Author Archives: Sherry

Brrrrrr

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You know that song, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”? It takes on a whole new meaning when your windows look like this.

Icy

It’s been pretty cold the past few days; today our high was only -21C with the wind chill. Luckily it doesn’t look like it will be quite so chilly over Christmas.

Speaking of the big day, everything as far as major purchases go has been bought and is waiting to be wrapped. It’s such a relief. George went and got the last few things today and I just need to go out for some minor stuff tomorrow but I’m not anticipating any stress with that.

I think I’m just about ready to put my feet up and wait for Christmas day! Hmmm, wait. I may have to also stop for some eggnog at the store, THEN I’ll be ready!

I survived but I'm not done yet!

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Today George and I headed out to drop Breanna off at her grandparents’ house so that we could go shopping, finally! The first place we hit was Toys R Us and for the first time ever in my time shopping there my jaw dropped open as I saw the lines. It was kind of nuts. In the end it wasn’t as bad as I thought, the lines did move pretty quickly, but it was still shocking. We had sort of figured that most people still have to work up to the 23rd, so we were expecting an emptier store. Yikes.

We also hit Wal-Fart and Zellers. I don’t like Wal-Fart on a good day, let alone a holiday shopping day so I nearly took George up on his offer for me to stay in the car (he knows how much I hate going in there) but I sucked it up and went on in. It wasn’t too bad.

We ended up going to two more on the other side of town as well, searching for just a few more things. Unfortunately we didn’t get it all finished yet (which is why I’m just grateful I wasn’t shopping on the 24th!), but we did get most of it. We need one more thing for Hayley, one joint gift for them, and possibly one more for each. We also have to get the gift for George’s sister and her husband, but it’s going to be easy to pick up. There are two kid gifts that are proving annoyingly difficult and it was ticking me off.

I also have to brave the dollar store and I’m hoping we can do all of that tomorrow. I’m not sure whether we can drop Breanna off again, it depends on everyone’s plans, but if we have to take her too then we’ll take turns at the different stores with one person shopping and the other walking around with her. Whew.

I’m looking forward to the 24th. I usually still have to do all the wrapping then, but at least I won’t have to go to the store!

Think good thoughts

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Tomorrow is not only Monday, it’s also mere days before Christmas day. It’s ALSO the day where I will be hitting up Toys R Us and Best Buy among others for our Christmas shopping. It’s the only chance we’ve gotten as far as shopping goes. I’m feeling more or less calm about it since I know exactly what I’m looking for and most people will still be working so hopefully it won’t be too busy and chaotic in the stores.

Hayley has school for two days this week (really only one day because Tuesday is the school-wide holiday party day so I doubt they’ll be teaching much of anything – though the math teacher DOES have a homework sheet for Tuesday, sheesh!) so she’ll be there while we’re out and we’re dropping Breanna over at her grandparents’ house while we head off to the stores.

I’m a bit stressed out because I do wish we had been able to do this all much sooner but that’s the way the cookie crumbles (or the way the bank account fluctuates, whatever you want to call it). Also, it’s not the first time we’ve done it and although I always dread it, it always works out. I don’t know what kind of magic they work in Toys R Us but we’ve always been pretty lucky over there.

Still, keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts for us tomorrow morning! Please?

Oh hey, look at that, it's Saturday!

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Last night I nearly made a terrible mistake. As I got into bed, by reflex I reached over to my alarm clock and I turned it on. Luckily I realized what I had done before my head actually made it to the pillow because I would have been beyond ticked off if it had one off at 5:40 am on a Saturday.

To make up for my busy week I slept in a bit (though not really since the kids decided to play directly across the hall – they were playing well and not fighting but they were pretty loud), and then when George brought me a cup of coffee I curled up and read some of my book (I’m reading The Hollow \)while I drank it.

Other than that I cleaned up a bit and made pork tenderloin for supper, and not much more than that. It was so nice to have a relaxing quiet day.

Hope yours was great too!

Portrait of a Friday

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This morning my alarm went off at 5:40 am and I dragged myself out of bed a few minutes later. I had only gone to bed at 11 pm but I fell asleep within five minutes and slept all night so I felt more or less okay as I got up, dressed, and forced bits of plastic lenses into my eyes. Hayley got up at 6, I took the dog down to pee, and then Hayley and I were off to breakfast club.

It was my first time volunteering for the breakfast club and let me just say right now that although I am not – and likely never will be – a morning person, it felt so good to be there. I loved setting it all up, serving breakfast to the kids, and getting it all cleaned up. Although my own kid goes just because she likes to (and would get a good, healthy breakfast even if the club didn’t exist) there are some kids who really truly need something like this, a government program that provides them with food so that they can go about their day.

All my life I wanted to do something to help people and I never did. I wanted to go to third world countries to build schools and hand out food with the Red Cross or the UNHCR or UNICEF and instead I followed a path that took me away from all of that. More than once I’ve wondered what it would be like to make a difference like that. It’s not a third world country, but knowing that I was helping the quiet kids who don’t get breakfast at home for whatever reason made me feel like I finally stepped up and did what I’ve always wanted to do.

I hate to sound like I’m preaching but honestly, if you have the time and opportunity to volunteer somewhere, I seriously urge you to try it.

(After breakfast club I attended the holiday concert, helped one of the teacher’s aides (a woman that I adore), handed out pizza at lunch since it was pizza day, and delivered bread from our PPO bread drive. I arrived at the school at 6:30 am and left at 2:30. I am exhausted and am unwinding with a glass of Fuzion Alta red wine (delicious and smooth), a bag of chips, and some Criminal Minds re-runs on A&E. Beyond cleaning and purging pre-Christmas explosion around the apartment my main weekend plans involve a bit of sleeping in. Happy Friday!)

In my typical way…

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I have not bought a single Christmas present yet. Nope. Not one. Not even for the kids. What? Why yes, yes I *am* aware that Christmas is next week. Thanks for the reminder though.

Really, I couldn’t have done it much sooner since I had to wait for funds and whatnot. Pesky money! And it sucks because a) my gifts to my sister and Neal won’t get there before the new year, which is really disappointing, and b) I’ll be stuck going to stores with all of the last-minute crazy people.

By crazy people I mean the people who shop in the last few days before the big day with absolutely no clue what they want to buy. I have a game plan, I’ve got each item listed on a piece of paper with the price and the store location. If they happen to be out of said item, I also have back-up ideas just in case. I may be shopping in the last days leading up to Christmas but at least I know what I want.

I’ve seen people frantically grabbing at anything they can reach, shoving it towards their husband/wife/whatever and asking, “what about this? Will they like THIS?!” Their eyes are usually bulging and their voices lift up in a higher pitch the longer they talk. When I worked at Hallmark one holiday season I remember a man trying to convince his brother that it was okay to buy a Catholic rosary for his Jewish wife for Hanukkah because it was pretty. Um, yeah okay.

I just need to wait until next week because there’s no way in hell I’m stepping foot inside any major stores the weekend before Christmas, and then George and I will set out and do our best to conquer. I really do hope that one year I’ll manage to be all done with my shopping before the middle of the month, but clearly this was not the year for that. Again.

Then again, hey, it’s fun to live on the edge right? Right?

Hmm. Well, wish me luck and next week if I survive I will let you know how it went!

I should go to bed now and sleep all through Thursday

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After attending tonight’s PPO meeting I realized that Friday is going to be one busy day. I think I’m doing my first stint at Breakfast Club and if that’s the case I need to be there by 6:30 am. Also known as StillDark O’Clock.

After that, I’ll be sticking around to see the school’s holiday concert which should be cute and fun. Then I’ll have about an hour to kill but I’ll just stick around with the other PPO folks who will likely be there, and that’s nice because I’ve been enjoying getting to know them better. After that hour I’ll be in the cafeteria handing out pizza for lunch since it’s also Pizza Day (they do it once a month).

And THEN I’ll be sticking around for the rest of the afternoon because it’s also the day that the bread is delivered for the bread drive that we organized. I figured I’ll stay and help hand that out, as well as the prizes to the five kids who sold the most bread to raise funds for the school.

After that, I think I’ll get to come home since it’s the end of the day. And that’s when I will face plant on the bed and pass out.

It sounds crazy, I know. And seriously, I was at the school all morning on Friday, all morning on Monday, and all morning on Tuesday. Then I was back there tonight for the meeting (but made it home in time for “Criminal Minds”, yay!), and will be there all day on Friday. I know it’s a lot.

But the thing is, I’m really enjoying it. I love being so involved in the school now, especially after putting it off for two years because of my own issues. I love getting to know some of the kids, and not just the ones in my own kid’s class. And I really have been having fun getting to know some of the other moms. They’re all really nice and do so much to make the school a nice place for the kids and I’m glad to be a part of it this year.

However, I can guarantee I will have one HELL of a good sleep on Friday night.

aggie

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I have so many good memories of my grandmother. We spent so many weekends, holidays, and summers at her house growing up. It’s funny the way a lifetime of memories suddenly flash by, like little snippets out of chronological order. Getting dressed for ballet on Saturday mornings while watching cartoons. Playing “chicken fireman” on the slide and swingset in the backyard. Having friends over for hot dogs at lunch. The way I used to singlehandedly eat most of the supermarket roast chicken we had every Friday night during the summer. Sleepovers that involved more

Is it only Tuesday? Really??

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Today I thought it was Thursday. Considering it’s only Tuesday, that’s pretty bad. Being off by one day is annoying enough, being off by two sucks. On the other hand I still have Christmas shopping to do so it’s good to keep from rushing forward too much, right?

(Christmas shopping. Ugh. The easiest way to suck out all my holiday cheer and joy is to set me loose in a store with other Christmas shoppers. One year everyone’s getting gift cards and hand-drawn cards, I swear.)

I was up at the school bright and early to help out with the used toy sale. I brought Breanna in with me and I was worried that she might get bored or have some sort of meltdown and I’d have to leave early. She ended up being perfectly behaved and had so much fun that she didn’t want to leave at lunch time.

While I was there I bought her a huge (HUGE) tub of MegaBloks because she loves those, and I also got her a book of Princess paper dolls and a Caillou storytelling game. She was really happy to bring them home, and with the 50 cents I had leftover she picked out a little bus and a Sleeping Beauty figurine (no surprise there, it’s her favorite Disney princess).

Hayely was ecstatic to see me (and my money) when she came in for her classroom’s turn to browse around. She scored big and with only five bucks she bought a little Barbie house, a Barbie horse, a stuffed turtle, a rubber frog (no, I have no idea), a necklace that glows, and a hair tie that looks like a poodle. Lucky girl!

It was so busy and so much fun to help kids find toys they’d like that the time flew by and I couldn’t believe it when the bell rang for lunch. I thought I was only halfway through my shift. It was a pretty good way to spend the morning.

Meanwhile Breanna drew a ton of pictures, played with some of the toys (then put them back on the tables), talked to the other kids, and felt like a big girl having her snack at recess. She would have stayed the whole day but she was more tired than she realized.

Somehow I managed to eat some lunch, do all my work, make supper, and then get the kids out for a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood to look at all the Christmas lights.

Breanna fell asleep like she was knocked unconscious when I put her to bed. Hayley is still up because that’s just the way she is, but at least she’s reading quietly in bed.

As for me, I’m having my tea an hour early so I can go to bed and pass out too.

Just some random passing thoughts

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I am tired. Really, really tired. I’ve gotten so used to being at home that when I change up my routine it apparently slays me. This morning I was up early and went to Hayley’s school to help set up the PPO’s used toy sale. We collect used toys that are still in good shape and have all their pieces, price them between 25 cents and three bucks, and set them up on tables. Then kids get to come and purchase some toys for themselves or as gifts for siblings and the money raised goes into the PPO which is then used for more fun activities at the school; anything left over from the sale is donated to a local charity.

The sale is tomorrow so I spent a few hours with two other moms and a few great grade six kids getting it all ready. I’m wiped out and I even went to bed a little before 11 last night, having an excellent sleep. It’s almost pathetic how easily a new routine wears me out. I can’t wait to see how exhausted I am tomorrow since I’m going back to help out at the actual sale until lunchtime. I should be comatose this time tomorrow.

So instead of a highly entertaining entry, here are some random thoughts for you.

  • If it wasn’t Christmas and I didn’t need to do things like, you know, shop for OTHER people I would love to use a wee bit of money to get myself this book. I’ve been reading Kate’s blog for ages and so I know that she’s a ridiculously gifted storyteller, the kind that I wish I could be, so I can only imagine how amazing her pirate book must be. Hopefully they won’t all sell out before I can finally get a copy for myself!
  • Did I mention I have a new blogging job? I honestly can’t remember. I am too tired to go check. Anyway, if I didn’t, yes! I am blogging somewhere new now. Apparently all my obsessive behaviour about American Idol is finally paying off. My good friend decided to step down because she’s pursuing a different career path and I was lucky enough to be able to take the helm at Idol Stalker. I was already looking forward to next season, now I’m practically doing backflips over it.
  • We’ve been keeping up with the advent calendar activities. We’ve done such things as making hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows (the 9th), seeing the Olympic torch (the 10th), family Christmas movie night (the 11th, which ended up being bumped in favor of family visit night), spending the day and evening with their aunt and grandparents (the 12th), and watching “the funny show” which is what Breanna calls “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (the 13th). Sounds weird, that last one, but we caught it a couple of weeks ago and the kids laughed so hard that I thought it would be a fun one to end the weekend.
  • Today’s activity was to watch the movie that we missed on Friday; we recorded the new Muppet Christmas special “Letters to Santa” and it was so cute. I love the Muppets!

That’s about all my sleepy brain can handle. So let me ask you a question – who’s your favorite Muppet? I have trouble picking one. I love Animal because he’s crazy, Beaker because he’s adorable, and the grumpy old guys in the balcony because they always make me laugh. If I was hard-pressed to choose though, I’d probably go with Kermit. What can I say? It’s not easy being green but Kermit never fails to make me smile.