I am so ready for the tree to come down

I'm feeling a little grinchy. I said to William on Boxing Day that I was going to take the tree down the next day as it is so big and so in my way that it is driving me crazy. It's almost Friday and the tree is not down, due to the bad mood of one wee Sophie. Seriously, the child does nothing but cry. The only person she is loving these days is me and it has taken a serious toll on my boobs. We figure she fed about 20 times today, from the time she woke up at 7 until she finally fell asleep (sucking of course) at 10.30. I don't know what's up with her. Anyway, due to her very neediness I have not been able to do anything, never mind take down the tree. I am glad William has been home this week, now he knows what she is like and why so little sometimes gets done. Mind, she isn't usually this bad.

So it was a lovely Christmas. I personally received everything on my Christmas list on the sidebar except for the third season of Facts of Life (God! How I loved watching the first two years. Memories!) I didn't get all of the stuff from IKEA either, the coffee table and bookcase were out of stock when I was there early in December but I did get the two side tables, as well as a corner TV bench. Christmas gifts to me from me. I also received the DVD of the complete series of
Freaks and Geeks, quite possibly the best TV show to get cancelled after less than a year, two Christmas episodes of Little House on the Prairie and It's a Wonderful Life, both of which had previously only been owned on video. Needless to say I have lots of stuff to watch, which is great considering the shite that is this year's lineup. My dad made me a beautiful celtic cross, I'm not sure where I should put it though. It currently sits on top of my scrapbooking organizer.

All four kids did very well, even Sophie loved tearing the paper. She is finally enjoying toys so had a great time with everything she received. The highlight was at my mum's where Taylor received a cell phone. My mum had gotten her a messenger bag and I said "Look inside to see if Nanny gave you a loonie" and there was the cell phone, all charged up, with a happy bunny charm, and ready for Taylor to pick out her number. She was so excited she couldn't even speak, and Taylor silent is a rare moment indeed.

So now I need to get my house into order, which is why I want the tree down. It sits right where I want Saoirse's train table to go. William built it on Boxing Day, he offered on Christmas Eve, but I figured it would take to long so said to leave it. 15 minutes was all it took. Who knew? Things are going well on the William front, he has been very mellow the last 2 weeks, but I am not sure how long that will last after his gift from my brother runs out.

That's about it. Baby awake again. I may have a nervous breakdown yet.

December 24th

It's twenty after four on Christmas Eve morning. I have just finished wrapping the last of the presents. My livingroom is overran by gifts, the Santa presents are in the garage and the basement. I still have a lot to do, including two major things I should have done last night- steamcleaning and washing the sofa cushions. I wonder if I can kick the family out of the house for a few hours tomorrow. You know, in the end it always comes together...the house will be clean, the children will be bathed, the gifts will all make it under the tree...but you stress yourself trying to get there. At least, I do. Off to see if I can get an hour or two of sleep before the baby wakes.

Have a great Christmas.

A Christmas Story

The Christmas I was 6 (1979...yikes!) I received a dollhouse. I was very excited about this dollhouse, it was number one on my Christmas wish list. It was a house that required a parent and child build it. Easy peasy for my dad, seeing as how he was a tiler and had general knowledge of all things construction.

"We'll put it together tomorrow, Emma." says my dad. And so the box remained propped up against the wall behind the Christmas tree.

Tomorrow came but the house was not built. I'm not sure exactly why, but I can assume my dad was nursing one hell of a hangover and/or was drunk. Well, I shouldn't say 'assume'. I knew.

A few days later the box made it's way up to my room, not to be built, but to find a new home under my bed. And there it remained, seen only when I was looking for something or having my furniture moved around. When I was about 10 my mother decided that it should be thrown out and said something to the effect of "I don't know why we got you this, your dad never follows through on anything."

I tell you this story because for Christmas Saoirse is to receive a train table, which requires building. It was to be built tonight so that we could make sure there were no missing pieces. Needless to say it is still up against the wall in my bedroom closet. This is because William, who stopped in at the neighbours' at 6pm to drop off their son did not come back in until gone 10, and came home slightly worse for the wear.

I am none to pleased, as I had a thousand and one things to do tonight, none of which actually got done. And yes, I should be doing them instead of bitching about the fact that nothing is done.

And no, I could not build the train table myself because 1) I couldn't carry it down the stairs on my own, 2) I am NOT a feminist and totally believe that a man should do that sort of thing. Mind, I also believe a man should clean the house so I would not like to be considered anti-feminist and 3) while I could probably build the table myself (with a lot of swearing) I choose not to because I would then be expected to do all that sort of thing on my own such as put up shelves and whatnot. No, a man has to be good for something. Why else would I put up with one?

4 months and 12 days

Sophie is sitting. She keeps her hand on the floor but can stay up for ages. She did it for the first time just over a month ago but can now do it with confidence. She also pulls herself into a standing position if she's holding your hand. There's pictures of course but I still can't upload. Urgh. Bloody falling apart computer.

I can almost strike that off my list.

Today I almost finished my Christmas shopping. I say almost because I forgot to buy a gift for my friend Janine and her new husband. I am just going to get them the holiday pack from the movie theatre so if William takes the kids to the movies this weekend I will get him to grab it. That way I may not have to go near the mall again until Boxing Day. Oh, and I have to get an Archie comic for Taylor's stocking, but I can just grab that at the Mac's up the road. It's tradition, she tells me, but I think I've only put one in her stocking once, maybe twice. But who am I to ruin her idea of a tradition?

They say the average Canadian will spend $938 on Christmas gifts this year. It's about $30 higher for Albertans though apparently. I should have read the article a bit more thoroughly as now I'm wondering is that meant to be per family or each and every Canadian? Or is it just adults? I should gather all my receipts and figure out just how much I've spent, because in the last week alone I'm pretty sure I spent $1500. And I started in July.

Anyway, I found an Oilers jersey for Taylor. She really wanted Ry@n Smy.th's name on the back, but it's an extra $100 and I'm a bit on the cheap side. He'd probably get traded in January if I bought her one knowing my luck. Of course, I have my Buchberger one for years before he got traded. I also bought her a few books, one that I have to return because my mum got it for her when she was in England. It's a Jacqueline Wilson novel, and I have never seen her here before. I also got an omnibus by another English author, whos name escapes me at the moment. I think she'll enjoy it though.

I finished off William and got my mum the Sarah McLachlan Christmas CD she wanted, picked up a shirt for my dad, Starbucks cards for Liam's teacher assistants, one for the T.A. in Taylor's class and one for her music teacher, who Taylor just loves. She was my fifth grade teacher many moons ago, which is sort of odd. I got her teacher an HMV gift card. And that's me done. Yea!

Now I just have to do everything else on that bloody list.

The Birthday Gifts

Since I've become a mother my birthday has not been a very big deal. It is in the midst of a time when I am Christmas focused, and I prefer to see money go towards gifts for the kids. That doesn't mean my birthday is forgotten; usually I will get a CD or a DVD or some books. And a jumper from my mother of course.

This year, though, I got some fanatstic gifts. My brother gave me a $200 gift card for Eve.lyn Ch@rles. What to do with it? I might get a $100 haircut (very unusual for me, I am a $35 girl) and a facial. I would love a pedicure but the thought of someone touching my feet totally ucks me out. My brother wanted me to get a full body massage to which I said HA!! Seriously, does he let think I am going to let some guy, or worse, some skinny minnie, get anywhere my nude body? No, I don't need people having that image in their head. There's enough who already know.

From William and the kids, I received something I thought I might get for Christmas...a portable photo printer. It is the best thing ever! It prints great pictures in colour, black and white, sepia and antique. You can add borders, clip art and greetings. I can edit my pictures on it. I absolutely love it. Now when I go to a crop night or my scrapbooking weekend in April all I need to do is decide on a page and then print off the two or three pictures I want. Usually, I spend so much time agonizing over the huge unsorted pile of photos that I get nothing at all done.

I also got a $50 gift certificate to a clothing store from my mum, along with the annual jumper ( a lovely black one, takes 5 pounds off) and $3.03 from Liam. For 33 you know.

Things I need to do before Sunday (aka Christmas Eve, which is only FIVE days away!)

1. Clean my entire house from top to bottom. Well, top and middle. William did the basement the other weekend.
2. Put away all accumulated laundry. I am great at doing the laundry, folding the laundry and leaving it in baskets. I think there are about 3 in the girls room. And not just 3 little laundry baskets. 2 big rubbermaind containers and one laundry basket.
3. Sort all the clothes that no longer fit the four children and move out of upstairs hallway where they have been residing since September.
4. Finish wrapping presents. Impossible to do today, Liam is home sick. Was up until 3.30 last night, the two wee girls' Santa presents are done.
5. Build Saoirse's train table, the only gift to be left unwrapped.
6. Steamclean livingroom carpet. Why is it that the week before Christmas my kids decide to spill cups of tea and glasses of coke? Not to mention Sophie's two explosive poops. I can't wait until the laminate is installed.
7. Wash sofa cushions. Coke has also made it on to them. I wasn't to worried because my new leather sofa was supposed to arrive last Tuesday and then I was told it would arrive the 22nd. Cutting it close, but at least it would be here for Christmas. Yeah. No. It'll be here in January. Never order a sofa from the Brick.
8. Finish Christmas shopping. I thought I was done. I was wrong. Liam has way more stuff than Taylor. Will purchase an Oilers jersey for Taylor to make up for my neglect. And books. Can not believe the girl does not have a single book bought for her. Still need to get for William, my mum, my dad and my cousin. Oh, and 5 of 6 teachers.
9. Make Christmas cards for said teachers.
10. Scrap a 2007 calendar for my mum. Will not be able to finish until Christmas Eve as the December picture will be the 4 kids in front of the tree in their Christmas Eve pjs.
11. Assemble, wrap and distribute presents made by kids at Christmas party for their parents.

Things to do when you are sick, part 2

By Saoirse, holding steady at age 2.

14. Stay in your pajamas all day. Why not? You aren't going anywhere.
15. Refuse to nap.
16. Have a brief rest on your mummy's shoulder.
17. Decide to take one piece pajamas off. If they have a button at the top, and you are only two and can't undo button, just unzip and leave on as though you are wearing a cape with feet.
18. Decide to sit on sofa.
19. Surprise your mummy by falling asleep within seconds.
20. Sleep for almost 2 hours.
21. Cry when your daddy tries to wake you up.
22. Wake up. Be grumpy. You're sick so no one minds. Not that you should care if they do.
23. Refuse to sit in your seat at the table. Sit on daddy's lap throughout meal.
24. Eat only the grated cheese.
25. Sit with your daddy and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
26. Tell your older brother to "GO AWAY!!" when he is sitting next to your daddy.
27. Tell your little sister to "GO AWAY!!" when your daddy holds her.
28. Remind your brother that it is "MY DADDY." Tell him repeatedly so he doesn't forget.
29. Cry and push brother towards basement door.
30. Announce with glee that you too are going downstairs.
31. Mood swings are perfectly acceptable when sick.
32. Go to bed with daddy.
33. Come downstairs with daddy.
34. Drink some more chocolate milk.
35. Ask for chocolate.
36. Go to bed with daddy.

Things to do when you are sick

By Saoirse, age 2.

1. Cry for Daddy when you get up in the morning.
2. Watch Curious George twice.
3. Watch Clifford and Dragonland.
4. Play so much that you don't notice when your mummy changes the channel and puts on the View instead.
5. Help Mummy wrap Christmas presents.
6. Put the Christmas presents under the tree for your mummy, which gets you out of the way for 15 seconds.
7. Refuse to eat.
8. Drink chocolate milk all day long.
9. Lie on the floor and stare at all the green stuff that you can pick out of your nose.
10. Ignore your mummy when she tells you toget a tissue.
11. Put green stuff in your mouth.
12. Laugh when your mummy says "No, no! Don't put that in your mouth!!!"
13. Laugh even harder when mummy says "EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!"

Don't believe a word of this, it's total crap.

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a giving soul. Way too giving in fact. You often get stuck doing the dirty work that no one else will do. You spend a lot on clothes, and you tend to be a very dresser. However, it's hard for you to throw away trendy clothes when they go out of style. You are a little shy and easily embarrassed. You often wonder if you are normal. In relationships, you tend to be very romantic and demanding. You'll treat your partner like gold, but you expect a lot in return.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

The shy and easily embarassed? So true. I don't question my normalcy though. Well, not most days. I do get stuck doing the dirty work quite often. I think that's because I said if I went into a messy bathroom at a party I would clean it. However, that's only because I wouldn't want to leave the bathroom, have someone enter immediately behind me and think that I left that mess. But really it depends on the mess...is it vomit? Believe me, I'd be out of there before I threw up myself. Pee on the seat? I'll clean that up. God knows I have to at my own house. Damn peoples I live with.

I am not a "very dresser" whatever that may be. My kids may be, their mother is not. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes. I love sales. I live for a good sale. Boxing Day is only 9 days away folks. Let's see what I can find this year.

I am not a romantic and I am far from demanding. If I were skinny I would be the lazy man's perfect girlfriend. As long as the fella doesn't mind doing the cooking, cause I hate it.

A shameless plug, part 2

It's my birthday. I am oooolllllllld.

My brother arrived in town yesterday morning, is making me a birthday lunch today and then departing to Calgary either later tonight or early Sunday morning. He is off to England for a month.

Other than my family, will anyone remember my birthday? My friend Bev did but I don't expect anyone else will. If no one does, you will be regaled with the story of my 8th birthday, the saddest birthday ever.

Sad moment of Emma's 33rd (see old!) birthday #1: It is currently 12.30am. My phone just rang, something it does not usually do at this time of the day, unless William is in Australia. I see it's my dad calling with my first birthday greeting of the day. Um no. He is calling to see if my brother is still here. So much for being a daddy's girl. It does you no good 30 years later.

Anyway, happy birthday to me!

And if you care, you can see what shameless plug number one is here.

When 11 year olds go mad

There are days when I feel like the 'terrible twos' will never end. The problem is it's not my 2 year old going through them, it's my almost 12 year old. We have been going through this terrible phase of temper tantrums and crying over nothing and everything for, oh, about 10 1/2 years. When will it end?

It's not every day, I'd say that for the last year or so it has been on average once or twice a week. Maybe 3 times. Which is a great improvement over the 6-7 times per week it was before that.

Today's fit was over a voice recognition program we have on our computer. My grandad bought it for Liam last year, it was installed but Liam never has done the inital set up. The fact that he has to read some 50 sentences has him put off. Taylor asked if she could set herself up on it. I said no, it is meant for Liam, he needs to do it.

Well, you'd think I had just told her that I was buying Liam a brand new computer that she was never allowed to use. "Why does Liam get everything and I get nothing!" This from the girl who has so much stuff in her room, I can hardly move in it. I said that the program is meant for Liam so he can use the computer without having to type. Let's face it, it's hard to type something when you can hardly read a word. "It's not my fault I can read!" she says "I hate typing!" Surely, I say, she wouldn't prefer to have dyslexia just so she can get away without typing. Oh, she would. This pissed me off immensely. I freaked. I called her selfish and said I couldn't believe such comments came out of her mouth. She was screaming and crying about how unfair it is that she can read and has to type. And how Liam is treated as though he is special so he gets EVERYTHING and she gets NOTHING.

I ended up saying that if she thinks she really gets nothing then that's how it will be- she can forget about going skiing with her class, about all field trips, birthday parties and Girl Guides. She can do nothing and get nothing as far as I am concerned.

I really don't know what to do about her. For awhile when she was 4 I kept a journal about her tantrums and why she had them as she was supposed to be assessed. I may have to start this again, and it'll be into the blog it goes, since I am not a very good journal keeper. Here's a smaple tantrum from the age of 4 years, 11 months: for playschool, each child is required to bring some sort of fruit for a friendship fruit salad. I have cantaloupe in the fridge so I say she can use that. She freaks out, she wants oranges. She screams and cries and I literally dragged her to school, where she proceeds to be very pleasant but refuses to touch the cantaloupe so the parent helper gives her oranges to peel. And in those days, they were everyday. When she was very little, from 14 months or so, when she had a tantrum she would just fall asleep where she lying screaming. Yesterday Saoirse was going through an album and the first 5 pages contained 6 pictures of Taylor just lying on the floor sleeping with a tear stained face.

Saoirse, thank God, is actually pretty good, just the odd cry when she doesn't get her own way but it ends quickly and then she is fine. Hopefully Sophie will be the same way, I seriously could not handle another Taylor.

Holy crap, it's the middle of December!!!

Are you aware that it is only an hour away from the 14th of December? And that I am totally not ready for Christmas? Do you know how many presents are wrapped and under my tree? Let me enlighten you. One. That's right, ONE. It is the only wrapped present in the entire house. Do you know when I can wrap presents in a child free enviornment? From approximately midnight until 6am. This is generally when I enjoy a little known thing called sleep. At least I try to enjoy it. When a 2 year old kicks you in the back all night and you can't find your ear plugs to drown out the sound of people breathing it is hard to sleep. Yes, I sleep with ear plugs. Because people make noise when they breathe and I like silence. Yet, I can fall asleep with the TV on. Go figure.

Anyway, I am getting a start. Tonight I sorted out the clothes that everyone is getting and I discovered that Sophie only has 3 pairs of pants. So it will be back to Old Navy for me. Liam also needs socks, as does Taylor. I bought two pairs of jeans for him today, they were on sale for $15 each. Taylor is all done as far as clothes go, though I do need to buy her a black skirt for her Christmas concert. They both still need their "big" present, a TV for her and and a TV and DVD player for him. I'm not ripping her off, I already have her DVD player. Just a few movies after that and I am done. I think Taylor may be slightly disappointed, she asked for a snowboard but I didn't really think she was serious and she just mentioned the other day that she didn't want to send in her skiing forms for school until after Christmas because if she gets a snowboard she'd rather do that. Oops. I said "Well, I can tell you you aren't getting a snowboard." Nor is she getting the Oilers jersey she only mentioned this past Saturday. Her birthday is in March so it shouldn't kill her to wait.

I think I'm done until I remember everyone who is not my child. My mum (partially), my aunt and cousin coming from Vancouver, my friends' kids, William. What to get William? He's not a Christmas sort of person. When you ask he says "nothing." Clothes, I've got. I just don't know what else to get him.

Must go to bed, I took an hour and wrapped presents, there are now 10 under the tree. But not a single one for Liam, who I can guarantee will be the one who goes looking to see who has what under there.

Oh, and 2 days till the birthday. I mentioned it briefly today because my brother was supposed to be making a lovely meal for me but instead he is leaving for Calgary that day. Not that he's even in Edmonton yet. Should be here tomorrow, so much for spending my birthday with me!! William hasn't mentioned it, so I'll see what happens on the day. Things better on that front than in the last few days, by the way.

Sometimes I should just shut up

You know, I almost liked things the way they were. Not knowing was better than knowing, I think.

I had a really long post written and I just eeased it. I am not sure how much of my life I can put out there. Details hurt, I realized as I wrote what happened last night. Remembering the exact words in a conversation is horribly painful.

To be quick...after a bit of a fight over Saoirse burning her hand (my fault) and Himself's dinner not being warm (also my fault apparently) I asked what his plans are for when he gets his permanent residency. "What do you mean?" he says. I say does he plan on moving out or what? He wants to stay near Saoirse and Sophie (note to self- does not mention Taylor and Liam), things are not working out between the two of us.

So I guess that's it. I'd still say we need to talk, even if it's just to make arrangements as to how we live together in some semblance of peace over the next 6 or so months. Number one: I do NOT make dinner for my roommates.

The cheesy love songs playlist (aka the longest post I have ever written)

Some of you may have noticed there's been a picture of Lionel Ritchie on my blog for the last few weeks. This is not because I am a fan of Lionel, oh no, not at all, I have been quite frightened of him since the days when the only videos I saw were Friday afternoons when Video Hits was on CBC. My parents, you see, were to cheap to go past channel 13, so there was no Much Music in our house. Even today, my mother only has up to channel 31.

But I digress. The reason I have had Mr. Ritchie's picture gracing (cursing?) my blog is because I, perhaps rather foolishly, joined a cheesy love song CD exchange hosted by Frema. I say foolishly because I am a natural fuck up. The CDs were due to be mailed out to my group last Friday. I have the tendancy to leave everything to the very last minute and this was no different. Thursday night finds me downloading songs. And it's all going very well, until my computer shuts off. And shuts off again and again. I don't know what the hell I did but I can tell you I was extremely happy to see the return of my email today. Anyways, there was no chance of me making the CDs so I called my ex. He was willing to make them for me, so when my kids saw him on Saturday I sent along my playlist, along with a selection of other songs if he couldn't get all the ones I had on CD.

And, blah, he could not. Missing is my all time favourite loved-them-as-a-teenager band, The Jesus and Mary Chain. I was going to use "Sometimes Always", a ballad with Hope Sandoval who was with Mazzy Star at the time. It's not a cheesy song, but it is a love song and JAMC wasn't really known for them. Though Almost Gold was one of my wedding songs. (Along with Afghan Whigs 'True Love Travels on a Gravel Road' and Van Morrison's Moondance, for those who care about that sort of stuff.)

I tried to put in alot of Canadian content. Missing from the final playlist are Michael Buble's Home, Rocket Girl by Doc Walker, Thank You by McMaster and James and Freak Luck by Bob Kemmis "Freak Luck put a car in the way/ I wasn't looking for love but our eyes met/ As I bounced off your Chevrolet."

I ended up with a CD that has 8 Canadian songs out of a total of 18. I don't think most of the songs are cheesy, but cheese is up to each individual I suppose. Most of the songs certainly have a few cheesy lyrics. Almost all of them have some meaning to me and when I hear them I automatically think of a year or a particular person. So here is my list. Canadian artists are starred as such **.

1) Toad the Wet Sprocket- I Will Not Take These Things for Granted. No particular reason, just find it a bit on the sappy side and somewhat depressing.

2) **Jann Arden/ Sarah McLachlan- I Would Die For You. "I've never kissed a sweeter mouth/ I've never been swept away/ It's what dreams are made up of/ Don't you know I could not survive/ Without you in my life/ I would die for you." This is not a cheesy song, but any song that says one couldn't survive without a man/woman in their life deserves a mention. However, if you relate the lyrics to a child it is totally fitting. I would die for my kids and that is it.

3) **Sky- Love Song. One hit wonders. Probably only in Canada at that. And I don't think it was this song, I think it was Some Kinda Wonderful.

4) Modern English- I Melt With You. Entered the realm of cheesiness when used for a hamburger commercial. Was it Burger King? I think it was.

5) **City and Colour. Comin' Home. The first time I heard this song, I cried. It wasn't that long ago and it was these lyrics: "I never thought you could leave me, I figured I was the one." Foolish it is, to figure you are someone's the one. Anyway, I love this guy's voice and this CD is on my Christmas wish list.

6) Cutting Crew- (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight. This song totally makes me think of junior high. My friend Sandra was dating this guy Dave and this was their song. Why do I remebmer such things? I have no idea. Probably because I had no one to have a song with in junior high. That had to wait until high school.

7) **The Rankin Family- Fare Thee Well Love. It just is. And just so you know, Jimmy Rankin would totally go on my top 10 celebrities to sleep with.

8) Teenage Fanclub- Guiding Star. I don't think this one is cheesy, in fact, it's Taylor's song. The first verse is written in her baby book. "When everything you own is lost/ And every friendship has its cost/ Your rolling stone has gathered moss/ And all your clouds cover the sun/ And all your karma has undone/ Remember you're my number one/ hey, you're my guiding star/ I do know who you are/ You're my guiding star." For all the problems Taylor and I have, I hope she always knows that she can come to me. When I used to sing her this song as I baby, I used to picture her at around the age she is now. I hope she is a happier teenager than I was, but I doubt it.

9)**Corey Hart. I Am By Your Side. When I was 10 I fell madly in love with Corey Hart. He was my first crush and I wore out the cassette of First Offense. It's a classic album, in my opinion but then I sort of have odd tastes. Jenny Fey, Sunglasses at Night, It Ain't Enough...holy crap, why did I not use It Ain't Enough?? Or Everything in my Heart? I will tell you why. Because I Am By Your Side was on Much More Retro as i was choosing the songs and it is possibly the cheesiest Corey Hart video ever (with the exception of Boy in the Box, void because it is not a love song.) "Boy! Don't you walk away from me! Boy! " and then he drives off on his motorcycle. Cheesy videos at the best. I am sure it must have made Much Music's Fromage list for 1987. Or was it '86? The years blur.

10)**Glass Tiger- Someday. I was rather fond of Glass Tiger back in the day. Again, dates are fuzzy. Somewhere between 85- 87. My brother owned this album and I used to steal it off of him. Bryan Adams did backing vocals on one of the songs. Either this one or I Will Be There. Alan Frew, who was the lead singer, is now on CMT with some American Idol like show. He also did a play in Toronto that my friend's son was in and when she went she told him that I was a big fan (slight exaggeration) and he signed a CD for me. I have yet to listen to it because when you open it there is a picture of him in his bare feet and bare feet totally freak me out. So I have to shut it quickly, no time to take out the CD. I was a little suprised to discover he was a Rangers fan, I suppose I always assume everyone from Glasgow is Celtic fan. only because everyone that I know from Glasgow is actually a Celtic fan. It says it right on the side of the cover RANGERSELFISHANDCHIPSCOTLAND.

11)Spandu Ballet- True.
The German Bastard put this on a mixed tape he made me when we first started dating. It warrants inclusion based solely on that fact alone.

12) **Blue Rodeo- Try. I love this song, it was my first introduction to Blue Rodeo, a band I still love today and have seen live numerous times. Not a cheesy song, but certainly looks at when you look at the linked lyrics.

13) Billy Vera- At This Moment. This is the first -and last- slow song William and I ever danced to.

14) Daniel Bedingfield- If You're Not the One. The lyrics are definitely cheesy, but I do like this song.

15)The Lightning Seeds- Pure. I absolutely love this song and this is one of a very few albums wherre I actually like every single song.

16) Richard Marx- Right Here Waiting. Summer 1989. Everytime I hear this song it brings back memories of that summer. It was "our" song, the German bastard and I. I don't know why, since we were never oceans apart, but I assume it was the song for many couples back then. Looking at the lyrics it suits the first few years of my relationship with William much better, since we really were oceans apart. But it's not our song and neither is At This Moment (the only one we ever danced to if you recall), it is You're the One by Maire Brennan and Shane McGowan from the Circle fo Friends soundtrack.

17) Rick Astley- Together Forever. Another one from the late 80s. I am totally a child of the 80s and when I was in Grade 8 Rick Astley was hugely popular. I never owned a Rick Astley album though. My mother had some sense and never bought one for me.

18) Gordon Lightfoot- If You Could Read My Mind. A Canadian icon. Not really cheesy but included because of the lines "If I could read your mind love/ What a tale your thoughts could tell/ Just like a paperback novel/ The kind the drugstore sells." I was never a fan of him and it was actually a friend from Ireland that sent me a CD with some songs on it. He was a huge fan, he used to fly to Canada to see him. That's dedication. Oh, and wealth. Of which I have neither.

So that's my CD. It is missing a lot of songs that I would have liked to see on it, including these gems: Missing an Angel -Johnny Reid
You'll Never Walk Alone- Gerry and the Pacemakers (opposed for inclusion on my list by William because it is a love song to a daughter, not a love song as per se. Still, if Liverpool can use it as their song, surely I could include it on my CD.)
I Was made For Loving You- KILT
These Things I Believe- Sons of Maxwell
and the cheesiest of all cheesiest songs- Patrick Sawyze's 'She's Like the Wind.' Yes, I own the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack. Not only that one, but the More Dirty Dancing one as well. Taste? Not much.

Calgon, take me away...

Warning! This post contains some bitching!

It's been a bit. I am having massive computer problems, as in the computer is about to go out the window. I was supposed to send off a few CDs last week as I am doing a CD exchange but I could not download a thing. So needless to say, my CDs are late. I still can't upload pictures, and the computer no longer just freezes, it shuts itself off. I have been affected by a massive virus. Hopefully we can swing a new one after Christmas.

Anyway, there have been some shitey days around here. Sophie has been absolutely miserable, even for me. My dad spent two days with us and it seemed as though she did nothing but cry. I am babysitting my friend's 3 year old son all week, which is actually very good because he and Saoirse play so well together. But still, having that extra child throws off the routine.

What else? I am planning a Christmas party for 25 kids between the ages of 2 and 12. With the age difference it's been a bit hard. What games can you play and crafts can you make that will satisfy everyone? None, methinks. And of course, as with every other thing around here, people promise to help you out and do they?? Of course not. My friend was supposed to come over last Saturday and again today and she never bothered to show up. I have gift bags to make up for Santa to hand out, crafts to get ready and games to prepare. I'll be doing it after Sophie goes to bed for the next few nights I guess. But not tonight...totally not in the mood. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be sending Taylor and her friends over to decorate the office for the party. Oh, crap. That just reminded me that I'll have not only the 3 year old tomorrow afternoon but his 2 sisters. The older one will go with Taylor probably. Actually, the three of them are really good, much better than their cousins who are living hell to babysit.

I woke up feeling so blah today and couldn't figure out why. it wasn't until I realized the date that I got it. Today is the first anniversary of my nan's death, which I wrote about here. I talked to my mum, who was okay with it, feels her mum is happier now as she didn't like being sick, but my aunt in Vancouver (previously the aunt in London if you read that post) had a really bad day. As for me, I have found myself crying over my nan a lot in the last year. I wish I had spent more time with her, and shown more appreciation for the time I did get to spend with her. Except for the 2 weeks in Tenerife when I saw way more of her 68 year old boobs than an 18 year old needs to.

Things still the same with Himself. I must say something soon. I dread when he goes to bed because he just goes on up and hardly even says goodnight. I think that's the time when I'm the saddest. I put off going to bed myself because I hate sleeping next to him knowing that if I even accidentally touch him he will move away. Ach, I'm being pathetic. The whole thing is really. I keep saying that but I do nothing about it. It must be 6 weeks now.

This post is all over the place. I should start again tomorrow when I am in a better frame of mind. Then again, I might not be in a better frame of mind until after this party on Sunday. Of course, by then it'll be only 2 weeks to Christmas and knowing me I will not have sent off my international Christmas cards. I was supposed to make all my own this year but didn't even get around to it, though I did manage to make some beautiful ones for my friend. Plus I haven't wrapped a single gift, have yet to finish shopping for William, along with everyone else who did not spend nine months hanging out in my uterus. Oh and what else? I have spent wayyyyy to much money on Saoirse. Even though I've technically been done her for ages I keep buying more, the last being this last night. I have so much stuff for her that I am going to have to put away some for Easter. The problem is her age you see. At two, they love everything. And she loves her dolls so much, so she'll enjoy this one.

I've gone on again. You know, my posts are way better in my head. I should just think, not write. Course I would then go insane with all the crap running around in there.

Emma vs. the fruit flies

I am at war. And I am losing terribly.

I have had fruit flies before, I usually see them for a couple of weeks in the summer. Get rid of the bananas on the counter and they seem to get bored and go away. I have never had them in the winter before but apparently this is a favourite time for them.

They seem to be breeding in the drains of my kitchen sink and the sinks in two of three bathrooms. Only the kids bathroom has managed to avoid the plague. I find that somewhat strange since the kids bathroom was absolutely disgusting until I cleaned it yesterday and you'd think the fruit flies would have had plenty of things to have lived off of.

Short of removing the pipes, I have tried everything... baking soda and vinegar, vinegar and dishwashing liquid, bleach, raid, draino.... nothing is working. Everytime the taps are tuned on, without fail, a few flies will come flying up through the drain. It completey freaks me out, because I hate bugs every sort. I have told the kids not to leave food out and to always wipe up behind them and to please, please not leave any wet cloths around, because god knows they really love wet cloths. My pleas are falling on deaf ears apparently, because there are constantly crumbs on the counter, unrinsed bowls and plates and half finished glasses of coke.

And so the fruit flies remain. How many do I kill in one day? 20? Maybe more? This cold snap is helping to kill them as well, because everytime they land on a window they seem to freeze. My window sills are getting washed everyday and normally they only get done 4 times a year.

So if anyone has any hints that actually work I would be eternally grateful.

What's happening here

It seems like it's been ages since I actually did a proper post, I've been very lacklustre about everything. With still not being able to download pics onto the computer I haven't really wanted to post about the two girls. It's just not the same without pictures. Because truly, they are freaking adorable. However, if I don't post about them soon this is hardly going to be a blog about my children, which is what it's supposed to be.

So here goes:

Saoirse. Saoirse turned 2 on November 11th and had a Curious George themed party. She was loving all the presents but hardly said a word the entire time. People don's beleive me when I say how much she actually does talk, because the bloody child won't talk around others. When everyone left she did all the running around and talking she didn't do during the party. She's doing great, she was in the 50th percentile for both height and weight at her 2 year check up. The asthma they thought she had will not yet be diagnosed as asthma. We have to see how she does over the winter. Of course, she was healthy at the follow up check up but got the hacking cough again the following Monday and has had it for over 2 weeks now. She will NOT give up the dummy. She will NOT sleep in her own bed. She still loves her dad more than anyone, but Liam is now a very close second. She loves Curious George, any princess movie, Cars and Toy Story. She wears a boys Buzz Lightyear shirt with her princess jeans and Curious George socks. Sigh. A fashionista she is not. She does have a thing for shoes though, which thrills my mum, who loves shoes also. I bought her a pair of hoochie mama boots to wear with capris and skirts and she is too cute in them. She still has no interest in doing the alphabet or colours with me but sometimes I hear her saying letters to herself. She does her numbers no problem, so I don't know why she won't do the others. She's a slightly difficult child when she wants to be.

Sophie. It's hard to believe she is almost 4 months old. She's huge compared to what Saoirse was at the same age, and has been in her 6-12 month outfits since just before 3 months. Her 4 month shots are next week, so I'll see where she is at on the percentile chart. She is very vocal and talks non stop. She started laughing a few weeks ago and today Liam got a full belly laugh out of her which was so lovely to hear. He was not so thrilled when she grabbed his hair though and wouldn't let go. A sign he needs to cut it I think. She can also pull herself up into a sitting position. She is freaking strong! She stands for ages just holding my fingers and in the last few days has tried taking steps. I think she'll be an early walker, which makes me sort of sad. She absolutely will not be alone with her dad. I can't even put away laundry without her crying. I can't leave my house without her screaming the entire time she is gone. She has given William a bit of a complex. She is pretty much exclusively breastfed, just the occassional bottle of formula if I do actually go out.

Taylor. Still driving me mad. Her report card came home last Friday and was pretty terrible. Some A's, plenty of B's, some C's and a whole lot of "does not apply effort." She has been telling me she completes her work in class, but is obviously lying as she did not complete 2 of 3 major language arts projects. I'm meeting her teacher tomorrow. I have a few questions, one being what are they doing with the funding they are receiving for her because it is certainly not being used on her. Last year I was told that once you are coded it follows you through the rest of your school days. So then should the funding. I am not saying she deserves to be in a gifted program, far from it. I do think she needs some help though, even with organization skills. Believe me, she isn't going to learn them with me. I am going to enrol her in a couple of courses in the spring, one on how to study and one on organization. She'll suffer come Grade 7 and already her marks will keep her out of the IB program. Exciting stuff for her yesterday, on their way back from a field trip to City Hall they were hit by a car. No one was hurt, but they spent 2 hours sitting on a bus in -31 weather. I was at the school because I was supposed to meet with her teacher that day. If I hadn't of been I never would have heard about it because the school did NOT notify me. I think they only called the parents of kids who normally take the bus. She didn't mind the accident at all as she got to find out the age of her teacher when the police were on the bus. The things that are important when you are 11.

Liam. Liam's Liam. He's addicted to some computer game and I have had to ban him as he will not bother reading or anything. He is in dire need of a hair cut, it is past his shoulders. He is refusing so I may have to take the drastic step of cutting it in his sleep, doing such a bad job he is forced to go to the hairdresser. The problem with this plan is that I don't think he really looks in the mirror very carefully so mightn't notice uneven hair over his head and will then walk around like that for weeks.

The fall TV schedule. What the hell happened to Justice, the Nine and Six Degrees?? I watch way to much TV. Sundays and Thursdays are the worst (I have to record on those nights too) and I wish they would spread some of the love to Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Everything else. This Thursday it will be 4 weeks since the big fight. No idea what's going on. Am afraid to approach the subject and ruin the odd sort of peacefulness that prevails. I did say "...as much as I love you..." the other day and then said "Oops! I forgot." He didn't say anything though. Saoirse no longer gives kisses at night and I did say under my breath "Just like her dad." He said what and I said nothing, just talking to myself.

So odd.

A Christmas Meme

I know I just did a meme! Stop your grumbling! I got this one in an email the other day and because it's a Christmas one I had to do it. And what an easy post, all I had to do was cut and paste.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate..... Hot chocolate, preferably white from Second Cup with whipping cream. Egg Nog? Yuck.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He wraps them of course. I've never figured out what the point is in coming down the stairs to see exactly what you got. Santa also puts the presents all around the tree, not just in the front.
3. Coloured lights on tree/house or white.... Coloured.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, I've never seen it here.
5. When do you put your decorations out? I start November 1st. My tree usually goes up the last weekend in November but hasn't this year, because I wanted to wait for the new sofa. The sofa's not arriving until Dec 12 but I can no longer wait for the tree. It's going up on Saturday.
6. What is your favourite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love stuffing.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Sledding with my brother and cousins, my dad and my uncle. Playing games on Christmas night. We still do both. There's no cousins now though.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Huh? What's that about Santa?
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? The kids do. Every year they get pjs. Sometimes they will get something else as well, always with a Christmas theme...a book or a movie. When I was a child we would sometimes have a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve and would get something small. I recall a Garfield address book. Santa was often slightly drunk on Christmas Eve and spoke with a thick Ballymena accent.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? With a mixture of the kids school made ornaments, Hallmark ones, and every year the kids get an ornament that represents something they have liked this year. Taylor's getting a Spongebob one (same as last year), Saoirse's getting Cookie Monster ( I bought it before she fell in love with Curious George and Cinderella.) Sophie will get a first Christmas ornament and I'm not sure about Liam yet.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? There's too much of it right now and I am NOT liking it. I want it for Christmas day because we go sledding.
12. Can you ice skate? Have you ever fallen on the ice? Sorta. Yes, with skates on and without.
13. Do you remember your favourite gift? Well, I'm a bit excited about the DVD boxsets I am getting this year (Facts of Life and How I Met Your Mother) but if I had to go into the past it would be an Eddie Bauer coat from the year they were really popular. Because I always searched for presents I pretty much knew everything I was getting. I desperately wanted this coat and my mum did the whole "I'm already finished shopping...it's too expensive" routine. So when I opened that I was truly surprised for the first time in years. She pulled it off again the next year when she bought me a vacuum. Seriously, a vaccum. I was only 18! She also got me an electric cheese grater that year, which I still have and is the handiest thing ever.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my family.
15. What is your favourite Holiday Dessert? My mum's rumballs.
16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? Watching Christmas movies.
17. What tops your tree? An angel, dressed in blue and silver.
18. Which do you prefer... giving or Receiving? Giving, which you would never have guessed based upon the 2 page Christmas list I used to give my mother every year. I used to eagerly anticipate the Sears Wish Book. Now I look forward to it so I can see what I can get the kids.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night and Little Drummer Boy for traditional. Mary's Boy Child and Silver Bells for non traditional. There's not a bad Christmas song out I don't think.
20. Candy Canes? Love them. Who doesn't appreciate a good stick of pure sugar?

A second alphabet meme

Yes, it's true. My love for these knows no bounds. Thanks, Boliath!

A - Available/Single? I'll say no. though Himself may have other ideas. I'm becoming very blase about the whole thing.

B - Best Friend? More a few close friends. I probably tell Shelley the most and am closest to her.

C- Cake or Pie? It depends. I would choose Boston Cream Pie over Black Forest cake but a regular birthday cake over lemon meringue pie.

D - Drink Of Choice? Tea.

E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? God, probably the TV as pathetic as that is.

F - Favorite Color? Green or blue.

G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Bears. I can't eat the worms or any insect-like ones. I would totally fail the eating live bugs challenge on Survivor.

H - Hometown? Birmingham, England.

I - Indulgence? Purchasing Stampin' Up supplies.

J - January Or February? January is too depressing because Christmas is over. Even though Febrauary is the coldest month of the year here it does contain Liam's birthday and is one month closer to spring.

K - Kids & Their Names? 4- Taylor, Liam, Saoirse and Sophie.

L - Life Is Incomplete Without? My kids, even the chancers.

M - Marriage Date? To the ex- January 29. 1994. Don't forsee one happening with William.

N- Number Of Siblings? 1. My brother Thom, who's coming home for my birthday before he goes off to England for Christmas and Paris for New Years, the lucky bastard.

O - Oranges Or Apples? Mandarin oranges.

P - Phobias/Fears? Spiders, coming down from heights.

Q - Favorite Quote? I can't be arsed to make sure I'm quoting exactly but the jist is 'One day he'll do great things for Ireland' and it would be Michael Collins' father talking about his son. I have it correctly somewhere in this blog, but it's 1am and the baby is only half asleep so it ain't happening today.

R - Reason to Smile? The aforementioned baby lying in my arms. Plus the other 3.

S - Season? Autumn.

T - Tag Three People? Unlike myself, most people hate these so I won't tag anyone but I hope, as I always do because I love to know all sorts of useless shite like whether you prefer cake or pie, that a few people do this.

U - Unknown Fact About Me? What would you like to know? I'll tell all. I have no boundaries, odd for someone so shy. Hmmm... i'm supposed to wear glasses, but haven't in almost a year.

V - Vegetable you don't like? Most of them...peas, corn, brussel sprouts, cauliflower. Terrible mother story- when I was 5 I absolutely loved mashed potatoes. I came home from kindergarten one day and my mum had made me a plate of mashed potatoes for lunch and when I was almost finished she said 'You just ate cauliflower.' Of course, I could eat no more. For the last 25+ years, that (probably) small plate of mashed potatoes has become a giant, heaping plate of cauliflower in my mind. I mentioned this to my mum recently and she laughed and said it was mashed potatoes mixed with a bit of cauliflower. She did it because I hadn't touched a vegetable other than potatoes or raw carrots in 2 years, not since we had left England.

W - Worst Habit? Spending money. But I love it. Today I bought a TV bench and 2 endtables, along with assorted another things.

X - X-rays You've Had? Elbow. Possibly chest too.

Y - Your Favorite Food? Souvlaki. For now anyway.

Z - Zodiac Sign? Saggitarius.

Alberta, I worry about you

You can look at this first ballot in the election for a new leader of the Conservative party in one of three ways.

1) Holy fuck! There are a lot of rednecks in this province to actually allow the exremely right wing, way too socially conservative man to come in second in this race, with less than 4000 votes between him and front runner Jim Dinning.

2) Hmmm...Morton becoming premier could in the next election force small c Conservatives to vote Liberal along with all those left leaving voters who think "Finally, we have a chance!" and all the NDPers (of which there aren't many in this province) who realize the NDP will never have seats outside the city of Edmonton.

3) The reality is probably that the majority of the candidates who did not place in the top 3 will give their support to third place Ed Stelmach and he may very well beat both Morton and Dinning.

Sigh. There's no pleasing some of us. But I will take pleasure in the fact that that smug bastard Mark Norris came in sixth of eight. If I could remember who told me the story about him coming on to a massage therapist I would post it here. Damn my bad memory.

Damn you Costco for making me spend so much money

I have been to Costco twice in the last two days. I really love Costco. But I kind of hate it too. It is impossible to leave Costco without spending less than $100. Well, I did see some lady leaving today with just chicken breasts, but she was obviously crazy and does not understand the fact that if you have to pay for a membership to shop in a store it is a requirement of said membership that you leave the store with a cart load of stuff you probably don't really need.

Yesterday I went to buy a lot of things and this I did to the tune of $448.34. I needed meat which is always pricey. I bought one of Liam's two big Christmas gifts. I bought Saoirse 2 Disney storybooks (suddenly the child is in love with the princesses. How does this happen?) and Sophie a board book box set. Both for Christmas. I found beautiful frames for the girls' portraits. I bought more food.
It was a good shopping trip.

I didn't really need to go today but my friend Andi did and since I have the card I had to go. So I thought I'd pick up a few things, one of them being another set of frames for Taylor and Liam's school pictures. After all, why should Saoirse and Sophie have beautiful frames and Taylor and Liam get stuck with the cheapo Walmart ones? I walked out of there with my bank account down an extra $277. Thank God I get paid again tomorrow. Oooohhh and best of all, I bought myself a gift from my Christmas list. The Facts of Life Seasons 1 and 2 was only $20, a full $10 cheaper than HMV. I don't know how I missed it yesterday, it was right behind the DVD for the Flying Nun which I looked directly at. Now I just have to decide if I should open it now, or have the kids give it to me for either my birthday or Christmas.

Tomorrow I am off to Walmart for Liam's other big gift (a TV and DVD player), an Oilers shirt for Taylor and some odds and ends for the house, to the Dollar Store for my Disney Christmas gift bags and to Ticketmaster to pick up the tickets to the Oilers/Carolina game for William and Liam.

Do you sense that I may have a small problem with spending? I'd like to say it's just a Christmas thing, but it's not.

November 20, 1986

I'm copying off of Boliath today, and it's not even because I don't have anything to write about. I actually do. The cheesy love song CD exchange I am involved in for one, I could even write about the fight I had with William last night but I don't think I should bother!

So Boliath asks where were you on November 20, 1986?

I was 12, and that probably doesn't make for the most interesting post. It was a Thursday, so I was in school. Grade 8. Thursday's were early days, always a great thing in my books. I'm sure I had the basics...Language Arts, Social, Science, French and Math. I dreaded Math. Mrs. Penn was well past retirement age and acted like it. Her hair was dyed black and was in a very 1950s style. She wore a ton of black eyeliner and jangly bracelets. To this day, I hate jangly bracelets. Blame it on Mrs. Penn.

I had a huge crush on a ninth grader called Colin, but the furthest it ever went was a few notes and the odd phone call. He was short and Italian and I looooved him. In the way that only 12 year olds can, of course. I just did an internet search (very stalkerish isn't it?) on him and am a tad surprised to see he plays ball hockey. Wouldn't have thunk it.

The only thing I specifically remember about my eighth grade education is doing a radio play in L.A. and writing a report on whether I was pro or anti death penalty. (I was one of 2 that were for it. Today I am pretty much against it.) It's odd that I can recall conversations with people, almost word for word, but I can't remember what books we had to read or what we studied in Social. I remember a guy called Dwayne who used to blow his nose on what he called a snot rag. I am sure I used to look at him with all the 12 year old disdain I could muster. I remember going to the store at lunch for fries and gravy if we had the money and if not we would go to the bakery for a 35 cent cinnamon bun. I remember the girls I hung around with, only one of whom I have kept in contact with.

It's funny what some of the kids I went to school with grew up to become...one is a millionaire because he started an online dating service, one is rumoured to be a pimp (and you just knew he would be, his name was Marlon after all) and 2 are/ were strippers (one male, one female.) It's amazing how many jobs can be related to sex. Hmmm...though I suppose pimping is not really a job. I suppose the majority of those students went on to become mums and dads with average jobs and everyday lives. Except for the one that made it to the NHL.

Sometimes I miss those junior high days. Though I'd never actually go back. God forbid.

How did I miss this one?

Surely by now you all know of my love of questionnaires and quizzes and anything meme-related. I don't know how I missed this one over at Eric's blog. All I can say is I have been a bad blog reader.

Are you:

A cuddler? For about 5 minutes and then I like my own space. I sleep as close to the edge of the bed as possible and that's even when things are good.
A morning person? No. But once I'm up I'm usually okay. If getting myself and two babies dressed by 1pm is considered okay.
Are you a perfectionist? Not at all.
An only child? No. I have a brother, Thom.
Catholic: Why yes I am. Is this an issue?
In your pajamas? No, jeans.
Currently suffering from a broken heart? Sorta kinda.
Okay styling other people's hair? No, in fact of the three daughters I have, one does not have enough hair yet, one unfixes what ever I do and the oldest flat out refuses my very kind offers of any sort of style at all.
Left handed? Yes. I live in a mostly left handed house. William, Taylor and I are all southpaws. Saoirse seems to be leaning to the left (just like she had better politically in 16 years.) My mother and my great grandfather are also left handed. Well, he was. He's been dead for many a year.
Addicted to MySpace? Fuck no. I'm well over 15.
Shy around the opposite gender? Always have been. Get over it already, she says to herself.
Loud? When I'm mad.

Do you:

Bite your nails? Yes. A bad habit passed on to two of my daughters.
Get paranoid at times? Not usually.
Currently regret something that you have said/done? No.
Curse frequently when you get mad? Yes, but not like William, for whom fuck is a verb, noun and adjective.
Enjoy country music? It's quite alright. I do love the Dixie Chicks, but that might be more for their politics than their music, which isn't really all that country sounding these days.
Enjoy jazz music? It's alright. But it's not like I'd run out and buy a CD.
Enjoy smoothies? Yes. But not enough to pay $4 for one.
Enjoy talking on the phone? Oh, I love it.
Have a lot to learn? It appears to be so.
Have a pet? No. 4 kids are more than enough.
Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person? It appears as though this is true.
Have all your grandparents died? No, my mum's dad is alive and well in Weston super Mare.
Have at least one sibling? Just the aforementioned brother.
Have been told that you are smart? Yes. And that I didn't live up to my full potential, blah, blah, blah.
Have had a broken bone? Just a chipped elbow.
Have Caller I.D. on your phone? One one of them, but not the other. So if I am upstairs I don't know who is calling and it sometimes stresses me out.

Have you:

Changed a diaper? Daily.
Changed a lot over the past year? Yes. I am no longer pregnant. I am losing weight.
Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? My hair is it's natural colour. It just keeps getting darker and darker and I fully expect to wake up one morning with brown hair.
Had surgery? 2 c-sections and a D&C.
Killed anyone? A kitten. By accident.
Had your haircut within the last week? It was ages ago.

Last person who:

Slept in the bed beside you? Sophie. We had a wee nap this morning.
Saw you cry? William.
Went to the movies with you? It was just after Sophie was born. I think it was all of us except for Liam. We saw Cars and it was Saoirse's first movie in a theatre. She lasted until the last 10 minutes.
You went to the mall with? Saoirse and Sophie.
You went to dinner with? Shelley? I can't remember.
You talked to on the phone? Shelley.
Said 'I love you' to you and meant it? Holy fuck. Normally it would be William, but it's day 13 of the cold shoulder. Taylor or Liam. Saoirse won't say it, the little bugger.
Broke your heart? That would be Himself of course.
Made you laugh? Saoirse.

Would you rather?

Pierce your nose or tongue? Neither.
Be serious or be funny? Funny. Which I'm not I know.
Drink whole or skim milk? Whole if I was forced. Skim looks like white water.
Die in a fire or drown? Two of my worst death fears. I can't choose, just the thought freaks me out.
Spend time with your parents or enemies? My parents in a room together would quickly become my enemies.

About you!

What time is it? 12.34 am
Name? Emma
Nickname(s)? None in years.
Where were you born? Sutton Coldfield, England. How many thousands of times can I answer that question.
What is your birthdate? December 16. Hey, a month today.
What do you want? Happy, content and well adjusted children. Considering the circumstances, its not going too badly.
Where do you want to live? I always say Ireland but I suppose if it came right down to it I'd stay in Canada. I'd love to live in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia.
How many kids do you want? Just the ones I have, thanks.

How Canadian are you?

I borrowed this, without permission, from Mark. Of course, I'm not 100% Canadian. I don't even have a Canadian passport. Nor do I have a Canadian citizenship card. I lost it and won't pay $75 for a new one, cheap bitch that I am. And I'm a little surprised that I got 100%. I'm pretty sure this quiz is from Ontario, where apparently they have hydro bills and restaurants called Pizza Pizza. In my neck of the woods we have a power bill, which contains both electricity and water and I've never heard of Pizza Pizza, though I took a guess and assumed that's where you'd buy a pizza.

You are 100% Canuck!

You rock, you are an almighty Canadian through and through. You have proven your worthiness and have won the elite prize of living in a country as awesome as Canada. Yes I know other countries think they are better, but we let them have that cuz we know better than they do, eh?

How Canadian Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Oh, and I wouldn't be caught dead saying "eh."

If it's not one thing, it's another

The phone is now working and the massive headache I had developed due to wondering who I was not talking to that I could be talking to is now gone. As soon as we were back on line I was on the phone, spent a lovely hour catching up with all the people I hadn't spoke to in the last 28 hours. Twas a lot apparently, my call answer was full, so thank fuck that at least that feature worked.

And it wasn't hard to fix, I went over to the office to use the phone to book them to come in and the fella says there's a wee reboot pinhole on the side of the black box, use a paperclip on that and it should come back online and lo and behold it did. Tell me why this very simple answer was not listed on the website. It would have saved me much misery and guaranteed me good seats at the hockey game.

Speaking of hockey games, Taylor's class and one of the grade 4 classes won tickets to see the Oilers vs. St. Louis Blues for every student reading a certain amount of minutes every night. William is going as one of the parent volunteers. He's never been to a hockey game before so should enjoy it. I don't know why, but apparently hockey's not very big in Australia. People who live in hot climates just have no appreciation for men slamming each other into boards.

Speaking of William, we are on day 12 of "It's Over." So I guess it is. The only reason I know this is because there are no I love you's or kisses goodnight or whatever. Other than that we are reasonably pleasant with each other, still share a bed, everything appears to be normal. No one even knows this happened, just you people in blogland. I don't think he's leaving though, and we talk about upcoming events like nothing is amiss. Strange. We even just bought a new couch. Well, I picked it out, he's paying for it. I'm very excited about it's arrival which is not until December freaking 12th.

I've gone totally off topic as per usual. As is Emma's law when one thing is fixed another must break. This time it is the dock for the camera and I cannot download pictures. Which is a shame because I was going to do Sophie's 3 month post and Saoirse's 2 year one. And I know you are all dying to see pictures of my girls. Don't even try and deny it. I also took pictures of the cards I made for my friend Shelley's school auction. I don't think they will sell for much but anything is better than nothing. I used "Wishing You" from the Stampin' Up holiday catalogue for any of you who are into that sort of thing. I made the bottom card on the right hand side if you happen to click on the link, just in different colours.

Anywho, I also cannot find the cord thingermajinger to just hook the camera up to the computer. Such is my life.

In other news, I have started the countdown to my birthday. Even though I have reached an age that once seemed disgustingly old (I completely believed in the saying "Never trust anyone over 30." Some days, I still believe it) I still get excited about the big day. Even though it's no longer big. Or exciting. No one throws you a birthday party when you are turning 33. Yes, 33! It feels OLD. Or maybe that's just me. This year I plan on not mentioning my birthday to anyone in my house to see if they (read William) remember. I tried it last year, but it didn't work. I talk too much. But since I'm unlikely to throw hints about what I want at someone who doesn't seem to like me all that much I may be able to do it this year. Unless my desire for the first two seasons of The Facts of Life on DVD wins out, of course.

It wouldn't be so bad if I could find my cell phone

If the word fuck offends you, do not read further. But I am so fucking frustrated I have to use it repeatedly.

I can live without a lot of things but I cannot live without my phone.

I have been phoneless for almost 24 hours. I feel completely and utterly lost. I knew I depended on my phone but I didn't realize to what extent.

And damn my fucking cable company! When we moved in August we went over to a digital phone line. This is the second time my line has literally died on me. The first was only a few hours and I survived quite nicely, I was only slightly annoyed. Today, I am ready to lose it. I lost 8th row Oiler/Hurricane tickets because I had no phone. Now Liam is stuck with way up high seats. But at least he's going, he'll be thrilled.

Here's the thing that really gets me. I went on to the website and it says "For digital phone support please call this number." Seriously, if I had a fucking phone I would not need to call for support. I also had the option of doing it online and they asked for a number to contact me at. Once again, seriously!

Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if I could find my fucking cell phone.

8 more things you probably don't want to know about me

I'm stealing off of sillyhily because there is just so much shite going on right now I don't even want to think about it. I have done so many of these questions and things about me that there probably isn't much left to say. But I'll give it a shot.

1. I have a wood phobia. Not all sorts of wood, I'm quite fine with coffee tables and whatnot. It's the small little things...popsicle sticks, steak knives, pencils. They freak me out. When I have a popsicle I have to keep the wrapper around the stick and when the popsicle reaches the wood part I make sure my mouth gets no where near that stick. To bug me, my kids suck on the stick. AAACCCCKKKKK!!! It makes me grind my teeth. I'm grinding them right now. Yikes, on to other subjects.

2. I once touched on my love of Little House on the Prairie, both the books and the show. But for awhile, in my early 20s, I experienced a slight obsession. I ordered about $500 worth of books on Laura Ingalls Wilder and planned a trip to De Smet, South Dakota. Because Taylor was young and wouldn't remember it, I decided to wait until she was older and as obsessed as her mother. This never happened and it breaks my heart. However, I have Saoirse and Sophie to work on. Taylor's first Christmas gift...she was still nearly 3 months away from being born...was the Little House series. I was going to give her mine but they have been read so many times they don't look too pretty.

3. My IQ at 12 was 133, 6 points lower than Taylor's. On those online tests (which are probably a bunch of crap) it is now 121. I am apparently getting stupider as I age.

4. I love Christmas. Love, love, love it. I have Christmas shows taped from 1986 that I still watch. My brother once went to tape over an episode of Facts of Life and got punched in the stomach for it. (I in no way advocate sibling violence, but this was a serious matter.) There is a brief moment during Blair singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" that is interrupted by the roadrunner and that coyote. I generally start watching Christmas movies in the summer. Usually by the time I start complaining about the heat.

Hmmmmm...that appears to be it for now. Thinking of 4 more things requires more brain power than I have at the moment, plus I need to shower and get the babies bathed as Saoirse has a doctor's appointment in regatrds to her newly diagnosed asthma.

Aw Faith, at least you gave me a laugh

I watched the Faith Hill clip on youtube about a dozen times and each time it made me laugh. Not because of the screamed "WHAT??" but because she threw her arms up as if she was posing for a picture and then she realized. Holy fuck, she lost to an American Idol. Down go the arms, out comes the dismayed cry, off she goes.

I can not be the only former child out there who used to practice my grammy/oscar/emmy speech but I certainly didn't practice my gracious loser smile. She was expected to win, and it would be pretty devastating to lose I am sure. But seriously...why the fuck would you lie about it when the entire internet friendly world can see exactly what you did. Admit it, aplogize and move on. Tomorrow someone else will do something stupid and we will move on.

And people of California...what the hell were you thinking? The man's an eejit. And a Republican. And not even the good sort of republican.

4 Things...again

I've done this one before but because it was so long ago and because answers have the potential to change and because dunner tagged me and especially because I wouldn't want to be the one blogger who lets him down I will do it again.

a) Four jobs I have had in my life.
hospital porter
nursing attendant
retail sales- Zellers (terrible), Coles, Smithbooks, Chapters, Disney store
mother; by far the best, even if the pay is shite. (Though I am sure you will note I never actually have had a well paying job, which is the very reason I am going back to school.)

b)Four movies I would watch over and over again.
Some Mother's Son
Stand By Me
It's a Wonderful Life*
Miracle on 34th Street (both verions)*
* It's November and I am in the Christmas spirit. Today I played Christmas CDs.

c)Four places I have lived
Sutton Coldfield, England
Birmingham, England (the two are really one in the same)
Edmonton, Alberta

d)Four shows I love to watch
Grey's Anatomy
How I Met Your Mother
Cold Case
Ugly Betty

I could go on... Desperate Housewives, Amazing Race, The Nine, Survivor, CSI, Gilmore Girls, Justice, ER. Yeah, I watch waaaaay too much T.V.

e)Four places I have visited
Ireland
Amsterdam
Tenerife
California

f)Four websites I visit daily
For Better or For Worse
BBC
Splitcoast Stampers
Urban Scrapbook
g)Four places I would like to be right now
Belfast
Dublin
Derry
Weston super Mare

h) Four bloggers I would like to respond
Boliath (and since she has to post every day this month there is really no excuse!)
ummm...I think almost every blogger I read has done this in the past.

"It's Over" *updated

Those very words were said to me last night. It is not the first time I have heard them, but I suspect this may actually be the last time.

And I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Disappointment mixed with relief, maybe. Disappointment because I really love him, because we have 2 daughters together, because I just can't make him happy. Relief because I'm tired of walking on eggshells, relief because the moment has happened.

And what was it yesterday that set him off? I'm not entirely sure. He can't live like this he says. The livingroom had toys on the floor, the vacuum wasn't put away, the boots in the entry way were rather all over the place. I think the kicker was that dinner was not yet on the table. It was in the midst of being made, the potatoes were on to boil, but I had not yet defrosted the pork chops. It was quarter after 5. Dinner is a big deal to William, he likes it early, whereas I have always been used to eating around 6.

It doesn't matter that the baby needed fed and I am currently the only one who has the ability to participate in that particular activity. It doesn't matter that Liam was doing his homework and needs constant help with the reading and writing. And don't even dare point out that he has been sitting in Tom's garage for the past 2 hours when he could be home sitting with one or both girls so that dinner is made and laundry put away. How dare I tell him where he ought to be.

He told me that he was going to call about going back to Australia, he's done. "What about the girls?" I say. "What about them," he asks. "They'll forget about me."

Not too long ago I did a 100 things about William post, in which I wrote that he was a great father. This was not a lie. He really is. I feel sometimes though like there are 2 Williams. One is a great father who loves all four completely. The other is a timebomb waiting to go off. This William refuses to listen when angry, it is alright for him to say what he wants with a fuck thrown in every third word or so, but you can not say a word back. What bothers me is that I am not the only one who knows this William, Taylor knows him well and even my mother has had an experience with him.

I promised myself I would never involve my children in an unhappy relationship again and I have gone and done it. I don't know what he will say when he gets home, sometimes things go on as though they never happened. I can't do it this time, I am falling apart. I want to be with him, but not without counselling.

Sorry you all had to read this, I just needed to write it down, get things out there, it will probably be deleted in the next wee bit.


* Just wanted to say thanks everyone for the v. kind comments. I don't think that what happened can be blamed entirely on stress, the threat of his leaving was used often before either Saoirse or Sophie arrived. Anyway, things are still somewhat tense. There has been no further mention of going back to Australia but we are being civil with one another. Sort of like roommates who don't really like each other but have no other alternatives. Certainly not an ideal situation.

Hallowe'en

I love Halloween. Not for the actual holiday itself, though I certainly enjoy it. No, what I love about Halloween is the next day. November 1st. The official kick off to Christmas. As soon as the last kid left my driveway tonight, I started putting up Christmas decorations. For the most part, I use snowmen until the middle of November and then start adding the actual Christmas decorations. In a place like Edmonton you could potentially have snow decorations up for 5 or 6 months. Even I get tired of them eventually and they usually come down at the beginning of March to be replaced by the St. Patrick's decorations. And on and on the cycle goes.

Anyway...back to Halloween. The two little ones were absolutely adorable, I will download the pictures tomorrow. I did their portraits in their costumes as well and will post them when they arrive next week. Sophie was a bat and Saoirse a monkey. We really lucked out with that choice, because she has become obsessed with Curious George. Tonight as William was taking her to bed she was crying for her costume "Monkey, monkey." It was very cute.

We went to Taylor's school parade. It took almost an hour, as the school has recently exploded in population. We are definitely feeling the effects of Alberta's booming economy. Need a job? Come here, just don't expect to find a place to live. At the very end, the principal invites all the younger siblings to parade around the gym. Taylor carried Sophie and her friend Ashley took Saoirse. Everyone loved the girls in their outfits.

William took Saoirse around our neighbourhood. She got a lot of stuff, but chose to eat the Halloween candy we were handing out. He then took Liam and his friends Josh and Tyler out for a few hours. Taylor went out on her own this year, for the first time. She went with her friends Connor, Theodore and Ryan (who she has had a crush on since Grade 3!) I was a bit worried about her being the only girl and being left behind, but she had a great time. Initially Ashley was also supposed to go but her mum changed her mind. She was out for over 2 hours and came home with 2 pillowcases full of candy.

Which leads me to a big problem. The candy...god, the candy. I have been going so great, I've lost more weight than what I gained with Sophie but between now and Christmas I am really going to struggle with not eating junkfood. Although I hate the fact that all my jeans are falling off me, I don't actually want them to fit properly ever again. I look forward to going out and buying new jeans, I don't want them to be too tight by January. Damn that candy tempting me. Bad candy! Bad!

The first snowfall

Today we had our first proper snowfall, not like the one a couple of weeks ago where it melted pretty quickly. This snow looks pretty hardy, like it might actually be here for the duration.

Fuck.

Saoirse, however, does not express this sentiment in regards to snow. Upstairs this morning, after me not understanding her telling me that those bastards Liverpool were kicking the shite out of my beloved Villa, she went to the window, pointed up towards it and says "Snow, snow!!"

Yea. Snow. Happy Days.

Saoirse missed snow last year due to the combined brown Christmas and her visit to Australia. It was sort of a shame because we had gotten her a funky wee baby sled for Christmas that she could not even use. She might get a month or two out of it now, if this snow sticks around and there's no sudden growth spurt.

She went outside pretty quickly this morning. William threw her smowpants and jacket on over her pajamas and off she went. Well, after she fell a few times in the livingroom. She was a bit like the Pillsbury Doughboy in her new gear. Liam took her outside and, to her great delight, threw snowballs at the livingroom window and then at Taylor who was watching out her bedroom window. He even managed to hit William in the ass, to the general amusement of us all.

In the afternoon, Taylor took Saoirse over to the hill down the road to try out the sled. She had a fantastic time, and in this new house I am able to see them from the patio window. Which works pretty well, really.

Oh, the humiliation

Sometimes in life you get what you deserve. And I suppose I deserved to have a not quite 2 year old Saoirse come up and tell me that Liverpool was beating Aston Villa. Not that she said that of course. What I heard was "Liva, Liva" and I just assumed she was saying "Liam, Liam." I suppose I also deserved to have Liam laughing at me when I came downstairs to see a score of 3-0. I deserve this because all week long I have been overly confident that Aston Villa would win, or at least draw. The only team not to lose a game yet, why should they break a streak against William's team.

It's a good thing that I use Sophie as my own personal alarm clock and that she didn't bother to go off this morning until after 9. It meant I missed the entire first half where, as Wiliam was so kind to inform me, "Liverpool played as though Aston Villa wasn't even there." I did have a brief spark of hope when a goal was scored just after I started watching but the hope ended pretty quickly.

Because Villa...they sorta kinda sucked.

At least some bloggers were pleased today.

Confirmation that Catholics are somewhat insane

I know that title is going to piss people off and that's not what I'm out to do. Well maybe a little, because no one has ever really gotten mad at me on here. Oh, except for the INXS concert fiasco. I'm Catholic myself so I feel I am justified in saying that some of the more faithful amongst us are not just somewhat insane but fucking CRAZY.

On Monday night I went with my friends Nancy and Michelle to a confirmation class at our church. Our kids are in Grade 6 and are preparing for this sacrament. Except that we, as parents, have to go to two 2 hour classes before they even get started. My parents never went through this particular torture. And torture it was.

There are two sentences that led me to this belief of insanity. The first was that when our speaker said she was confirmed at the age of 6 and thought to herself "Now I am a soldier of Christ." Imagine thinking that age of six! Granted she's from Scotland, a child of Irish parents, and is about 65 or so. Perhaps the fact that I was raised by one lapsed Catholic and an anti Catholic Protestant made me much too lax in my Catholicism. Perhaps if my entire family had attended church every single Sunday of my life rather than the odd Sunday, Easter and Christmas (Eve, not Day...are you bloody mad? Imagine giving up an hour of Christmas Day to go to Church!) I would be more aware of my role as a soldier for Christ.

The second phrase actually frightened me. She said that people should be able to look at us and just know that we are Christians, that they should be able to pick us out of a crowd and know that we are witnesses for God. Frankly, I think it is this very attitude that starts wars. Why should I be any different than the Jewish (insert any other religion if you so choose) person standing next to me? Isn't every religious person a witness for their particular God? Where does any one of us get off saying that our religion is better, or that we are the "chosen" religion and so therefore the only witnesses? That comment bothered me on Monday and it still bothers me 3 days later (even if it says Wednesday at the tope there...it's taken me 2 days to write this and I almost deleted the whole post but I thought fuck it.)

I have had issues with my religion since I was eight and had to go through Reconciliation. I have always been extremely shy and as a kid was somewhat (well, alot) terrified of men. So to have to sit alone in a little room with some old man in a black outfit was slightly more than terrifying. I question why we do Reconciliation so young, after all what sins can an 8 year old have committed? Apparently my list should have been very long, because there was no pleasing this man. It got so that I lied just so that I could get out of there. I recall saying that I didn't wash the dishes and that I called my mother a swear word. I never had to wash the dishes so I'm not sure where the sin was and at 8 I had yet to utter a swear word. I don't think I had ever heard one at that point. Well, I'm sure I had from older kids but they would have went right over my head. I must point out that this priest was not my parish priest, at the time all sacraments were celebrated together as a class not individually like they are now. I loved, loved, loved my parish priest, Father Lou, he was fantastic.

Anyway, I have never been back to confession and if I were to go now I am sure the priest and I could spend a week discussing the sins I have committed since the age of 8. There are many, a few broken commandments and all. Because I had what I perceived to be a terrible experience I didn't want Taylor to do Reconciliation but of course you can't be confirmed without it. She does it the week before her Confirmation. She also has to attend a 6 hour retreat with her sponsor. Her sponsor is her godmother and as she is expecting her first child in May I doubt she will want to sit in a church for 6 hours at 9 months pregnant so chances are I will be going to that as well.

Sigh. The things we do for our children. I don't have to do it for Liam though, he's refused to do any of the sacraments. He says "I am only half Catholic." He's an odd one, that boy. William seems to think it is enough that Saoirse is baptized, he doesn't think she needs to do anything else and that she can choose when she is old enough. And poor Sophie, it appears that she is destined to be nothing for so far William has not budged on the baptism issue.

So while I certainly have issues and I most definitely disagree with alot of the things the Church stands for, it was very important to me that my kids be baptized. I don't know why. I can only explain it by saying that if something were to happen to one of them, I would like them to have something that they believe in that might be able to help them get through whatever situation they are in.

Another stolen meme

Why do I love these things so much? I don't know, but they make me all tingly inside.

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Emma
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My dad's aunt who lived in Belfast. I mentioned before that she was the only member of his family that my mum liked. It was a toss up between Emma and Fiona.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday maybe.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I prefer my printing.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roasted chicken from the Safeway deli.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd find me awfully quiet, but yes.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? You're reading it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No, because they weigh you first.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I'm a porridge sort of girl, but I kind of fancy French Toast Crunch. Not that I've seen it in about a year.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, because then I would be required to do them up again. These days I am mostly wearing crocs, ugly yet comfy and require zero effort to throw on when you have 2 babies, a diaper bag, a purse and a garbage bag to get out the house.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? When I have to be.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Pralines and cream.
14.SHOE SIZE? 8
5. RED OR PINK? I could take or leave either one.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My grumpy disposition.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Oh, that's a hard one.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? This must have started out as an email. But definitely tell me if you do it.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, brown, no shoes at moment. I'm more Canadian than British in that aspect.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? some BBQ flavoured bits and bites.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I'm watching Six Degrees.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? uuuuuummmmmm...Perfect Plum. It's a stampin' up marker, not a crayon.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? The same as the last time I answered this question...the smell of Saoirse and Sophie's hair after a bath with Gerbers Oatmeal Wash. This might change with Christmas coming.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Jen. Or was it Candy? No, no, it was me mammy. I had to check my phone for that one. I called to ask her to get the Fisher Price Little People house for Saoirse's birthday. It's on sale.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes, bum, and yes, I totally admit to checking out the package. Not that it matters.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don't know her but through her blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Tea.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer or hockey.
29. EYE COLOR? Blue.
30. HAT SIZE? Huh? Hats? I don't wear hats. Unless it's -40 or something.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, but I should wear glasses.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? I'm going through a Greek phrase at the moment.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. Unless it actually is winter.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both. Given by the right people of course.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Some sort of cheesecake. Though Moxie's does a great white chocolate brownie.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Yes, this started life as an email.
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Definitely an email.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Some Jill Mansell one and an anthology by female Irish authors on divorce called If Only.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? The Tasmanian Devil.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? How I Met Your Mother. I so love that show. Why do I never name Neil Patrick Harris as the celebrity I would sleep with when I do these things? Other than that, Wednesdays are crap. Justice was supposed to be on but wasn't.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Saoirse laughing, Sophie cooing and that sighing sound she makes while sleeping.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Canary Islands, I think. I'm no good with distances.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I haven't developed any special talents in the last few months so it's still my ability to orgasm without being touched. TMI? Sorry, but it is my blog.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Sutton Coldfield, England. Birmingham, just in case you think I was born in the arse end of nowhere.
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from Lost Somewhere in Antrim. But at least I told her.

I totally forgot to say...

...that on Monday Sophie rolled on to her tummy.

Has she done it again?

Absolutely not.

Oh, and Saoirse did not pee from 10am until 5pm. She then peed in her booster seat. She will go and sit on the potty, not use it, use a wipe, flush it, then climb on the toilet to wash her hands. I have told her she is no longer allowed to wash her hands unless she pees. Who knew hand washing could be used as a bribe? When she had a nappy put on at 7, she peed through it in about 5 minutes and leaked on to Taylor's jeans. That was a whole lot of holding that girl did.

This is so totally a mum post. Sorry to any of the fellas that read this (a grand total of four, I believe!)

The coming of winter

In honour (??) of the first snowfall this year, Sophie wore this shirt. Just so you know, last year we had no snow until March. They say this is going to be a mild winter but I don't believe a word of it. It's freezing.



Sophie shows the blogging world just what her mummy thinks of having 6 months of snow and cold.

Taylor's school photos

What exactly is blogger's problem, do you think? I tried to upload 5 pictures but it wouldn't let me. I tried one and it was fine. I guess I'll have to do seperate posts. Bugger.

Anyways, this is the proof for Taylor's school photos. She absolutely hates them, doesn't like to show her teeth in pictures and doesn't like how her hair looks. 'Huh?', says I, 'it looks brushed. What's wrong with that?' Her hair was cut and streaked the day before these photos, and chance is a fine thing if she thinks she's getting another $75 spent on her hair for retakes. I don't even spend that on my own hair. And, yes, I know that's pretty cheap...no need to tell me.