I Miss my Mind the Most

Jessica is here, safe and sound so LET THE FUN BEGIN! Really, if you know me, settling down on a bench in the harbor with a cold bevy is about is fun as I get. It will be nice to shoot the breeze with her anyway and do a little (a lot) of shopping While I got her here. Paige is already enjoying her Auntie's company and having her hair styled different every 10 minutes.
We are working on a Delicious steak BBQ dinner right now, so I should get to it. I'll post some pictures of our adventures later on.
Hugs your sister, if ya got one.
~jen

After my ultra crapola morning, i made Paige and i a dinner of Mac&cheese (her fave) and chilled out for a bit. She's really smart, kind and cute as a button not to mention ONLY two years old. I signed up for all of the bad stuff when I decided to be a mom so I shouldn't belly ache so doggone much... even though it's really hard not to.
Everyday that little girl suprises me with new ideas and thoughts that she's learning to vocalize. I'm always telling her that certain behaviours are "Very Rude" and she shouldn't do whatever it is. My husband did something to her, not sure what, but she came over to me straight away and informed me that Daddy was 'Berry Rude" that was the first time I heard her say that and it's proof that what I tell her actually does sink in!
Yesterday i bought her a new bathing suit, a two peice. After we got in on and we were making our way out to the pool she said to me, "Mommy Look! I've got Boobies!" LOL I'm not sure what that meant exactly but she liked the bikini style suit is my guess.
I was also caught off guard while I was blowing my nose yesterday... She asked me " What's that?" and I said "Kleenex for mommy to blow her nose." She replied, "No, Mommy that is toilet Paper!" and she was right.
She's starting to speak her thoughts and very often she'll be in the car on the way to grandma's house and just blurt out "Mom, I'm happy"... Is there anything more precious????

What I'm trying to say is that I love my girl to death even if she frustrates the beejeebers out of me most of the time. I'm lucky to have her.
Kids aren't all crap, believe me there is a whole lot of glorious, beautiful and wonderful stuff that happens everyday. It's really easy to overlook the Best part of your children when you are being woken up at 5 in the morning from a very short sleep.

I love you Punky.
~mom

My daughter has taken to falling asleep at midnight and waking up at 5 in the morning. FIVE IN THE AM, WTF! I can't even function, I've tried 4 times to lay back down and get some much needed shut eye but she decides TV is too boring and she'd much rather talk in my ear and try to poke me in the eye. I want to freak out, I'd chop wood if I had an axe and some wood.
What the hell am I going to to when Baby #2 comes along and she starts pulling this shit? She's going to have to learn how to entertain herself in the early morning hours or she's going to find herself with Pipers collar on, chained to the leg of the sofa. I'm only half kidding about that right now.
She did manage to fall back asleep on the couch a couple hours ago and Like an idiot I moved her to her bed because i was scared she'd fall on the floor. Well, holy crap, she woke up screaming and hollaring for the next hour. I want to shoot myself.
My sister is coming to visit on Thursday, perhaps she can rescue me from a few days of this HELL. Probably not the holiday she had in mind, but she wants to spend some quality time with Paige- and what better time than 5 in the morning????

Can't wait to see you Jes,
Hugs and valium for all,
~jen

The other day I received a message on my machine from a woman in California who was inquiring about "Lola". It went on to explain that they just came back from a dog show and wanted to know how 'Lola' was settling in. The funny thing was that the message started with 'Hi, Jennifer- this is Pam". What are the chances this person would call the right person (My name is Jennifer, incase you don't already know) at the wrong number??? Well today i was cutting up fruit in the kitchen when 'Pam' called back She asked if I was Jennifer and I said "Yes" at this point, thinking it was a bill collector or something. She must have noticed the uncertainty in my voice because she added, Is this Jen, Lola's new mom, The artist?? I said "Yes, well NO! I [b]am[/b] jennifer, and I'm an artist BUT I'm not Lola's Mom!"
We both laughed for a second and i told her that I received her message the other day and fully intended to call her back to explain she had the wrong number but because of a busy sickness schedule I never managed it. She laughed and Explained that Lola is a whippet that someone in Nanaimo adopted recently and she wanted to check up on it. She also couldn't beleive that there is someone in my back yard that shares my name, my passion for art and Love of dogs! When I told her I also Paint Whippets she told me she would pass my number along to the actual owner of "Lola" the whippet and I told her to feel free.

How strange is that??? The wrong number that was just about the right one... crazyness. i'm going to introduce myself to every whippet and owner that I see from now on... I wanna Meet Lola and her mom one day while I'm walking down by the harbor, that would cap this story off perfectly wouldn't it???

Well I'm off to nap,
Chat again soon-
~jen

My poor, dear, dear husband came down with 'the sickness' last night. He was virtually on his own since I'm still incapacited by 'the sicness'. Suffice it to say he's still sleeping because I guarantee that he didn't do much of it last night. The only person in the house that didn't seem to be phased by 'the sickness' was Paige, she was definitely sick but it didn't slow her down at all, where as, Ken and I are virtually crippled with it. Anyone with children will tell you that there is [u]no time[/u] off for parents, no matter how sick you are. The only hope you have is that you are both sick and tired at the same time.
I'm feeling just good enough today to manage but it easily could have been very ugly around here.
What is up with the SUMMER FLU???? The absolutely hottest days on record here in Nanaimo and my family is down with a FLU??? Something isn't right with this picture. I think I better buy some vitamins.

:arrow: Anyway, our project eat at home has been a great success! We have gone for MORE than 30 days and only had the need to eat out 3 times (while renovating or away on a day trip). We have made very smart choices about where exactly we eat out when we have too and McDonalds makes both of our stomachs turn. We even noticed a LARGE difference in our pocket book too, The month before we started project E@H we spent about 275.00 dollars on fast food. In our first 30 days on PE@H we have only spent 20.00 (and maybe another 10 or so in the couple weeks since then). So we have saved 240$ which totally paid for our air conditioner and all the electricity it's sucking right now!
Ken has for the first time in 4 years kept his weight under 220 lbs where as mine has stayed the same (but I'm preggers so it's hard to tell). So it has been a good lifestyle change for us so far and I can't see us going back to our old ways because we are actually enjoying cooking at home once again. I now concentrate on buying quality food items as opposed to a large quantity of food items. If the food at home tastes good, you won't want to eat anywhere else, right????

Well it's nearly noon and i'm still in my PJ's so i better tip toe upstairs and quietly get my clothes on before someone comes to the door...

Hugs and vitamins,
~jen

[b]BTW: My sister is coming in 4 days!!! We can't wait to see you Jess! Watch out Coombs, and the Old Market, HERE WE COME!![/b]

Today i thought I would post a 'blog of Thanks'. It's been on my mind for awhile and perhaps a tad over due, I would like to thank my Husband for being so wonderful. He came home yesterday with the gift that keeps on giving, an air conditioner. I've never owned one before and now all I can think is [b]WHY the hell NOT[/b]???? This thing is awesome... it makes my day bearable in this insane heat. I spent my entire first half of the day in my bedroom upstairs (where we placed the A/C) sitting in complete comfort and luxury with the cold winds blowing straight from heaven & across my skin. It's a beautiful thing, truly.
As if this gift wasn't enough, my hubby stayed up with me last night to help ease this summertime flu/cold that I've managed to catch. He ran around the house looking for my inhaler, brought me water, coaxed me into a cold shower and gave me one of his Tylenol 3's for my fever (of 103!)- T3's that he needs for his dental pain. What a man. Thank you Honey- Sorry my hacking cough kept you awake most of the night and also sorry that your prolly going to get this evil cold bug because you slept in such close proximity to me. Nobody can tell me I don't have the Best MAN in the world, and I want you to know I'm thankful for everthing you do.

So guys, if you only take one thing away from my blog today, let it be this; To Hell with diamonds- A/C is a woman's best friend!!!

Hugs & popsicles,
~jen

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the first picture explained with colored lines.

Today was the big ultrasound day and it was pretty exciting. I was soooooo nervous that I was going to find out I was having twins, really, I was. Just because of the fact that I've been feeling so much worse this time around i thought FOR SURE there had to be more than one baby in there. But as you can see above there is only one little bean shaped creature growing in my uterus, praise the Lord for that.
So we figured out that my due date is March 5th, at least according to the size of the peanut. If this pregnancy follows the lines of the last one i will have to be induced a month early due to pregnancy induced hypertension or I think they also call it preclampsia. So for all intents and purposes i'll just think of it as a february baby.
It sure hit me like a ton of bricks, seeing that little heart beating on the screen. There is nothing like it.
Now, If I could talk to the little bean and ask if they could let off with the surge of hormones so I could get a decent nights sleep... I would be even more pleased. Ya I know, I'm dreaming, I won't be getting a decent night's sleep until both of my children are grown up and moved away.


Well I should go and hit the sack...
Another busy day tomorrow- Enjoy the pic!
~jen

I'm feeling kinda shmootzy today, a mixture of allergies and lack of sleep. The midnight sickness seems to be getting worse by the night... ugh.
Well i don't want to belly ache too much but I wanted to drop by and pose a question to all my brilliant readers. We are having a wasp problem in my town this summer and particularly around my house. Does anyone know of a good way to knock down a wasp population? They seem to be everywhere this summer and it's tough to have a barbeque or picnic without being swarmed.
I was told this morning that we have 2 very large hives next door and not to walk around the area since the landscapers were attacked twice this morning.
I HATE wasps.
If any of you know the secret... please share- I would love to know.
Well that's all I got for today,
Hugs and Bug spray,
~jen

I love that saying "No rest for the wicked" because I always have thoughts of busy people doing dirty deeds. I'm a lazy person by nature. There are few things that really light a fire under my arse these days, one of those things still being artwork. This pregnancy seems to have hijacked my body and sapped every last ounce of energy I had, and I didn't have much to begin with. despite that- I feel like I'm doing my very best even though it probably doesn't appear like that to anyone else around me.
I'm the kind of person that likes to take the time to do things right. If I look at a project that needs to be done and know that it involves alot of intense (or tedious) labour, I usually sidestep it until I have researched the proper techniques and tools I need. This way i'm sure I am doing everything right and the easiest way possible. Not to mention it's nice to have the energy and the right 'mood' befitting a project like that. My hubby on the other hand will just dive in, arse over tea kettle and complete any task that needs to be done wether the tools are present or not. Sometimes it's frustrating, even scary, othertimes it borders on pure genious and is a wonder to behold.
Both personality types are good, they have their pros and cons obviously. It would be nice for the 'Go getters' to realize that there are 'side steppers' out there (like me) and that if they want something done RIGHT NOW they'll simply have to do it themselves. I won't hold a grudge if you don't.
:)
Well that's enough of that. I've got a couple child free hours thanks to my in-laws so I'm taking full advantage of it. I finished mopping the floor, Picking up toys, shoes and misc. laundry, folded two loads of laundry and washed two more, cleaned the kitchen and put away some useless appliances that we haven't been using and I took a break, ate a peice of my HOME MADE pizza and wrote this little blog.

not too shabby for a 'side stepper' if I do say so myself!

Hugs All!
~jen
p.s. a religious friend of mine once corrected me by saying "It's actually 'No rest for the weary'" As far as I'm concerned that version is for wimps and doesn't conger up nearly as many cool ideas in my head. But use that one if you must.

Just when I thought our phone problems were over... I found out they weren't. After moving our computer room downstairs to another phone jack and changing our phone cord completely- the phone line still got knocked out by [i][b]something[/b][/i]. After much fiddelation I figured out that our adsl modem is pooched. We can get a few hours of connection until it over heats (or something) and then no internet and NO dial tone on our phone.

I made all of the appropriate phone calls and someone is coming out to look at it and hopefully replace it. It's over three years old so it's possible that it's life has expired. You never know what's going on with these computer products. I'll keep ya'll updated on the progress as the internet connection permits. ::fingers Crossed::

Other than that, all is well. I'm still feeling pukie- and tired, as well as bloated. LOL I know, too much information. We are visiting the inlaws right now (hence, this blog on their computer) My sister in law and neices and nephew are up for a camping trip and Paige is having a ball playing with all of them. She's going to sleep well tonight!

Well I should be off to visit,
Take care all,
~jen

[b]Hello People!!![/b]
Finally our ohone line problems and following internet connection problems have all been solved. It turned out to be a short in the actual cord that went from the wall to my modem. Who knew???
We ended up moving the computer to a totally different room in the house, so I may actually have the opportunity to fool around on here more often throughout the day. Aren't you excited???

Thanks for all of the comments on the Jenn and Krista painting. Very much appreciated! I'm also working on a painting for a family member right now (can't say much because it's Hush Hush) but I'll post a picture of it when i'm completely done. It's turning out really well so far! I don't know where the extra energy is coming from but I'll take it whenever I can get it.

:arrow: My doctor's appointment went well but we couldn't get a handle on the due date of the baby so i will be having an ultrasound done on wednesday. Don't worry, you guys will be the first to know the results!! I am supposed to go for blood tests, but I have to fast for 10 hours before the tests. With this morning sickness, it is virtually impossible to go that long without putting something in my mouth. O.J. is the best for quelling 'the pukies' as I fondly refer to them. 'Sweet tarts' also work well, and they are so yummy. But too much sugar also gives me 'the pukies' so I haven't been eating them much. Yesterday we were down by the harbour and we stopped at a coffee shop perched next to an icecream shop. Normally i would be salivating all over my shoes at the thought of that place, but last night I was ill with every passing aroma. So very strange, but not the worst thing that ever happened to me! My waistline could probably use a permanent case of 'the pukies'.
Anyway... I should be off to enjoy the cool of the evening.

Hugs to all, I'll comment on your blogs as soon as time permits!
~jen
[b]p.s. the cute little avatar above is actually a piece of artwork that I lovingly stole from [url=http://www.richardborge.com/i...]Richard Borge's website[/url] . His stuff is amazing, please go check it out![/b]

This is a picture of the painting I did for Jenn and Krista to commemorate their friendship over the years and Jenn's Birthday. I incorportated images that represent memories they both shared over the years, Jenn's yellow Toyota car, Tomatos they used to steal out of gardens, unbrellas for walking in the rain, Etc. If you are friends of theirs you will recognize a few more of the images. I had alot of fun painting it- even though I was slower than mollasses in January! Thank you- AGAIN- Krista for being so patient with me. i'm glad you both enjoyed the piece.

:arrow: Things have been slow and easy around here lately. I have managed to misplace my car keys and was nearly MIA for my first prenatal doctor appointment. Thanks to my neighbor Laurie- I made it with time to spare. She even watched Paige for me! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, and once again THANKS! This morning I read my emails to find my hubby had emailed from work saying he couldn't get through on the phone and to look into it. I had no dial tone and the only call that went through had the wierdest ring. The phone rang one more time but when I picked up there was nothing but fuzz. The Phone guy said it must be my line and told me to unplug all of my phones for 60 seconds and try again. Well it's been just about 60 MINUTES so hopefully I will get a dial tone this time. One that stays for more than a minute.
I'll keep you updated...
Gotta run,
Hugs to all
~jen

Howdy All! Hope your weekends are going well so far. It's been cooler and rainy here as of late, which is great, it means I can run the dryer and get all of my laundry done. Also, I can wear long pants and long sleaved shirts for a change. Yes, I'm thankful for the little things in life.

Mr. Island and i just went to see Farenheit 9/11. It was fantastic. I love Michael Moore. Alot of people hate him, and that is okay. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and that is what America is supposed to stand for, right?? I'm a Canadian, and I think it's great that MM can bring alot of things to the attention of people who may have been brainwashed by the media or just become complacent with their leaders over the years. It's really just a large puppet show that has more to do with money making than it does about leading a country. I think i always new that but this helped put it more into a perspective that I can grasp. It was a little graphic near the end (at least for my hormonal self) but it was a good watch none the less. Wether you hate Bush or love him, you really should see that documentary.

Mr. Island and I are documentary freaks. We have watched so many documentaries you'd wonder about us. We even have several in our DVD collection. Mockumentaries are also included in this group, I'm talking about movies that are made to look like documentaries but they are FAKE, and usually Funnier than Sh*t. My ALL TIME favorite being [b]"This is Spinal Tap". [/b]If you haven't seen that mockumentary you better high-tail it to your movie store and rent it, it's sooooo funny!!
Some other good ones:
[b]Waiting for guffman[/b] (mock)
[b]Roger & Me[/b] (Doc)
[b]Bowling for Columbine[/b] (doc)
[b]American Movie [/b](Documentary, but I thought it was a mockumentary the first time i watched it...so funny)
[b]Supersize Me[/b] (Doc) & still in theatres!
[b]Best in Show[/b] (Mock)
[b]FUBAR [/b](mock) Great for those who were teens in the 80's!

There are prolly many more i could add to the list... but i'm too tired to think about it right now. My pillow beckons and I must heed it's call.

Hugs & popcorn
~jen

[b]Good day everyone![/b]
It's a crappy day here weather wise, overcast and raining, but great in every other way. We finally completed out flooring project with the exception of one piece of moulding in front of the fireplace. The room looks fantabulous! The Bay was having a MAJOR sale on floor merchandise so we got a brand new table and chairs (which was much needed) for 75% off the original price! Can't beat that! I will post pictures of all this as soon as I get the house in order, I've been so beat that I haven't had the get up and go to do much house cleaning. Why, You ask??

Mr. Island and I just found out ther we are expecting baby #2! We are both very excited about the new arrival and already have more plans to change the house around to accomodate little 'Bubba' (Paige calls it that). We have been trying for so long I had nearly forgotten about the whole thing. But I'm not forgetting I'm pregnant now, ugh. I'm having the worst morning sickness. Really, I call it ALL DAY sickness. It's virtually constant and it seems I need to have something in my mouth at all times or the nausea becomes overwhelming. A friend reccommended sour candies so I ran out today and bought a package of SweetTarts (yum) and two packages of jolly ranchers... SO far so good! I don't remember feeling this awful with my first baby... but I don't remember alot of things about the first baby (or I probably wouldn't be having another one!). I'm not exactly sure of the due date but my doctor's appointment on Monday morning should clarify that for me. I'll keep you updated on the progress... this is sure to be exciting and something to blog about. Another Creation to add to my 'Portfolio'.

I may not be up to bloggin everyday for the next couple of weeks but I'm always around checkin messages... once this early pregnancy stuff wears off I'll be bloggin' like a machine again, and perhaps painting again too!

:arrow: We've been doing excellent on the project- 'Eat@home'. We did eat out ONCE, at a sit down restaurant and had a hand made meal... this is when we started doing the new flooring and all of the furniture was pushed into the kitchen. I felt guilty about it at first but really... we have been doing SO well eating at home we even noticed EXTRA money in our bank account this month! I can't tell you how proud we are of each other. Paige seems to be eating more at a sitting which could be due to a growth spurt but it's nice to offer her healthy choices instead of 'fast' choices.
Thanks everyone for the recipes! They are KICK ass! As soon as I have some free time I'll compose a little cookbook containing all of my newfound tblog recipes. Then I'll email it to whomever would like it.

Well I should go and catch some zzzzz's while i can.
Take care all,
Love and sour candies,
~jen

I had written a larger blog about the trip but somehow it dissappeared with a click of a button. I'm really in no mood to write it all down again so I'll summarize...

It looked like it was going to suck hard,
it sucked a little,
it got better and finally turned out to be enjoyable.


I don't know if we will be back next year or not... well, at least not back at the Tribune Bay Campsite... that place was gross- even by campsite standards. We scouted out a different campground that is nestled on a cliff over looking the ocean... it would be a really nice place.
I've been trying to get the slide show to work but tblog is f*cked up again. So here are a few of the MANY pictures we took while we were there. The weather was Beatiful, on the verge of being too bloody hot! we all have nice tans started too. Enjoy guys...[line][line][line][line][line][line][line]
I'll attach more pictures later on- we are in the middle of installing new flooring in our house. So life is hectic and my blogging is falling behind. Everything should be back to normal soon enough.

Hugs and roasted weiners,
~jen