It's been such a busy busy week

I must be finding it hard to adjust to "single" parenting, because I feel like I've had no time to do anything "extra" like blog.

But I can't complain to much it's been a super productive week.

Between Facebook and Kijiji adds I've managed to start selling off furniture...I fact 4 pieces in 3 days...all the less to move! Which will make me happy. And making some extra cash in the process what could be better??? Although I'm not selling the furniture or anything else for that matter for anything close to what it's worth...my thoughts are get it out, and make someones day with a deal in the process. Plus the extra bonus is, when you price things low people get here right away to pick everything up, so there's no waiting around and having people not show. (nothing Irritates me more, than people not showing up, and you wasting your time waiting.)

I also got into the speech therapy group for Nathan, it runs Tuesday mornings and starts next week...so I scrambled today to line up a babysitter.

I managed to convince one of the mommy's from my play date group to take him and commit to every Tuesday morning until the end of July...I was pretty proud of my self for agreeing to the group and finding a babysitter so fast and efficiently.

On top of that I also finally called a plumber, whose lined up for tomorrow between noon and 4, to come look at the bathroom/dripping tub/ceiling issue.- maybe making the money with the furniture finally convinced me I could afford a plumber- ha haha

Actually I think that's the real reason I'm blogging right now. I know the tub and the whole bathroom for that matter need to be cleaned, and the ceiling that I ripped out downstairs needs to be picked up and bagged...since these sound like such unappealing chores I'd rather finding anything else that "needs' to be taken care of....

The exciting thing is we get Chris again this weekend...they're giving him one last weekend off to get in line with his "crews schedule"-

I'm sure he won't be overly thrilled that I have a garage sale planned for Saturday to get rid of all the stuff...although I think I'm being nice only doing it Saturday...

I've said anything that doesn't sell, we'll take to donate next week.

although since its a one day sale, I plan on slashing prices and doing 2 for 1 or maybe buy a bag and stuff it sales to get everything out in the last hour or 2. Hopefully it will all go, and we'll even end up with a bit of money...

But speaking of sale...awesome deals at the 50% off sale at Value Village on Monday.

I got my self 3 pairs of pants and a huge purse, then picked up Nathan's entire wardrobe for the next 4 to 6 months (about 25 pieces) Shorts, shirts, pants and a jacket.

all of it for....

wait for it

53 Dollars!!!

I was thrilled!

I can usually only buy myself 2 MAYBE 3 pairs of pants for that...and that's only at Wal-mart!

To get that much for me and Nathan....plus half of it was pretty much new...in fact my one pair of pants had never been worn they still had the store tag and extra buttons in the little baggie thing attatched...and I'm pretty sure Nathan's jacket is brand new too! By the looks of it and the tags inside it's never been washed.

New Friend

It's been raining for almost a week straight now...so We've been forced to make new rain friends...

Mommy found this gross little creature while digging up dandelions (surprise) But notice how it's not me holding it????

I scooped it up with a gardening tool and threw it on the concrete to show Nathan...lucky Daddy was around to play with it...he was the only one brave enough to pick it up!!!

Although Nathan attempted to, we had to keep telling him to be gentle, figuring we were about to end up with 2 worms...

It' still Raining!!!

So to pass part of the day Nathan and I went to Value Village- There 50% off sale is Monday (of course) so I didn't want to but to much...but I could resist the plastic numbers for Nathan to play with...Yes, I will have him counting before he's 2.

And the same bag of toys ($3.99 by the way) had this cute little key chain- which had 4 different sounds- a car horn, a door bell, a car being unlocked and the starting noise. Plus we got a Barney the dinosaur doll, some sort of car with a cat driving and 2 remotes -on squeaks and looks like a remote for a TV and the other squeaks as well but I'm not sure what it's suppose to be for... I look the bags of toys at Value Village...there always under 4 bucks, and even if you throw out half of them it's still way less than you'd spend on even one new toy...

I also could resist getting myself some clothes...I'm always throwing a jacket over top of my tee shirt or tank top to try to reduce the sun exposure- seems like the older I get the faster I burn...but I don't have a lot of light enough jackets when its hot...I found the khaki colored jacket for something like 6 bucks, and its the perfect weight...the mustard colored one is a little heavier but has such a cool swirl pattern stitched all over, I thought it would be great even if I have to wait till the fall- but it's the perfect color for fall too!

The red one, is probably light enough...it's almost exactly like the black one I already own that I'm practically wearing out...and has a great cut to it. The long black on is about 3/4 length and I figured it could go over anything...

But my favorite find was the jacket right in the middle...it has such luxurious gold fabric, and the gorgeous rose embroidery and it was 6 BUCKS!!!! Okay maybe not totally practical for trips to the play ground...but if I'm starting work again soon...or even the interviews...plus nice dinners...see I can justify anything!

It's still raining, and Nathan's napping...so I think I might head out to the carport and see if I can't get some of the plants I bought at Home Depot the other day planted...the one good thing about the rain...is at least the stupid Dandelions aren't blooming...yay! a 2 day break from stupid plucking!

Dandelions will be the death of me...

Nathan and I, went outside this morning and played out there until afternoon nap time. I spent half that time picking dandelion heads off...which I had completely popped all the heads off yesterday afternoon, but there was more than 100 in bloom again by this morning.
arrrgh!!!

While we were outside I pulled out the new baseball bat and ball, I bought at the dollar store for Nathan a few weeks ago.
I batted the ball across the yard a few times to give him the idea of why they go together...then I gave him the bat...
it wasn't in his hand 3 seconds and it broke!
He swung at the ball on the ground and the bat snapped in half.
obviously not meant to stand up to the abuse of an 18 month old...oh well, it was a dollar what can you expect?
Actually it turned out better than expected...He now had 2 sticks to beat together- and the made a great noise since they're hollow...
and then he discovered that the rubber grip was a separate piece from the bat handle and sat on the lawn for 20 minutes sliding the bat handle in and out of the grip...it takes a great deal of concentration to get the two pieces back together since they only fit one way and it has to be aligned perfectly to go in...
So Actually the 2 piece bat and ball turned into to a great 4 piece game that entertained him for over half an hour.
Funny how things work!

I didn't even accomplish half as much today as I did yesterday...
like I said I killed dandelions,
I actually made dinner tonight- although Nathan refuse to eat most of it.
I got a load of laundry done, and we went to Walmart and got a bunch on new tee shirts and a couple pairs of short for both of us...why? I'm not sure considering its suppose to rain for the next week straight almost.

Poor Nathan is starting to display some odd behavior- which I'm attributing to his missing his Daddy...
He'll start to cry, and the run and hid behind the rocking chair, peeking out to make sure I know he's crying...and no offers of a bottle or food or anything will drag him out. I usually have to go scoop him up.
He also is having a hard time going to sleep...He rocks and rocks in his bed making that irritating squeak sound...I swear it's because he knows it drives his Dad crazy and he's hoping Daddy will come in and tell him to stop!

On the positive Note...Chris is already thinking he'll love this job...apparently everyone there is very positive and upbeat. They have a serious focus on safety, and have told everyone they would rather the job was done well and safely than quickly or at risk to someone...even if it takes a little longer. He was impressed that your asked to do something, and then they leave you to do it, without breathing down your neck. And that everyone is treated as an important part of the team, management doesn't look or talk down to "the field grunts". I'm excited for him, he needs a positive work environment, to make up for all the bad experiences he's had in the last few years.
I just can't wait until we're all up there together...it seemed like such a good idea, we'd be better off making mortgage payments here than paying rent up there. and the wedding is all planned for down here... there seemed like so many good reasons to stay, and now it's hard to justify even one of them, and it's only been 2-3 days...I can't imagine 4 more months of this...but we agreed on the phone tonight that we'd give it a few weeks and then talk about the situation next time he's home, maybe we'll postpone the wedding and have it up there next spring instead.

My first day on my own...

So today was my first "Official" full day on my own...

and if I do say so myself it went very well, and better than that was highly productive.

I went out this morning and grabbed my Starbucks addiction, and then took Nathan to a "new' park. Although him playing at the park burns almost as much energy out of me as him. He was to little to figure out how to climb to the "BIG" slides, so I had to keep jumping up to lift him to the top platform. And then since the Big slides are fast, I had to climb back down quickly to catch him at the bottom.

But overall he had fun, and it had the desired effect of a big long nap afterwards.


Well Nathan was asleep. I started pounding away on the carport...I couldn't believe the amount of dirt and debris that's collected there over the winter. Moving everything out and sweeping was a 2 hour job.

It may not sound like much but the driveway runs at least 2/3 the length of the property, and it took a lot of sweeping and re sweeping to get the dirt up.

I was completely filthy- like black, on my feet and legs by the end.

When Nathan got up from his nap, we headed out to Home Depot, and bought some bricks to lay on the inside of the carport, at the bottom of the dogs cage, so they can't shove anything nasty into the carport this summer. We also bought 2 new hoses, and a bunch of plant seeds/bulbs...almost all of it was on sale- a long weekend special mostly.

I figured I'd worked hard enough today so I bought a pizza on the way home instead of making dinner. Then we just played and did normal Nathan running around stuff. He was tired again about 7, so he went for a quick nap...

and I went out to the carport and hosed the whole thing, even the windows and the side of the house...the place had a wet brick smell the rest of the night but looks so much cleaner.

We watched some TV once Nathan was up again, and he was extra cuddly...must be missing his Dad. I was sitting on the floor and he came over and threw himself in my lap constantly.... I'm glad Daddy left a shirt that smells like him, Nathan curls right into it, and falls asleep with it pressed right against his face.

Once Nathan was in bed for the evening, I put all the furniture back (except the rug- I need to find away to get all the dog hair out of that) and sat in the peace and cool of my carport- outdoor living room with a glass of wine.
It's lonely not having anyone to talk to at night...but I guess it's only a few months of this...

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal

into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of

our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." -Melody Beattie

Nathan has renamed the Dogs!

This is the funniest things I've had Nathan say... I can't wait until he gets more words...and comes up with this kinda stuff on a regular Basis...

But I noticed the other day that when he wants the dogs attention...or if they haven't been let out of their dog run yet...he'll walk up and call them by what I assume he thinks is their names

SIT and STAY

Pronounced Hit and Tay!!!

Too Cute.

I think Maggie is Stay and Kaylee is Sit...but only he knows for sure...maybe they're interchangeable.

Life is So Busy....

All of May has been INSANE.



The First weekend in May we took a quick trip on Sunday (night) out to Milk River...just for a drive. Nathan loved the Dinosaur at the rest stop/ tourist centre (which was actually closed, so we parked on the shoulder of the highway and jumped the ditch to go see- this is what constitutes being a "bad ass" in my life now!!!)

Actually he loved the "fake" hoodoo's around the centre more...there was one that was a small cave- about his size so he could climb up himself and then walk through, come out the other side and run over to do it again. I swear he must have climbed through there 25 times!!!!



For Mother's Day we went up to Calgary, and took both sets of Grandparents to the Wave Pool.
Everyone had an awesome time. Nathan was spoiled...he just had to whine and someone would help him swim, or take him down the slide or hold him in the waves...

but the funniest part was I had the feeling the whole time that I was there with 6 KIDS The Grandfathers were going down the water slide...Barb was swinging off the rope into the deep end, Colleen was off and gone to the hot tub...they were all having a GREAT time.

We met Uncle Mike and Michel for lunch with everyone afterwards...and poor buddy was so tired, he slept in Grammas arms through most of it...although just because he's his father's son he did manage to wake up in time for food.

The most annoying part of the weekend, was what to do with the dogs...we we're only planning on being in Calgary for less than a day so...the plan was just to leave them home with extra water and food...but...Chris got an interview in Edmonton for Monday, so we needed a Doggy solution. That's when we found out our regular dog sitter is so busy with her new doggy daycare she no longer babysits...we we're strapped!
Lucky for us- Uncle Brian agreed to take them...it only meant riding for 3 hours with 2 stinky- in need of a bath dogs in the back of the van.- but we got them back happy as can be...Brian truly needs another dog...they must have been spoiled rotten as usual...because they were in great spirits even the rest of the week...

So, because Brian took the Dogs...we we're all able to go to Edmonton with Chris...

YAY!!!!!

He Got Offered the JOB!!!!

He worked his Butt off all last week, getting rid of about 80% of the stock in the building, and getting ready to shut the business completely down here.

We've decided I'll stay down here, with Nathan until after the wedding (assuming I don't get a job in Edmonton before that)

So I have a SINGLE MOM summer ahead of me...and it officially started last night...he left to go stay in Calgary for a night and head for Edmonton from there tomorrow...it's an awfully long drive to do all in one day!