We Had a Wonderful Christmas!

 We had a wonderful time too. We were all up at 6 in the morning and the gifts were all opened up before 7. We pigged out on chocolates and listened to the kids try to play their new instruments. Cody got another guitar, an acoustic this time and Colin got a harmonica, which he wanted because it will fit into his pocket, lol (as compared to the tuba which he plays at school!)

 

My mom came and we had turkey for dinner on Christmas day. I made bacon, eggs and homefries for brunch on Boxing day and we didn't leave the house. We played a few games of poker (Cody got an aluminum case with the chips and cards in it)and Operation (it seems I'm not as good as I used to be when I was a kid and played it, lol).

Merry Christmas!

 Well, I'm all done playing Santa

and I'm off to bed before the kids come and

wake us up in about 4 hours!

We told them not before 6 am,

and left instructions to turn on the coffee

pot as soon as they were awake, lol!!

 

Here's the tree taken just minutes ago,

complete with a miss match of stockings because

we seem to have misplaced a whole box of

Christmas decorations...the one with the

stockings in it!!

 

So Colin has one of his soccer socks since

they are so long and good for a big fill, lol.

Colton and Hannah are using two that I usually

just decorate with, Cody happened to save

his from last year and had it in his closet, lol!

Mike and I are both using one of his big

winter socks, lol!

 

My mom is coming sometime tomorrow and I will

be cooking turkeys breasts that I bought instead of

the whole thing. We are having cherry cheesecake

for dessert

 

Today we made some date squares, fudge

and ginger cookies. We are pigging out, lol.

We had friends stop by tonite so didn't have supper

till quite late and at the kid's request it was tacos.

That was alright by me, lol, as it's easy!

 

Have a great day everyone!

Christmas Shopping

 It's snowing here today and I am

about to go out in it, lol!!

 

This is my first day alone in quite some time,

so I'm popping downtown to see if I can finish

up my shopping here first.

Then tonite I am taking the kids to the mall....

yep, we are braving that busy place, lol.

Hannah wants to see Santa, and we

have a busy week ahead of us, so this is

the only nite available before he comes down

the chimney

I now Have a King Sized Bed!

 We had a busy weekend here!

 

I worked all weekend and yesterday we went to my step-sisters for Christmas dinner with my dad's family. We brought home a king-sized bed with us!! My dad is moving to a smaller place and getting rid of some things. Anyway, we didn't get home till just after 10 last nite and brought the bed inside and left it standing in the dining room.

 

So today after work (after I'd stopped to do a little grocery shopping and Christmas shopping on the way home, lol) I got to clean up the mess upstairs....what was left after the guys had dismantled our old rickety bed!

 

When I finished cleaning up and mopping the floor, we got the bed pieces upstairs and put together and then after a late supper we made it up and we all rolled around on it for awhile, LOL!! It's just like a new toy, and I can't wait to sleep in it tonite! We sooooo needed a new one, because the springs were popping through our old one

 

Anyway, I work again tomorrow and have to take Hannah to the sitter in the morning which means I have to leave a half hour early and get home later too.

 

And then.......WOOHOO....the other girl is back to work on Tuesday!!! Which means I can go back to my old hours once again. I am looking forward to that!

Snow Day

 We all had today off.

The kids were home on a snow day,

and Mike was home too as he had to go to town

and apply for his EI because he's been laid off

for the winter.

 

So after the driveway was clear, Mike, Colin and I

headed to town for some split peas so I could put on

some pea soup in my crockpot ( I had this leftover ham

bone, that I've been wanting to use up, lol) and to get

a Christmas tree before the big rush this weekend.

 

We picked up a movie while we were there,

Mr & Mrs. Smith...it was pretty good!

After we watched that, we set up the tree and now

are just waiting for our pea soup to get done, lol.

 

Kinda late, but we had a snack while we were

watching our movie, lol!

 

Tomorrow after I get home from work,

we will be going to my step-sisters for our Christmas

dinner with my dad's family.

Big SnowStorm...as I Type!

 We're in for it tonite, lol!!

 

They have been forecasting this big storm all day

and it's here and still snowing outside.

 

Earlier tonite the power went out as we were getting

ready for bed, so I snuggled into the chair by the

woodstove after everyone went to bed, to keep

the fire going. The power came back on in about an hour

though and I had a little nap...which is why I'm up now

at 3 in the morning, lol!!

 

I am just so glad that I don't have to worry about

driving to work in this in the morning...phew!!

It's my day off!

 

The kids are looking forward to their snow day

tomorrow, as it's supposed to keep snowing till midday

and we could get up to 30 cm which is a foot of snow!

I'm just looking forward to sleeping in, lol!!

 

I don't think we will have to worry about a

white Christmas this year, lol!!

Pond Skating

 Good Morning Everyone!

 

Well, here it is my first day off in 6 days and

I've got 3 of the kids home from school because

it's just a half day today, so they opted to stay

home and the other one is bringing his girlfriend

home at lunch hour when he's finished school

for the day, lol!!

 

It's freezing cold here this morning at -10, and

sometime today Hannah and I are going to get our

hair cut. I am long overdue and she wanted hers

done too, so I figured it was time for me to let go

of her long locks, lol, and let her get it cut

 

Right now the Christmas Carols are blaring from

the stereo and they are all out back on the perfect

ice on the pond! They were very excited to see that

it had finally frozen over enough to skate on.

Not sure how long that will last in this cold weather

though, but I've got the woodstove stoked up

and will warm them with some hot chocolate

when they get back. It's really nice to have a 14

y/o son that will take so much time with his younger

brother and sister, and have so much patience

with them...I am truly a lucky woman!!

I'm Beat

 Well, the snow is here again and this time it made for a big bad mess on my way to work this morning! Took me 75 minutes to get to work, and usually takes me 50. I didn't get over 60 kilometers an hour the whole way

 

Then I get there and we have had a machine down since Sunday and after my two days off I discover that they haven't put any extra time on to make up for the downed machine and the laundry is wayyyyy backed up!   It didn't smell too pleasant in there, lol!

 

I couldn't stay late though, as I was picking up my son's friend from his school. It's a half hour north of us...he just moved in September and went to a different school than the rest of his friends. Anyway he's staying here the weekend. It's a long one for the kids because tomorrow is a day off for them.

 

Not me though  I have to work till Monday! I'm beat already and can't hardly keep my eyes open here, and I'm bummed because ER isn't on tonite, but that's probably just as well, cuz I can't stay awake, lol!!

 

Have a great Friday everyone and a great weekend!

How Long Have you Waited at the DR?

 I've waited over an hour and a half,and of course had to stay because the kids were getting their needles or something like that. Usually that's about the only time we go to the dr's, lol.

 

Last time we went we could see that it was going to be about an hour wait at least....so after a half hour I finally told the nurse we had to leave because Colton and Hannah would be getting home off the bus soon and they took us right in! It was only for the dr. to check out Colin's shoulder right after he broke it, even though the hospital had already x-rayed it just a few days before...they sent us to see our dr.....I think they just try to cover their a$$e$, lol

Snow and our Parade

  Is anyone else getting snow

for the weekend?!lol

We have about 3 cm so far tonite and the weather man is calling for up to 15 cm!

I have to work all weekend so I'm hoping the snow doesn't amount to much by the time morning rolls around.

Tomorrow nite is our Santa Claus parade,
and Colin will be marching with the school band playing his tuba.
We are supposed to get a mix of rain and snow tomorrow, so I hope it holds off at least for the parade. I remember one year there was a thunderstorm on the day of the parade, lol.

Amazing Race Family Edition

 Awwwww....my favourite team was eliminated last nite

 

The mother and father were so kind and encouraging and proud of their two little ones, it broke my heart to see them come in last in this leg of the race I tell ya, when I saw that little girls face and her chin quivering as she tried to hold it together and not cry....well I'm tearing up just thinking about it, lol, so ya shoulda seen me last nite!lol

 

I never heard them say an unkind word to one another, and even if something went wrong there was no blame to be layed.

 

What a great adventure for them as a family though!

Halloween Pic

 We had a lovely Hallowe'en here and I didn't even forget to take a pic this year, lol.

 

Usually I have to get the kids to dress all up again, when I realize I forgot
Cody and Colin didn't go out at all, but Colin dressed up as an old man and gave out candy here outside the house. We only had about 10 kids though.

 

I worked today and then while we ate supper I watched Beyond Borders with Angelina Jolie...wow...what a powerful movie...so sad to see all that suffering.

Time change and MIL's B'day

 wow...I am loving that extra hour I had this morning I got to sleep in and I still got up early, lol!

 

We got a lot of wood done yesterday and today I wanted to get some junk burned up in the fire pit but it's too windy! Today was supposed to be the warmer day of the weekend but it's so windy that it's colder.

 

In about an hour we are heading out to surprise the mil at the chinese restaurant. The whole family is meeting her and her hubby there for her birthday which is tomorrow. I can't wait to get to that buffetlol

 

We sold one of our little donkeys this morning to a nice couple who had young children. Their little girl was soooo adorable, about 3 with long curly blond locks..she was gorgeous!

RIP Rosa Parks

 Nearly 50 years ago, Rosa Parks made a simple decision that sparked a revolution. When a white man demanded she give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, the then 42-year-old seamstress said no.

At the time, she couldn't have known it would secure her a revered place in American history. But her one small act of defiance galvanized a generation of activists, including a young Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and earned her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."

Mrs. Parks died Monday evening at her home of natural causes, with close friends by her side, said Gregory Reed, an attorney who represented her for the past 15 years. She was 92.

This was very sad news

 

But the first thing it made me think of was, that as we go through life, no matter how small we think we are in the grand scheme of things...if we just stand up and speak out when we see something wrong, there's no telling how much of a difference we can make

My Uncle has Passed :(

 Good Morning Everyone!

 

I've got the day off and so do 3 of

the kids...it's a 1/2 day at school so I gave

them the option of staying home because

half of the class doesn't show up anyway.

I think a lot of people have to keep the kids home

because they can't arrange day care for the

half day, so I think it's a complete waste of a

school day...but the kids luv it, lol!

 

What did everyone do on the weekend?

 

I worked and got some bad news about my

mom's brother Amos. He's been battling Leuikemia

for a few years now, and he passed away on

Friday He was only 64.

My mom had known he was failing and

planned on going to see him on the weekend,

but was too late. I had quite the weekend thinking

about life, and how much we miss because we

have to make the almighty dollar...and then we

lost a gentleman at work...his name was George..

and though he was 92 and had been walking

and alert up to a few months ago...he died alone

 

George had dozens of birthday cards on his 90th

birthday from people who were supposed to be

his friend and yet when it came down to the end

it was one of the nurses aides who was holding his

hand went he left this world...it just doesn't seem right

 

Anyway, sorry to get off on a downer..

I'm feeling much better today.

Flu Shots

 This is a sore subject with me but yes, I will probably be getting one...under duress! And I make sure that when I sign the paper at work that they are sure to note that!

 

If I don't get the flu shot in the nursing home where I work (and it's the same as most nursing homes around here) then if there is a flu outbreak in the home, I will not be allowed to come in for work...no pay either!

 

I have never had the flu shot until the last couple of years. Two years ago I didn't have it and had to stay home and lost a lot of pay right before Christmas...I just couldn't afford to take that chance again so I got the shot last year even though I didn't want it

 

I have given my older children the option. They are 14 and 16 and I think old enough to decide for themselves...though neither one gets it.

it's not so much that I'm against the needle I think, it's just being told that I have to get it, which totally takes my freedom of choice away! When I started in the nursing home getting the mandatory shot every year wasn't even heard of, it's just been the last few years that the health units have made that call and said we all must have it or not come to work in the case of an outbreak.

 

I also have a problem with the law making us wear our seatbelts. I know it saves lives but again it's MY choice, it shouldn't be theirs!! I'm not hurting anyone else by not wearing it. So you can see that I just seem to have an issue with taking orders!!lol

 

Though, at our home (knock on wood) we are all healthy. The kids didn't even have the normal ear infection and such that seem to plague most kids. We don't take medicine here unless it's quite serious. Any aspirin or fever medication I buy for just in case, always expires before the bottle is barely opened. So I don't see the need to get a shot for the flu that we will all most likely get anyway if we are exposed to the virus.(the shot doesn't necessarily prevent you from getting the same strain or all the other ones that are floating around in the air!) Our bodies seem to have built up a fine immunity system all on their own, and I feel good about making it my choice to not get a shot based on the information I know about my family.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to write a book, lol!

Sharing Some Pics

 I finally got a half decent pic of one of our new

fat cats!lol Here is Rainbow sleeping in the

chair with Colton. Rainbows body is as big as

Colton's islol

Here's two of the kitties playing around

on my arbour...and yes, we had to help them down lol


Here's the new baby calf born last week

A pic of Hannah's Girl and her filly Summer's Rain,

she's getting big and starting to turn a little darker

than she was when she was born.

I took this pic the same day as the one above,

that's our barn and house you see off in the distance.

And just had to include this pic of our

Highland cow and her calf...

aren't they just too adorable?

The Principal kissed a Pig!

 It's a cool day here and I haven't done anything except play on my PSP all morning! My fingers are freezing though, lol.

 

This afternoon Hannah and I are going to their school assembly because the Principal and Vice P are going to get their head shaved and kiss a pig, respectively, so she wanted to see and this is her day off. They had promised the kids that if they raised more money this year than last for the Terry Fox run, that they would do it, and the kids raised $2,000 more!

Happy Fall Y'All

   Autumn is my favourite time of the year!

The days are beautiful, the nights cool enough for a good sleep, the colours and decorations are so pleasing to the eye. And I can begin cooking all sorts of goodies in the oven again...and drool while the delicious aromas fill the house. The kids are back to school, offering some sort of a routine to our lives again after the hectic summer. I get one day a week to stay at home all by myself, no kids, no noise, no lunch if I don't want to make it, lol!!

We haven't started up the woodstove yet, but there have been some nights that were almost cool enough to do just that! I've gotten out some of my fall decorations and along with them the candles that I love to light now that it's getting darker earlier.

I've been spending most of my time doing PSP with a program that a friend sent me from the states. This stuff is soooo addicting that I am spending way too much time on the computer now, even more than before!!

Got a call at Work Today....

 ...and boy do I hate getting calls at work!! Because usually that means that something has happened with one of the kids! And sure enough....

 

...Colin, my 14 y/o fell in gym class (they were playing 'capture the flag') and broke his collar bone! This is his first broken bone, though he has had stitches in his head twice. I got ahold of Mike who went and picked him up and took him to the hospital. All they can do is put a sling on him and tell him not to use it. Ya right!! This son is signed up for band (he plays tuba) and soccer and there will be no more of that for 6 weeks at least. I am having a hard time already getting him not to use it!

The Word Refugee has caused a stir

 I just read this article and was wondering what you all thought about it. I in no way meant any disrespect when I made my post about 'refugees', which is what the survivors were being called by the press, but apparently there are those that are offended

 

Use of Word 'Refugee' Stirs Race Debate

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP ONLINE

NEW YORK (AP) - What do you call people who have been driven from their homes with only the clothes on their backs, unsure if they will ever be able to return, and forced to build a new life in a strange place?

News organizations are struggling for the right word.

Many, including The Associated Press, have used ``refugee'' to describe those displaced by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

But the choice has stirred anger among some readers and other critics, particularly in the black community. They have argued that ``refugee'' somehow implies that the displaced storm victims, many of whom are black, are second-class citizens - or not even Americans.

``It is racist to call American citizens refugees,'' the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, visiting the Houston Astrodome on Monday. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have expressed similar sentiments.

Others have countered that the terms ``evacuees'' or even ``displaced'' are too clinical and not sufficiently dramatic to convey the dire situation that confronts many of Katrina's survivors.

President Bush, who has spent days trying to deflect criticism that he responded sluggishly to the disaster, weighed in on Tuesday. ``The people we're talking about are not refugees,'' he said. ``They are Americans and they need the help and love and compassion of our fellow citizens.''

The 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention describes a refugee as someone who has fled across an international border to escape violence or persecution. But the Webster's New World Dictionary defines it more broadly as ``a person who flees from home or country to seek refuge elsewhere, as in a time of war or of political or religious persecution.''

The criticism has led several news organizations to ban the word in their Katrina coverage. Among them are The Washington Post, The Miami Herald and The Boston Globe.

``A number of people - from officials speaking publicly to colleagues here - said the term `refugees' appeared to imply that people displaced from New Orleans ... were other than Americans,'' Leonard Downie Jr., the Post's executive editor, wrote in an e-mail to his staff.

At the Herald, said executive editor Tom Fiedler, ``it began to feel odd, describing people huddled in New Orleans' convention center as refugees. It felt inadequate to the situation. ... It wasn't as precise as `evacuees.'''

And CNN has advised producers that ``evacuee'' is a better word, said spokeswoman Christa Robinson.

The AP and The New York Times are among those continuing to use the word where it is deemed appropriate.

``The AP is using the term `refugee' where appropriate to capture the sweep and scope of the effects of this historic natural disaster on a vast number of our citizens,'' said Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. ``Several hundred thousand people have been uprooted from their homes and communities and forced to seek refuge in more than 30 different states across America. Until such time as they are able to take up new lives in their new communities or return to their former homes, they will be refugees.''

The Times was adhering to a similar policy.

``We have not banned the word `refugee,''' said spokeswoman Catherine Mathis. ``We have used it along with `evacuee,' `survivor,' `displaced' and various other terms that fit what our reporters are seeing on the ground. Webster's defines a refugee as a person fleeing `home or country' in search of refuge, and it certainly does justice to the suffering legions driven from their homes by Katrina.''

Columnist William Safire, who writes the weekly ``On Language'' column for The New York Times Magazine, said he did not see how the term ``refugee'' had any racial implications.

``A refugee can be a person of any race at all,'' he said. ``A refugee is a person who seeks refuge.''

He first suggested using the term ``hurricane refugees.'' After thinking it over, though, he said he would probably simply use ``flood victims,'' to avoid any political connotations that the word ``refugee'' may have taken on in the current debate.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.