Christmas Traditions and Our Adventures on the Road in Mama's New Ride

Merry Christmas to all my family, friends, and friendly strangers who wander into my Korner :-)

Ok, so maybe Merry Christmas isn't the most politically correct way to respectfully wish everyone a Happy Holidays, but I was raised on Merry Christmas, have passed Merry Christmas and all it entails (to me) on to my children, and I'll continue to wish everyone from my co-workers, the store clerk, gas attendant, person in the Tim's drive-thru window handing me my coffee, heck even the guy in the highway toll booth ... a Merry Christmas :-) It makes me feel good to say it, and it makes me feel good to see the smile on the receiver's end :-)

I listen to Christmas music, trim a tree, decorate the house, promote the belief in Santa and try to watch The Sound of Music every year, as I did with my Mom and Dad when I was a kid. That was one thing I noticed that really sucked after Dad died, watching that by myself for the first time. Kenny & Dolly's "I'll be home with bells on" gets me every time too. It was 'the' song to trim the tree to.

One year, I came home from university late in the break, and Mom and Dad had put the tree up, but left it bare until the night I got home. Then we put on K & D, and got that sucker trimmed! :-) Now, whenever I hear that song, that's the memory I have, of that particular night, and it makes me both happy and sad at the same time. Not necessarily a good thing when you're driving by yourself, thinking of Christmas's past, and the afternoon radio host plays it and says "that one's for my Ma" Sigh! Thanks Russell!!! ;-)

I always visit my closest members of my Dad's side of the family, and spend every Christmas Eve with my Mom's family. We gather at someones house, snack, attend mass, come home and have a huge feast of Seafood Chowder and Meat Pies and home made 'sweets' galore! We play music (CD & live), games occasionally, then they all open their presents and we open ours Christmas morning. Except for one after church on Christmas Eve, I was always allowed to open one present then, and now I let my boys open one after dinner on Christmas Eve. I've tried to carry on all the traditions that made Christmas so special in my house, and with my family. Others ... well ... I still haven't managed to get a handle on that 'Christmas Baking' yet, that my Mom was and still is so good at :-D

Mass is another one. I went to mass every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, up until a few years ago, when the mass the family was attending became too late to do so with the kids. Also Adam doesn't do well in church ... too long a period to sit still and 'behave'. And on Christmas Eve, you generally have to arrive at least 45 min before mass to get a seat all together, then the mass itself I spend more time saying "stop" or 'shhh' or 'don't' do that please' ... I'm honest enough to admit that now it's just 'easier' not to endure the stress it's become simply to attend. But that's only one of my 'church' issues, and a whole other post.

I sang in the choir as a child, and Christmas Eve mass was definitely my most favourite time of year to be in church. Oh Holy Night, Away in a Manger, Silent Night ... everyone likes their own version on these, but personally, I think you can't beat kids voices on Christmas Eve.

Now, I sing carols in the car with the boys like ...

Alvin & The Chipmunks, Christmas Don't Be Late (in the appropriate voices of course lol)

Shrek versions of 12 Days of Christmas Jingle Bells & Shrek the Halls

Hannah Montana's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

And of course, the house favourite, I farted on Santa's Lap (now Christmas is gonna stink for me) by The Little Stinkers.

Ahhhh Traditions :-) It's nice to be able to mix old and new.

Being an only child, I ALWAYS went home for xmas. After the boys came along, and since the separation, things seem to be different every year now lol, so along with tradition, comes a little spontaneity ;-) And therein lies the magic of Santa ... he ALWAYS managers to find the boys, where ever they are :-D

This year, they were with me. I stuffed all the wrapped presents, unwrapped presents, extra wrapping paper, bags, tape, bows & tags into two big Rubbermaid bins, and put two small hockey bags and a suitcase worth of clothes into the back of the vehicle, boys got comfortable with forts and blankets, tunes ready and we were on our way :-) I had the presents wrapped for the first two stops on our trip, and some for the third, none of the boys, so I figured since Christmas was still four sleeps away ... I'd wrap on the way :-D Two nights of 3am wrap-fests and I was done! :-D

We left Friday night after work for Truro, and spent the night with Cassandra and Hayden. From there, we left on Sat for the Miramichi, yes, back to the land of freak tornados and golf ball hail storms! and spent a couple of days with my cousin and his family. No freak weather disturbances this time, just a nice pleasant visit with family :-)

We landed at Mom's mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve. It's times like these I feel bad for Gilles ... Mom's significant other. He's a nice guy, quiet, calm, ... unlike us ... who can't quietly make an entrance, wipe our feet, give hugs & kisses and merry wishes all around ... no, we've got to blow in like the forces of natures my children have been named after ... cyclones, hurricanes and earthquake mama's comin' in ... TAKE COVER!!! Head for higher ground!

Hi Grammy! Hi Gilles! Boots flying, arm-loads of 'stuff' dropped, Adam diving under the tree to see what's there, Alec talking a mile a minute about the 'coolest' game or movie he's seen, me with arms draped in gift bags, looking somewhat like a weighted down cactus ... with at least 5 more trips to make from the vehicle ... Hi Mom ... we're home! :-)

Everyone grabbed a shower, we had dinner, then the boys were able to open a present. Adam was ecstatic with his new video mp3 player from my mom, and Alec was just as happy with his new Simpsons movie. The movie was an impasse of sorts between he and I. It was a present from me. I have never approved of him watching The Simpsons. I love it myself, but don't believe it's exactly 'kid friendly'. I know I know ... they don't always 'get' the humor ... but at some point, much earlier than many believe, they do get it. And it just doesn't sound 'right' to hear them quoting it, when they don't even understand what they're saying at times. They just know it's supposed to be funny.

Anyway, he's 11 now. It used to be that he would only watch it with his dad, cause he always got "change the channel please" - "But Mom!" from me lol. Now, he's discovered Family Guy, and I have a new nemesis ... Stewie! and that whole Giggidy Giggidy thing ... Grrrrr!!!! Suddenly Bart doesn't seem so bad ... and I've decided to pick my battles on this one ... he's still not an every day Simpsons junkie, but I did get the movie, and the poster, as a truce on this one ;-)

On Christmas Eve, after the present, we went to my aunt and uncle's for the yearly 'gathering'. I can remember as a kid, the anticipation of 'Christmas' would build until about 3pm. Then it was time to jump in the tub/shower and 'get ready'. It was always a 'dress up' event in our family, which made it even better :-) Mom, Dad & I would go to the Children's mass at 7, then back home to open a present and get whatever part of the meal it was that Mom had made for that night :-) Then over to my Grandmother's. Where however many of my Mom's 11 siblings and their families would gather, if they could get the night off, and travel :-) The whole family would party late ... late lol into the night, they would all open their presents, and with that many brothers and sisters, it took awhile!, then we'd head home and we'd do our gift opening the next day. Poor Dad, with a hangover most years, cursing some Barbie toy or other that he didn't realize came with 'some assembly required' LOL.

After the presents were opened, we'd do the same thing, get 'all dressed up' again for food and festivities with Dad's family (5 siblings and families) all over again in the Miramichi :-) Where once again, the celebrations and visiting would go late into the evening. Poor Mom, she was always Designated Driver (before it was actually a term) at these times of year lol, but she never really minded I don't think.

This year, the boys and I still went to the Miramichi, and still gathered with Mom's family on Christmas Eve, but now the gatherings are smaller, end earlier, and really just aren't the 'same'. I guess when the older traditions start to fade, it's time to create some new ones.

Christmas Day with the kids was nice :-) It was definitely 'weird' last year when they were at their Dad's. Last year they had him up at 5:30am. I told them this year ... 'wasn't gonna happen!!!'. There would be NO presents opened ... or eyes for that matter ... before 7am!I was proud of them ... they didn't start with the "Mom ... Mom ... it's Christmas Mom ... Merry Christmas Mom ... Can we go downstairs now Mom?... Huh? Mom? ..... Can we Mom? .... PLEASE???? :-D" until 6:45am ;-)

They flew through their presents, then re-examined them lol, we played with presents and watched movies all day, had Christmas Dinner with family again at Mom's, met Gilles' son and family for the first time when they arrived after dinner, then the boys and I hit the road back home. No ... since so many ask ... highway driving at night doesn't bother me. And no, driving, at night or period, doesn't bother me after hitting the deer.

We arrived at their Dad's just after 9pm, I watched them open some presents there, came home, completely unpacked the vehicle, wandered around the house for a bit then crawled into bed and slept slept slept LOL. Being away for Christmas is exhausting! Late nights visiting, wrapping, putting kids back to bed who can't sleep from excitement! lol

It was nice to visit, but now it's nice to be home! ... although unpacking those Rubbermaid bins now filled again with presents, and 'everything else' isn't so much fun lol.

I even bought a couple of presents for myself this year :-)

We did all of this traveling, in Mama's new ride!!! It took two weeks, but my Insurance determined my other CRV was a write off after hitting the deer, so I decided to get myself a new(er) one.






Merry Christmas to Me!!! :-) Bring on the snow Baby!

The same day I got this, I picked up Keith Urban concert tickets :-) The Country Concert that Cass and I have attended for the past two years is going to be in Halifax this summer, my own backyard!!! WooHoo!!! Keith and three other acts announced so far, with 4 more to come! Did I mention Merry Christmas to me!!! :-)

And Merry Christmas to all of you, my friends, family, and friendly strangers who wander into my Korner :-D

Thank you for stopping by to visit in 2007. I hope you all have a Happy & Safe New Years, and all the best for 2008!

Kim

I saw a Hypnotist yesterday and I hit a Deer today

How's that for the start of a weekend :-)

Yesterday after work I went to see the hypnotist to kick my 17 yr smoking habit. I was really excited about this. I wanted it to work. I've tried the patch, zyban, cold turkey, now it was time to try this.

I had two cigarettes on the way there. I know, I know ... all you non-smokers are going 'ewwww' and the smokers just 'get it' ;-) They understand why I finished off that one last one in the parking lot before going in. Right to the end of it. (I can see my mother shaking her head now and making that tsk tsk tsk sound .... sorry Mom!).

He took me in right away when I got there, we started right away and we were finished within half and hour. Some of it I remember, some I don't. Did it work? Who knows? Right now I'm taking it hour by hour and we're on hour 31.

Do I want one? Damn right I do. I think about it all the time. And I'm sure I wouldn't have been nominated for a 'Mother of the Year' award this morning lol. This morning was hard. I opened my eyes and remembered I was now a non-smoker. I instantly closed them again. I'm a morning smoker. I wake up, I have my coffee and smoke then start my day. This morning just wasn't going to be the same.

Turned out I had more important things to worry about than how I was going to start my day without a cigarette. When I walked into the kitchen, I headed straight for the fridge. I had put an invitation to a birthday party that Adam had received up there, so I'd have the time/date handy. For some reason, I had it in my head that this party started at 2pm. Planned that the boys and I would hit the store for a present before heading to the party.

When I got up, I had the 'check the invitation' feeling and sure enough my heart sank. It was a morning party! Start time 10am. I looked at the clock ... 9:50 .... "OK boys, let's go ... we've got a party to get to!!!!" Pit stop for a card and by the time we got there (10:20), they had just sat down to get started stuffing. It was a 'stuff a bear' party :-) It was a large group, so by the time everyone got organized and instructed, they had just started handing out the materials when we got there. PHEW!!! It was a two hour party, so in the big scheme of things, he hadn't missed much :-)

Later this afternoon, Alec had a basketball game. It finished around 5:30. We left the school parking lot, drove down the street then pulled on to a four lane busy street and drove maybe 10 seconds before we hit a deer. Yes, a deer. A big male deer. On a 'main street'.

I've been a passenger in minor car accidents. I've sat in the traffic jams caused by people in front of me getting into accidents, but I've never hit an animal or another vehicle myself personally. Until tonight.

It simply came out of nowhere. It made it across three lanes of traffic, and had just run past a police officer in an SUV when I saw it ramming into my front end. Before it's head slammed into the side of me, I had no idea what was coming. We were discussing the game. I had just said to Alec "You guys played a great... and the word 'Game' and "OMIGOD" all sort of came out as one word. Then 'THAT WAS A DEER! WE HIT A DEER!'

The deer hit, sort of went up onto the hood then bounced off and rolled in front of us. Thankfully there was nobody directly behind us because I stopped dead in my tracks, squealing the tires behind us. I checked the rear-view, and saw the police lights right away, and slowly pulled over to the side of the road.

Both boys were fine. I was fine. Everyone was wearing their seat belts. Seat belts save lives! Oh my God ... I just hit a deer!!! On the main road! Not out in the boonies somewhere! I could understand if we were closer to home, or it had come at us on the highway, but we were 30 seconds away from a major intersection, grocery store, gas stations etc etc etc. Major civilization!!! Not deer country!!!

When I'm driving home to NB, and there are Beware of Moose! signs peppered along the highway, I'm on the ready. I've traveled that road for 20yrs and I know that something can come at me at any moment, so I'm tense, and ready ... on a busy street in 'the city' ... I was not ready :-(

The police officer came up to us to make sure we were OK, as did Adam's former teacher, who also happens to be Alec's assistant basketball coach (along with her husband). She had pulled out into the outer lane to pass us, and just missed hitting the deer herself. Other than a case of mild shock, everyone was fine. Once I realized what had happened, I felt my eyes fill with tears, knew I couldn't 'lose it' in front of the kids, police or the teacher/coach lol, so took a breath ... got out of the truck and dealt with it.

It's funny what you remember in the hours after an event like this. I remember getting out of the truck, looking at what was left of the bumper and where the light was, and seeing deer hair, blood and 'stuff' in there. I didn't look at the rest of the truck, I turned around and walked over to the officer instead. He told me he had seen the whole incident, and there was nothing I could do. Which was really nice to hear coming from him!!! Said he'd need some info from me so the boys went with Alec's coach to a nearby garage and I followed behind to wait for the officer, while he shot the deer :-( I felt really bad about hitting that poor deer. So did the boys :-( Adam said to me tonight "I'm never gonna forget that Mom!" Sigh.

Ever the optimist, I asked the officer if he thought I could drive my vehicle home. He sort of chuckled and pointed out how the whole left side of the hood was smashed in, and it was leaking alot of fluid. When I got out of it at the scene, my door was not ... right... I could hardly turn the steering wheel to get it off the road and when I got it parked at the garage there was smoke coming out of it ... nah, he thought it better that I have it towed LOL. Probably a better idea :-) He also told me that it was good that I drive an SUV, because if I drove a car that was 'lower' ... the outcome could have been alot worse.

So I called the ex from the police car, while handing my paperwork to the officer, he arranged for the tow truck and we cleaned out what we needed from the truck, left the key for the tow truck and got a ride home with the coach.

Tonight of course, the 'what ifs' set in. What if the deer had come up through the windshield ... what if the air bag had deployed and I ran us off the road or into another car ... what if it had hit into my door or Alec's ... what if there had been a car behind me (the coach if she hadn't pulled around to pass us) when I hit the deer, then the breaks, and then we got hit from behind too .... and again ... back to the what if it had come through the windshield!!!!

I can't do that I know. A person will drive themselves crazy with the 'what ifs' of life.

I'll tell ya one thing ... I sure could have used a smoke after hitting that deer!!!!

31 hours and counting .... 31 hours and counting ....

Now we're without a vehicle. Sucks. I called the 1-800 emergency hotline number for my insurance when I got home ... they couldn't tell me if my policy covered a rental car. Can you even get a rental on a Sunday? I don't know ... most everything else is open, I'm hoping I can find somewhere to get a car ... and that it won't cost me a fortune ... and that my insurance will cover the cost of the damage to my vehicle ...

31 hours and counting .... 31 hours and counting!!!

Have a good night all! Time to put this rattled brain to bed :-)

Till next time :-)
K

House Hunting 101 - Part I

Hey all,

I've gone through the process of selling/buying a house before. It's not fun. Moving is not new to me. This is the first time however, I'll be doing it on my own. The thought of moving two kids, two pets and a houseful of 'stuff', is a bit frightening ... but this is one of those times that I'm simply living by the mantra, 'what doesn't kill me will make me stronger', and with all the boxes I've been packing and dragging around the house lately, I'll be physically stronger as well :-)

The other night, I sat back and thought about the whole moving experience.

Some people move from their parents house in with a sig other and that's their one and only apt/house period. My grandparents (dad's family) lived in the one house. It was passed down to my uncle who lived there with his family, later sold to my dad and will me mine one day. I don't ever expect to live there, but my father made me promise him to 'keep it in the family' if ever I didn't want it. Who knows, I may end up there eventually. It could be the perfect place for retirement ... when the time comes.

Others move all over the world, regularly. One friend I went to school with has moved several times with her husband and son, and is currently in India. Although it can sometimes be a a bit of a culture shock ;-) she has lived so many experiences I could only dream of, and some I'd never even imagine thinking of ... like giant spiders, and huge snakes But overall, a REALLY cool way to live :-)

My life isn't as dramatic lol, but when I really thought about it, I've moved 14 times since I left mom and dad's to go to University.Into a dorm, then into my first apartment with a roommate, then on to another apartment with an additional roommate, then another apt with a guy as a roommate ... that one was interesting lol, we're still friends :-) Then the ex and I moved into an apt together, then 3 more before we built our house. Then 4 more places out here in the community where I live now. This will be my 15Th move. Yeah ... been there ... done that ... packed the boxes :-)

So with the For Sale sign officially on the front lawn, I decided to look at a couple of houses this weekend. I don't plan on putting any conditional offers on anything, I just have my eye on a couple that I would consider if mine sold within the right time frame.

So house hunting I went.

Not that it was a long hunt lol. There are only two in the area. Well actually three I wanted to see, but one of them has foundation issues. The back end of the house is sinking to the tune of $15000. So that one was out. Although I was really disappointed, it was like an old farmhouse, wrap-around veranda, 4 bedrooms, pool. I really wanted to see that one :-( But apparently it's a ''money pit' ... my Realtor told me to stay away from it lol.

So I went to see two houses yesterday. One is an old, (33) chalet style heritage cedar home, the other one is new (3) two story saltbox. One is 'modern' , one is ... not :-) One is completely in 'move in' condition, the other ... I'd want a few changes made first. Nothing too serious, just a few slight modifications to make it more 'kid friendly'.

Man, this is a hard decision. I'm going to check out the home listing website tomorrow, but so far, if nothing else comes on the market in this area when the time comes, it''s between these two. They're so different. I've been looking at both and trying to picture our furniture in it. The rec-room gets smaller in the newer one when I think of the furniture and toys :-) The bedrooms in neither house are big enough for ALOT of toys so what's left after purging will have to be contained to the rec-room lol. The the older home has an in-law suite in the basement with kitchen. I like the bathroom and extra bedroom, but not a fridge and stove in the basement. And upstairs, I don't like where the washer/dryer hookup is, on the other side of the kitchen and would rather have a 'kids coat/boot area' there. So if I changed that kitchen in the basement into a laundry room, which really wouldn't be that hard because it's taking out things like the fridge and stove ... I can put tons of shelves in their spaces instead for toys, keep the counter-top and cupboards for storage, and put the washer and dryer where the sink is now, cause the plumbing is already there. There's really alot more 'room' in the older house. No, it's not as new, and has it's original windows lol, (forgot to ask about the roof) but it's more 'functional' I think for us. Lot size is actually a bit bigger at the newer house, but nicer at the older one. Electric heat in both, but the three heat sources at the older one would give me a few alternate heat sources.

Then of course there are the other pros and cons that come to mind. We have a 'if you live within 2.4km of the school, you pay for your kids to stay at school during lunch' program. The newer house is within 2.4 km. At the newer house, we would no longer members of the summer day-camp program. Still have access to the beach, but not the program. The older house, being cedar and all, has the huge downside of spiders... and that's a big down side for an arachnophobic like me :-) it would require lots of wall vacuuming lol. But it also has the huge up side of being a style of house that I love.

Sigh. Such a hard choice. And I've only just started lol. I've got to get mine sold first!

Here's to good house selling karma this week! Now that I have a clean, ready for showing house, I'm going to give my brain a rest, grab a bag of chips and finish watching Freaky Friday on the Family channel :-)

Have a good week all!

K

Accident Update, Basketball, Moving and Belle

Hey all,

Long overdue for an update. Sorry to leave you hanging on the results of my friend's dad's accident. He's better, to a certain degree. But better every day. He's out of ICU, wearing the halo and they even have him walking down the hallway with a walker and now eating on his own. This is amazing in itself, considering the injury he sustained in the accident. Unfortunately, there's no quick fix for bleeding and swelling on the brain, and a C-2 break. I understood the impact of the brain injury right away, but a 'C-2 break' didn't quite 'register' until I came home and looked it up online. Thank you Google!!! :-) When I saw the following table (as well as other stats on other sites), it put it all in perspective ... he was a VERY lucky man.

Level of injury

C2 - C3

• Usually fatal as a result of inability to breathe
• Totally dependent for all care

C4

• Quadriplegia and breathing difficulty;usually needs a ventilator
• Dependent for all cares
  

C-5

• Quadriplegia with some shoulder and elbow function
• May be able to feed self using assistive devices
• Usually can breathe without a ventilator, but may need other types of respiratory support

He may be sporting the latest 'halo look', but he's breathing on his own, feeding himself and it may be with the aid of a walker, but he's WALKING down that hallway daily. But there's still a long way to go for both the physical and psychological therapy/rehab.

They haven't started rehab with him yet because they don't feel he's progressed far enough with the brain injury. The long term memory is there, but the short term isn't. And they won't start the physical rehabilitation until the brain is functioning a little better. This is also very frustrating for his family, because they would rather see him at least doing something physically than lying in the bed for so many hours a day. He's not a big man to begin with so he needs all the exercise his body can handle and get himself further on that road to recovery.

He's still very confused at times :-( When I was there, he knew who I was, but kept referring to work, ie, had to get going cause he had to move the machines at work. Continuously focused on work. I think he thought he was in a work accident too by some of his comments. Other times, you could see he was trying to joke around with us lol. So the brain is working ... just not quite the way it used to right now ... but that will hopefully be improving every day as well! On Sun, he was able to remember what he had for dinner when asked a couple of hrs later ... he couldn't do that on Friday.

Considering it's been 5 weeks since the accident and he was in a drug induced coma for the first two, he's really only had three weeks recovery from very serious injuries. He's made great progress. Is doing things that are considered 'a miracle' by some. But he's really only taken a baby step towards a 'full recovery' whatever that will mean for him in the end. But he's here, that's the main thing. And everyone is thankful for him being able to have that first baby step at all.

As for the rest of us, it's been another krazy month in the korner :-)

Basketball season has started. Both boys are having a ball and Alec has turned out to be the high scorer on his team :-) Not that they win alot LOL, (which doesn't matter of course) but he's gotten quite a few points for his team in each game :-) Adam isn't playing competitively yet as he's still too young, but it will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years with him also. He's playing rec ball and has quite the shot as well :-) I've told them both I'm very proud of them, and think it's great they're able to get so many baskets, but I do also remind them before every practice/game "pass the ball too ... nobody likes a ball hog. You want them (team members) to pass to you so you can take the shot, make sure you pass to them and they can shoot too ... it goes both ways ..." But that's it for the motherly advice ... aside from Have Fun :-)

I've decided to invite a little more chaos into my life and sell the house :-) I've never liked the street we live on and have wanted to move back into a subdivision type neighbourhood since we moved to this house four years ago. It's time. I don't plan on moving out of the school district, just to another house in the same community we're in now. So I've been to the broker, had the Realtor in and the "For Sale" sign goes up this week :-) It's going to be a HUGE project to take on myself ... but it's time. The house I wanted to buy of course just got a conditional offer on it :-( So, now it's a race. Can I sell my house before the other people sell theirs? I haven't made an offer on the other one yet, cause I can't make a 'clean' offer without a conditional sale. So it's a wait and see. The way I see it though, everything happens for a reason, so if the house is gone, there will be another one.

Had a bad scare with Belle this weekend :-( We had gone to Alec's basketball game, got home a couple of hours later and as I went around the back, Alec had gone in the front door, and came running out the back saying 'There's something wrong with Belle!!!' I ran into the house and there she was at the back door shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't walk properly because she was shaking so much. I had no idea what was wrong with her, but could definitely tell she wasn't 'normal'. My first thought was 'the kids Halloween bags!!! She's eaten some of those mini chocolate bars out of their bags!' I know chocolate can kill dogs, so I ran around the house looking for chocolate bar wrappers. Nothing. Ran back upstairs and saw only one thing that might have been what was causing whatever was wrong with her.

She had grabbed an old, forgotten, Tim Hortons coffee cup that I had thrown away out of the downstairs garbage, ate the moldy coffee sludge at the bottom and ended up with mold toxicity. After calling the vet and confirming that's what it was, they said to rush her down there, then we had to take her to the animal hospital where she spent the night :-(

After an IV drip, flushing out her system, and a Valium drip to control the tremors and onset of seizure, she was recovered and home the next day. And Mama's now throwing her old coffee cups into the neighbours garbage!!!! Kidding ;-) Although I'm still not sure how I'm going to cover that outrageous vet bill before Xmas, I couldn't just let my girl die. I've told a few people what happened to her, and have had one person out of all say 'I wouldn't have paid that money to save her, she's only a dog' ... I guess I'm just not made that way. Yes, I know hundreds of dollars for an emergency vet bill is outrageous ... and downright impossible on a single mom's salary ... just before Xmas, but it doesn't matter that she's 'only a dog'. She's part of our family and I couldn't do that to my children, or myself, to just take her to a vet and say 'nope, don't want to pay for it, put her down'. Financially foolish or not ... I just couldn't.

My highlight of this past weekend was seeing George Canyon. He is one of Canada's hottest Country singers right now. He gave a special concert for the troops on Nov 11th, and my project at work was one of the sponsors of the show. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and scooped tickets to the concert :-) It was great! Our company had a table reserved so the seats were excellent, and I managed to take 100 pics that night LOL.

That's it for tonight all. My brain is tired and ready for bed.
Until next time!
K

Home from Montreal and another trip to the Hospital

Hey all,

Originally I sat down Friday night with the intention of filling you all in on what we've been up to lately ... however, after spending a week in Montreal and just getting home that night, I was far too tired to write much of anything, so I put it aside until Sat. Unfortunately, the events of Sat morning changed the subject of this blog completely :-( But let's start from the beginning ......

YAY! I'm finally home! I left Monday evening for a business trip to Montreal, and arrived home tonight (Friday) around 6:30pm. Well, I had gotten off the plane and picked up my luggage and was back to my vehicle shortly after 6:30 ... by the time I dropped off my co-worker, stopped for gas, and stopped by to see the boys at their dad's ... it was closer to 8:30 by the time I got 'home'. Once again, I'm exhausted, and it's wonderful to be home :-) As it worked out, the boys are with their father this weekend, so I plan on doing nothing but sleeping for the next two days :-) Ok, maybe not the FULL two days, but at least 12 straight hrs when I crawl into bed later lol.

I was a little nervous about flying ... with the whole recent lung thing and all. I wasn't sure how it would stand up to that pressure, but ... going to mtl every so often has been part of my job for the last 3yrs, I knew I had flown since the surgery ... just not so soon after a tear.

As we were taking off, I couldn't help remembering the ride at the fair that I used to love as a kid. It was like a spaceship, Gravitron it might have been called? Once it started spinning 'full speed', you would start sliding up the wall on this little padded slab, no matter how hard you tried to stay where you were ... and everyone would be trying to lift their arms or head but the 'gravitational pull' was just too strong for most to move at all lol. I then thought about my lungs, and wondered if that's what the staples felt like when the pressure on take-off got to the point where it made your ears pop ... were they fighting the pop and pull too? lol

So far all if fine :-D No lung issues from the plane ride and all is working as it should again :-)

I did however end up with a cold my first day there :-( I could feel it starting on Monday, but it was a full fledged cold when I woke up on Tues. It's never fun to be sick .... even less fun to be sick while you're away, and stuck in a room all day for meetings. And since it was a 'meeting of the minds' I couldn't just sit there in a cold-induced haze ... I sort of had to pay attention lol.

Overall the trip was good. Uneventful ... aside from having to change rooms the first night because of no Internet service, and having to wait 20 min in the lobby the next night ...for them to find me a new 'room service book' since mine was missing from my new room, and couldn't order room service without it ...but thankfully, no naked people in the hot tub this time LOL. One night, I finally got out and explored Old Montreal with my co-workers. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! In all the times I've been to Montreal, I've never been to this part of the city and I'm so glad I finally got to see it :-) Just wish I had brought my camera!

On the flight home, the more I thought about the meetings, the more proud I felt about being in attendance. This was one of many meetings that have taken place to determine major factors of the project. How particular systems will work. It's a large and complicated project, and here are 5 people sitting in a room, figuring out how 'things' are going to work ... and 4/5 of those people were women! Go Girls! Go Girls!!!! :-) And it didn't go un-noticed by others either ;-) Any time someone happened to stop by or join us, there were comments made with respect to how this particular attendee lucked out to be stuck in a room with 4 women all week LOL. All joking aside, I looked at it from the perspective that if this was 20yrs ago ... the women would most likely not have even been allowed in the room, other than to deliver the coffee ... and now here we are making the decisions! Now THAT'S progress I say!!!! :-)

Yesterday morning (Saturday) I had planned to sleep in!!! Of course, things never quite go as planned do they?

I woke up instead just after 9:30 with the urge to call my best friend. Normally we talk at least once a week (we live in different cities) if not more, and I hadn't spoken to her since the previous weekend before I went away. We have a strange connection she and I .... we've been friends so long that now that we always just seem to 'know' when we NEED to talk to each other. When something's 'up'. It's a really cool connection ... but can still be a little eerie at times lol.

So yesterday I woke up with the NEED to talk to her. I waited until just before 11 though before calling because like me, I know she likes her sleep on the weekends also and I didn't want to wake her up too early on a Sat morning :-) I need not have worried :-(

When I called her house, her son answered and informed me his Mom was here in Halifax. He was staying with the neighbour. His grandfather had been in a bad car accident and he was in the ICU here in town. DAMN!!!! His mom had arrived the night before. What was originally planned as a day of relaxation quickly changed ....

I jumped in the shower as soon as I hung up with him, called the hospital to find out exactly where they were, then headed over there and spent the next 10hrs there with them :-(

Her Dad was in the accident on Wed night. They may never know exactly what happened. He was going around a turn, almost home of course, and went into a bunch of trees. One of the tires is missing off the car, and there were no skid marks, so he didn't even break. Did he hit something? Did the tire blow out or come off? Why was one tire gone? Why didn't he hit the breaks? These are the questions they may never get the answers to, as he may not even remember any of it when he eventually wakes up.

He's very lucky to be alive! The seat belt and air bag saved him, but the force of the air bag might also have been what caused him to hit his head against the door/window also.The car is totaled. But he has no broken bones (arms/legs etc) whatsoever! However, he has bleeding and swelling on the brain, and he also has a C2 break in his neck and bleeding there as well. It's amazing. Most people with a C2 break are quadriplegic after wards .... he's breathing on his own, and he's moving his arms and legs ... that's not supposed to be possible, but he's doing it!!! I saw it myself when I was in the ICU yesterday. He raised his arm while I was there (involuntarily of course), and his legs were moving under the blanket like he was trying to get himself comfortable. Unfortunately, they have to have him strapped to the bed, so he doesn't move too much, make a wrong move and end up paralyzing himself :-(He's still not very good though. He's not conscious, and has been heavily medicated since Wed night, but he's squeezed Cass's hand a couple of times on request, but he's really nowhere near being out of the woods.

To top things off ... while at the hospital with her dad, it was discovered her mom has a broken foot and she's been walking on it all week!!!!

After being there awhile yesterday, I took Cass out for lunch, just to get away for awhile, then we brought lunch back for her mom and stayed around the hospital for awhile. Then around 6, I brought Cass home with me so she could shower and have a power nap, so she could sit with her dad that night and let her mom sleep. Well she managed to get the shower, but then her mom called from the hospital. The nurse had sent her down to emerg to have a cast put on her foot cause the swelling was getting too bad, and since they weren't sure how long it was going to take, her mom didn't want her dad to be alone.

So back to the hospital we went. I loaded them up with a couple of pillows, and comforters (it's always FREEZING in hospitals!!! I know from experience LOL) and some pj bottoms and extra shirts, socks, granola bars etc and off we went again. I'm sure we looked like we were moving in when they saw us coming back LOL.

After seeing her dad first (I didn't want to go in after the initial visit ... since I had a cold last week, I didn't want to take the chance of passing on any cold germs!), we then went down to emerg. to find her mom. The ER doc had a mission for us LOL. They were going to cast her mom, but didn't have any crutches on hand. That I still don't get ... why are there no crutches in a hospital? Why would a person have to go to a pharmacy for them????? But that's what we had to do! Back in the car, and off to the pharmacy at 10 pm to pick up crutches for her mom. Then I dropped her off back at the hospital for the night.

I haven't heard from her yet today, so I'm assuming there has been no change in her dad since last night. That can be good or bad I guess. Good that he hasn't gotten worse. Bad that the swelling and bleeding hasn't gone down any.

They're not sure yet how they're going to treat the broken neck. Halo, bolts to the neck, traction ... regardless what the procedure ... her dad will be in some type of recovery for a very long time. We still have no idea how long he'll be in the ICU or even the hospital altogether. It's going to be a very long road to recovery ... BUT ..... he's alive ... and that's the main thing.

So now I'm off to the hospital again. The boys will be back tonight so I want to get my visit in this afternoon and see if they 'need' anything. I don't plan on bringing the boys for a visit. They don't need to see him in that condition.

Please keep my friend's dad in your thoughts ... it could still go either way right now, and after just losing her sister in law 6 months ago, this family really doesn't need another tragedy right now :-(

Take care all! Happy Thanksgiving! And yes, it was a serious accident, but there are still many things to be thankful for ... he's alive ... and he can move. Right now, I'm just thankful that he's still here for his family.

K.

The Lipstick Explosion and Spending Last Thurs Morning in the ER

Hey all,

I actually started this blog last Friday night, but didn't get the chance to finish it until tonight after the boys went to bed. So in the first paragraph, the reference to 'tomorrow' is actually last Saturday and goes along chronologically from there :-)

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Long weekend! WooHoo!!!! I'm going to see Tim McGraw & Faith Hill tomorrow WOOHOO!!! Kids start back to school next week .......... W-O-O-H-O-O!!!!! ;-)

It's been another krazy week in the korner. Although it started off fairly uneventful, ball games Tues night, school back pack shopping wed night, by Thurs, it was picking up lol.

On Wed morning, I took a few minutes and fired off a quick email to a popular cosmetic manufacturer. Not something I do on a regular basis, or have ever done before actually lol, but considering their product contributed to a really BAD start to the day, and my 'you pissed me off and I'm going to tell you why' personality, I felt I had to share my opinion with them. In a very nice, professional, calm manner of course ;-)

This particular morning, the boys and I actually got out of the house on time. Some mornings are better than others on this task, so I was actually leaving the house with a smile on my face, instead of the all too often standing by the door saying "let's move it boys!" You've been up for an hour .... what could you POSSIBLY be running down the stairs into the rec room for now?!?!?!? Let's GO!"

So we all jump into the vehicle, and before I start it, I pull out the lipstick and pull down the visor. It's always the last thing I do before I leave the house ... the lipstick :-)

I have to take a minute to embellish on this lipstick at bit ;- ) A couple of months ago, I bought one of those 8hr lasting lipsticks. It came in a small tube, in liquid format which turned to a matte once applied and dried, and there was also a stick of gloss which game with it, to apply once dry if you wanted the 'shiny' look :-) I've tried a few of these 'long wearing' lipsticks before and was never impressed ... until now! This stuff is actually REALLY good! Stays on over 8hrs, didn't come off on my Tim's cups, or on my cigarettes, I ate and the napkins were clean LOL I was so impressed, for the first few days I would pucker up to 'the girls' asking 'have you seen my new lipstick'? :-D It's a girl thing. I found one that WORKED! :-) I was so proud of my new lipstick :-)

So I pull it out, and start to apply the Burgundy/Brown shade. All of a sudden, without looking down, I can see the red liquid spilling out of the bottom of the container, all over my fingers, onto the front of a pair of light blue Capri's, and onto the car seat.

I think if the neighbours weren't already awake, the 'AAARRRRAAAGGGGHHHHH' that erupted from me might have done it :-D So much for getting out of the house in a 'smooth' fashion this morning :-( Ran back into the house, threw the defective lipstick in the garbage and tried to scrub the reddish brown coating from my hands. Not a chance it was coming off! Great! I looked like I had just had a hand in a homicide and I had to go through the day like this. Then I dove into the closet looking for another pair of pants that would match the shirt I was already wearing. Not an easy task with a bright red, light blue and yellow striped t-shirt lol. I opted for the next best thing, red Capri's, and ran back out to the truck.

I had just started it when Alec asked, 'Was that a really expensive lipstick Mom?'
I said, 'Well, not a fortune no, but expensive enough that you wouldn't expect the bottom to just fall off of it and have the contents flow all over you!'.
Then he asked 'But how much did it cost?'
"Almost 8 bucks" I replied.
'Wow! That's still pretty expensive for a liptstick'
That's when Adam just turned the whole morning around. In the rear view mirror, I could see him lean over to his brother and in a most serious, earnest voice said "Oh but Alec ... it LASTS over 8 hours!!!!"
I cracked up :D

It lasted over 8hrs on my hands too!

That night we went back pack shopping when I picked them up after work. While we were out, I noticed the pains that had started in my chest the night before at the ball game were just a little more strong. Enough that I was starting to notice it when I'd breath. Not the same type of pain as when the lungs collapsed, but ... similar.

Thursday morning, it was still there. I don't know if I was just noticing it more, or it was really just a little more prominent. After I dropped the boys off at the sitter's, I was on my way to work, and thinking about the upcoming weekend. I was going to the Country Rocks the Hill aka Tim & Faith concert in Moncton. And I remembered last year, how we had stood crammed like all those little fish in the net in the Finding Nemo movie lol, for over 4 hrs just to see Sugarland 'up close'. They were definitely worth it, and so were many of the acts performing this coming weekend If there was anything remotely wrong with my lung now, it would never stand that abuse in two days time. I had to have this looked at now. So when I reached the 'point of no return' of either turning right and going to work, or going straight and going to the community Emerg ... I went straight.

For those who aren't aware, I've learned to listen to my body's signals that there is something 'wrong'. I've been relatively healthy my whole life. Other than the scrapes, flu's, dental work lol, and occasional bout with pneumonia when I got older. However, 5 yrs ago, I had a double lung surgery, because I had a hereditary lung disease that I didn't know I had (wasn't caused by my smoking, but that certainly didn't help it). It was first discovered when my lung collapsed one day out of the blue. I had no idea what was going on, ignored the pain in my chest and figured I had pulled something and it would go away. I ended up being taken to the ER by ambulance the following morning. My lung had collapsed 90% over night. They put a chest tube in me, sent me home for two days then I had to go back to have it removed.

The second time my lung collapsed (the opposite one this time) was two months later. I was standing at my father's wake which had only started a few minutes earlier, and the lineup was all the way out of the rooms, and leaned over to my now ex and said "OK, don't say anything, don't do anything, but I think my lung just collapsed" I remembered what that pain felt like. You notice when you breath ... that's not normal. You notice it when you move, at it's worst, it's there when you're doing nothing at all. It's a pain you remember when it hits again. Because of the situation, I didn't voice my suspicion to my mom or anyone else, until I got back home two days later. THEN I went to the ER and same procedure that time. Chest tube, home, remove. Difference was, I was able to 'tolerate' it for two days this time, because I had a 'slow leak'. There was a tear in my lung, which was causing the pain, but it wasn't deflating as fast as last time, so it didn't cause me as much discomfort as soon. This time I was sent to a specialist though, and it was determined I had Bullous Lung Disease and needed the double lung surgery. Scheduled for the upcoming Nov and Jan.

The morning I went in for the first surgery, I was laying in pre-op and the nurse had just left after taking my stats and marking my hand with an 'x' on the side they were going to operate on, and all of a sudden I felt it. My lung collapsed. The opposite one of the one they were originally supposed to operate on LOL. I pushed the 'panic button' attached to my bed, and when the nurse came back I said 'I think you may want to bring a portable chest x-ray in here before we start, cause I'm pretty sure my other lung just collapsed.' She was doubtful, but by that time, I knew that pain. Knew what it meant. Sure enough ... they had to operate on the other one that day because it was already 'down' LOL.

When all was said and done, they took 15% of my 'damaged' lungs, and stapled the remainder of them to my chest walls, so they would no longer be able to collapse. Done deal. Heal and move on.

Didn't have a problem with them again. Until this week.

This wasn't the same type of pain. But it was close. More dull than sharp like it had been before and just THERE. But I had been through this (collapsing lungs aka spontaneous pneomothorax) three times now, I knew when I got the to ER, if they said "Decreased breath sounds" it wouldn't be good. Each time I heard those words I'd ended up with a tube in my chest.

There are three types of pneomothorax, I've had the first two, multiple times

Spontaneous pneumothorax - occurs when air escapes from the lung causing it to collapse. This type of pneumothorax occurs for no apparent reason.

Tension pneumothorax - a severe pneumothorax that can be life-threatening. The lung collapse is usually more than 50%. The cause of this type of pneumothorax can be a traumatic event, or a severe spontaneous pneumothorax.

Traumatic pneumothorax - results from a puncture wound to the lung, causing the lung to collapse. This can also be life-threatening.


But when I had the surgeries to 'fix' the problem, it was my understanding that after that, it wouldn't happen again. Guess that was sort of half true ...

So I get to the ER Thurs morning and after triage and hearing 'decreased breath sounds' from the nurse, they sent me for a chest x-ray, and the doc said he couldn't see a tear, didn't mean there wasn't one there, but just that it was very small, then diagnosed me with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a different lung disease than the other one 5 yrs ago, told me to quit smoking immediately (and not in such a nice way really) and sent me on my way with instruction for pain management. And to follow up with my family doc to see a breathing specialist.

Once again, I know my body. I know when something's wrong. It would only be a matter of time before I was back ... sigh ....

I went to the concert on Sat with the pain still there. - Separate blog to come later. Had a great time! Probably wasn't such a good idea health-wise though ;-)

Could barely get out of bed the next day. Not because I had had too much fun at the concert, or stayed out late, (was in bed just after midnight and slept until just after 10am), the pain was simply getting worse.

This week, I took it relatively easy on Monday, Labour Day, spent the last day of this long weekend at the beach with the boys, not swimming ... just sitting on the blanket watching lol. And then went back again that night for Alec's first ball game of the playoff series.

Adam's game was cancelled, and now has his last game of the season on Tues night, but before we go there, we have to first stop at the fire hall for Basketball registration, and this year, they BOTH get to play :-) Alec competitively, Adam recreational. They both think they're Troy Bolton!! lol (those who have seen HSM2 will know who that is), and I'm thinkin' it's going to be a busy winter!

Then it was much worse again on Tuesday, that day I left work just before lunch and went back to the ER. I had spoken to my family doc first. She had gotten the results of the chest x-ray from Thurs and wanted to follow up with me right away because of the COPD. When she heard the pain and breathing was worse, she said 'come down now' then sent me down to the hospital for another chest x-ray. She had the same concern that I did. Slow leak.

I told the ER doc, 'you know your body and you know when a pain just isn't right. And it shouldn't hurt to breath!' And I remember the pain of the onset of a collapsing lung. I had a fast one, and a slow leak lol. This one was a slow leak. I knew it last Tues. They couldn't see it last Thurs but diagnosed me with COPD and sent me on my way, on this Tues, they said 'small tear'.

So I have a very small tear in the lung, and if it weren't for the staples, it would have collapsed by now. Wants to ... but it can't :-) The pain and symptoms of that are the same, but the up side is that I don't need a chest tube to re-inflate it and keep it up there while it heals. Supposedly now just rest (meaning off work until next Wed), nothing strenuous (like mowing my lawn lol) and pain management by way of 800mg of Ibuprofen 4 times a day will fix it :-) We'll see. I certainly hope so lol. It's a pain in the ass to my life more than anything else lol. Well, that and the whole breathing thing ;-)

As for the quitting smoking, I'm going to seriously try a hypnotist :-) A girl from work has a friend who recommended him. He does 'medical hypnosis. I just got his name today, so I'm going to call my doc tomorrow and ask her to refer me. I also found out tonight about a new pill you can take, twice a day, that will curb the cravings, and if you try to smoke on it, will make you nauseous. Champix. Going to ask her about that too.

Have been trying to go cold turkey, but falling off the wagon alot:-( I've tried the patch and zyban in the past 10yrs, and neither worked ... for me ... so I figure this time I'll try the hypnosis first, then on to Champix:-) If THAT doesn't work ... back to the patch I guess lol.

So there's the update I know some of you have been waiting for ;-) Sorry it took so long to get out, but the fatigue that goes along with this 'lung issue(s)' is incredible! I'll try and get something up about the concert some time over the weekend. Since the boys are with their dad, I'll have LOTS of time to rest. These past couple of days have been semi-restful at best lol. As any mom, single or otherwise knows, there is no such thing as REST in a house with children lol.

Night all!
Time to throw a load of laundry in the dryer and take this butt to bed ... again lol.

K

What an 11yr old boy will ask to extend his bedtime!!!! Shhheeesssshhh!

Hey all,

Here's one for the parents of Tweens :-)

I'm putting Alec to bed last night, we're discussing his day, the crazy week we've had, etc and out of the blue, he comes out with.... "Mom, if a girl isn't having her period, she can have sex right?"

Oh boy ... think fast!!! Is there really a RIGHT answer to this one? Sheeeeshhhhh! Come on ... click the slippers and go back to the land of Lions, Tigers and Bears! :-)

Alec has a tendency of asking 'these types' of questions at bedtime, at the exact time it's NOT time to get into a LONG discussion about sex ... periods ... life ... lol. But it's partly my own fault that he brings it up when he does, because I've asked him NOT to bring up such topics if his younger brother is around. I made this request one day when he asked me "Mom, what's an STD"? while his brother was in the room lol. Feeling Adam's eyes glued to me, waiting for my answer, knowing it would be something he probably shouldn't hear just yet, I felt "We'll discuss it later, after your brother has gone to bed" was an appropriate answer at the time :-) However, sometimes it backfires on me, because it's when he knows I'm tired that he'll shoot the really hard ones at me lol.

After this latest question, I just took a deep breath and said "Where did you hear that?", wanting to find out what had prompted the question, which might make a difference in the answer I provided at that particular moment LOL.

He said "Joe" (not his real name) who is a friend of his had used it in reference to girls their age. Meaning if they were old enough to have their period, medically they were old enough to have sex (just not while on their period, as far as they were concerned)

Deciding to opt for a 'quick & easy' response, I simply said "Well .. technically ... he's right, if a girl is not having her period, she could be having sex (that's as far as I was taking that one!), but these girls are only 11, and shouldn't be having sex anyway, so they shouldn't have to worry about when they can have it. And you're a boy, you don't have a period, and shouldn't be having sex yet, so it shouldn't concern you right now either ...RIGHT?

"Right Mom"

Good ... Goodnight ... Luv You :-)

Do I think he's having sex? Nah. Do I think he and 'the boys' are talking about it? Oh yeah! lol

I know at some point it's going to require further discussion. Another night, but not at 10pm when my brain is getting ready to shut down ... I'm just not up for those mental motherhood challenges right then lol. In that instance, I willingly throw the challenge, give up the Power of Veto, but remain ... as always Head of Household ;-)

Sometimes I think I preferred the days when the hardest questions were "Mommy, why does Hershey eat the cat poop?" Sigh .... ;-)

Nite all!
K

The Secret, The Bee/Wasp, The Bum and The Pass

Hey Family and Friends and Bloggers!

Last year I decided to board the blogging bus for the same reason many of us are here, to keep the family and friends updated on 'what we're up to'.

All of my previous blogs have been posted on MySpace. I like MS, but I don't look at it as a specific 'blogging site'.

I thought I would create an account here, just out of curiousity, to see what the traffic was like, if there was any interest in the adventures of Kim's Korner, outside of my loyal MS Friends :-)

I'll still be keeping my 'old' blog on MySpace, but would simply like to wander into the Blogger family as well

If you're here because I've invited you, glad you could make it! If you've wandered into my blog spot ... welcome! If you like what you read, feel free to come back. For some strange reason, 'things' always seem to happen to me, (which is probably why I like the phrase "everything happens for a reason"), so there'll always be new adventures to follow .

The last two blogs I posted, were regarding our Summer Vacation Excitement. Feel Free to go over to my MySpace account, to read those first, or, feel free to start with the newest post here.

There was one last 'story' I wanted to share with everyone from Summer Vacation '07. This one DOESN'T directly involve the kids LOL.

I'm sure many of you out there have heard of the book The Secret. Or have seen the movie. I had read review snippets of it, and caught conversations of it here and there over the past little while. I realize some of you will have no idea what I'm talking about ;-) but I think there will be some of you who are nodding your heads, as you've either read or are in the process of reading it :-)

On first day of vacation, I finished the new Harry Potter Book. Loved it. Loved the ending :-) Thanks to all of you who finished it before me, and who also didn't spoil the ending ... thank you VERY much!!! :-D

The next day, I spotted The Secret on the shelf across the room and picked it up, the book I had heard so much about, and started to read. I read the Acknowledgments, the Forward, every word of every sentence. I have a tendency of 'skimming' over paragraphs that don't hold my interest, but I wanted to be able to say I had literally read this one in particular from cover to cover :-)

Now I'm not going to go on and on about what it's about, or if I 'believe' in any or all of it. I'm not going to get onto a soapbox about god, the universe, higher powers, alien life, or invite debates on the meaning of life LOL. I simply wanted to make a few comments on a couple of incidents that happened after I started reading this book, which I thought were 'cool'.

In order for you to understand their significance, you DO have to have some sort of general understanding of what the book is about.

In a nutshell, I think it's all about the law of attraction, and what thoughts/words/actions you throw out there into the universe, good or bad, you attract back to you. You stress about things, you get more stressed, more bills arrive. Think positive thoughts, good things happen, you win the lottery ... that sort of thing.

Some people think it's a load of cr*p. That's ok. I can't say I 'believe' everything I read in these types of books anyway cause that just isn't true. I take what works for me, and leave the rest. Yes, I think the mind is an extremely powerful thing. I believe in thinking positively - no matter what, sixth senses, mommy instincts, hunches, and I follow mine. Not every time, and sometimes I regret not doing so.

But you can't tell me that a 2yr old child will send negative thoughts out into the universe to bring a form of disease or deformity onto itself. Which is also what the book is stating. Think negatively, bring negativity onto you. You can't tell me my dad didn't spend every day after he found out he was sick, asking god, the fates, the powers that be, to make him well again. You can't tell me there weren't thousands of 'good' thoughts being sent out into the universe for him. So why doesn't The Secret work for everyone, simply by them asking for what they want?

Having said all that. I still always try to look at the positive side of things. :-) Find the humor in the stressful/bad situations. You sort of have to when you own a 'Most Sh*t' trophy ... don't you? ;-) (if you're curious about the Most Sh*t trophy, you'd have to go back to my very first blog on MySpace)
There are many 'little secrets' throughout The Secret. I realize I've 'practiced' some of these my whole life, sometimes without realizing I'm doing so. Some, I've thought, sure ... that makes sense ... other bits of information just sort of leave me going '.... yeah ... ok .... I don't think so'. But again, I'm simply taking from it what I will, and leaving what just isn't for me.

So I'm into the first few chapters while we're visiting family and I had just finished reading about how it's all about the law of attraction. What you think/talk about, you send out into the universe, and the wheels go in motion to make it happen.

The afternoon of the tornado, immediately after getting into the vehicle, we cracked the windows because it was simply scorching in there. As we pulled out of the driveway, I also started the air conditioning. I made a comment of rarely using the AC, because I prefer the wind from the open window. My cousin's wife said "Oh no, I always use the AC and keep the windows closed because I'm afraid of a Bee or Hornet flying in." I sort of chuckled and asked "Really?, I ALWAYS have them down, especially on the highway and have never had a problem with bugs". I like my road trips. I like the music blasting and the windows down and singing at the top of my lungs ... and I've yet to swallow a bug that way ;-)

After that, the conversation turned to "How long can we swim this afternoon Mom?" and the window/AC debate was forgotten.

Until the drive home two days later .....

We had just finished filling the gas tank and had hit the highway, settling into the monotonous groove of 90km/h on single lane highway filled with summer tourist traffic. Tunes were going, boys were in their 'fort' (blanket over all headrests) watching a movie on the DVD's, I was wondering if the guy in front of me was EVER going to pass that guy in front of him pulling the trailer, and it flew in ............. a Bee. Right through my window, smacked into my arm and dropped onto my seat right in front of me between my legs.

You know how your mind wants to do one thing, and then your body reacts differently ....

I knew I had to NOT panic ... I knew I had to pull over .... instead, I flip the signal light, start to pull over and distracted by where the bee was, hit the gas instead of the break and surprised myself and the kids. Brain knew not to panic but mouth said "UH OH ....AHHH NOO!!!" which got the kids attention even more, and started a repeated duet of 'What Mom? What Happened? What's Wrong? Was there an accident? and on and on and I'm thinking "BEE!!! MUST ... PULL .... OVER!" And just kept saying 'hang on ...!' LOL. thinking 'let me get over to the side first!'

I pulled over, jumped out, swiped the bee onto the floor, took off my shoe, and that was the end of Mr Bee. Death by flip flop.

By now, the boys had popped up from their fort, and were asking 'What is it? What is it?' That's when I finally said "Bee" LOL. Got back in, pulled out into traffic and blended in with the traveling drones once again :-)

I can't remember the last time a bee/wasp flew in the car. Once we got back into the road trip groove, I thought about The Secret and what I had just read a couple of mornings ago, while sipping coffee on the deck. "What you throw out there, you attract back to you". I thought back to my conversation on the way to the pool. We certainly threw the bee out there LOL. Chalked it up to interesting coincidence :-)

The next day, we stopped in to see my best friend and her son. We took the kids for ice cream and while we were out, a wasp flew in the window and stung my friend's son on the hand. We were parked at the time ;-)

Twice in two days. What you throw out there. The more you think about it, the more you attract it. Two stinging insects through the window in two days ... things that make ya go hmmmmmm.......

The following week, I'm back at work and trying to finish the book on my coffee/lunch breaks. I hadn't gotten very far, despite the fact it's a 'small' book lol, and was in the chapter 'The Secret to Money'. I was outside on my break, leaning against one of the buildings across the street from my office, reading, sipping my coffee, having my cigarette, enjoying the little sunny patch I'd found, doing my own thing.

I had just finished reading the paragraph "... There is an abundance of money and it's on it's way to me. I am a money magnet. I love money and money loves me. I am receiving money every day ..." Cheesy I know, but ya know what? No sooner did I finish that sentence, then this guy comes up to me on the street and says "I'll give you 50 cents if I can get a cigarette from you". I gave him a smoke, refused his money with a 'no, that's ok', (which is simply the Maritimer way lol) and went back to my book. The very next sentence I read said "Giving is a powerful action to bring more money into your life". And couldn't resist putting the book down for a minute and chuckling to myself ... I read about receiving money, and the next minute was offered 50 cents (LOL) ... Gave, and then read about giving and receiving more ........ I'm thinking it's time to throw the thoughts of winning the lottery out into the universe ;-) There ya go fates, the good lottery thoughts are out there ... work your magic ... you've teased me with the bee, the wasp and the bum, now let's see what you can really do! :-D

And finally, yesterday I put in a request for a new security badge at work. Couldn't find mine and with the high security on our project, I didn't want to take the chance of having an active pass 'out there' and had mine deactivated. I was using a temp pass for the day, and had gone to the bathroom just before lunch. While washing my hands, I was thinking about how I hadn't heard back from the Security Lady who would authorize my new pass. I was thinking that I would send her an email as soon as I got back to my desk, in case I needed to have a new pic taken that day, I wanted to do it before it started raining LOL.

I finished drying the hands when a woman I didn't know came out of one of the stalls behind me. I turned to leave and she said "Are you Kim X?" I turned back around and said "Yes?" She said "Hi, I'm so and so, and I have your security badge ready for you upstairs". It was the security lady. Who does not work on my floor. Works 11 floors above, and had at that moment decided to come down to OUR floor to use our bathroom (she had her own specific reasons for being there that had nothing to do with my pass).

Thoughts of the security pass sent 'out there' and the security lady walks out of the bathroom stall behind me, on a floor nowhere near her own ... yet another thing to first make you LOL LOL LOL .... THEN go hmmmmm...... ;-)

Do I 'believe' everything I read in The Secret. Nah, I can't. Do I 'believe' in the power of positive thinking and unexplained 'weird' occurrences ... sure. We all have to believe in something don't we? ;-) I do believe I've won the lottery! I do believe I've won the lottery! I do believe I've won the lottery! (DUCK - here comes Tinkerbell!!!!)

No sense in starting with something small right? ;-)

Have a good night all!

Till next time!

K.

From the Beach to Tornado in a day ... Summer Vacation Adventures Part II

Hey all,

Another summer vacation adventure I wanted to share :-)

This past week, after our beach adventures, we spent a couple of days in a little village in the Miramichi. On one of those days, we experienced tornado weather! On Sat morning, my status message on one of my online accounts was questioning 'how I was going to get the golf-ball sized hail stone dents out of my vehicle when I returned home.' Sure enough ... we had a tornado in little old Blackville, NB where we happened to be visiting LOL.

Friday morning was absolutely beautiful and stifling HOT! We were no longer at the beach, but had two pools to choose from in which to spend the afternoon :-) Between the adults and kids and fact we only had one vehicle, I made two trips bringing everyone over to where we would be for the afternoon.

The kids were able to swim for about an hour when it clouded over very suddenly. You knew immediately that it wasn't one of these 'cloud passing over the sun' type of clouds ... this was one HUGE nasty black blanket covering the sky. Then, just as we said, "time to pack it in guys' the thunder started.

As I brought the first load of passengers back to the house, the rain started. On my way back to get Alec and his cousin, the HEAVY rain started. I was just rounding the corner to the house where they were waiting when the hail started. At first, I thought it was huge rain drops hitting my vehicle, then realized that they were hitting far to HARD to be rain ... then I could see it through the sheets of rain ... Hail ... BIG hail!!! First weekend of August, swimming not 15 minutes earlier, and now there was golf ball sized hail pelting down on my vehicle, and all around me!

I pulled into the driveway, and the kids ran out from under the cover of the veranda, while I stared around in amazement! HUGE hail was beating down on the boys as they ran and they couldn't get in fast enough with yells of "Do you see that! Holy WOW! Do you see that hail mom/aunt kim?!?!' LOL.

Yeah ... I saw it! And could feel it cracking down onto the truck! I tried to get a pic through the windshield, but as you'll see below, it didn't capture much more than the sheets of rain.




Then I tried to roll down the window, and managed to get a couple of quick shots while getting smacked in the face with little ice rocks! LOL

We pulled out of the driveway and it kept coming. Alec's cousin mentioned he was worried about his dad driving back from 'town' in this and hoped he was ok.

Then it started to slow in a matter of minutes. The hail stopped, but rain and thunder and lightening continued.

On the way home, we got stuck behind a big dump truck. Just stopped in the middle of the main road with his hazards flashing. A few cars drove by in the opposite lane, but made a bit of a circle around him. Traffic was starting to build up behind me, so when I saw a break, I went around him, and that's when I saw the downed wire. Not sure if it was power or phone but it was draped all over the truck, and now we were driving over the end of it ... YIKES!

Made it home without further incident though :-) and continued to watch the huge black mass move over us as the lightening shone through it sporadically. We took a drive later in the evening once the sun came out, to my cousin's camp 'back in the woods'. Trees were knocked down along the main road, and we had to take a detour, and one just missed my cousin's camp by a couple of feet. Fell perfectly straight across the back of it. Another couple of feet in, and it would have come right down through it.



On his way home during the hail storm, my cousin looked 'across the way' and said he swore he saw a tornado. Funnel and all and watched it as he drove, not really believing what he was seeing. Wondering if he should pull over, but wanting to get home.

The whole front hood of my vehicle is now covered in dents from the hail. There are also some on the roof ... but it's more so noticable on the hood. People have had the 'OMIGOD ... HAIL did that?!?!?!' When they see the hood LOL. Today, I showed it to/discussed it with a number of people and they came to the same consensus ... I'd need a new hood and have it painted. Would cost at least $1000 just for the hood, not the roof. It's not worth having my insurance go up if I claim it, after paying the deductable, when I know it's almost reached it's limit before resale. I was hoping to trade it in next spring, and as long as it runs well until then ... fine ... but I'd never see any value back in anything I put into it right now. And definitely not worth the insurance hike because of a freak of nature LOL. I've decided it will just have to remain a conversation piece of the vehicle ... and wear it's tornado war wounds proudly LOL.

Sure enough ... there was a tornado watch issued that day. I happened to google 'tornado in NB this morning, on a hunch, and sure enough, found one of my aunts quoted in a CBC news article LOL. Funny thing was, I didn't see this particular aunt on this visit, but apparently we had the same experience in the storm.

From CBC news article/weather warning:
"A tornado warning has been issued for the Miramichi area and RCMP are cautioning New Brunswickers about high winds that have knocked over telephone poles and trees.

Environment Canada reported at 3:30 p.m. AT that people in or near the Miramichi area should be on the lookout for adverse weather conditions and take safety precautions.

Environment Canada reported earlier Friday that winds were moving eastward at 90 km/h, pushing a line of thunderstorms from western and northwestern New Brunswick.

RCMP in Grand Falls report fallen trees blocking roads in the Perth-Andover, Plaster Rock and California Settlement areas, and thousands of New Brunswickers are without power after lines were downed.

Meanwhile, in Blackville there were reports of golf ball-sized hail denting cars. "Well the hailstones are pretty well all done," said *****, who works at the Blackville post office, at 4 p.m. "They were as big pretty near as golf balls and as hard, and I had a brand-new truck sitting out here and it's all dented."

A severe thunderstorm warning issued by Environment Canada said a warm and humid air mass over the province was providing ideal conditions for severe thunderstorms today.

"These thunderstorms could produce gusty winds in excess of 90 kilometres per hour, large hail greater than two centimetres, heavy rain of more than 25 millimetres per hour and intense frequent lightning," the warning read.

Officials at Environment Canada spotted small hail and funnel clouds in northern Maine, moving towards the region."

I'm 36 yrs old and I've never seen anything like it in my life. I was just amazed and couldn't really believe I was seeing it, and wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next. I clicked my flip flops a few times ... but it didn't seem to help. I KNEW I should have packed those red slingbacks ;-) We did all make it home safe and sound though, so once again ... Thanks Fates!!! :-D

Nite all.
K

Everything Happens For a Reason ... Proven to me yet again

Hey all!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Summer!

The boys and I returned home from a week's vacation at the beach around 6:30 pm tonight. I'm exhausted. We had a wonderful time! I'm burnt ... physically from the sun and mentally from the vacation lol, but overall it was great! It's an unbelievable feeling to wake up, open your door, walk out into the morning sun, stepping immediately into warm sand, and you're looking at nothing but miles of blue water :-)

After four days of playing with family at the beach, we headed to another relatives house to visit for few days. We arrived mid-evening, and after letting the boys and their cousins play for a couple of hours, while I caught up on the family news, they were definitely ready when I said it was time for bed. The grown-ups talked far too late into the night, and I was exhausted when I finally got my butt into bed.

The boys and I were sharing a room. Adam and I sleeping on the bottom bunk (double) and Alec on top bunk (single). As tired as I was, I figured (hoped) I'd just crash, and flipped through a People magazine while waiting for sleep. It didn't come. As badly as I wanted to, I couldn't fall asleep, and I couldn't figure out why. I should have. Four days of salt air, non stop 'family fun', going to a pub for a couple of drinks the night before we left, to get re-acquainted with my cousin who I hadn't seen since we were young children .... drive the next day, staying up far too late shooting the sh*t with my cousin, his wife and my aunt ... I SHOULD have crashed immediately! LOL I didn't. About half way through People, I found out why.

First, let me mention a couple of things ....

In the last few years, I have become a VERY SOUND sleeper. When I'm out, I'm out and it really takes alot to wake me up. So much so, that I slept through a hurricane we had here a few years ago LOL. The ex was out with the fire dept. My mom was visiting and she and the boys were watching the wind, rain and destruction, and aside from waking up for a few minutes, by the ex scaring the crap out of me, dressed in full fire gear telling me he was going out with 'the crew' in the storm ... I fell right back asleep, not realizing the severity of 'the storm', and slept through the whole thing LOL. So had I crashed on this particular night, as I had hoped to, what happened next may very well have had a completely different ending.

The other thing, is that Alec is prone to talking in his sleep. And walking on occasion. A couple of times, about 4 yrs ago, he came out onto the deck where the ex and I were sitting. He was sleepwalking. He'll also talk to you, somewhat coherently in this state as well, but not realize he's doing any of it. On occasion, he has night terrors. I installed a deadbolt at the top of the front door LOL. No really ... I did :-) He's since stopped walking, and haven't had the need for the extra lock for some time, but still talks at least a couple of nights a week. More so when he's tired as most of us do. Myself included :-)

So I'm laying there, and after a good 40 minutes of unsuccessfully willing sleep to just finally take over, and getting rather bored reading about Paris, Lindsay and Brittney's latest 'escapades', Alec started moaning loudly and his right hand gripped the side of the bunk railing. I put the magazine down and immediately the mother's instinct started kicking in and for some reason, all senses were on full alert ... the next thing I knew, he's sitting up, and screaming 'I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home !!!' Over and over. All in his sleep.

Thankfully I was sleeping on the outside of the bed. I threw the People, and jumped up just in time to catch him flinging himself headfirst over the railing. He was sound asleep. Alec's a good sized boy. Weighs more than I do. Not a whole lot. But more nonetheless. Dead weight asleep. He had both hands, white knuckled gripping the railing, his eyes were open wide and staring at me, screaming, and I had both hands on his chest, feet spread apart, bracing myself against him, trying to hold him back from throwing himself over headfirst. All the while saying "Alec hon, you're ok, you're in bed, wake up, you're ok, etc.' And all the while, he's pushing against me trying to get over the railing.

Then, the mom's eye in the back of my head catches Adam running across the room with the blanket over his head LOL. I wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep himself, so I just turned my head around and told him "It's ok bud, Alec's just having a bad dream, hang on, stay right there for a minute.' Then I turned my attention back to Alec who was still yelling/mumbling.

When I looked at him and said his name, his eyes focused and he screamed again LOL. I told him he was just having a bad dream, talked to him for a bit, and then he was calm ... wondering what was going on. It all happened and was over in a matter of minutes. Once he was 'awake' I had him get down from the bunk, and we put the mattress on the floor. Then I tucked all three of us back in bed, and kept a light hand on each boy's shoulder ... just in case :-)

Once I was settled in again, it hit me. Had I not been awake, wishing I was asleep, he would have been a dead-weight head first on a free fall, and god only knows what he would have broken when he hit that floor, if he didn't break something hitting the dresser first on the way down, depending on how he fell ... and I wouldn't have heard a thing, until it was too late.

My thoughts went back to how I had desperately wanted to go to sleep, I was CRAVING my sleep, but 'something' wouldn't let me slip into that blissful state of unconsciousness ... why?

After we moved the mattress onto the floor, and got Alec was settled and sound asleep again, I lay there for another half hour or so, thinking of all the possibilities ... of what 'could' have happened. What if'ing it to death, 'what if he'd cracked his head', 'what if he broke his neck' 'what if ... what if' ... but every few seconds, the same thought kept coming to mind ... 'don't question it, you were awake, everything happens for a reason'. So I shut off the 'what ifs' as best I could and focused instead on saying 'Thanks Fates!' and the plans for the following day.

Yup, everything happens for a reason. I can honestly say that was the last thought that drifted through my head that night, when I finally fell asleep :-)

And now ... I'm off to hit the sack and get some sleep again :-)

Night all!

K

The opposite of 'sleeping in' until noon is ......

Hey all!

This one is for all those who have been woken up 'abruptly' in the morning :-)
Last weekend the boys were with their father. On the weekends they're with him, being someone who LOVES her sleep ... I try to sleep in one of the two days . At least a little bit. 'Sleeping in' meaning not opening my eyes until sometime after 10:30am.

That saturday, after a week-long session of meetings that were particularly taxing to the brain and even physically draining, I was looking forward to a body catch up and slept in until NOON! It was absolutely AWESOME! This past weekend ... not quite!

On Sunday morning, at 9am my eyes flew open to the sound of pots (drums) being banged on (in the living room) with the big stainless steel spoons, and my 7 yr old (who I heard getting up about 15 min earlier) singing at the top of his lungs "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves ... I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes ..... AGAIN!!! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves ..."

AAARRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! YES! IT DOES!! Including your mother's!!! Make it stop!!!! Sigh ... where's my coffee???

What ever happened to the old fashioned "Good morning Mommy, did you sleep well?" :-D

Nite all!
K

I met the Ex's new live-in Girlfriend for the first time last night :-)

Hey all,

Thought I'd share a personal little tidbit with you today :-) There are certain thoughts on different topics that I won't post online. Various aspects of my 'personal life' being one of them. And when I do post, I always try to do so from the perspective of 'would I want my kids to read this about me/their father/family 10-20yrs from now? ;-) But I don't think anything I've chosen to say today would shock them about their mother, and I thought it would give you a bit of further insight into my 'personality' if you haven't figured me out already ;-)

I stopped by the ex's this afternoon to drop off a few things for the boys and Belle (who are with him this weekend), and told him I had hoped his new live-in girlfriend was home ... who I officially met for the first time last night ... because I wanted her to come down the street with me to the Tim's for a coffee.

We haven't really been introduced, other than the quick 'Hi's' in the kitchen last night while dropping off the boys bag, and I think it's only fair that she and I get to have a one on one session. Not to bash the ex in any way. I'm a big girl, and I know that he's going to find someone, as am I at some point, and I don't need to bash him because she's going to determine what his good points, and bad are all on her own.

But if she's moving in, she's part of our lives now, and up until a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know about her, and saw her quickly for the first time last night, and so I think it's only fair, to both of us, for her to hear from me, not second hand through the ex, what my expectations are of his relationship with the boys, the ways I see it changing in the future and her involvement in all of it. Their lives are their lives and if he's found someone who will be good to him and the boys, as well as a good influence on them, GREAT! . But the boys are part of that life also, and my only 'expectation' of her specifically is that she be good/nice/responsible to them.

Also, there are certain 'hot' topics like child support and visitation, that I want her to hear my views on directly from ME, again, not second hand. She needs to know where I stand on both of these issues, and what my expectations have been and continue to be of the ex, directly from me. I don't ever plan on being the b*tchy ex-wife. But if this is going to be a long term relationship for him, which I have to assume since she's moved in, then I do plan on having his partner know exactly where I stand in this 'relationship' and what my expectations are. Period.

Life's too short to be playing games. We're all grown ups. I won't say we'll be the best of friends, or agree on fundamental issues of life, but we can certainly all get along and I expect it to start with all expectations laid out on the table. I'm also interested in hearing what her views on our new situation are :-)

Anyway, she wasn't home at the time. So I asked the ex to mention to her that I'd like she and I to go for a coffee ... and I'm curious to see if she's going to take me up on it .... ;-)

Have a great weekend all! I'm off to mow the lawn now ... or clean the kitchen .. I'll most likely decide which when I hit the top of the stairs and see the condition of both :-)

Kim

PS - I got my hair cut again last night ... it was much easier this time around ;-)

We have a new addition to our family

Hey everyone! Another one for the dog lovers out there :-)

This is a message I sent out yesterday to family and friends (so references like 'last night' and 'today' are off by a day).


************ ********* *********

Hey all,

I'd like to introduce you to the latest member of our family. Meet Belle :-) She joined our brood last night and has been adjusting wonderfully! !!!

I've been on the 'puppy search' for about 3wks now and we 'found' her on a fluke.

We had an appointment to see a Golden Retriever pup last night after Alec's ball practice. I had made arrangements to meet two other pups, on two other occasions, but they both fell through at the last minute, which was very disappointing :-( That day, I purchased a leash and collar ... we were definitely bringing a pup home that night!

So while we were AT the ball field, a couple there had a puppy with them ... the pup had a sister. This pup was .... free :-) We went to see the retriever around 7:30pm, gorgeous, absolutely beautiful but $550 and only 6wks old. By the time I factored in her first three sets of needles, having her spayed when ready, I was looking at close to $1100. Yeesh!!! Then we head home, check the email from the guy at the ballfield for pics of this 'new' pup, call the guy who owned her and yup want to see her ... around 10pm. Late, and past the boy's bedtime, however, the other woman wanted an answer on her pup, because others were interested in her, and this was a 'special' occasion of sorts.

On the way there, which was about 1/2 hour away, I looked out at the full moon, and a few seconds later noticed the next lyric in the song playing, 'gotta stop and ask Ms Belle for some of her sweet tea" ... I half-turned back to Alec (who was still awake, unline Adam lol), and asked 'Did you hear that?" "The pup's name that we're going to see is named Belle ... wonder if it's a sign?" LOL

I left the choice up to the boys. The took one look at her when we got there, and she came home with us :-) YAY! Happy puppy dance!

She's a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever / Boxer mix. But I don't see any boxer in her yet. She was named Belle .... and it sort of suits her so we're keeping it. She'll be 12 wks old this Sunday.

I've noticed one 'cute' characteristic about her already ... one ear flops forwards, the other goes backwards LOL.

She had never been in a car before last night and she did wonderful on the drive. I stopped at Sobey's on the way, and picked up some puppy food, and a couple of other types of 'puppy' treats. She sat or layed down between the boys the whole way home and never moved. We even stopped at their dad's to introduce her lol. Then finally got her home. I pulled in the driveway, parked the vehicle .... and she puked LOL. I'm thinking she would have done fine, had she not had the 'treat' from Sobeys. It was actually pretty funny :-) Alec recognized the signs too, had opened the door and had turned around to get her out when ... on his sweatshirt that she was using for a 'bed' :-) He kind of raised his eyebrows and said 'that's ok mom, I wasn't gonna wear it any more tonight anyway....; lol

She met the cat briefly. She wanted to say hello, the cat hissed, gave me a dirty look and ran away :-) Then the cat sat in Alec's doorway and stared at the dog on the bed, and the dog stared at the cat, then the dog would look at me ... and I'd look at the cat ... nobody moving lol. However, when Belle fell asleep with Alec for awhile, Puss snuck up and checked her out, sniffed her etc. I'm positive the cat has already noticed a difference in temperment from our last dog. Hershey loved her, but chased her constantly around the house. It was a game of theirs He'd sit in one spot forever, waiting for her to come out, then off they'd go ... tag!

Belle, unlike Hershey, hasn't pounced on her yet, and it's like the cat is waiting for the other shoe to drop lol But Belle seems pretty laid back, very 'quiet' ... I'm thinking they'll be friends

She's stuck pretty close to me all night and today. She's definitely more comfortable with adults, but she's already started to warm up to the boys and she slept with Alec on his bed until I went to bed, then she slept with me for the rest of the night :-)

I had her out in the yard a few times this morning, teaching her the boundaries. So far, she's a great listener ... I'm hoping that doesn't change as she gets more comfortable around here lol.

Next step ..... puppy obediance classes :-)

Have a great weekend all. I'm off today to spend it with the pup. Maternity leave of sorts ;-)

K
***************************************
I'm missing her this weekend :-( She went with the boys to their father's :-( Fate works in such mysterious ways ... with ''everything' going on with us lately, I still have to chuckle at the little things .... she pooped in the ex's truck hee hee hee ... I knew I liked that pooch! Just kidding ;-) Since we actually get along, I have to say "Sorry 'bout that Paul!" ;-p
I'm very happy to have Belle with us ... I think she's exactly what we all need right now ... 'puppy stages nightmares' or not ;-)

K
Here's our new girl!

Is that thing on?

She LOVES to just lay in the grass and listen to all the sounds, watch the bugs/flies and try and eat the white fuzzy dandelions lol :-)

K.