Traditions...

Good day everyone! Sorry I've been away for so long, but I've had a bit of a 'bumpy' week. Seems my fibro 'super senses' are on high alert this past week making it a little hard to function. The best I can sort of describe it is it like human 'Spidey Senses', just a lot less fun. (Thats what my doctor calls it! Ha!!) Your body's senses go on 'high alert'...like for me my hearing gets very very sensitive, touch gets very sensitive and tingly. It also makes me very tired. Hence the reason for my absence. But I'm back and have my tea and ready to join my friends for some fun!

Well, if you haven't had a chance to look outside or enter a mall lately I will be the first to inform you that Christmas is less then a month a way! I KNOW!!!! When did that happen???? I think I still have patio furniture outside that needs to be cleaned up and I know I still have a pumpkin sitting in my kitchen that still needs to be cooked. Okay...I also know I am in the minority of people who procrastinate like this, but wow...is it just me or is Christmas coming really fast this year??

We have several traditions we do as a family that we started when we moved to Edmonton when the kids were little. Some were things I brought from my family, some we brought from my husband's family, and some we 'borrowed' from new friends we made when we came out here. When we moved here, we had no family close by, so it was our first Christmas on our 'own'. One tradition we started and still do to this day is while we are at church Christmas eve the 'elves' come and leave pj's on the kids beds. Once we would get home the boys would race to their beds to check and see if the elves had stopped by and if they had it meant that Santa was on his way!

Of course there are other traditions as well, we leave eggnog and treats out for Santa, we make Christmas cookies, send out cards. I love to hear other families stories and traditions. Different cultures and and different histories make the holidays so interesting, especially this time of year. Each  decoration tells a story. Foods have special memories. Lets share these traditions and stories! I have several readers around the world. I would love to hear how the holidays are celebrated in  your countries!

Happy memory sharing everyone!!

Life as a Parent..

Good day and hope all is well in your parts of the world. The hustle of the holidays are now hitting and I even saw a commercial for a Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon, and that marks for me that the Christmas count down has officially begun!! So grab your favorite spiced cider or hot cocoa and come chat for a bit.

As you all know I have three teen boys. Correction... I have three young 'men'. I say 'men' because they are physically in men's bodies, but they sure don't always think with an adult mind. And please, let me clarify...because I don't mean that to sound derogatory towards them.

Parenthood is so not what we think we signed up for as young couples. Most of us got married, decided to start a family, maybe bought a house..had another baby...tossed in a dog or cat..surprise maybe..baby number 3.....for us then dog number 2 ...then number 3...several 'disposable pets' mixed in there.. .the years fly by.

As I sit here writing its almost like a comic book look at my children's lives flashing quickly in front of me. So many times I wanted to wrap them in thick bubble wrap to protect them. As they  first learned to toddle on their own (Oh those huge blue and green bruises on their little foreheads!!) When they first rode their bikes, that first time roller blading...in shorts!! (washing their bleeding hands and knees and trying so very hard not to say 'I told you to wear your safety gear!!') Wanting to wrap the car and all the kids inside up in bubble wrap the first time one of them gets their driver's license...

You want to wrap them up to protect them....to keep them safe. To save them from making mistakes that will hurt them. When they are little we use baby gates to keep them from crawling down the stairs. As they get older you want to impart all your 'worldly' wisdom on them to save them from the bumps and bruises of getting older and living in a grown up world. We tell them to make good friends, get an education, don't drink or smoke...don't do drugs.....

Then we send our young men and women out into a very unforgiving reality and pray every day they come home without to many bumps and bruises. I must admit I have been pleasantly surprised by comments and accomplishments by my young men. I have a wall in my home covered with  awards and medals. I was chatting just yesterday with a mom of one of my boy's friends and she was saying just how nice my son is. She was telling me wonderful stories of things he had said and done and I must admit I was very proud of my young man.

Then they come home....and you wonder just what are they thinking??? They say stupid things, they procrastinate, they bring home the WEIRDEST kids!! (seriously! where did they find that kid?? and is he safe to have in my home?? Ha!!)  And as a parent, you lay in bed at night banging your head. Are they making good choices? Are they safe?

I know I'm very fortunate. My three guys help me out without complaint all the time. People from all over tell me constantly tell me wonderful things about them. Do they make mistakes? Absolutely. Do I wish I could wrap them up tighter in the bubble wrap? Always. (and to be honest...on different days...I want to wrap them tightly in the bubble wrap for different reasons other then to protect them!! Ha!!)

Ahhh...parenthood...it doesn't matter at what stage of the journey you are at. I am positive you can look at your brood and say wow...this was NOT what I signed up for. Not that it isn't a good....but I bet its not what you thought it would be!

I would love to hear some of your stories!

My Poor Puppy!

Good Morning Everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I keep looking frantically at the calendar and can't believe how fast the holidays are approaching! How in the world is this happening?? My husband and youngest son braved some shopping at West Edmonton Mall on Friday and it was all lit up so pretty. Between that and all the snow we received this past week, its definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

West Edmonton Mall

I woke up Saturday to a very chilly house and a very sad dog. You all have to understand, usually I wake up to a rather exuberant good morning and nearly get bowled over by my 3 dogs. Who knew it was that exciting an event having mom out of bed? Well Saturday only my two girls were running around cheering me on. My big boy was clinging beside me hanging his head and being very quiet. Hmmm...he's NEVER quiet. 

So we all waddle down the stairs, get the wood stove stoked up, dogs all  fed and mom's tea brewing. Still a quiet boy. Ok, whats up with him? Then I noticed he was shaking his head around. Then a bit later he started scratching away at his ear. Ahhhhh!!! Dr. Dolittle thinks she may be on to something! So once all of us were settled back in bed I peeked inside his ears and discovered some icky treasures. Ewwww!

Poor guy has an ear infection. His ear was full of black waxy stuff that I had to gently swab out for him. Then I applied a natural gel to the ear that made him just sigh in relief. My poor puppy! Now I have a very clingy large dog with a sore ear. I just hope this gel does this trick so I can skip the very dramatic,  all dreaded,  very expensive vet trip.

Wives...you all know that trip. The trip where you finally crack and you bundle the family loved one up. Your husband's ever loving voice echoing in your head from the previous evening's discussion on how much this beloved animal is actually worth and how its cheaper to buy a bullet to fix the pet then it is to buy medicine to treat it. (guys are sooo compassionate!!) Ha!!

We get to the vet clutching our pet,  have them poked and prodded and mildly violated and handed a small bottle of pills and told they should be feeling better in a few days. (um ok..now to get pills into this beast...)  Hopefully the bill is less then your mortgage  payment, but that doesn't matter, right? Because your little family member is coming home and will be feeling better soon!

There is nothing worse then staring helplessly at our little family members and feeling helpless because for the majority of us, there is not a lot of options available to us. Running to the vet is usually a last option because of the cost. So I have to ask...what do you do when your furry family members are not feeling well? Any herbal recipes that help for things like ear infections, cuts, itchy skin, or when they just get sick? More chronic conditions like arthritis or cancer? Any over the counter medications you recommend to the rest of us?

The more we share, the less helpless we will feel. And hopefully, if there is a next time, we can say hey! I know how to fix that for my little buddy!! Looking forward to your comments.

FYI ... If you are having trouble posting comments, just email them to me at mickieemail@gmail.com and I will post them for you. I am trying to iron the problem out. Thanks for your patience!

Silly Things People Say

Good day everyone! I'm actually ahead of the game today and joining everyone at the table by lunch time today! Considering the kind of night I had...this is very impressive...ha!! So hope you all have your warm mug of something yummy and a comfy spot and come join the table chat today.

Alright...today I need everyone to participate to make this work. I was laying in bed, letting my brain wander ( never a good thing! heehee!) and I started reminiscing about stupid..oops I mean silly...ummm...I mean well meaning, yaaa...well meaning advice people give you through out your life. You know those people...maybe your grandmothers...your moms...co-workers...or even random strangers who just pop out with the WEIRDEST pieces of advice.

Off the top of my head, I think the most awkward moment was when I was pregnant with my first son. I was relatively far along in my pregnancy and I was getting into an elevator. There was a lady whom I had never met  before already in the elevator and we had that weird few moments of don't look, don't talk that people do on elevators. Suddenly, she turns to me and out of the blue tells me, "Gee, I hope your wearing cotton underwear. Anything else is not good for the baby." Then at the next floor, she got out and I never saw her again. After the initial shock of the moment, I kind of shook my head and was like what the heck??! Where did that come from???

Weird old family wives tales are also good to make one shake their head. A favorite of one of my grandmothers was if you drank warm coke you would get worms. Actually, if I think back, everything gave you worms according to her...ha!! But warm coke was a big nono!

I'm sure my kids have a list of weird things I have passed down to them. Things their friends must hear me say and think huh?? I know we tease my mom for things she used to say to us as children (we took a lot of worm medicine as kids! heehee!) but there must be some basis of truth to some of these things. I wonder how they got distorted along the way?

So folks, its your turn...lets hear you weird advice! What are some of the strangest things that have ever been told to you? Lets hear the funny stories...tell me if some of them have  actually worked...which ones are just crazy. Looking forward to the comments folks! Have a great afternoon!

Friends

Good evening everyone and welcome to my kitchen table. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend running around getting those 'Honey Do' lists done and for you keeners, I bet some of you even whittled away on your Christmas lists too. My guys got all our winter wood cut (with the help of our awesome neighbor!!) and the lights up on the house. For us, this is way ahead of the game this year!

Well, to be honest, I didn't do anything this weekend. I was very fortunate to have all my guys home and willing to do all the hard work. I really wasn't feeling well, but this stuff needs to get done. So out they went. 2 truck loads later, 8 hours of cutting and stacking and Saturday was all used up. Sunday was used up running errands and putting up Christmas lights on our house and on the neighbor's house. Thank goodness the 2 guys work so well together!!

Sometimes I think we take our neighbors for granted. We have lived in  this neighborhood for almost 13 years. Our friends moved in shortly after us. We have shared birthdays and holidays in each other's homes. We have seen our kids grow up, gone to kids concerts, helped each other renovate ( and renovate and renovate...ha!!) We have laughed together, cried together. Shared wonderful news with each other, and hugged each other over devastating life changes.

The guys have dubbed themselves 'The 2am Buddies'. The meaning behind that is that no matter what happens, they know they can call each other, day or night. I'm very fortunate that I know I can call on my girlfriend the same way. I think of how many times she has invited me out or invited me over since I have been sick. So many times I have had to turn her down and she has been so gracious about it and has never bailed on me. She has been one of the few people who has genuinely wanted to learn about my illnesses and how she can help. When she asks how I am, she really wants to know.

 I think of how fortunate my husband and I are to have such wonderful neighbors who are also such awesome friends. The guys are such goof balls and have such a great time together. When either of them has a job to do, no matter the size, the other is there with tool belt on and cold beer in hand. My girlfriend and I are parked on our 'drinking decks' with our wonderful slushies (courtesy of my girlfriend!) laughing at our silly guys. (And FYI...the guys built both drinking deck!)

So thank you to my awesome neighbors! Let me take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you both do! Now guys...lets get my bathroom done!! heehee!!
And how about you? I want to hear about your neighbors...the good,the bad,the ugly!!! Ha!!!

Impossible Dilemma

Good day everyone! Hope the week has treated you all well. I've been feeling a little bit under the weather these past few days, but think I'm finally feeling bright enough for a visit at our kitchen table. So.... please join me! Grab a warm mug of tea and find a comfortably seat. Let me share my latest 'brilliant' observation!!

This past week I had several different medical appointments I had to go to and each time I noticed the same thing about my day. Usually I try and schedule my appointments in the afternoon because almost anyone who knows me, knows that 1pm is the new 8am and I just don't do mornings well. Ha!

Now, having said that, one would be led to believe that I would have ample time to get up and get ready in the morning, and technically I should! But for some strange reason I am usually running late. Not by much mind you...maybe 10-15 minutes. But late none the less. Even with the phenomenon called 'Day Light Savings Time' and gaining an hour, I still manage to run late.

"What could possibly be causing this rude behavior??" you ask. I'm as dumb founded as you to be honest. Everything usually is going right on schedule when I first get up. I feed my dogs, have breakfast, take my shower, get dressed.....WHOA! Stop!!! Back the bus up!! Get dressed? Hmmmm....Actually this is where my day starts to go awry.

I have really good intentions. I usually grab an outfit to jump into for when I finish my shower. Then, when I begin to put it on, I start having second and third thoughts on it. "Hmmm....maybe the green t-shirt would be nicer.." and then off I go. Digging through my dresser, then my closet. Good grief...where is that green t-shirt?? Now down to the laundry room. Nope, not there. Oh no! There it is! Its in the dirty laundry and there's not enough time to wash it....or is there?? Hmmmm.....

Now I'm doing a load of laundry I'm going to invariably forget I started, and looking for a back up outfit because the original outfit will never work now that I spent all that time looking for the 'perfect' green t-shirt. I'm digging through mountains of clothes that wont work (these pants wont work because I want to wear those boots, but then I need another t-shirt...) The clock is ticking, my frustration is  climbing, my energy is waning and I haven't even left the house yet!

The bottom line is in all this is I have drawers FULL of clothing! How can I have nothing to wear?! My husband shakes his head when I'm late and I tell him why. But seriously!! I have nothing to wear!! Okay, there is lots of clothing in my drawers, but the dilemma is they don't always work! Right ladies?! Right?  Please back me up! Please...because I  have a doctor's appointment next week...and I am pretty sure I have nothing to wear...so I am pretty sure that means I'm going to need to go shopping....insert female backup here!! heehee!!

Happy shopping everyone!!

Monday??

Well...according to my trusty computer calendar, it is Monday already! Apparently I have lost an entire weekend....again... Argh! This is so frustrating. But whoa...I guess in all fairness I need to back this up a bit and explain my frustration. So grab your steamy mug and some patience cuz I feel another rant coming on! Ha!!

Many of you are blessed with  healthy  bodies and very rarely have to deal with the medical profession.I'm amazed when I hear someone who says that all they had to take this past year was one round of antibiotics, or they can't even remember the name of their family doctor. I kind of snicker when I hear you groan that you have your yearly check up coming. 

As some of you are aware I suffer from a couple of chronic illnesses that fall under the auto immune disease umbrella. My weekly schedule involves meeting with someone from the medical community in some form. I see pain nurse, rheumatoid nurses, specialists of all kinds, my awesome GP...the list is quite extensive. And I am very thankful to these wonderful people because without them I would not be able to function.

"So ok then...why the rant?" you ask....well,much to my chagrin this past week I picked up a virus. Not a big deal in most homes, but not a great thing for me to catch, especially this particular week. I was due for one of my many infusions on Friday but had to skip because you are not able to have it administered if your not well. I also had started a new medication earlier in the week that I have been pushing up the dosage which made me quite loopy. So between cold stuffy head medicine, loopy spiny pain medicine, and missing infusion I kind of missed an entire weekend...again.

You have to understand these wonderful specialists admit that medicine is not perfect and everyone is different ( oh how I have learned how true these words are!!) Over the years I have tried this medicine and that medicine...tried needles, and pills, creams and herbs. People have given advice and suggestions. (many good, some bad...some veryyy special ) I have gained weight, lost weight, lost hair, lost my memory, and now I'm losing weekends. Losing time is the most frustrating.

So happy Monday everyone! Hope your weekends were memorable.

'The Look'

Good Morning everyone! Hope you all have a steamy mug of your favourite beverage and a comfy seat at the table. I want to start the day off with a big woohoo! to my son's football win last night! They are now the Jr High 2011 city champs! Way to go guys!!!

Ok, got a bit of a rant here today...please feel free to join in. As many of you know I have rheumatoid arthritis and fibro which causes chronic pain. Both are 'invisible' diseases. They don't make me 'look' sick. When I can actually get out of the house I do my hair, put on my make up and dress decently. When I have energy I can shop , clean, cook etc. like a normal person. If you don't know me, you don't know I'm sick. And that's ok.

But here's my rant.. handicap parking!! Guess what..I AM sick....it is HARD to get out of the house and do the stuff I need and want to do. I have a handicap placard for a reason. I use the handicap parking because I  am handicapped. Surprise world! Handicapped people don't all use wheelchairs or canes or oxygen tanks. Sometimes walking into the store I look fine, but maybe you should hang around until I'm done shopping. I usually don't look so great then.

I've been 'fortunate' so far as I have only received what my family calls 'The Look'. Any of you who don't look sick know what that is....the one where the people stare at you as you get out of your vehicle and shake their heads. I've heard and read many stories of people being scolded and yelled at by people for using handicap parking because they didn't look sick. But 'The Look' is still really annoying.  I just want to turn to them and say,  "You don't know me! Don't judge me!!"

So I figure if  I'm going to get 'The Look' anyways,  I might as well  mess with people and kind of earn it . For those of you who don't know me, I have a little bit of a twisted sense of humour...heehee! Soooo,  I usually park my truck, slowllllyyy get all my stuff organized (my purse, cell phone, lists etc) and just before I get out I put my placard in the window. 

Well...you know by then there is some self appointed handicap parking police watching me intently...heehee! And then, much to their surprise,out pops this 'healthy' person. I'm sure I just about give them a coronary!! HaHa!! Then they gather their judgemental selves up and out pops ....'The Look'

Well...guess what self appointed handicap parking police!!! From all of us who don't look sick...screw you! Save that look for someone who cares. How about you follow me into the store? Odds are I'm headed in to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription I just got from the doctor's office I was just at. I'm probably at the end of energy and praying I get home before my medication wears off.

Phew... that's a rant and a half today! Let me know what you think...share your stories. How else can we educate people? I would love to never see 'The Look' again! Nothing would make me happier then for people to be more understanding and less judgemental. So please....share...information is powerful.

No Way!!

Good Gravy!! Everyone put that mug down and make sure you are seated! I have breaking news for you!! Are you ready for it?? Are you?! I saw the scariest thing last night...and this was even before my boys were back home from trick or treating....I saw it! I saw my first Christmas commercial of the season! Nooooooooo!!!! Are you KIDDING me??

This is not right!! I mean...I KNOW Christmas is right around the corner...but to throw us right into the frenzie before our kids have even come down off their sugar high?! Thats just not right!! I even noticed this past week the scary Halloween costumes and decorations stacked up next to the pretty angels and sparkly Christmas paper. The sensory confusion was mind blowing!

 What a weird time of year! One week we are decorating with gourds and brightly coloured leaves and turkeys for Thanksgiving, and then a couple weeks later we hang scary ghosts and goblins and hand out free candy to kids we've never met before. And the grand finale to the year? We stand on icy roof tops and string lights, stick a tree in our homes and bake pretty little cookies.

Ok Ok!!  I know I'm sounding kinda Scrougish...sorry...not meaning too. Actually kind of giggling to myself! I keep thinking to myself....wouldn't life be just abit easier if we just came up with some generic kind of decoration that covered at least a few of the holidays? Personally, I think I'm going to look for this Frankenstein Santa for my house! heehee!!

Oh...FYI...as I write this...

Countdown toHallow... ehm Christmas!!!

53

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12

hours

10

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0

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Hallow... ehm Christmas!!!: December 25, 2011