scare tactics...

Last night between shows, I went upstairs for a minute, leaving Bill on the couch. When I was going back down the stairs, I looked into the livingroom and he wasn't there. Even though he wasn't making any noise, my gut told me that he was around the corner in the kitchen, which is at the bottom of the stairs. I don't know how and I don't know why... My mother was right when she told me to always trust my instincts...'cause sure enough, as I reached the bottom of the stairs, Bill tried to scare me by grabbing for me...of course, since my spidey-sense was tingling, I reached out just as I got to the bottom of the stairs...foiling his attempt to scare me. Hahahaha...try to get me, will ya! Bill just said, "can't tell we've been married for almost 9 years, can you?!"

It's even funnier when you know that usually, when there's a tv break, Bill often runs downstairs to check on his online chess games. I had no indication that he was even in the kitchen...spooky.

subtle?...not so much...

Last night Bill was making tacos for dinner (yes, he cooks...often...but that's another post!). After a few minutes, he comes into the livingroom, where I'm watching 'Ellen', and innocently asks, "will you get the lettuce ready?" I think for a moment...ready to say 'yes'...when I have a sneaking suspicion that I forgot to buy lettuce when I did the grocery shopping. I looked over at him and asked, "I forgot to buy lettuce, didn't I?" He just grins and laughs...sometimes I'm convinced that he's the king of set-ups!

weekend adventures...

Bill and I had the kids up for a long weekend (they had friday off school)...and we were ready to have some fun. A sick 7-year old put a crimp in our plans...poor thing wasn't feeling well most of the weekend. I have tons of experience with kids...but not sick kids...I'm usually able to send sick kids home. There's nothing quite like a sick kid to make me doubt my abilities in child-rearing. I have to admit that I was quite shaky on knowing what to do for her...and I couldn't get ahold of her mom to ask. She had a queasy tummy, very sore throat, and a temperature of 103. I just did what I thought my mom would do...I gave her some medicine...freezies and gingerale...went out to buy her some throat drops, and put a bucket beside her as she lay on the couch, taking in as much tv as possible. Little by little she got better...so we must've done alright.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday night was the Santa Claus parade in town, and the kids and I were looking forward to it. Mikaela was too sick to go, so Bill stayed home with her. (Bill doesn't enjoy parades anyways, so he thought himself lucky to stay home and cook dinner!) I took the camcorder so Mikaela wouldn't completely miss out...Ophelia, Holden and I had fun making a little movie for her, showing her all of the best floats, and making her laugh with our antics. We all watched it after dinner...so Bill didn't get completely out of seeing the parade! ;)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday afternoon, Mikaela was feeling much better...so we went to visit Santa at the mall. (Bill scouted him out Friday night to make sure he had a real beard...he was a good Santa) We took along the camcorder again...what a fun new toy!!!...and filmed the kids visiting Santa. All Ophelia has been talking about wanting is an mp3 player (that's my fault)...and it's sad, because I know she's not going to get it. (She loves my CD walkman and then I told her about mp3 players, and how much smaller they are...and you don't need to carry CD's with you...she thought that was just the coolest thing ever!) Bill and I bought her a CD player for her room which we know she'll love too...I just hate seeing her disappointed...maybe we can get her one for her birthday. Mikaela wants a toy pink puppy and a real kitty...and Holden wants whatever he can get his hands on!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite the sickness...we had a fun weekend with the kids. We watched movies, played games and saw Santa...what more could you ask for?!
*****************************************
Bill and I don't seem to be able to spend much time alone together when we have the kids up, although the point of these weekends is to spend time with the kids. It's just strange that after a weekend, where we're both around, it feels like we haven't seen each other at all! I imagine that's what it's like when you're a full-time parent. All I know is that when we finally have our own kids, we're definitly going to have to make sure we have alone time so we don't go crazy!!!

Nightmares

I had a nightmare last night. I don't remember much about it except dreaming I was in bed and turned to find Kim gone. This was such a terrifying shock in my dream that I actually woke up enough to grab Kim sleeping beside me and startle her awake too. Man, that was intense. I would have forgotten all about it if Kim hadn't reminded me this morning by asking what my dream was. Scared the life out of her I did, grabbing her in a panic in the middle of the night.

sweet stash...

Recently, Bill made a post about tricking me into thinking that he'd stolen chocolate from my stash...not just any chocolate either...a favored chocolate. It was pretty funny...and it kinda got me thinking.

In the past, I have had to resort to hiding chocolate so that it would be around when I was craving it. You see, Bill loves chocolate too...and when I would buy chocolate and not eat it right away, he would say that he thought that I 'forgot about it', so he'd eat it. This annoyed me to no end. Just because I decide to save something for later, doesn't mean I forget that it's there. Just imagine, if you will, a woman stricken with pms...who is in desperate need of that Mars bar she has in the cupboard...and when she goes to get it...GONE! Not a pretty sight!

Bill is no longer the thief of my chocolate...and I no longer stash just one chocolate bar in the cupboard. If you took a peek inside our 'junk cupboard' right now, you would find...a big bag of M&M peanuts, 1 Jersey milk bar, 1 Hershey's almond bar, 1 1/2 Toblerone bars and Bill's bag of mini Lindor chocolates...and that's just what I remember is in there. Of course, there's also a ziploc bag full of halloween chocolates in the freezer. Holy crapload of chocolate!!! I guess I just like to make sure that it's around when I want it. This way everyone wins...I can feed my cravings when I get them, and Bill isn't asked to make a chocolate run at 9pm when I have a craving and he ate my last little piece of heaven.

Its Not Even December Yet

I've nearly finished my Christmas shopping for Kim and its not even December yet. Wow, for a procrastinator extrordinaire like me that is something else. After shopping in Kingston we sought to enjoy a little Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire at the theatre, only to find when we arrived at 4:30 that the 5:30, 6, 7, 8, and 9 o'clock shows were sold out leaving only the 10:30 show open. Being fools that we are we took tickets for 10:30 and went back to Kim's sister's apartment to vegetate until 9pm.

Was it worth the wait? It was a good movie and yes I would stay up to catch it at 10:30 at night again, but it still fails to live up to the quality of the story in the books, moreso than the previous three films. A big reason for that of course is the fact the Goblet of Fire was a huge book and story and getting all of it into one movie is nearly impossible.

Sunday we were all feeling less than healthy. I felt very fuzzy in my head and was glad when bedtime rolled around.

sweet victory...

Yesterday I made rice krispies squares for the kids (wink, wink). Tonight when Bill got home, there were only two left...he ate one. Then when he wasn't looking, I grabbed the last one and took a bite. He turned around and looked at me, playfully scowling and said, "hey, I was going to eat that...I was saving it!" (As if it was his to save!) I told him that she who makes the squares gets to eat the last one. Well, he decided that he should get it away from me...and a race around the house began. (You see, our house has an open-concept, so you can run around in a circle around the kitchen/dining room/living room.) He finally caught up with me and there was still about 3/4 left of the square, so I shoved the whole thing in my mouth, while still trying to chew what was already in there. I was laughing so hard I almost choked!!! He let go of me in defeat...I took it out of my mouth...then he decided to give it another go...who cares if it was in my mouth, right?! Well, I'm proud to say that he didn't win...victory never tasted so sweet!

sparkly blue gunk...

With kids in the house almost every day, finding sparkly blue gunk (otherwise known as kiddie toothpaste) in the sink is a common occurance. This doesn't bother me too much, but Bill is another story...he can't stand it! Of course, this amuses me to no end. Whenever there is a blob of the gooey blue stuff in the sink, I just leave it there...no big deal, right? Wrong! Whenever there's a blue blob in the sink at night, Bill has to clean it off, with a disgusted look on his face...I just stand there and laugh to myself. I'm usually the one who is easily annoyed by "little things", and I'm sure that's why this amuses me so much. I guess I leave it there for two reasons...one: I really don't care that much...and two: it's a guaranteed giggle to watch an unnerved Bill scrub little blue blobs out of the sink...it's one of the few things that he seems to be obsessive-compulsive about...and I'll take my laughs anyway I can get them!

speaking of "brownie points"...

I guess Bill earned double "brownie points" yesterday. Not only did he take me to the 'girly' concert, but he made my day when he came home carrying a treasure for me. Not flowers. Not chocolate or candy. Something better...waaaaay better. It was the new Madonna CD I've been waiting months for!!! I'd asked him a couple days earlier if he would pick it up for me on his way home from work, since I couldn't get out to get it with the kids here. I didn't even need to remind him...and that's amazing in itself, given his often poor memory! It was playing mere seconds after the kids went home...I blasted it, trying to listen to every word...feeling every beat...in awe. I truly do have the most wonderful husband. That gift made my day...I'll definitely give him "brownie points" for that! :)

Busy Busy Busy!

Well, fortunately Kim has been keeping up to date with this blog. Between being sick on Monday and the concert last night while trying to keep on top of work deadlines I haven't had a chance to post.

The trip to the National Arts Centre for the Jan Arden concert was in doubt with the snow/rain combo that was falling yesterday during the day, but I was convinced it was safe by the time I drove home and saw everything was melted. We made good time getting into the concert and despite nearly overheating in my seat we had a good time. It was a decently good show with good tunes and some funny bits from the singer herself.

Another threat to our concert adventure was my sudden illness on Monday. I actually starting feeling ill Sunday evening but was way worse Monday morning. I don't know why I bothered going into work because after three hours of listlessness I left anyway. I hate being sick.

I spent the afternoon in bed trying to sleep. Kim's daycare kids didn't keep me awake despite her worries; I was more put off by the fact my body was freezing as a fever raged. Snoozed and around 4 or 5 pm the fever broke and I was able to get up and eat a bit. Went to bed early though desperately needing sleep. It all paid off as I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Tuesday morning.

"brownie points"...

Last night Bill and I went to see the Jann Arden concert in Ottawa. He told one of his friends this, and the guy says, "wow, that's gotta earn you major brownie points!" (of course, I'm paraphrasing...I wasn't there).

What is it with men and "brownie points" anyways??? If they do something with us, especially something that they wouldn't choose to do on their own, they apparently earn these so-called "brownie points". If they earn enough of these "brownie points" they can then 'cash' them in/exchange them for something they want to do, that they think we wouldn't otherwise want them to do. For example, a guy takes his girl to see a chick flick...he earns "brownie points", then later he tells his sweetie how much he'd like to go out with the guys for a beer, or get in an extra round of golf (or warhammer game!). The theory is that the girl feels loved (or whatever) by the "unselfish act" of her guy taking her to see that chick flick, that she says sure he can do *enter guy thing here*...she doesn't mind. She still feels loved, he gets to go do the thing he wanted to do in the first place.

If you're a guy...you're probably thinking, "yep, we're pretty smart, aren't we!"
If you're a girl...you're probably thinking, "hold on here...you mean he's just doing something nice for me to get something for himself out of it???"

There's nothing 'unselfish' about his supposed 'unselfish act' at all, now is there. Nope!
I know that when Bill wants to see a movie that I don't want to see, I'll often go with him...not to earn "brownie points", but because I love him, and I want him to be happy. I don't think, "hummm, if I do this for him...I wonder what I can get out of it?" *head shaking going on*
(yeah, yeah, I know this is all tongue-on-cheek...but it amuses me just the same)

Bill and I talked about this last night...and apparently, girls can't earn "brownie points". Say what??? Are you telling me that the guys of the world have this idea cornered...all to themselves??? That's a pity...it could come in handy the next time I want $300 to go see Madonna!!!

One thing I still don't know...and I'd love some help figuring out...how does one know how many "brownie points" a certain 'unselfish act' will earn you? I don't know the system, but I'd bet that taking your wife to a Jann Arden concert will earn you many more points than taking her to see the next chick flick at the theatre. I'm also sure that if your girl wanted to see the ballet, opera or musical, that would earn tons more "brownie points" than seeing a chick concert.

Anyways, as we walked into the NAC last night, there were many men there. I turned to look at Bill and said, "I guess there are lots of guys getting mega "brownie points" tonight!" ;)

(thanks for taking me to the concert babe...now, when was it you wanted that extra warhammer game???)

I think the sick wave is finished...at least for now...

It all started last wednesday when one of the kids I look after got sick...wednesday night, another kid was sick...thursday, I was sick...friday I was still kinda sick...yesterday Bill was sick. Whew!

When I was sick I still had to look after one of the kids which wasn't conducive to getting much rest...but since she wasn't too well either, we mostly just vegged out all day. When Bill got home he was nice enough to go to the store to get me some gingerale...it's nice to be taken care of...even if he did forget the peppermints ;)

Yesterday it was my turn to repay the favor. Bill wasn't feeling well so he came home before lunch to rest. I had three young kids here and it took a lot of extra energy to try to keep them semi-quiet...but when it comes to a 23 month old, no-can-do! Bill is a light sleeper and I really wanted him to be able to rest...even if I didn't have that luxury when I was sick. I'm always taking care of other people, but usually the only time I get to "take care" of Bill is when he's sick...and even though I don't like it when he's sick, there's a small part of me that can't help but enjoy taking care of him.

Now that everyone here has had 'whatever it was', I hope that we can keep from getting it all over again. Although sicky Bill did kiss me last night...uh oh.........................................................

whew!!!

Bill and I spent most of Saturday Christmas shopping...and what a relief it was to cross off many items off our list. The two people that are usually the hardest to buy for, Bill's dad and sister, were actually easy this year...so from here on out, it's smooth sailing! Lucky for us, (I really mean Bill), we should only need one more big day of shopping...I'm sure that will be music to his ears :)

This and That

Kim was feeling under the weather yesterday (poor thing) so I offered to go to the store to get some ginger ale for her. "And peppermints" she added. I few minutes later after I checked my chess games online and changed into walking clothes I asked, "Gingerale and...?"

She: "Peppermints!"

He: "Right, right. I'm off"

I go to the store and make my purchases for her and the short sub sandwich I'm going to make for supper when I get home. I take the stuff into the kitchen and bring out her gingerale and a glass.

"Did you get the peppermints?"

"Ah crap!"

---

Andrew at Bound By Gravity is shutting down due to time issues and I know my blog reading will suffer greatly for it. Kudos to a great job while it lasted Andrew, and hope you come back to it later.

---

Today is Rememberance day so be sure to take a minute or two at 11 am and think upon those who went to war for us, whether it was the fields of Europe, the hills of Korea, or today in Afghanistan. I know I will be thinking specifically on my Grandfather who came to Canada from the US when WWII started and volunteered for the Canadian army (lying about his age to get in). He was with the Canadian army at D-Day and during the march into Amsterdam where he nearly drowned crossing a river. He was a great man and a rock in our family and he is sorely missed.

a good plan without execution...

It was the end of September when Bill and I first sat down to go over our Christmas budget for this year. We decided that we should start early this year so we wouldn't be rushing around come December. What a good idea! December usually arrives with the weekends already booked up and not much time left for shopping...so we're left to find evenings here and there. The other bad thing about waiting until December to do our shopping, is that Bill hates crowds...detests them, actually. I don't mind the crowds so much, but it's hard to have any fun shopping when your partner in crime is about to take out his shotgun and start blasting away just so we can fit through the corridor. He tries hard, but gets frustrated so easily. Another reason why our plan to start early was a good one...too bad we didn't follow through!

Well, that's not completely true. My shopping for Bill is almost done, he already bought a couple things for me, and I did buy 2 other presents so far. Of course, buying gifts for each other is the easiest part, at least for me. (My problem is that there are too many things I want to get for Bill and not enough money to do so.) Soooo, according to my list, that still leaves about 23 people on our list. Holy crap! We'd better get busy!!! We're not going away this weekend, so I know what we'll be doing...trying to put a dent in our Christmas shopping...you never know, maybe we'll even be finished before the December rush. What? It could happen!

(I'm sure while reading this post, my dear husband is rolling his eyes and letting out a big sigh, as he contemplates spending an entire day at the mall...heaven help me!)

I'm a tease

Kim likes to stockpile chocolate in the cupboard for occasional chocolate cravings. While she was gone this weekend I went and bought a Toblerone bar just like the one she had stored away. I left the empty wrapper of the one I purchased on an end tablebeside the couch.

After she gets home she is on the phone with her mom.

"Hi Mom, yeah, I got home ok, the weather wasn't too bad and.... YOU ATE MY TOBLERONE BAR!? HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? YOU BUGGER!!!"

She throws the empty package at me and I'm laughing and giggling at her rage. Seeing my laughter (instead of shame) she says, "This isn't mine, is it? Oh sorry mom, my husband is just playing mean tricks on me..."

Freaking hilarious.

How Scary Are you?

Via Pharyngula:

You Are a Little Scary

You've got a nice edge to you. Use it.

How Scary Are You?

Indulgence

We ordered a photo printer and it arrived last night, a nice little Epson Picturemate. The idea is that Kim can use it for her scrapbooking projects, printing high quality pics off the computer without having to go to a photo lab. Its something we probably could have done without, especially since Kim hasn't been up to scrapbooking with her headaches and neckpains, but we like to indulge a little every now and then and buy ourselves a new toy.

The problem is we are running out of room at our computer desk. With the new DVD burner and now the Picturemate, I'm going to have to re-organize the desk area and make some serious room. Maybe purchase another surface to extend the desk out more. I do love buying me some furniture I'll tell ya.

if you were a fly on our wall last night...

Last night while watching tv, I was fastforwarding through the commercials when after a quick soundbyte of one...

Bill: "Did she just say 'have you ever looked at a woman'?"
Me: "huh?"
Bill: "Well, maybe a few."
Me: "A few? More like a few thousand!"
Bill: (laughs)
Me: "No...a few hundred thousand!!"
Bill: "Hey...I'm a man, not a pervert."
Me: "Aren't they the same thing?!"

Burn!!!!

are you listening to me???

Last night Bill asked me if I had any ideas about what we could do this weekend. I told him that my Mom had mentioned possibly getting together with my sister and me at her place for a girls weekend. Well, as soon as I mentioned the words "girls weekend", his eyes glazed over and a grin sprung upon his face (I think there was even some drool!)...I could just see the wheels turning in his head. I then told him about my Dad going to Calgary for a visit so that this was the perfect time for us girls to get together. A couple minutes later, he asked how long my Dad was going to be gone...and even though I'd only said how long he'd be gone a few minutes earlier, I knew his ears were on but nobody was really listening.

You see, as soon as I ever mention the words "girls weekend" his mind races through all the possiblities of how he could spend his time alone...warhammer, warhammer, warhammer!!! Extra time to be with his other love is always a welcomed pleasure.

is it a man thing???

Last night, while driving home from seeing the kids for Halloween, Bill was tired. It wasn't too late (around 8:30), but I guess all that trick-or-treating zapped his energy! Anyways, we'd only been driving for about 10 minutes when it became quite obvious that he was tired. I, being a wonderful wife, offered to drive since I wasn't too tired. He said that he'd be fine. Ok...well, I definately wasn't able to rest knowing that at any moment we could crash into an oncoming car or the ditch. For about the next 25 minutes he continued to slap his face in efforts to stay awake, and make sighs/yawns of exhaustion....as I sit there wondering "why on earth won't he just pull over and let me drive." Then he looks at me and asks, "how are you doing?" I told him that I was fine...and awake. So, finally he pulls over, says that he's exhausted and can't drive anymore...so, I took over...I'd only offered about a half hour earlier!!! This has happened frequently over the years...he'll be tired, I'll offer to take over, and he'll insist he'll be fine....and sometimes, eventually, he'll pull over in defeat and let me take over. Is this just a man thing...a 'gotta prove myself' thing...a 'don't want to relinquish control' thing??? All I know is that if I'm driving and feeling exhausted, I ask Bill to take over for me if we're together...and if he's not with me, I wish he were so that I could have a break.

The thing that makes me shake my head even more is that Bill was so excited when I finally got my licence ( I was 25...shocking, but true)...excited that he didn't have to drive everywhere all the time...excited that he could sit back and relax and let someone else take the wheel. He likes to sit back and enjoy the scenery, which is something better suited to a passenger than a driver (although this has never stopped him!) ;)

I'm not a bad driver either...so don't think it's because he doesn't like my driving. I've decided that either he's nuts...or it's just a man thing (which according to some, could be the same thing!)