you know how they say bad things come in threes? they say that, don't they? now I am not one to whine, um, okay, maybe I am. so lets recap the threes as I watch my pup try to get his fat ass up on the chair.
#1 - on a day meant for cleaning up the groomer discovers lice in one of the dogs. what can I say about the other dog? he doesn't like the n(l)ice puppy. how do they get it I ask. to which she replies, from other dogs. I say that my dogs don't associate with other dogs. they are snobs. oh no, she says it could happen on a walk. to which I reply, I don't walk my dogs. there, I said it! have you seen the temperature lately? it was cold! Hauling my ass outside for a run was hard enough never mind white foo foo and brown baby. so we medicate, we disinfect, we refrain from petting the puppies and then we give in to cuddling because for the next two things, well, plain and simple, we NEED their cuddles.
#2 - complete my half marathon last Sunday and felt pretty darn good. not a lot of pain like last year and I actually ate something at the brunch rather than stare at it. I think I may have even been bragging about how wonderful I felt. shame on me! the next morning I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a truck! everything ached and I spent most of the next four days glued to the toilet. ahhhh yes, good times.
#3 - "Art Day Monday" and it finally happens at Laurie's studio. we have a fab day. show and tell, gifts, rolodex swap done, tons of pages for the journal swap and her famous puffed wheat squares. could it get any better? I get home and am a little tired as one of the pups had a rough night. I figure I will have a wee nap before everyone comes through the door for dinner. Mom calls to say that Dad is not doing well. Have you met Mom? no? she is a bit of a drama queen and should really have blonde hair. if the attention is not on her she will do whatever it takes to make you focus on her. Dad is feverish, he is shaking, he is spitting up blood. Huh? what is his temperature Mom? I dunno. can he talk? no, he's sleeping. did he eat anything today? ya. has he taken any tylenol? ya. did you want to talk to your Uncle? remember the Uncle who is visiting her from Italy? YES! my uncle gives me the 411 and I rush over to take Dad to emergency. AND here is the kicker. dad gets in the car, uncle gets in the car and mom waves bye to us from the house. Huh? WHATEVER! I ask dad if he can make it or do we need 911. drive he says!
so as I am sitting here this morning it hits me. three things! is it over? cause, really I'm good! god only gives you want you can handle, that which does not kill you makes you stronger, everything happens for a reason.....blah, blah, blah! O - KAY! you have made your point! I am paying attention and to what is it that I need to pay attention to? sorry a bit of ADD, look cows, psycho analyzing happening.
dad is in the hospital and will be for the next week or so. he has pneumonia and they are doing more tests to figure out why he is spitting up blood. scary and new things all around for me. I am an only child and have never had anyone close to me in the hospital for any length of time. doctors, nurses, other patients, needles, poking, tubes, scan, x-ray, bp, heart rate......so many swirls and twirls. it is like being on a ride at the amusement park (and I hate rides) and I just want to get my dad out of there. he has been waiting for a bed for three days. this man who wanted his razor so he could shave, his comb to fix his hair. so concerned about how he looks in the midst of all this ugly chaos. being in the hospital is not pretty. trying hard to keep his normal routine as right now nothing is normal for him. all the countless times he did this for me. kept things as normal as possible and kept me comfortable and kept me talking and laughing in the middle of the mess. so much pressure to be perfect. except this is a different pressure then before. before it was all about approval, praise and attention. now it is about keeping him comfortable, informed and equipped. it isn't about how he thinks of me. besides the issue was never him it was my mother. it is about how I think about him and how much I admire this man. such an amazing and wonderful human being. I am scared and I am trying. I am trying to be calm and be positive for him and for me. I am trying not to kill my mother who didn't get in the car and who brought the remote controls to the hospital last night because they couldn't get the picture, only sound. WTF? trying and yes I WILL handle it and yes it WILL make me stronger and yes it did happen for a reason. I am still trying to uncover that reason as I am sure the doctors are too.
today is your special day!
there is a man who is SO special. this man is my Zio Bepi who is visiting from Italy. he turns 75 today and I am planning on making it the best birthday he has ever had. why? cause this man made so many of my birthdays so special for me. whenever we were visiting in Italy which was every second year from the time I was eight I celebrated my birthday. he would strap an empty roaster to the back of his vespa and ride off to the restaurant to pick up a roast chicken for dinner. come to think of it I still love roast chicken to this day. maybe there is a connection? anyway! he would always have a spumone birthday cake for me which was my favorite and had little meringues on it. yum! he did this every single time. on the years that we were not there he would send me a birthday card. still have those! the year that I was in Italy for Christmas he came over with a turkey shaped panetone because he knew we were not having turkey for dinner and that I would probably miss it. just the kind of guy he is. he has never married. has no children. lived in Australia for ten years before going back to Italy to look after my grandparents. he looked after my grandma by himself until the day she died. don't ya think the man deserves a little "special" thrown into his birthday? yup, me too! so here is what we have done so far. took him for brunch on Sunday to the hotel macdonald. by far the best eggs benedict ever!
today on his special day we have arranged for a huge parrot and seventy five smiley faces and buzzards to be put on the front lawn. a message wishing him a happy birthday and I am picking up vietnamese food (his favorite) for supper and I have a carrot cake for dessert. I made a box which folds out with several messages and photos of all of us to give him in place of a birthday card. god I love this man! I was thinking about it when I woke up today and out of all the people I know he is the one person that I have no bad memories of. not one! I tend to remember bad over good so this thought made my day!
another thought that made my day was this bottle cap message from a bottle of Jones Soda that my son drank:
"your mind, being creative and original, will make you famous"
it's true Danny! go for it!
what? only a week?
ah yes! we are still here. children are still alive and kicking and are done with auntie Nadia and well let's be honest, auntie Nadia was, stick a thermometer in me, done, a while ago! now don't get me wrong. I love these girls to pieces and in the event of a tragedy they will be mine. I just feel like I could do better. Make better suppers, have better baths, read better stories, get Jorja's nose to stop running and Kaitlyn's hand to stop drying out. do more fun stuff! WHEN? I feel weak and defeated. Like (oh yeah pull up a chair and grab a drink the pity party has begun) I should be able to do all this. Didn't I do all this before? I thought I did. Why I even think I brag about how I did it before. shame on me! I have probably made a few new mothers feel like they should be able to do all of it and with ease.
so today we made it to school on time once again. yay! we had supper on the table by 5:30 pm. and there are three more valentine's cards to be decorated. out of thirty that is not bad! the van has another $60.00 worth of gas in it and there is more milk in the fridge for my two little angels. and as I sit here in the lazy boy recliner (only because I can't get out of it!) going back and forth from posting to e-mailing my son I have a look around. there are toys on the floor, dishwasher needs emptying, laundry needs washing, towel needs to be hung back up in the bathroom, but all this is not bothering me! why? cause I have my chocolate and I am enjoying it and if I close my eyes real tight I am sharing it with whose is seated next to me in another lazy boy. aahhhhh middle age!
and more to see:
so today we made it to school on time once again. yay! we had supper on the table by 5:30 pm. and there are three more valentine's cards to be decorated. out of thirty that is not bad! the van has another $60.00 worth of gas in it and there is more milk in the fridge for my two little angels. and as I sit here in the lazy boy recliner (only because I can't get out of it!) going back and forth from posting to e-mailing my son I have a look around. there are toys on the floor, dishwasher needs emptying, laundry needs washing, towel needs to be hung back up in the bathroom, but all this is not bothering me! why? cause I have my chocolate and I am enjoying it and if I close my eyes real tight I am sharing it with whose is seated next to me in another lazy boy. aahhhhh middle age!
and more to see:
dagoba anyone? anyone?
really! what does a girl have to do to get some organic chocolate around here? I have recently begun my quest to eat cleaner, more fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts and organic if I can find it. and YES chocolate is an important part of that clean, healthy living that I am seeking. in fact - dark chocolate has its benefits and I am trying to switch from milk to dark. I really enjoy the dagoba and have also tried green and blacks which is equally good and at the bottom of the scale we have cocoa camino. so in my quest for "auntie of the year" I have been enjoying the occasional nibble or two. okay, TWO! it is my coping mechanism! don't judge! anyway organic chocolate is not something you can just buy anywhere here. one shop that I know of in fact! help a girl out and drop me a line if you know of anywhere else other than planet organic market. I may just order cases on-line. YES, cases! it seems my family prefers the clean, healthy organic way of eating chocolate as well.
in reference to my whine of previous here is what occurred after I hit the publish post button. it seems that I may have caught a bug or as I like to call it "I ate crap and now I feel like crap" bug. there is no vaccine for it. I checked. so last night in my moment of utter laziness I ordered pizza for us. it seems that pizza in the north end is not as good as pizza in the south end. even though it is the same pizza place. It started last night with several trips to the toilet to say "hello" and I don't mean "hello" as in "I wanna get to know ya better". It was "hello" as in "WTF are you so far away from ME? anyway I just wanted to let you know that I had the most lovely morning with the girls. everyone was smiling and everyone was out the door in time. no late slip this morning! yay! afternoon pick-up was smooth and with the exception of having the time mixed up, gymnastics too went off without a hitch. dinner was made and everyone ate and was smiling. bedtime, no problem. a PERFECT day I say! and "publish"
ooohhh and here is what I have been doing in my "spare" time. another coping mechanism....
more to come!
.
in reference to my whine of previous here is what occurred after I hit the publish post button. it seems that I may have caught a bug or as I like to call it "I ate crap and now I feel like crap" bug. there is no vaccine for it. I checked. so last night in my moment of utter laziness I ordered pizza for us. it seems that pizza in the north end is not as good as pizza in the south end. even though it is the same pizza place. It started last night with several trips to the toilet to say "hello" and I don't mean "hello" as in "I wanna get to know ya better". It was "hello" as in "WTF are you so far away from ME? anyway I just wanted to let you know that I had the most lovely morning with the girls. everyone was smiling and everyone was out the door in time. no late slip this morning! yay! afternoon pick-up was smooth and with the exception of having the time mixed up, gymnastics too went off without a hitch. dinner was made and everyone ate and was smiling. bedtime, no problem. a PERFECT day I say! and "publish"
ooohhh and here is what I have been doing in my "spare" time. another coping mechanism....
more to come!
.
could I get a little w(h)ine with that please?
it seems like weeks have passed since I started my recent adventure. I decided that I would like to be "auntie of the year". I have lost "mother of the year" seventeen times in a row and I believe I got this one before the clock even started. picture this! I am asked if I will look after my two niece's while my SIL and BIL jet off to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. I say - SURE! I did! I shouted when I said it! I must have been heavily medicated at the time! Kidding! And so on Wednesday night I come through the door to see the 2 year old bawling her eyes out. when did this start? when she was told that auntie Nadia was here. perfect! I sit on the floor. start talking about the barbie's. blah, blah, blah and all of the sudden she is my best friend. then it hits her! kinda like Oprah's a ha moment I'm sure! she says to her mom "I okay now!" and then turns to me and says "I okay now!". to which I respond "I okay now too, Jorja". and so began a wonderful friendship. mom and dad leave. no crying. none! I am appalled! do you kids not bawl your faces off after mom and dad leave the house? I always thought they did! apparently not OR maybe I AM "auntie of the year"?
then it starts....the driving....in a "gasp" mini van! AND I in my "gasp" sweatpants. oh yeah baby! get up, get the kids ready, brush your teeth, fingers through your hair, whose going to see you attitude and you are out the door! drive to the daycare and back to the house to switch vehicles. drive home to let puppies out and SHOWER! hang out with puppies for a while and drive back to the house to switch vehicles. drive back to the daycare to pick up the kidlets. first night went well, second night we are still doing okay with the exception of the poop bomb. this little girl is not potty trained and has been brainwashed by the babysitter to keep her poops for auntie. NIIIIICE! the five year old and I are running away from the two year old who smells so bad. we are faux puking as we run and plugging our noses and the whole time laughing as well. then starts the "potty talk". and I ain't talking "potty mouth". I make a deal with the two year old that if she starts using the potty she will get stickers and after five stickers she will get a big present. we shake. I tell her to yell for me when she has to go potty cause I don't want to see anymore poops! got it? to which she replies "yes, auntie na-yah".
and the next day more driving. about four hours of driving per day. I could have been in Mexico by now I'm sure. today included Kindergarten where actual human beings witnessed my appearance. at least I wore jeans today! we are still doing well and the "potty talk" has continued with the occasional sit on the potty to see if we can come up with anything. at least she is trying and she is having fun.
TODAY! OMG! this was the day where someone. anyone. who dare tell me "what were you thinking?" would have been killed or at the very least seriously injured. we start off with gymnastics. adult participation. huh? you want me to what? did I mention I run? ya,..I'm in training and I, um, can't really jump into the foam pit for fear that I could sustain an injury which would prevent me from running the half marathon in two weeks. the foam pit? could you just picture me hauling MY ass out of that? okay, maybe don't picture it. we finish class and M turns to me and says "I need to pee". NICE! I mention that we are babysitting and WE don't get to pee! off I go to dress the girls while the bathroom break happened. I get into the van and ask for the Purell. none! OMG! stop for timbits. head home. sanitize after being in the germ pit with rug rats. make lunch. start the valentine making marathon. the five year old wants to make her valentine's for school and the daycare. thirty cards! cut, score, cut, paste, and while we were eating dinner the two year old spills her milk and the two us lunge to stop it from wrecking our hard work. I put the two year old on the potty and tell her to sing a song and try to go potty. she is on there for ten minutes while I run back and forth between her and the kitchen to clean up. I take her off and ask her to wash her hands and I will be back. she yells for me and I run back to the bathroom where I am greeted with pee on the stool and the floor. PERFECT! could she not have jumped two inches back on the toilet? LOL! ugh! so then bedtime where we find out that the music/light machine light is not working. PANIC! in between screw heads, plug taps, battery searches, broken finger nail, pop a few white pills (kidding!) I finally get her happy and sleeping. five year old in bed, no problem.
and that brings me to today....this morning they slept in till 8 am! omg! THANK YOU! we get up. the two year old is doing her usual singing and the five year old is back working on the valentine's. I decide that we should all just stay in our pj's for the day. unfortunately after an attempt at the potty the two year old decided to play in the sink for a while and got completely soaked. outifit #1. at breakfast of delicious french toast and strawberries the two year old spills her milk all over the table, floor, herself and thank goodness completely misses the valentine pile. the five year old and I look at each other and without uttering a word we know. we know what the other one is thinking - sippy cup! off to wash the two year old and why not have her sit on the potty for a bit while I wash the kitchen floor. I get back to the bathroom and ask the usual:
N: did you pee?
J: no!
N: did you poop?
J: no!
N: you did not pee and you did not poop? (too many dr. suess books!)
J: NO auntie na - yah!
N: okay off the potty and WAIT A MINUTE! what's that? (pointing to the toilet)
J: I dunno?
K: OMG! did Jorja poop in the potty?
N: I think she did!
K & N: jorja pooped in the potty, jorja pooped in the potty (as we dance around with big huge smiles on our face)
J: I scared of poop.
K: don't be scared Jorja!
N: be happy! I'm happy!
J: Kaitlyn happy?
K: yes Jorja I'm happy too. do you wanna go make a potty chart?
and so off they go to make a beautiful potty chart complete with days of the week and spots for the wonderful stickers. we hang it on Jorja's door and place the first sticker on and then we dance again. outift #2
so this afternoon we are playing hide and go seek with uncle Mike and as he is searching for the girls he happens to step into the bathroom and into a puddle. right in front of the toilet. what? Jorja! did you pee in front of the toilet? yup! technically she was pretty darn close and so the potty dance happened along with the sticker ceremony. two potty trips in one day and this is what is making my day! I, me, the mother of a boy who I should mention is 17 have managed to semi potty train a two year old girl. tomorrow I'm going to teach her how to make me a latte and then no more whining. they are both in bed now. the two year old in outift #3 and a load of laundry fresh out of the dryer. how do they (SIL & BIL) do this? oh yeah....there is TWO of them!
then it starts....the driving....in a "gasp" mini van! AND I in my "gasp" sweatpants. oh yeah baby! get up, get the kids ready, brush your teeth, fingers through your hair, whose going to see you attitude and you are out the door! drive to the daycare and back to the house to switch vehicles. drive home to let puppies out and SHOWER! hang out with puppies for a while and drive back to the house to switch vehicles. drive back to the daycare to pick up the kidlets. first night went well, second night we are still doing okay with the exception of the poop bomb. this little girl is not potty trained and has been brainwashed by the babysitter to keep her poops for auntie. NIIIIICE! the five year old and I are running away from the two year old who smells so bad. we are faux puking as we run and plugging our noses and the whole time laughing as well. then starts the "potty talk". and I ain't talking "potty mouth". I make a deal with the two year old that if she starts using the potty she will get stickers and after five stickers she will get a big present. we shake. I tell her to yell for me when she has to go potty cause I don't want to see anymore poops! got it? to which she replies "yes, auntie na-yah".
and the next day more driving. about four hours of driving per day. I could have been in Mexico by now I'm sure. today included Kindergarten where actual human beings witnessed my appearance. at least I wore jeans today! we are still doing well and the "potty talk" has continued with the occasional sit on the potty to see if we can come up with anything. at least she is trying and she is having fun.
TODAY! OMG! this was the day where someone. anyone. who dare tell me "what were you thinking?" would have been killed or at the very least seriously injured. we start off with gymnastics. adult participation. huh? you want me to what? did I mention I run? ya,..I'm in training and I, um, can't really jump into the foam pit for fear that I could sustain an injury which would prevent me from running the half marathon in two weeks. the foam pit? could you just picture me hauling MY ass out of that? okay, maybe don't picture it. we finish class and M turns to me and says "I need to pee". NICE! I mention that we are babysitting and WE don't get to pee! off I go to dress the girls while the bathroom break happened. I get into the van and ask for the Purell. none! OMG! stop for timbits. head home. sanitize after being in the germ pit with rug rats. make lunch. start the valentine making marathon. the five year old wants to make her valentine's for school and the daycare. thirty cards! cut, score, cut, paste, and while we were eating dinner the two year old spills her milk and the two us lunge to stop it from wrecking our hard work. I put the two year old on the potty and tell her to sing a song and try to go potty. she is on there for ten minutes while I run back and forth between her and the kitchen to clean up. I take her off and ask her to wash her hands and I will be back. she yells for me and I run back to the bathroom where I am greeted with pee on the stool and the floor. PERFECT! could she not have jumped two inches back on the toilet? LOL! ugh! so then bedtime where we find out that the music/light machine light is not working. PANIC! in between screw heads, plug taps, battery searches, broken finger nail, pop a few white pills (kidding!) I finally get her happy and sleeping. five year old in bed, no problem.
and that brings me to today....this morning they slept in till 8 am! omg! THANK YOU! we get up. the two year old is doing her usual singing and the five year old is back working on the valentine's. I decide that we should all just stay in our pj's for the day. unfortunately after an attempt at the potty the two year old decided to play in the sink for a while and got completely soaked. outifit #1. at breakfast of delicious french toast and strawberries the two year old spills her milk all over the table, floor, herself and thank goodness completely misses the valentine pile. the five year old and I look at each other and without uttering a word we know. we know what the other one is thinking - sippy cup! off to wash the two year old and why not have her sit on the potty for a bit while I wash the kitchen floor. I get back to the bathroom and ask the usual:
N: did you pee?
J: no!
N: did you poop?
J: no!
N: you did not pee and you did not poop? (too many dr. suess books!)
J: NO auntie na - yah!
N: okay off the potty and WAIT A MINUTE! what's that? (pointing to the toilet)
J: I dunno?
K: OMG! did Jorja poop in the potty?
N: I think she did!
K & N: jorja pooped in the potty, jorja pooped in the potty (as we dance around with big huge smiles on our face)
J: I scared of poop.
K: don't be scared Jorja!
N: be happy! I'm happy!
J: Kaitlyn happy?
K: yes Jorja I'm happy too. do you wanna go make a potty chart?
and so off they go to make a beautiful potty chart complete with days of the week and spots for the wonderful stickers. we hang it on Jorja's door and place the first sticker on and then we dance again. outift #2
so this afternoon we are playing hide and go seek with uncle Mike and as he is searching for the girls he happens to step into the bathroom and into a puddle. right in front of the toilet. what? Jorja! did you pee in front of the toilet? yup! technically she was pretty darn close and so the potty dance happened along with the sticker ceremony. two potty trips in one day and this is what is making my day! I, me, the mother of a boy who I should mention is 17 have managed to semi potty train a two year old girl. tomorrow I'm going to teach her how to make me a latte and then no more whining. they are both in bed now. the two year old in outift #3 and a load of laundry fresh out of the dryer. how do they (SIL & BIL) do this? oh yeah....there is TWO of them!
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