Communication ???

I'm still babysitting (haven't heard an "end date" yet ~ but i have a feeling it won't be end of August ~ lol)... and school has started now, so i (typically) have all three kids in the morning (8am) til the oldest (Ch) goes to school, and then the other two all day. (J will be starting kdgn in a few weeks). And their mom asked if Ch could come for lunch ~ sure, most of the time that should work out fine. So first day (Wed) that all works out fine.

Yesterday i was busy getting things done at home, and all of a sudden remember "Ch is supposed to come for lunch, what time is it now?" Lunch time! I hurry to get something together so that she doesn't have to wait too long... expecting her at 12:15. 12:20, then 12:25, and by 12:30 i'm really wondering because the day before, she was done and leaving by that time. So I call her mom to find out if there were other arrangements... "oh, yes, sorry i forgot to tell you that she took a lunch to school." Ok... thanks, at least i don't have to wonder where she stayed.

So I expect to see her after school ~ 3:15 or so. 3:20, 3:30... "umm, where is Ch?" Feeling a bit dumb, i call her mom again... but this time i leave a message because she didn't answer. 5min. later i get a return call... "oh sorry i forgot to tell you that Ch won't be coming today..." Ok, so at least i don't need to go look for her!

Then last night while i'm making jelly, the phone rings, and Jonathan takes the call... it was the kids dad. Jonathan tells me he'll be dropping the kids off at 10am this morning. And i asked a few times to clarify they were only coming at 10. Not totally unusual because "dad" is self-employed and sometimes he brings the kids a bit later, but usually it's been by 9:30. Ok... sweet... i get to sleep in :-)

Not! ... 7:50am i wake to a knock on the door ~ strange! Really strange! Who would be knocking on my door at that time of day? I scramble up in my lovely (not) pj's, and answer the door... the girls are there with their mom. Apparently "dad" is only bringing the little boy at 10!

Hmm, ok... take it as it comes!

K, i'm hungry for breakfast

Summer has gone by quickly

We had another "outing" last weekend. We almost didn't make a holiday of it ~ considered just going out Monday morning for Brenden's 2:30 appointment (we took him to see a Naturopath in Sherwood Park), and coming home after that ~ but we decided it would be too much driving for one day, and since we had the opportunity (who knows when we'll have the chance again) we should take advantage of it. I'm glad we did as it turned out to be a really good holiday.

After enough hassles trying to find a motel that would take a family of 6 for a reasonable price, we actually ended up at a place that gave us a really good price to stay for 2 nights. It wasn't the "nicest" place, but it was clean enough and all worked out just fine.

We got to Edmonton (the mall) about 3:30 or so... walked around, watched the sea lion show from the second floor (and off to the side a ways, so not a great view, but whatever), walked around some more ~ looked at the huge water park, visited galaxy land to watch the rides (didn't go on any though), stuff like that. We didn't really do any "shopping" at the mall (how sad is that ~ lol).

Then by about 7pm we checked in at the motel, and went to a nearby Superstore to pick up supper ~ that was an adventure! The store was crazy busy with LONG line-ups at the tils, and thinking we were only getting a few things, we didn't take a cart or basket. So here we were, almost all of us carrying "something" and almost done, when Reagan suddenly sat himself down on the floor. He was very pale, and weak, etc. ~ he's done this before (and it was like 7:30, so TOO long since he'd eaten). So we're scrambling to figure out what to do... (like get him sugar quickly)... finally got Jonathan to take him out, i grabbed a basket from a nearby til to put all our stuff into, had the other kids "stay together right here" and i hurried out to help Jonathan with Reagan. I stayed with him while Jonathan looked for a vending machine with pop and we got some sugar into him to perk him up again. Jonathan stayed with Reagan and the rest of us finished up our shopping. (Yes, i now have an appointment for him to see the doctor! Of course we have a few weeks wait to get in...).

Sunday we spent most of the day at the science centre. We got there basically in time to catch the 11:00 Imax movie ~ Human Body ~ which was really good. We took in most of the science demonstrations and really enjoyed those. Making pop, making ice cream, playing with fire... lots of fun stuff. And we kept and eye on Reagan and made sure he had enough to eat ~ lol.

Monday morning we had a few hours before Brenden's appointment so we spent that time at the mall... and we actually did a little bit of shopping! All of about 20 mins?? lol... we hung out by the sea lions waiting for a better view of the show (we asked that morning and they were planning on a 12:00 show, but after waiting 1/2 hour asked again and it had been cancelled. (Well, i browsed while Jonathan & the kids "waited"). So no show... we walked over to a pet store and admired the adorable puppies & kittens, and looked at the other creatures too. Lunch (which was kind of a disappointment ~ not that great), and then we were off for the appointment.

Interesting appointment... and we're hoping to see some of Brenden's issues improve.

And the long drive home. A nice family outing!

Can i just say i'm feeling...

well, i'm not sure what the word is... but i think i feel like i'm not getting anywhere with all the stuff that i'd like to be getting done. I think that probably, the underlying thing is the sense of responsibility for Brenden's program (to be doing it diligently every day), so holidays don't help here (obviously we aren't going to get much program done on holidays).

We spent nearly a week in Manitoba and the break was lovely! I'd love to post about it all, but don't afford myself the time.

I can't believe how busy i feel and yet i look around and everything is a mess! (Yes, i'm back to babysitting, but i can't really blame it on that... well, maybe a little, but not all of it!).

Ok, computer is getting ready to do an auto update so it'll be shutting down right away...

later... (hopefully!)

is it just me?

I'm sure it's not just me... but it really bothers me how some people waste food! I've seen it quite repeatedly in the last two weeks, and it gets to me! There are so many reasonable options... start with smaller servings and go for more if you need; save the left-overs and eat them later when you are hungry again (it isn't always a great option, but it often is!)

Well, i've listened to a lot of noise today! Much of it has been "happy" noise, but it's been noise none-the-less. Having three extra children over for a week... well, it's always an adventure. It's been great for Janique to have another girl in the mix too, but they've been having their share of disagreements today too (nothing big, but just enough to be annoying) ~ i'm sure they are ALL over-tired! Plus the girls moved their playing upstairs (a living room floor-FULL) because the boys were pounding away on the drums (i've never heard those drums played that loudly before either). So there really hasn't been a place for silent retreat today ~ this is the closest i've come to finding it here. I was browsing homeschool catalogues for a few ideas ~ still need to figure out a science for this year ~ so that's a fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. But it was almost hard to focus on "science" with the girls' constant chatter ~ lol. If it hadn't been so windy i think i would've taken my books out to the trampoline. Oh well... the kids seem to be having fun (mostly).

Anyway, i guess this was my little "getaway"

it doesn't sound like Jonathan is getting far with getting the kids tucked in (kind of hard when he's running/chasing around with them)... lol

I really shouldn't be at the computer... but i am for a bit. And finally getting to some of our camp pictures from last weekend (trying to figure out where they are, how to find them ~ to post, you know ~ and renaming a few so they're easier to find, etc.). Anyway, there's a lot that i can't even post because the foster children are included on so many of them... but still hoping for time to create a post with what i can. In the mean time, here's a picture of some of the fun i had on Thursday... i did a mystery meal for the kids at cousins camp. It was a lot of fun... but a lot of work. I did these ("race cars" on the menu) for 13 children plus my sister and parents.

The rest of the menu included the following "mystery" items and they had to chose (without knowing what was what) in what order they wanted their meal:

Blisters (biscuits)

Karate Lesson (beverage ~ punch)

Curly Cow (beef flavored oriental noodles/ soup)

Race Car (the veggie car above)

Grubs (macaroni & cheese)

Little bit of Fear (chicken)

Rainbow Stew (rainbow jellow done in layers with 6 colors of the rainbow)

Then for their main course, they each had a kitchen utensil to eat with (they've done this other years and loved it).

Anyway, i was going to make this quick ~ i need to make sure i'm ready for Sunday school tomorrow, and then get some sleep!