Day 78

I'm listening to Hedley right now and am in my happy place, all thanks to my Mom. She's the greatest :D

I was up at 6:30 as usual, and I went downstairs after I was ready. Tim was doing all the breakfast today so I got to sit and enjoy mine. The boys did their homework and I think I managed to get a lesson across to one of them...I THINK. He was very apologetic (which I told him would not help right now), but I'm thinking that the way I handled a situation has perhaps made him realize his behaviour is not always as it should be.

I'm finding this extremely hard to type tonight. As I'm listening to the new Hedley CD, the words are so good, I'm trying to listen to each one...but then if I concentrate too much on that, I'll type those words instead of my thoughts about what happened today. So much for multi tasking :p

Anyway, let's try this again...Took the boys to school. Unfortunately it was peeing down with rain so I had to take the car. We pulled up and walked into the playground. Half of which was blocked off due to a HUGE puddle, I guess from flooding. Because of the rain, Josh and Nathaniel went into their classes right away. Zach on the other hand, had to wait until 9:10. Ridiculous! When they finally let us into the classroom, I said goodbye and headed out, cold, to the car.

I drove home and had just enough time to check some e-mails and do my workout. Then it was back into my normal clothes, and out the door to pick Zach up. He got into the car, and as we were turning from the street the school is on, to the main street, the car died. GREAT! All of the warning lights flashed and that was it. I was sitting in a really stupid spot so I prayed and turned the key to turn the car off, and then back on, and luckily it worked. We drove home and I made lunch while Zach played DS.

- All morning for some reason I was just wishing something would come in the mail for me. Anything. Whether it was the scarf I knew my sister was mailing me, or just the bank card I knew was coming from my Mom...I just wanted to see SOMETHING with my name on it. I heard mail come through the slot and went to check. A PACKAGE FOR ME!!!! I ripped it open to see a card from my Mom and 3 CD's. I did a little dance and couldn't stop smiling. I LOVE MUSIC! And music from home is even better! -

When we finished lunch we ran up to the garage to see if they could take a look at the car, but they were too busy. I have to bring it back tomorrow at 10:30. So we left there and went to the post office. I debated going to Starbucks but didn't trust taking the car on the highway, so we just came home. I read Zach a book, and then it was time to go get Nathaniel, and as the football field was water logged, I'd have to get Josh as well.

We drove there and waited for what felt like ages for the boys to come out. Once they finally got to us, we hurried back to the car and drove to swimming. I was absolutely astonished by Nathaniel at the pool. As Josh and I sat there watching, he swam 720 meters! He was doing laps from the beginning to the end of the class. He probably could have kept going if the class went longer. He didn't even look tired. It was crazy good! I took the 3 of them into the change room and we got ready to come home.

Fish and scampi for dinner with green beans. It took Zach an eternity to eat, so we were still at the table when Heloise and Tim got home. When he finally finished, I cleared the table and then Josh and I played 10 minutes of DS before he had to go up to bed. As soon as the boys went up, I jumped in the shower and crawled into my bed. I LOVE WARMTH. Now I'm sitting here getting sleepy, and really looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a relaxing day - if everything goes according to plan -

I'm going to go pay attention to my CD now :D Good Night xx

OH YEAH! PS! I heard what is quite possibly the cutest joke EVER tonight. Nathaniel told me. Are you ready? Knock Knock...(Did you say who's there? I'll assume you have)...Bumblebee...(Now you say Bumblebee who)...Bumblebee cold if you don't pull your pants up! HAHAHAHAHAHA Then there was...What did the shrimp do at the party? He pulled a mussel. HAHA Ok, I'm done Good Night xx

Day 77

I'm soooooo tired. I really need to get my sleeping patterns back on track. It's only 8:20. Normally after being up for just 12 hours, I would not be sleepy...but lately, that's all I am. Feeling better today, just have a headache. I'm hoping that will pass soon.

So up and out of bed at 8 this morning. It wasn't easy, but at least I had something to look forward to. I got ready, and Toni arrived around 10. We checked some things out online, and started planning my birthday outing. I'm really excited for it, but a little nervous at the same time haha. I've never been paintballing, and it could be scary. When we finished planning out our next few weekends, we got our shoes and coats on and went shopping. I drove this time, and we found our way just fine.

When we arrived in Colchester, our first stop was going to be the shoe repair shop...but they were closed. Naturally the next stop on the list was Starbucks. We went in and ordered Chai Tea Lattes. I hadn't had one in ages. It was like a little sip of heaven. We walked and drank as we were on a mission to find shoes. This is where things got a little aggravating. Turns out, I'm a monster. Seriously, I think my feet are still growing. How is that even possible? The first pair I tried on didn't fit, and the store said that was as big as their sizing went...for that shoe at least. (And it was a pair of Etnies, so what does that mean??). This was the 2nd time that's happened to me. We then went into a book store, and over to the jewellery shop to pick up a ring I had dropped off weeks ago to have fixed. I was so happy when they gave it back and the stone wasn't loose anymore. I almost began to cry. It's a ring that means a lot to me.

A couple more stops, HMV, Argos, Pound Store, etc...and many Cinderella occasions. Unfortunately, I was still the stepsister. Nothing was fitting! I felt ridiculous. Finally the very last shop we went into, I saw a pair of Etnies I kind of liked. I tried them on, and although they were the exact same UK size as the ones in the other store, it said a bigger US size, and they fit. I walked around in them for a minute and it was like walking on a cloud. Very comfy. They are pretty too...I'm just not sold on them when I look down at them. They look really long to me. But I guess when you have big feet, there's nothing much you can do about that is there? They are purple and black, and are sort of high top style. I need to get some purple laces in order to spruce them up a bit. We left the shop and headed home. Toni had to go to her Panto rehearsals so she left right away and I came in to watch TV with the boys.

After deciding on Transformers...Zach, Nathaniel and I sat together and attempted to enjoy the movie. Well...I did. Heloise had joined us, and she too was trying to pay attention. But it was as though the boys had ants in their pants. Moving around like crazy, and Zach asking tons of questions. No matter how many times Heloise or I said you'll have to watch to find out the answer...he didn't get it...he just kept talking. I think I have yet to see a movie from start to finish without missing a word. Oh well. When it finally did get quiet, I was getting some very nice cuddles from Nathaniel, who was getting very rare cuddles from Jelly. It was lovely.

Dinner was ready. We sat down to eat. Tim and Josh were at swimming so it was relatively quiet. My Uncle Clifford called to tell us that my new cousin had a name. Dan and Sarah have named their new little girl Emily. I can't wait to meet her! I'm hoping that will happen this weekend, but it's not looking to promising.

Anyway, we ate dinner and finished up dessert. I came straight upstairs, had a shower, and got ready for bed. Now, as I'm lying here yawning and typing all at the same time...I will say Good Night xx

Day 76

I saw my Mom tonight!!!!!! Sure it was at the movie theatre, and yeah she was on screen, and I was seated...but I still saw her. It made me happy and I almost cried. I honestly had to hold the tears back. (I miss you Mom, and Dad of course). On this same note, so many good things have happened when it comes to the movie "2012"! Whether it be good times and memories on set, or having fun in the theatre with 10 family members, it's always a great outcome. Well, I went to see it for the 2nd time today with my friend Toni, and when I got home, I found out I have a new cousin! She was born tonight at 9 and is the first of 8 great grandchildren - to my Nan - to be a girl! I can't wait to meet her!!

Now that you know how my night ended, maybe I should tell you how the day began. After a very short 6 hour sleep I was woken up...as usual. Unfortunately this time though, I couldn't fall back to sleep. So I came online and spoke to my Mom, checked some e-mails and tended to my cafe and farm. About an hour later I decided it was time to get ready. I jumped in the shower, and then went down to have some cereal while the house was quiet and empty. As I finished, Nathaniel, Zach and Tim came in. I said hi, and came upstairs. I cleaned my room up and caught up on Desperate Housewives. Now all that's left to catch up on is The Office, and then it will be back to watching one episode a week. It will be nice to not be so overwhelmed with shows.

When I finished watching them, I went downstairs to sit with Zach and Nathaniel, and we watched Happy Feet. - We hadn't had the chance to get through it all yesterday. That ended and I came back up to watch some more TV and paint my nails. It was a pretty relaxing morning/afternoon, and believe me, I needed it. It was so nice.

Toni text me when she got in from work and we drove up to Braintree. She filled out the forms for an unlimited movie card (We will be going much more often now...I can't wait!!!), and then we went for a Starbucks - where we had a good chat, and were able to vent to each other.

Once we were done and some weight was lifted off our shoulders, we returned to the theatre to watch the movie. As you've already read the beginning of my blog, you know how the night ended. I really enjoyed the movie, but now I am exhausted and have to be up relatively early. Which reminds me, I need to charge my phone. I'm not feeling well, so I think I'm going to crash right away. Good Night xx

Day 75

Day 75, and my worst day yet.
I won't go into detail. I feel really sick right now and am absolutely exhausted after what ended up being a tearful day. It's nothing life threatening, and nothing terribly wrong with anyone in my family, so no need to worry there...it's just been an extremely trying day, and I am sure the rest of this weekend will be a little rough as well.

I will try to keep this one short as I clearly need some sleep, and I know the last one was lengthy for those of you who read before bed or before work ;) Sorry about that.

So let's skip the morning - except for the part where I tell you I saw the good looking guy that I think lives in the house "Bob the Builder" was working on - and we'll go right to lunch time. I walked up to the school (No sign of anyone this time), and I waited outside the gate for the teachers to let us in. Up the ramp and in the classroom to get Zach....but where is he? I couldn't possibly find him. He had a coat over his head. I pretended for a couple of minutes that I would have to leave without him as I couldn't see him, and then ended the game with a tickle. I noticed he had a sticker on his shirt but he wouldn't tell me what it was for. Xavier had one too. As the 3 of us were leaving the class, one of the teachers told us there had been a practice fire drill and their skills earned them stickers. They both told me that's not what it was for...she just gave it to them cuz she felt like it. Sure...that's a good enough reason.

We walked home and acted out all kinds of different things. At one point, I couldn't get past Zach cuz I didn't know the password, so I became a dinosaur and broke through the gate ie, his arms. Then as we walked the last little bit, he was holding my hand and Xavier was in front of us. Zach said "See that old man in front of us with the walking stick?" I said "Yes, does he have that because of his bad hip?" Well...that got the cutest laugh out of him, and he said "Yes!"

We continued home and when we got in, they played while I made lunch. Even I ate lunch today because as far as I knew, I was having popcorn for dinner...and my workout had made me hungry. So, ham and cheese sandwich for Xavier, cheese toasty for Zach, and a sandwich for me. The boys also had peppers and carrots, and Zach ate some olives (EW!). After lunch the 3 of us zipped up our space suits (coats), and jumped into the rocket ship (car) before it took off, and we zoomed through galaxies (streets and towns) in search of the moon (Witham). We went the right way first...but I second guessed myself and turned around...then we went the wrong way, and turned around again to get back on the right track. The boys asked me to fly faster as the "baddies" were behind us and catching up. We faked them out and took a sharp sneaky turn, losing them along the way. Phew, we were safe. We arrived at the Tesco's on the moon and met up with Xavier's mom. Zach and I went into Costa's for a drink. Costa's, as far as I know, is England's answer to Starbucks. What Tim Hortons is to Starbucks in Ontario. They're everywhere. Well, seeing as there was no Starbucks anywhere close I thought aw what the heck, I'll buy a gingerbread latte here. And that's when I was reassured that I had good reasoning for spending that extra pound in Starbucks. What a terrible cup of "Christmas heaven". I will not be drinking there by choice anytime soon.

The two of us walked back to the rocket ship and jumped in to continue our journey to the sun (back to Kelvedon). We discussed what colours our space suits would be on the sun. Mine was bright blue, and his was orange. As we drove Zach was telling me about all the weapons he had to shoot the baddy aliens. I asked if he had a martian marshmallow thrower. He didn't know what that was. Can you believe it? I explained that it was a sling shot type weapon that shot marshmallows. When he asked what it did, I continued by saying "well, martians are allergic to marshmallows, so when you shoot one at them, if it hits them, they disintegrate". We continued talking about that and Zach decided if they caught the marshmallow without touching it and flung it back, it wouldn't matter because marshmallows can't hurt us. He decided he'd put the martian marshmallow thrower (Which is hard to say by the way), in the pocket of his trousers. Zach had asked me to put the music on, and today, he wanted Michael Buble. This made me happy. He wanted it turned up loud today so we flew (drove) along and he picked up on the words, as usual, and sang about his heart. Sometimes he is just too cute. We made it to the sun and parked at the boys school...my fellow spaceman had fallen asleep. I waited a few minutes, then picked him up and stood outside in the playground with him in his arms. Seems this is our new routine. Which is fine, as I love his cuddles.

Zoe came by and she was all dressed up for the disco. She had a new outfit on with a bracelet, and a cute purse to match, which held many more bracelets. She looked lovely and was so excited to be going to the dance. We waited and when Josh came out we left and drove home. I'll skip most of the afternoon...it wasn't good. Zach and I decided we'd watch a movie and so we turned on "Happy Feet". We cuddled on the couch and Josh came down to get some fruit. He sliced his hand and I did what I had to to clean it up. Then I got a phone call from my mom which was something I really needed. When I was finished on the phone, I went back downstairs and continued to watch the movie with Zach. We got interrupted a number of times, and Zach decided he wanted to work on cleaning out the playroom some more. So we paused the movie and we'll watch the rest tomorrow. We went into the playroom and he was much quicker at his decisions tonight. Knew exactly what he wanted from each bin, and what he didn't want.

Some time passed, and Heloise had come home and made dinner. My plateful was sitting at my setting. She hasn't caught on yet, to the fact that I don't eat dinner on movie nights. She also brought out chocolate cake which I'm not sure why I did, but I had a tiny slice of with some strawberries. Brigitta arrived and Heloise, her and I went to see New Moon for the 2nd time. I tell ya, a little Edward can really cheer you up after a bad day. That's what I want for Christmas. A boy like Edward. Anyway, now I'm home and in bed, and I'm sure this isn't as short as you expected, as it's not even as short as I intended. Sorry...sometimes it's just hard to condense my day. But there you have it. Not too much detail, but the highlights anyway. Good Night xx

Day 74

Who saves spiders? Honestly! Do you think they're going to be grateful? Do you think they're going to get outside and go "Hmm yes, this is exactly where I wanted to be. Right back where I started in the pouring rain that's going to destroy my web"...Here, let me help you with that answer. NO They're not! So why do you do it?!?!?! And to carry it outside in your hand...it crawls all over the place. EW! You know as soon as you let it out...it's sitting there waiting for that one person to open your door not 2 minutes later, so that they can come racing right back in. My point is, it's insanity. Don't do it.

Anyway, onto the day and it's events...Up and reported to my morning duties as usual. Breakfasts done, homework underway. We did reading, flash cards, spellings and time tables, and just to keep me on my toes, Zach's nursery has sent him home with lines for the school Christmas play. Have you tried getting a 4 year old to memorize 2 sentences? Not the easiest job in the world. Right now he's got penguins swimming and dying when in fact they are supposed to be DIVING off the iceberg and hitting their beaks. I guess it's close...but it's not quite the same when the sentences don't rhyme. We made a good attempt and put that away. Then the boys got their shoes and coats on, and we went out the door.

First to Josh and Nathaniel's school. It was freezing! It said it was 8 degrees, but my hands didn't seem to agree. Nathaniel's class finally trickled in, and Zach and I hurried back to the car to drive to Angels. When we arrived there, we placed his lunch box on the cart, and he went right in.

I came back to the house to do my work out. The program is on the wii and it's called "My Fitness Coach". It should be "My hardcore, work me to the bone Fitness Coach". She hurts! I could barely move when I woke up, and to do another work out today...I wasn't sure I'd be able to! My calves were screaming at me, but I turned it on and began. Today's session wasn't the regular 45 minute installment. Instead it was the Physical Challenge. After so many sessions she makes you get out the tape measure, and you have to input all your different measurements. You have to check your sitting pulse rate, then do 2 minutes of jumping jacks and check your pulse at that point as well. She then gives you different tasks. Squats, Sit Ups, Push Ups. It tells you on these days to do as many as you can and input it into the system so that she can calculate what you need to work on, and which exercises are best for you. As I expected, she wants me to work on my upper body strength. Speak to my physio therapist, and he'd tell you the same thing. So although I will still be doing cardio and weight loss exercises etc, my goal is to strengthen my upper body, and she will create a system to work towards that. For the moment it's 45 minute sessions 3 times a week starting tomorrow. HERE WE GO!

So, I finished that, got changed, went downstairs and waited for the Carpenter. He was supposed to be here between 10:30 and 11. I sat down to write a letter and watched 11 o'clock come and go. No sign of the man. 11:30 went by just as quickly with my anger rising. I had things to do, and could not wait much longer. 11:40 and I was out the door and in the vehicle. Normally I wouldn't have left, but due to personal reasons, this guy has been pretty unreliable lately and I was on a schedule.

I headed to Colchester. This was a bit of an adventure for me because I didn't have directions, a map, or even an address of where I wanted to go. I was relying on signs, and familiarity...luckily there were a lot of signs, cuz nothing looked familiar. I got there without a problem! I was shocked, and also very proud of myself. Yes, I get proud of myself for little things, cuz I'm cool like that. I parked the car and walked down 3 flights of stairs to the street level. Out the door and...I had no idea where I was. I knew where I wanted to be...I just didn't have a clue as to where it was. I crossed the street and approached the first friendly looking person I saw. Luckily she knew where she was going, and we were both headed the same way. She told me to walk with her through the alleyway and onto the strip with all the banks. I was beside her, but then some man decided he was more important than everyone else, and he pushed me out of the way - bumping into me - and cut me off as he crossed the street to the other sidewalk. It was a good thing he got there so quick. Those cars that don't drive down the alley may have hit him if he slowed down. Jerk.

Anyway, I caught back up with the lady and she showed me where I had to go. I said thank you and off I went. I marched right into the bank in hopes of getting some answers...and came out a little more confused. I think I got one thing sorted out, but I still don't know why they called me saying it was urgent...and they clearly don't care enough to look into it. When I finished there I walked out the opposite side looking for the Starbucks. I immediately realized I was in the wrong spot, so I walked up to the book store, and walked through to the next street. Now I knew where I was. I headed over to Starbucks, got my drink and walked back to the car.

With no pay stations in site, I assumed I had to pay on my way out...I was wrong. I pulled up to the barricade and it said insert ticket. Knowing that there was nowhere in this machine to put any money, I did as it said any way. It told me I hadn't paid (No kidding), and then a man that worked there, poked his head out of the door. I began speaking to him and he walked over. I explained that I had never been there before and said how sorry I was. He didn't seem to mind and said it was ok to pay him. And so I did. Out of the parkade and figuring out how to get home, I went around a round-a-bout. So far so good. I was getting super hot though as the sun was beaming in, so I attempted to take off my jacket. - Whoever thinks lights are overrated, has clearly never tried to take a jacket off in a moving vehicle, while driving - It is not an easy task. And you can forget putting your lipstick on. The mirror is on the wrong side, and you can't possibly look to the left while still seeing the road. And even if you did have a map, there's no time to look at it, cuz you're always on the move! I honestly really miss traffic lights. So I'm driving along and I'm not sure where I have to go next. I drive around the round-a-bout once...and continue going around it to get to where I think I want to be. I was hoping something would jump out at me to say I was going the right way...but that didn't happen. I thought I was, but couldn't be sure. Finally I passed a sign and knew I'd be alright.

I got home and there was no note or message from the carpenter. I assumed he hadn't been. I later got a text from Heloise saying that he finally called her to let her know he wasn't going to show up today. Thank goodness I used my judgment and left. I would have been so mad if I canceled my plans to wait around for him. I sat down and made the sticker chart, checked some e-mails and watched Desperate Housewives. I'm just a few episodes away from being all caught up now. As soon as that finished, it was time to go get Zach. I drove up to Angels and as soon as he came out, I could tell he was not in a good mood. He looked at me and after I asked how he was and heard his normal response "Fine". He said "I want Mommy". As I turned to tell him how much that hurt my feelings (as we'd had a conversation about the way he treats me, just yesterday), I stopped and all of a sudden I came to a realization. I looked down at him holding my hand, and with more compassion than I was going to use I said "You know what, I completely understand the way you're feeling". I then explained that I miss my mommy a lot while I'm here, so I knew what he meant. He had a small conversation about that, and when we got to the car he said "I just really want mommy". Poor little guy. Don't get me wrong, he can be a little monster, but I still have a heart, and I know everything is so different for him right now. I told him his friend Xavier is coming for lunch tomorrow, and he started telling me about his friend Cole going on holidays. We drove away and he seemed to be in a better mood. We talked about the moon, and the rays from the sun, as we listened to the High School Musical Soundtrack. Not too loud on the ride home...I guess he was just in the mood for conversation.

We arrived at the boys' school a little earlier so we waited in the car, and continued listening to the music. At one point I turned around and he looked exhausted! I asked if he was falling asleep on me and he said no. I turned around 2 seconds later, and just as I expected, he was completely out. I got out of the car and carried him into the playground. Today of course, was a day that Josh's class got let out late, and when he did get let out, he stopped to talk. Not knowing I had a fairly heavy child acting as a dead weight in my arms. That was my work out for the day. Nathaniel came out, and Josh finally showed up so we walked back to the car. Zach woke up on the way but did not like the idea of walking. I placed him in his car seat, and we drove home.

Pasta and Snow Peas for dinner. It was delicious. Even the boys liked it! I made sure Josh and Nathaniel were ready for Judo, and then we tackled dessert. Heloise got home and had some things to do around the house. She was having parents over to meet about tomorrow's disco. I guess it's the school's parent committee. I think they're still here. Zach and I went into the playroom while she worked, and started cleaning out the cupboards. I have told the boys I will not be buying them toys for Christmas, if they don't first go through the playroom and decide what they don't want/need anymore and what they do. We went through one entire cupboard, and I told him we'd do another tomorrow. We don't get rid of much, as he comes up with excuses for the little broken pieces, or the things he's not even sure what they are...he finds a purpose for keeping. But we did make a little dent, and that's more than I could have asked for. I'll try to persuade his decisions more and more as the days go. You should have heard him with one toy "I didn't even know we had this!!!" Why do you think that is? I tell ya, they don't know how lucky they are.

I sat on the couch and checked on my farm with Zach by my side giving me cuddles, and then on my cafe. Talked to some people, and when my computer died I ran upstairs. As I sat here falling asleep, I decided it would be a good idea to hop in the shower. Ahhhh warmth! I didn't want to get out. I eventually forced myself, and then crawled right into bed to write my blog. Now I've done it and am no more awake than when I started, so I'm going to get some sleep. It's just me, Zach and Xavier tomorrow. It's going to be a day that I should be well rested for. Good Night xx

Day 73

I hate Wednesdays.

How sad is it that at 7:10, I was already showered and in bed ready to pass out...all before the 4 year old even had his pyjamas on? Wait, wait, wait...don't judge me. To be fair, he had like an hour's nap around 1:3o today. And I was driving so I couldn't sleep...which must have made me even more tired right? I'm sure there's some science to that.

Woke up in a decent mood I suppose. I was pretty awake, not angry or anything...just...meh. I got ready and went downstairs. Helped with breakfasts and then ate mine. We got all the homework and everything out of the way pretty early, so the boys drew some pictures. Who am I kidding? I joined in as well.

When it was time to leave, we all piled into the Volvo and when I turned it on, Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" came on. It was sung by the X Factor contestants, but I still turned it up pretty loud and sang my way to the school. I am sure the boys think I am crazy...but at least Josh could admit it was "a pretty good song".

Ow...my throat just hurt me. With the way I'm feeling, and my sleepiness...I better not be getting sick again :( If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes in tonight's blog, you'll have to forgive me, as my eyes keep shutting involuntarily.

So back to where I was. - The first school drop off - Nathaniel waited beside me today instead of in line, as there have been some issues at school with a couple of the other boys, and he thought it best to just stay out of it today. Josh had said bye, and when the bell rang, Nathaniel's class filed in, and Zach and I proceeded to Angels. I dropped him there and returned home. When I got in, I checked some e-mails, and then did some wii fit exercises. Finished that up with just enough time to watch one episode of The Office, and then it was time to go back and get Zach. I drove around the parking lot a couple of times, finally pulled into a space, and then walked through the alleyway to the Nursery. For what I think was the first time ever, Zach was pretty much ready to go when I got there! - They normally wait to bring him out as one of the last students -

Seeing as he won the sticker chart last week, I thought I'd take him for lunch. We drove to Braintree while listening to the High School Musical Soundtrack, and popped in to Starbucks for a cheese and marmite panini, a chocolate chip shortbread, a gingerbread latte, and a kid's hot chocolate. I had a bite of the marmite panini, and it was surprisingly good. We had a good conversation for the most part, and Zach did behave...but he started complaining about his sandwich, which is ridiculous because it's pretty much the same as what he would have had at home. He had complained about his lunch out yesterday as well...even though he had had the same sausages at that restaurant the week before. I told him today that we would not be going for lunch anymore, as he never enjoys it...but that wasn't mentioned until after his bad mood set in at home. What had happened was we'd talked about going to the park today, as it was very sunny out. - Cold, because of the wind...but sunny. - So after eating we looked around in one shop, I picked up a few things, and then we were back at the car and driving home. It was then that he fell asleep. Well, when we arrived, I knew we didn't have much time for the park anyway, and that would start a whole big thing...so, I let him sleep. Well, when I finally woke him up, I put the TV on for him. He was fine, until Spongebob ended. Then he started being rude and complaining about everything. He asked if we could go to the park, ad when I answered, he "cried". And here I thought I was doing him a favour. Sometimes I just can't win when it comes to him. We were leaving to get Nathaniel and Josh, he moaned about that....and it continued from there.

Waiting in the playground for the other 2, I was playing with Zoe. Zach had perked up of course, because his best friend was running around waiting for his brother. The two of them, and one other little guy played for a bit, and when the boys came out, I said bye to Zoe, and we were on our way. Not without first stopping to pick up disco money...but THEN we were on our way.

Raced home to put dinner in the oven for Nathaniel. I can't remember what, but Zach said something and I told him off. I had a conversation with him about his rudeness, and how it hurts my feelings. I guess we'll find out soon enough if he actually understood any of it. 18 minutes later, like the box said...I took the pizza out of the auger. It had a nice burnt layer of cheese. Great! It still tasted good, but I was upset. Nathaniel didn't have time to eat at home. We got into the Volvo and raced to Beavers. One slice of pizza and a bite of another in his tummy and he was out of the car running to the door. 15 minutes is not long enough to make and eat a meal!

Raced back home to make dinner for myself and the other 2. Burnt myself on the Auger. Swore under my breath, and continued on with dinner. It may have been this time that I had the rudeness conversation with Zach, but I'm so tired tonight, and had so much to do that it's all mixed up. It was all within the hour anyway. So, the boys were pretty much done eating by the time I got to sit down, and when I finished, I had to get their fruit, and then their dessert. Once we finished that, Josh and I started playing DS together, Zach was playing his on the couch, and Heloise came home with Nathaniel. Him and Josh were ready for rugby, and it wasn't long before another parent came to pick them up.

I didn't have much time before I started to fade...and fast. I folded laundry, cleaned up the "breakfast room", and then came up for a shower and to do this and let myself fall asleep. As soon as I started typing, my eyes were closing. It's a good thing I didn't let them though, because the boys are home from rugby, and you can hear them the second they walk through that door. Actually even a few minutes before that, as they stand there with their finger on the doorbell, holding it down until someone answers. I would have been a little upset if I was woken up by that and unable to get back to sleep. Anyways, that being said, it's now 8:03, my calves are killing me from yesterday and today's work out, and tomorrow is gonna be the killer :| I hope I can get through it. I'd like to be back into my routine soon. Today I feel like an overweight elephant. :( Better go. Good Night xx

Day 72

"Forever Young, I want to be forever young"

That's how I feel some days, and today was one of them. It was much better than yesterday, but I was still wishing I was little again. When things weren't so difficult and the hardest decision you had to make was what TV show you wanted to watch on your lunch break from school.

When my alarm went off I actually felt refreshed. I got out of bed, got ready and came downstairs. Tim had already left for work so I got the boys their breakfasts, and they started another drawing competition. We then did their homework, and because of that I didn't have time to finish my picture. I tell ya, that homework is always getting in the way of fun.

I drove the 3 of them to school. Josh and Nathaniel to theirs, and Zach to Angels. Once I dropped them, I came back and did my work out. It was intense. Apparently my Thursday session is the physical ability test...the trainer told me to get some rest and drink lots of water in preparation. I am very worried. I'll let you know how that all goes :S Maybe. Depending on the results haha.

Once I finished that I had just enough time to sit down, answer a message, and watch the first 10 minutes of the last Grey's Anatomy episode I missed. Then it was time to get Zach. After searching the parking lot that drives me nuts, I finally found a spot and walked up to the school. Zach came out, and the two of us went to the same cafe as last week. We ordered our meals, and then got Zach changed into his school uniform. We played "I Spy" and ate, and when we were finished we hurried back to the car as we only had about 15 minutes to get to the other school.

When we arrived there, Zach decided he wanted to catch up with Xavier who was in front of us, so we ran. - Not the easiest thing to do in heels...but it was fun nonetheless- We waited in the office for what seemed like ages. The teacher finally came to get the loud group of children and their parents, to walk them to their classes. Zach went in without looking back. He was ready. He can't wait to start full days so that he can finally hang out with his best friend Noah. That doesn't begin until February though. It's such a weird system. Noah already goes, but he's doing his half days right now, and will start his full days very soon, whereas because of when Zach's Birthday is, he doesn't start until January and he'll do 4 weeks of half days in Noah's class, before starting the full days. Doesn't make sense to me...wouldn't that tell you half the class is going to be 4 weeks ahead of the children with the later birthdays?

Anyway, I drove from the school to get my hair washed, and then returned home. I did a load of laundry, and while that was doing it's thing, I went to do some running around. Put 40 pound (so about 80 dollars) of gas into the vehicle, and that only just got it past half! Ridiculous! And I thought gas was expensive in Canada!

On my way again and listening to my music, I drove without a problem to Braintree. I stopped at the pet store to pick up Jelly's food, and then I went over to the cinema (or movie theatre). I lined up and got my Unlimited Pass. What I thought would be a quick payment with my card, turned into a big process. First, I had to get my picture taken. - I would not have gone in today if I knew that. The picture was horrible! - Then, I had to fill out a long form with so much information on it about direct payments from my bank. I'm now on a 12 month contract at the theatre, but the guy said not to worry about it cuz once I'm back in Canada and have cancelled my account, there won't be anything they can do about it. I'm not sure he's right about that, but if I have to pay the amount after I'm gone, it's no big deal. I am sure I will get my money's worth while I'm here.

I finished there and headed over to Starbucks. When I walked in, the lady was about to make my regular. I was in shock! They know me now! Yay!!! I told her I was switching it up today though, and I ordered a Gingerbread Latte. Mmmmm. I might have to buy one of those syrups before the end of the season. I sat down with my drink and wrote a letter. I was there for about an hour which was nice. It was peaceful. I was alone, and in a way, I was enjoying it. That's very odd for me. I hate being alone. I guess it was just the background music and noise that I was enjoying for the first time in a long time. I was still wishing my Mom was there to talk to me, but in a way, because I was writing letters, it almost felt like there was someone to talk to...so it wasn't so bad. It was when I left that it hit me. That wonderful feeling of being a careless child. One ran past me laughing away and talking to her parents, and it just made me smile. Then, as it was pretty dark out, I turned the corner, and there were lights set up, as if it was Christmas already. Big snowflakes and all. It looked beautiful. But I had no one to share it with, so I was sad.

I walked back to the car and drove home. - If you're wondering where the boys had been this entire time, my Uncle Clifford had picked them up from school, as the 3 of them were going back to his place for lunch, and I was staying home to do errands and clean. When I arrived I cleaned up the "breakfast room", then my room, and did laundry. I also finished watching Grey's, and did more laundry. Heloise came home, and Uncle Clifford and Aunt Jill soon followed with the boys. They stayed for a cup of tea, and brought us some dinner. I dished some up and ate, and they left.

It was bed time for the boys so up they went. Josh wanted me to read to him so I did. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What an odd book! I'm supposed to read him another chapter tomorrow night, but it makes me feel so dumb when I read it because I'm not so good at pronouncing made up words.

I went back downstairs for a cup of tea, and sat with Heloise and Tim to watch "Step Brothers". They were not amused. I can't see why they wouldn't be...they were laughing, but when it finished they said it was terrible.

Ok, it's a good thing I'm at the end of this Blog, because I literally just nodded off. I went from not being tired at all, to all of a sudden falling asleep at my computer. I better get 6 hours in while I can. I'll write again tomorrow of course. Good Night and thanks for reading xx

Day 71

It's true my weekend was pretty great...
Today however, was not. It was just one of those days and I am sooooo exhausted that I was falling asleep around 6:30 while waiting for Zach to finish his supper. My day started as normal, and that was all fine...

Even picking Zach up after school went well. The weather wasn't nice at all, so I picked him up in the car and as we were walking back to it, he was asking if we could have a picnic at the park. It was a nice thought...but there was no chance. I don't cope well with rain...and sitting in it eating lunch is definitely not anywhere high on my list of things to do. He suggested parking the car at the park and eating in it...but I've seen him eat, and it would not be a good idea. Not if I didn't want pet mice in the vehicle anyway.

So we drove home and he started watching Pirates of the Caribbean (of course)...he's all about Jack Sparrow. When I was done making lunch, we paused it and he came in to eat. When he was finished he went back to watching the movie/playing with his toys in front of the TV, and then wanted to watch me farm and we took some pictures. He chose many different settings on my laptop camera. Some turned out really nice. Others...not so much.

We drove to the post office to do a few things, and when we got there, we were told it didn't open til 3:30. Odd don't you think? This made us super early for picking Nathaniel up, so I drove around the block and got a parking spot closer to the school than we had seen the first time around. By this time however, Zach had passed out. I got out of the car and lifted him up. We went into the office to pick something up for Heloise, and on my way out I had to wake him so he could walk. My hands could not handle him and the bag I was now carrying. We dropped that off at the car, and then I picked him up again to wait for Nathaniel, as he was freezing and wanted cuddles. It turned out Josh's football was canceled due to weather and the wet playing surface. It was then that everything took a turn for the worse.

The 3 of us went to swimming, and we came home to eat. The boys were acting up the entire time. I don't want to go into detail as I am so tired and am home sick and just want to sleep, but you get the gist. Tonight was not one of the better ones. Hopefully tomorrow will be. Good Night for now. xx

The giant spider that scurried across the kitchen floor today while I was folding laundry, did not help matters at all.

Day 70

Day 70 started pretty early. That's what happens when you go to sleep at 3:30, only to get up at 10. I had heard the boys go off to Football of course, but I didn't let it bother me this morning. I was too tired for that today. When my alarm went off, I reset it for 10:30, but then decided that wasn't such a good idea. I stood up so I wouldn't be tempted to open my eyes, and then made my bed so that I wouldn't be tempted to lie back down. Then I remembered what I was doing today, and I got excited enough that I wouldn't want to sleep.

Jumped in the shower, and got dressed. I decided I would go do everything I had to downstairs before everyone came back. So I brought my laptop down, poured a bowl of cereal, and caught up with an old friend/co-worker while reading some other e-mails. The doorbell rang, and when I answered it was Josh. They never wait for the person that drove them. Instead they bang on the door so that whoever is home will answer, and they can get in the house without waiting for the key. So as you can imagine, I was not surprised when I opened the door and saw it was him.

He wandered in and I was just cleaning to go upstairs. He told me about his football match, how they won, and gave me a play by play on his one goal, and another assist. He then followed me to my room, and when the door was open, he knocked before stepping in. (He's learning). He then proceeded to have a conversation with me about everything, while watching me do my make up. He thought it was very cool that when I was done, I had 3 colours on my eyelids. - It was actually 4, but I wasn't going to correct him, as the 4th wasn't so noticeable).

When I finished that, the 2 of us went back downstairs. I told Heloise about our girls night out, and Josh asked why the guy tried to dance with me. Heloise gave him a look and said "Because she's pretty". I don't think he meant it like that though. I think he was just confused and didn't realize clubs were for dancing, not just drinking. I went in and gave Zach a cuddle (who had just returned from Football with Nathaniel and Tim), and I enjoyed a cup of tea while checking my Brain Age. Said hello to Nathaniel, who wasn't very talkative today...and then came back upstairs to finish getting ready.

Toni came over and after realizing we couldn't watch Twilight on the DVD player in my room, Heloise made Zach watch Ben 10 in the kitchen, and Toni and I put the movie on in the family room. This pleased Josh as he was following us up to my room to watch it in the first place, but Heloise told him to leave us alone. Now we were in the family room, he was more than welcome. We started the movie, and Tim started a fire for us. Then I had a little visitor. Zach came in to sit with me. He climbed right up onto my lap and gave me cuddles. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he said "Can I be Jack Sparrow when I grow up?" To which I said, "Sure!"...he turned to face me and said "But I don't want to be Jack Sparrow...he gets stabbed". It was too cute for words.

A little more talking through our movie, but for the most part the boys were good. Zach got up and down a couple of times but it was ok. He came back at one point looking for a place to sit. I offered him my lap, but he told me I had already had my cuddles today. That was it. I guess my allotment had been all used up.

Heloise made a big roast lunch instead of doing dinner. I wasn't hungry so I just sat at the table and joined in conversation. It was Toni, Tim, Heloise, Uncle Clifford, Aunt Jill, the boys and I. Once things were cleaned up, Toni and I went back to watching Twilight. Josh right behind us. With just over half an hour to go, Toni looked at her watch and we decided we had better be on our way. We left the movie on for Josh, and although we didn't get to play Scene it, we left. We'll have to play that next weekend.

We drove to Braintree and after a carefully thought out plan of attack...we went into Bench. Our master plan came to a crumbling halt after that. We spent so long in there (which was great!), that we didn't have time to look for shoes or go to Starbucks. Oh well...I got new clothes :p And although Toni wasn't going to...she did as well.

We headed over to the theatre, met with Toni's friend, and picked up our tickets. We made our way to the concessions, got our popcorn and then stood in the line to go into our theatre. We were relatively close to the front, so after what seemed like ages, we got great seats as soon as we walked in. We were happy with our decision. Sitting through the previews was almost painful. Now, I LOVE previews. I never miss them...but when you're as excited as I was, for a movie to start...previews don't always have that special place in your heart. Especially when they're all ones to movies you heard about/saw previews for months and months ago. Finally, the movie began. I was in awe already. I won't give any of it away...instead I'll just say it was AMAZING! I loved every minute of it. It had every emotion in it, and it has made my list of favourite movies for sure. In fact, as Toni and I came out of the theatre, we contemplated buying tickets for the 8 o'clock show. We thought seriously about it, but then considered how crazy we'd look to some people, so we decided we'll just go back another day. It was sooooo good!

I got home and although I'm extremely tired, I was too excited to go right to sleep. I grabbed a cup of tea, came upstairs and spoke to a few people. Now that I'm finishing this up, I'm going to stay up a couple of minutes longer to finish some conversations, and then I will be out like a light. Good Night xx

Day 69

My ears are ringing and I love British Boys...
Now if that's not a conversation starter...I don't know what is. You'll have to wait for the explanation however, because that doesn't come until the end of my day.

Some screaming woke me up this morning. I had forgotten what weekends were like here. Some swear words under my breath while smothering my head with the pillow, and back to sleep I fell. My alarm went off the first time, and I thought "No chance!" So I set it for an hour later. Some more screaming, waking up, tossing and turning...then when my alarm went off the second time I thought ok, ok I'm up. But I wasn't. Sort of closed my eyes again but not enough to fall asleep for long. Opened my eyes to be sure, and went on my computer to check things out. I then dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, knowing very well what was to come. - Comments from Josh -

After my shower, on my way to my room I heard Josh say hi. He then said "It's half past 12!" (Which was an over exaggeration), so my answer to him was "Yeah...what's your point? And I closed my door. I got changed and went downstairs, even before doing my makeup as I could hear it all already. - This family, not just Heloise and them...the entire Preddy side, does not understand sleeping in - so I had prepared myself for the worst, and continued down the stairs. Josh was waiting. Heloise said hi, and I went to get my cereal. Of course Josh had something to say about that. He went on and on about how he didn't know anyone that ate cereal at lunch time. I told him I don't eat lunch, and hadn't had breakfast, so it was still breakfast for me, so he should back off (in a joking way). He couldn't come back with anything fast enough. I sat down to eat and he wanted to play Nintendo with me. I told him we would after I ate.

I came back up to do my make up and when I went back downstairs the two of us played Super Mario Bros against each other. A little while later a couple of his and Nathaniel's friends came over. Josh and Teddy played Wii, and Nathaniel and Archie were on the DS' when I asked if they wanted to watch "UP!" They seemed really excited so I came upstairs and got it. They got through just over half of it, but had seen it before, and when Josh and Teddy came in to watch, the other two decided to take over the wii. When the movie ended, I finished burning some pictures onto a CD and came up to do my hair.

Got that finished in pretty good time, while listening to some MJ, and left my room to go back downstairs. I guess I had time to do my nails, but didn't really think of it. I'll have to do those tomorrow. The boys friends were gone, and I had heard their music playing but didn't know what they were doing. They called me into Josh's room and told me to watch their performance. A misunderstanding with Heloise had Nathaniel in a strop cuz he didn't think she wanted to watch them. Once that was figured out, they decided they had to rehearse more before we saw. I went on my way, finally got downstairs and sat down to eat some dinner.

Josh joined me at the table and I can't remember how, but he brought up my sleeping in, and made some smart comment. So, loud enough for Heloise (who was within earshot) to hear, I said "Number one Sir, you have no idea what time I got up, and how long I sat in my room before coming out. Number two, there is no way ANYONE in this household could sleep in with you screaming at the top of your lungs before football". That put a bit of shock on his face, but he still tried..."But you didn't come out of your room until 12:20!" I said "Yes, but weekends are my days off, I don't have to come out of my room at all if I don't want to". Heloise told him I was probably better off being away from him and staying in my room. Then he said "Well you'd have to come out for food", to which I replied, "Yeah, but I could wait until I was absolutely starving". I think it was at this point that he completely forgot what he was trying to bug me about, because he said "Well yeah, but I'd bring your food to you". I thought, alright sounds good...and that was that.

So after dinner, Heloise, and I went up to Josh's room. There were two bean bag chairs set up, and a dining room chair, waiting for audience members. The two of us sat down. The boys pushed play on the Ipod, and a Fleetwood Mac song came on. Nathaniel started clicking and stomping his foot to what was supposed to be the beat. - Very cute - Josh was just standing there, and Zach had taken his shirt off. Zach started parading around, (This is the 3rd part of Zach I saw today...) For any of you that watch Friends, the only way to describe the way he was dancing is by saying...Danny Devito. It was disturbing in some ways, but absolutely hilarious in most. Josh then proceeded to try and tackle Nathaniel. As we could all tell this wasn't part of the "rehearsed" bit, Heloise made them start over. It was then that Tim came to sit on the step and watch. They started over. Nathaniel began in the same form, Zach did the same type of "dance moves", and Josh just stood there. Then they began to sing...a little bit of dancing, and for the finale, Josh picked up his guitar. It was really cute. I clapped. They had to go to bed, and I went downstairs.

I sat down to watch TV while waiting for Toni, and realized "Step Brothers" was on. And that made me really happy :p Just before it began, a commercial with the song "Sweet Child O' Mine" came on, so I was laughing already when the movie title came up. I changed it when Heloise came down cuz her and Tim haven't seen it yet, and I told them I'd watch it with them.

I got my shoes on, sat for another 5 minutes, and Toni pulled up. Off we went to get her friend, and then to the bar. We went to a lounge sort of place first. It's hard to describe, because we don't really have anything like it in Canada. That whole scene is much better here. And people actually make an effort to look really nice. Plus there are dress codes...but anyways. After some drinks there (Neither Toni or I were drinking drinking), we continued to Chicagos.

We got there relatively early, and the dance floor was pretty bare. The two of them wanted to wait for a good song, which was fair enough...and when that came on, we moved out onto the floor. As we did, there was quite a good looking, clearly British, tall, fun looking guy on the floor, dancing the way I was at the wedding. Arms fully stretched out, tilting from side to side, and gliding all around the floor. AWESOME! I was laughing already. From that point on, the 3 of us stayed on the dance floor. Granted we were pushed off at one point, and our space was taken over a couple of times throughout the night, but we still danced and had a good time. The same guy, was there with a group of guys. One other pretty good looking one, and a few others that were average. None of which were creepy. But you know how every group has that one? Well there's was no exception. There creeper was a little bald chubby man, who kept coming over and putting his arms around us. At one point he asked if he could dance with us, and although I felt bad, I said no. He said something to me, but it was probably slurred, and that doesn't help in a loud place when you have an accent...so I just kept dancing. He tried coming over a few other times, but we ignored him, and once before he could even get his mouth open, the tall guy came over and dragged him away.

Some more fun dancing, a lot of laughs as the other 2 guys were playing air guitar and dancing the way my brother and his friends do, and then...Sweet Child O' Mine came on. It was great! They also did a tribute again this time, to Dirty Dancing, which made me think of Tara. Black Eyed Peas made me think of dancing with Kaylie, and any other song, dancing with Mom of course. At one point this guy came over, and stuck his hand out as if to introduce himself. I went to shake it, and he started pulling me to the middle of the dance floor. I did not want to go there with him. Had it of been the tall guy who I had to get a pic of singing with Toni's friend, I would have gone...but I did not want to dance with this guy at all...I was only shaking his hand out of courtesy in the first place. Well...I told him no, and he was SQUEEZING my hand. I kept trying to get away, and he wouldn't let me. Gross! After finally twisting and turning, and pulling my hand out of his grasp, I went back to where I had been. He followed and tried to get Toni to go with him. He grabbed her hand, she said no, and the way he twisted her arm, I honestly thought he was going to break it. People just don't bend certain ways. The guy was an ass. Toni finally got her hand away, and we continued to dance. I was a little unnerved as my hand was still in pain 10 minutes later, and have never had someone refuse to let me go before. It was disturbing. But we got past it and the tall guy and his friends made us laugh some more.

I tried to take a pic of the 3 of us...and had the guys around us, just let me take it, it would have been fine, but they kept interrupting saying they would take it for us...a couple of dark ones, and then here are the decent results.


More dancing, some elbows in the back, but all in all, a pretty good time. We left, and Toni drove me home. Now it's 3:18am and I should be asleep, so I'm going to say Good Night xx

I'm pretty sure you could figure out the ringing ears was from the music, and the British Boys I love are the tall, good looking, funny, non creepy ones :p

Day 68

How bad is it that I go to bed thinking of how excited I am to wake up and have a bowl of cereal. I seriously think I've lost a part of my mind. I am craving it right now, which makes me even sleepier, cuz I know, the faster I close my eyes...the sooner morning will seem, when those tasty spoonfuls will be in my mouth. Yum! - Yup! I've lost it! -

Ohhhh it was one of those days. The morning was fine, my "delicious" fairy cakes were raved about, and the boys ate (Tim has been getting most of their breakfast...I guess he got his job back when I went to Canada, and he's not planning on letting me take over again). So I had my cereal, and when the boys finished theirs, they did their homework. Today was "Children in Need" day at school so for some reason, that meant all the children got to dress up. If they wore a uniform, 50p went in for donation, but each class or year I guess, had a theme. Josh's classmates all went as artists (I gave him an eyeliner mustache), Nathaniel's as cooks (they were making jelly in class today), and Zach's class went as space men...so he was Buzz Lightyear. The Fairy Cakes were to sell for 20p.

So, out the door, and off we went. We were walking to school today, as they were all going to the same place. We didn't even get to the pathway and Josh was in tears because he forgot his paint pallette and brush at home, and we didn't have enough time to turn around and get it because they had taken so long to leave the house in the first place. I told him I would walk back home and drive it up as soon as I dropped them off. That got rid of the day's first set of tears, but the last had yet to come.

I dropped the 3 of them off...walked home (No, the builder wasn't there...but I think the guy who may now be living in that house, seemed to look rather nice), and I picked up the car, the artist's accessories and drove to the school. Ordered Josh his vegetarian lunch for the day, got the extra tickets for the school play sorted, had them call him about picking up his stuff, and came home again.

Got in, and ate a piece of carrot cake Brigitta had made me :| Then I did the newest sticker chart thinking "WOW Zach's in the lead!!" (...AND I've just counted the stickers up, and he's won by 1 point!!!) Anyways..by the time I finished that, it was time to go get him. This is where the day took it's turn for the worse. I picked him up...our walk home was fine, we held hands and had great conversation as usual. We got in the door, and he wanted the wii on while I made lunch. Fine. I did that for him, made lunch...heard little yelps for help while I was in the kitchen, so I helped a couple of times but was getting aggravated with chewed up joysticks and such. Lunch was ready so I got him to come sit at the table. He had wanted to go to the pub for lunch but I had other plans for us. So when he finished I asked if he wanted to go get a hot chocolate, and told him that Starbucks now had new cakes out as it was Christmas. I was thinking he would love that, as the last time we sat and had a really nice time, and just the other day he was talking about how the boys have gotten to go with me, and he wanted to again. Well...today wasn't that day. He wanted to continue playing wii, and there was no talking him into anything else. Next time I won't be giving him an option. After some frustration with games being too hard, and controllers not working properly, he got bored, and there were some fake tears coming out - which many of you know, I have no tolerance for - Luckily though, I don't lose my cool...I just explain things, and talk the situation over with whoever is acting up. I told him that's why I had given him the option to get out of the house earlier...but he didn't care. He asked if we could play lego, but we didn't have time as we'd have to leave to get Nathaniel soon, and I didn't want to leave a mess in the playroom that I would have to come home to, and clean up in between making meals. Instead, we went in to watch Spongebob. Now normally...I would not resort to wii or tv, on any given day. I love spending time with the children I look after...relatives or not, but today he just was not having any of it. No other ideas matched up to Wii or TV for him. Again...next time...it's not an option.

Anyway, we watched Spongebob, and this next thing was stupid on my part. I had seen that Scooby Doo was going to start at 3...and I knew we had to leave at 3. So by rights, I should have been on the ball and shut the TV off the second Spongebob ended...but I was busy checking how long it would take to make dinner. So, I tell him it's time to go. He starts to cry cuz he wants to watch Scooby, and then starts to cry more when I don't pause it. I turned the TV on (contrary to what my mind was telling me) and tried to pause it. Something was already recording, so I couldn't (I think someone was on my side today, telling me I was doing the right thing in the first place). So I turned the TV off, and started putting his shoes on him. He knew it wasn't paused and started crying again. This was enough for me. I explained the pause wasn't working...then, inside my mind, realized what I was saying, and therefore proceeded to explain that he is very lucky to even have the option of pausing live TV, as it is a luxury most children wouldn't have. - Like he cared what most children have or don't have - More tears that continued up the road, but I told him to stop. He was being silly. His legs were too tired so I had to carry him through a pathway and a half, until I realized he was falling asleep, decided I would not be holding him the whole time we waited for Nathaniel again today, and I put him down. (He's pretty heavy, and that is definitely considered a work out). We walked up to the school, (so just a half pathway walk), and he needed up in the playground. That was fine. I hung onto him and he gave me cuddles.

Without going into more and more detail...the rest of the day was much the same. Him crying about silly things, and showing me that he really thought he could get what he wanted when he wanted. That will be changing...and soon! Skip ahead to me making dinner. I had to do Nathaniel's first as he was going off to football, so I did the pasta, and there were just a couple of minutes left on the meatballs when Zach and I had to go get Josh. (Tim would take them out of the oven) More tears...he wanted to stay with Daddy, who wasn't staying, but was taking Nathaniel.

We got in the car, (as he couldn't possibly walk to the school and back again, although I wanted the exercise), and stood outside waiting for Josh. Zach was full of beans by this point. Jumping around, playing I Spy. It was the perfect time, as it was just the two of us waiting, to talk to him about how he behaved today. He can't make eye contact with you when he's being told off. More jumping around and Josh met up with us. The 3 of us drove home listening to "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas", and when we got there, I made dinner for us. Heloise walked in, so I made enough for her as well. We all sat down to eat. Zach was misbehaving at the dinner table, but I kept my cool. I had already told Heloise I thought he had to go to bed early cuz of the way he had been all day, he must have been tired. Haha. I am sure that is not the reason...but anyway. After dinner I asked what fruit he was having. He said a plum, but not chopped up. Now, earlier...he had wanted a pear, but not chopped up...and that is very out of the ordinary for these boys. So I washed the plum off, but this time I watched what he did (unlike with the pear). He must have taken one bite out of it, as he came back into the kitchen WAY too fast, and he threw it in the garbage can. I couldn't believe it. I asked him what he just did, and he wouldn't tell me. When I called him on it, and told him he was having another plum, I asked if he had done the same thing with the pear earlier. He said yes. I washed the plum off, chopped it up and said "Well then from now on, I will be chopping up all of your fruit to make sure you eat it". To this he replied..."Well when you're not here anymore, I won't have to eat my fruit". :O I could not believe it! But without a second thought, I turned to him and said, "Well you're stuck with me for another 298 days, so get used to it". I think there was some shock on his face. Heloise had clearly heard the tail end of the conversation, so I explained what had happened and she could not believe he had said that. She pulled him aside, but he would not apologize. She also told him it was unfair for him to say that because although daddy can't be bothered trying to get him to eat it, she certainly makes him, and will continue to make him after I'm gone.

Anyway, all of that was over and done with, Josh was working on his Math homework, I checked some e-mails, and then I got ready to go to Toni's sisters place while she babysat. Heloise dropped me off on the way to Cubs, and when I arrived, Joe answered the door with Toni behind him, and a little Zoe waiting very close by. She is one of the cutest little girls ever. I picked her up, and she came and sat on my knee. She had a conversation with me, and we looked at a book together until it was time for them to go to bed. She's so cute. So is Joe, but he's still pretty quiet around me.

Once they were in bed, Toni and I caught up and I told her all about my trip. Her sister came home and joined the conversation. It was really nice. Toni dropped me back here around 11:30, and I came up to write this, check some e-mails, finish the sticker chart...and soon enough I will fall asleep. Lots to do before I go out tomorrow. Hair, nails, etc. Good Night xx

Day 67

*YAWWWWN* Another restless night. I woke up around 1:30, tossing and turning aggravated me, but I eventually fell back asleep, only to wake up again at about 4:30. Ugh. Closed my eyes again, and got to sleep until 6:30. I do like this new - bed early, up early - routine...but to be completely honest, I'd probably like it more if it was - bed early, up late -

So 6:30 rolled around rather quickly, I dragged myself out of bed, and got ready. Opened my little wardrobe - which I have now devoted an entire shelf of, to my make up and nail polish :D - and I picked out some eye shadows to match my hoodie.

Went downstairs to help the boys with their breakfast and homework, and of course, enjoyed a bowl of cereal. Once the 3 of them were done reading, flash cards, and times tables...we started drawing. Nathaniel decided we would have a competition. We would each draw a picture, and when we were finished we would write the name of whose we liked best on a piece of paper that would later be read out. I must admit, I felt pretty special when it was revealed that I won.

Got them all ready, coats, drink cups, bags and shoes...and piled them into the car. I drove Josh and Nathaniel to school, and then when Nathaniel's class went in 10 minutes late...I raced Zach to his school. The two of us listened to his Christmas CD, and he bobbed his head along with the beat. The parking lot was packed as it was market day, and I was sure the lady in the car behind me...was going to get out and punch the lady in the car in front of me, if she didn't get out of our way fast! Horns were honking, and windows were rolled down. The one in front was waving her hand. Then more hand gestures came with angry tones, and rude faces...and then the cars started moving, we all got into spots, and everything was fine. Sort of. (I hate market day). By the time I got Zach to the door it was closed. Luckily there were other people who had dropped their children off at Josh and Nathaniel's school as well, so I wasn't the only one who was late. Zach went in...and of course, his name had been changed to a different hook AGAIN. I don't know why they do that. For sheer confusion I think. We finally found it, hung his coat and jacket, leaving his lunch box on the cart, and he went in without a thought.

From there, as it's relatively close, I went to Starbucks. I didn't get turned around at all this time! I knew exactly where I was going, in each direction! I was so proud of myself. I pulled into the parking lot, and as the shops weren't open for another 10 minutes, I got a great spot. Jumped out and went to Starbucks (beat the rush) and ordered a decaf grande soy dark cherry mocha. The first sip I took...*BING* CHERRY! All I could think of was Joey from friends saying "Bing cherry vanilla...grab a spoon!" The rest of that episode followed in my head, but I won't quote the entire thing as I'm sure if you wanted to watch Friends...you would be doing that instead of reading this. So...as I'm walking back to the car, drinking and quoting (in my head)...I came to the realization that the drink was indeed good...but would I have it again? Probably not. I'm trying to figure out if it was just the mocha that was too much. The hot chocolates in England tend to be a little richer so I'm thinking maybe the dark cherry syrup might taste better in something else...but what? Any suggestions? Oh, and I love their new sleeves!! Look at the snowflakes!!! Do ours have those? I've never noticed. They have all kinds of different tasty treats too!!! But I don't have Mom to share them with :(

I drove away and proceeded home...like I said, no problem there. When I arrived, I took some pictures, cleaned my room up, folded some laundry and looked at the ingredients for the fairy cakes Heloise asked me to make. I found the butter but realized it should have been taken out of the fridge before I begun, so I did that, put it on a plate, and put my shoes back on. Now it was time to go to the grocery store. I found that without a problem too. Missed the turn into the parking lot, but that's nothing new. I knew as soon as I'd done it that I had to turn around. I walked in and found it very hard to get passed the CD's and DVD's without taking a look. So I stopped. I refrained from buying Star Trek (probably only until the next time I see it for sale), and picked up James Morrison's new CD. I then walked over to the produce section (where I was supposed to be), and picked up some fruit for the boys. Plums, Apples, Grapes in my hand, along with my new CD, and I walked to the cash. I walked past the first few and was about to go to the counter where there was just one lady in front of me...and another cashier told me to go all the way back to the front of the store as there was an express line there. I said it was ok...but she didn't seem to care. So I did what she said. I got to the car, and not timing anything right (thinking it would have taken me longer), I set back to Zach's school. When I got there, I was 45 minutes early. Well...I got a good parking spot. Listened to some of my new CD, which was great! Turned the car off...set off the alarm, turned that off...and then set my phone alarm to wake me up in half an hour. I was out like a light. I hope no one was watching me because I was way too exhausted to care what I looked like, and I am sure my mouth must have been open. 30 minutes later, my alarm went off. I woke up and jumped out of the car. Stood in the windy cold for 15 minutes, until they finally decided to open the gate...and luckily Zach was one of the first out. He handed me everything from his art work to his jacket, and luckily I noticed before leaving that he'd forgotten his school bag. He went back for that, and we made our way to the car. I buckled him in, and started the car. He asked if my Christmas CD was in there, so I put it on for him. We're driving along, and all of a sudden he pipes up. We had just finished listening to "Last Christmas" and the song had literally just ended when he said "I'm special!". I laughed quietly and said "Yes, you are!" He said "Why does he want to give something to someone special?" and then said "And what does he want to give them?" - For those of you who don't know, the lyric is "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special". So I explained the lyrics to him, and that was that. The music went back up and he sat quietly in the back, listening so intently.

I had asked him earlier if he wanted to drop the car off at home and walk up to get the boys. His answer was quite smart, saying "No...then we'd have to stop at the house, get out, and walk...this way, we can drive straight there". So, we pulled up to the school and were early for the 3rd time today. (We got there early this morning as well). We continued to listen to the music, and just as it was time to get the boys...Zach fell asleep. I picked him up, and went into the school yard. After a while he got heavy, but his cuddles were nice nonetheless.

We waited in the wind that didn't seem to bother him, and Nathaniel came out. Josh was soon to follow. We walked to the car and Josh thankfully remembered then, rather than later, that he had forgotten his lunch box for the 2nd day in a row. I helped him cross the street, and he ran back to get it. Once he got back, I got in, started the car, and headed home.

The 3 of them grabbed their snack, and I made dinner. This time in the light! It was much easier. Battered fish, potatoes and green beans were for dinner. Nathaniel tried to figure that out before hand, but I've started a new rule where they're not allowed to ask me what's for dinner because they'll find out when it's on their plate in front of them.

After they ate, no one left the table until everyone else was finished. Almost. I had to start making the fairy cakes...and seeing as Zach was taking AGES to finish what was on his plate, I started cleaning up and told Nathaniel he could leave the table if he was coming to read to me in the kitchen. He did that. Finally Zach finished and brought his plate out to the kitchen (they're learning!) The other 2 had gotten ready for Judo, Nathaniel had some fruit and Josh had his dessert and fruit. Heloise came home, and as Josh and I had been looking for measuring cups, I decided to ask her where they were. She didn't have any! She has scales :| They don't work for small measurements though. Nope, she just guesses. Did you know that 250 grams is the same as 9 spoonfuls of sugar. And if it's 250 grams of self raising flour, it's 9 heaping spoonfuls. If it's just regular flour, it's an even spoonful. You can't just dump it in though...you have to sift it...WHAT?!?!?!?! THEN...get ready for this. You don't mix it yourself, in a bowl, with a spoon. No. You put it in a food processor type thing. Crazy. Anyway, I did that while the boys were picked up for Judo. Zach helped by licking the spoon, and the mixing tool from the processor.

I poured the batter into the paper cups and popped them in the oven. I then mixed what little icing was there, Zach chose the colour and I spread yellow over the tops - until the icing was finished - and placed percy pigs on top. (Those things are deadly. Very addictive. They're not necessarily delicious...but there is something about them). I couldn't finish them all off, as there wasn't enough icing to go around, and we had to wait for Tim to bring home another packet. I placed the ones that were done in the utility room to cool down, and sat with Zach for a bit to watch Tom and Jerry while he gave me cuddles. Once his was cool enough - the icing wasn't solidified, but making a child wait that long is torture - I got up and got his. He polished it off in seconds. That's when I decided it was time for bed. I came up, and had a shower. Checked my e-mails, and now I'm going to upload some pictures, and go to sleep. Good Night xx

OH and I may have forgotten to mention yesterday...Josh learned how to tie his shoes while I was away! Here's a couple of pics of him proving it.

Day 66

Extremely tired! Trying to keep my eyes open long enough to type this. It's only 8:04 :|
My morning started early when I woke up at 3:30 and found it very difficult to fall back asleep. When I finally did, I slept right through to 6:30. I got ready and went downstairs to see the boys.

I didn't eat breakfast cuz I was really craving cereal, and had yet to pick up some soy milk. So I grabbed a cup of green tea from my stash ;) and drank that while the boys ate. When they were finished teeth and hair, they did their times tables, and Nathaniel recited his lines for the school play. He knows most of them by heart already and has only been practicing for half a week! He's got a great part too. He's playing the head master. I am very impressed. Josh was supposed to be practicing guitar, but that didn't go over too well...and Zach did his flash cards...which took longer than I'd hoped. Before leaving, Josh read me some pages from his book.

I got the 3 of them ready and into the car. Although I thought we were running late, after some waterbottle chaos...we showed up early. As it was a crazy windy/blustery day, we decided to wait in the car until the gates opened. - It's weird...they're supposed to go in at 9, but the teachers don't normally bring them in until about 10 past...which makes it a little tough to get Zach to his school by 9:15 -

Anyways, Josh and Nathaniel went in, and Zach and I were off. We turned the music up, and drove up to Angels. He went in without a problem, and I drove home. Of course I made a stop at the Co-Op (where I think the best looking guy in Kelvedon works), and I picked up some Soy milk. Got home, poured myself a huge bowl of very missed cereal, and enjoyed while checking some e-mails. I didn't have much time...just an hour, then I had to leave so that I could drive to Starbucks before picking Zach up. I got turned around on the way. Although I knew which turn off to take, I decided to read and follow the sign (or so I thought), and I took the wrong turn. Found my way quickly and got to Free Port in good time.

I walked in to Starbucks to see they too are ready for Christmas. Which I expected. What I didn't expect...was what was to come. I looked up at the menu, and they have the toffee nut, and the gingerbread lattes...but they've also got another Christmas drink. Not an Eggnog latte, but a dark cherry mocha!!! I was afraid to try it today, but considering it's been on my mind ever since...I'm thinking I'm going to have to tomorrow. I got my regular drink today. It wasn't great, but it also wasn't anything to complain about.

I got back into the car...got turned around a number of times on the way back to Zach's school...to the point where I thought I'd be late picking him up :| Luckily I know enough now that if I take the wrong turn, I can recognize that I'm in the wrong place, and can soon find my way back to the right roads. It's still frustrating though, when I could do it with my eyes closed before going away. Guess I'll have to make a few more frequent stops to get used to it's placement again :p

Ended up getting to Angels early. Zach came out, showed me his painting, and told me which Christmas songs they had learned today. We drove home with the music on, and while I made lunch, he played Wii. After lunch, he went back to playing the Pirates of the Caribbean game - one he needs help with - so I brought my laptop into the play room, and sat there while he talked to Jack Sparrow telling him he didn't know how to get him out of the prison etc. It was priceless. He then changed to Indiana Jones which had much of the same result. Him not knowing how to do things, and telling his players that he couldn't get to the other side to help his friend fight the spiders. I jumped on the raft and helped him get there. From these adventures, he went to Mario Kart. After that it was Ben 10. And not too long after, it was time to get the other two from school.

We drove up and were early again, so I turned the car off - leaving the music on - and we sorted through the different CD's trying to decide what to listen to. At last Zach came to a wonderful choice. His "My First Christmas CD". We popped that in and sang along until it was time to get the boys. He wanted to know if we could listen to it on the way home as well, and decided tomorrow, I would bring my Christmas CD for the ride to Angels.

Picked the boys up, and rushed home to make dinner. Earlier in the day one of the fuse's blew, shutting off all the lights on the right side of the bottom floor. (This included the kitchen). I attempted (and succeeded) to make chicken fingers (Apparently NOT what they're called here...but I told them if I was cooking, that's what they were called), and vegetables in a 15 minute time frame, which gave Nathaniel enough time to change for Beavers, and 5 minutes to eat before we had to be out the door again.

The 4 of us drove up to Beavers, Nathaniel ran in, and Josh, Zach and I, drove home again. It was much darker by this point, which made making their supper even more of a challenge. Chicken fingers for all, with some green beans, and then a salad I managed to whip up without lettuce, or light. I used a "torch" aka flashlight to semi light my way as I sliced peppers, cut carrots and tomatoes, and scooped up some hummus and coleslaw.

We sat down to eat, and when all was finished, Josh and I did our Brain Age Test. I got a "C". WOO! Don't I feel smart! We then played against each other, and I beat him in everything. Which is good, because if I didn't...you can guarantee everyone and their uncle would have heard about it, and he'd still be talking about it 5 years from now.

Heloise came through the door with Nathaniel from Beavers, and about 4 other kids that were going to rugby with Josh and Nathaniel. Nathaniel had made me a delicious cookie at Beavers so I enjoyed that, and Tim called to say he was stuck in traffic. Heloise ended up driving them, Zach and I stayed here. That created some tears to begin with, but we switched on "Tom and Jerry", and those tears were history. Zach noticed that Tom's snow shoes resembled something Spongebob Squarepants has. They were spatulas. We finished watching that, and headed upstairs so he could have a bath. We did the him being a sausage routine that he loves so much. I tucked him in, and then read part of his new book to him. Heloise came home and brought up his milk, so she was asked to finish reading to him. That was fine by me, because I was having a tremendous amount of trouble trying to keep my eyes open.

I hopped in the shower, got into my pyjamas, and then into bed. I am now finishing this up, and letting my head hit the pillow so that I can get a good night's rest. I do after all have to be awake to get to my dark cherry mocha tomorrow, and ready to party this weekend. YAYYYYY NEW MOON!!! I CAN'T WAIT! Good Night xx

Day 65

300 days to go!
Wow. That seems like a lot...but at the same time, the first 65 went by extremely fast. I guess I think it's a lot because right now I am really missing home. Visits will do that to you. Especially GREAT visits.

So back to the grind today. I had an early night which made it easier, but still a bit of a struggle to be out of bed at 6:30. I jumped right up, but I would have been happier with a couple more hours of sleep I am sure.

Finished feeding the boys breakfast, they did their homework and got ready...amazingly, I had them in the car by 8:30! They were ready and at the door, and I thought if I made them stand there too long, something would happen and we would end up being late. So I piled them into the car, heated it up, and pulled it out to wait for my Uncle Clifford. He got here soon after, and we drove Josh and Nathaniel to school - where they were, for some reason, extremely early - Even at the time people regularly showed up, we were the only ones standing there. Once the playground began filling up, and the boys went in, Zach, Uncle Clifford and I went to Angels. Driving was fine. It was probably a good thing I didn't do any while I was back in Canada, because I had to think twice about where I was going a couple of times, but it really just came naturally for the most part.

Once Zach went into his class, I drove Uncle Clifford back to the house so he could get his car and leave. I went up to the hair dressers, then came home in time to unpack my big suitcase and get most things set up the way I want. My hand luggage isn't unpacked yet, but that will get done tomorrow, and I'll take pics to show you my room :D

As soon as I finished putting away my makeup and nail polish, it was time to leave and get Zach again. I picked him up, and in the process of trying to give him medicine without me touching the bottle -I'm allergic to it-, I smacked my head on the car door and got a bump. The two of us then walked up the street and to a little cafe we had been to before. We sat down and ordered some lunch. Zach got beans, and you can probably guess this one...SAUSAGES! Orange Juice to drink. I got a prawn avocado sandwich that came with curly fries and a salad. I took one sip of my lemonade and thought I was going to be sick. It tasted like pure alcohol. The waitress said it wasn't, and told me it was just really old fashioned lemonade, but I didn't care for it, so I left it on the table, barely touched. We quickly ate, and I drove Zach to the other 2 boys' school, as today was his induction. He had to change quickly in the car, and I walked him to his classroom. He wasn't too happy when he arrived, and his best friend wasn't there...but they don't tell him his teacher until Friday, so hopefully he'll be in his class.

I left him there and decided to drive to Starbucks. Not even halfway there I felt ill and decided to turn around and come home. (YEAH, come HOME, instead of Starbucks...You know there's something wrong when that happens). So I came back, and Heloise was here doing some planning for school. I sat on the couch with a cup of tea and watched Grey's Anatomy until it was time to go pick up the boys.

Heloise came to the school this time. We picked Zach up first, who was looking ever so smart in his uniform, and seemed to be a very happy boy. He was full of cuddles, and was laughing with me in the playground while we waited for the other two. When they came around, we went into the gym to the book fair. Nathaniel picked out a Spongebob book (He's going to love the stickers I got for the chart). Josh got "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and Zach got something called "Swat Spider" or "Spider Swat" or something.

We came home and grabbed a snack. Sat down to watch "Angela Anaconda", and Uncle Clifford was there to collect us in no time. We got into his car, and went 'round his place so the boys could swim, and have dinner. I sat in the kitchen this time. I was just exhausted and could hardly keep my eyes open. I focused on Nathaniel's Spongebob book, and that helped a little. We did their homework, they went for a swim, and then we ate. After dinner we came right home. I was nodding off in the car, so I decided to jump in the shower right away, then climb into bed. Now I'm uploading some pictures from the wedding, and talking to my Mom, and soon I will be asleep...sooooo...Good Night xx

Day 64

I am lying in bed, ready to crash.
Today was a long day. Up early for breakfast with everyone, then some hard goodbyes to cousins I'm not sure when I'll get to see again, and we checked out of the hotel. Next we drove to Adam's so that Stephen could see the house, and so that we could say goodbye to him. Many more tears as I said bye to him, Uncle Paul, Aunt Cindy and Tara.

Then it was off to the airport. Tara was leaving from Hamilton, so she went with the Herbert's, and I was leaving out of Toronto, as were my Mom, Dad, Stephen and Fiona, so they took me. After more luggage chaos, and the airline wanting to charge 20 dollars for each kilo you went over...my Dad decided to upgrade me, as we could not get it any lower than 23.5. I am now without many things. The whole thing is ridiculous.

After checking in, and finding out my flight was 2 hours late, the 5 of us went for what would be my last slice of Pizza Pizza for a long time :( Finished up there, went to the gate...I cried my eyes out and headed through security. Tear streaks down my face, I stopped at Starbucks for what would be my last perfect drink for a while...Then I sat at the gate waiting to board and getting all of the texts out before I had to switch back to my England phone.

An announcement was made about hand luggage being to heavy, and there only being allowed to be one bag per person. They told us if we had any concern, to go up to the front and see them. Naturally, I did just that. The lady looked at me, and started saying "We're only boarding those in wheel chairs right now". I waited for her to finish her sentence, and then explained that I was double checking about my hand luggage. She looked down at what I was carrying, winked and said you're fine, and I moved to the side to wait for my turn to board.

Got on the plane, and sunk into my middle seat. I was asleep before take off. Once we were in the air, they came over the speakers to talk to us...unfortunately that woke me up, and that gave me a chance to see what movie was playing. - BIG MISTAKE! - I should have just kept my eyes shut cuz then I would have been able to sleep the whole way. But no, instead, I watched "The Traveler's Wife". Pretty good movie. My headphones weren't working at the beginning, so that wasn't fun, but the situation was figured out, and I enjoyed the movie. Had some sour cream and chive pretzels in between the movie, with some water...then dinner was served (Chicken), and I fell asleep as soon as it finished. Woke up for breakfast...then back to sleep, and woke up with an hour and a half left in the flight. Not too shabby. A doctor was called at some point during the flight, and then they were looking for someone with a blood testing kit, so I assume that wasn't the greatest situation. Probably not anything too bad, but still. Lots of turbulance which scared me, as I'm not a huge fan of flying...and we finally landed.

My suitcase was one of the first to come around. I grabbed that, and was through the doors in no time. My Uncle Clifford was sitting having a coffee when I came out, I said hi to him, stopped at the washrooms, and we were on our way. We arrived home at about 9am. I said goodbye to Uncle Clifford (Who would be picking the boys up so I had time to rest), and I went to sleep.

A couple of hours later I was up, not too aware, but nonetheless, my eyes were open. I showered and headed downstairs. Not too long after, there was a knock at the door, and the 3 boys came in and gave me a hug. They had left welcome home cards on my pillow, so they wanted to make sure I got those, and then they filled me in on everything I had missed.

Zach gave me cuddles on the couch, and later asked me if I brought him any chocolate from the wedding. Oops! Aunt Jill made us supper, we all ate together, and then played some DS and watched some TV. Heloise came home, and when it was time for the boys to go to bed, I checked my e-mails, and then made my way upstairs. - Everyone else had left, whether it be for meetings, or to go home - Now I'm finished telling you about Day 64, I'm going to let my head hit the pillow, and I'll speak to you tomorrow. Good Night xx