularly.

May I cordially invite you to take a peak and offer comments please. I'd like to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. ;-)

We are not a day care

This morning, while trying to herd cats, a young lady tried to come into our house. When I opened the door she said she was here to get Malcolm from the kinder program.

When I told her she wanted the day care across the street, she started to argue with me that SHE was in the right place.

Sigh. I know I have a lot of kids, and, now that the snow is melting, the yard is littered with plastic that never did get picked up last winter, that doesn't make me a day care though!

Burning the candle towards the middle

Ok, so I've got 21 days to get my act together to get things loaded to what's going to be a cooperative of artists and artisans who need an outlet to sell their wares, but aren't necessarily technologically connected to do so or lack the drive for self-promotion - all fairly common to the creatives of this world.

The co-op that will be at mirigo.etsy.com (there! I've finally said it!) will provide access to double the options for payment then the sister site I've developed, over at mirigo.weebly.com.

Mirigo.weebly.com is allowing me a bit more flexibility to posts information that really doesn't have a place on mirigo.etsy.com.

Mirigo.weebly.com is now up now, and content (read products) are being added as the artists create. The What's new page provides you with the quickest overview of what's been added to the site in recent days.

I'm hoping to run the two sites in tandem, with mirigo.weebly.com providing a depth of service that's a bit deeper then the shop site.

Enjoy.

It's 10 o'clock and alllllllssss wellllll

It's only Wednesday night and I've been fighting the good fight with flu/allergies/what-ever-the-hell-is-going around. Oh well.

Meanwhile, DH has been banging his way to building CU-3 and 4 a better bedroom. This means I've been left to my own devices, and laundry, and child rearing.

Most of the time it's not an issue. Being sick for a couple of weeks has put me behind on house keeping (those of you who have seen my house will be asking yourselves "and the difference is ...?").

CU-1 and 2 come home tomorrow night - a whole day early because of the blasted PD days that come like sprinklings of sugar throughout the year. So, that just kind of compounds to the chaos as there is their laundry (that still hasn't been processed). My laundry, his laundry and other people's laundry. That's a whole lot of laundry.

Which causes me to panic a bit. Just a teeny, tiney bit. 'Cause I feel like I'm stealing time if I bother to work on my Etsy shop. Though, it is coming ... May 1 people!

Oh, and then there's Spring. Who thought that Spring was a good time to start things, like gardens, and cleaning, and being outside? I mean really - those distractions are distracting me from getting my business started! And from doing laundry. I mean really people. After such a crappy winter, why couldn't we get a few good rainy days (I said rain - no more white stuff) so that I could catch up on the laundry, and vacuuming, and maybe, just maybe start on the clothing rotation for six people.

Alas, it's 10 o'clock and all is pretty good at this end. Nothing a good bout of delegation wouldn't solve. (If only there was some one who I could delegate too! ;-)

Home based what???!!

Ok, so panic is setting in. (I'm thinking about the comments of encouragement you readers have left.)

I've got ideas that are crammed in my head and they just won't get out. I've got technology issues to attend to, and an absentee spouse who has been holded up in CU-3 and 4's bedroom making it super nice for them but at a loss to me for the last three weeks. (He works slowly v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y). Doesn't help that upon the heels of that nasty flu, I've now got an allergic reaction.

Complain, complain, whine, whine, whine, this too shall pass.

I just need to cram a few more hours in the day, or give up bathing ... ;-)

My goal is to have the virtual shop up by May 1. It's coming! I promised myself!