Summer fun

Ahhhhhh, summertime! True, not one of my favourite seasons, but it does have its....charms. I seriously hate the heat. I hate humidity more. And while I do like to take a quick dip in the boys pool to cool off, I'm rather thrilled when I have a friend invite me over for a dip in her rather larger pool.

Now, it has to be said that I work with THE most fun bunch of girls in the hospital. Some, of course are not people I would generally hang out with, but there are others I really truly enjoy being with.

Colleen being one of them. Kate being another.

So when Colleen calls me to go over to her house, it's just easier to say; 'Yes, Colleen, I'll be right there, Colleen!" Otherwise, it's a torturous barrage of "Come on Kelly, you old poop, get yer ass over here!" I went through it once before in the winter and I had a hard time living down the fact that I didn't go over. So now....there's a pool party and my attendance is mandatory. When I try to get out of it by saying the kids were in bed, we had just gotten home from Dad's birthday supper and I was in my jammies, the response from Colleen was: "So, get OUT of your jammies and get the hell over here!" *sigh* Then she hands the phone to Kate who is even more shameless. I believe her line was something like; "Kelly---YOU SUCK".

Shame...or dare...either way, I cannot back down!!

So, off come the jammies, I put on some clothes and off I went last weekend, to my Colleen's house to go swimming in her (heated) pool. Thank God it was heated because I was freezing, and what with knowing I don't like the heat, it had to be pretty darn cool for me to be freezing. I had warned her that I certainly wasn't sufficiently shaved to go swimming, but that didn't seem to matter (only to Joel, apparently!) When I arrived, Colleen, Kate and Kate's friend Jen were all there and had been knee deep in alcoholic beverages that her house boy CoCo kept feeding them in the evening (house boy=husband Joel) so my little friends were all very joyous upon my arrival, but it wasn't seeing me that made them so happy. No, no! But they were happy they had shamed me into coming over...they WON!!

I go in to the house to change and I do a cannon-ball into the water that is bath-time warm. There is steam rising off the water, it was that warm, and the air was that cool. I had a blast, and I'm really glad that I was shamed into going over. I really like these girls very much....they're good people. A little kooky, but loads of fun. Not to mention a little unpredictable.

The conversation went in a direction I sooooooo did not see coming. We were talking about skinny dipping. Had any of us done it. Colleen has (of course she had....she has a pool). I had (Kathy Kinnie's pool in grade...um..what was it?....6?....7?...I can't remember) and of course Kenny & I do from time to time in the boys' little pool (what rebels we are!!). But Kate & Jen had never. Colleen was floored. So...in their drunken state...they thought that then and there was as good a time as any!! Jen needed no coaxing, nor did Colleen. Kate was a bit apprehensive and me? Well...I was still stunned at the turn in the night's events. I went from bundled in my warm house, with my warm husband to a pool in the cool night air and possibly becoming nekked!!

Sure....what the fuck!

Colleen turns the lights out, so it's REALLY dark and we can't see each other, and off come the suits. I have to tell you...it had been YEARS since I've skinny dipped with a bunch of friends and it's funny!! I think when you're young, you start out with little inhibitions. Then you get a bit older, and think that maybe doing things like that aren't such a good idea, maybe. Then, you get to be my age, and Kate's and Colleen's and apparently you regress to the whole screw-it mind set. And it was fun.

So now when I see Colleen or Kate at work, I know we'll just giggle to each other. For the term "Full Moon" has taken on a whole new meaning!

My Old Man

My Dad--November, 2006
My Dad--on a cake!--June 23, 2007

**********My Dad!**********

He's my guy. My first "love". The guy I could always talk to. The guy who tells me dirty jokes and we sit and giggle over them. The guy whom I love to watch (and listen) tell a story. The guy who was my source of all things good as a child. I just love my dad.

And yesterday, he turned 68 years old.

I appreciate that fact that I am 38 (nearly 39) years old and I still am blessed enough to have this man in my life, and in the lives of my children. I can't even fathom my world without him in it. When I think of my relationship with him I wonder why I'm so much closer to him than I am with my mother. Is it that we're allies in the defense of mom's anger? Maybe. I don't really know. What I do know is as a kid, and even now he's the parent I can talk to without judgement. He listens to me. He only gives me a "You should..." when asked. He talks to me like I'm an adult. Maybe that's why!

I also think there's something to the whole "father-daughter" thing and the "mother-son" thing. Being a mum to two boys, I totally see the latter. Growing up, I also saw it with my mom and her boys. She always had more time for them...more patience...more--understanding. It took me a long time to be OK with that, but I now see that I got the better end of it. I got my dad. The boys always were able to talk to mom about things. I could never. They (or at least Troy) find it hard to talk to dad. It's funny isn't it?

So...here's to my father....my Old Man! May he live for another...well...may he live the rest of his years with health and happiness, and may he live with these traits for many, many years to come!

Phewph! Was that fast!

Well, it's done! My big brother is in his rental SUV headed back to Halifax where he flies out tomorrow morning early for Alberta. His lovely wife left on Thursday, as she had to get back for work! The big visit has come and gone.

Phewph! I'm exhausted!!

Everyone was on their best behaviour, I believe and as far as I can tell, there were no hurt feelings anywhere. I was EXTREMELY nice to my mother which is a feat all in itself, and everyone seemed to have really enjoyed the last two weeks. The weather could have been a little more cooperative, but what are you going to do...it's all part and parcel of living in the Maritimes and what makes us "us"!

So thanks, Derrick & Nicole for a great visit. It was so great to see you again and I know I speak for the kidlets when I say: "We love you and we miss you already!"

Out of the mouths of babes

We all know that children are innocent. They are mirrors to the reality that we sometimes deny or just choose to ignore - for now. Yesterday, my Sean was standing in front of me and looks up into the face of his mother while getting a hug. He then looks at me and very sweetly says: "Mummy, you have two chins." Of course, this isn't a malicious comment. It's just an observation. Yep...you're right Sean. Mummy has two chins.

Fuck!

Ok...so that, along with several photos taken of myself at a certain birthday party last weekend has sprung me into action. I will be 39 next weekend. The last year of my 30's. My, how they've been good to me and I'll be sorry to see them go. I have enjoyed my 30's immensely...so much so that I've decided to bring a lot of what's happened with me...in the form of F-A-T! Ugh! I've decided that I do not want to become one of these women who not only grow older, but wider. I do not want to be in my 40's and struggling to move, struggling with decreasing health, and struggling to fit into non-old-lady wears. So, the "two chin" comment sealed the deal. It's time.

They say that women do reach a point in their lives where they say; 'that's it!...I'm losing weight'. I've always said that I needed to lose weight, but it's a really hard thing to do. It did take me nearly 20 years to pack on the extra poundage I'm carrying around, so I know it's going to take a while to take it off. That thought is daunting. But I have reached the pinnacle...IT IS TIME!

Now I don't really have a horrible diet. In fact, I eat a lot of chicken, fish and very little red meat. What I do eat a lot of is: CHIPS (my most favourite snack), potatoes w/butter, pasta, and the like. I think that it's these things I need to be careful of and watch. That, and I need to get off me arse and get moving. So I've done that. I started on Sunday and as of yesterday, I've already lost 2 pounds. I want to lose 2 pounds a week for the next 25 weeks and see where I end up. That brings me to the week before Christmas. The road will be bumpy, but I'm up for it.

You know what scares me? That when I lose the fat in my face, my wrinkles will come out of hiding. Eeeeeeeeek!

Wish me luck!

A funny "boy" story

I am amazed at my little boys. They're curious, they're funny, and they're silly. Let me tell you about a little story...

I was getting ready for work one day, and it was nearly 3:00pm ... about the time I leave for my 3:30 shift. Sean comes running upstairs from the basement chanting; "I have to poop-I have to poop!" He goes to the bathroom to do his thing. No problem...he's a big boy, and he can do that himself. Not 30 seconds after Sean gets himself naked (because he couldn't be expected to poo with his shirt & socks on, now could he?) and has himself planted firmly on the flush, comes Ryan, chanting his own chant; "I have to pee-I have to pee!" I try to stop him and tell him to use the flush down stairs, but I'm too late.

I hear the familiar noise of pee hitting the flush water. But how could that be if Sean is already sitting on the flush having a poo?? Well ... let me tell you!

I walk from my room to the washroom door to see what I feared...Sean sitting on the flush with his legs open in a "V" shape and Ryan peeing in between the "V". Now Sean doesn't seem to mind this invasion of privacy, nor does Ryan seem to mind that his brother is having a poo on the flush. They are, in fact carrying on a conversation when I appear at the door screaming: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU CRAZY??"

Ryan looks up at me with those big blue eyes and I urge him to watch what he's doing so that he doesn't pee on his brother. So he turns back and then shivers (you know...the kind that men do when they pee) and he does, indeed, pee on his brother!!! Sean, who usually has a terrible temper, is still just sitting there, wondering why I've gone mad and his brother is in trouble. Like sharing the loo with one another is the absolute most natural thing in the world.

Is there such a thing that brothers could be too close???

So Ryan finishes, finally and gets himself zipped and off he goes off to wait for more of Mummy's ranting on the hygiene and privacy aspects of relieving oneself. Meanwhile, I'm washing up Sean's legs and I'm telling him; "Don't let your brother pee on you" to which he replies; "Okay, Mummy!"

Innocence.

After the whole scene was over, I stepped back and saw the humour in it. It is a funny story...and one I'm saving for their teen years.

For the love of Derrick...*snicker*

Ahhhhhh, vacation. I started two weeks vacation today and I have to say, I'm feeling a little lazy and quite relaxed, despite the buzz that surrounds the family. You see, it's now 1pm, and sometime between now and midnight tonight, the prodigal son will return to his childhood home, and with him-his bride. Personally, I'm stoked. Since Derrick has become human, he's really fun to be around. It's so nice that he has graduated from big-brother-pod-person to human being, that we can actually have conversations now and you know...he's kind of an interesting, funny guy! He married a lovely girl, whom I don't know well, but am glad that she has agreed to come back to the Maritimes to visit with her in-laws (and I hope that some of them are better behaved this time around) and perhaps I will get to know her more. Now, it's been two years since he's been home (3 for her) so the excitement and the fervor that has been building comes from missing him, and my mother's need for everything to be (in her eyes) perfect. Perfection for my mother is all in the presentation: the food, the flowers, what she's wearing, how people around her behave. Personally, I think that what would constitute everything being perfect is making sure that everyone was kind to one another, relaxed, happy and there was no snapping at those you love.

But we are talking about my mother.

In her need to make everything perfect for HER (she's the ultimate control freak!), her feathers are easily ruffled! I have vowed, out of love for the men in my life (Dad, Derrick, Troy, Kenny & the boys), and my sister-in-law, to be on my best behaviour so as to not get under her skin, or "pick on her", as she says that's what I do. I did take an opportunity this morning to remind her to be nice though, which went over (as my father would say) like a lead-fart. She jumped all over me and I simply said: "See! I'm just saying, you've been snapping at Dad all morning" (well...she was!) "...and I don't want you to ruin this visit because you've got yourself all worked up!" She told me it was because I attack her and she gets defensive, so I made her the promise...I'll behave, and I won't pick on her....BUT...if she starts picking on anyone, I will straighten her out!

She seemed cool with that.

So...we wait. Derrick is famous for arriving HOURS later than he is expected but because he's Derrick....everyone just smiles and says; "It's good to have you home!" I have learned not to wait for my big brother...it's futile. So, Sean, Ryan and I are going to hang out, do our homework, and just enjoy the fact that I am on vacation.

Because, as we all know....it's all about ME anyway!!! ;-)