Thoughts of a mom

Tomorrow my little boy turns 8. Does every mother do this? Get all nostalgic and sentimental (at least on the inside) every time one of their children has a birthday? Thoughts of the day he was born- how little and helpless he was... looking at the boy he's become and wondering about the man he will be. And amidst all that, the more practical details...

It will be a Hot Wheels party, complete with a racetrack cake (gotta get that made today!) and Hot Wheels decorations, compliments of the local party store. His present will make him fairly explode with excitement- goalie pads for driveway hockey, and a Sens jersey- the nice embroidered kind with his name and the number 19 on the back.

And still I remember when life was what I though was as busy as it would be... midnight feedings, changing diapers, carrying him everywhere. We've gone from that to quiet nights when he's at a friend's house for a sleepover, him doing the laundry for me and driving him everywhere- to soccer games and practices. And if it's on the street, he goes himself on his bike. Where did 8 years go? And before I know it, I"ll be wondering where 28 years went...

On to other things- rumor has it that my pool will actually get opened TODAY- the guy and I mixed up our times. But more importantly, things may start to happen with debris removal next week- this a direct quote from my insurance lady. Finally! We will probably be meeting our builder over the weekend sometime to finalize floor plans so things can get started- I get so excited just thinking about it. The money is in the bank, waiting to furnish our home, the emergency savings account that we were bulding up is in place thanks to the extra insurance money, and we are just waiting for everything to start happening- and it might NEXT WEEK! I can hardly believe it after four months of waiting.

Well, J is almost done his breakfast, so it's off to the store before W gets home from his sleepover.

The official summer kickoff

Today we're supposed to get our pool opened. I am very much looking forward to that. But I'm skeptical, as when they guy was supposed to come and close it last fall, he never showed up. I have decided to give him a second chance, so he'd better deliver today. But it's supposed to rain this afternoon, so who knows if it will happen or not. It will be fun to have a pool- more fun next year though, when it's not in the middle of what looks like a war zone.

Yesterday went well- very busy, but good. The boys were good in school, even after a late night the night before, and once again we did a double load. I am hoping to accomplish the same today, and cut yet another day off the end of our school year.

W's first soccer game was last night. It was so fun to watch him out there obviously loving it, and being right in the middle of the action. After being up 2-0, the final score was a 3-3 tie. It was one of those times when I absoloutely love being a mom, sitting on the sidelines cheering on my son's team. E came straight from work, missing supper to see the game. I'm glad he's a good dad like that. He wouldn't have missed it for the world. W had a great time, and we all went to DQ after to celebrate the start of the season (and yes, goaliemom, I counted the 7 points for my small ice cream sundae!) This evening he is off to a friend's house to watch game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals, eat lots of junk food, and have a sleepover. Could be fun getting him to focus in school today...

Slowing down

Yesterday is a blur. We were on the road from 9 am till almost 5 pm. But lots got done, and we had a good day in all. Visits to the chiropractor, many birthday-related errands for W, other errands, meetings, and picking up big fat insurance cheques (not all for me though!). Last night finished off with a spontaneous outing to see E play his first game of summer hockey. The boys were thrilled to be able to go and see him, but I don't know how much of the game they actually watched once they got there. Playing on the bleachers was much more fun.

Today is less hectic, but still busy. School this morning, swimming lessons this afternoon, a trip to the grocery store to replenish our sorely depleted cupboards, and W's first soccer game tonight. He is very excited to go and play, as I am to go and watch.

Logged my weight today as it was a full pound down from yesterday- Tuesdays will now be my weigh-in day. So the count is now 2.5 pounds- woohoo!

Off to get my coffee and do my quiet time before the craziness of the day starts. Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer anyway?

Toughing it out

Hate it when that happens... I was a very good girl all week, and I am the exact same weight I was last Monday morning. Ugh. Well, I'll record it, and see what I weigh tomorrow morning for good measure. Guess I'll be drinking lots of water while I run the roads all day.

Off to do my quiet time before I hit the road... oh, and I have to make lunches too- ugh.

A feeling of impending doom

So tomorrow is my weigh-in day. I am thinking of changing it to at least Tuesday. Monday is a horrible day to weigh in, as my eating habits are never stellar on Sunday. It's 10 pm and I am having my 3rd glass of water for the day- usually I've had 6 or 7 by now. Oh, and my supper was a piece of birthday cake. Maybe I'll wait and see what the scales say tomorrow before I decide. Over a pound and I'll stick with it. Anything else, and I'll drink water all day tomorrow and weigh in on Tuesday. Does that count as cheating?

Today was a wet, rainy day. A good reason to not do any outdoor work, and wonderful for my garden. Checked on all the plants with J today, and the peas are doing lovely, we have 11 beans poking their little heads up (only about 120 to go), 3 radishes, and even a couple of carrots. My lemon balm, which I thought had died, was looking very perky today, so maybe I will have a real garden after all. This is my first attempt at anything beyond a very little plot, so I am anxious for it to succeed. Hopefully with all the sunshine forecast this week, lots more things will start popping their little green heads up out of the earth.

Yesterday W and I went out and bought 2 new apple trees, one to replace one that died in the fire, and the other to replace a diseased one that had to be chopped down (a sad day). We also got a surprise for hubby- a cherry shrub- not nearly as expensive as a cherry tree, but still producing wonderful cherries- a favorite of his. Next year I have visions of pear trees and maybe even a plum. Have to decide if it'll be worth the trouble of mowing around them all. I'm sure as I'm eating my fresh apple pies and applesauce this fall, I will decide that it will indeed be worth it.

Another day of no school tomorrow, but the boys have been doing lots of doubling up, so we may actuall be done by mid to late June. That would be more than I could have hoped for. I know they are anxious to finish, and that helps motivate everyone.

Also hoping to get floor plans finalzed this week- I was really wanting to be started on the building process by June, and that arrives on Friday. It is very close, so hopefully I can make that happen this week. We settled on the contents amounts, so I will be picking up that cheque tomorrow, I hope. Then it's all the decisions of what God wants us to do with all that money (we have a distinct feeling he wants us to do more than just furnish our house). Let the roller coaster ride go another round.

Give peas a chance

So my garden is not doomed after all. I went out yesterday and saw the first little shoots of my peas popping up. And after some digging :) I realized that my beans are shooting up under the earth- they will show themselves soon enough. Where my radishes and carrots are is anyone's guess.

Don't know what today will hold. Hubby is off work, but will be gone most of the day buying hockey gear. Inevitable, but icky. Hope it doesn't take all day. Think I will be mowing the lawn- correction- mowing the dandelions this morning. And explaining to the kids why Daddy, who's been at work all week, is away again today. He can't take W with him because he's getting his b-day present today, but J wants to go and he's said no. Says it will be boring for him, but doesn't understand that J won't be bored- just wants to spend time with his dad. How do I say that without guilting him? Ugh. Think I need a coffee- that always puts things in perspective. Still need to think on the J thing... and frankly, I could use a little break. :)

Off to get coffee and check on the garden...

I am concerned for my garden... I planted everything and NOTHING is growing. Not even a little shoot. The only bits of green are the transplants I put in, and they are holding their own alright. I am especially wondering about the beans... they should have come up by now, shouldn't they? Am I doomed to have a lousy garden with no work for all my efforts? I had such lovely visions of fresh produce on the table every night- salads, steamed veggies, herbs, etc. We did have fresh basil and chives in our supper last night, and that was lovely. Made me all the more anxious to have the rest of our stuff growing.

Maybe our ground is icky- it was awfully hard-packed before I took the tiller to it... ah well, too much else to worry about these days. I'll just keep watering it and hope for the best.

On the house front, numbers continue to come in for rebuilding. The contents amount has been finalized, so I expect to be getting a big fat cheque in the mail any day now. Went to IKEA yesterday to do some more thinking and planning. 'Twas fun. I can hardly wait to start furnishing the place- that's a long ways away, though- I have to keep reminding myself!