Cool Printable Calendar

Every month I google: Printable Calendar, and every month I get a different page.  Well this month, I wanted a two-page spread, and I found this cool website.

http://donnayoung.org/household/fullsize/block-planner.htm

Me vs my Gallbladder - so far I am losing:(

In mid-February I had my first "attack".  I had no idea what it was!  All I knew was I wanted to curl up into a ball until it went away.  Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.  I had two of my three kids, and had to take one of them to a birthday party.  The pain subsided after about 5 hours (or I got used to it!).

The next day, the same thing happened, this time the pain was later in the evening and lasted well past my bedtime.  I tried Tylenol and hot water bottles, but this didn't help.

Then a week later, it happened again.  This was getting annoying.  But after some googling, I found out that it was probably my gallbladder so I tried to avoid the foods that cause the attacks.  Then for the next week, everything was better.  I didn't have an "attack".

Then the pain started, but I wouldn't call it an "attack" it was more like a dull pain in that area that never went away.  The pain was somewhat manageable  although I would rather be curled up in a ball, I was able to work and take care of the kids like normal.  This went on for a week before I went to the doctor.  I really dislike the time it takes to be at the doctor's office.  This is time I could be spending at home with my family.  Also I usually have only small windows of available time while the Husband is at home, otherwise I have to take all the kids with me!  That is definitely not a fun time.

The doctor sent me for an ultrasound, and basically confirmed what I had googled.  I spent nearly three hours at the walk in clinic waiting to see the doctor.   Three hours!  Wow!  I arrived home hungry and tired at 10pm that night.  The doctor told me if my symptoms worsened or I got a fever or vomiting I was to go straight to the hospital.  She also told me to not eat any fat.  Ok....really? No fat? How is that possible?  I turned to Google, and searched for 'Gallbladder diets'.  I didn't like what I found.

• Eggs this sucks, because eggs are my saturday morning treat
• Pork - OK we eat this once a week
• Onions - don't like onions anyway, so good riddance!
• Fowl (turkey, chicken) - we eat a lot of chicken, this is bad!
• Dairy (milk, cheese, cream) - I love cheese and yogurt!
• Gluten (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, etc.) - Bread...really?  It's hard to make a sandwich!
• Corn - we eat corn, the kids like it!
• Coffee - I don`t really care what organ it is hurting, I NEED COFFEE
• Oranges, grapefruit - I like orange juice, so again, this sucks!
• Nuts - not a big deal, unless I was a squirrel or a bird
• Trans fats, Hydrogenated, partially-hydrogenated oils - hmmm....this is in a lot of food, but not really good for you anyway, my guess is the next one on the list should be here too!
• Margarine
• Fried Foods - Obviously. I will do better!
• Saturated fats(even coconut oil until feeling better) - again, not good for me anyway! 
• Red meats - I like steak a couple times a month....boo!
• Spicy foods - I`m not really a spicy food person, so this is OK
• Chocolate - hello!  Just shoot me now.
• Ice cream - It is March in Canada, not really ice cream time, but if this hangs on until July I might feel differently!
• Black tea - I am not a tea person, so I can cut this out.
• Alcohol, beer, wine, liqueur - I have three kids, I need the wine!
• Fruit juice - apple juice is one of my favourite drinks, even as a grown-up!
• Carbonated water - OK I can pass on the Perrier for a while
• Tap water - can`t live without this!
• Turnips - any excuse not to cook turnips is a good one in my books!
• Cabbage, cauliflower - I like coleslaw and I like cauliflower, so this hurts a bit
• Colas and all sodas - I love my Coke Zero....
• Oats (for some people) - let`s just believe that I`m not `some people`

What foods are left?  How am I supposed to bring my lunch to work?  Surely there is nothing in the food court that I can purchase for lunch.  I tried this diet for about one day.  I was starving!  So I decided to think back at what the triggers were for my "attacks":  Hamburgers with bacon and french fries, although delicious, are probably responsible for attack one and two.  I am thinking the second one was due to pasta with Alfredo sauce and mushrooms.  I haven't had either of those meals since.

Yesterday I had my ultrasound and it hurt.  Then the doctor called me to come in and get the results.  I had to do what I hate....go to the walk-in clinic with three kids and no snacks!  The receptionist promised to put me right in, I said I couldn't come otherwise. It was a torturous half hour.  The Toddler cried, the older ones couldn't sit still and I got to see the doctor.  The doctor gave me some pain pills and a referral to the surgeon.

This morning I felt great after a good night's sleep with the pain pills!  I also got an appointment with the specialist for tomorrow night!  Wow! Things are looking promising.

February 23, 2013 - Family Wedding

Today my niece got married.  Wow!  I feel really old now.  It was a lovely day, the bride looked beautiful and happy.  I don't really know the groom too much, but hopefully we will all get to know him at upcoming family functions.

The Girl and the Boy were in the wedding party.  The Girl was a flower girl and the Boy was the ring bearer.  After the wedding the Boy proclaimed that being a ring bearer was the most important job he'd ever had!  I was really proud of both of them.  They smiled when they were asked and behaved themselves at every moment.  People complemented our well-behaved children.  The Boy looked so grown up in his tuxedo, he definitely looked older than eight.  The Girl got her hair done and she was so good, she sat still for over an hour while they curled her hair.  We got her hair done at the Manewave.  Hopefully she will be able to wear her flower girl dress for her first communion next year, the dress was very pretty and she loved it.  She told me that she liked the way the shoes sounded when she walked.  I vaguely remember liking that as a child too, she said her shoes sounded like tap shoes.


The Toddler was semi-well-behaved.  He pretty much acted like a 17 month old child.  Which is all I could really expect from him.  He was happy and spent a lot of time wandering around the hall with various family members.  He ate some dinner, drank some milk and refused to go to sleep (even with his soo-soo!).  He looked adorable in his outfits.  He had the cutest vest and pants outfit that he wore to the church, then he did a wardrobe change before the reception, and put on an elegant suit that was complete with jacket, vest, tie, pants and even a little handkerchief in the pocket.



Everyone was asleep within a half hour of arriving home.  Even the Husband and I were too exhausted to even watch TV!

February 15-20 - Family Day Activities

 This weekend was Family Day in Ontario.  We had a busy weekend planned.  The Boy was going to camp on Friday night and wouldn`t be home until Sunday.  The Girl had a birthday party at a school friends house on Saturday afternoon.  Sunday we drove up as a family to pick up the Boy.  Finally on Monday we went to visit my Mother-In-Law.  Lots of driving this weekend.  I got to spend some quality time with the Girl on Saturday before and after her party.  The Toddler and I went to the mall for a bit, while the Girl was at her party.  It was busy, but a great weekend.

Cake is fun!

On the way home from camp on Sunday afternoon, the Husband treated us to lunch at Frans`Restaurant in Barrie.  I hadn`t been to a Fran`s Restaurant in many years (since I did my nursing pre-grad at Sick Kids Hospital!).  

The Toddler was very excited, I think because the Boy was back.  The Boy seemed happy to see everyone (he is making his happy face below!).  He had fun at camp, but we aren`t completely sure what he did, because he is not good at recapping his activities.  The only things we got out of him were:  he played with the other kids with his camera and the sleeping bags, something about being a worm.  The other thing he told us was about making a rocket.  He said the Beaver`s rocket exploded before it fell back to the ground.  Oh and he was able to tell us what he ate, but according to the amount of food he at at lunch, I think there probably was not enough food at camp for my big eater!

The photo to the left is from last night.  Which is technically not Family Day, but he was so happy that I just had to take a picture.

This week is going to be crazy!  Tonight I need to take the Boy to get his Tux (he`s going to be amazingly handsome) for the wedding on Saturday, and then straight to Cubs.  The Girl is going to Sparks tonight (not her normal night, they are visiting with the Guides).  My parents are going to watch her and drop her off since I haven`t figured out how to clone myself yet.  If anyone knows how to do that, please let me know!

Things I miss

I love my kids.  I love my Husband.  I really do.  I love their cuddles, sense of humor, their quirks and their differences.  I especially love watching the Toddler grow up!  I am older now and he is benefitting from our experience with raising kids.  He also benefits from his older siblings who just love him to pieces.  Even though I love my kids, I miss things that I used to have.

I think the thing I miss the most - and you might be surprised by this - is my waist.  Somewhere in the last 10 years of pregnancies and up and down weights, I have misplaced my waist.  I know this because my pants never stay up.  It is embarrassing when I have to hike them up every time I get out of my chair at work.   I've tried belts, but they don't help.  Probably the only thing that will help me is to loose 50 lbs.

I also miss silence.  I enjoy my ride to work, it is quiet.  I enjoy being at work, it is quiet. There is no quiet in my house.  Even when the kids go to sleep I can hear the constant noises from the baby monitor (the humidfier and the space heater go on all night), there is also the snoring husband.  His snoring is worse when he is sick or if he sleeps on his back.

I miss the movies.  We used to go to the movies all the time.  Once I week.  The last movie I saw was...OK I just drew a blank.  I literally can't remember.  I think it was Megamind...or perhaps Tangled....no it must have been more recent. I think I went with the Girl.  Maybe it was Journey 2 the Centre of the Earth?  Is that even a movie?

OK so obviously the next thing I miss is my memory.  I can remember most things, but my long term memory isn't what it used to be.  Last year I even forgot to take the Girl to Sparks on a Monday night.  In the summer I forgot that I signed the kids up for skating, and then remembered 30 minutes before class, and we had to collect everything and head out the door. Somehow we made it on time.  This week we forgot her Sparks homework.  I should really be better at setting reminders on my phone, but I always forget to do that too.

This one I think about alot, and it is kind of a viscious circle.  I miss scrapbooking.  I started when the Boy was a baby.  I scrapped alot about him.  But now it seems as though the more things (and kids) I have to scrap about the less time I have to do it.  I think if I was kid-free I'd have so much time to do scrapbooking, but then I wouldn't have anything to scrap about.   I think the Girl thinks I don't love her as much because she doesn't have a scrapbook, and the Boy points it out all the time!

Anyhow this is a short list, I am sure there are more.  I also know that once the kids are older, I will have more time for these things, and probably (just maybe) get my waist back along with my memory.  Off to hike up my pants and get some stuff done - I just can't remember what I was going to do:)

Missed A Big One (January 29, 2013)

Yesterday I missed something great at Daycare.  Felt proud and sad at the same time.  The Toddler slept on a cot without his soother and he didn't cry.  What is better, his teacher said he woke up clapping and happy.  Like he was so proud of himself.  I suppose that is a good thing, but I feel like I missed it and it was a surprise to me when she told me.

This morning I dropped him off and he ran in and didn't even look at me.  Then he saw the door was open that joins the toddler and infant rooms and he ran inside, gave the teacher a hug and proceeded to find something to do in the toddler room.  He is trying to graduate all on his own, how independent!!

Valentine's Day

So every year we purchase those cheap looking cards from Walmart, and the kids have piles of them to sign and bring to various events the week of Valentine's Day.  This year they only needed Valentine's for their classes, which seems like a relief, but it is 24 for the Boy, 24 for the Girl and 14 for the Toddler.

I scoured Pinterest for ideas that were cute and easy to make.  Also for the school ones, they shouldn't include candy.  Well I included candy, but not much and the Valentine's were not centred around candy.

For the Boy and the Girl we picked out the "Bugs and Kisses" valentine.  Which is adorable!  I found it here.  I hunted around for the "bugs" to include in the gift, but when I finally found them at  Party City, they only had one bag of 48 bugs (which was enough for 24 valentines, and I needed 48 valentines - 96 bugs!)  The employee at the store called around to some other stores but no one had the package of bugs.  So we decided to do the Bugs and Kisses for the Boy and something different for the Girl.

For the Girl we wanted to make this cute butterfly out of a lollipop that I found here.  We were so excited!  But we couldn't find the round lollipops anywhere!  Disappointed we decided to make valentine flowers out of flat lollipops.  I found them here.  Well we used two lollipops and I added a label that personalized them.  I think they turned out alright, but I wish I had made the leaves better!

For the Toddler, I needed something that was toddler/baby friendly for his friends, some are just 6 months old!  So I decided that what ever I gave had to be in it's own sealed package and I didn't want to give out candy.  I found this cute valentine using goldfish crackers.  Instead of making my own packages of goldfish, I used pre-packaged store bought goldfish (like the one's you can put in your kids lunch!)  I printed the template and glued them to a larger circle of red paper.  Then I quickly wrote: from the Toddler, on the bottom and the girl taped them to each package of goldfish crackers.

And because I haven`t posted in a while, here is a picture of the Toddler making his `cheese`face and proudly climbing the stairs!  I tried my best to crop out the junk at the bottom of the stairs.  The Girl never puts her bag away!