Tired Mama.com

The first of December

It was nice here yesterday so I suggested that it was a good day to get the outside Christmas lights up. Tired Papa hates putting up Christmas lights.

Finally, after much badgering, off went a grumpy Tired Papa to the garage to try and find the big plastic container of outdoor Christmas decorations.

He came back a brief two minutes later humming and wearing a big smile on his face.

It seems the outdoor Christmas decorations are buried in the back corner of the garage high up on a shelf and the guys doing my renovation have completely covered this corner of the garage with all the trim, wood and bits and pieces that they plan on putting back up in the house again after plastering.

It is truly impossible to get at the outdoor Christmas stuff.

But at least now Tired Papa is in the Christmas spirit.

How much extra do you think he paid our contractor to do this?

I'm venting. Surprise!

So, here's the thing. I thought I could handle renovating my house as long as it was done the week before Christmas.

I thought wrong.

I thought it would be possible for me to quickly find furniture for my new family room and kitchen and get it delivered in time for Christmas.

I thought wrong.

I also thought that as my kids got older it would be easier for me to step back from their homework and just let them get on with it. I mean that's how they learn, right?

Yeah, that is great in theory until one's offspring start getting marks that are not as high as they are capable of and then these same children start messing around instead of studying for their Christmas exams.

I'm not doing this whole  'leave them alone and let them take the consequences' thing too well this weekend. Yes, I'm yelling.

I also thought it would be easy to ignore the three inches of dry wall dust all over my house. I thought it might even be a great excuse not to dust or have to clean because you know, we're renovating.

Sure.

How many wrongs does that make?

Basically this renovation, my lack of preparation for the holidays, my kid's exams and my not being able to find furniture that I like is starting to get to me.

Yes, it is.

Pass the wine.

Oh, and the chocolate too.

Thanks.

Do not kill my cat. Please.

In the hierarchy of terrible 'mothering' things to do, one of the things that must at least come close to the top of the list is, killing the family pet.

Yeah, well that was almost my day yesterday.

Our family pet is a silver tabby by the name of Ollie.

To say my kids ADORE this animal would be an understatement. I think it's pretty safe to say that they love this cat even more than they love their parents. I think if the cat was capable of renting video games and driving, dear hubby and I would be gone and the cat would be in charge. Yep, it's that bad.

I also have to say that Ollie is the perfect family pet. He lets the kids fight over him with nary a whimper. He is clean and neat, he takes equal turns sleeping with the kids every night and he is always purring. He is a great family/kid cat.

So yesterday I took this important member of the family to the vet for a check-up. He wasn't sick, I just knew he was due to go in to get checked over and so I made an appointment.

What I didn't know is that Ollie is allergic to whatever is in the shots my vet gives cats.

Less than a minute after the veterinarian had pumped Ollie's rump with the needle, our poor kitty's paws and face were all puffed up and he was breathing like he had a truck stuck down his throat.

Thank goodness we were still in the veterinarian's office so they could pump more drugs into him and put a tube down his throat because I was too busy freaking out to do anything useful.

After an afternoon of close monitoring, I'm glad to say that Ollie is now back at home and seems fine. Thank goodness.

Next year Ollie will be getting a different and more expensive rabies vaccination and my husband will be taking him in to get it done.

Yes, as a matter of fact I am a wimp. I don't ever want to go through that again.

Sigh.

Blah Day

Blah de blah, blah, blah.

That about sums up today.

I spent the day at the mall.

I went with a girlfriend, we had lunch and we tried to do some Christmas shopping.

She seemed to do well. She had a list, she checked it more than twice and she bought things that seemed well thought out and practical.

Me?

Not so much.

I had no list, so no thoughtful gift shopping got finished and I basically spent a whole day looking at all sorts of stuff but in the end, I really accomplished nothing.

I came home with very little too.

Unless of course you count my headache - but I'm pretty sure that wasn't on my list.

Sigh.

Another note

Dear fellow drivers on the side streets of my town,

When the temperature is hovering around zero and it is raining you need to put on your lights and slow the flippin' heck down.

That shiny stuff out there on the roads tonight?

That would be ICE.

Idiots.

Lovingly yours,
Tired Mama

It's that time

It's beginning to look a lot like uh, well, you know.

I like Christmas. I do. It's just that Christmas is also a lot of work.

It's also a lot of work that goes unnoticed and unappreciated for the most part. And let's not even get into the money that I pour into it. 

So, this year I asked my children what they liked most about the holidays. I figured if it was just the tree, cookie baking and presents then I would just do that and I'd let the other stuff slide. 

Their replies?

My son told me the most important part for him is the tree. He likes picking it out, decorating it and having a real tree in the house. Fair enough.

My eldest daughter just rolled her eyes at me and left the room. Thanks, hon.

The youngest?

Well it went something like this.

'I like it all Mommy. I like the presents, the tree, the Church things, the lights, the food, the family getting together, the outside stuff, the movies, the baking, the stuff we give everyone, the parade, the cards, the parties, Jesus' cake and the decorating of the house. Mommy? I love it all. It's all Christmas.'

My baby is now eight. She has gorgeous big round hazel eyes and I melt when she's this happy. She's also Santa's biggest fan and I'm probably running out of time for that too.

So, guess what this Mama's gonna do for the next 30 odd days? 

Yep, everything.

See you in January. 

Challenged

I was just out grocery shopping and as I was standing in line I glanced at the magazines.

The cover of People had the 'sexiest man alive' on it. He was good looking, very good looking in fact.

The problem?

I have no idea who he is.

Ack.

I feel so old. I feel so out of it.

I don't watch a lot of TV any more and I don't go to a lot of movies but I honestly didn't think I was this media stupid.

I'm sorta depressed about this. The only good thing is that I am very Internet savvy. Give me a minute to google and tweet this guy and I'll be all caught up.

At least I will be until this afternoon when I plan on hitting the toy store for some Christmas shopping.

Does anyone know what Uberstix are?

Sigh.

A note to my family

Dear children and husband,

You are all getting coal for Christmas.

Love,
Tired Mama

Need and Want

My youngest daughter told me after school today that she 'needed' a certain toy for Christmas.

She didn't 'want' it, she 'needed' it.

Sure.

I told her that all she really needed was love, water, food and a safe place to live. I told her she 'wanted' the toy, but she didn't 'need' it.  

She scowled. She kicked her little booted foot. She gave me the old 'you just don't understand ANYTHING' look.

We walked on.

Tonight I told her that I needed her to set the table for dinner.

Guess what she told me?

As a matter of fact I did end up setting the table myself.

Brat.

An easier time?

I've been reading a lot of Jane Austen lately.

I've now finished Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park.

I'm starting to think they were on to something in the 1800's.

For instance, 'because I said so' seemed to be a valid reply in those days. I tried using this line with eldest daughter today but it didn't work. My teen just stood in the doorway and continued to glare at me. In Jane Austen's books the young girl would have flounced away in tears.

I wanted flounce. Okay, I wanted her gone - I was tired of fighting.

I am going to start on Jane Eyre tomorrow. I bet she never glared at anyone. I think they just sent her off to boarding school when she got out of hand.

Like I said, I think they were on to something in the 1800's.

What's making me tired today.

I've been a little bit frazzled lately. Why?

Well, this is what my family room looks like right now.

That silver duct work used to be hidden in a wall between my kitchen and family room. The big wood beam at the top of the picture is new. We put it there so the upstair's bedrooms didn't end up in the kitchen. Smart, eh?

This next shot is of my back hall.  This used to be my kitchen pantry and a bathroom. It's now becoming a big mud room. That's a pocket door on the right that's being roughed in; I will pull that closed to hide all my kid's stuff. The thought of being able to hide all their crap stuff makes me very happy.

Finally we have a picture of my back staircase which is being opened up.

 

All of this work is supposed to be done by December 17th. Yep, the week before Christmas.

How am I handling all of this? Okay, I guess. But you know what? Even though all I have to do is answer questions and pick out colours, while someone else actually does all the work, this renovation stuff makes Tired Mama tired - very tired.

Basically? I'm counting the days until we're done.

Poof!

Wow.

One small wire got snapped in my renovation and poof!

I've had no phones and no internet for the last 36 hours.

I must say that when I have no phones and internet I get a lot more done around the house.

There's a lesson here I think.

But you know what? For this lesson, the dog ate my homework.

I 'heart 'my cyber/phone world too much to give it up just so an extra bit of laundry or dusting gets done.

My Ten Things

I have to come up with ten new commandments for a school assignment. Why? I'm not sure.

I've actually always been sort of fond of the original set.

But anyway, the first ten 'rules to live by' I write down have to be ten from 'the top of my head'. So here they are. Tomorrow, or in twenty-four hours I have to edit them and make seven changes. I'll let you know how that goes.

So, in no particular order, they are:

1. Don't smoke.

2. Work hard.

3. Give more than you need to.

4. Choose well and love without doubt.

5. Smile.

6. Brush and floss often.

7. Eat everything in moderation.

8. Sing.

9. Exercise.

10. Save a little bit of every pay cheque for that rainy day - 'cause it'll come.

Hmm. That actually got written out fairly quickly. I'll edit them over the weekend.  

Oh, and for those of you who have been asking I'll also try and post some renovation pictures tomorrow. And yep, it's still a mess here, but it's kinda fun. Okay, sorta fun. Actually maybe it's just a little fun - very little at times.

What did I say number 5 was again?

I have a life?

On Monday night I went out with three girlfriends for dinner and a movie. We had a great time.

On Tuesday night I went out with my two daughters to run a few errands .

Last night I met one of my girlfriends for a few hours of shopping and dinner. We closed down the mall.

Friday night my hubby and I are going out to a show and dinner with two other couples.

So, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when last night my son informed me that I was going out too much this week.

'Are you missing me?' I asked.

'Nope,' he said. 'You're just too old to have a life.'

Oy.

The saddest part? Part of me fears that he may be right.

I am kinda tired. Actually, I'm really tired.

This getting old stuff is bad. Really bad.

Sigh.

Job Hunting

I've decided to look for a job.

Yep, it's time to get back into the old work force and start adding a little bit of extra money to the family coffers.

So tonight I started to put together a resume.

My resume looks pretty enough, but if you actually read it through you'll find there's sort of a big huge enormous gap in it.

The cause?

I've been a stay at home Mom for eleven years.

I've done some writing work, but I must say when I put it on paper the whole thing looks a little bit uh, sparse.

Now I know I've been pretty busy in those years - we've lived in three different countries, we moved six times, and I've raised three pretty terrific kids. I've been more than busy.

But on paper? It doesn't look quite as impressive as it sounds when I talk about it.

So, I'm off to search the internet to try and find suggestions on how to make all these child rearing, busy moving years look impressive on a resume.

Or not.

I see that the local paper needs delivery people, maybe I'll start there. I wonder if I can still throw a newspaper hard enough to hit a front door from the street.

That might be fun and if I did that at least I wouldn't have to dress up.

Oh, does one still wear suits to interviews? Assuming of course that I can get one. I guess I should google/look that up too. Humph.

This should be an interesting adventure. I'll keep you posted.

School Woes

Last year I went back to University.

I was, and still am, the oldest 'student' in my class. This doesn't really bother me but I must admit trying to juggle University classes at my age can at times be a logistical challenge.

Right now for example, there is a strike on at the University which means that I don't have classes.

I'm okay with this except that it also means that my class times will be rescheduled to run over the Christmas holidays.

Great.

Part of the reason I picked the courses I did was so that I can attend them when my kids are at school, and I can do the homework and 'readings' while my trio are in bed.

I was not planning on spending my Christmas holidays attending classes. 

So now I'm thinking about taking my kids with me to my re-scheduled lectures. I'm sure my eleven year old son will have a great interest in the writings of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. 

Yeah, right.

I only need three more courses to finish this degree. I'd like to get a decent mark in these classes too so that I can get into a masters program. 

I wonder if attending lectures with three kids will make me look pathetic or simply dedicated. 

Sadly, part of me is hoping that I'll look slightly pathetic, I'll take a few extra marks for 'pity' right now.

I'm getting too old to be proud.

Sigh.

It's a bit messy

My kids were off of school on Friday and they have today off as well.

I like my kids. I like to spend time with my kids.

But it does seem that when my kids are home from school they tend to make a mess. I have Lego, doll stuff, Nintendo parts and coats all over the place.

When I mention that they should pick-up after themselves, my beloved off-spring look at me with big uncomprehending round eyes. It's like I'm talking a foreign language.

I have half my house being ripped apart for the renovations, the other half of my house is being taken over by the mess my children are making.

To be fair, I have been sorting through so many things and we've moved so much stuff around for the demolition that it is getting a little tight around here to move, never mind try to neatly entertain one's self, on a rainy day off of school.

Do you know what it's like when you're trying to sort through stuff and you've got so many piles that it looks worse than when you're started, but you know if you keep at it in the end it'll be better?

Yeah, well I'm there.

But, it's only the second week of an eight week renovation and I'm already tired of the mess and I'm tired of sorting through everything that got moved around.

I need a break.

I need chocolate and wine.

Yep, I do - again.

Sigh.

I'm taking back my house

Toys can reproduce.

Yep, amazing I know, but it's true.

I have boxes and boxes of bright plastic colorful things all packed up, ready to be delivered to the local charity drop-off center tomorrow.

I know I couldn't have possibly bought my kids all this stuff over the years.

I mean I love to shop and I actually do find a lot of toys cute, but surely I'm not responsible for the huge amount of crap toys that were taking over my house.

Nope, not me.

Toys reproduce, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a shoe closet to sort through. Do you think shoes can reproduce too? This might be exciting.

I'll get back to you.

Snow+Catalogs=Christmas

I'm trying to clean up my house a bit today. 

There was a lot of stuff that got moved from one side of my house to the other so that our renovations could start this week. I tried to go through most of it but honestly? After a few days I just got tired and over whelmed.

Today I'm back at it.

Today is also garbage day in my town so I'm trying to lug as much paper as I can out to my recycling paper boxes before they get picked up. I can't believe how much paper advertising I've kept over the last few months.

As I'm working away at this, in the other half of my house, separated from me by a thin plastic sheet, there are three young guys ripping up floors and walls. My house is literally cut in two.

So as I sort today, I have the added bonus of a light dusting of white drywall dust settling on me.

Sigh.

It's snowing in my house. That and all these catalogs has now got me thinking about Christmas shopping. I need to start that soon too.

I am so not ready for any of this.

What to do

I can't go to school today because the professors at the University I attend are on strike.

I can't cook today because my kitchen is half demolished due to this renovation we're doing.

I can't go to the gym today because I worked out two days in a row and my girlfriend, who knows about these things, told me to give my muscles a rest.

I can't clean today because there is dry wall dust EVERYWHERE in my house and they won't be done the demolition until tomorrow so that's gonna have to wait for the weekend.

My kids are all at school today. 

What's a poor mama to do?

I suppose I'd better go shopping.

I mean there's got to be a shoe sale somewhere that needs my attention.

Bedtimes

I stayed up late to watch the election speeches and so today I'm tired.

Now there's something new.

But I was impressed with what I saw and I am looking forward to seeing what the new American President does for his country.

As I was yawning though Barack Obama's speech however I was also admiring his gorgeous little girls. 

And then I got thinking that those two little girls should be in bed because it was so late.

Now, I do agree that those girls should have been allowed to stay up late and share in their father's victory. I also know that they will remember this day for the rest of their lives and I agree completely with their parent's decision to have them there.

So, why was I so worried about the fact that they would be out of sorts and cranky today for their poor mother because they didn't get enough sleep? It seems sort of strange that when I should have been concentrating on a historical speech I was instead worrying about Michelle Obama having a hard day today with her daughters because they didn't get to bed on time.

Oy.

I've turned into such a Mom.

The Three R's

In my home town I have to recycle everything. I have a place to recycle uneaten food, a bin for cardboard, a bin for plastic, and a bin for everything else. My town is trying to get rid of garbage.

Is it a pain?

At times, but I can't complain about it because I believe it's the right thing to do.

The big coffee shop here is Tim Hortons. We must have at least one on every block. There are always line-ups to get into them every morning too. In my town we love our 'Timmies'.

Still it has always seemed just well, wrong to throw out my Tim Horton cup every day. I've been trained, over the past few years, to recycle. So, I was very happy today when my local paper reported this,

"Tim Hortons chose yesterday to show off the new recycling bins it says it will install in its Toronto restaurants.

The move came just ahead of today's release of a city plan meant to crack down on food packaging - including the iconic doughnut maker's ubiquitous coffee cups - shipped to landfill." - Globe and Mail

I don't live in Toronto itself, but I live close. I'm just hoping this program makes its way west to my town too - and does it quickly.

And all I have to say is uh, Tim Hortons? It's about freakin' time.

Excuses, excuses

The crew is here to start the demolition on my house today. We're just renovating a small section but I still had to spend my weekend getting ready.

I tried to be organized and put stuff away but most of my back-hall and family room just got put down the basement in uh, piles.

To say my house is a bit of a mess is an understatement. We had to rearrange a lot of furniture.

But then again, my house is usually a bit of a mess.

So, in a way this is actually quite liberating as I now have an excuse for our mess.

I can now just say to anyone who might drop by, 'sorry about the mess, but you know what it's like when you're renovating.'

I plan to not clean, eat out every night and generally fall behind for the next six weeks and use the 'I'm messy, but we're renovating so it's okay' excuse EVERY DAY.

I think I might actually enjoy this whole process.

What else needs doing around here?

Be careful what you wish for.

My renovation starts on November 3rd.

That would be uh, Monday.

How the heck did that come so fast?

I've been waiting to start this for a while now. We're knocking down the wall between the kitchen and family room and putting a big beam up so the bedrooms upstairs don't end up in the kitchen.

We're also taking out a main floor pantry, bathroom and some storage cabinets and  combining them into one large closet. I'm hoping to install individual cubbies in the closet for all the kid's stuff.

In order to get ready for the destruction I need to empty out the family room and back hall closets this weekend. I need to move out everything.

I'm a little behind on that.

I think I'm actually about to panic. I have about two days to go through and move a TON of stuff.

One word.

Dumpster.

Sigh.

This is not going to be fun.