A Mundane Existance?

This has been a slow, uneventful week. I have been battling the worst chest/sinus cold I have ever had (well except for that pneumonia thing, that was bad). It has taken EVERY bit of energy out of me. I am finally caving and headed to the doctor today.

I realized this week how uneventful my life has become. Many friends are having major life changing events right now. Having babies or changing jobs. I also have come to realize how happy I am to have a routine in life. I don't mind it one bit. I do not wanna do the whole baby thing again. I love my three kids and I love how they are getting bigger and more independant. I also don't really feel envious of those people who are working. I like to be at home doing laundry and making meals. I look forward to girlfriend coffee dates (do we have one tomorrow girls?) and watching all the kids run around.

I have decided mundane isn't a bad word. It's a comforable word.

Home Again, Home Again.

Is it a bad sign when you are packing your van for a holiday and your semi-driver, who is outside loading up your grain in his truck, comes inside with one less finger than he started with? Should you just stay home? Well NOT US! We just bandage him up and send him to the hospital--we have a trip to go on. Then we notice that we still have the finger. So we throw it on some ice, throw the kids in the van and follow him in!!!!

Two funny things my hubby asked him while I was administering first aid--
1. Do you want a Tylenol? Um, I don't think Tylenol was gonna do much at that point...he severed his FINGER!
2. Are you from Biggar? B/C as previously stated, most insane things that happen to us have some sort of Biggar connection! This one didn't so it seems we are branching out!

But now the holidaying is over and I am back to laundry, dirty bathrooms and sticky floors. But in GOOD news, the drywalling should be all but done in three days and I can start to PAINT my new house!!!!!

A final trivia question...where does the following line come from "You can be my wingman anytime"?

Packing.

I remember when packing was so simple. And how Uncle Marv used to mock me that my bag was so full and I was only going overnight. But that was ONE BAG. Now I pack for myself, my hubby and THREE children. The sheer amount of crap (sorry for the vulgar-like language) that I have to load & tote around is downright repulsive!!

You shoud SEE the way the bellhops look at us when we open our van. But what should I leave behind? Stroller? Clothing? Diapers? At least we are really great tippers to the bellhop...does everyone else tip the bellboy?

Anyway, we are off tomorrow morning for a 5 day get-away. And to top it off I have to return fireplace parts and take the computer to the shop. Not sure where I am gonna put all this stuff in the van!

A wonderful addition!

But the wonderful news is that my girlfriend had a GORGEOUS little baby girl--Solveigh Liv!!!! Isn't she the sweetest little-faced thing? Welcome little angel, Auntie loves you!

Solveigh is the third in three new babies in my life this week! So welcome to the world Luke and Lily, I love you both too!!!

& it goes on

11. Lost one of my yellow sapphire earings which my hubby gave to me for a wedding present. Which is worth a small sum of cash.

What else?

Here is my list of the things that went wrong this week...

1. My water distiller broke down. Which meant we had to haul water from the in-laws. Which was fine until...
2. My in-laws water distiller broke down.
3. My washing machine (which is only three years old) broke down. Apparantly they have transmissions that can blow up.
4. My computer started acting funny. Won't let me burn anything.
5. The sewer froze up. Wasn't digging a hole fun Leigh????
6. My children are sick. I've been up with #1 since 4 this morning.

I guess I should be thankful it is Monday and we are starting all over again?

To Vote or not to Vote

Well all it is indeed voting day. How many people exersized their right to put an "X" on the paper and shove it in a little box?

Let me tell you the issue I had...I had to vote in Kerrobert All fine I suppose except I am much, much closer to many other poling stations...whatever right? Right. But the other three adult residents of the farm all had to go to Kelfield (the closer station). WHY???? And there were people who live by my parents farm who were told to go to Dodsland to vote. Dodsland is 2 hours away. What the heck?????

Anyway, let the best man win?

Reesh, I got the point already. You can just bloody well give birth. You far surpassed my date. But I am still sticking with my BOY vote and making HIM 6 pounds 1 ounce. And if he is smaller I may have to fly out there just to hold such a little bundle!!!!!!! You are totally gonna need premie clothing. Ambros no. 1 was 6 pounds 8 ounces and had to have premie stuff. Though in all honesty she lost over a pound in the hospital. Anyway, hurry the heck up.

There's Something About Biggar

I dunno what it is with us and Biggar but it is getting a little bizarre. We have come to start praying for normality at the 16 mile corner (thus named b/c it is 16 miles to Biggar) and don't stop until half-way between Biggar and the next town (Perdue, an amusingly-named town in itself. Perhaps someday when I run short of material I'll start in on Perdue's name). Here is a run-down on the oddities...

1. Girl driving right in front of us TOTALLY losses control of her car for NO reason and ditches it, jumps the highway, and ditches it again b/f she finally stops her car. Luckily she's okay but I thought for SURE I was about to scrape her off the ditch.Happens RIGHT outside of Biggar.
2. We see a UFO, guess where? RIGHT by Biggar.
3. Huge accident at our approach a few years back, where were the 4 kids from? Biggar.
4. We see a meteorite on the other side of Biggar.
5. Coming home from the city the other day a semi-truck tries to turn the 16 mile corner by Biggar and out of the blue his trailer catches the ditch and starts pulling him into the ditch. Good thing we start praying at Biggar b/c he was able to right his wrong.

Anyway, we are now wondering what is about Biggar.

P.S. The new sign in Springwater reads "Plastic Surgeons Offer: We'd like to pick your nose."

Bermuda? I don't think so!!!

So there is the Bermuda Triangle, yes odd and all but how about THIS for spooky geometric configuration happenings?

In the last week there has been a rash of odd things go missing 'round here between me, my sister and my friend. FIRST Jammer (friend) could not find her white shirt. Okay, that's too bad...she liked that shirt. But THEN on Christmas morning G-Lo's (sister) knife just disappears...well that's weird, how do you loose a two foot knife? And TODAY we realized that one pair of earphones from our portable DVD player has just VANISHED.

Then when you view the chart of our residencies, what do you see but a TRIANGLE configuration!! (Insert spooky music here.)

Now we must CSI to solve this mystery...what do white shirts, large knives and earphones have in common???

Pyromania?

When I was interning (oh so long ago) I had a special child in the classroom whose name I shall not mention. The obsurdity was that the child loved fire. Passionately loved fire. In fact we had to check him daily for matches. Seriously. Morning frisking. Once burnt down his own house he did. Odd I thought, that a (Kindergarten) child could love fire so much.

Now I have my fireplace. I can sit and STARE at the fire for HOURS. I get really happy when it's time to put another log on the fire. It fansinates me. I can even block out the sounds of the hammers and saws and various other bang-bang sounds. I just LOVE my fireplace.

So here is a picture of my fireplace. Now you can all sit and stare at it for hours with me. Though to be fair, it is blurry and I was too lazy to take another round of pictures. So maybe you only want to stare for like an hour or so and then take a break. (HOWEVER, if you are reading this and you live across the yard from me--there is no reason you shouldn't be over here RIGHT NOW enjoying it with me!!!!)

As an aside, we had our first visitor knock on the woodshed door today. Man did I laugh.

Ka-BOOM!

Okay so it wasn't exactly as dramatic as Ka-BOOM but still, the wall (& door) separating my living room and (soon-to-be) dining room has come down! Which is an exciting pinnacle in the renovation process but also, it brings me the joyous, Christmas-y look of dry-wall dust powdering my house!!

I HATE MESS!!!!!!! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. Number of times I dusted today? Three. And no one is even WORKING on the house today. I took the opportunity to clean up everyone's "work areas" today. I am not sure they will thank me but still, I HATE MESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't understand how people can live in mess all the time! Am I just a little too Mrs.Clean??? B/C my dishwasher goes at least twice a day and I don't know if my washer/dryer EVER stops if my eyes are opened and my sink is always clear of all dishes. I like my floor washed at least every second day, my vacuum is out & running everyday before coffee-time and my sheets never go any longer than a week before being changed. More like twice a week really (mites, yuck). Is this abnormal? There are people laughing at me b/c I am constantly cleaning up the dry-wall mess while the place is still being sanded. But who can LIVE in mess????

And I won't even start on the people who live with 500 cats...

Barbie

A little known fact...If Barbie had my hip measurement she would have to be seven foot two and a half!! Also, if she were a real woman, she would have to crawl b/c her body could not physically support her frame. And she could not have both an trachea and an esophogus b/c there isn't enough room in her neck.

So what does this mean for me? B/C we know it somehow mean SOMETHING in regards to me...

Well OBVIOUS I am not 7 foot two and a half!!! I didn't make it to 6 feet (I tried so hard, even hung by my arms in the closet to try to stretch out the spinal cord, didn't work). Now my hair is no longer blonde. So OBVIOUSLY God is telling me to eat all the Christmas baking b/c I shall NEVER look like Barbie. Thank you. I shall now go and eat said baking.

Fa-La-La-La-Bah-Humbug

Well this is my big accomplishment this week. I hummed-and-ba-humbugged thinking I wouldn't even put up the tree with the dry-walling that will ensue in the next few weeks. And who wants to clean that mess up? And then the tree will have to be MOVED down to the new living room...BA HUMBUG!! But eventually I caved and set up the tree!

I am going to have to buy another tree at the end of the season since I will have a school-girl by next year--which means school-made decorations. And in my home, the tree is ALL about Mommy. NOTHING goes on that tree without running by me first. I did let them put on some Christmas balls this year. I moved them later to the right place...but still...ahhh what a great memory for them to take forth into the future.

But seriously, isn't Christmas GREAT???? It's my very FAVORITEST holiday!!! Especially with my little people!!! And I love all the snackie foods and all the drinks and the MUSIC. I just LOVE Christmas.

Whew! They changed it!

Well they changed the stupid riddle in Springwater (pop. 8). So the new riddle goes like this...

"What is brown and sticky?".

And this time it has nothing to do with bodily movements!! Anyone, anyone? The answer is actually ON the sign but does anyone wanna take a stab at it??? (And don't Google it and ruin the answer!).

My Own Top Ten

So in response to my dear, sweet little sister's blog here are my own top ten reasons to love where I live...

1. Tim Horton's -- it's not THAT far away!
2. The site of my kids & their cousins (real and surrogate) playing together
3. My next door neighbors
4. The water tower
5. Freedom for my kids to roam around their yard without creeps watching them
6. Subbing with my sister
7. Coffee dates with my girlz
8. My new house
9. Knowing that all roads for my wayward brothers and sister (-in-law) will return home
10. Pumpkin catapolting in the coulee

Irrational Fears...

So this is to make my little sister look more sane for being irrationally fear of walking through ditches (they DO have snakes you know)!

My irrational fears:

- dolls (notice how they STARE at you???? Just stare with those dead looking eyes.)
- kites (yeah, not sure about that one either. Just freak me out. I get so tense when I see one.)
- clowns (then once at the annual Saskatoon Fair...one followed my cousin Jody and I around for two hours. I was BAWLING by the time it left--oh and I was 19. But the damned clown just kept following, silently. Then it would tap me on the shoulder, then pretend to hide behind one of the other carnies...which reminds me...)
- carnies (WHERE do they FIND those people???? Do they TRAIN them to be so creepy???
- birds, any type anywhere (has anyone SEEN Hitchcock's movie??? I was frightened enough before but then I saw that movie and it confirmed all my fears, they will fly at you and peck at your eyes. THEY WILL!!!!

I was going to download a picture of a kite, or a bird or a doll but just can't bring myself to google for one!

Makes walking through ditches to avoid snakes look pretty normal doesn't it?

Anyone else have odd, irrational fears?

Anyone, Anyone?

Okay, so there is a town called Springwater not far from us (well really calling it a town is being a little generous, it is more like 5 houses with bad paint jobs. But I digress...). So, Springwater's only claim to fame is it's sign. They have this sign on the highway side of 'town' that constantly changes. Usually it has some sort of pathetically witty, family-friendly riddle. Like last week when it said "Where does a hamburger go to dance? The meat ball." Not exactly funny I suppose but still it makes slowing down to 60 KM (you ARE supposed to slow for some unknown reason, maybe one of the 6 residents is out walking their dog? Not sure. But again, I digress...) a little more enjoyable.

Now call me dense (just leave that one alone MomentBoy) but this week for the LIFE of me I do NOT get the sign. If ANYONE, ANYONE can get it then PLEASE let me in...

This is what it says...

"What made the lobster blush? The sea weed."

The Boring Life of Kiki

I am trying SO hard to think of creative and fun things to say. Something to keep the readers interested, you know? But since the last, really exciting post I have done the following:

- cleaned the house about a million times (which includes garbage and toilet duties)
- made what seems like meal after meal after meal
- hosted a one-year old's birthday party

And now I am babysitting my girlfriends little girl (isn't babysitting supposed to be the PAID position of a 12-year old girl?).

As you can see I am relatively certain that after this posting everyone will abandon me. Stick with me folks, eventually I will have to do some sort of farm work again. Or I'll trip and fall and hurt myself, that's always good for a story or two.

The Tale of Butch & Kiki

Well I am really turning into a farmgurl! This week we went to my Mom and Dad's to help finish harvest. My sister was there with her little family also. Which is all fun.

So Glo (aka Gloria, also known as my sister) and I noticed an odd family phenomenon...No one, NO ONE I say, expects me to be out there doing farm work. It isn't even asked of me to drive a truck let alone a combine. But not so much for my big sister. Nope, she trucks, she combines.

Now why is that? Well the ONLY reason we could come up with is that I am obviously cuter than her. No one expects the cute one to get dirty and gross. No, the cute one stays inside and posts blogs. Poor, homely Glo, she has to get out there and work...hard. She was really dirty when she came in.

Thus our new nicknames...Butch, being ugly Glo and Kiki being my new cute name.

Well Butch just couldn't let it go. She forced me one day to put on my Gap jeans and Parasuco sweater (these are the closest 'farming' garments I could find) and come out with her in the combine. Which was all fine and good (I brought refreshments) expect we had to share a seat. And Butch took up way more than her allotted room. So I had to sit with this lever sticking STRAIGHT up my...well you know...and bounce around in the dusty combine.

Then dusk set in. And we realized Papa's combine has no heater. And Kiki did not bring her Gap jacket to keep warm with. And Kiki did not forsee this issue and shared her refreshments with the others...so at this time Kiki had been out there for 5 hours...and Kiki was not happy. And Kiki had to use the potty. And there are NO potties in the field.

Boy was Kiki happy when the night was over.

No one asked Kiki to go back out. After that Kiki was on babysitting and meal duties ONLY.

And really, I would soon like to post something WITHOUT farming being the root of the issue.

Clifford & the Pumpkins

My Day...

So on Wednesday night David says to me "Mom & Dad will watch the kids, do you wanna go to the city with me tomorrow?". Quickly I said "sure", a day in the city is always fun right? Slowly, slowly it dawned on me. David is making pumpkin deliveries. Eight bins of pumpkins...

You can't fit 8 bins of pumpkins in the Jetta or the van. You can't even fit them in the 1/2-tonne truck. Nope. Eight bins of pumpkins gotta go in the back of the grain truck. Which means I have to ride in the front of the grain truck.

At this point I try to get out of it but David guilts me into going along. So in I climb, climb, climb. We bounce all the way to the city. (Note to those who do not know: a grain truck filled with eight bins of pumpkins can't go the speed limit.) I feel much like a hutterite.

What is a hutterite some of you might ask? Well they are a group of people who live on a colony and live and work communally. Often they are confused with the Amish b/c they wear similar clothing. You will often see the Hutterites headed into the city in their grain trucks or other farm vehicles (once I saw a man and two women in a combine driving around). One should also note that the Hutterites always have really nice, new equipment and vehicles.

So David and I are joking around that we are living like Hutterites...then we pull into the Burger King parking lot (we had to go there b/c David couldn't get the big grain truck and it's eight bins of pumpkins parked anywhere else), and we climb out. Only to see a group of Hutterites pointing and LAUGHING AT US!

I had some things to do in the city. And it was the unsaid policy that David would drop me off in some obscure place so that I wasn't actually SEEN getting out of the not-even-good-enough-for-the-Hutterite-grain-truck. There was a small glitch, however. The passenger door doesn't work (a little fact that remained unmentioned until I needed to get out the first time). So I had to unroll the window lean ALL THE WAY out to reach the handle and open the door and then jump out at each stop. It made it a little difficult to be inconspicuous.

Now really people, do I really seem like the kind of girl who should get in the grain truck and drive to the city???????? What do you think the odds are I will EVER, EVER, EVER do that again????????