Wednesday, August 30, 2006

I know, it's been a while!

I know I haven't written in a long time, however I've been preparing for the job that I am going to get. Yeah I'm looking for work outside of the home but I can only work evenings, and weekends. I have nervous excitement about the job. I know it will save me from babysitting which is the whole point of this thing. But I've been in mom land now full time since Avery was two and a half. She's now seven and a half. I'm out of the loop to say the least.

I had a job interview yesterday at the Casino Regina and everything went well. But in the interview I felt like laughing, " C'mon are you serious? These are the questions to which the answers are going to indicate whether I am a complete idiot or not?" Ah yes, mom land has made me a little cynical, I think. I do want the job, however I think I'm more nervous than they are about being a total idiot.

Today is our last day of summer holidays. Tomorrow Avery start grade three! Sob! Sob! I was trying to convince Avery's grade two teacher that she should recommend Avery not go into grade three and would be better suited at home with her mom for life. She and Avery didn't agree. Avery's very smart and ready to move on. Damn it!

Jeff's in Calgary working on a thing in some plant and the thing he's working on is going to Iceland. What he's doing is way more involved than my description but I don't have a clue so if you really want to know you'll have to ask him. He may have a chance to accompany the thing to Iceland and if so hopefully I will get to accompany him.... Keep you posted.

Children are waking and my first an most important job needs me!

G OUT!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Ahh a week of Boh!

The time flew by much too quickly. We saw, we squeezed, he smiled, he laughed and then it was over. Back to Ottawa. I won't say back home because in my heart of hearts I know they feel Regina is home. How couldn't you? One set of grandparents, a gorgeous trio of cousins, okay a pretty dorky uncle(who already had fishing trips planned out in his head), but the coolest Auntie ever. What else could home possibly mean? Anyways here are some pics of the cutest Braaten Boy in the land. Can't wait to see you in person again. I will be searching MLS diligently for you, whether you like it or not!
I DID IT!

I did It!


Tracy and I registerred for the 15km buffalothon on Saturday August 12, 2006. We both completed it under 2 hours. What an accomplishment. Jeff, the girls, Brenda and Les, Julia and Karter, Nick and Crystal were at the finish line cheering us on! Next run: Queen City Half Marathon September 10 - 21 km!!!

Friday, August 11, 2006

Reece Get's Thirsty!
Can

What inspiration!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

MISSION: LET'S PLAY GIRLS

Turn up the volume!
Riding the Boat at the Fair
Tire Swing
Reece Get's Thirsty 2 !

Long Time, No Blog!!!

All apologies to my loyal readers about my previous post. Nothing major happened that night, nothing different either. After speaking with my dad, I just had a lightbulb moment that I wanted to share. No big deal. This is my therapy. Like it or leave it.

On to more positive things... my sister and her family were just home for a week and stayed with us. What fun! The kids all slept sound every night from playing so hard. The cousins really play well together, except for Reece and Jackson. Because Reece doesn't know how to share. So everything is "Mine!" At least she taught Jackson something, he now says "Mine!" too! I'm sure his parents are thrilled.

I wish the cousins could grow up together. But with them blissfully happy in Calgary and us the same here it's not going to happen. I guess I have to just get used to it. I grew up with my cousins. Some of us actually went to the same school. I still have a close relationship with them and such warm memories of Christmas and summer's off of school. But realistically speaking my kids won't have that on either side. Justin and Winter are in Ottawa and it's not looking promising that they'll call Regina home again. So we'll have to stay as close as we can being hundreds of miles apart, I guess.


Jackson having breakfast. Could you get any cuter? Yes you can, actually. I wish you could hear his raspy little voice.















Julian, Avery, Paige and Carter(Jason's niece and nephew) having a blast on the tire swing. Played and belly laughed at each other for over an hour. Watch for video coming soon!















Avery, Emma and Reece went to bed before Julian. He snuck upstairs ready to wake them up to play. His totally oblivious Aunt and parents didn't even hear him for quite some time. There is a video titled " MISSION: LET'S PLAY, GIRLS!!" coming soon!















Brandie, Carter, Emma and Reece with our Pirate Guide at the Pirate Party. We boarded a dragon boat on which Jackson serenaded us to the tune of "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" while we paddled over to Willow Island. Then we got onto the island, split off into two teams and searched for hidden treasure. The treasure was water guns which we proceeded to fill with lake water. Had a huge water fight, tons of fun and then paddled back to the park for pizza and more fun. Watch for videos of this event coming soon!















Avery and Emma with their mouths full of cotton candy. I got an opportunity to take them to Buffalo Days for a few short hours. What a blast. It's not easy having the cutest, best kids in the world at the fair with you. Everybody comments on how cute they are, how good they are. Sigh, the life of a mother with awesome kids! (okay you can all vomit now!)


















LET'S SWING!!!!!

Showing off their winnings!


Bohdan and his parents have arrived home for a visit and I will have more cute pics tomorrow!

G Out!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Eileen, Big Eye or whatever you prefer!

  • addict
  • mentally ill
  • goldigger
  • selfish

Be careful what you wish for is the motto of this post. After witnessing 30 years of my mother putting up with an astronomical amount of emotional, verbal and mental abuse Eileen is exactly what the doctor ordered for my dad. You have to laugh really. I always wanted my dad to see and feel what he was doing to my mom. And now he is. Unfortunately I can't turn off my unconditional love for him. Him being my father. I don't get it. This is what I've wanted all of my life and now that it's happening I find myself trying to talk sense into him, give him advice or fix it for him. Show him what he's missing by trying to involve him in mine and my kids' lives. But it's pointless. Maybe as I mature I will be able to let go of trying to fix him and just accept him for who he is.

G Out!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Happy Birthday Uncle J

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Edamame Affair

Tonight's dining experience

Tuesday July 25, 2006

I just wanted to share my itinerary for everyone, quickly in point form because I know how busy you all are:

6:00am: J leaves for work, debate whether or not to wake up.

6:30am: Finish debating, roll out of bed, make some tea, get clean.

7:00am: A wakes up with a smile. She's so sweet, nothing like her mother.

7:05am: A is bored with mom, opts for cartoons on the telly.

7:30am: R rises a little upset because her banky got caught on a laundry basket. I untangle it and she is full of snuggles until she hears A's cartoons to which she replies, "Asery's awake?" Mom gets ditched once again.

8:00am: Finally finished getting groomed for the day, realize R doesn't have her medicine that she needs every 12 hours from her nasty mosquito bite because dorky husband forgot to pick it up on his way home. (Not on his way home from work by the way, but that's a whole other story for a whole other blog!)

8:05am: O Sh**! R needs her medicine by 9:00am and E is still sleeping. Better awake sleeping beauty, pick up Timmy's for breaky and get to Wal-Mart.

8:10am: E wakes up, thankfully in a good mood, which for E is rare. She's exactly like her mother. NOT a morning person. Drive to Timmy's, scarf a bagel, (muffins for the kids) more tea and drive to WalMart.

9:30: Arrive at Wally World 1/2 hour late for R's dose of the good stuff. Get her medicine and promptly forget to give it to her. Run to the wash room and realize A has a mild case of the Di!

10:00: Go through till at Walmart and attempt to pay for three little stuffed poodle's in mini dog carriers for my three beautiful extremely well behaved children. R freaks out screaming" NO, YOU DOP IT MOMMY, DAT MY PUPPY!" To which I reply in my most calm and loving mother voice, "Pardon me?" To which the entire Walmart customer base is thinking, " You damn well heard what she said and if you didn't we could all repeat it for you word for word!" To which R responded with a lovely closed fist punch to her mother's face!

10:01-10:05am: Realize that clearly I only have two extremely well behaved children and the other is satan's spawn! R screams " I want my puppy!" People stare, I actually began to have a bit of a laugh! What the heck else can you do?

10:05-10:15am: Drive to Superstore to get the rest of my groceries. A and E happily play with their new puppies. R whimpers in her cutest voice, " I sorry hit you Mommy, pease I have my puppy?"

10:16am: I give R her puppy and all is well!

11:00am: Finally remember that I haven't given R her medicine yet which was the whole point of this silly adventure. Also realize that she will have to take it again in another 12 hours, my God it's going to be a long night! Stand in line at the pharmacy for another 10 minutes to get a syringe.

11:15am: Sit down on a chair and force medicine down R's throat. More screaming," Owe, dop it mommy!" People really staring! Run to wash room because A is in dire straights.

12:30pm: Finally arrive home with groceries and children are all tired and hungry. Feed them, put E and R to bed and write my blog!

G out!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Run For A Cure 2004



Sunday July 23, 2006

Okay so I took yesterday off of writing. But I still got up before the girls, went for a run and weighed in. I gained .2 lbs. No worries, if I could've had a BM I would've lost. Oh quit being disgusted, we all do it! Any how, I'm motivated to have a big loss this week because on Saturday I become a Lifetime member at Weight Watchers. I have been an on again off again member since Avery was born. She's now seven years old! It's been a long time coming but I think I finally feel like I get it. For me, I need to weigh in each and every week or my mind tells me I can eat like a savage. I know deep down that I will gain but if I don't have to weigh in I will eat anything and everything. From birth I was a food lover. My parents actually used to call me a food vacuum, which at the time was funny because I was a child and my metabolism could keep up with my consumption. Fast forward 15 years and my metabolism is I think at some times non existent. What I put in my mouth ends up on my stomach, ass, inner upper thighs and arms. Lovely thought isn't it?

I also know that I need to exercise everyday. Not only to burn fat, but to keep me emotionally and mentally healthy as well. I'm sure if my husband is reading this he's laughing and thinking "What are you talking about? You've been doing this running thing for over a year now and your more insane than ever?" But really on a more serious note I know it's good for me. When I leave the house for a run and my kids kiss me goodbye, they're proud of me. Or when I run on my treadmill, and Avery says" Mom, I'm going to run on the spot beside you!" I feel so great that she recognizes that I'm doing something good and she wants to do it too. Plus what great entertainment for me while I'm on the treadmill. My mind wanders to many things while I'm running. But for the last four months or so I can imagine myself running the half marathon that I've signed up for. I can picture myself running, seeing Jeff and the girls cheering me on and I get goosebumps at the idea of this accomplishment. I can see my mom smiling at me, she is so proud. That's what gets me through my runs.

I also know for me that weightloss isn't necessarily about the numbers on the scale. It's about how it makes me feel. I just went through my closet and donated a garbage bag full of clothes that I will NEVER fit into again. It's about sitting down and not having a roll over my pants, which I haven't accomplished yet. I will though, because I know how to do it. Weight loss for me to isn't about depriving myself. If I'm craving something I eat it, get it over with and get back on track. I've learned that eating one chocolate bar doesn't have to ruing my day or week. It can be one chocolate bar in a week full of great choices. I have more confidence and energy now than I've ever had in my life. It feels great and I'm going to keep going until that roll is gone.

Winter wrote about doing the CIBC run for a cure this October. Hooray! Congratulations on making such a commitment. It's going to be so great for you! I've done it for four years now and last year Brandie came and did it with me. This year I'm going to Calgary to do it with her. It's such a great cause and a great way to commit to getting into shape. Two years ago I had just started running and my cousin Nick and his mom, my Auntie Joan came and ran it with me. FYI, Nick and (his wife) Crystal are runners. They've both done a complete marathon and Auntie Joan did a half I think. So they are the ones who got me on this band wagon in the first place.

I have to get my kids fed, apply for more jobs, clean the house, water flowers etc.......

G Out!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Friday July 21, 2006
Okay I'm trying to be more like my mom, who for those of you that knew her was the most positive person on the planet. But this morning I just have to get something off of my chest!
Yesterday was payday for Jeff! Yipee! We can eat! Anyway it was a week short. Here's how it all played out:
Lovely Lady in Charge of Payroll to Jeff (who's on day six of no ciggys) : You didn't get your hours in on Monday, Jeff. Your only getting paid for one week.
Jeff(who's on day six of no ciggys) to Lovely Lady in Charge of Payroll: I wasn't even here on Monday!
Okay stop for a minute so I can fill you in. Every employee has to enter in their hours every Monday for the previous week. We were out camping on the weekend and Reece got a mosquito bite on her cheek, near her eye that became infected. Long story short she was in the hospital from Sunday night to Tuesday afternoon. Jeff wasn't playing hookie, sleeping or hungover, he was being a parent, which is his first and most important job. He phoned his supervisor on Sunday night and actually spoke to him not a voicemail and everything was cool, or so we thought.
Lovely Lady in Charge of Payroll to Jeff (who's on day six of no ciggys) : Well if you didn't get your hours in , I can't pay you!
Jeff(who's on day six of no ciggys) to Lovely Lady in Charge of Payroll: He said nothing an walked away, because he couldn't believe his ears. And may I remind you that he hasn't had a cigarette in six days and is extremely bitchy. Probably a good thing that he walked a way.
In the end, Lovely Lady in Charge of Payroll has to give Jeff an advance of one weeks pay which will be added to the next pay period, which will kick Jeff into the next income bracket, which will give more money to the government and less to us. Which is awesome because we're rich and all an would be completley unaffected by losing a week's pay. That all I'm going to write about that beacause I'm too angry to write anything that wouldn't be flagged and taken off of the blog for being inappropriate.
On to bigger and much brighter news, the girls and I have an awesome day ahead of us. It's supposed to be 29 degrees here today and we're off to the spray park. Yipee! I better hurry up and finish this because it will take me an hour just to get them all dressed and then covered in sunscreen and then sprayed in mosquito repellent. Mmmm, we're going to smell yummy. This afternoon they have a sitter coming because I have a doctor's appointment. It's my yearly grope to be quite honest. Yipee! Then tonight is our second of three birthday parties this week. It's Mathew's birthday over at Heather and Dave's house. FYI, Heather and Dave have three birthday parties in a six week period and the food is amazing. They actually had friends requesting food from last years menu for this years party. It's really that good. So a busy but fun day ahead of us. Hope to have some great pics to post tomorrow.

This is Mathew on our slip and slide at our year end party. Happy Birthday Mathew! See you tonight!









Thursday, July 20, 2006













Avery riding a bike
Emma and Reece

Okay so I started this thing because I love reading Winter's blog. Not only is she hillarious it's a great way to communicate with her as she is self-proclaimed "not a phone person". Plus I get to see my newest amazing nephew almost everyday.
I've decided I will try and post every morning before the kids get up. My motivation for actually getting up before the kids. Now that I'm unemployed, staying motivated to get up before 9:00 on any given day is at best of times, fleeting.

Why Did I take the Summer Off?

We thougt we would be in Esterhazy by now. The girl's have been so excited to go camping to Esterhazy it's silly. Avery had been wrinting about it in her shcool journal since the snow began melting. You see our first ever family camping trip took place last summer. Christy and Jay offered us their camper for the summer. Thanks again by the way. Jeff was working pretty much the whole summer in Esterhazy so me and the girls packed up and followed him. Although Jeff was working everyday, the girls and I had a blast. We got to swim for 3-4 hours everyday in a heated pool, lunch at the Dairyville, followed by some quiet time for the animal(Reece) and most days mommy. Daddy would arrive "home" and we would either have a fire or head back to the Dairyville. Although the Dairyville was handy it didn't offer a lot of low cal choices. Thus my return to weight watchers. Our days were so lazy and relaxing we couldn't imagine doing anything else.
The summer ended, Jeff went back to school and I went back to babysitting. Or shall I call it mindreading and refferreeing? Last fall my home daycare filled up with the most picky eaters you can imagine. In the beginning( Imean the first week) it was sort of amusing, but quickly became extrememly obnoxious. The comment " We don't like homeade food" sent shivers down my spine and I had a light bulb moment. I wasn't put on this earth to look after other people's picky children. It wasn't just his pickiness, it was his mother's willingness to accomidate his every wim and actually request me to offer something different for her perfect child. To which my response was "No!"
The light bulb moment continually happened sometimes two -three times a day. Such moments would occur when a five year old went number two in his pants and his mother on the phone giggled and said," Oh no, we can't leave work to come and get him! Do you have anything he can wear until I'm off?" Oh yes I thought, I will lend out my children's clothing to your child who may in turn have another accident. Also did she realize that I have three girls, none of which were five years old at the time? Hence the light bulb went blinkity blink blink once again.
Or how about the time the school secretary called to say she was sending the picky eater home complaining that he thought he was going to throw up.
Me to Secretary:Call the child's mother.
Secretary to Me: I did, she told me to send him to your house.
Me to Secretary(in my head): YOU'VE GOT TO BE F****** KIDDING ME!
Ahhh yes another light bulb moment. As you can imagine my patience was wearing thin as was Jeff's. You see he could tell I was slowly going insane and the thoughts of having these lovely little darlings in our home everyday allday throughout the summer would surely push both of us over the edge. Thus I decided to take the summer off. Although now that I've realized how wonderful it is being with just my children I don't think I could ever go back to babysitting.
Which brings us to today. I need a job. Honestly I don't care if I have to scrub toilets for 5 hours a night. I want my days with MY kids! ( Unless a certain member of my family was to move home in which case I would move mountains to provide a wonderful home evironment for him with his Auntie and extremely well behaved cousins)
The job pool is limited in my case because I posses no recognized skills as far as a resume goes. Employers these days don't care if you can make soup while breastfeeding or change three poopy diapers in under 5 minutes. They want education. Okay maybe I'll go to school and get a real career. Oh yeah we're still paying for Jeff's. Who am I trying to kid we haven't even started paying, I took the summer off!!!!!!!!!!!

In any case this summer is about the three princesses. I love being able to actually play with them instead of just supervise. Life is pretty good around here! As long as we can keep Reece away from stairs and mosquitos the summer should be smooth sailing.