It’s Been a While…
October 21, 2009 at 8:16 pm | In CKD, Daddy-O, Family Ties, Kidney Disease, Miscellaneous Crap, The Crap that Men Do, Toeses and Noses | 2 CommentsTags: blogging, CKD, Dialysis, IgA, kids, PD, PD Catheter
Sorry I haven’t written in a bit, been a lot going on lately. Last Thursday was my husband’s 30th birthday. I don’t think he was particularly looking forward to the great event. I tried to surprise him by taking him to Dave and Busters with our friends Candace, Greg and Sib, but he claims he “knew”. I think he knew something was up, I mean how could I forget his big birthday? Why on earth would I want to go to the Bass Pro Shop (that’s the line of bull I fed him)? I can’t imagine this is what he thought it was though. Our other friends (Scott & Jessi, Brian & Sophie and Paul & Kelly) were waiting for us when we got there and it was so nice to see everyone. Some of our group couldn’t be there because they were working, but they were thought of nonetheless. We hadn’t been together in a long time, too long I think. It was a wonderful night, good conversation, lots of games and too much to eat and drink! By the way Paul, where is my Stella glass?? 
On Saturday, Alex and I will have been together for ten years. A huge milestone, especially when you consider that the longest relationship I had prior to meeting Alex lasted a total of 8 months …
In those ten years:
- We’ve had two beautiful babies.
- We’ve bought a house together.
- We got married.
- We’ve loved.
- We’ve cried.
- We’ve laughed.
- Most of our friends have careers.
- Most of our friends had either gotten married or engaged.
- Most of our friends now have children.
- Most of our friends have homes of their own.
- Most of our friends have just turned/will soon turn 30. 1979 was a popular year!
In other words, we’ve grown up.
In those ten years, I finally learned what our friends’ real names were (having being introduced and only ever referred to by a nickname: Bear, Sib, Shrigs, Suddes, Whopper, Fox).
The best part of the last ten years is that no matter what happens, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other last – if you really need them, they will be there for you. They truly are friends and they’ve never shown it more than over these past few months that we’ve been dealing with Alex’s illness. Thanks again everyone!
I have a good husband. He is an amazing father. Our children adore him, as do I – even when he’s bad
*I let Alex read this post and his only comment: “I’m never bad” … my reaction: pfffttt!*
When You Have Theatre Tickets, Don’t Give Your Husband the Remote
October 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm | In Daddy-O, Miscellaneous Crap, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: Grey's Anatomy, IgA, Michael Burgess, Ontario Philharmonic, PVR, Symphony
He had one job to do tonight. One. I even made it easy for him. I went to see the Symphony with Michael Burgess tonight (more on that in a bit) and I set up the recorder to ‘tape’ three shows for me, “Flash Forward”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice”.
I told him, just turn the TV to Channel 18 by 8:00.
“OK”. He said. “Put the reminder on the channel”.
I did.
I called him after dinner tonight. Don’t forget to change the channel. “OK” he said.
I called him before the concert started at 7:30. Don’t forget to put the correct channel on for me. “OK” he said.
I get home from the concert, he comes up stairs looking rather sheepish. “I think I recorded the hockey game”.
“Pardon?”
“Yeah, Greg called just when it started and I forgot.”
“I gave you one job.” I said, miffed. That’s it, no more UFC recordings for him … *sigh* Seriously honey, one job …
Time to get a PVR…
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Back to my earlier comment. I had a fabulous night tonight, it was so great to get out. One of my favourite tenors, Michael Burgess was singing with the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra. He did a selection of music, mostly from Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it was fantastic. The Symphony was amazing, our seats were amazing (thank you Jacqui!) and I even got to meet him after the show and received my very own autographed photo 
The first act was awesome, Michael came on after the Symphony played a selection of songs from “West Side Story“. So good. I love the score from this musical. The Symphony also played Gershwin’s “An American in Paris“, which was great too but I’m not familiar with the music. Some of my favourites also were the selection of Beatles music. Who knew that music from four guys with guitars and drums would translate so magnificently into a fully orchestral piece? Awesome.
The best, however, was saved for last when Michael sang from “The Phantom of the Opera”. His rendition of “Music of the Night” was powerful, his voice filled the theatre – an incredible range of deep tenor and soft falsetto. His version of Gethsemane from “Jesus Christ Superstar” was inspiring.
But oh. my. god. when he sang “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables, I was in tears – practically from the first note. I’ve seen Les Miz about ten times, seriously. It’s what I measure all other musicals against, to me it’s sublime perfection. I know every word, every note from that play intimately, but I had forgotten how powerful that song was. The words made me think about my husband “Bring him peace, bring him joy, he is young, he is only a boy”, the prayer a “father” makes to save his dying “son” (althogh Marijus wasn’t Jean Valjean’s son), thinking of all the things my husband is going through – I lost it. I was sobbing. Unashamedly. My friend Elizabeth, who joined me for the evening, knows what I’m like and she was dreading the song for this reason. Her friend, reduced to a pile of jello.
Tomorrow night’s performance is sold out, which is fantastic for the Symphony (who apparently are homeless by the way – kind of a wandering minstrel they are). For those of you going to tomorrow’s performance, enjoy, it’s fabulous. Michael could have probably sold out many more shows if given the opportunity.
I’m thinking of getting more tickets to later performances, they were so wonderful – and local too (Markham and Sheppard). They have Welsh Tenors coming up and some other amazing guest musicians. Go see them, you won’t be sorry. If you want to know more about their upcoming shows, go to www.ontariophil.ca.
A Topic For Another Day
September 26, 2009 at 6:24 pm | In All Things Doodle, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: kids
So the four of us are sitting in the family room watching TV after a round of “Beat up Daddy”. The movie “There’s Something About Mary” is on the TV, the unrated version on Diva. The scene were Ben Stiller, on the advice of his weird friend, is in the bathroom whacking off. He’s going to town and Lexy is staring at the tv.
“What is he doing?” she asked, very puzzled.
I’m trying so hard not to laugh. Daddy smirks and says “He’s scratching himself”.
Now I’m killing myself laughing.
Ben Stiller is now “scratching” himself faster and faster.
“He sure is itchy.” Lexy said.
Mommy, No I Tidered…
September 22, 2009 at 10:07 pm | In Miscellaneous Crap, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: kids
Translation (while throwing a fit): I’m wide awake and ready for anything, Mommy! (Uh huh, whatever kid…)
I’m so tired. Life has been stressful lately, and it gets more and more so each day. Yesterday my boss told me he was quitting. The sad part was that all of the big bosses were out of the office, he had no one to “quit to” so he had to submit his resignation via email. Is that what this world has come to? Electronic gadgets before the personal touch?
I’ll miss having him around the office. He’s a great guy and part of a very small world. His kids are the same age as mine, his sister-in-law teaches at my kids’ school, he grew up down the street from my husband. He’s a good mentor, he’s silly as can be – which sometimes is a very good thing when life gets out of control. But he’s also a friend. I dread what the office will be like without him.
Morale in the office lately has sucked. I don’t see it improving any time soon. There’s a saying that we quote ad nauseum when ever one someone spins out of control: “Beatings will continue until morale improves”.
That’s about all I have the strength to write about tonight. Think I’m going to bed. Goodnight.
Sleeping Baby
September 2, 2009 at 9:00 am | In Caityisms, Contests, Daddy-O, Family Ties, Miscellaneous Crap, Sisters, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: kids, babies, Voting, Baby, toddlers, Contest
I’ve entered another contest at Durham Region Baby. This time the theme is “Sleepy” and the prize is an adorable blanket. I put in the picture of the time when Alex was watching an infant Caity. She was colicky and fussy and just miserable that day and she didn’t let me sleep the night before – I had enough. Alex, as usual was playing Warcraft downstairs and I begged him to come upstairs and give me a break for a bit.
I went downstairs and played a few games on the computer myself. It was pretty quiet so I went back upstairs and found not only Caity asleep (sure NOW she falls asleep!) and her Dad was asleep on the couch too. Not one to pass up a warm corner, my female cat, Charlie crawled in behind Alex and fell asleep.
I had to grab the camera. And a nap. You just can’t turn down opportunities like that!
That's great babysitting, honey
If you could vote for this picture, I’d appreciate it. One vote per IP address, but you could vote at home and at work (on your lunch break of course)!
To vote, go to www.durhamregionbaby.com, find Caity’s picture (like above), scroll down to the bottom of the post and click on “Read the rest of this Entry”. There you will find Caity’s name (Caity – 2 or 3 months) and you should be able to vote.
Thanks in advance
Stuff and Such
August 13, 2009 at 9:33 am | In All Things Doodle, Caityisms, Daddy-O, Family Ties, Miscellaneous Crap, Sisters, TV Season, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: kids, Baby, Toddler, Swimming Lessons, Toddler Talk, Toddler meltdown, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, CKD, IgA, nephrophy, PD, PD Catheter
We started swimming lessons this past Sunday. Lexy loved it, Caity thought we were placing her in a pot of boiling oil and sharks were going to eat her toes. In other words, she wasn’t too pleased with the whole thing. She liked being in the water as long as I was holding her close to me. We couldn’t bounce. We definitely couldn’t put her on her back – don’t we understand that Toddlers simply don’t DO that?? Such indignities should not be thrust upon a youngling. The only way I could get her to do her ‘tricks’ was to promise to let her play with toys in the water if she was good. Usually at the end of the session when we go to the kiddie pool, they get to play a bit. Not this time. Cait did her tricks for nothing. Apparently her Mother lies. *sigh*. We’ll try again this week, maybe we’ll be more successful. Lexy started off the same way, the whole boiling oil approach and now she thinks she’s Ethel Merman. Mind you, it does produce some very nice naps. I guess there is some good that comes out of all that flailing around in your attempts to save yourself when your Mother is so clearly trying to let you drown…
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Caity’s growing up. Her vocabulary is expanding every day. She no longer says “backers” instead of “crackers”. She’s determined to put her own shoes on. She still thinks the potty is full of alligators. She’s determined to have he own way or she’ll throw a fit faster than anything I’ve seen … seriously it’s like “Caity, don’t do that …” three, two, one, meltdown!
She walks around saying she misses us all the time. Yesterday she said “I miss Daddy”. I pointed to the couch and said, Caity, he’s right there. “Oh.” she said and walked away. He picked her up from Daycare too yesterday, so it’s not like she didn’t know he was home.
Crazy kid.
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At least “So You Think You Can Dance Canada” is back on …
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I’ve been cleaning (read: decluttering) my house for the past two weeks. Donna comes tomorrow and I can’t wait! Thank you again Sarah and Carly! If Donna doesn’t mind posing, I’ll post some pictures of her up to her elbows in muck. Poor thing, I don’t think she knows what she’s in for… I just hope that she’s seen houses worse than mine. Thank you again everyone, this means so much to us.
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I’m ready to crack I think. I feel like Humpty Dumpty on that brick wall. I’m precariously perched and need to be very careful not to fall. Most days I feel like screaming until I’m hoarse. I can’t. Most days I feel like staying in bed all day. I can’t. It doesn’t help when you hear your husband talking about his own mortality and how he figures he’ll only live to be 49 when he will have used up all those borrowed organs. He’s scared, I know it. I’m scared, I know it. Some days I feel like running away. I know that if I did, I’d be back in an hour so it seems pointless. I need a break. I’m heading to Québec right after Labour Day for a work function. It is taking place at a spa hotel and oh-my-god the services look heavenly. The first day we’re there is my Birthday. I think I will treat myself to a massage and pedicure if I can get away from the boys long enough. They’ll be in meetings anyway. Then I think they should take me to dinner and get me drunk. I’ll see how successful I am. Alex is off that week looking after the kids. He just realized I’ll be away for my birthday and gave me shit about it last night. It’s also Lexy’s first day of Grade One(!!) and I may miss that too. I think that’s more important. I told him we never do anything for my birthday anyway, so what’s the big deal. He grumped. I told him we usually end up at Ribfest on my birthday and that’s something I’ve always hated doing – not exactly the way I wanted to spend my 40th birthday anyway. I don’t mind going on another day, but not then. Thankfully we have wonderful friends who went for dinner with us two years ago.
Just keep thinking … mud wrap … full body massage … spa-pedi …. and cocktails…. Now THAT’s what I call a birthday!
I’ll miss the girls though.
*sigh* I can’t win.
I think I’m going to get all my hair cut off tonight. I have an appointment at seven and I’m going to lose at least four inches (wish I could say that about my waistline) in a matter of minutes. My stylist always says when I sit down, “Jennifer Aniston called and she wants her haircut back”. I get the same cut time after time. Hint taken.
In two weeks I’m scheduled for the colouring. Might go pink, not sure yet.
I need a change…
Anger.
May 30, 2009 at 2:45 pm | In Daddy-O, Family Ties, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentI think we’ve moved to the second stage of grief, Anger. Yesterday was a difficult day, the first of a very big adjustment. Little things would set us off, like the magnetic clip I have on the refrigerator – I put another receipt in it and all the others fell out. I got angry at that. Earlier this week when it was cold, I put an extra blanket on the bed to keep me warm when I eventually could sleep. Alex came to bed last night and yelled “why’d you put this on the bed??” – I’m thinking, why do you think I’d put a blanket on the bed?? He acted as though I threw a can of paint on the sheets. He yelled at the cat this morning when he coughed up a hairball – “Why are you throwing up!!??” like the cat could answer him or was doing it on purpose …
I just want to curl up in a ball and wake up when this gets better. I’m coping the best that I can and I know it’s definitely not easy on him. He still doesn’t look well. The days that he is scheduled for dialysis seem to be the hardest on his body. He feels better after though, so it’s obviously doing what it’s supposed to do.
I went to get my hair done today. I’ve had this scheduled for a while and I needed some normalcy. When I got there, the lady who cuts my hair came over and gave me a big hug. Immediately I teared up. I asked if she heard about my week and she nodded, my Mother-in-law was there a few days earlier and filled her in, we share the same stylist. It’s nice to see that we have friends in the most unlikely places.
I need to keep going for him and the kids. I try not to fall apart in front of them but it’s not easy. I’m trying to be strong and supportive. It’s hard. It will get harder before it gets easier. I hope for the best, my boy deserves it.
Happy Anniversary to Me
April 29, 2009 at 8:21 pm | In American Idol Island, Miscellaneous Crap, TV Season, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentI was checking the stats on my blog’s dashboard when it occurred to me that it’s been about a year since I’ve started. When I check back, I see that it was exactly one year ago today that I wrote my first post.
The hits started off slowly, but eventually they grew. Any time I write about American Idol Island, I get a lot of hits. Especially now, with Adam Lambert leading the pack … So here I go into my second year, some 2,000+ people have viewed my blogsite. I’ve captured laughter and tears and a lot of everything in between. I’ve written countless posts about my kids, my life, my love. Some of the posts were written while angry and then deleted; some were written in the middle of a laugh attack because one of the kids did something especially funny. I’ve even reviewed movies, television, shampoo, and commercials.
I’m sure I’ll have more to write about later. Perhaps I’ll pen the story about ‘Super Bunny’ one day …
Thanks for reading. It’s been fun.
Of Men and Bassinettes
January 13, 2009 at 9:09 pm | In All Things Doodle, Caityisms, Daddy-O, Family Ties, Miscellaneous Crap, The Crap that Men Do | 1 CommentTags: Airlines, Daddy Daycare, Flights, kids, Separation Anxiety, Work Stuff
I leave for the States on Sunday. It’s a work trip and frankly I’m kind of excited by it. I’m travelling down to Virginia to our Regional Head Office. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is the flights. I have to take four of them. On. Very. Small. Planes. You know that expression, you can’t get there from here? Well if “there” is Lynchburg, you’re right. I have to fly to Charlotte on a reasonably sized jet. Charlotte apparently accepts international flights. From Charlotte, I fly to Lynchburg. On. A. Very. Small. Plane. Did I mention it was small? Seriously, on one of the flights home, one of the planes has only 12 seats … TWELVE!! I think I’m taking a freaking Cessna for crying out loud. It’s a puddle jumper at any rate. I think I’m going to have to take some serious anti-anxiety medication … ahhh can you say Ativan …? I don’t do well on small planes, hence I never take them. Now I have no choice. Wish me luck.
I’m meeting with some department heads and will be learning about what they do in the South. One girl at my office, when she found out I was going down suggested I go to The Olive Garden for dinner … um. No. I’ll be out with Ad Execs at some pretty fine restaurants, thank you very much. No endless soup and salad bowls for me… Gotta love expense accounts.
So I’ll be gone four days. Except for the better weather (it only rains in Lynchburg), the Target store and a shopping mall, there’s really not much going on in the thriving Metropolis of Lynchburg. I’ve heard that Taxis are few and far between, but I’m also told they do indeed have a Starbucks. It’s not a pretty picture if I don’t have my Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte in the morning …
So I’ll be gone for four days. That’s the longest I will have ever been away from my children (except on my Honeymoon). Lexy was three at the time and when I called her from the Bahamas, she tearfully told me as we were getting off the phone “Goodbye Mommy, I’ll never forget you!!” Such a drama queen.
So I’ll be gone for four days. Did I mention that? Did I tell you what happened the last time I left my beloved Husband in charge of the younglings? My friend Carly writes about the trials and tribulations of being a young Mom in Durham. Today she wrotean interesting post about her new baby Alice and what a headache it has been trying to get her to sleep in a bassinette.
It brought back a lot of memories with Caity.
Caity was a month old in this picture. I very much needed a baby break and begged Hubby to come and watch the baby so I could go and veg on the computer downstairs for a while. It got awfully quiet upstairs so I came up to take a peak. There was Caity asleep in her bassinette. Daddy was passed out on the couch and our female cat, Charlie was curled up behind my Hubby.
I’m surprised his snoring didn’t wake up the baby …
So, OK. Can you see why I’m a little nervous about leaving?
My Husband is a wonderful father – but babysitting is not his forte. Honey I love you, but you bring this on yourself …
Happy New Year
January 1, 2009 at 9:33 am | In Miscellaneous Crap, The Crap that Men Do | Leave a CommentTags: Cats, cheeseburger, laundry, New Years
Happy 2009! By the way, I didn’t cry – I actually missed the New Year because I was in the basement doing somebody’s laundry – I won’t mention any names, but he happens to be sleeping upstairs while I’m taking care of the kids … *glares at ceiling*. He called me from work earlier in the evening to ask if I could do some of his work shirts… both of us ‘forgot’ that he’s on midnights and has all day today to do laundry … *sigh*
Anyway, one of my favourite sites posted a great New Year’s video … cheers!
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