Back from Deadmonton

It was over 6 hours of driving today... Including a stop and play time and Subway, as well as quick Starbucks for Mommy...
It was a LOOOONG Drive. And really Warm, I had to breakdown at put the air conditioning on for a lot of it...
I have a ton of Pics of Nathan at West Ed and Chris without his goatee and then without his horrible 70's mustache, and them in the pool...but I just have to quickly post the funniest thing I saw this weekend....

I'm convinced if I have to move to Edmonton I should get something cool in my front yard too!!!!


A Rocket???? Seriously Who puts a ROCKET IN THEIR FRONT YARD?????

The onset of "ELF"ism...

My feet and my shoes started turning GREEN today, I think it's the onset of "ELF"ISM ...
that or maybe mowing my jungle of a backyard?!?!?

Finally a NICE DAY...In the Hat too...

After we had Lunch with Tiff at BP's today- we went to Check out the Tee pee and burn off some sitting in the car and restaurant too long energy

We read the signs...

and then we cruised out into the field behind

headed right for the coulee cliffs

The view from the top of the coulee

I think in Camo pants and hiding behind grass that's as tall as you, you probably become invisible...

Once he started exploring the plants...there was no way he was staying on the path...he went on a great adventure tromping through the grass and weeds

No matter how concerned Mommy was that the place seemed to have boobie traps...

But there was just too much to look at...

Eventually we were so tired we just had to take a break...kind of like a "where's Waldo"???

The Drain is fixed for a lot less that 700 dollars.

I had a second Plumber come out today and look at our leaking Tub.

He actually took the drain apart- unlike my other plumber who just wrote me a 700 dollar quote to rip out all the pipes.

Anyways my plumber today, pulled out the drain, found that there was NO SEAL- most likely whoever re glazed the Tub before we moved in, never replaced the seal!

But regardless...

He replaced the seal, and put silicone around the drain...and charges me 75 DOLLARS

What's that like 10 % of what the other plumber wanted???

And He'll be back next week to fix the ceiling...something I would have had to call someone else for with the other company...oh and I'd be patching 2 holes with them since they wanted to put a hole in the closet as well!

I've been thrilled all day that the problems fixed for way less than I was worried it would be...but I couldn't let it go either...part of the reason I originally picked the first company out of the phone book was because they had the BBB (Better Business Bureau) logo.

So I filed a complaint with the BBB online tonight...

although I don't expect much, I did say an appropriate response would be to refund the "dispatch and Travel" fee of 49.95- well wait and see what their response is...but considering my second plumber said their was nothing wrong with any of the pipes and the whole issue was the seal... I used words like "fraudulent up selling" in my complaint!

At the very least it will Scar their reputation-

and hey who knows maybe I'll get my money back for them wasting my time!

It's been a bad day

The Speech course I was suppose to start for Nathan today was cancelled...I took him to the babysitter anyways, and had a morning all to myself.

That was actually the good part of my day.

He was apparently pretty good, although they were surprised by how "constantly active" he is....

ha ha

I was sure how it would go, the moment I set him down, he chased the cat, then when the cat got away he picked up a broom in the kitchen and started wandering around with that, and then dropped it to go dump a bowl of cat food all over the floor...that was his first 30 seconds in the house...

but apparently he played really well with Noah- who spent all morning calling him Neh neh.

The Plumber called at 11:30 and said he was on his way... so I had to rush out and pick up Nathan to be back in time...

The News from the Plumber was disastrous...they want to basically rip out half the plumbing in the bathroom and under the floor, and put another hole in the wall through the spare bedroom...all for the bargain price of 700 dollars. Yikes!!!!

I have to spend tomorrow trying to find another plumber for another estimate...because I'm pretty sure it's just the seal in the drain...and not actually all the pipes...

I talked to Dad who recommended I pull out the drain, and take it to Home Depot and see if they can set me up with a new seal...then see if that fixes the problem before I lay out 700.

The problem is I can't get the drain out...I'm either not strong enough to turn it, or I'm using the wrong tools or its rusted itself together...

I was just about to cry...

And I got a phone call....

They want me in Edmonton for a job interview for the Youth Advisor Job I wanted so bad!!!

That Turned My day around at least for a little bit...

But I also got to write the dreaded e-mail tonight telling everyone we've decided to postpone the Wedding

that was hard to write...the only thing I can hope and pray for now, is that it'll be worth it if I get this job...

But I still have a million things to do...including pick a realtor...I e-mailed about 15 to 20 last night...and some of them have gotten back to me,

the news isn't great...there's a lot of houses on the market, and the prices are starting to slide,

which makes me sit back and consider renting this place instead of selling...but being 6 hours away??? and knowing a lot of renters are idiots?

So I've been all over the place today...especially with e-mails and phone calls...Realtors, plumbers, babysitters, dog sitters, looking at rentals here and Edmonton...and basically feeling like

I HAVE ENTIRELY TOO MUCH ON MY PLATE!!!!!

We had Daddy home one last weekend before he starts his regular shift...and a garage sale, and a park trip and Grandpa Zoom...Pretty full weekend!

Taking a Lunch Break in the Backyard with our best buddy Grandpa...there were tears and a tantrum when Grandpa left...but not the same reaction when Daddy was leaving...oops...way to hurt daddy's feelings!!!
This is the only pic I took of the garage sale in action...I kept meaning too...especially how crazy the guys were wheeling and dealing and talking people into everything...over 700 we made in the 2 days...not too shabby...plus now I don't have to move any of it
Me, trying to convince a scaredy cat to come down the slide, he crawls all the way across that bridge on his own and then sits at the top of the slide debating if he's coming down??? Half the time I have to do what I'm doing here, and climb onto the bottom of the slide and give him a push to get started and remember he likes the slide...then it's smooth sailing, other than the jumping up and down to lift him to each level of the park he can't climb to yet!!!

The teeter totter that's been renamed "wheeeee, bump"

I Took His Hand and Followed

"I Took His Hand and Followed

My dishes went unwashed today, I didn't make the bed.

I took his hand and followed where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring, my little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream, we wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today but life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun dappled glade and no my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest, where the jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young, we climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky, we plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected, that I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy to noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world may look and see and know."

-Author Unknown

Nathan, Was busy at the park today, a cat came to visit...and Nathan was determined it was going to play with him...in the picture he's chasing it across the park, although you can't quite see the cat really well since I wasn't fast enough with the camera.

It was pretty funny, really. At one point the poor cat was surrounded by 4 two year olds that wanted to play with it. It didn't like that idea for very long and beelined for the rod iron fence at the grey house in the background of the picture...the kids followed, and Nathan was so determined it was going to play with him, he stayed for 5 minutes trying to figure out if he could squish himself through the fence to go after the cat...it was entertaining.