Part Two

So right after the laundry episode Michael came into the living room to show me his "snack." He had eaten a snack a few minutes before consisting of crackers, cheese and grapes so I thought he had just gotten his bowl from the kitchen to continue eating. But no. This kid went into the fridge, got out the block of cheese and decided to eat the entire thing! By the time he brought it to me, he had already handled the whole thing and taken a few bites so it wasn't even salvageable. Man, this age is so difficult. If I just had the other three, my stress level would probably be cut in half. Im hearing slaps on the kitchen table right now which he usually does after he has spilled his juice so Im sure Ill have a mess when I go back in there.

But to balance it all out, Rayden showed up in my bedroom Sunday morning (a little too early) with this:

He even made a smiley face with the syrup!

It was so sweet and he was really proud!

A moment

Michael just took all of the clean clothes out of the basket (that I will get to folding soon, I swear) and threw them on the floor, which he followed by a bright "ta-da!" Way to go kid.

Im still here

Oh my has it been a busy week and a half, you guys. Moving day was a nightmare but thanks to family, it worked out and I got into my new house by mid-afternoon. I still have boxes and crap everywhere but it is livable and so Im not in any hurry. I love the house though. Everyone that has come over has commented on how nice it is and even though I know its silly, I love those comments. When I lost the last house I couldn't see myself being proud of our home again. This house is sooo much better though; Im so excited about it! I haven't taken any pics of the whole place yet so I will wait to post some things.

Last weekend was the first weekend that the three older boys spent with their dad. He picked them up at 5 on Saturday and brought them home at 4 on Sunday. 23 hours, big whoop! I cant really complain though because this is such an improvement. He still hasn't given back the Wii and Chris spilled the plan that I had thought of to get it back. Sigh* The kids had a great time though and Josiah and I spent all day Sunday doing really fun things. It was nice to leisurely browse the mall and to check out a parent show that was being put on at a local hotel. Josiah also giggled for the first time at his photo session on Sunday, which was adorable to say the least!

Today Josiah's sister came over to meet him and us. She is six and it is so easy to tell that they are related. Their father is still out of the picture in both of their lives but at least we've worked out a way for them to still know each other all of their lives. They are going to visit when they come back to the city on Halloween and we made casual plans for Josiah and I to visit one weekend when the other boys are with their dad.

Hmm, what else has been going on? Chris had his pre-kindergarten health check today. Developmentally, he is doing perfect. That is such a relief because I know he is way behind where Rayden was at the same age. He is at the 25th percentile for both height and weight which is pretty consistent from when he was a toddler. He is 4.5 and only 34lbs, just a little peanut! He can still fold himself on my lap like a 3 year old and Ill trade that for a bigger kid any day. He had an immunization today too and I must say he was so brave. He really didn't want to do it but he only teared up a little and snuggled for a few minutes before going back to his gameboy.

My car has been giving me some trouble and I am so lucky to have a brother that cares so much. He has taken it to his shop a few times to fix various things for me and all I have to do is pay for the parts. I hate taking advantage of him like that and I wish I could afford to pay him a little something but at the moment that isn't possible. I think a little further down the road, Ill be able to do something more, hopefully anyway.

Xmas is totally kicking my butt. The kids have already given me their lists, verbally of course. Ive picked them up a couple small things that I have seen on sale, but nothing that they actually asked for yet. My new budget will be fine for next Christmas because I will have 12 months of putting money aside for it instead of the three that I will have this year. Im worried that i wont be able to do much for them and that's hard as a parent. I can get sponsored through the single parent association here and I may end up going that route. I feel weird doing it knowing that there are other families that have less though. Anyway, we'll have to wait and see what I can work out when it gets closer.

I was speaking with Indigo Girl today about gyms and how I used to love going but that the cost was killing me and I had to cancel my membership. She suggested that I look into a Y because the family rate includes child minding and that they even offer sponsorships if you cant afford the full monthly fee. So I checked out the local website and bingo that's it! The family membership rate is half of what I used to pay for myself and child minding for two kids. This way too the kids can participate in all sorts of other activities at no extra cost. It seems like a winning situation all around. They have also recently released the plans for a brand new family Y in the city. It is absolutely amazing. To give an idea of the size, there is a regular female change room with approx. 130 lockers; an adult only female change room with approx. 70 lockers and lounge (!) area; ditto for the two men's change rooms and then a family change room. That means that this place can accommodate like 500 people at one time and that's with one locker per person. I can not wait to be able to go there I mean that one will even have a pool which the current one is lacking. The building of this new Y has not started at all yet so it will be a couple years Im sure, but man I cant wait! Back to what I was saying though, I think I am going to look into the subsidy program with the local Y to see what I can work out. Ive already looked at their schedule and Im sure we would go at least 5 times a week. I want it to happen now though!

Ah well that's my crash update on the last week and a half. I managed to keep up on all of your blogs on my cell so Im not too far behind with all of ya, even if I did miss all of your comment love ;)

Allow me to direct your attention

to a brand to new blogger! Her name is Melissa and she is none other than my very own SIL. Since she is new to this whole blogging business, it'd be great if everyone could mosey on over to complimentary chocolate and give her a big 'ol welcome.

My much needed rant

The Ex is a bastard. Yes I can use that term because he really is. The things that he has put the kids and I through qualify him for that title like no other. Today while watching Rayden and Chris in taekwon do I got a text message from The Ex telling me that he doesnt want me to ever contact him again. I was like WTF? Its not like I call this guy up to chat. I discuss things related to the kids and thats it. Even then, I only use text message or the occasional longer message on facebook because I dont want to hear his voice. If it wasnt for the kids, Id never want to lay eyes on this man again. I've seriously wondered if they would be better off without him in their lives, but really that isnt my decision to make. As long as he doesnt abuse them in any way then I cant keep him from their lives.

Last year he decided that he didnt want to get out of bed to pick them up so he wasnt going to see them that day. He blamed it on the snow that had fallen the night before and said that he couldnt get out of his driveway. I however called his bluff and drove the kids to his house instead. Well the driveway was perfectly clear when I pulled in and he was none too pleased with me for showing up. All I did was bring the kids to the door and tell him I would be right back with the car seats so he could bring them back to me later. Instead of being NORMAL about it, he instead PUTS HIS HANDS AROUND MY NECK and screams at me to get off his property. Naturally, I did just that BUT with the kids in tow. There was no way I was leaving them there with that kind of anger. The judge though at our next custody hearing just IGNORED it all together and treated me like an idiot for trying to have supervision during the times him and I would be in the same room.

Things had finally seemed to be getting better between us and we were acting great together around the kids. His fiance and I were even chatting during pick ups/drop offs. So this message came out of no where. He said that Ive been contacting him too much and that he doesnt want to hear from me other than when he picks up the kids. Thats great really. I just dont get what prompted it. Rayden has been calling him about every little thing lately and sometimes he hands the phone to me to explain something like the directions to taekwon do. ITS NOT LIKE I CALL HIM, Rayden does. I think he may just be pissed off that Rayden's Wii has to come back now. He and I both paid half so that Rayden could have a Wii for his bday last month. The Ex gave it to him during a visit and then it came here to my parents house. Because of the way this house is set up, I didnt really have much supervision of its use and it ended up getting broken right away. We got it replaced and The Ex and I both decided that it would be better at his place until I had my own house again and could better watch it. Well last week Rayden asked him about it and he said that it wasnt coming back. When I was informed of this little change from Rayden, I told him that I would have to talk to his dad about it. So then Rayden calls up The Ex and tells him that Mommy is going to have a talk with him about the Wii. Totally the wrong thing to do. You really have to be delicate how you bring things up with this man or they blow up in your face. I have no idea if Ill ever see that Wii again now and because he didnt give me a receipt for the half I paid, I dont have a leg to stand on. Grrr, this man frustrates me to no end!

He doesnt pay a penny in support. He is supposed to pay about $400/month but hasnt paid anything yet. I applied to court last July about it and it still has not been heard. The upside is that when it does go through, he will owe me everything from the day I applied for it. So far it is up to over $5000. The new big screen tv that he bought last week is just going to have to go back I guess! He told the mediator (the first step in this province is to see a mediator) that it would cause undue hardship for him to have to pay support because he was going to be having another baby and he would have to support her. Now that he is spending money on expensive clothes and tvs though, that argument goes out the window!

First thing Monday, Im going back to that court house to get this custody thing settled once and for all. Im sure that since I didnt make it to court in time to get our new arrangement of every other weekend made official, it wont even happen. The hardest part is that at any moment, this man can change everything and if I try to do anything about it, Im the bad guy.

You guys are so great

Im definately feelin' the love now! I was feeling down and its nice to have some sort of validation, even if it is stupid or silly. But you guys made it all better so yay for that!

Moving day is Monday and I can not wait. Ive been doing really stupid, mundane things to try to get ready for it but really there is little that I can do. Most of our stuff is in storage and because I had to pack everything and move it all in 7 hours, I just threw stuff in boxes. Unpacking is going to be a nightmare! Also because everything has been sitting in a storage unit for 3 months, its all going to need to be washed which will take months with a new baby Im sure. So Ive been washing what little clothes/blankets we do have with us in hopes of getting ahead a little. There were garbage bags of clothes in the garage that are now washed and refolded, ready to be moved and put into dressers again. Ive washed my bedding and put it away so that when I collapse Monday night, Ill at least have clean sheets.

Im worried about how long it will take me to get settled in the new house though. Its not like I actually have a job at the moment so I really do have loads of time, but its the babies that will keep me away from it. Josiah is only 2 months and Michael is 22 months. Both of them require a lot of attention and they are not both down for the night until about 9. Has anyone else had to move/unpack with little ones around? How did you do it?

The other down side to this whole moving thing is that I will be without internet for a few days. I tried to make the appointment for the tech to come on Wed but they didnt call me back to confirm that they had someone avail for that day. So Im guessing it will take a little longer than that so we'll have to see. Ill be missing everyone by then and Ill probably end up ignoring the towers of boxes to spend a couple hours catching up on all of your posts.

In PIF news, IVe almost got Dr. Maureen's package ready to go but Im waiting to unpack some things to decorate the box. I was just going to do something small and send it off anyway, but then time got away from me and I figured I was close enough to getting my things back anyway. For a teaser, the box inclues something from this etsy shop as well as this one. I wont tell you what Ive picked because I dont want to ruin the surprise, so you'll all just have to wait for Dr. Maureen to do her big reveal when she recieves it!

Im a comment whore

Yes, my name is Cherish and I am a comment whore.

I didnt think I would be so into all those comments, but it turns out that I do really like them. I even find myself writing silly little questions at the end of posts to encourage comments. So what is a girl to do when she does not recieve any comments for what, a week now?

I feel so sad internets. I know y'all have been coming by cause I've gotten myself a nifty little counter down there on the right. So why then is no one commenting? Even with the promise of surprise gifts that show up in your mail, you dont comment.

Oh internets, wont you gimme some comment love?

Yippie!!

Well Ive finally found a house! It is a little more expensive than my last one but the man that showed it to me had a copy of last year's power bills and they are waaay less than my last house!!! I also found out that I have a little more $ than I had thought so thats really gonna help until I go back to work in the spring/summer. It has been a good day!!!

Also Ive heard from Dr Maureen about her PIF win. Thanks Swistle for passing on that info!

So recap on contests...

I won the plain white box PIF from whimsy and held my own contest.
Dr. Maureen won that contest and will be getting the (not so)plain white box shortly.

I also down right stole this contest idea from Spuddy Buddy and will put together a prize package when I randomly draw a winner. I wont be closing that contest until I have at least 15 entries or the end of the month, which ever comes first.

I also won Chraycee's PIF and will be holding my own in a couple weeks.

Whew! Thats a lot of contests ( and links!)

The Silent Killer

Spuddy Buddy did an excellent post about ovarian cancer awareness and she is hosting a contest on her blog for anyone interested in entering.

Im hijacking her post and hosting my own contest of the same style. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me when you had your last yearly exam or a promise to make one ASAP! I haven't decided on a prize specifically and I don't want to totally steal her idea of a teal themed prize so you'll just have to wait and see...

Blah

Im feeling seriously blah lately. Im not in any particular mood really, just blah. There hasn't been much going on around here and when I come up with a topic to write about, I just don't feel like writing. Blah!

The housing situation is still crap. I have three possibilities at the moment but by tomorrow morning when I have to call them all back, they'll probably be gone. I viewed one today that I really wanted and was actually the exact price I worked out in my budget, but it was down to myself and three others. When the owners have a choice over whoever and a single mom with four kids, they pick the other person. I want to stay positive and believe that there is a house for me but Im just so frustrated with waiting.

The kids and I had a great weekend out around town. We went to a railway museum yesterday and a bbq and walk with my brother/SIL and their daughter. It was really nice. Today I went to another museum with just Josiah when the older ones were visiting their dad. It was really busy so I couldn't spend much time looking around but it was great anyway.

I haven't heard from Dr. Maureen yet about the PIF that she won. If anyone knows her, please let her know about the win and tell her to get in touch. If I don't hear from her by next week, Ill just randomly pick someone else and maybe give her the other PIF at a later date. We'll see.

Happy Monday people...

And the winner is....

Dr. Maureen! But dont fret those of you who did not win; I have won ANOTHER PIF. Oh yes! I'll wait to recieve the giftie before I post any details or host the next contest, so stay tuned...

In other news, Rayden started grade two today. He says he likes his teacher and its all the same kids as last year so it wasnt too much of an adjustment.

The other three boys and I met some friends at the park for the afternoon while we waited for school to get out:

Its so nice to have a car again. I havent been without one since Rayden was a baby and now that Ive gone four months I certainly have a new appreciation for that luxury.

There is a home for rent about 10 minutes from where I am staying now that Im not sure about. It is brand new and there is no apt in the basement (extremely common around here for two apt homes) so it is expensive. Because it is outside of he city though it is much cheaper than a similar one within. My problem is that it is $150/month more than I was paying before. Because it is so big I could take on a room mate but they would have to be someone I knew because of the kids. But Im not sure I can find someone willing to do this. Ive asked my cousin who used to visit us daily when we had our own place but she's not sure if she could swing it. I really love the house though and there is a school and daycare a few houses down. Oh my, what to do?

PIF Update and Week four

I wanted to make sure people were back from the long weekend before I closed the PIF contest and since I just got another entry, Im going to wait one more day. Tomorrow morning (don't want to give away my time zone but lets just say very early) Ill close it and announce a winner. There have been some great ideas so far and I cant wait to go shopping for it. I bought some maple syrup candies shaped as maple leaves but Michael found them and ate one so that's off the list!

Week Four:
I was back and forth about what to do with this week after everyone's wonderful suggestions. In the end I realised that I am buying a car this week and that is gift enough in itself! Next week I am joining some type of class that will get me out of the house alone one night each week. I almost went ahead and got a magazine subscription which was one of the suggestions but I decided to wait on that one for another couple of weeks. My weight hasn't changed at all since I started this which is good in that I haven't gained anything but sucky because I wanted to continue to go down a bit. Ive been eating really badly for the last two weeks so that probably has a lot to do with it. Usually I gain everything back in the few months after my babies are born so I end up being whatever I was at 9 months pregnant. This time though I am determined to not gain back any of the weight that I have already lost and try to loose a little more. We'll see how it goes though with the cold weather and holidays coming up. Im realistic about this taking a long time and I don't trust diets so it will come off slowly and that's fine with me.

Today is the last day of summer vacation for Rayden and it is raining! I get my car tonight around 6 so it is probably too late to do anything but we might go out for ice cream or something just to say goodbye to summer. Rayden asked if I could bring him out to supper tomorrow evening because it is the first day of school. We usually go to a restaurant for a meal near their birthdays and we didn't this year because he was waiting for a day when his dad and dad's gf could go too. I feel bad not bringing him because he is old enough now to know that it is a tradition in our family so I may just bring him out tomorrow night just to make up for the guilty feelings!