Thomas the Train of Torture

I dedicate this post to my big sister, Amy.

It has been a while since I have been here and I honestly didn't know if I would make it back or not.  Since we rang in the New Year, I just haven't had the desire to write anything...until now.  This just might thrust me right back into the world of blogging. 

Just a heads up - you might want to make sure you have no where to be in the next little while, cause this post is almost as long as a Nicholas Sparks novel!

I have to start out by explaining my four year olds LOVE of Thomas the Train, at least the love he used to feel.  For Will's 2nd birthday, he asked for a Thomas the Train cake.  For Will's 3rd birthday, he asked for a Thomas the Train cake, table cloth and goodie bags.  For Will's 4th birthday, he asked for a Thomas the Train cake, table cloth, goodie bags, pinata, party hats, decorations and gift.  Let's just say that Will's Thomas the Train obsession paralleled my Aerosmith obsession (and if you don't know what that is like, go back to my post from March 26, 2011).  This boy lived for Thomas the Train (and white milk, but that is a whole other obsession of his!), and everything he did in his day had something to do with Thomas...so, when I found out that Thomas the Train comes to Calgary every May, I had no choice but to order us some tickets for what was sure to prove to be a day we would never forget - and trust me, we will never forget it!!  Note: Will is NO LONGER obsessed with Thomas the Train.  He is now into Power Rangers!

I ordered tickets and then told my sister that we were going and she thought it would be a great thing for her family to do as well.  Our plan was soon underway to meet in Calgary and go see Thomas together.  After everything was booked, bags were packed up and SUV's and Minivans were gassed up, we were off...only we left one thing behind - our husbands (and my sister's 18 month old twin boys).  The husbands decided that perhaps they could do more productive things at home for the weekend and I am sure they are very, very, very glad they made that decision! 

I took Friday off of work and pulled the two kids who are in school, out of school.  Greg kissed me good-bye in the morning and told me not to take too long getting on the road, because he said that I DO NOT want to get to Calgary during rush-hour traffic on a Friday afternoon!  We had plenty of time, as we were on the road by 9:30 a.m. and it is only a 5 hour drive to Calgary, after all.  Our first stop on this road trip of ours was Vegreville, AB, home of the world's largest Pysanka.  Mark was so excited to stop there - even though we only live 45 minutes away and he as been there many times, I guess he has never been taken to this giant egg.  We stopped and got out, snapped a picture and snapped the kids back in their car seats and we were off...to the gas station...then the grocery store so I could pick up some baby carrots (another obsession)...then to Tim Horton's for a snack...then we were back on the highway...for another hour until we hit McDonald's for lunch, where the kids became bosom buddies with the kids in the play place and had to play and play and play until it was really getting late and I knew if we didn't get going then, we would most definitely hit rush-hour traffic.  We only had to make one stop on highway 2 (and if you have never driven on Highway 2,  trust me, you DO NOT want to have to stop!!) for a pee break and finally at 4:20 p.m., almost 7 hours after we started out, we arrived in Calgary...right in the middle of rush-hour traffic!!!  To say that I don't know my way around Calgary would be an understatement, but the great thing about rush-hour traffic is that you have lots of time to find your way around!  My kids were amazed at all the cars, airplanes flying right overhead, police and ambulances...they were loving it!  I was texting my sister now and again to keep in touch and see how far out she was and we both made it to our hotel at almost the exact same time.  Our kids (well my three and the one of hers that she brought) were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited to see each other again!  Note: we live in Vermilion, AB and they live in Fernie, B.C. 

We found our hotel room - a family room with two queens and a bunk bed with a single on the top and double on the bottom - and let me tell you how excited Will was to see that we actually had our very own bathroom!  He couldn't believe his eyes!  Our first order of business was to check out the hotels two pools, one equipped with a full size waterslide.  The first one was just a hop, skip and a jump away from our room; a small bean shaped pool that was slightly too deep for all of the kids except Mark and had a nice hot tub attached.  We then made our way to the other tower of the hotel which was a lot of hops, skips and jumps away.  We had to take an elevator three flights up, down a hall, around a corner, down another hall, across a pedway and down three flights in another elevator.  We entered the pool area and saw a swirly, twirly, gigantic blue waterslide!  The kids wanted to jump in then and there, but we convinced them to at least put on some bathing suits and maybe even let us feed them supper first!  Amy had made a reservation at a fun restaurant named "Jack Asters" and we feasted on garlic cheese bread and burgers.  Amy and I shared Grace's dessert because along with her chicken strips and fries, she also did not like her brownie.  Such a shame when my children won't eat their dessert and I have to have it! 

We went back to our hotel and changed into our bathing suits - not exactly the highlight of my weekend, but compared to what was to come, it wasn't actually all that bad!  We all made our way to the "other tower" (and just in case you have visual of my voluptuous behind trekking through a hotel half naked, don't worry, there were robes in our hotel room) and jumped into the pool with the waterslide.  The kids just kept shooting out of that thing - it looked just like the maternity ward on a busy day!  They were loving it!  Will didn't go on the slide even once, but he still had fun in the pool.  I only went on the slide once and I regretted it about 2 seconds into the ride (from Hell)!  Now, I am not very good at science, but I do seem to remember a lesson in about grade three about how things that are heavier go down faster...well, you get the picture!!  I was travelling faster than a motorbike on Highway 2 on a Friday afternoon!!  Let's just say, that was my one and only trip down that swirly, twirly, giant blue slide!!  Amy went on time and time again and seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids!  Not only did the waterslide scare the crap out of me, but the wavy motion of water was making me very sick.  After we left the pool and headed toward "our tower" we made our way to the bean shaped pool where we sat in the hot tub and let the kids swim around.  By this time we knew we had to get the kids into bed so they would be in wonderful moods for the big day to come - our "Day out with Thomas"!!

Our tickets were for the 10:20 a.m. train ride and the instructions on the tickets said to arrive one hour before departure, so we made sure we were up in plenty of time to get ready and be there nice and early!  We were all dressed and ready to go when Amy came back into the room from being outside, getting something out of her van, when she announced "it is pouring rain outside!" (and if you are wondering why we didn't just look out a window, it's because our window looked into the lobby of the hotel).  Oh my, what a start to our day!  Now, I had already seen the forecast and knew that rain was a possibility, so I came half prepared.  I had a bucket of rubber boots and toques and mini-gloves in my vehicle, so off I went to get them.  Once I had made it to the sliding doors of the hotel, the rain had turned to hail - which I was actually happy about, because perhaps we wouldn't get soaked that way!  Once we were all ready to head out, rubber boots and toques for all the kids and gloves for all children except Hudson, my 5 year old nephew.  Once we reached those sliding doors once more, the rain that turned to hail had then turned to snow!!  Heavy, sticky, wet snow!  We decided to go the Wal-Mart to buy umbrellas for all, rubber boots for me and gloves for Hudson.  My kids were all very excited to pick out character umbrellas and both Amy and I found some too (not character, just nice girly ones).  I picked out some funky rubber boots and Amy figured her leather boots would be fine, so she opted against the purchase of new boots.  We couldn't find ANY gloves ANYWHERE in all of Wal-Mart for Hudson, so we just told him to tuck his hands in his sleeves if they got cold.  We were now running late for our "hour early" arrival time.  We made our way to Heritage Park, where the events of the day were happening, and with every block we drove the snow just got heavier, wetter and more and more and more and more and, well you get the point!  We found a parking spot, got our umbrellas up and gloves on, well except for poor Hudson.  We started walking with wind and snow blowing in our faces and all we could see were the faces of mothers and fathers who were hauling their screaming kids out of there (and I don't think they were screaming because they were upset to be leaving Thomas behind!).  Uh-oh, this did not look good!  In the three minutes it took to get to the entrance of the park, Amy's feet were already soaked soaked inside her nice leather boots, our kids were already crying because their cheeks were stinging from the cold and my blue jeans were soaked through!  Oh boy, this is gonna suck!!  With frozen fingers we pulled our tickets out and by the time the attendant tore the stubs off, they too were soaking wet!  The ground was covered with 4 inches of slush - it looked like every person in the park spilled their supersized 7-11 Slurpee on the ground!  We could hear the train in the distance and that put a slight smile on the faces of our anguished children, but not more than that!  I thought for sure Will would be jumping up and down in excitement when he heard that whistle blow, but instead he just looked like he wanted curl up in the closest gopher hole!  We wandered up what seemed like a very long pathway to get to the train station and saw big tents in the distance, again what seemed like the very far, far distance!  Those tents held a Thomas gift shop and some Thomas themed activities - and I am sure they also held a heck of a lot of screaming, cold children and parents who were so ready to throw in the towel on this miserable day!  We decided against going any further, as we new that the further we walked, the further back to the train we would eventually have to walk again!  Instead we decided to be the first in line for our train ride.  By this time Amy's boots were like Big Gulps from 7-11 and our children were so cold they could hardly talk anymore, but they could still cry!  We stood in line for about ten minutes until we were able to board our train, listening to all the other children in the park crying and parents promising that Thomas would be all that they could ever imagine!  Even the die hard Thomas fans were miserable at this point!  We finally got to board the train - a beautiful train car that used to run 100 years ago - pulled by the one and only Thomas the Train!!  We made three loops around Heritage park, which by the way looks lovely all covered in snow, and then we were deposited back in the exact same spot we got on.  Once we got our thawed out bodies off the beautiful train car, reality hit - we had to walk ALL the way back to the parking lot!!!  The slush on the ground was now about 6 inches deep and the snow was getting worse!  Amy decided to take Hudson and Grace over to see those tents - what she was thinking I will never know! - and I took Mark & Will back to get the car.  By the time we walked all the way back to "Parking Lot B" and brushed all the snow off the windows we set out to pick up Amy and the kids at the gates of the park.  We pulled up and saw Amy carrying Hudson on her back with Grace at her side, all looking like they were ready to cry (well, Hudson was already crying) and all she could say about the tents was that they were "lame" and I think she might have regretted walking that extra mile to check them out!!  Once we were all in the Expedition, heat blaring, we set out for our hotel.  Once we got back, we filled the bathtub with warm water and let the kids and Amy sit with their feet in the water.  Once we were all warmed up we continued on with our day - and the rest of day didn't seem all that interesting after the morning - taking my children to Toys R' Us for the first time, eating at a yummy burger joint, watching a movie with the kids in the room while Amy went to Costco, going swimming again, waterslide again (with the exception of me and Will), blah, blah, blah...

...until about 1:00 o'clock in the morning!!!

We were all sound asleep with Mark on the top bunk, Hudson and Grace on the bottom bunk, Will and me in a queen size bed and Amy in her own queen size bed when I woke up to my son (Mark) yelling "Barf, barf, barf" and yep, you guessed it, he barfed - right over the side rail of the top bunk and onto his little sister!!!!!  He then continued to barf all over his bed and all the way to the bathroom!  Now, this would be a really good time to tell you that this room we were in was so newly renovated that we were made to wait ten minutes after check-in because the cocking on the bathtub was still drying - that is how brand-spanking-new this room was, and my kid puked all over it!  As you can imagine, both myself and Amy were wide awake and of course poor Grace was also wide awake!  I changed her and tucked her into Amy's bed.  I went down to the front desk to ask for clean bedding and the man at the desk said he would call someone.  As I was waiting for the bedding Amy came running down the hall - and she looked soooooooo much like Mom - panic written all over her face - WILL IS PUKING TOO!!!  I ran back with her, assuming the gentleman at the desk was hot on our tails with clean sheets and blankets for his paying guests...but no, we waited and waited and waited for over an hour to get some sheets!  I went twice to ask and Amy went at least three times to ask for some.  They said they did not have any extra sheets or blankets in all of the hotel!  HUH???  As Amy scrubbed down walls and carpet, I cleaned up my boys and tucked them into vacant beds and then headed down to the pop machine in the lobby to get some Ginger ale for my puking boys.  I came to the pop machine and saw a sign saying it was out of order - fantastic!  So, I asked our good friend at the front desk, who still at this point was coming up empty handed in the clean sheets department, if I could please get some Ginger ale for my young sick boys and he told me that there was a pop machine in the "other tower"!!!  I almost jumped over the desk and choked him with his Delta neck tie, but I was too tired to do any jumping at that point!!  I mentioned that on my way to the the lobby I passed a room that had coolers filled with pop and some young men were working in there and he said that I could ask them for some if I wanted...so, I stopped a young man pushing a cart and told him my dilemma and guess what?  He actually helped me out!  So at about 1:30 a.m. I got two cans of Ginger ale for my sick little boys but had yet to see any clean sheets!  Amy and I stood out in the hallway with the door to our room opened wide - because remember, our window faced the lobby, so it didn't open and the smell of fresh vomit is not all that nice!  We waited and waited and waited until we received three installments of sheets, blankets and finally a duvet with all the fluff stuck on the one end of it that they must have dug out of the "Goodwill" pile!!  We made up the vacant queen size bed and for the first time since we were kids, I climbed into bed with my big sister!! 

7:30 a.m. came real fast!  Amy had to get on the road to get home so her husband could go to work - and since her 18 month old twins know how to get into some trouble, they really couldn't be left home alone! LOL  So Amy and Hudson packed up and said their good-byes (and by the way, Hudson slept the WHOLE time the puking, cleaning and waiting game was happening around him!).  I left soon after with my kids - no worries about hitting rush hour traffic in Vermilion, I just wanted to get the heck home!!  We headed out of Calgary and stopped in the next city for breakfast at Smitty's.  My kids all had pancakes and within about 15 minutes of getting on Highway 2 for our drive home, Mark's pancakes made their way right back up again!  AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!   We then played the game "pass the bucket" and "chicken" on highway 2 (okay, so we weren't really playing chicken, but that is what it is like when you stop on the shoulder of highway 2 and get out of the vehicle!).  Grace took her turn next with the bucket and then Mark took three more turns!  Finally when I couldn't take that highway anymore, I pulled off and pulled into Wetaskiwin - my hometown!!!  I haven't been back to Wetaskiwin for over 4 years and I thought I would take my kids on a driving tour of my hometown.  We drove by the different houses I lived in and a couple of memorable places, taking pictures and texting my mother/daughter/sisters the pictures.  We were almost out of Wetaskiwin and two hours from home when Mark took the bucket again!  Half and hour later we needed to stop for lunch, so I pulled into a McDonalds drive-thru and while I placed an order for Happy Meals, Mark puked his guts out behind me!!  We were now only 1 1/2 hours and one pee break away from home!!!  I put the pedal to the metal and drove, drove, drove until we could see our house - our wonderful, glorious house!!  I have never in my entire life been so happy to get home!

I called Amy to see if she got home okay, and they had a good drive home.

Next time Thomas the Train is in town you will not see me standing in line for tickets!  In fact, you might not see me ever leaving my house again with my children!!!

SJ

Gian Pysanka

"Jack Asters" Will, Mark, Hudson & Grace

What a day to see Thomas!

Put on your happy faces kids!

Smile - here comes Thomas the Train!!

Warming up in the tub - Will, Grace & Hudson

Too much too soon

So you may or may not have seen the post that was here as of yesterday (titled "Back in the saddle)...but you weren't supposed to see it - at least not yet!  My daughter started telling me that she was reading it and I very quickly deleted the post because it was not yet finished...and now I wish I had copied it somewhere so I could now finish it, but I deleted it.  The reason I was so quick to delete it was because I hate having people see things of mine that are only half done; I have never liked letting someone see any kind of project until it is completed because I don't feel that is is quite "good enough" until I have done.  This stems from the very low confidence I have always had - which explains oh so many things in my lifetime!  I might appear confident on the outside - or perhaps people can see right through me - but let me tell you right now that I don't have a lot of it!!  I am sure it stems from something in my life - maybe the fact that I am a middle child; maybe the fact that I struggled oh so badly in school; maybe the fact that my grade two teacher was so horrible to me, due to my struggling (I would say that was a big factor); maybe because I have two sisters who are so darn skinny and beautiful; maybe I was just born with it.  Whatever the reason, it is who I am and I try very hard to overcome it, but it is difficult. 

I admire people who have a lot of confidence - or at least seem like they do.  I wish I could be more like them.  I am sure we all suffer from low confidence sometimes, and in fact as I am thinking about it now, I wonder if those who seem like they have so much confidence might just be the ones with the lowest?  Perhaps I am right where I need to be.

SJ

P.S. I will get back in the saddle again and try to re-write that last blog post.

The End

It has been one full year, plus one day, since I started this blog.  In the last year I have learned many new things about myself.  The biggest thing that I have learned is acceptance.

I have learned to accept who I am and what I am.  I know that I might have a few (okay, so many) more pounds on my frame than I did 10 years ago, but I have also learned that my weight is not what defines me.  I have learned that my friends really don't care what size my clothing is, they like me for me - imagine that!!  I have learned that I am a strong woman with points of view that are not always the same as those around me, but that is okay because they are mine.  I have learned that I play a very important role in the lives of many people and that I am greatly appreciated for those roles.  I have learned that my children do not need to be involved in extra-curricular activities at such young ages to grow and blossom - what they get from school and home is enough.  I have learned to stop and smell the roses.

I look so forward to this next year.  My oldest child is ready to spread her wings and fly (sob, sob) and my youngest child is no where near even stepping foot outside the nest! 

Life is grand, I will embrace this next year and all it has in store for me.

Happy New Year!

SJ

It's my day!

Today I am 35 years old! 

I am not scared to grow old, with the exception of looming death, I am quite excited to grow up and grow old!  I don't feel any older today than I did a month ago, or even a year ago.  The only physical trait that proves I am getting older is the fact that I have a handful of grey hairs - actually the are stark white...I call them my "Vitiligo hairs".  I am not afraid of my hair turning grey/white, I am going to embrace it and not an ounce of hair dye will hit this head! 

Today for my birthday I have asked Greg that we do nothing.  I don't want a party, don't want a cake, don't want to go out for supper.  I simply want to watch a movie and eat some chips tonight!  Those who are close to me and know me best may be shocked by those facts!  Five years ago, for my 30th birthday, I threw myself a grand party!  My mom made me the best ever birthday cake - an Aerosmith cake!!!  I had all my friends and family there and I loved it!  Five years later, I have one more kid and a job and quite frankly, I am tired!! 

I am having a lovely day so far, thankful for all the wonderful birthday wishes from family and friends.  There is nothing like a birthday to make a person feel loved!

For anyone in my life who might think that what I said before about being tired and not wanting to do anything will continue in the future...just a heads up that if five years when I turn 40 I want a HUGE party!!!!!!!!!!!!

SJ

Jump!

Gym class was my least favourite time of the day in school; working out at a gym has never lasted more than about three weeks; exercise videos have made a killing off of me, but have never seen the inside of a DVD player.  Needless to say, I am not big on exercise or sports - perhaps that's why the scale never seems to go down!  I decided just a few minutes ago, after eating yet another handful of yummy walnuts (and some fudge and some butter crackers and, well you get the point) that I would try some form of exercise that could be done while four little children and a golden retriever ran around the room with me in the middle of it...I decided on Jumping Jacks! 

Here is what I learned from doing Jumping Jacks in my living room:

1. I need a sports bra if I want to do any kind of jumping!

2. My stomach actually bounces when I do!

3. I might need to talk to my doctor about my weak bladder soon!!

Good thing they don't require adults to go to gym class, but maybe, just maybe they should!

SJ 

Baby, please don't grow up! (Happy 4th Birthday Will)

4 years ago today, November 30 2007, my baby was born!  Will Gregory Johnston weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz.

I have written and re-written this post three times now, trying to tell the story of Will's many complications in his first few months of life.  No way I tell the story seems quite right, so I am going to give a very condensed version and you might want to Google some of the words (I will put them in bold print).

During Will's birth he had Shoulder Dystocia which caused him to be born not breathing and blue!  His APGAR scores were 1 at one minute and 3 at five minutes (not looking good!).  After three days of monitoring in the hospital, he was released and given a clean bill of health!  At his two month immunizations we found out that he had Plagiocephaly caused by Torticollis, which was caused by the shoulder dystocia (are you still following?).  We had to take him to physiotherapy for most of his first year and during his second visit there the pediatric occupational therapist came in and told us that she believed he had Cerebral Palsy!  Our world was rocked!  As we struggled to come to terms with this new revelation, he needed to go to the head clinic at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton to be fitted for a DOC band aka helmet because of his plagiocephaly.  When we arrived there we were told by an OT that we needed to see a neurosurgeon immediately because she believed that his skull plates were fusing too soon!  One more thing to shake us up a little!  The doctor said that was not the case, just a severe case of plagiocephaly and he needed the DOC band asap!!  We had him fitted and for the next four months we took him to Edmonton regularly to have it checked re-sized.  As for the cerebral palsy, we saw specialists who told us that he did NOT have it but we new something wasn't quite right!  Will was about three months delayed in almost everything in the first year, so I made sure he went to physio and OT once a week and had Early Intervention come into our house every couple of weeks to work with Will.  We will never know if it was a all the hard work of the wonderful professionals, myself and Will or just the grace of God, but by Will's first birthday he had caught up and was reaching all the milestones he should have been!  I was still proactive with him and when I noticed some delays in speech, I got him right in to see the speech pathologists.

That is a very condensed version of the roller coaster ride that we were on for that first year, but I want to focus on what Will is now, at four years old! 

Will is the clown in our family, always doing something to make someone laugh!  He is the sweetest little boy I have ever known and loves to call me Mama!!  I call him Baby, which perhaps I should stop, but I know I never will. 

Will is very spoiled, probably because he is the baby of the family, but I think that deep down inside of me I will never forget what could have been.

He amazes me every day with what he knows - he can get apps on my iPhone quicker than me (and the only thing that is saving me from a huge credit card charge is that he doesn't know my password!) and he is a whiz on the computer!  It always amazes me when he says things like: "do you need dot com or dot ca for that one?".

Will doesn't ever want to leave home, not even to go to school...he even dropped out of playschool earlier this Fall!  I don't mind.  I will have him home with me until he goes to Kindergarten in September of 2013! 

Will loves veggies and white milk.

Will loves his stuffed puppy more than anything else in this world (well, except for his Mama!).

Will LOVED his soother soooooo much that it was one of the most painful things I have ever had to put a stop to (and I didn't do it until he was well past three years old)...but every once in a while if he really need it, he still gets it!

Did I mention Will is spoiled and I know it?!

Will hates giving hugs and kisses, but every once in a while he surprises me with a hug (but never a kiss!!)

In honour of Will's 4th birthday, I will list four things that describe Will best:

1. Spoiled rotten

2. Special boy (I bought him a shirt at Bubba Gumps that reads "My Mama Says I'm Special"...that is the perfect shirt for Will in more ways than one!)

3. Big smile!

4. Funny man!

After going through everything we did with Will early in his life, I will never take him for granted and I know we are so blessed to have him with us!

SJ

Will being monitored just after birth

This bear has a heart beat which helps regulate the babies heart beat

Me & Will after coming home

Will's second mother - Grace!

Sweet, sweet boy!

Because every baby deserves an Aerosmith shirt!

Will's first DOC band - 4 months old.  He wore this 23 hours a day...

...even when sleeping!

Will's second DOC band - his head grew so fast he needed a bigger one made!
8 months old

Look at me now!!

2 years old

soother & puppy were always close by

First day of Playschool - 2 weeks before he dropped out!

There's always something funny when Will is around!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!



It never fails!

What, you might ask never fails?  The fact that every time I take my children out in public one of them ends up acting like a wild animal!!  Today I had to take Mark into town to take his picture in front of a building in our community (it's a school project), and Greg is at hockey, Natalie at work...so I was left to take all three kids with me!  We went to Webb's Machinery to take some pictures and then headed to the Dollar store to get birthday supplies for Mark & Will's parties.  After that we walked down the street to the drug store where we needed to develop the pictures.  Once we got to the drug store we headed to the get the pictures developed and the entire time I was fighting with the machines I heard a mixture of automated voices telling me to press this, click that, choose this and the voices of my three children begging to sit on my lap, begging me to buy them animal shaped suitcases and giant slippers!  After fighting with two machines, the manager finally took my memory card to his computer and printed me off the two pictures that I needed...and then said they were on the house!!  That was about the one and only bright spot in this story!  While I was fighting with the machines and waiting for pictures to print, I told my kids to go look at the toys (just as a way to get them to stop bugging me) and boy did I regret that decision!  Will found a toy motorcycle that he just had to have!  I told him to put it on his Christmas wish list and put it back on the shelf...he said no!  I told him about three more times and by then he was crying his eyes out and refusing to put it back.  I threatened to spank his bum if he didn't put it back, so he got a spank on the bum and the toy taken away...well, that didn't make him too happy!!!  All the way through the card aisle he cried, all the way through the baking aisle he cried, all the way through the make-up aisle he cried, and then he fell to the floor and just screamed!!!  I was at the till by this time paying for the two other items I had to pick up and told Mark & Grace (who by the way were behaving very well) that yes, they could pick out a treat.  I had two customers behind me as my son screamed at the end of the make-up aisle and my other kids tried to pick out their favourite treats.  I gave the girl my card, and turned to go pick up my screaming kid before I had too many people staring at me!  As I was going to get him, an older lady stopped me and said this to me: "I am so glad you didn't give into him" - my only response to her was "Thank you!" - she then went on to say this (all the while Will's face is turning red from screaming): "It is a sign of good parenting, too many parents feel sorry for the kids".  I am not sure I have ever had such a nice compliment.  I told her I was feeling sorry for everyone else in the store because they had to listen to him!!  After I paid for my stuff I went over and picked Will up off the floor and told them to get ready to go back outside into the cold.  Will had gloves that had to be put on him and let me tell you that it was not an easy thing to get them on while he was melting down!  Apparently I didn't get the gloves on quite right because he screamed all the way back down the street to where we were parked at the Dollar Store!!

My children may never see the inside of a store again at this rate!!

SJ

Bubba & Blue Bear turn 8!

Eight years ago today, November 23, 2003 my first baby boy and his bear were delivered!

Mark Tyler Johnston was my first born boy, the biggest of my babies - weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs., 1 oz. - and had to be delivered via emergency c-section after his chin became stuck on my pelvic bone (poor boy) because he was "sunny side up" (face up instead of face down).  Mark also got a special delivery (though nobody could have known just how special that delivery would be), Mark got "Blue Bear" from Grandma & Grandpa Johnston that day; Blue Bear, who is "Grumpy" from the Care Bears, has become Marks most prized possession!

Mark is the only child of mine who was named after Aerosmith (and if you don't already know this about me, I am obsessed with Aerosmith!), with his middle name being "Tyler" after Steven Tyler!  I pushed for the first name Steven, but Greg would only allow me to take it so far!  Mark got his nickname "Bubba" not long after birth, for no real reason...I just started calling him Bubba and it kinda stuck! 

From the day Mark was born we all thought we had a hockey player on our hands, but we couldn't have been farther from the truth!  Mark has NO desire to play hockey, or any sport for that matter (though I have to say that he does enjoy playing in his House Leagues at school and even scored his very first goal in floor hockey a few weeks ago!) and his teacher wrote in his report card that he is Strong Competitor, and that he is improving in his volleyball and soccer skills!  Marks passion in life is drawing and art!  He is VERY good at drawing and would rather sit and draw than pretty much anything else in this world.  He has asked for an electric pencil sharpener for Christmas so he can sharpen his pencils faster and more often!  He has a sketch book that he draws many of his pictures in and I love to just flip through it and see all the different drawings he has done!

Along with drawing, Mark loves to build things.  With those two things under his belt, he already knows that he wants to be an Architect when he grows up!  Last year he wanted to be a "Home Stayer"- aka stay-at-home-man!  Glad that he has loftier goals in life now!  Mark has designed all of his siblings homes for when they grow up, and he has designed his own house in the field right next to our house!

Mark gets along with all most of his siblings quite well, however he is a bit of an instigator and can get all of them screaming when he wants to!  He always has a sly little smile on his face when someone in our house screams!  Mark is not at all helpful around the house, unless I have asked his sister to do something, then just like magic, Mark jumps up and wants to do that exact thing and it just happens to make his little sister scream with fury!!  Funny how that works!

One curious thing about Mark is that he will ONLY wear short sleeve t-shirts and soft pants with NO buttons or zippers!  The only time Mark has worn a "wedding shirt" as he calls dressy or button down shirts, is for a wedding or very special day like Natalie's graduation or a Christmas concert!  One day that I will never forget was Grace's 6th birthday when Mark came walking out in his "wedding shirt" and said that it was a special day that day; that is how I know he really actually does love his little sister!

Mark is a very special little boy who I look so forward to seeing grow into a young man and I can't wait to see what he becomes when he grows up! 

Before I show you some pictures of my little boy, I will describe him using his name:

M: Mama suck

A: Artist

R: REALLY (competitive)

K: Knowledgeable

Happy Birthday Bubba!

SJ

Mark just a couple of hours old

Our first picture as a family of 4

Going home - 3 days old

Mark's first Aerosmith bib - 2 months

Mark's first Aerosmith shirt - 6 months old

 Happy 1st Birthday!

Mark & Blue Bear!

1 1/2 years old

3rd Birthday

Mark LOVES to bake and decorate cakes!

                                                            
                                                              

Mark just being Mark!

Blue Bear - 8 years old

                                                                                    

Mark in his "wedding shirt" for Grace's birthday!

                                                                                   
                                                                   Happy 8th Birthday!

What goes around comes around!

Here is a little multiple choice quiz for you:

After reading this, my mother will:

A) Laugh her ass off

B) Say "I told you so"

C) Both A & B

My answer is "C"


It's official!  I am my mother!  Today we have a lovely winter storm brewing and my daugther (who is 18, and by all rights and freedoms can do whatever the heck she wants) wanted to go to her friends house this morning.  I told her she could go, but to be careful because the storm was coming.  At about 1:00 p.m. she returned, with her friend in tow and a Future Shop bag in her hand!  Now, if you don't know about the wee little town that I live in (that has only one grocery store), I can tell you this: we DON'T have a Future Shop!!  I lost my mind (this is where I become my mother) because the nearest Future Shop is located 35 minutes down the Trans Canada Highway!!!  If you could have seen my reaction you would know that I was not pleased at all and you know what she said to me??

1) "You don't have to freak out"

2) "I brought you a sausage McMuffin!" 

Number one - I will freak out because if is my God given right as your mother to freak out if I know that you are driving any kind of vehicle, but especially a 1984 Pontiac, down a major highway in the middle of a major winter storm!!!!

Number two - Don't you know I just jumped back on the Weight Watchers wagon and I am NOT going to be tempted by a cold sausage McMuffin (though if it were hot and fresh I would probably fall right off that wagon for a few minutes)!!

I couldn't believe the foolishness of that girl of mine and I couldn't believe that I sounded so much like my mother!!

My mom has said many, many, many, many, many, many, many, etc., times not to go out in "that weather" and just as many times we have said to her: "don't worry", "don't freak out", etc.  I guess what goes around comes around!

SJ

My baby is legal (at least in Alberta!)

**I would just like to say that I realize this sounds a bit like a eulogy, but it is hard not write in past tense when you are going back 18 years!!**

18 years ago today I was in the greatest pain of my life, not a drug to be had (I still think they did on purpose, as a hard lesson for a young girl to learn), with two hours of intense pushing, she arrived... my beautiful, wonderful, lovely little girl!  Natalie Elizabeth was born on October 27, 1993 weighing in at 7lbs 11 oz.  She was the talk of the high school that day! LOL 

I was very young, 16 years old, but I had the incredible support of my amazing family and I knew that with that, we would be just fine! 

Natalie was quite an easy baby, and even though we have had our moments, she has continued to be an easy child all the way through!  Natalie was never a girly-girl, HATING the colour pink and never really playing with dolls; Her favourite toys were dinosaurs and horses and by the age of three, she knew how to pronounce the name of any dinosaur that ever roamed the earth!  Natalie's very favourite dinosaur of all was the big purple kind...Barney!  She was obsessed with him and anything to do with the show!  I can't tell you how many times I had to hear that song..."I love you, you love me, we're a great big family..."!  There was nothing more important in her world than Barney...well, except maybe Pops!!  Pops is the name my step-dad, Pat, acquired when my nephew, Avery, was little.  My children have never called him anything but Pops!  Pat and Natalie have a very special relationship, probably in my opinion the most important to her.  When Natalie was a baby, Pat took the night shift, getting up in the middle of the night with her, feeding, changing, burping, rocking!  He played such an important role in her life and bonded with her like nobody else was able to.  When Natalie graduated, we were asked to have someone important in their life write them a letter, and I never thought twice to ask Pat to write that important letter to her. 

Natalie started kindergarten young, as an October baby, she was only 4 years old going in, and to this day it is the biggest regret of my life.  She struggled through a lot of school, but the one area she never did struggle with was reading! She was reading shortly into Kindergarten and that was always her strongest attribute in school!  In grade five she was tested for her reading level and she was at a University level!  School was not always easy for Natalie, but this past June she graduated from grade 12 and it was such a proud moment in my life!

Dinosaurs were not the only animal she has loved!  Horses have been her biggest passion in life!  She has always loved horses and had the chance to start riding when she was about 8 years old.  She took lessons in Lloydminster at a stable and when she turned 9, she joined the Vermilion Light Horse 4-H Club.  She rode her Grandpa Scott's horse, Drifter, for quite a few years until she had the chance to use a very special horse named Jett.  Jett belongs to my Aunty Barb and Natalie has had the opportunity to ride Jett for a few years now.  Natalie and Jett have a very special connection, as did Drifter and Natalie.  I know horses will always be a part of Natalie's life and I hope that one day in the future she will have the chance to have a horse to call her own!

Today I will watch my daughter blow out the candles on her 18th birthday cake and with that in mind I will send her off into adulthood with a list of 18 things to always remember...

1. Always be kind to others
2. NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE
3. It's never too late at night to call your mother
4. Respect yourself
5. Follow your dreams, but live in reality
6. Always keep a few Aerosmith songs on your playlist
7. Don't give yourself to just any old boy
8. Pay your bills on time
9. It's okay to eat dessert first
10. CLEAN YOUR ROOM
11. Always listen your instincts
12. Do not wear too much make-up
13. Remember that you are beautiful
14. Remember your little sister and brothers are still looking up to you
15. Always use your manners
16. NEVER DO DRUGS
17. Always be yourself
18. Life's a Journey, Not a Destination

We love you so much Natalie, we are here for you every step of your journey!

Happy Birthday!

SJ




Some of these pictures have been scanned (and I am not very good with technology!), so a few of them seem a little off kilter!

Going home from the hospital

About 6 months old

My very favourite picture of Natalie!

2 years old

Grade 4

Getting ready for a riding competition (about 12 years old)

Natalie & Jett at 4-H Expo



Going for her interview at Boston Pizza

Grad 2011

Grad 2011

Oops, I did it again!

There are those days in my life when I think the day is going well enough to take my children out in public, but then I do it and I remember why I don't do it very often!!  I had absolutely nothing going on today and I even slept in until 8:30 a.m.!!  The first indicator of what was to come was the fact that Grace was up before me...bad sign!  Since I had nothing to do today and Greg was going out of town, I decided it would be a very good day to take my kids to the store to buy the boys new winter boots...and to go to the hardware store to pick out paint colours for their bedrooms.  Since I am one of those mothers who believe it is very important for children to have input and choices in their world (not huge life changing choices, but choices like paint colour), I decided to leave it completely up to them as to what colour their bedrooms become!  We are having a friend of mine sew some curtains for Mark's bedroom, so I have to see what colour they are going to be (because I let my friend pick out the material) before we pick out paint, but the colour Mark really, really wants is called Wasabi and it is VERY, VERY bright green!!  Grace picked out a very lovely shade of purple and Will had a very hard time deciding on the perfect colour...blue, red, orange, brown, red with orange and blue polka dots, orange with red and brown polka dots...oh, to be three again!  In the end he decided he really, really wanted brown and picked out a nice shade (Mark calls it "Chocolate Bar") and once we get it on the walls I plan to buy some red and blue and maybe orange polka dots to add to the room!  I also bought a nice blue for our main bathroom.  I am not even close to being ready to paint any room and after the day you are about to hear about, it is going to be a few weeks until these rooms look any different!

I really should have listened to my gut and left Grace at home with Natalie, because we hadn't even left the driveway when she started screaming!  I think the first time was about the fact that Mark was touching her.  I told her that I would leave her at home if she didn't smarten up...I should have followed through!  We stopped at the hardware store first and ended up staying there far longer than planned because as soon as we started looking at the paint chips it seemed like all of Vermilion had the same idea!  We had one can tinted when natured called and we all had to go and find the bathrooms!  By the time we got back to the paint area there was a slew of people having paint mixed and since we still had three cans to mix, we had to wait in line!  Apparently hardware stores aren't very exciting for kids!  Mark bugged Grace, Grace whined; Grace wanted to play with Will, Mark all of a sudden wanted to play with Will; I gave Mark my phone just to shut him up, they all wanted my phone!!  I tried to trick them into searching the store for garbage cans but they wouldn't fall for it!  I tried everything!  I guess the lady mixing my paint has seen far worse because she gave my kids balloons because they were "so good"!!  It seemed like forever we were in there and I was ready to go!  By the time we left, my kids were starving!  We went over to Subway to get some lunch and when we walked into that building it felt like we just crossed the border to Mexico!  Here is a little tidbit of info you may not know about me - I HATE the heat, no matter if it is natural heat of forced heat!!!  Apparently, the air conditioning is not working, and it was HOT in there!!  My kids all stripped their jackets off and Grace just kept saying to me: "I'm sooooo thirsty"!  We got out of there as fast as humanly possible and found some benches down the street to eat on.  Will took his sweet time eating his sub and chips and after about 20 minutes of sitting on a bench outside I had to tell him to wrap it up so we could keep going on this adventure of ours!  I guess I should have given him a few more minutes because as soon as we got back to the vehicle to wash Doritos and mustard off my children's faces, a guy walks up to me and says: "Excuse me Ma'am, but one of your kids hit my truck with your door"....are you freakin' kidding me???  I went with him as my Dorito faced children stood on the sidewalk and I rubbed and rubbed his truck with the sleeve of my jacket!  I think he could tell that I was about to the boiling point and I might just snap at any moment so he said it didn't look too bad and not to worry about it!  Once I rubbed it, there really wasn't much of a mark on it.  Our next stop was the department store where we had to buy the boys some boots.  I let them pick out their boots, and as Mark was trying his on, Will decided to play a game of hide-and-seek in a small town department store!  After finding him and threatening him with a spanking if he didn't stop hiding, I sent them downstairs to the toy department...and told them very firmly NOT to ask for a single thing down there!  Once I had paid for the boots and got the kids back upstairs, we headed next door to the drug store.  Will was making an old lady laugh as he was dancing and giggling in front of the securtiy camera, because he could see himself on the monitor!  The kids all tried on Halloween masks, I picked out some Halloween candy for the big day and took the kids to the front of the store to pick out their treats; Mark found his quickly and so did Will, but my sweet, sweet Grace just couldn't find what she was looking for!  I finally had to give her a five second warning to pick something fast because there were other customers waiting, so she picked out some chocolate covered raisins.  We all headed out of the store after one more jig in front of the security camera and walked down the street to our vehicle.  All three of the kids had to sit in the same row today because I had the third row put down and of course there was a whole lot of fighting and screaming as Grace tried to get her seatbelt done up with her big brother just inches away from her!  I think she managed to reach a new note today with her high pitched scream!  As we were driving home, just a few seconds after she had buckled in, she let out a blood curdling scream and didn't let up until we pulled into the driveway...she spilled her chocolate raisins!!  It was one of those moments in life that I actually envisioned what it would be like to just pull over and either drop her off on the side of the road or for me to just simply walk away!  Of course I am not insane, just a little touched, but I would never actually do it...just fantasize about it!  When we finally got home I gave her four little Halloween chocolate bars to make up for her spilled raisins, because even though I have no problem with my children eating food off of the floor, I draw the line at my vehicle floor, and Wal-Mart's floors!  The minute we walked into the house I made her climb into my bed with her blanket and chocolate bars and turn the t.v. on, cause mama could take no more of her today!!

Now that my children have boots and paint, there is no reason to take them out in public anytime soon...except to trick-or-treat, but at least then they are disguised and me acting like a crazy lunatic is acceptable on Halloween night!!

SJ

Thank you...

It only seems fitting to talk about what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend.  Here is what I am thankful for (in no particular order):

• my family
• my husband
• my children
• my house (the fact that we have one)
• my friends
• Aerosmith
• food
• my flabby body
• my kids school (and teachers)

I am sure I am missing some things to be thankful for (pretty much everything in my life), but I will tell you about the above list.

for some reason I have the next part highlighted...don't know why and don't know how to get rid of it, sorry!

FAMILY...

I got a big one! I am not sure that anyone of my parents or grandparents set out to give me such a large family, but here it is and I love it! I have two sisters, four (half) brothers and three step-sisters; 22 Webb (first) cousins, 14 Duguid (first) cousins (I think my arithmetic is correct on those), don't ask me how many second or third cousins I have! I have a mom, dad, step-mom, step-dad, mom-in-law, dad-in-law; I have two grandmas & one grandpa who I still get to visit with; I have four of the world's most amazing children (of course I am a little biased); I have two other entire families from my step-parents who have made me feel nothing less than part of their families; I have two entire families from my in-laws as well! (Are you still with me?)...plus everywhere I turn in my little town, I am related to someone!! Life is good when you have family around...my life is great because of it!

HUSBAND...

 You couldn't find two people who were more opposite than Greg & me!  We have worked out pretty good though!  I bring the loose, liberal, free-spirit parts to our marriage and he brings the structured, conservative, A-type personality to it!  We are like peanut butter and jelly, the two of us!  He loves me for who I am, what I look like and even for how much of his hard earned money I spend!!  He's a keeper!

CHILDREN...

What more can I say about my children than they are the most wonderul things that ever happened to me!?!?!  I have had children under my roof and in my arms since I was 16 years old and I can't imagine a life any different than that!  There has never been a job I wanted to do more than being a mother!  I will run through what I am most thankful about each one of my children...

Natalie: I am so thankful that even though she is turning 18 in two short weeks, she has not really given us too much grief as parents!  She may have a messy room and a forgetful mind, but we sure got lucky in the teenager stage of her life!  She has been a great kid and I know she will be a great adult!

Mark:  I am so thankful that Mark is a smart, artistic, sentsitive kid!  He loves his momma more than anything and even though he doesn't really like me to give him kisses, he still lets me!  He is almost 8 years old and I am so excited to watch him grow into the wonderful young man I know he will be!

Grace:  I am thankful that even though I call her a "diva", she really isn't one!  Grace is a 6 year old girl with very independent personality!  I know that she will grow up to be someones boss and I am sure that after she gives us a run for our money as a teenager, I will have no problem cutting those apron strings!  She will have no problem leaving the nest either!!

Will:  I am thankful that he LOVES being my baby!  I am sooooooo thankful that this little boy of mine is so perfectly perfect after all the issues he went through as a baby (you will read all about these issues on November 30, when I blog about his birthday).  I am so thankful for the funny things that come out of his mouth.  I am so thankful for the idea that he will never want to leave the nest...but I am sure if you ask me in twenty years I will be ready to push him right out of the tree...but for right now, as a three year old boy, I am so thankful!


HOUSE:  We live in a big, warm, not-even-close-to-being-paid-for house and I am so thankful for that!


FRIENDS:  I have the world's greatest friends!  You know who you are, and I thank you for being my friend! 

AEROSMITH:  Thank you Steven, Joe, Tom, Brad & Joey for coming together long before I was even born and creating America's greatest rock and roll band (and if you are laughing at me right now for typing that, just Google it...it's right there in black & white!); Thank you for making me the crazy fan who knows every little detail of your life; Thank you for my first born sons middle name (Tyler); Thank you for making my 30th birthday the best a girl could ever have; Thank you Joey for the drum sticks that now hang in my craft Aerosmith room that you passed to me and Amy at the very first concert I was ever at; Thank you Steven for doing American Idol so that the whole wide world can see why I have been so crazy for you for the past 23 years!!

I will take this moment to say sorry if any of my friends are offended that Aerosmith got a much longer blurb than they did...you know I love you too!!

FOOD: do I really need to elaborate?

FLABBY BODY:  I am thankful for this flabby body of mine because I means I have lots of food to eat! 

KIDS SCHOOL:  My kids (the two who are in school) attend Vermilion Elementery School (V.E.S.) and that is the school that I attended from grade 1 - 3 when I lived here.  It is a great school with wonderful teachers - one who just happens to fall into that "Duguid first cousin" category I mentioned earlier!  My kids teacher this year are Sandy Birch and Rebecca McCullough.  Ms. Birch is Grace's teacher (and was Mark's last year) and I don't think I could ask for a better grade one teacher!  She teaches the way that I think - no extra pressure on these little people...I love it!  Mrs. McCullough is the teacher who Mark wanted and got this year!  She is a lovely woman who is very artistic and that is exactly what Mark needs!  He came home from school with 4 thanksgiving crafts!!  She is right up his alley!  Mrs. Bonnie Bauer is the music teacher at V.E.S. and she has been teaching music there since i was in school there!!  She might just be the most wonderful human being on earth!  She is lovely, kind, sweet, wonderful!  I can't go on about the entire staff, so I will just say that my kids are so lucky to have such a wonderul school to call their own!

So many things in my life and this world that I am thankful for...those are just a few!

Happy Thanksgiving!

SJ

P.S. Thank you for reading my blog!  I am thankful to know that people actually like what I have to say!