Busy Weekend - Quieter Week

I left last Thursday for a weekend at a trade show.  My last offical trade show as an employee of the company, actually.

Thursday was a pretty good day.  Boss and I had to slug/lug quite a few boxes as a number of clients didn't feel the need to show up and actually do anything to their booths prior to the show.  Friday morning dawned early, and I found myself at the show quite early to make sure we had everything ready for the opening.

I called home that night around 8.  S informed me that he had been 'dumped' the night before and that he was okay that evening because he had cried it all out the night before.  We chatted for a little bit about various things and then he gave the phone to the A-man so that I could chat with him, too.

Sometime around midnight my cell phone rang.  It was the A-man asking me to talk to S.  Apparently S was very angry and doing some pretty silly things, including trying to take the trim off his bedroom door.  I will never understand what possesses him to do certain things.
I spoke with S for a few moments, and suggested that he just go to bed and that things would look much better in the morning.  I knew that Hubby would be home within the half hour, so I knew that if the tirade was still going on he would be able to deal with it then.

When I called home on Saturday, Hubby told me that both boys were in bed when he had arrived home and it had appeared that all was well.  I explained about the convervation the A-man and I had shared at midnight, and asked him to follow up on things.

I got home on Sunday around 6:30.  We had dinner and a hot tub, and I was in bed before 9pm.

Last night I had an opportunity to speak with S about the events of Friday night, and he told me that he really did not know why he became as upset as he had.  Actually, it appeared that he was getting his nights mixed up.  We talked about some coping techniques, and things to consider "the next time" but I'm not really putting much hope on his doing the right thing "next time."

This is my last week at this job.  I've been putting together a summary of the various tasks that I do, and I'm trying to include step by step instructions for many of them.  It's quite the novel right now.  I've forwarded it to K, and she and I and boss will be going over it in the next few days to make sure I have covered off most of it.

I still don't have a start date for my new position, but I am quite looking forward to having a couple of weeks off!

Family Day Weekend

Yesterday was the first ever Family Day I have been home since the new holiday began three years ago.  The last two years I have been in Mississippi at the Governor's Conference.  The Conference was moved to two weeks later... and I'm not going to it this year since I'm leaving the company.

Anyway - since it was Family Day, I told the boys that if they helped with the house tidy in the morning, we would be able to use the afternoon to have some fun.  Hubby and I thought Family Winter Olympics on the Wii would be suiting since the Olympics are here in Canada right now.

S was looking forward to playing his actual Olympics game.  After everyone was ready, we got started.  The boys both had a turn at the skiing event.  Next up was Hubby and I.  We asked the A-man about the proper way to hold the romotes for this particular game, and the next thing we knew, S was having a MAJOR melt down.  He actually stormed off upstairs to "calm down before (he) screams his head off." 
Yeah - we sort of lost the joy of the game at this point.

Hubby turned the game off, and we decided to find a movie to watch instead.  I'm still not sure what brought on that explosion, but I just felt it was best to carry on and not bring it up again.

We had a pretty good weekend, though.  Hubby and I helped Nee move over the weekend.  She actually asked a crew of people to help her, and by the time we left on Saturday night, she was moved in and set up other than a few pictures on the walls.
Sunday the A-man had asked R out on a bowling date.  Nothing like a date with your parents and little brother along for fun.  We had a good time that afternoon.  Sunday evening was a chilling by the fireplace kind of night.

And now another work week begins...

Getting close to Christmas

The first performance by Cast A went well.  The A-man told me that there were a few minor 'boo boos' (such as the sound person missing a cue so the lighting just looked crazy) and the top of Rafiki's cane falling off, but he gave me the impression that everyone was quite pleased with how it all went.

He spent last night at my parent's house because everyone was asked to be at the school for 8am to get ready for a 9am curtain call.  He will remain in town tonight after school since the evening performance is tonight, and I will be picking him up afterward.

S continues to be a social butterfly.  He spends quite a bit of time chatting on the telephone with a number of friends, and he is also getting quite speedy with his MSN typing skills.  Amazing what a difference a few months can make.

I got an email from his SERT a few days ago indicating that S's headphones had broken somehow, and she was going to contact the Board to see about getting a replacement.  Her email didn't sound very positive about this option, but I would think the Board must have some contingencies for issues such as this.  I mean, things to break.
I will have to make sure that he has some new ones early in the New Year.  This school year is over on Friday and I highly doubt he will be doing much this week.  Seems like the week before holidays is a time for not doing much of anything.

I went to see Cuz this past weekend.  For a number of years she and I had an annual "Christmas shopping" weekend, but for the past two years I haven't been able to make it down.  Well, I know for sure I didn't make it last year, but I'm not sure about the year before.  Anyway, we had a great time catching up on Friday and then we shopped our way through the city on Saturday.  After shopping, we were able to go and visit some friends that have both moved in to new homes this past summer,  I haven't had the chance to see these homes, so it was very nice to get the opportunity to see them in all their Christmas glory.

Loonie's boys - aged 5 and 2 - certainly kept me busy.  I became the tickle-monster while everyone else had a chance to catch up.  I did get a bit of time to talk with my friend, though.  Her kids are just adorable, and her home is amazing.  She deserves it all, too.

Cuz and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" on Saturday evening, and yes, we both teared up at the end.  I may have seen this movie as a child, but I didn't have any memories of it.  Amazing.  I will be looking for a DVD copy of it before too long.

I got home mid-afternoon yesterday after spending a bit of time wrapping some of Cuz's presents.  I absolutely ADORE gift wrapping, so I was more than happy to do it.  After doing a few presents, Cuz indicated that she was feeling guilty because I was doing all her wrapping.  I assured her that I enjoyed doing it, and she only had me for a limited period of time and to take advantage.  When I got home and mentioned that I had done some wrapping, the A-man told me he was surprised to hear that I had left before all the presents were done!  lol. 
Yes, my son knows me well.

Hubby and I had a nice quiet evening catching up with each other, and figuring out what this coming week was going to bring.  He has a number of appointments over the week, but most things are quiet for me.  I just found out that I will be hosting my Dad's family Christmas on December 27th, so I guess that means I really should do the decorating I was going to pass on this year.  Well, maybe.
I am going to arrange my village tonight, I think, and then I will decide on the final kitchen do-dads.

S just called me - he asked if he friend could come and hang out tonight.  I said I didn't see a problem with that, and I will pick him up on my way through town.  Will actaully work out well since I will be having to drive in to town to pick up the A-man, so I can drop this young man off at the same time.

Time is flying

I am still having a hard time believing that tomorrow is December 1.  I'm still not sure where the month of November went!

Boss is going in for some surgery tomorrow.  Should be very interesting for the next couple of weeks to have a marketing professional not able to speak.  He will not be a patient patient, I'm expecting.  I just hope he isn't in too much pain while the healing process takes hold.

Last Thursday evening I went over to Laur's for the annual "Putting up of the Christmas lights."  I guess I have done this task for her for the past 6 or 7 years. 
One afternoon she and I were chatting on the phone (this was before I started back to work full time) and she had said how it took her and her Hubby hours to put the lights on the tree.  Now, I have been the official putter-of-the-lights-person since Hubby and I were married, so I just couldn't understand how it would take so long to do this job.  I told her I would be over in 20 minutes and help her get the job finished.
From starting to pull the tree out from the box, to stringing the lights and calling the job "done" was just over an hour.  She and her hubby were amazed.
I have been doing the task ever since.  (Except for the year I broke my wrist at the Christmas party.)

On Friday night, I went off to the city with Jazzy's mom and M to celebrate M's birthday.  Friday was her actual birthday, so it worked out well.  We went out to dinner, had drinks, met up with a bunch of people.... it was a very, very fun time.  The next morning none of us were feeling 100%, but we all perked up after breakfast and were just about normal by the time the play we went to see started.
The play was called "My Mother's Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding" and was quite humourous.  I think what made it really funny was the fact that it was based on a true story.  Sometimes you just can't make these things up!

When I got home on Saturday evening, Hubby told me that I was looking at the person that used to be my husband; the grouch of the previous week had been banished.  I welcomed him back with open arms.

Sunday dawned with very few plans.  We ended up doing the pheasant slaughter - I even cooked one of the males for dinner.  I may have over-cooked it a wee bit, but it was quite tasty.

I managed to get about 80% of the laundry done, and tonight I am hoping to get Christmas cards addressed and ready for mailing.  I made a few more bath bombs yesterday (mandarin orange this time) and I advised the A-man that it wasn't a snack to be enjoyed.  ;o)

We were just finishing up dinner tonight, and the front door opened.  Hubby is back home with an ache in his mouth again.  This time it is just in front of the tooth he had extracted.  Hopefully it's just something to do with the stitches.  He will go in to the office in the morning.

A weekend of birthdays

Whew – what a weekend! I got to see so many people that I haven’t seen in a very long time, and although it was quite tiring to do so much driving, it was totally worth it.


Friday night was a quiet one for us. I left work earlier in the afternoon with plans on taking a nap before the kids got home from school, but then I ended up running into Laur when I was downtown and went to have a coffee with her. That ended up getting me home about my normal time.

I laid down for a bit when I did get home. After about half an hour, I told Hubby that I was going to get up and get supper started. Next thing I knew, an hour had passed and I was still in bed. I’m thinking I fell back asleep! I made dinner for the family (we have been dining late!) and then sat with Hubby to watch a bit of TV. Hubby went to bed around 10 or so that evening, and although I had a nap, I ended up following him around 10:30 and I slept quite soundly until after 7 on Saturday. (I was obviously very tired.)

Saturday morning I had both of the boys make sure their rooms were tidy. Hubby and I were heading to Cuz’s house for the night and I had a friend coming to my place for the night. She was coming with her mom and son, and I didn’t quite know how the sleep arrangements were going to work for the evening, so I wanted all of the linens to be fresh and clean, and all of the rooms straightened up – just in case. I got all of the linens changed, set out fresh towels for everyone, and prepared a note for Bear.

Hubby and I got on the road about half an hour later than I had planned, but that was still okay. We had a few hours before the start of the surprise 50th birthday party, but I wanted to have a bit of time to just catch up with Cuz before we had to get moving again. We had a great afternoon followed by a very tasty Moose roast for dinner!
Off we went to the 50th birthday party. It was very nice to have the chance to see everyone again, but it can sometimes be overwhelming to have that many people in a house. I found at the end of the night that I hadn’t really had an opportunity to spend much time with as many people as I would have liked.

The next morning I was quite surprised at how late Hubby and I had slept! This time Cuz had put us up in the basement, and I guess the darkening blind really made a big difference for us. Hubby and I woke up about half an hour before I had been hoping to get heading home. We were just getting our first coffee of the day when the birthday girl called to let us know she was coming over for some additional visit time. It was very nice to have that extra hour with her, that is for sure.  (Even made some plans to come and visit Cuz again in a few weeks so that I can have a chance to see some friend's new homes.  Both now live near Cuz and I was complaining about not getting to see their homes!  I am going to be missing a group dinner, but I won't be too upset about missing that!)

Hubby and I made really good time coming back home. I arrived to the 100th birthday party only about 15 minutes after it began, and I had even made it in time for the guest of honour’s entrance! He had a piper lead him in to the hall. I must say, for someone that is now 100 years old, he was quite spry. I can only hope that if I were to live to that age that I would be able to walk myself into the party at the clip he walked!

I’m not sure if my favourite part of the day was the opportunity to get to see so many faces that I haven’t seen in so long, or watching the ‘birthday boy’ take a drive off the 10th hole of the golf course. Now legally blind, he hasn’t been able to play golf in over 5 years, but yesterday afternoon, he was lead by the bagpipes out to the course where he took an honourary drive for his guests prior to having some family pictures taken.

I didn’t have a chance to spend near enough time with Bear, but it sounds like the A-man did his very best to make sure they were comfortable in our house with Hubby and I not being there. It sounds like he was keeping them in stitches for most of the night, and also made sure that everyone was ‘taken care of.’ He prepared the pizza, and in the morning even made scrambled eggs for Bear’s mom! Who knew I had such a host in my eldest son?! (I’m not really surprised, though, given the amount of times Hubby and I entertain, it only makes sense that he would know what sorts of things to do and offer to guests.)

Had a pretty quite Sunday evening where I got all the laundry caught up and spent some time just taking it easy.
~~~
The boys both received excellent report cards. The A-man ended up with a 76% average with his English mark pulling him down a bit. There is some room for improvement in both that course and his Math course, but I am not upset with anything any of the teachers had to say.

S brought home a report card that shows him with a 78% average! I am so proud of him! His Geography mark isn’t quite as high as I believe him capable of, but that isn’t really a subject that he is overly interested in (I never was either) so I have just reminded him that he needs to make sure he gets everything done and handed in on time. He did very well in both Skills for Success and Music, and his Science mark was quite good for him, too. All of the comments were very positive.
The beams were just shinning as they were coming out of his smile when he gave me that report card.

I am very proud of both of them.

Get ready for Christmas

Hubby arrived home safe and sound early Sunday afternoon. It was very nice to have him back home. It’s really been a while since we have had the chance to spend some time together, so we ended up spending over an hour just chatting and catching up on the events of the previous week.


On Saturday I had gotten in a creative/festive mood, and went out to get supplies to make some Christmas gifts. By the end of the afternoon, I had made a sea salt body scrub, oatmeal and brown sugar body scrub, some milk bath, and some bath fizzies. I’ve never made body scrubs before and was amazed at how easy they were. The beauty industry has to make a fortune, I tell ya. They are so EASY.

The bath fizzies were a little more complicated than I expected. Well, not really complicated, but they require just the right amount of water to be spritzed on to the mixture (corn starch and citric acid) and you have to mold them quickly so that none of the unmolded portions start to harden.

I was quite pleased with the quantity of the items, and I am feeling pretty good that I will get quite a few gifts from it all. I still have enough citric acid to make about 3 or 4 more batches, so that should give me quite a few bath bombs, too. So glad I still have a number of bottles of essential oils to help perfume the mixture!

On Sunday afternoon, after Hubby and I had been ‘talked out’, I pulled out the Christmas wrap, and started wrapping some of the presents I have purchased. I was done wrapping the 3rd or 4th gift when I got a call from my Mom asking if I wanted to join her on a trip to the near city. The A-man had just reminded me of a couple of clothing items that he required for his Drama costume, so I thought this trip with my mom might be just the thing.

We stopped at the Goodwill to find the pants and jacket the A-man required, and while he was trying on the pants, I went over to the household section and found two small bottles I could use for the milk bath, and a few wide mouth jars that I could use for some of the body scrubs. Perfect.

On Monday I had put the fizzies on to a cooling rack to dry out a bit more. One of them had broken and I realized that I may have put them in to a container before they were fully dried. The A-man thought I had made lemon squares and had almost taken a bite out of one before he noticed the little label I had made to remind me of the scent of the fizzies. That would not have been a pleasant taste. (Again, just proves that teenage boys will eat anything.)

We have had a pretty uneventful week so far. Touching wood. S was in a bit of bad mood this morning, but that was probably because I told him I thought he should wear some different uniform pieces and I was informed that he didn’t like the ‘feel’ of the cotton dress shirt I had pulled from his closet. Once he realized that I wasn’t going to push it, he seemed to calm right down. He even made sure to get both the garbage and recycling to the curb this morning since the A-man had spent the night at my parents and wasn’t at home to get his portion done.

Haven’t talked to Nee lately, but I have emailed her every now and then just to let her know I am thinking of her. She will call me when she needs to talk.

We have a busy weekend for birthdays this coming weekend. My niece is turning 16. My dear friend Bear’s son will also be turning 16 on the very same day as my niece. On Saturday we are attending a 50th birthday party and on Sunday I will be going to a 100th birthday party for a friend’s father. Quite the span of ages we are celebrating!

Back to normal again

Back to the familiar grind now. 
Had three days off this week and I must admit that it took until yesterday (Thursday) to start feeling normal again.  Really got a groove on with respect to some purging/cleaning, actually.

Cuz and her Hubby (my actual cousin!) stopped in for a while yesterday.  They were dropping their boat off for the winter with the plans of coming our way for some Spring fishing.  It was a short visit, but still nice to get some time together.  We will see a bit more of them in a couple of weeks when Hubby and I go for an overnighter!

It would appear S is on the mend.  He resisted going to school yesterday, but since they were having a PA day today, I felt it was important that he get to school for at least one day.  I'm not sure if he would have actually tried to get the details he had missed, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. 
Report cards come home on Monday.

Hubby is getting ready to leave tomorrow for a one week hunting trip.  He has his bins all packed, and last night I made a couple of my "now famous" spicy lasagna.  I'm feeling that I didn't make them quite as hot as years past, but I do know that it will be flavourful either way.  I forgot about Hubby asking me to make a breakfast casserole, so I guess I will be doing that while making dinner tonight.

We had our first taste of one of 'the girls' last night.  I wasn't sure how I would do, but it was okay.  Once I put the package in the water for thawing, I was over any strange feelings.  It just hit me when I was taking the package from the freezer.  I didn't mention where the chicken came from to the boys, though. 
Did I notice a big huge taste difference?  I can't say for sure.  It was very tender meat, and had a nice flavour, but the dish itself was quite tasty, so that is a tough call.
The pheasants are in need of some TLC in their run, so I guess that will be another task for me to add to my list for the weekend.  I have been very remiss in keeping up on their care since we did the chicken slaughter.  My bad.

I'm going to a surprise birthday party for my brother tonight.  He will be in the area to give a talk at the local legion during their veteran's dinner tomorrow night.  Quite an honour.
Anyway, his wife made some phone calls and a friend has invited a bunch of Bro's friends over.  They are going to stop at my place for "an emergency bathroom break" and then I am going to invite myself along for drinks.  Should be about 25 people waiting when he arrives.  His birthday is actually on Monday, and it's not a biggie (he's 40 in a couple more years) but since he is in the area, it's as good a reason as any!

Sunday is another day that I will be on the move.  Going to a fundraiser for my dear friend's skating club.  We went last year and had a very enjoyable time, so I am sure it will be a good day again.  Leaving fairly early in the morning, but I expect to be home in time for making supper for the boys.

The boys and I will do our annual "dinner and a movie" tomorrow night.  We have done this every Saturday since Hubby started his hunting week.  I miss the days of going to see the newest Christmas movies.  We've seen Elf, and the Grinch... this year I think they want to see a bit of a thriller, but I will ki-bosh that one.  I don't "do" thrillers. 
Maybe I will convince them that we should see the new 3-D Christmas movie...

Home again

S went to his first school dance on Thursday night.  I think he had a pretty good time, but he didn't really say too much about it.

I had stayed at Mom and Dad's while S was at the dance, and he knew I was leaving in the morning for another show, so I had asked him to get back from the dance as soon as it was over since I had to make sure I was all packed and ready to go for my normal time in the morning.
About 15 minutes after the dance was over, Mom could tell I was a bit anxious because she suggested we take the dog for a walk.  We were about half way between Mom's house and the school when S came walking up the sidewalk with a couple of girls.  Apparently the line up at the coat check was really long.

The A-man had opted not to go to the dance.  Still not sure why.

Lil A's brother was hit by a car on Tuesday evening.  Apparently he was air lifted to the city with a broken tibia on one leg, a broken femur on the other and some broken and cracked ribs.  He is very lucky that he was not killed.  Apparently he had been riding his skateboard up the wrong side of the road at 10 at night, and was dressed all in black.  It was also reported that a police officer was witness to the accident, and from what I have heard there are no charges pending.
S told me that Lil A was at the dance - she had been away Wednesday and Thursday, but still came to the dance on Thursday night.  S told me she "didn't want to talk about her brother" so I take this to mean they are an "off again" item.  He seems okay with that at this point, but he was very concerned about how she was coping with the injuries her brother had sustained.

I was heading back home this morning when I got a phone call from the school telling me that S had been sick to his stomach.  Hubby was able to go to the school to pick him up, and although he hasn't been sick again, he does have a bit of a fever and a nasty cough.  Of course with the entire country all up in arms with this H1N1, I am going to be keeping a close eye on him over the next few days.  I'm sure it's just a cold, but so many of the symptoms apparently appear to be like a common cold, too.
For the record, our family does not have any plans to have the vaccine.  My personal feeling is that the drug was rushed through and I am leary of the lack of testing that has been done on it.  I just worry about the long term effects of something that was created so quickly.
So many debates on the subject...

Had a nice nap when I got home this afternoon, and I am really looking forward to having a few days off.  Cuz will be coming up for the day on Thursday to store their boat for the winter, so I am glad that I will get to see them - even if it's only for a short period of time.

Will be even better to get to see Hubby a bit this week!

Another trade show weekend

I've been away from home since Thursday when I left for yet another trade show. Due to this show, I did not have the opportunity to attend the parent/teacher interviews for the boys, so I will have to make some appointments this week, I guess. Hubby didn’t even realize that report cards were sent home with the boys, so I guess I will be able to see those when I get home today.


Cuz and a number of friends attended the trade show I was working at this weekend. I didn't get to chat with them much during their visit, however. When they arrived at the show, I was on a break and not at the booth, and when they were done with the show, I was on another break, so now Cuz is of the impression that I never really 'work' when I'm at a trade show! ;o)
Yes, okay, I was at the food and wine sampling area when they first arrived, and I WAS having a shiatsu massage when they were leaving... but still, I do work hard when I am away - honest!! (hee hee)

Boss and I arrived on Thursday night and unloaded the truck and got the primary layout of the booth done that night. The next morning we arrived and finished setting up the booth so that we were ready for the show’s opening at noon. The Friday night went until 9pm, Saturday was from 10 until 6 – and was crazy-busy that day!! – and then Sunday was from 9 until 5. Last night (Sunday) was the first time we have ever been out of a show, finished dinner and climbing in to bed before 9pm!
I didn’t go straight to sleep though – I lay in my comfy bed and watched a couple episodes of CSI Nevada. So quiet…

This was one of the first-ever working weekends that I didn’t have my laptop with me, and since Hubby was so busy with the fishing club’s rainbow derby, he and I haven’t been in contact with each other very much since Wednesday. I’m sure we will both have a lot to catch up on tonight.

Next weekend is the last trade show I will be working until February. I’m not going to be sad.

The aging Asperger teen...

On Friday morning, I received a rather upsetting phone call. My cousin's husband passed away very suddenly on Thursday evening. He was only 52 years old, and had not been ill through any stretch of the imagination.
Needless to say that sort of started the holiday weekend off in a not-so-good way.
I've talked to my cousin a couple of times since then (she is Cuz's S-I-L) and Hubby will be trying to get the day off for the funeral on Thursday. Either way, I will be there. Probably will attend with my parents.

On Saturday, Hubby and I started the not so nice task of getting the chickens ready for the freezer. My brother and his family stopped in before we finished, so although it was nice to spend time with them, it would have been good to have that dirty job finished with all on the same day. We did finish it all up yesterday.
I am sort of sad to say good bye to 'the girls.' Those funny little chickens made me laugh almost every single time I went out to that coop. It will probably seem a little odd when I prepare a meal with my sealed packages - I don't think I will allow myself to think about it too much.

Over the weekend, I found out that S and Lil'A are 'going out' again. And, again, I'm still not sure what this all entails. She has been giving S little notes all last week - telling him that he should smile, that sort of thing. One of the notes said that she wouldn't be able to go out with S again until she had the chance to 'teach him some stuff' but S didn't really know what she meant by that. I suggested that since they were going to be having lunch together today that he find out what she meant by that.

See - this puts me in strange, uncharted territory. How do you guide an an Asperger child entering the dating scene?
I know he's going to have to get his heart broken - that is part of growing up - but there is part of me that SO wants to protect him from experiencing that particular heartbreak because of his social awkwardness. I can only 'coach' him on acceptable behaviours so much, and I really don't know what sorts of quirks he has that are Asperger-based vs. teenager-craziness!  Add in to that his low short-term working memory, and whatever she does tell him will be GONE before he ever gets a chance to tell me so that I can help him out a bit.  (sigh)

I did a quick Internet search on "Aspergers and dating" but most of the sites that I took a quick look at are more for adults rather than teens. I guess I will have to have a deeper search in to these websites.


I asked the A-man if he had anything special that he wanted to do this week. His smart-aleck response was, "Oh... yeah... cuz, I have such a packed social schedule!" I take this to mean that he doesn't want to head to the city one night this week like he did last. What a guy!

Learning to adjust

I need to learn to start giving the A-man the benefit of the doubt.

On this past Friday, I found out that the A-man hadn't shown me his proofs from his Drama class pictures. Here I was thinking that he had either forgot about it or didn't want us to spend the money. When I asked him about it, he got all upset and wanted to know how I had learned about this. Turns out the picture was to be Hubby and I's Christmas present.

I'm such a heel.

Hubby did have a conversation with the A-man this weekend about not being so worried about what things cost. I wasn't privy to the conversation, but I am hoping that he understands that it is the responsibilty of the parents to worry - not the children. It's nice that he is concerned, and doesn't want to take advantage, but I really wanted him to know that he should be able to do things he wants to (especially at school) without being concerned about the cost.

Had a good weekend. S went over to his friend's house on Saturday morning for a sleep over, so we didn't see him again until supper time on Sunday night. Sounds like he had a really fun time.
I hosted a baby shower in the afternoon, and the A-man went over to Jazzy's house to work on a project with her brother and a couple of other kids from school. They brought the A-man home and then joined us for a nice evening of wine, snacks, and then a yummy dinner.

Boss is off to the US this week, and my new assistant begins tomorrow. Guess I will have to make sure her email system is all set up and that I have lots of things for her to work on this week!

And so it begins again...

Meeting the new SERT

I had a great meeting with S's new SERT this morning. We reviewed his existing IEP and talked about what types of changes should be incorporated since he is now in high school.
She is fairly new to the SERT world, so I actually had to explain a number of things about S's various conditions, and also about the services he has received in the past and how to we got to where we are today. She seemed very receptive to any suggestions that I made, and I am cautiously optimistic that his IEP will actually be something that the teachers will be able to understand and follow.

Right now S has EA support in all classes but Music, but all of them are in a 'background' capacity. Both the SERT and I would like to see S develop and grow his independence, and we figure having an EA on hand, but not WITH, will help with that.

During the meeting, I found out that she isn't really sure where they are going to set up S's scanner/printer. I suggested that our HOME would be a good location - that way he would be responsible for scanning all of his information, but he wouldn't be required to lose classroom time to do so. She really liked that idea, and actually sent an email off the the Superintendent of Special Education right then to see if this was something that could be done.
I will keep my fingers crossed on that one. Oh, what a coup that would be.

I am going to have to make some appointments for the teachers, but I think I will wait another week or so before doing that.

Took S into the Health Unit this morning to get his final Hep B shot. He missed getting them in Grade 7 because he forgot to take the forms in. Our timing for getting to the school was good because just as we were arriving, they were calling students with the last name beginning with our last name letter down for school pictures. S grabbed his late slip, then went off to get his picture taken before going to Music class.

We had a nice weekend.
On Friday night I went out with some friends for dinner and then to see "Bjorn Again", which is an ABBA cover band. Saturday morning I got to sleep in a bit, and then I did a bit of cleaning around the house and Hubby and the A-man and I went shopping in the afternoon. S had been invited over to his friend's house for the afternoon, so Hubby dropped him off there before we headed out.
Both Hubby and I got some gear for riding the motorcycles, then the A-man was happy because he was able to pick up some more pieces for his game that he is working on. He's been painting away everyday trying to get them all done. Now he has another 20 more to paint.

Yesterday I did some rearranging of furniture in the living room, then around noon Hubby and I went out for a motorcycle ride. We went quite a distance, and really did have a nice afternoon. I was really greatful for the full face mask that we had bought the day before because I found the wind to be quite chilly and strong on my face. Of course, when we stopped for lunch, it was beautiful and both Hubby and I were able to take off all our 'gear' to eat lunch in just short sleeved tops.
We got home around 6pm, and about 10 minutes later my parents arrived for a short visit. Just as they were getting ready to head out, the R-man and GF arrived... it was a busy spot!

I've taken today off work so that I can do a bit more around the house, but so far I haven't really done that much, but I am just about to go full force...

Here is a picture of me that was taken yesterday just as we arrived at the restaurant for lunch.
I'm so pretty....

Weekend update

I don't really have much of an update about the boys - I am still away at the music event and haven't seen them since Thursday morning, but it was so cute on Friday night when S phoned to sing Happy Birthday to me.

Spoke with Hubby this morning and it sounds like he and the boys had a pretty busy afternoon. He took S to watch Lil'A's soccer game in the morning and then in the afternoon they got the entire lawn cut and then used the sweeper to pick up the grass and throw it in for the chickens. He said after that they did some inside house work before he went grocery shopping.
He has a meeting with the past President of the Fishing Club this morning - he's the new President and has a number of questions about the running of a major event - and then he is going golfing with some friends this afternoon. It sounds like it's going to be a couples thing so he will be odd man out, but I am sure he will be fine with that. After the golfing they are going over to our friend's house for a barbeque.
I will be working at the music festival, but at least by 6.30 tonight we will have the booth dismantled and will be able to sit and enjoy the final band of the evening.

Okay - must dash now... time to get back to work!

Off again

Little rat fink...
The A-man quickly purchased a number of houses, and then hotels, on the continuing of the Monopoly game.

When I owed him over $500 just for landing on one of his spaces, I knew it was time to call the game.
I think they were both a little disappointed to see me give up so quickly, but to be honest, I knew I was beat! I don't know how the two of my sweet angle-children have become such mean-spirited creatures when it comes to playing Monopoly with their Momma. You would think they would go easy on me - but NOooooo, we can't be doing that now!

Actually, I didn't call the game. I simply asked for a "hold over" until I was a little more awake and able to focus on the game. I think I am going to have to mortgage all of the property that I have, but chances are that will only hold me over until I land on another one of the A-man's hotel properties.

Like I said, "Little rat fink..." ;o)

I am away again this week at another conference. This one isn't as long as the one was last week, and I expect to be home again by about 9 on Wednesday night. I didn't go in to the office this morning, and I will admit that it was quite nice to have the chance to take my time this morning. We had a really busy weekend, and I didn't really feel like I had much down time.

I arrived to the city about 10 minutes late for my 1pm meeting, but it didn't seem to be a big deal. The sales person from the hotel and I had a very enjoyable lunch, and it was nice to have the opportunity to get to know him a bit better. I really enjoy staying at this property, and I really hope I am able to stay here more often - even if it's not for work events!

Boss called me and he should be arriving here at the hotel within the next half hour. We will be heading over to the convention centre to get our display set up, and then we will be off to the opening reception for around 6:30 tonight. Tomorrow will be a long and busy day.

Tomorrow also is Hubby and I's anniversary. I am still finding it very hard to believe that we have been married for 19 years tomorrow. I met him when I was just 17 years old...

Wow. I'm old.

Summer ending...

Hubby and I are of the general impression that it will be good to have the boys back in school in a few weeks. They have become very lax in looking after their daily chores - even in looking after their own personal hygiene chores!
As nice a change and break as summer vaction is, it will be nice to get back into the regular routine that comes with going to school each day.
I'm sure the boys will disagree, but that's simply a matter of opinion.

I left yesterday afternoon to head to the city for a conference. Not quite sure why both boss and I were required to attend this conference, though. We are really only putting in a few hours of actuall work at the event - the rest of it is some socializing, and trying to keep up on regular work via email. Really crazy considering I've just come off a week of holidays.

My holidays were nice. It was great to have the opportunity to sleep in each morning, and I am feeling very positive from the week S and I spent at assistive technology camp. I will have to set up some appointments at the high school to enusre that S's laptop and equipment have been tranfered to the school, then I will have to ensure that his necessary text books have been scanned and loaded on to his system. Another biggie will be determining what type of EA support he will receive, and to get more details about his specialized bussing requirements.
Never seems to end.

This year I am also planning on getting email addresses for both the A-man and S's teachers so that I can be kept abreast of the various homework assignments/requirements for each of the boys. I don't want a repeat of the A-man's English from last year.

Live and learn, I suppose.

Had a good time this afternoon visiting Chinatown - lots to see and experience. Went to the Kensington Market - not quite what I remember, but still a good way to put in a few hours in the city. Not sure what I will be doing tomorrow afternoon - probably trying to catch up on work emails and getting the electronic newsletter out to the subscribers!

Have sent out a few more resumes, but haven't heard from any of the jobs I've applied for. Again, not something I am worried about - but it sure would be nice to get some type of feedback from what I am sending!

Assistive Technology Camp

S and I have been going to "Assistive Technology Camp" this week. It's not a 'camp' in the traditional sense, though. Each afternoon, from 1 until 4, we are in a classroom in the city close to home, learning about the various programs that are on S's school laptop.

Of course S is already very much aware of the programs, and has been properly trained on them, but this is more or less a refresher course for the new school year, and for me, it's a chance to actually learn about what the programs can do, and also to know how to help him use the programs to the full abilities.

On Monday I was thinking that the course was more or less set up for parents that don't really have a lot of computer experience, but over the past couple of days I have actually had a chance to learn a fair bit. Today is our last day - with some 'tests' and other things.

Of course, this is the first week that we have had any sort of summer weather, and since I'm on holidays, its been a bit hard to have to go inside for the afternoons, but I am coping. ;o)

Tomorrow afternoon I will have a golf lesson, then I am going to play 9 holes with a friend. In the evening, S will be having his very first date. How exciting for him! Too bad his mom and brother are going to be somewhere in the movie theatre with him...

Saturday I am leaving for the city for a 5 day conference. There are going to be about 12 people from the State flying in tomorrow afternoon, so I am thinking it's going to be a pretty good time. I'm hoping to have a chance to take a few of the ladies over to China town for a bit of looking around. I haven't been to that area of the city in over 25 years, and I've always thought it was pretty cool. I think we are going to have a fair bit of down time during the conference, so it will be kind of nice to do some exploring.

Oh - went in to our swimming pool for the first time last night. It was 80, so I figured I should be able to handle it. Of course, with the warm air, it did feel a bit chilly getting in, but once I was there, I was happy I'd made the 'plunge.'

Okay - off to check on "the girls" and see how many eggs we have so far today. We are up to about a full dozen each day now!

Civic Holiday weekend

We had such a great long weekend!

Friday evening Hubby and I relaxed with some margarittas on the deck before dinner. After dinner, we went for a family swim - but I found the water too cold and didn't get in to far. Hubby and the A-man had a good little tussle/wrestling match, and it was quite fun to watch them having such a good time. S tried to get into it after a little while, but he was a little leary of getting into the middle of these two pretty big guys.

Saturday morning, I slept in! It was WONDERFUL to get up that late, even though I did feel like a lazy sloth, I was glad I did it. I worked on a resume update & send off, then spent some hours in the garden pulling weeds. We had a very quiet Saturday evening - just watched a movie together and went to bed pretty early. We got 5 eggs from the chicken this day. S seemed very excited every time he went into the coop and came out with another treasure.

Sunday was another sunny and beautiful day. I made up some of my famous weed killer (vinegar, salt and dish soap!) and attached the growth going on between the bricks in the patio. Next I got out the hose and got the patio all cleaned of dirt and debris. S and the A-man washed down the patio furniture and moved a few wheelbarrows full of wood chips for me. Then I got wedding the night garden, chive garden and iris area. I moved a few plants around, and generally got the entire patio area looking very presentable indeed. That evening we had some company - a co-worker of Hubby and his wife came over shortly after dinner.

Monday was another beautiful, sunny day. I got out in the veggie garden in the morning and managed to get some weeding done between the onion rows, the lettuce rows and up to the Swiss Chard area before I had to go in and shower for my afternoon sail with my highschool friends.

Sammy and Suz came to pick me up around 12:30 and we headed off to Dar's. We sat and admired Dar's garden area for a while, and then headed out the lake for our afternoon sail. Loaded down with our picnic, I am sure we looked like quite the group as we entered Dar's private docking area. The sun had gone in behind some clouds, but we still managed to have a good afternoon on the water.
The winds started to pick up as we were coming in, so Dar dropped the sail and we came into the port on the motor.

Last night we had another quiet, peaceful evening, and went to bed early, ready to face another work week.
The boys have been loving the swimming pool, and have been using it two and three times each day. In fact, last night I had to poke my head out of the laundry room adn tell them that since it was almost dark, they should probably head back in. I don't think they had realized how much the sun had set until I mentioned it to them.

The A-man had called R to see if she could go to a movie with him on Sunday, but since she never called back, we are going to assume she was away with her family for the weekend.

We are going up to the cottage next weekend, and since I am starting holidays, and Hubby is going on afternoons, it looks like we are going to be able to come home on Monday morning instead of having to rush back on Sunday night.

Holiday time yet?

I am tired.

Lately, the more I have been sleeping, the more sleep it would appear I require. I’m not sure if my current state is because of a busy past weekend or something more.
I’ve not been very pleased with a number of things at work over the last little while, but I can’t imagine that has drained me this much. I have updated my resume and I’ve even sent a couple out to some really interesting-sounding jobs, but I’m still enjoying the day to day tasks of my job. (Not many others can have that claim, I hear.)

Since we are looking at a long weekend, I am hoping that the extra day of a sleep in will provide me with the rest I require. I told Hubby that I didn’t want to go to the cottage this weekend. I just want to have a weekend at home, in my own bed, doing what I want to do whenever the urge strikes me. He was okay with that – he always has about a million little projects on the go. So, this weekend, the first of a number of long weekends, we have no plans what so ever.

Next week is a short work week, then I will be off for a week’s holidays. I won’t be going anywhere for these holidays, however. S will be participating in a special educational technology camp every afternoon from 1pm until 4pm, and one parent is to attend the camp with him. S will be given more intensive training on his laptop – using the various programs that he has installed on it – and I will be learning more about the devices, too. It is the hope of Hubby and I that S will learn a few more things about his system and will be more willing to use it in class. (Always seems to be an issue for him in the past.)

I don’t think the school office will be open for that week, but I am going to have to make an appointment to find out more about the EA that S may have, as well as the timing he will have an EA for. I will also have to try and meet each of the teachers and inform them of the uniqueness that is S. I think it’s imperative that each teacher receive some type of forewarning.

Since the technology camp is in the afternoons only, I am really looking forward to being able to take my time in the mornings and just putter and get things done around the house and yard. This too should allow for some extra rest time for me.

Oh! We have started getting eggs from the chickens! The last couple of days we have had three eggs laid in a couple of different nests. We’ve only had one soft-shelled egg so far, and each day they seem to be getting bigger and bigger. I used one yesterday for my breakfast, and it was a double-yoked egg. The first two eggs that we got had a small blood spot in each of them, but I haven’t seen any since then. Not sure how long it will take until each hen starts laying an egg a day, but it’s a nice surprise to go in to the coop each day to see what has been left for us!

Adjusting to life with young adults

I worked at an outdoor event this past weekend for the State. This was our third year participating in the event, and it was a wet one!
I think I am coming down with a cold now.

Again, I've started to realize more and more that my 'babies' are growing up. Hubby was working evening last week, but I needed to be away from the house for both Thursday and Friday night - therefore leaving the boys alone. Not for overnight, but until Hubby arrives home sometime around 1 am. I was nervous about this, naturally, and when I called them to check in on Thursday night, the A-man told me to relax - they were fine.

When I was 16, my parents would leave me at home for entire weekends because I had taken a part time job and they didn't want to give up their weekends at the trailer for me to stay home and work for $3.00 an hour. At that time, I didn't think anything of it. I would spend the days with my friends and/or boyfriend, then I would go to work for my shifts. Often times I would be done work around 11:30, midnight, and I would walk home. Many times I walked home - sometimes my boyfriend would pick me up if he wasn't working at his restaurant-based job. I lived quite a distance from where I worked, and I thought nothing of walking that distance by myself at that time of night.

There is no way I would allow either of my sons to do that! I know I was never frightened of making that journey, but I guess timse have changed quite a bit in the past 25 years. The town is still a 'small' town, but I am pretty sure I wouldn't allow my sons to do that.

Either way, I need to start getting my head around the fact that they are old enough to spend some time without a parent at home. They can both cook, and they are responsible enough to ensure that doors are locked, lights are off, etc., etc., etc.

When did my babies turn into wee adults?

Wedding and weeding

We had SUCH a good time at the wedding this weekend. It was an outdoor event - son of S's Godparents - and I had gone over Saturday morning to help with the final set up. It's incredible how much a tent can go from looking like a tent to looking like a place for a wedding once you put out the linens and place the centre pieces.

Hubby and I were invited for a barbeque before the wedding reception - it was an intimate family-only dinner after the wedding - and we had a great time with our friends before hand. The evening was perfect for an outdoor event. We had been worried that it would be too cool, but all the sides of the tent were left open, and most people actually mingled outside of the tent. It got too warm inside the tent because of all the dancing! I was the dd that night, but I still managed to rock the dance floor, and the AC/DC song I love has given me a kink in my neck that I know the chiropractor will love me for...

Hubby and the boys left yesterday afternoon for the cottage. I had talked about having a nap, but never actually did that. I did, however, get rid of all the cobwebs at the front entrance of the house. I also cleaned the boy's bathroom, and the kitchen, and made two types of flavoured vinegars; chive vinegar and tarragon vinegar. These herbs infused into the vinegar will make the vinegar very mild, and I will use it for salad dressing and hostess gifts. (This also used up some of my garden bounty!)

I took today off in lieu of Wednesday's Canada Day. Originally I had planned to go up to the cottage, too, but then I decided I could use the quiet time at home. This morning I got the veggie garden all weeded, then got to work on the moonlight garden by the hot tub. Got that cleaned up, and the chive garden, too! Then it started to rain. The rain put a ky-bosh on my afternoon golf lesson, too.

I'm going to work on indoor cleaning now, though. I figure I will be able to run the vacuum around the basement tonight, and depending on my stamina after that, I may even move to the upstairs, too. Both boys rooms have been tidied, and once I tackle the foyer, I will be pleased with the entire house again.

OH! Some good news! We have new neighbours - and they have a son the same age as the A-man! They also have a daughter that is a couple of years older, I think. This is the first time in 10 years that we have had neighbours with children the same age as ours. Now, at 16, it's hard to say if they will actually get along, but here's hoping...