Hard to be positive

I know that there are so many others out there that are going thorough unimaginably worse things than a forced bathroom reno, but I am just having a really tough time not being super crabby and negative.

A few days ago things were great- almost all of our Christmas shopping is completed (except for a few of the gifts I am making), and I was starting to feel ok about our amount in the bank. I have worked a decent amount already this month and Chris has 3 paycheques in December. I was feeling pretty good about being on top of things.

Christmas is always a tough time financially, even if you try to be frugal (NOT cheap) and make many gifts (like I am this year). There are always hidden expenses and some not so hidden expenses that make a dent in the savings.

I've been stressed about money for a while (really, who isn't?). In the summer Chris had to take a salary rollback due to the economy and its effect on the company. We haven't really seen much effect yet because Chris' CPP contributions max out in June, but come January he will have to be contributing to CPP again. That is when we will notice the decrease in pay quite a bit.

And because the school board WAY over hired for substitute teachers as part of their H1N1 pandemic plan, I am lucky to get a day or 2 a week. Which isn't awful, I am still making some money AND get to be home with the boys most of the time, but financially its not so great.

So, now that it looks like we have to dip into our money pot again to do the bathroom, I am stressed all over again.

Also today a light burnt out and sparked. Not a big deal, I know, but it was just one more thing. Plus, it startled me. Then when I was cooking supper I couldn't get the oven to turn off. We have a digital oven with a touch-pad of sorts for the controls. And it wouldn't work. I called Chris to come take a look and he touched it and it turned off.

This was enough to put me into tears. All the tension and stress of the day had just built up and I needed the release of tears. I can't say I feel much better, but I know that there isn't much we can do.

The mold HAS to go. And we can't leave the bathroom as it is. So, we have to cough over the money to have it done. Sigh.

We might be eating Kraft Dinner for Christmas this year.

Ok, just kidding, we aren't even going to be having dinner here so I can save the KD for another day!

But, the Christmas gifts for Chris and I this year might be a new shower. Yay! Just what I asked Santa for!

Oh well, it could be worse. I know that. I'm just having a tough time remembering it.

From Bad to Worse

The tiles came down today. What we thought (hoped) was a problem with the shower seems to have seeped behind the tub as well. So, the tub will most likely be coming out, rebuilt and put back in.


Also, there is quite extensive mold behind almost all the tile and possibly into the floor.


We can't afford to replace our floor at this point so I'm not sure if we will be in a bedroom with a plywood floor until we can afford new flooring or what.


It seems every time I went in to check with Chris on the progress he had more bad news. So I stopped going to ask.


To top things off, we can't sleep in our room because of the mold. So, we are back to sleeping on our old, miserable bed in the basement. I guess after this is all done I will appreciate my new bathroom and new bed even more.


Here are some pictures of Day 1 of the forced bathroom reno:

Before


You can see the mold that had built up behind the tile
water damage behind the tile into our bedroom wall



The wall torn apart - this is where we first saw some of the extent of the damage.

Leaky Shower Blues

I love our ensuite bathroom. I really do. It is one of the things that really sold me on our house (except for the amazing views through ginormous windows and my curved staircase - I love that!). It has a stand up shower, a seperate jetted tub (my favorite!) and a HUGE mirror and vanity.

BUT, since we have lived here (2.5 years) we have had issues with our shower. It is tiled floor to almost ceiling and we have had problems with little leaks. They have all been repaired by my wonderful husband, who has spent many hours chipping out the old grout, re-grouting and re-sealing. Each time the leak has stopped. Problem solved.

But, a few days ago we noticed that the carpet OUTSIDE the bathroom was damp and upon further inspection we also noticed that the baseboards were a bit bowed and our dresser had water damage along the bottom. Crap! There was no moisture IN the bathroom.

We knew this was bad news. Obviously there was a leak inside the wall somewhere. Sigh.

So, today while I was at work, Chris cut holes in our recently painted bedroom wall to check it out. Kinda worked out well that Chris is using up some of his holiday days this week! What he found was disappointing but not totally unexpected. The wall had mold inside it and obvious signs of water damage. Crap again! No obvious point of water entry though, which leads us to believe that it is leaking from the wall that is against the exterior of the house and seeping around. Crap, crap, crap!

The shower is coming down. All the tile is coming off. This wouldn't be a huge issue except that the tile continues from inside the shower, around to the back of and surrounding the tub. Basically one whole wall of our bathroom is tile. To the tune of about 100- 110 square feet. Ugh.

This evening we went to Home Depot (if only they saw this plug as an ad and gave us free tile! Wouldn't that be great!?) and looked at a few choices and priced them out. The tile we chose is actually relatively inexpensive ($2 per 12 x 12 tile) but the accent pieces are not too cheap ($7 for a 3 x 12 piece). We really like the accent piece even though it is pricey. The tile I think we are going to go with is beige so we need the accent tiles to break up the monotony.

If we didn't have to pay for everything else involved, it wouldn't be too bad, price-wise. But, the cost of the concrete back board (or whatever the heck it is), the mortar, grout, sealant, etc all adds up. Not to mention the drywall and paint to repair the wall that was cut apart.

Guess I should have bought that lottery ticket after all.......

I will post progress of the bathroom reno as it happens!

Shoulda bought a lottery ticket!

Ok, well not really because obviously my odds of winning on this blog are better than winning the lottery but seriously, how lucky am I???

I won again! This time the scrapbooking package! The two giveaways I really liked and wanted to win one of, I won BOTH of!

A huge thank you to my friend Canadian Mama (she does have a real name but wants to remain anonymous to the blogging world) and Leanne, who I have not yet met but will soon when we do our photo shoot!

Yippeeee!!!

I won!!!!

I am sooooo excited! I won the family photo shoot from my friend's giveaway!!!!

I am so excited to see the photos that Leanne shoots for us! Maybe we'll have a fantastic Christmas card this year!

Thanks Canadian Mama and Leanne!!!!

Another great giveaway!

I've been getting into scrapbooking now as well as card making. I have been doing cards for a while but scrapbooking seemed a bit daunting. I have been slowly getting my feet wet into the world of scrapbooking, so I'd love to win this!

Thanks to my friend 'L' at Just Another Mom Blog for having a week of awesome giveaways! Now, I better win something! :)

I want to win family photos!

My friend's site (as I mentioned in yesterday's post) has an awesome giveaway today! A photographer Leanne from Calgary is offering free family photos to the winner and I want to win them!!!

Check out both sites, but don't enter cuz it will make my chances of winning less! LOL

Giveaways!

Check out my friend's new blog here. She's doing a week of giveaways to kick off her new site! Check it out!

Trick or Treat!

The boys had a great time trick or treating! Luca really understood this year what it was all about and was really excited to get dressed up and go out. Levi, always wanting to be like his big brother, was so cute toddling after him up to the door. After the first house he decided that was enough and just wanted to sit and eat his candy! Once the candy was gone, he was out of the stroller and up to the next house to get more!

Both boys were super cute in their Crocodlie and Sock Monkey costumes! I might be a little biased.....

Pilots in training

An old friend from high school is an avaition mechanic for Westjet in Calgary. We were lucky enough to be given a private tour of the hangar and a plane that was in for servicing! I'm not sure who was more fascinated - me or the boys! Levi thought all the buttons in the cockpit were incredible (he pushed just about every one!) and Luca was pretty amazed with the arial lift that hoisted the mechanics up to the tail of the plane. Haha He also thought that the tvs in the head rests were pretty neat too but "kinda small" (his words!).

The latest in the lives of The Grahams

*October 3, 2009

Jessica and Brock's gorgeous, intimate wedding ceremony in Canmore, Alberta. It was a fantastic weekend and we had a great time celbrating with Brock and Jessica!





*October 11, 2009

Chris' brother and sister in law, Shawn and Carrie, hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their house in Edmonton. The meal was absolutely delightful! Carrie had put so much work into making a wonderful meal, that was obvious! We all had a great time and it was nice to all be at Shawn and Carrie's house- some of us for the first time!

I forgot my camera so don't have any pictures of the day. :(

*October:

*I am back to work after surgery. I'm averaging about a day adn a half per week of subbing. I'd like 2 or even 3 days for the paycheque but am ok with working less. Dee has been watching the boys when I am at work and they just love it there, as I knew they would.

*Post-surgery I am feeling pretty good. I was surprised at how quickly I felt back to normal (about day 6 I was feeling more or less fine). I did have about a week right around Thanksgiving where I was getting a lot of stomach pain again. Maybe the foods I was eating then? Not sure. I was hoping to talk to my surgeon at my appointment on the 19th of October, but it was postponed until November 9th for some unknown reason. So, hopefully I will be feeling well until then otherwise it could be a long couple of weeks! At least I still have my pain meds!

*Because of surgery I was unable to join the current session of bootcamp. I was quite disappointed. A few weeks ago, the instructor (a friend of mine) came to me and asked if I would tutor her son in reading in exchange for personal training at home. I jumped at the chance! Today was my first session and it is obvious by the already sore muscles that I took too much time off, but I am really excited to have a program tailored to me that I can do at home, on my own time! I'm hoping to get 3 workouts a week in and then in 6 weeks or so she will change my program for me to keep me on my toes!

*In the summer, I was asked if I'd be interested in joining the Crossfield Library Board. I was happy to join and I attended my first meeting last week. There are about 8 of us on the board (I think) and I'm really excited to be involved in something else in the community. My job as a board member will be to oversee the children's programming and services that the library offers, such as Storytime, which we attended every Wednesday last year and loved, as well as the summer reading programs for kids and Spring Break programs. I'm really excited about this new venture!

*I have been quite busy with MOPS and am really enjoying that as well. My job as TLC coordinator is to get new moms a baby gift and meals (donated from our members) as well as struggling moms meals and/or financial assistance if needed. So far this year we have been busy with delivering phone books to the town of Crossfield (our largest fundraiser), a Big Cook to have meals in the freezer for when they are needed, our bake sale (another big fundraiser) at the Crossfield Christmas Farmer's Market on November 1st as well as our usual Thursday meetings. Tomorrow is 'Crocktober' and we take our crockpots to MOPS and come home with a meal to simmer all day and serve at suppertime! YUM! Last year was the first year we did this and it was a smashing success - it runs alongside our Spring Spa Day as the most favorite meeting. And thanks to fundraising and the wonderful, generous owner of our town grocery store, we are able to provide 60 families with meals tomorrow!

*The boys have been keeping us very busy lately. Levi is a mover and a shaker. He climbs EVERYTHING and stands on top of whatever he can get his feet on, whether stationary or not! One day I caught him scaling our bookcase, Spiderman style! I see some hospital visits in our future- that boy shows no fear!

I was tired of battling with Luca to use the potty. It became so exhausting every day, so we have stepped back from it to give both of us a break. I have put him back into pull ups and am not giving him the attention of being disappointed in him for going in his pants. I am hoping that soon he will just decide to poop on the potty on his own. He is capable of doing it and capable of holding it, so it was simply a battle of wills between us. I am going to leave it until about the middle of November and then we will try again after we have both had time to regroup and distance ourselves from the daily battle.

*Besides MOPS and library board, subbing and tutoring, I have been busy working on Christmas gifts. Last year my goal was to give homemade gifts where possible. I did pretty good last year and am aiming to do better this year! I have most of my gifts planned out, its just a matter of finding time to get them all done! I really enjoy receiving homemade gifts, I think that they mean that much more and are so personal.

That's the past month for us in a nutshell!

In Loving Memory

On September 29th, we lost an amazing woman. Chris' maternal grandmother, or Nona, as we all called her passed away after a quick but difficult battle with cancer at the age of 87. She was loved by many and will be so dearly missed.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, I am choosing not to dwell on the sadness that her death has caused, but instead to be thankful for these things:

-In the final months of her life, she was surrounded by family and love

-We were able to see her a number of times while she was in the hospital. While at times hard, it gave Chris and I peace to know that we were able to say goodbye.

-When she took her final breath she was with her daughter and son in law, not alone.

-I am thankful that I was able to know her and laugh with her for the past 10 years. She was a hilarious woman (not always intentionally) and I always knew that when visiting her there would be laughter.

A wonderful woman, no longer on Earth, but rejoycing in Heaven. We love you, Nona.

No Mom Alone

One of the themes for MOPS this year is "No Mom Alone". That may mean different things to different people, and that's ok. I was asked to write my story of being a mom alone for our newsletter this week. I'd like to share it with you, my friends and family.

Here is my story as it was published in the newsletter:

NO MOM ALONE
By Janice Graham

I had very mixed feelings when my husband came to me with news about a possible job transfer to Calgary in March of 2007. Firstly, I was excited about the prospect of my husband who for the past few years had been working away from home most of the month for the past few years, being home every evening for dinner and nights of sharing the same bed. But there was also fear, sadness and disappointment.

We had recently bought our first home in Ponoka and had been working to fix it up and make it our own. Both of us being from Ponoka, we were within a few minutes drive of each of our families and had old friends nearby. I had my support team all mapped out. I was active in a parent’s group, and had been teaching in town for a few years. My roots were in Ponoka and I was quickly and firmly spreading those roots to take hold. When your partner works away, you rely on your support team to help you be a parent, and quickly become close to those you lean on.

I had visions of my father-in-law coaching my son Luca’s soccer team, as he was doing for my niece at that time. I saw Luca in the loving arms of my sister in-law, playing with his cousins when I returned to teaching. I was enjoying weekly dinners with my parents and my in laws, and loved that they were able to watch Luca grow up.

But, all that was pulled out from under me when the prospect of a new job came up. After many teary conversations weighing the pros and cons, it was decided that my husband would accept the job. We were moving to a place where I knew only one person and had to start all over again. I was terrified. I felt so alone.

Within a few weeks of moving to Crossfield, I was offered a job teaching full time in Airdrie. While great for our bank account, this was not good for me as a mother and was definitely not the best way to begin to seek out connections in my new town.

As the months went on, I began to feel more and more alone. I was not loving the new job, was missing days with Luca and was harbouring the mommy guilt that comes with having someone else tend your child for the majority of his waking hours. Plus, I found myself exhausted and sick with a new pregnancy.

When I was put on medical leave at 30 weeks into my pregnancy, I was excited at the prospect of spending time with Luca before the baby arrived and getting out into the community to meet other moms. Unfortunately, this time also coincided with the spring shut down of the programs meant for moms and their children.

With a new baby and a not quite two-year-old, I found myself very alone every day. I would see groups of mothers out and about with their children, laughing and looking like they had it all, but was too shy to try to join in. By the end of summer, I was feeling very isolated and was battling full-blown postpartum depression.

Levi was a needier, fussier baby than Luca was, and I was used to having family and friends around whenever I needed a bit of help or a break. This experience was vastly different. I found myself spending days alone in my house, resenting the move we made and my children more and more every day. I was angry and jealous of my husband, who got to leave every day, who got an hour of uninterrupted silence during his commute, and who got to eat real food for lunch in restaurants with other adults! I grew more and more impatient with my children and the longing for something else festered, becoming a monster inside me.

I would go grocery shopping in the evenings alone so I could get away. I would take my time, making an hour task stretch into two or sometimes even three hours. I began going to movie theatres alone on Saturdays just to get away and forget that I was Mommy for a while. I distinctly remember on more than one occasion, when coming back from Calgary or Airdrie, as I took the exit ramp towards Crossfield thinking that I could just keep going straight down the QEII, keep driving toward that vision of sleep, shopping, visiting, anything that I could do without kids and anything that resembled the life I left behind, an hour and a half to the North.

I felt that every day my two-year-old was defying me out of spite and that my baby was on a mission to make my life as awful as possible. I was convinced that no one could handle two children because mine, at least were the worst, or so I thought. I thought this would never end.

One evening when venting about my day, my husband kindly and softly asked if I thought that there could be something more going on than just being the tired mom of two. Taking great offence, I responded emphatically that it was not that there was anything wrong with ME, but that I had a toddler that would not listen and a baby that would not shut up. It couldn’t be me. I was doing my best. It was the other parts of my life letting ME down. I thought.

Finally, one afternoon in late August, I called my husband at work and told him through tears and sobs that he needed to come home or I was going to lose it. I had been crying for hours at this point and wasn’t even able to get off the sofa to do anything more than the necessities like changing a diaper or giving my kids something to eat. I had finally admitted to myself that I was not coping with the changes that had taken place in my life. I loved my kids, I did, but I didn’t like them and that broke my heart.


When I visited my doctor (who has known me and my family for years and is acutely aware of the familial susceptibility to depression) she so gently confirmed what deep down I had known to be true; I had postpartum depression.

Going through the list of symptoms, I realized that PPD was affecting more than my ability to be a patient, engaged mother. Normally an avid reader, I was unable to focus to read more than a page or two and even then rarely remembered what I had just read. I was withdrawing from my family, who I normally spoke to at least once a week, sometimes daily. I was now avoiding their phone calls and requests for visits. I had absolutely no interest in being intimate with my husband, preferring to sleep instead. But, let’s be honest, what new mom doesn’t want to choose sleep? I thought this was normal. I was experiencing intense anxiety attacks over minor things, to the point of being afraid to leave my house some days for fear of getting caught in a storm, for example. Things that used to bring me joy were no longer appealing to me. I was unhappy, I was not myself. My doctor prescribed antidepressants with the warning that it would take a few weeks, possibly a month to begin to feel better.

The light peeking through the darkness came a few long weeks after I had seen my doctor. A few things came together at just the right time. I joined MOPS with my best friend of almost 10 years, who had just moved Crossfield. Not only did I have my best friend just down the street, but I was hoping that MOPS would not only give me a much needed break for a few hours every few weeks. And that maybe, just maybe, I would begin to make friends and feel like I belonged.

I began to count down the days until the next MOPS meeting. Slowly, I was building friendships with others in town. Once in a while I had a coffee date with another mom.

I had almost forgotten what it was like to have friends nearby and to be able to talk to other moms going through similar phases with their children.

When the opportunity to join the MOPS Steering Team came up, I jumped at the chance to be even more involved and to hopefully foster deeper relationships with those that I had begun to know.

The year after I moved to Crossfield was one of the worst for me emotionally and psychologically. I don’t think I realized the importance of having relationships with other moms, other women, sisters in this walk of life that we call motherhood.

I can safely say that it was MOPS that helped pull me out of my depression when I was the mom that was alone.

Not only is MOPS a great place to get a break from your kids, but it is a fantastic place to create and build friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. I have been so blessed to feel like a part of a community and to feel the loving arms of the members of MOPS.

It is my wish that every mom who might feel alone or just need friendship and a place to talk will find that in MOPS. Being with other mothers has helped to make me a better mother and has taught me that I still need to take time to be the woman that I am outside of being Mommy. I am now regularly enjoying time out to do my own thing such a scrapbooking, shopping, visiting, exercise - and I’m not wanting to keep driving when I am on my way home. Now, I am recharged and refreshed when I come home and ready to spend another day with my children, whom I love very much.

MOPS changed the path my life was taking and for that I will be forever grateful.



P.S. Thanks to Tom, my wonderful brother in law and an amazing writer for helping me to edit this. You're the best, Tom! :)

VEGAS!

We returned home from Vegas last night (this morning, actually) at about 130am.
After trying to unlock the door in the dark while being quiet so as not to wake the kids, we were finally inside. Chris and I both pretty much dropped our bags and went to peek in on the sleeping princes.

We had a great time and it was so nice to spend time with our friends as well as time alone with eachother. But, as nice as it is to get away, it is nice to come home again, too.

The weather there was fantastic- about 35-40 degrees all week. At night it cooled down to about 30! Chris and his lobster-red skin can attest to the heat! I wore sunscreen.....he did not.

We did some shopping... ok, who am I kidding? We did a lot of shopping! We saw some shows, did lots of sightseeing and ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed being somewhere new, without kids and with great friends.


The flight there was not a good one for me. I get motion sick. Very motion sick. I spent a good portion of the flight with my head between my knees and a sickness bag clutched in my hands, a bag of ice on the back of my neck. Ugh. Not a good way to start a vacation. I had forgotten Gravol, which is why I was so sick so I was sure to get some before heading home. Actually, I got Drammamine, as it is called in the states, I discovered. Also, it is not behind the counter as it is here. When you ask for it here, they record your info to track it for some reason. Drammamine in my tummy, the flight home was much, much better.

When we arrived at the airport in Vegas (on mine and Chris' 7th anniversary!) we went to get our luggage. Dee and I were completely involved in finding out where to pick up our baggage, we didn't notice the limo driver waiting with the GRAHAM sign until Chris informed us that we had someone to help us with our luggage. A limo!!!! Our wonderful husbands arranged to have a limo pick us up, with champagne and roses waiting and take us on a 1 hour tour before dropping us off at the hotel. We also got to ride back to the airport in the limo- a nice change from the public transportation we had been riding all week.

The limo ride was great as was the champagne. Dee and I were giddy with anticipation! :)

The picture is a little dark but here are Chris and I at the famous Las Vegas sign.


Dee and I saw the Bodies Exhibit (check out the site! and some photos here) which was amazing. The guys thought it would be too gross, so we went without them. They were actual bodies that had been preserved. By far my favorite part was the fetal development section. Just incredible.

We went to Freemont Street which is "old Vegas" and has been re-vamped with a light show on the ceiling of the outdoor street. Here are Chris and I on Freemont Street.



We also saw a Cirque du Soliel show, which was impressive, as we anticipated.

Thursday afternoon was spent lounging by the pool, where Chris met his sunburn.

Friday afternoon before heading home we went to the Shark reef Aquarium, America's only predator based aquarium where we saw many interesting fish and sharks. Here's a photo of me touching a large sting ray. They are so soft, like well worn leather.




We had a great time, but 4 days was more than enough for one trip. We were ready to come home. There is so much to see and do in Vegas, though. That was our second trip and I see us going back again some day because there are just so many incredible shows to take in and sights to be seen. Vegas is way more than drinking and gambling!

Some Randomness

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?10 years ago I would've been 17...just starting University at Augustana in Camrose. I was taking my bachelor of arts with a concentration in psychology and a minor in Scandinavian Studies (don't ask!). I had intended to go and take a concentration in drama and a minor in sociology- it turned out I wasn't as good an actress as my high school performances had me believing and I discovered that sociology was kinda boring. So, I switched. Pysch was interesting and I can (sorta) speak Norwegian and have read many pieces of literature important to Scandinavian history. At one point I could tell you the deeper meanings of what those writers were writing. Not so today. But, ask me about current celebrity gossip and I can fill you in! LOL

Sidenote: I always wondered this and writing about Norwegian literature reminded me again about this wonder I have. Lisa, since you are the literature guru, maybe you have some insight.
In school we study all these pieces of literature and are taught that there is almost always another, deeper meaning to what was written. For example, in Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Peer peels away an onion to find a non-existent core and realizes that he himself is made up of layers like an onion (a thought that Shrek stole, by the way!). And that the trolls that Peer encounters signify the the self-indulgences that deflect man from a truer purpose. My question is this: How do we know that hundreds of years ago, Henrik Ibsen wasn't just sitting down and writing a fictional story about a little man who encounters trolls on his journey and on the way peels an onion looking for something inside? How do we know that he was purposefully putting this imagery into his work in the hopes that his works would be studied and dissected for many years to come? Perhaps it is just that over the years people have chosen to believe that certain figures and images convey greater meaning and these thoughts are continually passed on and changed with the passage of time??
Do authors actually sit down and think "ok, I am going to write this and it will actually mean this. Let's see who is smart enough to figure this out." Like a puzzle. I just think that people look too hard for hidden meaning into things and maybe they should just be taken at face value sometimes. But, then again, that wouldn't make for a very good literature class, now, would it?


Anyhoo....on to my randomness...

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today? Well, since it is 9:30pm, I think I will be planning to go to bed shortly. But 5 things I will do before I make it to bed are: get undressed and into pjs, get a snack, do my bedtime routine (teeth, hair, face, etc), go pee and read a bit.

3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?I always enjoy snacks! I LOVE 5cent candies and slurpees, am quite fond of chips and salsa, peanut butter and jam sandwiches with a glass of milk, oreo cookies.

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:Pay off student loans, go to Disneyland (with my kids of course and I'd love to take my whole family), vacation, invest to ensure that my kids were set for life.

5. 2 of my bad habits: Eating sugary snacks, not drinking enough water every day

6. 5 places I've lived: Blackfalds, Ponoka, Camrose, Edmonton, Crossfield

7. 5 jobs I've had: Cashier at Extra Foods, Group home staff, Psych Aide, Group home coordinator, teacher

My friend Tasha tagged me in this and I don't feel like actually tagging people so, If you're reading this and have a blog, consider yourself tagged!

The Potty Training Blues

As you may be well aware, Luca and I have been having a battle of wills about the potty for some time now.

He refuses to poop on the potty and I am getting very frustrated and tired of cleaning poopy underwear.

Luca turned 3 on June 29th. He should be ready to potty train. At least that's what I am told and am reading. I have run out of ideas.

I tried letting him run around bottom-less and that seemed to be the most successful method yet in that he really didn't want to poop on the floor. Unfortunately, he got really good at holding it until about 53 seconds after he had his pull-up on to go to bed. I don't know what is more frustrating- pooping in underwear or holding it to poop in a pull up that is less than a minute old! I'm kinda cheap and I hate that he is basically wasting a pull-up! Those things are not cheap!

So, any suggestions?????

To make matters worse, Adelynn, Dee's 2 and a half year old basically decided a few weeks ago that she was done with diapers and has been doing wonderfully using the potty. She still has the accident here and there, but is consistently using the potty both for pee and pooping. I wish she could teach Luca a thing or two!

I know it can't be forced but seriously! Something's gotta give!!!!

Any help you might have is greatly appreciated. I've exhausted all my ideas, now I need yours!

More catch up!

It seems like I am always playing catch-up! I have good intentions to post regularly, I really do!
Unfortunately, since I haven't been very good at posting, here's another general post about what has been happening with us the past month.

In Early August, we were thrilled to finally meet Lisa, Tom's girlfriend. Because her and Tom live in Ottawa, it hasn't been possible to meet her until this summer when she joined Tom for the wedding of a good family friend. We absolutely loved her and don't hold it against her that she is keeping Tom out East away from all of us! ;)

The wedding that we attended was an absolutely gorgeous outdoor wedding at the home of the groom's parents. The groom and his family have been close friends with Chris' family for years. All of the flowers for the wedding were different types of Dahlias and were grown right there in the Kusiek's yard. They were absolutely amazing and as far as I know they are still enjoying many blooms from their Dahlia garden!

We went camping at Pigeon Lake with my parents as well as the Sowers family (Brock- my soon to be brother in law's parents) and the Campbell family (Brock's sister's family). That weekend was the birthday party for my nephew Donovan who turned 4. Hard to believe that he is 4 already! We had a nice time camping and at the party. It was great to be able to visit and we enjoyed our last camping weekend of the summer.

My sisters came and stayed with me for a few days this month which was fun. We did girly things like painting nails and watching chick flicks with popcorn and slurpees. My sisters and I have lots of fun when we are together- they are some of my very best friends and I love spending time with them. I miss that we are not as close geographically as we used to be.

Last weekend was Jessica, my baby sister's Bridal shower and stagette. It was a wonderful day to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Jessica and Brock. We had a lot of fun at the stagette as well, dressing her up and making her ride the mechanical bull! Jessica and Brock will be getting married in a very intimate ceremony in Canmore followed by a celebration reception a few weeks later in Wetaskiwin. Our Bridesmaids dresses arrived on the weekend as well and we are all very happy with the result. They are just beautiful. I can't wait for the big day!

This past week has been busy with getting things ready for Vegas for Chris and I, getting the boys laundry washed and packed to go to Ponoka and tidying the house. Only 5 more days, we can't wait! We are so excited to be going on a child-free holiday with our best friends!

Today was also the first meeting of the MOPS steering team. We started to plan our year and I am so excited for the first meeting. MOPS is such a wonderful organization and I don't know what I would do without it here! This fall there has been 2 MOPS groups started at churches in Airdrie, which is fantastic to see it reaching out to more moms that might need some support and friendship.

Well, that's our last month in a nutshell. I will try to add some pictures later, I am on my laptop right now with all my photos being on the desktop PC upstairs. So, for now all you get is words!

Til we get back from Vegas.....................

Surgery Update

Last week I finally got the call from the booking department at the hospital that I had been waiting for. They had a surgery date for me!

They gave me a September 3rd appointment, which I had to decline as we leave for Vegas on the 7th and I certainly didn't want to be recovering from surgery while in Vegas! So, the next available date that they could give me was September 22nd, which will be 2 months to the day since I saw the surgeon. Not too bad considering my family doc said to expect a 3-6 month wait.

My surgery is only a week and a half before I am a bridesmaid in Jessica's wedding, but the surgeon's office assured me that I will be just fine by then. I sure hope so.

I am also still on the cancellation list, so there is a possiblity that I could be called to go in earlier.

My tummy has been not too bad the past few weeks, but I have learned that that can change at a moment's notice so I have been carrying my medication with me wherever I go. That seems to be providing enough relief until my surgery date.

Long overdue!

I have been meaning to post for many weeks now, always telling myself "I'll get to it tomorrow". Obviously, many tomorrows have passed since my last post, so here are a few different ones to catch us up to where we are now.

I'll try to be more diligent in posting!

So, read up on what we've been up to lately.

This Monday, we are heading to Ponoka to have a family BBQ as Tom arrives home today for a week. Actually, he should be here now, as it is 10pm Alberta time. He is home for the wedding of a good friend next Saturday. We have all missed him, not having seen him since Christmas, and are excited to see him on Monday. Luca is also excited to see Uncle Tom, who lives in "Tario".

We are also excited to meet Lisa!!!!

Lisa- thanks for reading my blog and keeping Tom updated on what we've been up to! :) See you in a few days!!!

Health issues

On Father's Day weekend, the weekend of our family campout with Chris' family, I ended up in the hospital with stomach pain.

The pain began after a deliciously greasy meal of eggs, bacon and sausage. I have had problems with acid reflux for many years now, so attributed the discomfort I was feeling to that.

When the pain got worse throughout the day, I began to get a bit concerned and Pat suggested that maybe I get it checked out. We headed into the Ponoka hospital, knowing that I would be seen much quicker there than if we were to wait until we got back home.

I was seen quickly and admitted. The doctor thought that it was either an intestinal infection or my gallbladder. I was put on IV and given some antibiotics in case it was an infection as well as some Demerol for the pain.

There were no available beds in the hospital so I spent a relatively sleepless night in the emergency department. At least I had a "private" exam room!

I couldn't get in for my "urgent" ultrasound for 2 days so I was able to convince my doctor (who saw me Monday morning on rounds) to discharge me with a prescription for oral antibiotics and pain killers.

We stayed another night in Ponoka and then headed for the ultrasound. It was determined that I had a gallstone, about 4 mm in diameter and some "sludge" in my gallbladder that was likely the culprit of the pain.

I was sticking to a diet of basically chicken and rice to keep the grease and fatty foods from causing the pain to flare up again but it wasn't really working.

I had an appointment to see the surgeon relatively quickly (a month after being in the hospital) at which point I had had 2 more bad attacks, but didn't go to the hospital.

The surgeon thought that my symptoms were serious enough to put me on a Tier 2 list for surgery, meaning that I would be scheduled for surgery in the next 2-6 weeks. This was much, much faster than the 3-6 months my family doctor had warned me it might take. The surgery is done laproscopically, and is just day surgery so I will be home the night of the procedure. And I've heard that recovery isn't too bad.

At this point, I am still waiting for a surgery date, but after having spoken to the surgeon's office yesterday they are still hoping that I will be in before the end of August. I am also on a cancellation list in which case I would be given 48 hours notice.

I'm just hoping that I can have the surgery with enough recovery time before we leave for Las Vegas on September 7th!