Yes, it’s another awesome day of blue skies & sunshine. So…
We potted, watered, cleaned up, set some backyard ground rules, then potted some more.
Field hockey games are always much more enjoyable when the weather also plays the game – & it was hot out there.
Now my lovely babysitter has arrived (BFF’s daughter) & we are off out for dinner with friends is this is it I’m afraid!
Happy Weekend…
I’m not sure why we broke up all those years ago, maybe it’s because Rogers gave us a better deal, but really it doesn’t matter – we are over! You seem to still have some trouble dealing with this, & I have gone out of my way to be very unpleasant to you during recent encounters. There is nothing worse than a cold calling company that won’t give up. I don’t know what part of ‘I’m not interested’ you don’t understand? You are not the only service provider you know despite what you might think.
It might interest you to know that we have recently reduced our Shaw package, so whatever deal you were trying to cut was never going to be a big win for you anyway. Unless you can provide over 500 cable channels that actually screen something worth watching I’m not interested. Then there is the robotic way in which your people communicate, here’s the thing, if you are going to try & entice new customers to move over to your dark side don’t insult their intelligence by trying to seduce them with a scripted speech, especially if your staff don’t actually speak English & can’t pronounce half the words correctly.
After receiving more than one cold call a month for so long now I don’t remember, last month I thought we had finally brought you down. By disconnecting our landline you were no longer able to stalk us with your robotic minions. I would no longer get angry interrupting the preempted text as they continued to read even though I clearly was not interested. I did not enjoy cutting you off, it did not make for a calm day, but I can say that the satisfaction I eventually gained from jabbing my forefinger on that button in the end was very powerful. All of this is now no more, or so I thought…
I am not surprised you have now stooped this low. Although I have to say trying to win our hearts back with food is quite clever. Suffice to say, I’m STILL not interested! I really don’t care what you might have to offer us anymore, even if you have the latest movies or TV shows, fastest internet connection or coolest phones, the bag of microwave popcorn you sent me is frankly a rather pathetic attempt at marketing. You didn’t even have the balls to deliver it your self you just sent it in the regular mail. Now, if you were going to shout us a meal for two at Hawksworth – with a babysitter & a cab thrown in – I might be prepared to listen for 5 minutes, but popcorn – really?
Have a word with yourself & please don’t bother us again WE ARE NOT INTERESTED!
08.00 – After an early drop off at school on another glorious morning, Tess & I are already walking. I have been really suffering with my knee again over the last 24 hours, but I still decide to do the longer loop. Why not? I have the time & I know tomorrow morning there will probably not be a walk in the park but that’s a different story.
09.15 – A strum on my guitar before I pack it for the afternoon lesson. I’m not getting these bar chords at all. I think about changing the beds but then get distracted with reorganizing the tea & coffee cupboard – oh well, it’s the thought that counts, I’ll do them tomorrow.
10.45 – Off to Pilates to be stretched & bent.
12.15 – Straight from my class to the downtown Costco (I hate the downtown Costco. Many hate the Richmond Costco I normally go to, but I hate the downtown one). I meet up with a school mum who’s becoming quite a good friend (She organized the winter gala a couple of years ago so I’ll call her ‘gala mum’). Together we are organizing breakfast for the teachers & staff at school tomorrow for their ‘appreciation day’.
12.50 – I wish my Costco shops could be this quick & focused – & cheap!!
13.15 – After unloading I have an hour to eat & do some housey stuff before my guitar lesson, so I play two rounds of patience.
14.30 – I know I have turned very blonde again but it is no excuse for reading the chord sheet upside down – no wonder I found it so difficult. In my defense I was quite sick during last weeks lesson so I couldn’t remember most of what we did. My teacher patiently corrected my fingers while biting his tongue & now it actually sounds the way it should. He probably banged his head against the wall after I left.
15.10 – Quick extraction from school, but was stopped a gazillion times by hair admirers.
16.10 – After the boys lessons I have to do a quick Loblaws run to buy gluten free breakfast stuff.
17.30 – Once dinner is finished hubby pops out to check the Odyssey’s tire & blow it up so I can at least use it in the morning. Inflating it worked & the light went off – phew! He then kindly packs up the car with all the baked goodies while I start to prepare the fruit platters.
19.00 – Boys in bed early because I have to drag them into school at 7.15 to serve breakfast. I put the last of the platters in the car so I save time in the morning. Gala mum & I exchange texts with the final arrangements for the morning, I then collapse in a heap. I’m writing the final chapter of the book I started a little while ago & I’m determined to finish it tonight. No I WILL finish it tonight.
07.30 – No minivan so we all pile into the Mini. After the usual choir drop off, younger child & I do the usual reading in the car, and then once I’d sent him up to his classroom I waited in the lobby for elder child so I could take him to his track meet.
08.15 – He finally appears as if we have all day to get there.
08.40 – We fight our way through the traffic out to the university grounds & of course they are doing construction on the road right in front of the field – it’s a total gong show! We find parking, which happens to be two cars back from the school van & we notice a slightly stressed looking teacher, that we know quite well, hauling tents & boxes & first aid kits etc. out of the van. She is also talking to a colleague on the phone about the cost of parking for the day & telling him not to move from the spot he’d secured next to the field. It’s turns out that hot teacher is sick & he coordinates these events for the kids so it had completely screwed up their schedule. I go to the machine to get the number so I can do pay by phone.
08.50 – We are both still trying to pay for parking. The app asks for time by minutes & she is going to be there for 8 hours. Neither of us has had enough coffee to do the math. My app is having a meltdown & I can’t pay at all. So I cut a deal with the teacher, I offer the services of elder child to help her carry the stuff if she wouldn’t mind me not walking to the field with him so I don’t have to pay. We are just about to part ways when it becomes apparent that there is no transport back to school, I will need to pick him up – as if having to drop him off wasn’t stressful enough to work out. I email younger child’s teacher asking her to him know he will need to go to after school care – I had left my Wonder Woman costume at home with going the salon today. I tell elder child I will be back for him as soon as I can but his last event is not until 2.30pm so it should be fine.
09.10 – A very quick stroll down a short stretch of the park so that the dog can do what she needs to do, then it’s off to the pet salon for a bath – this is the nearest I will ever get to a mother/daughter spa day.
09.30 – I leg it home to change out of runners & dog walking jacket & grab some water & snacks before I head off to my own salon for a complete transformation.
10.10 – After taking before pictures they begin toning my hair to get the red out & I feel like my head is on fire!
11.30 – I now have pale yellow brassy hair. They cut it a bit shorter & re-style it so it doesn’t look like a bob anymore, dry it & take pictures.
12.00 – Second stage of bleach out. Purple goop is pasted all over my head & it stinks.
13.00 – Once the purple goop is rinsed out they dry it again & take pictures again.
13.30 – Purple accents are added using foils & I then melt under the dryer for 10 minutes.
14.00 – Rinsed again, dried & styled so the back can be shaped & a cute little hair tattoo is carved into my neck.
14.30 – 4½ hours later I’m done & they take pictures of the awesome result… which I love… love… LOVE!!
14.50 – I suck up the $17 parking because really what’s an extra 17 bucks on top of what I’ve just forked out in the name of funky hair? It’s then straight out to UBC to pick up the athlete.
15.10 – Elder child has had a fun day & immediately gives me a ‘WOW MUM’. He loves the new look. Next stop the pet salon.
15.30 – The traffic is insane & thank god for after school care because poor younger child would have been left to god & good neighbours by now. We pick up my girl who is all fluffy & beautiful again smelling like roses. I put the window down for her & she sits waving her hair around in the breeze like something out of a Loreal advert… well she is worth it!
15.40 – Last stop, school. Younger child is never keen on leaving after school care & I still don’t get why. Maybe it’s a playing with your school friends but not actually in school properly thing. I eventually extract him & sign him out.
16.00 – Home! However, it will be short lived as elder child needs to do his homework, change into hockey strip & eat dinner in an hour.
17.20 – We’re on the move again, but only out for 5 minutes to the hockey field.
17.45 – Hubby’s returns home to a new wife & really likes her!!
20.00 – Tired busy boys in bed & I have a new look to celebrate… cheers!
06.15 – YAY! Another rested sleep, waking up to sunshine & no choir practice today.
08.15 – A slightly chilly but beautiful walk in the park with some of the usual suspects.
09.15 – Driving home & the flat tire light comes on! Our minivan is already waaaay overdue for it’s service & we need them to also change over the winter tires, but a flat in a winter tire is an expensive add-on – not happy.
09.30 – Back at base I inform hubby of the good news. I have some errands to run that are not close to home & I wasn’t sure I would get everything in my Mini. Apparently I should trust my own words & never underestimate a Mini – especially a soft top because you can pack even more into that bad boy!
10.00 – Phone call from teacher mum, her son is off school with the dreaded virus so won’t be going to hockey. I feel terrible that I have passed it onto to the poor wee guy. This also changes our child swapping plan so I call hubby, leave a message, text him, call again – still no answer.
12.30 – It would appear that you can fit 8 cases of wine, 9 plants, 8 window boxes & me in a Cooper S with room to spare. I call hubby again – no answer…
13.30 – Bar chords practice is going very badly, I hope my teacher will be patient with me on Thursday, especially after I tell him that I have spent most the past week on my deathbed.
14.20 – Finally speak to hubby who has only just received my text – GRRRR! & none of my calls – double GRRRR! We rearrange our plan & now I’m late for a meeting…
14.35 – The mum I’m meeting to finalize our staff appreciation breakfast arrangements for Friday is also late!
14.50 – We spend 5 minutes arranging the final details & 15 minutes of gossiping!!
15.10 – Normal civilized pick up – or so I thought. Elder child already knew he wasn’t being picked up by teacher mum so he was waiting for me, ready to pounce & request food to feed Boris (that is what we have now named his tapeworm!). Younger child hasn’t eaten all of his so I just hand elder child the food bag & tell him to vacuum up whatever he wants from there. Younger child then gets the third degree on the way home for not eating his lunch – AGAIN!!
16.15 – The same routine before field hockey applied but was just easier with just one child. Hubby arrives home & I leave to pick up elder child from Track & Field practice.
16.40 – Elder child informs me on the way home that the track meet tomorrow does not have transport to the field – I have to take him & his first event is at 9am. He is supposed to be there 45 minutes before… I am officially Wonder Woman as I will need to be in 2 places at once! I completely lose it in the car because this is the first that this has been mentioned – also my fault for not reading the email in full too but that’s a separate rant altogether.
17.00 – I have been given half an hours grace because he discovers that his first event is not until 9.30. We make an agreement that from now on he needs to check with us before signing up for these events – especially if there is no transport… yeah right, & I will bump into Henry Cavill tomorrow while looking fabulous after having my hair done!
18.00 – Friends again we play our guitars together…
19.00 – Now that I’m feeling much better I really need a glass of wine!
07.45 – The radio gently woke me after a much better night’s sleep propped up on several pillows. For the first time in almost a week I felt rested.
08.00 – It’s quite nice occasionally to get up on a Monday morning & wonder down stairs in my pj’s to let the dog out & make tea. My throat is still sore, so I knocked that on the head with some Tylenol. The boys join me for a more civilized breakfast than we normally have on a school day – not that I’m advocating they have more pro-d days, but you know, occasionally.
09.00 – Serious bad hair situation now that it needs cutting & colouring, it really wasn’t worth wasting time on so it was definitely a hat day.
09.30 – My lovely cleaner is pottering around as my friend drops her daughter off (one of younger child’s school friends), so she can go to work for the morning.
09.45 – It’s off to the park to walk the dog, where the kids play hide & seek & the dog gives away their hiding places every time – but they just don’t seem to get it.
11.15 – Back at base, my friend is done at work & is on her way. We enjoy a cuppa & a catch up, then she offers to take my boys to her house so I can go & buy my plants in Costco – win win all round!!
14.30 – After dropping of my annuals off I leg down to my friends house to pick up the boys.
15.30 – When we arrive home & I notice my neighbor is in & knowing that she is off down to California early on Wednesday morning there was something I needed to see her about. Of course the kids come to, & the dog & I end up having a cuppa with her because she hasn’t drawn breath yet. At some point after that hubby arrives home & sees the kids in the her garden, they say we are all over there – he joins us to for a cuppa too – it’s all very sociable.
17.00 – Just when I’m thinking we need to head back for dinner elder child comes into my neighbours house holding his head, blood all down his face! The gash is above his eyebrow & isn’t deep enough for stitches, but does need steri-strips – great!!! We ask younger child what happened…
Apparently his elder brother asked him to put a plastic bucket on his head, so he did & then there was blood everywhere. He thought he was in big trouble because it was his fault – but technically it wasn’t – & this is now the 2nd scar that elder child will have on his face courtesy of younger child.
18.00 – Meanwhile back at dinner, better late than never.
19.00 – MY BFF arrives, we are crafting & all is right in the world again…
Another bad night has led to another day lost to the evil virus. Sofa surfing & a trip to physio for an imaginary appointment that I swear was today – I was a week early! I think tonight I’m going to have to sleep propped up somehow, anything, I’ll try anything. I ‘m actually glad it’s a pro-d day tomorrow so I can have another day of recuperating.
04.00 – I would just like to sleep all night.
06.15 – Hubby’s alarm goes off & my head is pounding into my ears & someone has taken a cheese grater to my throat. How much longer is this going to last?
06.30 – A failed attempt to get up. I took painkillers & a throat pastille then lay back down again.
06.40 – Hubby brings me tea (he is on call & is off to work – of course). He is about to text a friend to see if they can take elder child to his Track & Field event but I stop him because I know that their events are not until the afternoon. It’s down to me.
06.50 – I successfully get up this time & have a shower. It will be a bad hair day & I don’t care. The weather looks cold & damp so I put on layers.
08.10 – We leave, I feel better but not great, & have had a small amount of breakfast.
08.35 – We arrive at the track. A different group of teachers & parents are at the tent already.
09.00 – 11.45 – Elder child competes in the high jump, shot put (which he came 5th overall in last year), & 60 & 100m sprint. He’s like me & not built for land but I am really proud of him for taking part, especially in events he hasn’t practiced much. However, our summer like weather did not take part & I can’t even begin to describe how cold I was for the entire time. I even shoehorned myself into elder child’s jacket & wore younger child’s like a super hero cape – anything to keep warm. At some point I decided to get a hot chocolate even though my throat would’nt like it. I get to the concession just as they ran out & were waiting for their urn to heat up – only about 20 minutes apparently – ONLY!!!
Younger child & I then retreat into the next building to use the washrooms & what do they have in the lobby… a hot drinks machine! I almost hugged it, & then spent the next 5 minutes trying to put change into it with white fingers (& yes I had gloves on). It was terrible but it was hot & wet!!
12.30 – Home to my poor dog who is not used to being left alone so much. I dosed myself up again as everything was pounding & aching again. The boys then chilled out in front of a movie while I had a hot bath. Crazy I know but I needed to defrost.
14.00 – Warmer & more comfortable I introduced the boys to Mr Bean (movie’s were the only thing any of us were up for).
16.00 – After feeding the animals the boys went out to shoot some baskets & I promptly fell asleep on the sofa. At some point hubby texted to say he just had a quick appendix to do then would hopefully be home in time for pizza (when I am sick a kitchen strike is inevitable).
17.30 – I wake up, the boys are in their rooms playing, my head is pounding again & there is a cat asleep on my bladder!
17.50 – Hubby’s ‘quick appendix’ was just finishing. I sort out pizza – which I can’t eat but don’t want anything anyway – the boys end up eating without daddy because he’s just leaving to walk home & they were too starving to wait.
19.00 – We all sit together to watch another movie – Inside Out – because I had promised we would do this but that was before hubby was late finishing, but we do it anyway.
21.00 – I’m done & my bed is calling… be gone with you nasty evil virus.
Yes I have had the most insane day that started with a quick coffee with ‘mouth on legs’ mum, the school play at 9-10am, home (via the grocery store) to give the dog a quick walk, back to school for half day pick up, on to the dentist with the boys followed by a treats at Menchie’s frozen yoghurt bar & the kids book store (for Captain Underpants FOR the love of god!), then home quickly to get ready for track & field meet which we were almost late for because of traffic, then spent nearly 2 hours drowning in the rain screaming at my not very well behaved kids & looking not so very glamorous around hot teacher!
I now need a VERY large glass of wine so I can revive myself for round two of the meet tomorrow – cheers!
03.00 – Urgently required Tylenol. I don’t ever remember having a sore throat this bad.
06.15 – Really? That time already!
06.50 – Hubby leaves with elder child to drop him at running club for 7am (The only way I would ever run at that godforsaken hour is if a bear were chasing me, & we all know how that would end!)
08.00 – I drop younger child at school then on to the park with the dog. I feel a bit washed out but I think a walk will do me good.
09.05 – Back at the car I’m knackered & my knee is hurting.
09.45 – I have 1 hour before I leave for Pilates. So, laundry, switch my industrial winter sweater collection with tank tops & shorts, get dinner out of the freezer (& tomorrow’s too, how efficient is that?), organize 3 guitars for our lessons in the afternoon, & have a drink & snack while flicking through FaceBook – OMG! I discover the great purple one is gone!! What the chuff is going on this year? That’s one hell of a super group that’s being put together up there in the clouds.
11.00 – I love Pilates. Even though my knee is still not right, my instructor always finds a way around it without irritating it more. At some point during my class my phone whistles 3 times in a row while my legs are strung up like something out of a Fifty Shades scene. I am sure its just hubby, but my instructor was worried that it was important because it doesn’t normally go off that much. She hands me my bag… I dig out the phone… the only text that I see is the last one he sent… ‘Blimey. Now symbol is dead too #howmanymore’. My instructor asks is everything all right (We had just been talking about the sad loss of Prince), I reply with the words of hubby’s text. We actually both laughed, he clearly thought it was vital that I know this.
14.00 – In less than 2 hours I have done two more loads of laundry, sewn 2 buttons on a shirt, repaired a pair of school pants, cut out a BBQ & stuck down it’s fire pit, then stamped & embossed the word ‘RETIREMENT’ for our principal’s card.
14.30 – Today I started learning bar chords & will now need to practice for 4 hours a day everyday so I can string at least 2 of them together by next week.
15.10 – The usual mad dash along the road to school to pick up the boys & then back to the music shop for their lessons.
15.30 – I chill out in the little sitting room for half an hour & catch up on my Twitter feed, pin some cards to make, & play two rounds of patience almost beating my personal best.
16.30 – The boys are quick to do their homework so they can go outside & shoot some baskets. I fire up the BBQ for the first time this year & cook some rather delicious chicken that I promptly leave because both my throat & appetite refuses to let me enjoy it.
18.00 – I am very fortunate that even after a days work my husband will muck in & help with clearing up after dinner & sorting the kids out for bed – especially as I am not feeling that great by this point.
19.30 – There will be no wine tonight!
louiselindley 