Finally getting around to posting...

So, we've officially been home for over a week now. It's been a very rough week too. Esther came home from Canada with a cold and generously shared it with her brother, then dad, then my parents, and finally me. It's been a veritable snot factory around here.
Here are some pictures from the trip, though admittedly they don't do our trip justice AT ALL. These were stolen from Sandra's (see picture below) facebook album. Thank you Sandra!! (haha, be you didn't expect to see them here...)
The trip was good. Got to see lots of cousins on both my mom's side and my dad's side. And Esther got to meet some of her second cousins and first cousins once-removed.
The picture above is Duncan (aka "MY friend") of whom Esther is the boss.

and last but not least, the happy couple, my cousin Em and her new husband Mike.

no place like home

we're home. we all have colds....

Come-brrrr-mere

so we're in Combermere. Em and Michael's wedding was yesterday. It was a lovely affair full of good food and lots of music (and a bit of booze as well).

I guess we're leaving tomorrow for southern parts and maybe even get to the border. We shall see how it goes. The kids are doing pretty well all things considered... but i'm a bit concerned with their recent propensity for adding "eh?" to the end of every sentence.

Pictures to come!

Oh Canada!!!

We made it!!

Despite my father's status as "wanton criminal and liar" the border guards granted us entry into this beautiful country. We are currently camped out here and enjoying the heck out of the lovely scenery, the amiable company, and the joy of not being trapped in a moving vehicle with two rambunctious, fidgety, whiny, and shrieking children.
Joy of Joys!!! - we may just stay here...

All our love and will keep you posted.

Fun Stuff

1. Asa now has three teeth (two bottom, one top)
2. My mother is now the proud owner of one of these.
3. My parents, Ben, myself, and the kids are all road tripping in the RV to Combermere, Ontario by way of Niagara Falls - which i have never been to and am SOOOO excited about. There's something so attractive to me about a vintage honeymoon spot famous in the fifties.
4. Jes and Ceci are both doing well and are out of the hospital
5. We are officially on the look out for a Honda Revel 250cc (any year) for cheap because i can no longer live life without fulfilling my need to ride a motorcycle to work. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CALL ME IMMEDIATELY!
6. Esther has started preschool. It's Tuesday and Thursday mornings which are my days off so it works out. I'd have posted pictures of her first day of school, but i'm a terrible mom and preschool seems a bit premature there's no backpack or school bus... She seems to like it. She did well her first day but her second day she cried after i left. Here's hoping she manages better tomorrow.



And I just want to say: It continues to astound me how many readers i actually have. I always assume that it's like 3 people who read this blog regularly and am continually surprised when i find out there are more of you. I'm sure this is just my own brand of narcissim but I love that there are people who enjoy keeping up with us and our little family...So i just want to say, Thanks for Reading!! (now go update your blog so i can stalk you!)

(singing) Getting better all the time...

So the last couple weeks have been dosies. Lots of drama, panic, deadlines, headaches, and very little reward. But things are starting to look much better (i guess that could be the sleep deprivation talking).

We leave for Canada on Sunday for ten days. I'm pretty excited about that. i'm so bad at being stationary.

Anyhow here are some videos to keep you entertained.

1am

1am, still awake with the boy...
j out of surgery, doing well. i doin' ok... a bit manic...
esther's first day of school - went well but complete loon afterwards and officially boycotting naps...
ben, trying valiantly to keep us all alive if not sane...
me, sleep deprived and a bit depressed...

swimming up stream...

i'm feeling extremely f'ing alone in all my endeavors and in some cases i'm actually the enemy...

face kicking

The world keeps trying to kick me in the face and because i somehow manage to move out of the way at the last second it's taking it's wrath out on my friends and family.

"GO SHAKE SOMEONE ELSE DOWN FOR LUNCH MONEY YOU PROFESSIONAL CRAP TASTER!!!!"

*sigh* (but for different reasons...)

Boordy but not boredy

Last week our friends/cousins Rachel and Richard were in our neck of the woods. Well, really it was a wedding in New York and while that's not exactly our "neck of the woods" it's at least in the same country as us. So they popped down for a visit.

We managed to ditch one kid and have an adult date to Boordy Vineyards where they have a farmers market and wine and music (if you could call it that). And all-in-all is a darned good excuse to get drunk in public.

So here's a few pics from that outing (thanks Rachie, i stole them from your facebook):






and no, i don't know why some of them are so small on here...

can't remember if i've posted this already or not...

*sigh*

"The ocean is growling at me, Mom"

puzzle of the day

Ever see these little girls with the braids and multiple ponytails? How in the world do their mothers get them to sit still long enough to do that??? I can't get Esther to sit still long enough for me to even brush it...

again no pictures... i know, what kind of a mom am i?

to answer the above question, a tired, lazy, over-worked, over-stressed, under-vitamined one. I stopped taking my vitamins for a couple days (mostly cause i just forgot but then decided it would be an interesting experiment). Boy, oh boy! was that ever a bad idea.
I take:
the HUGE prenatal vitamin
calcium
magnesium
b-complex
additional b-12
st. john's wort

So i went off the vitamins and by the end of day two i was in a slump... so i started again by day four because i really started spiraling down hill fast. It's like someone turns your life into a really big pillow and then starts to smother you with it. It's funny how far a little vitamin deficiency can really take you. So i'm digging my way out now and hope to be back on top by wednesday.

In other news, Asa is a crawling dare devil who has recently figured out how to open the screen door. I put him on the floor of my room and watch him crawl through the main room straight to the front door and then stand back and wait to see what he's going to do. Usually the boy just grabs one of my flip flops and tries to eat it (what is it with my children and their shoe eating??!!)
But this time he crawled right up to the door pushed it open with one hand and then headbutted his way through. I grabbed him before he made it out but WHEW!! am i ever in for it!

Esther was the kind of baby that would panic if i wasn't where she could see me. I could let her walk down to the house from the car by herself as long as she could see me on the porch. She never went directly for the pond or the pile of rusty sharp bits. I have a feeling Asa is going to give me a run for my money.

And to end the post. I have ugly hair. I'm taking a poll. Cut it again very short, or grow it out a bit? If i could get away with it at work i'd go for a mohawk. stupid work.

My Missed Calling

Now this is what someone should be paying me to think up!

up and down...

This is not a picture post, sorry... It's a whining post. There, you have fair warning, you can stop reading at any time.

I don't know what is wrong with me. I've been up one side and down the other emotionally... just all over the flippin' map. Ben deserves sainthood for putting up with me. I don't know if it's the season, something in the air, some weird planet is in some house, if my diet is off-balance (not enough fat and carbs is what it is!! - not that i'm laying off those two things by any means, but when dealing with serotonin levels nothing like mashed potatoes and donuts to make the world look just a little brighter... at least until you step on a scale or look in the mirror). It might be the lack of sleep finally getting to me... who the flip knows... But my self esteem is down, my temper is up. The dish and laundry are conspiring against me and my children are constantly building booby-traps in the doorway between my room and the kitchen. I'm pretty sure everyone is in cahoots - there's some betting pool to see how quickly they can reduce me to tears, or yelling, or just fondly gazing at the bottle of wine on the piano and making wishes...

All the projects that i have half started are staring at me and making me feel really guilty. The half-folded laundry keeps threatening to dirty itself, the bags from the beach that i still haven't unpacked from last weekend are singing the battle hymn of the republic, and the small square surface areas of the house that are momentarily clutter-free are mocking me.

I wonder if this counts as paranoid delusions...

You think i'll feel better after i take a nap or like i missed yet another opportunity to go around my house kicking-butt and taking names?

my boys

sweat drenched undies

Okay so i'm a slacker, what else is new.
I really have been meaning to put up a new post... but unfortunately you'll have to wait a little bit longer. Luckily though, i don't think this will be a problem for most of you since everyone seems to be SUPER busy these days, what with summer being all hot and bothersome and whatnot.

so, keep your sweat drenched undies on and i'll get something up hopefully soon.