I Miss my Mind the Most

Hello from the 'other side'- of the Stomache Flu that is.  I woke up at 7:30 this morning (unheard of for me) and felt like a million dollars.  It's crazy. 
So Paige and I took the 30$ that her Grandma Jo & Gramndpa Al sent along and went shopping.  Paige said she wanted 'Colored Paper' for crafts so that is what we bought, along with a couple figurines to paint and some visors to decorate and some brand new stamps.  It's kept her busy most of the day. I LOVE that.

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Okay, here is the rest of what I wanted to type last night but was interrupted by Sly and his boxing reality show "The Contender"... it's sooo good.  I thought it was the finale episode but NO, that is yet to come.  Anyway...
I had the WORST luck with Paige's Birthday partIES.  First off, I was sick- you already knew that, but I was lucky enough to have loads of help from Suz and my MIL (Thank heaven!!).  As Paige and I arrived at the McDonalds of choice (with the playplace) I looked around and saw nothing set up for the kids.  I went to the counter and asked the manager about my party for 6 kids and all I received was a blank stare.  He went to the office and brought out a calendar saying "I have no record of the party here, are you sure you called this McDonalds?"
Considering that there is only ONE McDonalds in this entire city with a play place I guaranteed him I called the right one.  He stood there staring at me again and all the sudden decided to get the party ready for me anyway "but it will take a few minutes"...  Who cares??  Set it up MAN!
Ugh, despite that, all went wonderful and the kids had a great time.  I didn't hurl either, bonus.
Yesterday, while trying to take the photos of BOTH of Paige's birthday parties off of my camera, my computer decided to have a 'run time error'.  Which means that I lost every single photo.  I was LIVID.  I managed to locate the small thumbnail images on my camera and save them but nothing that is printable.  There were other cameras present at both parties so I hope we got a couple good shots at least.  Things were just determined to go wrong for me this week, I am accepting it.
Anyhoooo,  My cranium-splitting headache is back this morning and it brought with it a tad bit of woozy stomach.  Thanks for the info Nursenancy, I don't think this bug is completely gone yet.
Well I should be off for now...
Take it easy everyone & wash your hands,

~jen

Please peruse these photos of Paige's McDonalds Party- it was a blast for the kids. 

I'm supposed to be drinking a lot of clear fluids, they classified 'clear fluids' as anything that light can shine through ie: lemonade, broth, weak tea...etc.

Do you think Beer would count as a 'clear fluid'??

Too bad I'm too chicken to try it and find out if it agrees with me, but it sure would help this headache.

Hope your all having a glorious day,
~jen

I haven't been feeling tip top for a couple days but I didn't think anything of it- I'm too busy with my children.  And my husband. and the dog.  Anyway, the Island family was invited out for dinner by Mr. Island's relatives, we talked, ate our salty cuisine, drank and were merry for two and half hours.  On the way home I started feeling like someone had hooked me up to a tire pump and my guts were filling painfully with air.  I nearly made mr. Island stop on the side of the road but I didn't.  One thing about me, I'm not scared of needles, or mice, but I am scared of spiders and PUKING.  Whatever it takes to keep me from losing my lunch, that is what I will do.  So I was up ALL night with severe pain rolling through my entire gastrointestinal tract.  I slept for a couple restless hours which was NOT enough.  I'm going from overheating and being sweaty to freezing with the shivers.  It SUCKS! 
Of course, it's murphy's law, last night Nolan slept for 7 straight hours.  Yes I said SEVEN.  That is the first time that has ever happend and I actually rushed into the kids room to check and see if he was breathing.   I think he has had this stomach flu this week because he's been puking alot and very, very irritable... I totally can relate to the pain in the guts he was having.  So I was awake for Nolan's record setting sleep time- no fair. 
To add insult to injury, today is Paige's birthday party with all of her friends at McDonalds.  I seriously considered cancelling it but I didn't know if the cake will hold up in the freezer for a week.  Suz, is going to lend me a hand by picking up the cake (halleluja) and I think my Mother in law will take Nolan so I can concentrate on what I'm doing.  The only thing that worries me is that the smell of greasy McRaunchies is going to make me hurl.  Fingers crossed.  I should bring a face mask too so I don't pass this disease on to any of the other kids or Parents.

Wish me luck,
~jen

Today my Baby girl is 3.  She is so excited about it this year, she actually 'gets' what is going on.  Tonight we are having a family party for her since her daddy won't be able to make it to the kids party on friday. 
My baby girl is growing up, gone are the days of poopy diapers, bottles, and well, poopy diapers (worth mentioning twice, believe me). 
We say 'Hello" to the days of 'dress up', bike riding with training wheels, helping mom make cookies and doing everything "by yourself".

Happy Birthday my girl, your Daddy, Mommy & little brother Nolan Love you very much and we hope the next year is just as great as the last one was. 

Much Love and kisses,
Mom

Nolan says, "Mary Poppins is the most boring film Disney has ever put out."
Of course, just keep in mind that I'm translating and it's loosely translated at best.  But if you ask me, the kid is right on the money.

~jen

 

You may remember me commenting earlier on how I wanted to fill you in on our back yard project.  Well, we are already done.  Done, and I haven't even been able to share a moment with you.  Until just now. 
The picture to the left is what our Patio looked like before we started (at this time last year).  It was beautiful but very, very high maintenance and not very kid friendly.  Piper (the dog) loved to use it as a toilet though. 
We decided to pare it down and keep the beauty but rid ourselves of the useless features, first on the list to go was the pond.  Gone are the worries that I'm going to find some wayward child (Paige) head first in the darn thing.  My in laws have it and they did a nice job of fitting into their back yard decor- and they have a lot of fish in it, all live ones.   Suz, and I busted our butts one saturday while Laurie (my other near and dear neighbor) sat all of our children. Together. Yes, she's a saint.  Suz and I got down and dirty, pulling out plants, moving the heavy planter bricks- pulling up the gravel path, cutting out root balls, you name it.  Yes it was very fun and rewarding in the end.  All of the useless foliage and the gravel path were replaced by paving stones and now Paige's sandbox fits in!!  Mr. Island added to the backyard beauty by constructing a cedar arbor to house all of the climbing rose, english ivy and clematis vines we have. It's not just our back yard but now it's an "objet d'art" (piece of art, prolly spelt wrong).  I've planted some veggies and lots of flowers in pots even a watermelon! We've strung lights from the arbor so in the evening, it looks like we should be serving dinner for the neighbors out on the patio.  A beautiful oasis, that it should be. 
We have had loads of interest in our arbor, people coming by to see and investigate.  We have been putting down bets as to when the first complaint comes in but so far we've had nothing but positive feedback.  My fingers are crossed that it stays that way.
All in all, a very rewarding project for both Mr. Island and myself.  We both feel like we SHOULD be sitting out on the deck, not sitting on the couch like we usually do.  It's shaping up to be a nice summer.
Now, on to the next project- my 'Creative room'.  Wish us luck!

~jen

I don't know if any of you are big fans of Micheal Buble but he's got a voice smoother than chocolate.  His latest song is called "Home" and all I can say about it, is that it melts my guts.  Seriously.  I get all smushy and light headed at the sounds of his voice.  It's on the verge of being sickening, well okay, it is a sickening thing to watch but so much fun to experience. 
For some silly reason the only place I've heard the song on the radio is on the country station and he definitely is no where near country.  Believe that. 

He's a Frank Sintatra for the year 2000... Super easy on the eyes too, and if all that wasn't enough, he's Canadian.  Check him out, you'll be glad you did  (ScubaDiva knows what I'm talking about).
He'll make your guts melt, in a good way.

~jen

I tried blogging this earlier from my in-laws place but apparently, it didn't work.  Anyway, I was telling you all about our trip to the dentist today.  It was Paige's first time and my 30042^nd time.  I was anxious that Paige would be too scared to let them look into her mouth or use tools on her teeth but she sailed through the appointment like a breeze.  She thought everything the hygenist was doing was exciting and tasted great.  The hygenist also gave me Kudos for not using the 'H' word, 'HURT'.  She said that a lot of parents say things like "It's not going to hurt a bit" so the kids automatically think that something is going to hurt.
  What do you know, I finally did some parenting right- and I didn't even realise it.
Paige had no cavities and her teeth looked good which is amazing considering she only recently broke her habit of bringing a bottle of milk to bed at night (a major dental no-no).  So now we are going to work on brushing EVERY night and trying to floss as much as we can (which is a dream but whatever...)
My teeth were causing me much more greif than you can imagine.  One tooth started to go crazy lately and I get a shot of pain when I do things like, bite on that side, sneeze or laugh, even bending over causes me pain.  Yes, it's that bad.  The good news is, well, the bad news is that my tooth is cracked and it will need a crown.  This may or may not work and if it doesn't- a root canal will be in order.  Neither option is anything I'm looking forward to.  The dentist is sending me to my doctor to perscribe some kind of valium.  I'll have to take A LOT to calm me down, seriously, I'm freaking out at the thought of having any sort of dental work done at all, so I'm going to stop thinking about it all together.  If I had my way I prefer to be under a general while I had my teeth fixed... and this may happen yet.  either than or I'll start sucking my food through a straw.

Damn teeth,
~jen

Here is one of the websites I was talking about yesterday.  I stole this link from Robot Johnny a while back and am just getting to it now.

It's called the 'floating Logos project' by Matt Sibert- be sure to read the short 'project statement'.  It helps explain why these photos are both fascinating and creepy at the same time. His website is full of great work to make you think.  I like artwork that kicks you in the eyeballs and makes you, love it, hate it, or think for awhile (all the above is nice too).
Anyway- I will leave you with that site for now... I'll dig out some of my other fun links tomorrow.

Later gaters,
~jen

I have been trying to blog once a day but it just isn't panning out like I had planned.  I do get some computer time but I seem to have other things to do while i'm on here and not a good chunk of time to dedicate to blogging.  It's the worst to be constantly interupted while you are writing (or doing anything)... I lose my train of thought so easily.  I'm going to write a list of things I've been wanting to blog about but haven't found the time yet...

1. Our back yard project
2. Our, well, MY 'Creative' room project
3. Nolan's 2 month milestones
4. Our 4 hr Hike to Dodd's Narrows
5. Paige breaking her bottle addiction
6. Mr. Island being such a HOT hubby
7. Me starting the gym, again
8. My not-so-secret love affair with chocolate
9. How much my Back is hurting and how I think it may be cancer (kidding!!)

And this list isn't including all of the cool things I've found on the internet lately that I wanted to pass around.  Perhaps, tomorrow, I'll dedicate a blog entirely to inernet finds... that could help you burn a few minutes while sitting at your desk.
Anyway, I should head to bed- everyone is alseep except me, and I'm the one that needs the sleep the most!!
Take it easy,

~jen

Quick Tip: Wear eye protection when eating hot wings coated in Franks Red Hot. 
I managed to get a large drop spalshed in my eye and it was not my idea of a 'good time'.

I promise, this will be my last blog dedicated entirely to FRH.

~jen