Disruption

I'm trying!

Disruption. I think that is the word for 2013, at least so far. Things have not been going along how I expect.

Thyroid cancer diagnosis in January followed by thyroidectomy and a difficult recovery. A "foreign object" in my neck appeared a month after surgery (likely a stray piece of thread from stitching me up) just under the surface and it won't likely be removed. This makes my scar line even longer! Water leaks and damage in my kitchen forced us out of the house for a few days and then back home to a less than easy place to manuever (kitchen things boxed up, no sink, and very limited counter space for making lunches makes for grumpy parents and kids).

Disruption is hard. I'm about to start another disruption - the low iodine diet - on Monday. I won't bore you with details but it is TOUGH. The best way to prepare for this diet is to make meals ahead of time and prepare snacks as well. No restaurant or take out food are allowed. I thought I'd have those meals made by now.

The plumbing is being fixed and my kitchen is being rebuilt either today or tomorrow. If all goes according to plan (ha ha ha!), I hope to make some meals and snacks on Sunday. I should have a sink and a counter to work on by then.

I've stopped taking my thyroid medication to prepare my body for radioactive iodine treatment. I'm hypothyroid and you can see what that means here. I was carrying along quite fine until yesterday when I started to feel sort of spacey. Just writing this post is a bit challenging - to stay coherent. At least I know this is one of the expected symptoms. I'll have to stop driving soon. Another unpleasant one is irritability. A torn up kitchen can make any woman testy but this is putting me over the edge!

I get new flooring and new countertops. I'm going for the old fashioned formica countertop. Saves money and I'm pretty sick of cleaning the grout of a tile one. For the floors, I'm going with a fake wood floor. I hope I can pick the right one. Now is NOT the best time for me to be making decisions!

If you are a prayer, please pray for me and my family. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in mid May.Pin It

DIY sticker shock

So, I've been painting and improving stuff that I find at Goodwill. That's my current hobby/obsession.

I was painting a big ornate framed mirror (I wish I could show you a picture but I still have a sick computer) on the weekend and, whoops, I broke the mirror. I was very sad. Hubby wasn't even here to cheer me up.

Oh well, I though later (after some chocolate, that is.) The mirror had a "black spot" so it wasn't perfect and I'll just go to a glass place and get a replacement.

Today I went to a glass store. I brought in my big 'ol frame and asked for a quote for a beveled mirror. I was quoted 75 dollars. SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS? For just a mirror without a frame? Sigh. I tried not to think about the fact that I dropped something worth almost that much.

So... I'm settling for a non-beveled mirror. For $25 dollars. Sigh. So much for frugal redecorating.
I *love* the frame, so I guess it it worth it.

The moral of this story? If you are painting a Goodwill/thrift store find, take the mirror out of the frame before you start moving it around! And those framed mirrors you find? If they are in good shape, grab 'em!

Maybe someone can learn from my expensive mistake and my free but valuable advice. :)Pin It

Oops, he did it again!

Yes, C cut his own hair again. I thought he learned his lesson
last time (in October), but apparently not.

Sigh. This time, he cut all the way to the scalp. He may have to have a buzz cut. Stay tuned.Pin It

You should see the other guy.

My youngest is very adventurous and doesn't have a good sense of what is a good idea and what is not. We were at a fast food restaurant on Friday and he wanted to sit in the wooden high chair. Well, he wanted to *play* in the high chair. He was perched on it, squatting and he tumbled out, head first onto the hard uncarpeted floor. You wouldn't believe the screaming. He is OK, by the way.

We were supposed to have our Christmas family photo taken on Saturday but when I had a good look at his eye Saturday morning, I knew we had to reschedule. There are some things even Photoshop can't fix. Here's hoping NEXT Saturday will work out!

p.s. The photo was taken with my *old* camera. I need a flash drive for my new one so I can share photos.Pin It

Quick update

Thanks to the persistence of my hubby, my lost e mails have been recovered. My account is now password-protected. I'm going to compile all my contacts and create a hard copy in case anything like this happens again. Relieved.

Clearly, I have a Dennis the Menace.Pin It

Angry

My 2 year old permanently deleted 8 pages of my e mails today. He is obsessed with my computer. Every time I leave my chair he is on that thing clicking anything and everything. We've tried various things to prevent this sort of thing happening but nothing's working. Time to put a password on the screensaver, I suppose. I want a Berlin wall around my desk! (it's in the playroom)Pin It

Survived the first day of preschool..... barely

My oldest son (4) started preschool today. I actually thought it would go pretty well since we met his teacher yesterday and he seemed "keen." Unfortunately, I was wrong.

The morning quickly deteriorated into a major battle over clothing. He has become very particular about what he will wear and it usually the opposite of what I want. He refused to wear any of the polo shirts I recently bought for him (I'm tired of t shirts.) I gave in on that one but then he freaked out about his pants. I bought him some new brown fall-like pants that have an adjustable waist. The school doesn't want the kids wearing belts since they might need help doing those up after potty trips. Almost all of his jeans require belts so those were out. I wouldn't budge on the pants. He was screaming and crying forever. He said the pants were "too comfy and too soft." Then he said they were scratchy. ?? He cried all the way to school. My hubby went with us since we *thought* it would be a fun milestone to share. Ha! He clung to Daddy like white on rice! We waited until all the other kids had gone into the classroom and then we had to hand him over (physically) to the teacher's assistant. He continued to scream behind the closed door. We could still hear him as we walked down the hallway. I cried on the way home. It seemed like an eternity until pick up time. I was worried that my phone would ring and the school would call and ask me to come pick him up.

On a bright note, my youngest son handled it fine. I wondered if *he* would cry and want to go to school. (There was another little brother doing just that).

When it was time to go in and pick up my son, I stood at the doorway with nervous anticipation. I looked at the teacher with panicky eyes that said "did he do OK?" They said he did fine. I think he loved it. He was proud of the Fruit Loop necklace he brought home and is excited about the Scholastic book catalogue. Is that thing a racket or what?

He even let me take his picture this afternoon with the sign I made that says "First Day of Preschool 2007." A great idea I read in Family Fun magazine.

Oh - A said that he cried until circle time was over. Those poor teachers and kids!

I heard today that the son of a mom at my church reacted pretty much the same way as A did to his first day of preschool. We'll have to chat and commiserate!Pin It

Getting crafty

I wanted to share some crafty goodness.

A while back after a particularly bad day of too many sippy cups and too much poop cleanup I escaped to one of my favourite craft stores Ben Franklin for some sanity saving time. I decided to make my own French Memo board.

Here are the directions.

Materials - one wood framed canvas 16 by 20 (or smaller, if you like).
One "fat corner" of fabric - sorry I don't know the exact dimensions but you can find oodles of these at any good fabric store.
Ribbon - I can't remember how many yards. Buy yourself 2 rolls and I think you'll be good.
Brads - 12 in a coordinating colour.

You need a staple gun for this. If you're lucky or have tendonitis like me, your DH will do the stapling for you - well after you do some and then whine about the pain.

First staple the fabric to the canvas. Then staple down the ribbons in a criss cross pattern. Next make holes at the intersecting places for the brads. I used a nail to do that. Then insert the brads. Voila!

I even made a second one as a gift for my mom. Unfortunately, my 2 year old discovered how to take the brads out before I gave it to her. It has been recreated and is now safely at Grandma's house.Pin It

Trip to ER

C and I spent 4 1/2 hours at the hospital last night. 3 1/2 of that was waiting in the waiting room. Yes, I managed to survive that long with a hyper 23 month old in a small place with very little to do. In hindsight I should've brought some toys but my main priority as I left in a hurry was changing his clothes so he wouldn't be wearing a onesie. Onesies are a real pain when the doctors/nurses keep checking his heart rate and also need to watch his chest.

Oh, he's fine, by the way. Asthma. Both my boys have had it at this age. We went to the ER because his breathing was too fast (getting near 60 breaths per minute) and he was working too hard to breathe.

Got home around 1:45 am. Today I feel horrible. I had chills in the night, didn't sleep long enough and I also feel weak. Flu, perhaps. Thankfully my DH worked from home part of the day. I'm so thankful that his job allows that. I don't know how I would've survived today alone.Pin It

I just threw out 2 dozen freshly baked cookies

No, I'm not on some radical self-deprivation diet. No, they weren't burnt.

Can you guess why? Well, since I have about 3 readers of my blog, I won't wait for guesses. :)

I made oatmeal raisin cookies tonight. I used Crisco in the ingredients (because it was listed in a Betty Crocker recipe and I trust those) and I think it was way past its expiration date. What a horrible taste! It also stunk up the house. Not like our house needs any new nasty smells (2 boys in diapers, need I say more)!

I will need a new recipe. Poor A will be disappointed. He helped me make the cookies and he was in the bath (then going to bed) when I tested the cookies. Too bad I couldn't get some delivered overnight.Pin It