Quiet Supper

Every other Wednesday evening, I leave the house and go off on my own for a "quiet supper". Usually, this is a meal at a nearby mall, an ice cream cone, a trip to the library, a walk around the mall and a delicious hour of reading a book. No feeding little mouths or wiping little faces or meeting anyone's needs. It's delightful.
In total, I usually spend 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from my kids. It's a wee sanity break in a busy, blissful little world.
I'm so thankful to have a wonderful husband who realized my need and provided me a way to meet it.

Jill-Day?

I feel a little lost today.
I liked going to work.
Don't be alarmed... I am NOT sad to be done. The very thought of a nap this afternoon makes me smile.
I dropped Simon off with the baby-sitter's after a long breakfast, chat and story-fest. I've missed that little guy in the mornings. It's weird not to have him with me but, I've been able to do a few little things that wouldn't happen if he was home.
I'm washing tiny sleepers and some of Simon's newborn clothes and marveling at how much he's grown and changed in just 18 months. It's exciting to think of our next little miracle. I still can't believe he or she is just days away from joining our little family.

Well, I'm off for my massage and pedicure. Spoiled... I know. I'm going to want to re-live this alone day over and over and over again in the next year.

Snuggles

We finally have Simon into this wonderful routine where, we read stories and cuddle a little, put him in his crib and he puts himself to sleep. He's really good at it and, we're glad.
However, somedays, like today, I just have to sneak in some extra cuddles and I rock him to sleep. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing it more for me then him. I just love the feeling of him all soft and limp in my arms with his satiny baby hair up against my cheek. I love his contented sighs and sweet baby breath. My little baby won't be my baby for much longer. Soon, I'll be glad to stick him in his crib as I tend to his more demanding sibling.
I'll miss this time with him.

Happy Birthday!

Goodness, I'm 30.
How did that happen?

Important update in the world of Jill:


I'm wearing my old jeans.


(Yes, I am proud of myself and feeling a little smug!)

out of joint + good-bye 1985

I went to my massage therapist's earlier this week for a routine back massage (I know... I'm spoiled). My upper back's been bothering me on my right side. I asked her about it. She said that I have a rib that the baby's popped out of place. She massaged it back in but, it'll probably happen again. Yeesh... thanks kid!

Today, we are saying good-bye to 1985. I was in kindergarten in 1985 and my parents bought this fabulous set of brown furniture. This was the furniture I took to Lanigan with me. This was the furniture Trevor and I moved into our sweet little house just weeks before our wedding. 24 years is a long time to exist as furniture. 24 years worth of skin dander, dust and yuckiness just building up. Since my sense of smell has improved so much during pregnancy, I began to notice our furniture more... in a very unpleasant way. Therefore, we decided to splurge on one adult thing (as we also spend on a plethora of baby parephanalia) and buy ourselves some new, brown leather furniture. Tonight, we plan on relaxing in style on our new couch, love seat and Lazy-boy rocker. 1985 served us well but, it'll be great to finally enjoy the 21st century.

Enough is enough

I have spent 3 days this week sluggin' through this head cold. I should add that I'm doing it completely druglesss. That means all those lovely potions and pills that normally get me through a work week with a cold are banned. I have taught with my head in a complete fog. I've probably been more then forgetful and a little snappy with les enfants. It hasn't helped that it's been -40 every morning either.
Enough is enough! I decided to stay at home today. This would make logical sense to most. However, if you are not a teacher, you have no idea how much work it is to take a sick day. I spent a good 2 1/2 hours prepping for my sub yesterday. I hope the kids are good to him. I hope I won't have to many fires to put out when I get back
This morning, I slept in. I played mouse with Fergus. I tidied and cleaned a little. Now, I'm tuckered out and I plan on spending the rest of the day on the couch marking, prepping and reading. Maybe, I'll move to my bed for a nap.

Feist

Feist was pretty awesome last night. She had some really neat visuals that made the concert an excellent experience. I liked that this set her a part a little from any other concert I've seen. She's also quirky cute and I always admire that.
If she comes to town again, count me in!

humdrum

Returning to the routine of things has been a little bit of a comforting struggle. My body is still having its ups and downs recovering(?) from this flu bug that seems to be attacking my sweet husband again (poor man... should have thrown up when he could instead of endure the crampy ravages of this beasty of a bug).
I'm trying to find a routine.
"Ah, you teachers... what do you do all summer?"
I power walk and garden and try to get into discipline to take my correspondence class (blech). I lounge in my mother's pool and haul my cat out of trees. I try not to read all day (but I would if I could). I plan the garage sale (that I'm afraid I'll never have) to try and get rid of all the junk in the basement. I watch the days tick by on the calendar and wish we could have July forever.
It's a busy, difficult life. It's one of the perks to my career that I wouldn't trade for the world!

2 1/2 weeks of travel bliss

We're back!
We had an amazing trip. I loved traveling with my sweet husband!
We arrived in Hamburg at 9:30 am after flying all night and made ourselves stay up all day to ward off jet lag. We hung out in an awesome park, ate hamburgers, went on a canal tour (in German - not really too sure what we saw) and went to bed early!
After another day in Hamburg, we spent 3 glorious days on the island of Rugen in the sea-side town of Binz. We played in the Baltic Sea, took a boat out to visit the famed White Cliffs and generally had a mini-beach holiday.
Next stop was Berlin. This was my second time in Berlin and I still feel like I need to go back to see it all. We had 3 crazy, crammed days. Highlights included the Sony Center, the Reichstag, Schloss Sophie-Charlotta and piles of history. Of course, the biggest highlight was the Radiohead concert. Amazing! I don't even really like Radiohead (Trevor's favorite band) but, it was still the best concert of my life.
The morning after the concert, we bordered a train and left Germany for the Czech Republic to visit Prague. We toured Prague Castle and enjoyed the city. We made sure to eat goulash but, passed on the pig knuckle.
Our next stop was Nuremberg where the Old City is still walled in. Although it rained a lot, we were still able to relax and see quite a bit. This was our favorite hostel. We were given the "Honeymoon Suite" and we spent our evenings hanging out with other backpackers.
Lastly, we ended up in Munich where we power-shopped for souvenirs and endured the rain. Fortunately, on our anniversary, the sun came out and we headed to off to see Newschwanstein with Mike's Bike Tours. In the morning, we biked to an lake and rode and alpine slide. In the afternoon, we toured the castle itself. Amazing!
We're kind of sad to be back and done our European adventures. However, it's also nice to have our home and our own bed and food in the fridge. It was also good to see our parents and Fergus.
Unfortunately, we have the flu. I yakked up my Mom's welcome home supper while trying to show my parents pictures and I'm still a little leery of food today. Trevor's currently napping through a pretty bad stomach ache. Not the best kind of feeling to combine with jet lag. Ah well...

School's out for the summer

Alice Cooper was playing "School's Out" on the intercom.
Some were dressed up in crazy drama dept costumes.
We ran a lap of the school halls as a breakneck pace.
Today, the teachers did the good-bye lap.
We looked kind of like this.

My smile can't get any bigger.

How I...

Every few nights, Trevor and I watch the adventures of Ted Mosby and his buddies Marshall, Lily, Robin and the legen-(wait for it)-dary Barney. If you haven't yet watched How I Met Your Mother, I seriously recommend it. Last night, we watched Marshall and Lily get married. It made me happy.

29 and holding

Yesterday, I turned 29. People keep joking that I've now had my final birthday and that I will be 29 and holding from now on.
I'm actually okay with my age and approaching the big 3-0. I'm liking the way I'm living my life and I'm getting adventures galore so, I'm happy.
This week, we also celebrate year 2 in our happy little home. This year, we plan on a major exterior face lift. Pretty good for a 67 year old.
This coming Sunday is Trevor's B-day as well.
Tonight, we dined at Zest, this amazing little restaurant. It's one of my favorite places to go for special occasions. Trevor bought me a nice little GPS unit and some LuLu Lemon pants. Lucky me!

Have a Good Wii-kend

Last Saturday we bought a Wii. We'd been talking about it for a bit. I actually searched for one most of November and December to surprise Trevor with for Christmas. Alas, it was elusive.
Now, we are busy making Miis, bowling, racing cows and hanging out in Mario Galaxies.

Our Special Needs class at school just got a Wii. I walked by the room to see one of our wheelchair girls batting in a baseball game. She's probably never played ball before. It's awesome.

I love my Wii. I am NOT a gamer but, I love the Wii. Congrats Nintendo for making something that really is "E" for Everyone.

P.S. If you have a friend code and want to share Miis, contact me on Facebook.

Why I'm refusing to cook

On Tuesday, at Care Group, Trevor and some guys decided to go skiing for the week-end. Not some day trip to the local hills but, to drive all the way to BC for some powder. The guys took off on Thursday after work and will be home sometime tonight. Another Trevor adventure.
The jealous part of me was mad. However, I realize that I should be a "good wife" and encourage my husband to have fun boy adventures. The rest of me is sad and a little lonely. It didn't help that I watched P.S. I Love You with a friend last night and balled my eyes out.
I refuse to cook for myself. I've been eating subs and pitas. Last night, before the movie, my friend and I dined at Wok Box. Tonight, my parents are taking me out for supper.
I know I'm being a baby but... I really hate cooking for just me. I had enough of that the 4 years I lived in Lanigan.

Christmas goodies

Aunt Leone's Famous Shortbread
3 cups of flour
1 1/3 cup of icing sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 pound of butter (yes... it's okay because it's Christmas)

Knead by hand and roll into little balls and place on cookie sheet. Cook at 325 F for ~ 20 minutes.

I baked with Trevor's sister and Mom. We had fun. We made a pile of tarts and cookies. I think I may have eaten too much. Tomorrow, I do it all over again with my Mom and sister-in-law.

I think this is Trevor's favorite time of year. He keeps smiling and smelling and tasting.

a little gaming cheer

One of my favorite Christmas season past times is playing games with friends and family. I find games a lot more enjoyable then all sitting around the TV watching a movie. When we play games, people's true colours come out. Competitive streaks, greed, shrewdness and sibling and spousal rivalries are all revealed. Hmmm, nothing like the Christmas spirit.

These are my Top Games.If you're looking for a good time with friends and/or family. I highly recommend any of these games!
(This ends my voluntary product placement segment. Hasboro - if you'd like to send me some advertising dollars, I wouldn't turn them down.)

Bring it on...

Just in case you couldn't guess who we'd be cheering for
in the 95th Grey Cup!

3rd Season Blues

We don't really watch
a lot of TV.
Sometimes a little Heroes or Friday Night Lights.
I love the adventure of Amazing Race.

We found this crazy show that makes both of us laugh.
The characters are outrageously flawed.
We bought
ALL THREE SEASONS.

Definitely an impulsive purchase.
It's been worth it.

We've started the 3rd season.
We're a little sad knowing that it's coming to
an end soon.

What will we do without Buster, George, Michael, George-Michael,
Lindsay, Genghi, Gob, Tobias, Oscar and Maybe?
Sigh....

S-P-O-I-L-E-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, we bought a 2004 fully-loaded Mazda 3. Yeah!
A nice, young U of R student bought the Mustang. She's equally ecstatic.
Our sales guy has only been in the business for 4 days. This was his first sale. He was thrilled.
He's also a bar tender. He bought Trev and I some fancy drinks after the sale.
Win-Win-Win
All is well in the world of Jill (could just be the fancy drinks talkin')