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Heidi Chronicles

Life (In London), Medicated

Canadian Italian trumps the Brits’

We had a mini birthday party this afternoon for Liam…

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which was a good thing because prior to their arrival, my two children screaming “MIIIIIIIINE” back and forth at each other made me want to shoot them.

And Aaron got home from Milan.  That was a good thing too.

But later when he told me about the delicious Italian food he ate?  Then I wanted shoot him.

The fact of the matter is, we have yet to find any place here that serves good Italian food.  I’ve had better in Vancouver.  Seriously…can someone please explain to me how Canada can have better Italian food than a country within a two hour flight of ethnic epicenter?

Grandma’s Visit: Day 2

Filed under: BackBlogging, Blah Blah Blah, By Myself, Depression, Elena, Exercise, Family, Health, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood — Heidi at 10:35 pm on Thursday, May 1, 2008

I spent part of the morning messing around trying to get my eye-fi card to work in my computer. Jeanne played with E and I just enjoyed the peacefulness while L was at school.

Jeanne brought E the rocket from Little Einstein’s. She and Liam both love it. GREAT gift for a toddler.

I’m glad J got to spend some one-on-one time with her.

I got a little more time by myself as well. Went to my first counselor appointment. I decided to give it a try since I’ve never actually talked to a professional about anything. (And, in Aaron’s favorite cheer for NHS, “it’s free.”) Anyway, it was a nice break and he agreed to see me five more times. (Six is the limit unless you get referred for longer term therapy.) He’s a nice guy, but I have a tough time understanding him sometimes.

Liam is still struggling with the poo. I finally called my US Poop Expert, Jenny, and she filled me in on the dirty details of getting the kid to go.  I ran right up to his room with an apple juice/water mix and he sucked it down.  YAY liquid.

I’m sure we’ll all suffer in the middle of the night when he’s finally ready to go, but I don’t care.  It will be worth having it over.

Plaster is a pain in my ass.

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Blah Blah Blah, Elena, Health, Home Improvements, Liam, Life In London, Medicated, Mommyhood, Ugh — Heidi at 8:24 pm on Sunday, April 13, 2008

Since I made the trip to HomeBase, I’ve been itching to get our pictures hung.  I mean, we’ve been here six months now…it’s about time they came off of the floors and went onto the walls instead of being tucked behind furniture gathering HUGE dust bunnies.

So, Aaron needed something to do and I suggested he hang up pictures.  He did - and did a great job.  Everything went along quite smoothly until  he was ready to hang the third picture.

See the notches in the wall there?  Well, there are seven of them and I’ll give you a closer look.

Those are chips taken out of the wall when A tried to find a spot where the nails would actually go in rather than bending to 90 degrees to avoid whatever it is behind the paint. Seven of them. There is no rhyme or reason to the locations that are anti-nail.  I found a couple of spots upstairs that won’t let me hammer either.  We tried pounding on the walls to see if there was a different sound - and there was in some areas - but it has absolutely nothing to do with where the nail will go in and where it commits suicide rather than do its job.  It’s quite frustrating.

I did find a way around it for some of the artwork.  I used the stick-to-the-wall hooks where the nails wouldn’t go in.  They seem to be holding up ok so far.  However, we still have to figure out how to patch all of the mistakes hidden behind the pictures before we move.  I’m sure we’ll find out later that there’s some really easy way to tell where a nail will and will not go in, and then I’ll feel like an idiot.  It will probably happen when we move out and the owners freak out about the number of holes in the walls.  THEN they’ll tell us the secret…and keep all of our deposit.

That would suck, but I still don’t think it would be as bad as having someone sick for 25 days straight.  Yep, Elena has a fever A-GAIN, so it looks like we’re trying for 30.

That said, I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have to hire someone to kill me.  My patience is waning…and quickly.  Of course everyone has to be sick the last week of school and during the entire break.  This sucks balls.  No wonder I’m still depressed and on edge.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza (Not) Hut.

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Elena, Friends, Health, Liam, Life In London, Mommyhood, Murphy & Macey, Terrible Mother — Heidi at 5:03 pm on Friday, April 11, 2008

This morning we headed out to the park with Jenn, Avery, and Jack. We hadn’t played in the sand pit since they refurbished it and it was fantastic. The kids were digging and I was making sand shells and crabs from molds having a grand old time, until Liam shoveled sand into his pink eye.

It wasn’t pretty. At. All.

The poor kid was screaming and all of the moms had that “awww, the poor kid” look in their eyes. I felt so terrible for him.

He got calmed down and had gone back to playing calmly when the clouds opened up. Everyone headed for their strollers and whipped out the rain covers in seconds flat, including us.

As soon as we got everyone strapped in and covered up, the sun came out.

Of COURSE.

However, Jack was NOT pleased about the in-and-out of the stroller dance and we decided to leave anyway. We wanted to kill a little time, so we decided to go grab lunch…a little KFC.

I am the crappiest mom ever.

No, it’s not what you think. It’s not because I got my kiddos a kid’s meal…but because I got them a kid’s meal with corn on the cob, yogurt, and water instead of fries, ice cream, and juice.

Really. What does it hurt to let them splurge once in a while? It’s not like we do fast food more than once every six months or so.

Anyway, I felt bad for L afterward. He REALLY wanted the juice. And the kid got sand in his pink eye. He deserved a little treat. So, I gave him gum when we got home…right as the hail started coming down.

It was really windy, so it was coming at a slant. I called Liam over to the back door and he squatted down at grass level with me to watch the hail hop around out there. He was a little confused by the falling flower petals at first, but once he realized what was going on, he got excited. I let him stick his hand out the door to feel it and he said, “Mom, I got ICED!”

Needless to say, we stayed inside.

Although, there were several more bouts of sun interspersed with the rain. I can handle the rain if I get to see the sun on and off during the day.

Fortunately for me both kids slept and I had a chance to figure out what I’m wearing tomorrow to High Tea at the Landmark Hotel. They say “smart casual” so I was going to wear black pants. However, none - NONE! - of my nice pants fit any more. EEEEEEEKKK!!!

I had one skirt that fits. I was glad that I had already decided that I needed to do something about the extra poundage. At least it didn’t shock me when I went to try everything on. Oh well, it is what it is. (And it didn’t stop me from enjoying a slice of cheese pizza when the nice delivery person arrived with dinner.)

The kids were sweet when they got up. Liam has been a cuddler since he’s been sick and it’s kind of nice since he’s not usually like that. I am getting a little tired of him following me around as he whines about one thing or another though. And you’d think he was 15 the way he simply ignores me when I ask him questions. But when he wants something he will. not. shut. up. about it. EVEN WHEN I’VE ALREADY SAID YES!

Maybe he really is having trouble hearing - I doubt it though because he’s always complaining about things being too loud. I think he’s just really good at ignoring me. It’s driving Aaron nuts.

In other news, the house has recently started echoing. I hear everything that anyone says twice.

  • Aaron, did you feed the dogs? (A-wan, did oo fee dog?)
  • Good girl, Mace. Good boy, Murph. (Goo boy, Mayseh Wayseh. Goo boy, Muff.)
  • Shall we go downstairs? (Shaa go dan-tairs?)
  • Stay off of the chairs, please. (Aaay off chah, peas.)
  • Where did I put my lipstick? (Whehwa my wib-dick?)
  • No, that ball is MINE! (No. Bah. MIIIIIINE!)
  • Hmmmmmm…. (Mmmm mmmm mmmm!)

It’s nice when I miss something the first time, but the “MINE” is getting a little old between the two of them. Sometimes I end up just taking the toy away and saying, “Well, it’s mine now. How’d'ya like that?”

Of course Elena yells. Liam usually does too - at first. Then he gets all serious and says, “What are my options, Mama?” (”Whah optons Mama?”) To which I reply, “You don’t have any when it comes to [object of desire] right now. (”You no have wight now.”) I guess you’ll have to figure out something else to do.” (*crying* “Figuoo ouw some duh-HOOOOOOOO.)

Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about either kid’s hearing at this point. It seems active listening may be the problem: Lammer doesn’t think about what I’m saying, and Elena ONLY thinks about what I’m saying.

I’m going to start bribing them with French fries. Maybe that will do the trick.

Dare I say we’re getting better?

Filed under: Aaron, Blah Blah Blah, Depression, Elena, Health, Liam, Life In London, Medicated, Ugh — Heidi at 9:57 pm on Tuesday, April 8, 2008

I’m still tired from being up in the night, but Elena hardly has any more goo and Liam is fighting the goo and the cold quite nicely. He also fought taking a nap today, which hasn’t happened in quite a while, so I know he’s feeling better. He finally did sleep, so that was good.

He’s been a little feisty today as well. He’s started yelling, “NEVERRRRR!” when I do something he doesn’t like. I asked him what it means and he said “it means ‘don’t do that, Mama.’” Ok, whatever. As long as he’s not really yelling the true meaning of “never” at me it’s pretty funny. I have no idea where he heard it.

He’s also learned to pretend play, which I was a little concerned about since it took him so long. Today I heard him in his room playing with cars when he was supposed to be resting and they were all talking to one another. He was naming them…names like Rhoda. What do you think that means? How in the hell did he come up with Rhoda?

He’s also becoming quite the reader - particularly at the table. He loves to read the labels on things. And if I point at easier words, he recognizes them and doesn’t have to sound them out.

I’m honestly not sure where he got this talent. It certainly wasn’t from me. I used to get mad at my sister because my mom would tell me to read to her and then she’d read ahead of me. Obviously I didn’t GET the gene, so I couldn’t have passed it along - unless it’s recessive. Hmmmm.

Maybe it’s Aaron. I haven’t asked him when he started reading. But I’m guessing he was too busy doing difficult math in his head to even consider reading at 3.5. (Although, I’m sure Heath was doing math in her head by the time she was reading as well. Not sure what that means for Aaron.)

Regardless, they were both “gifted” and I wasn’t - but I was popular and that’s what REALLY matters, right?

Ok…so I wasn’t exactly “popular.” I guess can’t lie now that you’ve all seen the pictures.

Hmmm…let’s think about what Elena has been doing to change the subject from my impopularity. Well, the kid still talks nonstop. She still nurses one or two times a day, which is fine because it’s not before bed and not in the middle of the night. She still sleeps whenever I put her in her bed. She still tries whatever I put in front of her to eat (not to be confused with her brother who now tells me “I-eeee “duh-hon’t liiiiiieeeke thaaaaaaaaat” every time I ask him to try something). She still gives lots of hugs and now says “Ieee wuv-ooo” when we say it to her. She loves cottage cheese and begs for it in the mornings along with “mana-MAN-a-manas” (bananas), which she can’t have everyday because she gets constipated. She still calls Liam “mommy.” She loves Little Einsteins (Liam does too.) and will come find me and say, “Mama. Day-woo (Video). Pat-pat Wocket. oooo-KAY!

I guess that’s enough for now. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of them, but you really don’t want to see their eyes. I guess I could put a black bar across them, but that would require actually taking pictures and then using a graphics program to make the black bar. And right now that’s just too much for my brain to handle. We’re doing just well enough around here that everyone has gotten dressed the past two days. (That means clothes. No makeup. No pretty hair. Just clean clothes. And I’m quite proud of that.)

Hopefully the next few days will be sunny as the weather forecast says they should be and everyone will be well enough to get dressed AND go outside.

I just hope I didn’t jinx myself with the title.

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