one of those days...

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you are unraveling at an alarming rate? Welcome to my world....today was just one of those days! 

It started off okay, except I had the strangest urge to burst into tears, all day long! Why? No clue (and no, it isn't "that time of the month") I sat around, read and drank over-steeped tea this morning. Then I had the sudden urge to attend my 10 year high school reunion (something I swore I was going to avoid like the plague). So I had to run out this afternoon and mail off the cheque for my tickets. It had to be postmarked no later than the 4th, which apparently is today. So off I went, and while I was out, I decided to pick up a few things at hell (aka. Walmart) 

I was on my way, and stopped at a red light. Apparently my nose was sticking out a bit, because this douche in a large truck drove by me, and I saw him mouth the words "what the f*ck", so in carrying on with my happy day, I flipped him off with both hands, and screamed out the window. Yes, road rage is just something you acquire while living in GP. By this point, my heart was mushy, and the tears started rolling down my cheeks. But I stopped them right away...no way was I letting some orangoutang with a license make me cry. So into hell we went....

I was able to get everything I needed with little hassle...and the boys even listened, which was a nice surprise. 

I left hell and headed for a much nicer place (aka. Starbucks) I was hoping that a jolt of caffiene would kill my urge to bawl. Although my grande light java chip frappucino was delicious, it didn't help (and pieces of the chip stuck in my teeth, which didn't make things any better!) From there, we headed home, making a quick stop at Safeway. I got what I needed (sans basket or cart), and had it all heaped on myself. I dropped it on one of those self-checkout tables, and started scanning. Everything was going good, and I was talking to one of my friends, who was making me laugh. Then it happened....the f-ing machine wouldn't accept my $20. I mumbled, "don't cross me, you stupid machine" and asked my friend if he'd bail me out of jail after I get arrested for beating the dumb money sucker to death with a tube of pepperoni. He laughed, I laughed, and the boys thought it was hysterical every time the money popped back out of the slot. The fact that they were laughing so hard may be the very thing that saved me from committing money-sucker homicide! So I suppose it was a good thing they find humor in the smallest things....kids ARE good for something, after all!! I'm kidding...I love them like crazy. (which is a good thing, seeing as I am rather crazy!) 

So here I sit, typing out my day, and realizing that there really was no reason to cry. Maybe I just need a good nights sleep, perhaps I am coming down with a cold and am not 100%. Or maybe I just need to chug a bottle of malibu and let the good times roll!!!! xoxo

puddles are just little tiny death traps

Yesterday was our first family quading adventure. A friend of our lent us his Mule (which I believe is actually a creation from the devil himself...you will see why...) and Tom borrowed my babiest brothers Honda racing quad. We got all loaded up and hauled up to Big Mountain, which is not actually a mountain, but really just a large hill, or pack of hills all put together, with a "river" running through the middle of it. We got the quads and devil-beast unloaded, got all geared up in paintball attire (as to keep ourselves dryer than if we had just worn sweats and stuff). I buckled the boys in the passenger seat of the mule, and we headed off on the trails. 

The first part of the ride was good. The boys laughed with glee as I sloshed through the puddles, splashing muddy water all about. They laughed as they watched their Uncle Danny get his Outlander STUCK in a puddle, and giggled when he rocked the quad and managed to submerge himself in a man-made tidlewave of muddy water. I should mention, this was literally 5 minutes into the ride, and Danny was SOAKED. 

We carried on our way, and came up to the "river". It was so shallow, the water didn't even come over the tires of the mule. We got parked and waited for everyone to cross. When we came upon the river, we ran into more friends of ours, and they decided to bring their Jeep YJ's down the trails with us. So now here we were, Me, Zack and Jesse on the mule...Tom, Danny, Shar, Tory and Frank on their quads, and then we had 4 people in 2 Jeeps...we were ready to rock! 

We were clipping along, all having a good time, and we came upon this puddle. There was A LOT of water in it. There was a really mucky path to the left of it, and a very dry and smooth path to the right of it. I was instructed, by 2 people, to STAY TO THE LEFT, it is very deep! I questioned the right path, and was again instructed to stay left. So I listened to them, as they were already on the other side. I started off fine, but the mule is a lot wider than their quads, it hit a rut and sucked us into the puddle-abyss. Of course the passenger side is what went in first...where my 2 boys are buckled in! Zack's arm dunked into the water, and they were at this point SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER. I fully understand, it was rather scary! Tom, Danny and Tory were across the puddle, watching this take place, and everyone else was behind me. I hurled myself out of the mule, and got to the other side (I still have no idea which way I went, as I can't actually remember that part) I was standing in the puddle, waist deep in dark murky muddy water, while my kids were both crying hysterically. I was holding the mule up with my left hand, and stabilizing my kids with my right. The wheels were off of the ground on the drivers side, and the whole right side of the mule was submerged. I managed to get the boys unbuckled, and handed them off to the people behind me (they all ran up behind me at some point, but I can't remember that, either). I kept a firm grip on the roll cage, as that was keeping it from dumping even more into the water. I got both  boys safely out, and Frank grabbed my arm and helped me out of the abyss. Tom was, at that point, in the mule trying to crank it over, to no avail. We had the Jeep behind us, and they hooked up a tow rope. Tom was in the drivers seat, Danny, Frank and Tory were standing on the drivers side (and that is what it took to level that sucker out!) The Jeep was spinning its tires, sliding all over the trail trying to free the demon-beast from the man-made lake/puddle. Finally, after the third try, it was freed. I can't honestly remember what happened after that...I think someone drove it around the right side path (the one I had intended on taking, but was told otherwise) and we got back to it. Zack was now riding with Shar, and Jesse was petrified, and crying, and riding with me. 

We carried on for a while, a bit slower and more cautious, everyone riding with me in their sites, and we came to a very steep hill. I threw the beast in low and motored on. Halfway up the embankment, the crap-can stalled out. I had my foot on the brake so hard, I believed it was about to punch through the floor. I yelled back at Tom and he came running up beside me. The beast from hell had to be turned over with a screwdriver...yes, it is a fine piece of machinery. So Tom ran up and started it up for me, and then told me I had to two-foot drive it up. I slid my horribly muddy foot to the right on the pedal, so my left foot could brake while the right foot accelerated. We made it up the hill, but by this point, Jesse was hysterical. We finished the trail and came to a cut line. We all breaked for a well-deserved drink and mini-chocolate bars. There was no cohersing Jesse back to the trail, so Tom, Zack, Jes and I motored off down the cut line, back to the parking lot. We made it down the "mountain" safely, but I had to avoid all puddles, as even the sight of them made Jesse and Zack go ballistic. We made it back to the parking lot, got the boys into their clean sweats, got them into the safety of their car seats, and they turned on their Nintendo DS's. They were finally happy. Tom and I peeled our nasty muddy clothes, and got into some dry stuff. It was that point that everyone else showed up, stating that it was a good thing we didn't try to carry on with the path, as the quads were getting stuck, and the mule would have been a goner! So I suppose Jesse saved us some heartache by being a rampaging lunatic! 

It was an okay day. Did I have fun? Sort of. Is it something I would do again? No. Would I do it with my own quad and no children? Hells ya! Because even though I was covered in mud, and really cold and uncomfortable, I enjoy quading! Just next time, I won't be riding with 2 screaming kids, nor will I be driving the spine-compactor from hell!!!!

times are changing

Times are changing in the Gordon household. The days are getting shorter, and the air is getting cooler. The nights are getting darker and longer, and morning is coming a little later than usual. The flowers are starting to wither, and the grass is getting ready to sleep. The color of the scape is turning from a wicked nice green, to more of a blah-ass yellow. Ah yes, it is beginning to look a lot like autumn! Damn-it. 

I am a summer girl, through and through. The hotter - the better!! I loved this past summer. My boys are both big enough that I can let them run around in the backyard with little, to no, supervision. And they played together soo good this year! We put a big-ass play center in our backyard this year, and the boys loved it. They had little adventures in the fort, played on the swings, screamed as the hot plastic burned their little asses on the way down the slide, and they nearly smashed out our fence while zooming on the glider. Yes, it was a good summer. 

We had a family reunion at our house this year. I got to see faces I haven't seen in years, some faces I've never met before, and faces that I see on a regular basis. It was great to have all of those people (nearly 30) in my 1300 sq ft house, in July, in the heat, without a/c! Actually, it wasn't that bad. I get energized by people, so having that many around was really good for my energy level. Also, we have a good sized back yard, fully equipped with the aforementioned play center, and a sand box, and an awesome inflatable bouncy thing. Plus, we bought some sweet-ass patio furniture just for the occasion. (okay, maybe not JUST for the occasion, as I was eyeing up patio stuff anyways, but this gave me an excuse to get it sooner than we may have otherwise!) 

The summer was good to me. It was good. Now it is leaving...and it seems it is not just leaving, but it is hauling ass out of here, with some sort of crazy vengeance! It was hoooot just a few measly weeks ago, and now it is not even hitting 20 degrees. I mean seriously, what the hell! I blame people who complain about the heat. Revel in it people, for it doesn't last long in this province! Enjoy the heat, welcome it, LOVE it, for the winter months last a hell of a lot longer in this are of the world. Winter is fine, whatever. I can't tell you how much I adore snow, and shoveling, and the three freaking hours it takes to get everyone ready to go out and brave the sub-zero temperatures. It rocks. And this year I have the necessary pleasure of braving the elements more frequently than I have in the past. 

See, my oldest son is starting kindergarten on Tuesday. That's right, my first baby will soon be a school-goer. It not only blows my mind, but also bums me fairly hard. He is growing up, and there is nothing I can do about it. Now I get all of the added stress of worrying about him while he is out of my grasp. I am sure he will be fine, and this will give me and my youngest some more bonding time (and potty training fighting time). Still, it's a shock to the system when they have a 'first' like this one. 

Times are changing.... The grass is dying (at least the parts that survived the dog poo and the buckets of sand dumped on it by my kids this summer), the air is chilling, kids are heading back to school (my baby being one of them this time), and yet in some strange way, everything is still the same. Funny how that happens......

today is June 9th.

Today is June 9th. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, my grass is green (in the spots that isn't still dead from the poo!) and my kids are running amok upstairs. Ah yes...the joys of summer!
My oldest son, Zack, has been waking up so early the last few weeks. He sees that it is light, which makes him believe it is time to arise. Ya right...it is light out at 5 am now! Perhaps I need to garbage bag his window....
My youngest son, Jesse, turned 3 on Saturday. I can't believe how fast it goes by! I still remember 3 years ago, being in my last week of pregnancy with him...the last 4 nights of counting contractions, the drive into the hospital to have him, all of the crap that went down to have him....*the doctor won't come in to do your epidural because he is too tired - he'll be in at 11 (it was 5 am at that point), getting my water broken, all of the poking and prodding, the non-stop exams to figure out why he was stuck, the discovery that his umbilical cord was wrapped around him, the split second decision to cut him out of me, the group of nurses quickly removing my jewelry and nail polish for my surgery, throwing up all over the nurse in the OR from that nasty little cup of crap they make you chug, having a panic attack because my spinal was up too high and I couldn't feel myself breathing, and then the wonderful moment where they laid him on my chest* Ah yes, still all so fresh in my memory!
Speaking of babies...my good friend had a little boy on the 4th! He is just so cute. I love fresh little babies! All the jerky movements, the gurggly noises, the toothless little mouths...SO CUTE! I do hope I will get the chance to spend more time with them before they move away this summer.
Speaking of summer....my cousin is going to be living with me for 2 months this summer! It should be fun - built in babysitter! Just kidding.... I haven't seen her in 2 years, so I am pretty excited. She's never played Wii, if you can believe that! I will have her addicted to it by August, I promise!
Speaking of August.....we will have lived in this house for 1 year in August. That hasn't happened since Jesse was still a baby. The longest we've lived in one place (since Jes was a year old) was, well, the 10 months we've lived in this place. How sad is that! And now there are talks to move us to Calgary. UGH! I should open my own U-haul :)
But I can't be too glib about things....after all, today is June 9th. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and god-willing, my grass will be green again one day :)

sunshine, flowers and patchy grass

My 6th anniversary was on Sunday. My husband and I celebrated this by spending the day, apart, while working at a paintball tournament at our friends field. Oh how fun! I got to spend the day virtually by myself, sitting on the counter, watching South Park, Family Guy and Transformers on Tom's i-pod. JOY!! But whatever...I spent the day in the sunshine, amongst the bugs, and got some fresh air.
I stopped at a greenhouse on the way home and spent 70 bucks on flowers. I masterminded my flower arrangements this year. My Grandma usually picks them, plants them, etc. So this year I was on my own. I picked the color scheme (pink, purple and white), which flowers went in which pots (I have 5), and the way they were to be arranged. I was rather proud of myself! I was so much more proud when I actually got them all planted on Monday afternoon. Oh how pretty they all look! Now I just hope that the freaking wind doesn't kill them all before I get to really appreciate them!!
Speaking of appreciation...I do NOT appreciate my lawn! Last year it was so nice and green. I watered it, weeded it, fertilized it, etc. I even put down some special winter fertilizer before it snowed. Fat lot of good that did!!! My husband, bless his retarded soul, decided that cleaning up our dogs crap was unnecessary. So the poo sat on my lawn, and festered, for months! I finally went out and removed it, only to find that the grass underneath it all had decided to end it's own life. Sad sad sad. My backyard looks like the desert, with a few sparse patches of green. Not pleased! My front yard isn't bad, but we have a few rogue dead patches....perhaps we had meandering dogs piss everywhere over the winter. Who knows! I ordered some special "dog pee/poo, dead grass, patchy non-growing grass" seed on the weekend - and I am rather excited for it to come!! The infomercial looked promising. A friend of mine joked that we were going to be sent 2 cans of green spray paint. I hope, for the sake of humanity, that I don't get spray paint in the mail! I may just go crazy. My lawn, and my sanity, requires some pretty kick-ass seed right now.
Because we can't have the beautiful sunshine and pretty flowers ruined by the poo-killed grass now, can we?

energy

In high school health class, I remember taking a test. It was a test to see if we, as the students, were more introverted or extroverted. I remember the questions seemed odd, but the outcome was dead on. I was classed as a strong extrovert - meaning I fed off of other people, got energized when I was around people, etc. And I find that test is still very accurate today.
I've noticed that when I am alone for long periods of time, I get sad. I have no reason to be sad, but I feel very very sad. If I don't talk to people, I get sad. If I am excluded from things, my feelings get hurt very easily, and I get sad. It sucks! I wish it weren't so, but alas, it is.
On the other hand though, when I am around people, I am very upbeat and happy. When I have a lot to do, I am more energized than when I am at home. Although running errands may seem mundane and exhausting, I get a charge out of it. I get amped up when I am in a group of people. I get energy from talking to people. When I have plans to do stuff, I tend to stay in a better mood throughout my days.
It makes no sense. But I get sad for no reason, and happy for strange reasons. I know that most people will say that that is just human nature, but when I don't talk to people, I feel completely lonely. I could be sitting beside someone, and feel as lonely as if I was all alone.
Perhaps I am insane? Perhaps I need to seek professional help? NAH. I'm just a strong extrovert - and I am a people person. And there is nothing wrong with that.

random randomness

Okay....so I have become a total bum for blogging. I apologize to the only people who read this....ERIN! Sometimes life gets in the way of life. I am not sure how it happens, but it does! I intend on writing a very stern letter to the person who runs my life, insisting that I take some more time to breathe (and blog). I hope it will be well received. And considering I will be the one who reads it, I wouldn't count on it. HA HA HA! I am making myself sound like a stark raving mad lunatic. AND IT'S FUN!
The sun is shining, my grass is growing (in the spots that isn't dead from the rampaging dog that pissed all over it this fall), my flowers are beginning to bloom....who doesn't love this time of year!?!?! I am still petrified that it is going to snow again...but I am hoping that it won't. I planted a Prairifire Crab tree last night (we had NO tree's on our property...that is just sad!) And I don't want my little tree to die! So, cross your fingers.
My anniversary is on Sunday. 6 years. I can't freaking believe that 6 years has already gone by. And what will we be doing that day, you ask? WELL! Tom will be at the paintball field, reffing a tournament. I've been asked to help, as they are short on able hands. Sounds like a party to me......Annoying as hell paintball players, all stinky and painty, being annoying as hell, and driving me up the wall. Yep! That sounds like the perfect anniversary to me! May even beat out last year...and last year our hotel started on fire, and we were evacuated to the middle of the street at 2am. Gotta tell ya, the Calgary Tower looks beautiful against the glare of the bouncing Fire Truck lights :)
That is my world. I am a bum, married to a bum, and we have 2 cute little bums. (the boys I mean, I am by no means complimenting my ass!!!)