The rest of the story....

Apologies....my last post got cut off for some reason...now I can't remember what I wrote...oh well....

Anyhoo....we picked the kitten up Saturday night....the Savannah kitten we have been waiting almost a year for...well, she is finally here....I do have pics but I got a new phone and haven't figured out how to get the pics sent to the computer from my mobile...I traded in my crackberry for an android...I miss my old phone but the new one has a bigger screen...and we all know...bigger is better...so yeah...Hallie named the cat Princess...I hate that name...I usually give my pets human names...and then I give them nicknames...I'm weird like that...our Dog was originally Spencer...then Buddy...but we all call him Ruffie..my cat is named Arabella but we call call her bellybean...I haven't come up with a nickname for Princess...I'm throwing names around....maybe debt...maxed out...damn that cat cost a lot....


Not much else going on here...the kids are getting in the Christmas spirit...we put our lights up...Doug found a blow up Santa in an airplane...so that is on our roof...idiot actually nailed it on the roof....I'm sure when he takes it down in May it will leave holes and the roof will leak when it rains...Doug loves the whole Christmas lights thing...he is like Clark Fuckin Griswold...go big or go home...

I will say doing Christmas crafts is a good way to get the kids to do something together...we have made snowflakes and scented tree ornaments...

I bought a chicken to roast on Monday night...now Doug and the kids only eat pure white chicken meat...so I had a whole chicken carcass left...what to do? I decided to make homemade chicken stock for chicken noodle soup....holy Christ...I will never buy store bought boxed chicken broth again...I made the broth Tuesday night and made chicken noodle soup last night...it was so good...Jewish grandmother's would be jealous...so try that next time you have any left over chicken...fill a stock pot half full with water...add the chicken or bones or whatever...couple of celery sticks and carrots and whole onion...bring to a boil then simmer for 3-4 hours...divine! And it freezes well too....your welcome!


Have a great weekend...I will be finishing up my Christmas shopping.....online

The most wonderful time of the year..

The time has come....my annual ranting about the impending Christmas season....

First off...WTF is Black Friday...well, I know what it is but...PEOPLE GETTING SHOT OVER $2 TOWELS....god help me if this idea ever makes its way up to Canada...us northerners have Boxing Day sales and I avoid those like the plague...

And Cyber Monday...well...I won't even go there.....it wasn't what I thought it was.....

I do want to take this moment to say a little prayer for all those working retail this season...I did it, and I've also worked Xmas Eve, Xmas day....bless you all...I know most of you don't give a fuck...I didn't either...I usually went home after my shift and listened to Nine Inch Nails and fighting the urge to smash all my good dishes...

Lets talk about retail workers for a minute....especially the jackasses that work at the worst place on earth AKA WALMART-I'm in there wandering around looking for a sales associate to get me something I can't reach...I grab some pubescent guy who I know is likely checking me out before he decides if he is going to be helpful or a dick...so I adjust my boobs to give him a little incentive...he takes the bait...but wait...he needs a ladder...so I wait...I wait...I wait....prick never comes back...ever...shit...Doug is texting me...wtf are you doing in there...so I bail...thanks asshole because of you my kid will be pissed on Christmas morning...

Oh Christmas morning....the thought of you already makes my fingers ache....I know they will be cut and bloody from undoing all those twist ties on the kids toys....we get it...you don't want your crap stolen but please have some consideration for all those parents who will be taking those toys out of boxes...we bleed....

Paradise

I didn't get a chance to upload the pics last night...Doug had to work late and I was on bedtime duty by myself...

First off....if you are looking to go visit an all inclusive resort...Sandals Whitehouse is the place to go...it really is paradise...the resort is breathtaking...the grounds are immaculate and the staff is top notch...every request we made was returned with a "no problem mon".  If you are just standing around a worker will come up and ask if everything is OK and can they do anything for you...they work morning till night to make sure the resort is perfect and they always have a friendly smile and ask "wah gwan?" which means "whats going on?" and if everything is cool we just responded "irie"...which means everything is going great...I picked up the Jamaican slang after a day or two...

It was insanely hot there...like your out for 5 minutes and you can feel your skin starting to burn..we got used to it after a few days...but I spent most of my day in the shade or in the pool and all the rooms and buildings have AC so it wasn't unbearable...I'm not a sun person by any means but I did miss the sun and heat when I got home...despite loading on sunscreen I did manage to get a great tan..

My pics are out of order...usually I am OCD about making the pics go in sequence but I just don't care now...and we took about 300 pics but I'm just going to post the ones that give you a general idea of our week...

If you want to make a drinking game out of this....take a shot for every time I type amazing or beautiful

Fountain they have in the main plaza

Who is this beautiful lady? That would be my mom

We always had some sort of creature made out of towels after the maid cleaned our room...Doug insisted this was an elephant..I'm still not convinced...as you all know...I have a dirty mind..so I automatically assumed it was something else that resembled a trunk...

Wedding pics are up next...

The whole affair was beautiful...I really wish I had gotten married down south now...the beach and the waves..it was amazing...

My brother and his wedding party..oh and my grandmother's head...silly nanny!

The new Mr and Mrs....

My grandmother and mother with the newlyweds...I loved Lindsay's dress...I'm glad she didn't wear some sort of stripper fairy dress...she has a smokin body and can wear any type of dress...bitch!

Their first dance on the beach...stingrays actually jumped out of the water while they were dancing

The reception was right on the beach...see this table full of booze...yep, it was all for us

My brother, mom and I...the sky was so beautiful I just know my dad was right up there

Another shot of the reception..the sun was just beginning to set

Doug and I

Cutting the cake after their dance

Doug and Ryan

More random resort pics...

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The main building

The view from our room

Being the nerd at heart that I am...I dragged Doug along for a botanical tour of the resort they offered...this is me holding an almond...the nut is actually inside of that green thing

One of the 3 pools on the resort

This is a Traveller tree...the slaves used it because it held water...Doug and I thought they were fake at first or that it was a regular palm tree squished to make it look that way...but nope..it is real and grows just like that

Doug and I did a glass bottom boat tour..I got to hold a sea urchin...that little sucker is sharp

A picture of the reef...the reef is highly protected as it takes 10 years for even a small piece of it to grow back

Just your run of the mill palm tree

The pool that was ourside of our room...it had a swim up bar...ever try swimming drunk...it ain't  easy...

This is an ackee tree...it is Jamaica's national fruit

The beach at night

We paid a pool boy to reserve us a bed by the pool everyday....he always made it  special

This is a banana tree...I hate bananas...but did you know that it  takes 9 months to grow a banana?

A starfish...those things are huge

Me holding a sea cucumber...or "penis of the sea" as the locals call them..it was quite a handful..but hey...I'm used  to it...

I will add some more pics later...I have to get the rest from my other camera...

I'm baaaaack

Well I was back a week ago..

I'm in the process of sorting and uploading pics from Jamaica...I hope to have them on the blog sometime tonight!

Jamaica was amazing....the weather was so nice..

My baby brother is finally married...the wedding was beautiful and yes, I cried..


I cant wait to share the pics....

Here for a little while...

I took a blogging break...my life is hella hectic at the moment...

So whats been happening?

I hosted a wedding shower last Sunday...so we quickly refinished the bathroom..new floor and paint...

The party went great and Doug made the a cake and cupcakes...since the wedding is in Jamaica we decided on a tropical theme...

I also gave my house a deep clean...that hadn't been done in a long time...I tend to neglect a few things when I clean..like dusting and cleaning the baseboards...etc...


I have been stressing about my trip...we leave a week from tomorrow...one minute I am so excited to be kid free for 7 days...and then I get sad because I am leaving them for 7 days...I'm sure I will be fine when I board the plane...Doug's mom and I came up with an agreement...that I will try to call and check on the kids...but don't tell me if one is sick or whatever...only let me know if they lose a limb or something...I would not be able to relax if I know there is a problem...

Packing is another pain in the ass...I really don't know what to bring...different outfits everyday or wear something more than once...I will probably spend most of the day laying on the beach or by the pool...so I got a few different cover ups to wear...and to eat in the restaurants at night there is a dress cold...so Doug will have to wear khakis and close toed shoes...speaking of shoes...I need to get fancy sandals...some flip flops...bring my good high heels and sneakers for a morning jog and and any excursions that require tougher footwear...

That's pretty much been it...cleaning, organizing and packing...

Lazy...

I've been dragging ass for the last few days...I'm just tired and burnt out...

Its been raining and damp for the last few days and I feel like the tin man...my joints hurt with every move I make..I've been horizontal more than I have been vertical...I lay on the couch while I get decorated with toilet paper and cat food...the kids have no interest in listening me barking at them from the chair..

Today...I must regain control of this ship...I'm losing my mind....

As I was watching the cartoon Caillou yesterday I became very resentful of Caillou's mother...this woman has it all figured out...even if the kids keep her up all night..she is still not too tired to make them pancakes in their favorite shapes...her house is always clean and the kids are never messy...then she was vacuuming and Caillou interrupted her and wanted her to read a story...she didn't tell him to piss off...she stopped and read him the story...I also wondered why Rosie has red hair when neither of her parents do...it all made sense when the delivery man showed up and he had red hair....maybe mommy isn't such a saint after all...

Yes, this is what it has come to...I compare my mothering skills to that of a cartoon character....least its nice to see that Caillou's mommy never lost the baby weight..she is always in the same frumpy red sweater...

Linda took the kids for a sleepover last night...as much as I would just love to sleep and watch TV all day...I really need to clean the basement, bathrooms and Leah and James' room...that will just about take all the time they are gone...

I'm counting down the days until I can pass out under a palm tree...soon my lovelies...

The time has come....

This entry is totally TMI...


I think its time for Hallie and I to have "the talk".....

She came to me a few days ago telling me her face was weird...I looked closely and sure enough I can see a few small whiteheads..and her face did seem to be more shiny...

Someone hold me...here comes puberty...

I explained to her that she is getting old enough to notice some changes in her body...she sees me naked enough to know what a woman's body looks like...I clued her into the fact that she may start growing hair where there wasn't any before...she may also find that her armpits might start to stink after gym class...the talk was going great until I mentioned the blood bit....I wanted to explain the whole monthly thing to her...I don't want her freaking out in the bathroom one day because she sees some blood where there wasn't any before...she knew a little about it already obviously...she seen me buy tampons and pads and of course asked what they were for...so I told her when that happens its not a big deal..she won't die etc...when it happens she is to come find me and I will show her how to deal...I can just imagine when the time comes and I show her a tampon she will freak out and say "you want me to put that where"?

Next time we are out shopping I will let her pick out some deodorant and face wash...it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to start cleansing her face every night with something gentle...I had horrible acne when I was 12 and 13...luckily proactiv is on the market now...if her breakouts get that bad I will buy her some of that...


As for the birds and bees...well I'm not ready to go there yet...professionals say that you need to tell your kids about sex as young as five...that is too young for me..I think ten is still a bit young...I'm fairly confident she won't be getting into that stuff for at least another 2 years when she hits junior high...she knows how babies are made..it takes a man and woman...yada...yada...

I will have to do this again in a few more years with Leah...I told Doug he was responsible for James...while I know how to handle a penis...I don't have one nor do I know all the logistics that goes into operating one...

Raining here today...I'm trying to keep the kids entertained since they can't go outside and burn their energy off...



Happy Saturday...