2 weeks

It's two weeks until we get the keys to the new house. The packing isn't going as well as I had hoped it would be at this time. We're making progress, but it just feels so disorganized. We've honestly purged a lot, putting a lot in the dumpster, a lot to good will and even sold some to a second hand store. We've also got a few boxes marked "garage sale" that we'll store in the garage until next spring. The fact that our landlord keeps bringing people to look at the place isn't helping either. We do have until the 31 of October to be out, so it's still a month and a week away.
My mom and I took Maizey for a hair cut yesterday. She really doesn't have much to cut, but she was getting baby mullet. The curls on this baby girl are crazy!


She didn't seem to mind the process, and when it got to the blow drying, she loved it. The women at the salon were calling her a little diva. It's true though, My girl loves her girly girl things!

My mom is doing alright. She has two chemo treatments left, and then it's gong time. At the hospital when you finish chemo, you get to hit the gong! Every time I'm there an I hear it, I tear up.
She's not looking forward to the radiation stage of things. That will start in November and continue 5 days a week for 5 weeks. The doctors assure us that it is not as physically daunting as chemo. She will have to travel an hour each way to the closest hospital that can do the radiation. The same hospital Angela's mom passed away in. It will be a good Christmas this year, as if everything goes according to plan, things will be finished by then. Mom can then start living a normal life again in January, provided radiation does its job.


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OK! AMAZINIG

So, the show last night was just a little bit AMAZING! Totally have a new respect for this woman. WOW so very inspiring and just WOW! Even with crappy $45 behind the stage "limited view" tickets it was so completely AWESOME!


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Madonna

Madonna!
She did her first show in Toronto on this tour tonight. I wasn't there.
In February, we got our friend Murray (huge Madonna fan) a ticket for tomorrows concert for his 40th birthday. He was blown away and has been counting down the days since then.
We were lucky to get tickets at all. We kept trying and kept getting the "no tickets available at this time" message. After re-submitting the request about 23 times, it popped up with 2 tickets! We bought them. The plan was that since Darla (Murray's wife) and I went to Jamaica in January, Murray and Ange would go to this concert. Nice. But then I started feeling a bit left out. Even though I'm not a huge huge Madonna fan, this is something I would really like to be at. Sort of a bucket list kind of thing. So back onto the computer I went, only this time I found cheap tickets on purpose. It was almost as hard as finding the better seats($165.00). We got rear stage view $45 tickets for Darla and I. Those same tickets are now for sale on various unofficial ticket sites for $175. I'm glad we decided to be part of this! Like I said I can knock one more thing off my bucket list. That totals 3 items now. We'll get into that another time.
TIFF is also going on in Toronto right now. I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of Rachel.Mcadams! My only celebrity crush! (it's the dimples, they do it for me)
What are some of your bucket list items?


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Could she be ready?

I don't know if it is time or not. But I think Maizey is ready for Potty Training. She has been communicating pee and poo to use for a while now, usually after she goes. When she is at the babysitter she will state POO POO and bring the diaper bag to the caregiver. While we were camping with my friend and her son, he was in potty training mode. She had brought with them a portable potty for traveling. This potty had you hook a plastic bag with absorbent pads in it around a seat instead of an actual "pot" to pee in. Aiden, was very good about pee and poo in the potty, and never once had an accident. Not even over night. I think this also contributed to Maizey's interest in the potty. Once we returned from camping she did the funniest thing. She brought me a plastic grocery bag, put it between her legs and squatted over it and said.. "potty". So, I think she is ready. I however am not ready. :( I am not ready to have a big girl goes pee pee on the potty no need for diapers daughter yet. When she asks, we put her on. She has yet to actually go on the potty, but We're getting there. I have a book to read about a 3 day potty training method. It says not to use the pull up style diapers and that they need to learn what an accident feels like so that they try to avoid them. It also says the ideal time to potty train is at 22 months old. Well Maizey will be 22 months in another couple weeks. I haven't read the whole book yet, but will. Maybe tonight I will read it. We will need to pick up a potty too, because we have no bathroom on the main floor of the house we're at now, and think it's too far to take her all the way upstairs for potty because she has usually gone while we are on the way up. She couldn't wait a month? Until we have a bathroom on each level of the house. Anyone have any potty training tips? I'd love to hear them.

Sketchy Neighbour Update...

So, the sketchy neighbour asked for another $20.00 today. There was no allergy medication or spider bite excuse, just flat out wanted to "borrow" $20. She seemed a little desperate and I am wondering if she was having some kind of drug withdraw. She and her husband (who we never knew existed until a week or two ago, after living beside them for a year) were out on their front porch digging in her purse. There were things strewn about the porch and walkway. I don't know? Did they misplace their money? Or did they think it would magically appear if they looked hard enough. I didn't give her any. Can't wait to move.

Well... We're outta here!!

We have limited time left on our ghetto clock! We are moving! In a month from now, we will be in a house. Angela's dad's home sold about a week ago, and he's purchased one that will accommodate all of us.
Not a moment to soon. The other day as I was on my way to the truck from the house, the sketchy next door neighbour asked to borrow allergy medication as she had "eaten her medicine and broke out into a reaction on her lips" (she did have some nasty thing going on with her mouth). I did not have anything to lend her because we don't have allergies, so she asked to borrow $6.00 so she could go get some. Ok, this lady doesn't even know our names. I gave her $10.00 (I'm a sucker like that) and told her to take care of herself. Ok good deed for the day.
Alright, today she actually knocked on the door and asked to borrow $3.00 so she could give her friend gas money to take her to the hospital because she had a huge spider bite on her ass! She then showed Angela her ass! There was a spider bite! We gave her $5.00 for the gas. That's it though! Next time, we're telling her we have no cash. She says she'll pay us back but we aren't expecting she will.
When we went to give our property manager our notice, he said to us "had enough eh?". We just smirked at him.

So the new house is a bungalow with a finished basement and a massive yard! We're quite excited. There is a hot tub, which I am excited about now, but realize it'll probably be a money pit and that the novelty will wear off.
We'll have to paint the bedrooms and probably touch up some other areas, but we find the decor is alright for us and won't have to do too much right away. There are long term items we want to do eventually but aren't in a hurry. It would be wonderful to renovate the whole kitchen, but that will be in time. Here are some pictures of the new house!


It's been a dry summer!



Backyard:














I'll post pictures of the inside once we move in.

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So busy!

It's been forever since I last posted. I've just been so busy! First we went camping to Killbear provincial park from July 22 to 28. We had a fantastic time and were really impressed with the park facilities, and the beach. It's on Georgian Bay, and the water seemed to have flecks of gold in the sand. It was really beautiful. We saw numerous deer and other wildlife. We are convinced we heard a bear roaming near our campsite one night.












Next we went to Sandbanks provincial park from August 12 - 18. This time we had a campsite right on the beach! It had its pro's and con's. The day we arrived it was very windy. We had to tie the poles of our dining tent to a tree to keep the tent from blowing away. I found this trip quite exhausting. Maizey is in a mommy phase and all she wants all the time is MY undivided attention. Attention from anyone else just won't do. That makes it hard because camping takes a lot of work, work that I enjoy, such as cooking and barbecuing, dishes, clean-up, keeping the trailer tidy etc... It may sound like a normal amount of work but, when you're camping it takes more effort because you have to unpack everything you need, then put it back. You can't leave anything out because it attracts wildlife. You can actually be fined if you leave animal attractants out. My very best friend Jo and her son met us for the last two nights. It was nice catching up, and the kids are finally old enough to play together.
























I just got back from taking some of the individual's I support at work on their camping vacation. We stayed 3 nights in an RV at Darien Lake. It was a nice time.
It was nice to have some toddler free time, but I missed Angela and Maizey more than anything.
A picture from the laser light show.




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Diva like her daddy

Maizey is becomming a little diva there days. Soo much attitude for such a little girl. She's like her dad that way. He really is the sweetest guy you could ever meet, but comes across like a bit of a diva.


My mom is finally home from the hospital. She is staying at my brothers house for a while, until she knows how she will react to the chemo. So far it hasn't been too bad for her. Let's hope it stays that way.

Ang's dad is also home now from the hospital. His ass is healing up nicely. We're hoping that he'll feel well enough to watch the dogs for our vacation.

Babies babies everywhere. My cousin had her second baby this week. He came a tad bit early and weighed in at 11 lbs 9 oz. she has big babies. Her original due date was moved up to today from a couple weeks from now, she was scheduled for a c- section. Little Clayton came in his own time and was born sunday.
I've yet to meet him, but he sure looks like a sweetie in pictures.
We also ran into a friend of ange's from work who just had a baby girl a few weeks ago. OMG!! The sweetest little thing. So so tiny! Makes me really want another!!! Ange and I are finally on the same page with that. She wants another too, but we are waiting a little longer to ttc. We have a plan! Of course that plan includes a new house first, so we can't even set a time line in place until that is in the works.

Can't wait for camping next week!


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Zoo!

Angela's company picnic was at the Toronto zoo today. We went with her sister and brother-in-law and their 4 kids, and took my nephews with is too. It was a really fun day, but exhausting.














Maizey was pretty camera shy, but my handsome nephews were more than happy to pose.

My mom starts her chemo tomorrow, and is a little nervous. My brother, sister-in-law and I are going to meet her at the class all about chemo at the hospital tomorrow so that she can be a little more confident with all the information.

Angela's dad is also in the hospital at this time. He had gangrene and had to have emergency surgery to remove a lot of tissue and skin from his back side. Aperantly a very common spot for gangrene to develop in men. The worst thing was that we were away at our friends cottage when all this happened. The cottage is in a spot where there is no cellular service and so we only found out on our way home from our trip. I guess next time we go up there we'll make sure to give family the cottage phone number.

Another few weeks and we'll be heading to Killbear provincial park for some camping. We're unsure what we will be doing with our dogs, as Angela's dad usually keeps them for us while we are away and he might not be capable of it if he's even home by then. My brother graciously offered for us to use his tent trailer. We are thrilled! The thing is too, that he and his family'll be going camping the day before we return, but he said they will just tent! What a fantastic brother!

Still no news on the house front. We've seen lots of places we like, but are still waiting for ange's dad to sell before we really look.

I've been fantasizing about pools and decks and gazebos with lights etc. I want an out door oasis! I picture it more at night for some reason. Weird, I know!


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Time

My mom is still in the hospital. She is still waiting for her fistula to heal. From the sound of things, it's almost healed. I miss my mom. An hour every day in a hospital room is just not the same as having your mom around. It makes me sad to see her so discouraged and to see her wasting away to skin and bones because she hasn't been eating real food for the past 6 weeks. It really really bothers me. I'm hoping she will be released soon.

Maizey spent the whole day with her daddy and her papa today. I missed her so much all day. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's mine! She just brings so much happiness and love and laughter. I sometimes contemplate having another child. I would really like to but I worry about taking away from Maizey.
I mean, I cried for days after she was born for the dogs because now they would have to share the attention. (I blame PPD for most of it) but will I go through that with Maizey. I watched my nephews heart break with jealousy the first time my sister in law picked maizey up and again, cried for days that he had to feel that way. Will I ever be able to stand it to see Mai hurt like that no matter how brief?
On the other hand, she loves being around other kids. Cousins , friends kids, the ghetto neighbours who are like 16 years old. She always wants to be around them. Maybe she would embrace a sibling.
I'm getting pretty excited about the upcoming cottage trip! We're all hoping it will be an annual event. I just love the idea of Mai growing up with such nice traditions.
My doctor has made a referral to an ophthalmologist for maizey as her left eye tends to turn out still. I have actually been noticing it more frequently lately. I'd really like to get that fixed ASAP.

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More answers

A decision has been made. Mom will have surgery on Tuesday to repair her fistula. There is no guarantee that it will work, but they are going to try anyway. All her doctors agree that she can't live with that for the next 4 months. They will start her chemo 8 weeks after the surgery. That will keep her in the window of time that chemo needs to be started in.
My aunt is out of the ICU now, but seems to be suffering from PTSD and is not herself at all.
My dad bought a house in Northern Ontario on a lake and will be getting a float plane. Very exciting news. Angela and I are thinking we may have our wedding there if its possible.
Baby on the brain. Yes! It's time for a baby. My body is nagging at me to have another. Angela and I have decided that we will not TTC # 2 until we have moved out of where we live right now. We just don't want to raise children in our current neighbourhood. We are also considering changing doners. We are thinking about using Maizey's papa. He is married to our doner for maizey. He is very interested, but there is a lot to consider. He is different than maizey's dad in the way that he is more attached. We see this even with Maizey. He would need to sign the same agreement we have with doner #1 and he's articulated that he's not sure he could. We will hopefully be sitting down together soon to discuss all of the details.
3 weeks today I will be heading out to the cottage! Very exciting ! We went the same week two years ago and the weather sucked, so I am hoping this year is nicer. I wouldn't have even worried about this last week, but it has been on my mind because it has rained the past two days.



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More drinking

The neighbour kids were out drinking and horsing around in front of the house again this afternoon when I finally got home from work. I had to stay later today at the last minute as a favour to my manager. Lucky for me, we had already planned that Maizey's dad would pick her up from daycare today. Ange has been working 12 hr days again and we are thankful for the pick up in hours, but I am feeling a little tired and lonely again. I haven't been sleeping well at night, and much of the time I'm dragging through the days.
I guess I just need to get a night job lol;)
Mom finally got the results and as it turns out, she will need chemo. They will be doing it every two weeks for 8 rounds. This means she will likely be living with her fistula for at least 4 more months. On top of it all, she's having an allergic reaction to something and they can't figure out what! My poor mom. What an amazing woman to be dealing with all of this.
With all of this going on with my mom and aunt, I am reminded that life is too short and unpredictable to not be lived to the fullest.
I'm at a spot where I've run out of things to say. I know there is so much more inside but I can't sort it out well enough to even think it never mind blog.
I don't feel sorry for myself, I'm just spreading thin. I'm tired of everything being do negative and I am looking for the positives. Hopefully I can express them soon.



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