PEE

Everyday I deal with pee in various ways.

Sounds gross already, doesn't it?

Today for example, I went into our main bathroom, beside my bedroom and found a large puddle making it's may to the door. Definitely pee. I didn't even have to check, Im that used to it. No one claimed responsibility.

Maybe an hour later, same bathroom; pee all over the toilet seat. This time I know it's my 6 year old's. He cleans it himself.

Through-out the day I performed the normal diaper changes for my 2 year old.

While sitting in my formal living room this afternoon, I noticed a smell that had been around for a couple of days. This smell (of pee) seemed to be coming from a chair we keep in the corner near the window. This same chair was a favorite spot for my now 3 year old when he was potty training but hadn't smelled previously. Upon further inspection, I find the cat bed which lays behind the chair, directly on the hardwood to be soaking with cat pee.

After experiencing a little fit over that *** who doesn't clean the damn cat box when he is supposed to, I sent the older two kids to clean their disgusting rooms. What emerged, was insanity. Pee soaked clothes headed for the laundry probably days after being soiled, wet spots on the carpet from either the above mentioned clothes or from cats looking for a clean (ha!) spot, and bed sheets which were not wet but had that distinct smell. DISGUSTING!

Then to top it all off, (and they're not even in bed yet) my two year old fell asleep in my bed this afternoon and woke with a soaked through diaper.

Between four boys and three cats, it's amazing I still have my sanity.

Summer

Most summers start with big intentions and long lists outlining all the things I plan to do with the kids. Then, by the time September rolls around again we've barely done anything and all those promises I've made to the kids are left unfulfilled. Take last year; We went out and bought camping supplies, then before we could go I broke my ankle and was left unable to walk for weeks.

This year though, Im determined to give my kids the kind of summer I experienced as a kid. We did stuff and had fun. We weren't confined to out backyard everyday, (like my kids were last year) and we actually knew how to ride bikes (yes that means that only my oldest can ride a bike without training wheels).

There's not a whole lot of things to do in this city however and I usually have to really dig to find inexpensive family activities. This past weekend, Jason and Owen were out of town visiting family so it was just the older three kids and I, from Friday until Monday. We didn't have a vehicle but we decided to go for it and do as much as we could. It's not everyday that I get to be stroller-free on outings.

So Saturday we spent the morning doing our usual routine of lazing around and cleaning. Then, around 11am we left for an adventure that included 7kms of walking, ice cream at McDonalds, 2 family festivals, a visit with a friend, a trip to walmart and yes, a ride in a taxi. We got home completely exhausted but after a short break, one of my brothers picked us up for a pool party/bbq at Ross and Melissa's house. By the time we got home, the kids were beat and went to bed without much fuss while Mommy enjoyed a glass of wine and the quiet!

Sunday saw us walk to a nearby restaurant for breakfast followed by a trip to the candy store to spend the gift cards all three kids had been saving. We had a lazy couple of hours while I had a nap and roasted a chicken for dinner, but then we were off again. This time we went to one of the parks on our street and played for a long time with some neighbourhood kids. I even made a friend with another mom of four who lives on our street. Before heading home, the boys wanted to go for a walk along a stream that runs behind our house. They spent probably a half hour throwing rocks and other items into the water, while I sat patiently by. Eventually after the youngest had gotten his shoes all wet I convinced them to return home where we turned on the sprinkler and washed away all the dust and dirt from the day.

It was a fun weekend and exactly what summer is supposed to be.

Helping

Hey

So I was going to write today about all sorts of things going on in our lives right now. I figured that since it had been so long since I last wrote, it was time to update you all.

But instead, when I logged onto facebook this morning I was greeted with a request by a family I knew back when I first became a mom. We were both very young moms together and spent a lot of Micah's first year playing with them. Then I moved to the city and we lost contact, other than through facebook.

I heard last year that her youngest daughter was born at 24 weeks and has been struggling ever since. Her lungs didn't have any time to develop and so she has been fighting to breathe and has not yet left the hospital. Her family live about an hours drive from the children's hospital here and if that wasn't enough of a burden with five other children, they've just received news that they'll have to travel to another province on Monday to see a lung specialist.

This is not a well off family. They're not even middle class. This is a young, struggling family with a child who desperately needs help.

Her aunt posted today asking for any financial help people can spare. One of the downsides of being poor yourself, is that most of the people you know are poor too. I've contacted her aunt about how to donate myself, but I thought I would pass on the request to anyone else out there who might be in the position to give.

If you would like to read more about little Amy Lee, visit her facebook group here
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150526628308&v=wall

It was time

Giving

If you're in the giving mood, please visit this blog. Unfortunately this month, I can't afford to give but I'm keeping them in my reader and I'll look again in the coming months.

Spring!

It's been beautiful here all week. The snow is finally starting to melt and bits of grass and mud are poking through. It's so exciting! If it wasn't for this nasty head cold, I would have been out in it so much more. :(

Today Owen and I went to church and then we picked up our friend Victoria for a visit to the international food and craft fair. It was part of my province's multiculturalism week and it was amazing. There was tons of great food, crafts and dancing. I forgot my camera, of course but I'll include some pics taken at home of what I bought.

Owen's just finally gone down for his nap so Im enjoying the quiet. The boys get home in another hour from their dad's house and Im just not prepared! I always have such a long list of things I want to accomplish on the weekends, but I only get around to like half of it. Once they come through the door today, Im sure I'll be even less productive. But it's worth it.

One of the big themes in my life right now is about letting go. I'm learning to enjoy all that I have and the gift of each day. It's amazing how much happier I am now that I've given up trying to get everything right. Stressing myself out to keep my house clean was only damaging myself and my family. In my mind, I was doing it for them, but in reality I was taking myself away from them.

Im so glad I had the chance to learn this lesson now and not when the kids were grown.

Anyway, Happy Spring everyone! I'm going to take a nap ;)

papa

My grandfather passed last Tuesday evening in Ontario. My brothers and I got the call late Tuesday night and weren't able to get on a flight until early Thursday morning. The next few days were physically exhausting and emotionally draining as we went through the business of a wake, funeral, burial and various family gatherings. I arrived home around 1am Saturday night and other than a couple hours to clean the kitchen and grocery shop, I've been in bed. The exhaustion that Im feeling is more than trying to catch up on missed sleep or the fatigue that comes from travelling. Im trying to get back to normal, but it's slow going.

Jason's been wonderful and the kids have been surprisingly good. I don't have to go back to work until tomorrow, which is really good because I'd be useless anyway. Even the thought of having to pick up a skating helmet for Micah tonight seems so overwhelming.

I wasn't super close to my grandfather. We've lived in different provinces for over 8 years and I only visited him once during that time. Growing up though, he only lived a few streets away and I saw him nearly every day. He is the person I think of when I hear the words grandpa or grandfather or papa, like I used to call him. I named my son after him. He meant a lot to me, even though I really didn't know very much about his final years. He will be missed.