You can link to it on my blogroll over on the side, or click on the link here (if it works):

http://mewsfromuni.blogspot.com

The title might seem odd, “Mews from Uni” but hers is half of a duo. I have the other half and mine is about mews from home and features a couple of cats. Get it? “Mews” instead of “News”? Ha ha ha! So hers is in the same form, punning the use of “news” from university.

I took a vacation day to spend with Kristen while she got ready for her prom.  It was such a beautiful day out and she had hoped to get pictures taken at the beach near our home.  The first photos are just of her as her companion/date was missing in action.  It turns out he was waiting for her at a different beach and both were momentarily puzzled as to why they couldn’t see each other.  It didn’t take long to realize that Branden was waiting at a beach a few kilometers from us!

Posing for the camera

Thanks to cellphones and texting, the confusion was sorted out and Branden finally joined us. When they arrived Branden presented Kristen with a gorgeous corsage. It was instant love. The flowers were Kristen’s favourite colour (can you guess? It’s pink!), there was added bling just for her AND there was a beautiful gentle scent of roses. It was one of her favourite accessories and it sits in a place of honour in her room.

A little bling

The bracelet is “something borrowed”, borrowed from and also worn by cousin Meaghan when she graduated a few years ago. The earrings were made by an Irish relative in Northern Ireland who designs jewellery and accessories.
 

Kristen and friend Branden

Another peek at Kristen’s gorgeous hairdo:

Kristen's beautiful hairdo

A few family members stopped by to see Kristen and Branden so they got in for some photos too. This photo shows Branden’s younger sister posing beside him (check out their family dimples! So adorable) and behind Kristen is her aunt and nana while her little cousin is in front of her.

Family join in

Here are a few more photos of Kristen with her aunt and nana from later in the day. Before the actual prom the students gather in the atrium of a shopping/business area and then parade for family and friends. Prior to that march however everyone is jam-packed into a small area, milling around and snapping lots of photos. Two of these photos were taken there while waiting for the parade to start.

Kristen with family

The middle photo is with Kristen’s nana and poppa, taken right after she graduated.  Kristen had to return the gown immediately following grad and she was dashing out the door to catch the safe grad bus leaving to take the kids to safegrad celebrations at the high school. She disappeared into the night as soon as we took that picture.

Kristen discovered a kindred spirit in that throng of prom go-ers ~ another girl sporting Converse sneakers!  Matching her dress!

Next up is the prom march…or what I call the gauntlet. A couple of hundred onlookers (a conservative estimate) line a path by which the prom attendees walk. It can be overwhelming even for those used to the spotlight let alone anyone who is quiet or prefers staying behind the scenes. You can see on Kristen’s face that even she was shocked by the sheer size of the crowd gathered to watch the parade.

The gauntlet!

We were lucky with the mild weather and enjoyable evening. The parade went outside the building and gave the audience lots of room and fresh air. A previous night’s graduating class paraded inside and through the hall when pouring rain cramped their plans. It was hot and terribly squished for everyone. But for us it was a lovely night outside and there wasn’t too much jostling for room among the crowd.

(By the way, you two… that arm thing you have going on? The guy is supposed to be the lead and Kristen, you should be taking his arm! Fortunately this was a training run for Branden’s grad in 2 years. Kristen blessed him with this opportunity so his turn will be perfect)

The march ends inside the ballroom where visitors are invited in to watch the first dance. It is tradition that the grad have the first dance with a parent. This was news to me but John and Kristen both knew about it. Finding your child in that tangle of people though…everyone spreading out and looking for the parent or child? Whew! I think everyone matched up in time for the first dance. The dance floor was packed like sardines and elbows and hips bounced off other people at every turn or move. That first dance (and I can’t remember the song…) lasted a long time as you can see by Kristen’s face. She wasn’t there to dance with her Dad (sorry Dad)! Like all the other teens, she wanted the loud new music to rock out to!

First dance with her father

The next night was graduation. Nana and Poppa came with us. These two deserve a medal. This was their 9th graduation at the same place. Some years back they attended the graduations of all 6 kids and in the last couple of years, watched 3 of their grandchildren pass through the same doors.  They also attended another grandchild’s graduation in Fredericton the previous night. Hey, only 8 more to go ~ they got a “2 in 1″ deal with our two. They both graduated the same year and only one opted for the activities!

Kristen and a Friend now graduated!

Safe grad was a blast according to Kristen, when I picked her up the following morning at the cruel hour of 6 am. That was a nasty final surprise for me ~ kudos for keeping that one quiet for so long guys! It was only after the grad ceremony when another parent was lamenting the early rise n’ shine the next day to pick up her grad that I learned how safe grad kids were getting home!!

The safe grad committee outdid themselves in giving the kids an outstanding night. There was a ride-on bull, a casino, a games centre, a blown-up obstacle course…and food. Lots and lots of food stations: pizza, ice-cream & sundaes, the chocolate fountain ~ you name it, it was there. Kristen loved it. I know we slept easily on grad night knowing our daughter was safe.  Thank you to the organizers ~ you deserve a standing ovation!

Finally…a  favourite photo of Kristen. I think of it as her off to chase her dreams.
 

I went offline for a while as you can tell from my posts.  I forget sometimes who I blog for ~ family and the few friends I have left in the world.  It is the easiest way for family to keep in touch aside from Facebook.  Although I use Facebook I’m not as keen on it as I am blogs.  Facebook does not have my best interests at heart and I always wonder what it is up to behind the scenes.  Canada has stricter guidelines regarding privacy and Facebook has run into a few problems that it had to sort out to be used here.  So, for quick updates on people it is useful but aside from that, not so much.

If you popped in periodically over the months, thank you for not giving up on me.  If you didn’t, well nice to see you again!  I keep in touch by reading my list of blogs to read.  Honestly though, some have gone so far to advertising and promoting a business that stemmed from blogging that I lost interest and ceased dropping in those ones.  When I have a moment I will update the blogroll I have as it is out of date and some of those blogs aren’t there anymore.

Today let’s do a recap of whatever is news.  The BIG one is this:

Kristen's grad

GRADUATION!  Yabba Dabba Doo!  Kristen and Mathew graduated from high school!

Both graduated with honours!  Mathew chose to ignore all graduation activities and instead spent time with movies and games.  Kristen participated in most events and thoroughly enjoyed herself.  I will definately follow with more (a special post perhaps).

This summer passed by quickly.  That happens when the weather is lousy and you get some nasty skin infection.  I also had 2 teeth pulled out and ingrown nails cut out.  Oh happy bliss just the way I wanted to pass the time.

Kristen got her driver’s license this summer!  About 5 minutes after that she drove off into summer and we didn’t see a lot of her until just before school started.  It was heart thumping handing over the keys to the car shortly after she got her license.  One minute they aren’t considered responsible enough to drive on their own…the next minute the government changes its mind and declares them fully capable.  The first time she drove off I had to push my stomach down out of my throat.  I know her driving is good (ahem, I taught her!) but what about all those other crazy drivers out there?  The drunk ones?  The sleepy ones or the psycho ones who don’t know the precious cargo that particular car has?  Be still my crazy heart!

I know what it means to let go and it isn’t easy.  I’m thinking it might be time to take up an evening sip or two, just to relax!!

The other huge change that happened is that Kristen left for University.  That’s right folks, our little bright-eyed happy toddler morphed into a beautiful young lady who left us behind!  She is now living on campus, studying her first year of psychology at Saint Thomas University.  It is a small campus/university adjacent to the northwest corner of the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton campus.  She is loving her world up there and we are thankful she is just over an hour away.  We were permitted to visit her once last weekend, which turned out very well for her as she moved residences that weekend…. she moved from an off-site residence to one located at the campus itself. 

To say that we miss her is an understatement.  Having once been her age myself (in the dinosaur era the kids tell me), I remember the impact on me leaving home wasn’t terribly traumatic.  I wanted to go and I loved the freedom but not the poor and broke status.  I didn’t exactly spend hours thinking about those I left behind.  So I wouldn’t expect that from Kristen as she heads off into her adventure.  It’s just that it SUCKS when you are the parent and it’s your beloved child who leaves.  We did our job well and she certainly was ready.  After about 10 minutes of shoving her boxes into her dorm room, she smiled grandly as she shooed us out the door and sent us packing.  Not ready!  not ready!  Not you, kid ~ us!!  When people warned us it was hard but we’d get used to it they didn’t quite explain the “hard” is more like a knife cutting a piece of heart out and watching it walk away.  The big hole that it left behind and the pain of its absence.

We are three weeks into her first semester and yes, it is a bit easier.  That feeling was helped by popping up to say hello last week and ending up moving her again plus hiking stairs and stairs and stairs.  With little things like fridges, microwaves, boxes of clothes. 

For Mathew, his path is a little different.  He hit the partial magical age of 18 where he is half an adult here.  Although some services are open to him now others won’t be available until he is 19.  We applied to the government for his disability and the medical board convened and determined he has a long and severe disability and is thus eligible for Social Assistance.  This is a monthly stipend from the government on which is he is expected to live and pay for everything.  The full and maximum amount he can receive is $614/month.  Yes, that is for accommodations, food, bills, clothing ~ you name it.  Due to him residing at home the government claws some back so he actually receives about $540 a month.  There was some kind of allowance just added, of roughly $80 month, to help cover the winter costs of higher heat and electricity plus winter clothing, etc.  As grateful as I am that he can collect money from the government that is a sad amount.  What would he do if he didn’t have us?  How on earth would he survive on that?

Mathew is now at a place called Key Industries.  It is a non-profit organization that has a silk-screening business as well as day programmes for its clients.  For now Mathew chooses not to be involved in the silk-screening side of things, so his structured day is more like a day camp.  He is happy there and enjoys the people he hangs out with.  There are classes on life skills, activities like library and art and excise classes.  Key Industries is about 2 short blocks from my work and I drop him off on my way to work in the morning.  John picks him up after he finishes for the day, or if he is working late then Mathew walks to my work and hangs out there until my quitting time rolls around.

Our next step with Mathew is to establish a trusteeship.  This will require visits to a lawyer and lots of paperwork.  Without it however, John and I only have an informal arrangement with Mathew to help run his affairs.  It isn’t enough though and we don’t have access to things like his bank account, medicare the government provides for him, etc.  It is frustrating that for 18 years we are his parents and caregivers then in the space of a day he is deemed fully capable of running all of his own affairs and we no longer have “legal” permission to do so.  The process isn’t easy and hey, trying to get lawyers to return phone calls?  Good.luck.chuck!

John finished his apprenticeship and is now a red seal journeyman instrumentation technician (technologist?).  It was a very long road and he worked hard to ensure high marks during the academic portions of the apprentice process.  We are very proud of him.  Another good chunk of time this spring and early summer was spent building a new deck out back.  John and his brother tore the old one down and put up a grand new one complete with glass railings.  A gazebo was bolted to the deck to provide shelter and shade with awesome results.  We adored the time we spent on the deck this summer.  What a difference it made to the appearance of the back of the house.  It even has a stairway leading to the back yard!  The original deck was only accessible through the house and didn’t connect to the yard at all.  This deck has the lovely stairs with white aluminum railings running down to the lawn.  Given our wet summer the deck was a saviour ~ the bottom of the yard and dock area was too wet and muddy to use this year, so we opted for the chairs under the canopy.  It felt like we were on a cruise ship because the view is of the lake.  The few sunny days we had were enjoyed to the max out there.

I have lots of pictures to update at a later time.  It’s late and slumber calls!  I will be back ultra soon for more.

I struggle sometimes with this blog.  I think many bloggers have dry spells or blocks of time where other things take up their time.  For me I always get back to the people I’m writing about and the situations I find myself in.  How much do I share?  What business do I have talking about others?  Who is reading this that might be hurt by something I say? 

I find myself at a crossroads and at a difficult time right now.  Life is changing and the next few months might be tough.  In fact, I expect it to be very hard on a few of us.  A period of change is fast approaching and I feel exhaustion already setting in before I even get started.

Both kids are graduating high school in a few months.  One is headed off for university and the other…well… we’re not sure, exactly.  He has reached the end of the line as far as “youth” goes and so the approach and transformation to adult begins. 

It isn’t going well.

It’s scary for him.

Since the start of grade 12 Mathew has experienced an increase in anxiety and fear.  All that he has known is about to change and it is scaring him.  When he is anxious his behaviour nose dives and takes all of us with him.

Then Christmas came and went.  For those familiar with this family, you know that is the time of year that I dread.  I would boycott if possible but that hasn’t happened yet.  We got through this year and it really wasn’t as bad as other years at all.  It might be due to no decorations or fuss.  There was no tree to trim, no gaily coloured decorations adorning the walls or nooks and crannies.  Aside from a few strings of lights and a wreath that John hung out the front door, there was nothing to indicate Christmas was coming.  The gifts were wrapped xmas eve and as per our norm, Mathew knew what 90% of them were.  He made it to Christmas Eve night ~ midnight ~ before he opened the boxes and got down to the business of playing with his stuff.

The big help this year?  School let out at noon on Christmas Eve!  I didn’t mind it being late at all as it kept the kids busy.  Busy kids can’t cause trouble!  I worked xmas eve and got off at noon as well.

Back to my main point though, change is afoot and with it the chaos and confusion that makes life extra hard for Mathew.  We have to call around and apply for all different kinds of programmes, disability notices and agencies to get Mathew the kind of aide and guidance he needs once high school is finished.  There are 2 streams we need to approach for him…with him…. one being financial and the other being support.  It means trips to the doctor, calling different agencies, seeing different people and filling out endless forms and going to interviews.  Honestly, I have never recovered from the years of all that shit we’ve endured so far and this time it is worse.

This time it feels like I am sticking a knife in my heart.  This time there is no turning back.  We can’t hope or pretend that Mathew will suddenly pop up one morning, normal and raring to go as a regular adult.  Each phone call we make and each piece of paper we fill out takes away one more bit of that life we had hoped he would have.  Every day brings him closer to the reality of his life and takes him away from our dreams for him.  It is so much harder to do than it sounds.

I have spent much of the last 6 months talking to Mathew about his future and what it may bring.  It meant brining him down to reality and presenting more realistic options as to what the near future will bring him.  We need to get a disability certificate issued for him and to have him assessed as an adult.  Then we will see what, if any, assistance (both financial and support) he qualifies for.

We have done a bit already.  And guess what?  It looks like Mathew might have a gap year where once again he falls through the cracks.  A lot of the programmes offered in this province start at age 19.  Not 18.  But he is going to graduate in June when he is 18.  Someone forgot to think things through and the options to keep him busy until he is 19 are very few.  Him, sitting at home for hours on end, by himself day after day is an option that makes me shudder with fear.  Anyone would go nuts with that to look forward to.  He is no different.

So, while we prepare to send our daughter away to University and deal with all the emotional stuff attached to that, we are also dealing with the work and stress of moving a disabled child into the next chapter of his life.  To one of an adult.  I am so excited and enthused for Kristen to head out into her next adventure.  I can see her mindset slowly changing from a dependent child still at school to one who is eager to jump out of the next and make her way on her own.  I am gonna miss that girl terribly.  She is so ready though and I remember the excitement as I left “home” and took off for my adventure. 

I am so not ready to jump into that ocean of forms/doctors/appointments etc, etc, etc.  I do not want to talk about Mathew’s disabilities or abilities one more time.  To try to describe Mathew to people who don’t know him.  To try to get him what he needs while retaining our sense of family and privacy.  There isn’t much privacy when filling out these forms and answering everyone’s questions.  It has to be done but I hate all of it.  If I believed something wonderful would emerge for Mathew from all of this, then maybe I would be more eager.  The last 18 years of the very same shit got us almost nowhere and it took all of my energy.  Now I have to scrape together some more for the next phase.

Not only that but our dreams as a couple and as parents had to shift.  Hubby and I look around us and see other families with older teens and it is glaringly obvious that our life is not headed the way we thought it would.  Other parents get that “coupledom” back ~ they can go out together for an evening, maybe even a weekend.  They can pick up a hobby, meet friends on a schedule.  Take a course.  Reinvent themselves.

Not us.  Mathew might be about to turn 18 but he is still very much a child.  He can handle a day or so at home if there is food left for him that he can easily access.  He will use the microwave to cook leftovers or prepare a frozen dinner but that is it.  He goes from his room to the computer and that is it.  He gets lonely and I get the calls.  He doesn’t like being home alone in the dark and with winter it gets dark before I get home.  Sometimes his mood swings send him down into an emotional tailspin and I get the calls.  Sometimes I leave work early just to go be with him.

John and I can’t pick up and go anywhere together.  Not even for an evening out, just the two of us.  One of us always has to be handy to home or be at home, for Mathew.  One of us also has to be ready to entertain Mathew and than means either hanging out in his room or taking him out to town.  Mathew does have a buddy or two now but they visit sporadically at best.

What I mean to say is that I am Mathew’s life.  I am his best friend and his buddy.  His preference has always been to spend time with me rather than his father and so long as I’m around he doesn’t need/want his Dad.  Dad likes to be busy and physically active.  He is having a bit of a mid-life crisis and wants to be off doing things.  And he does.  Kristen is off doing her thing.  Mathew and I are together.  All. the. time.

This fall I spent a long time reconciling myself to this different future .  I’m not looking for pity I am telling it like it is.  Mathew had to adjust his dreams for his life and us, his parents, had to change ours.  What kind of a mother and person would I be, dashing off to fulfill my dreams and abandoning my child ?  I relinquished that right when I decided to have children.  Life didn’t turn out the way any of us expected but you know what?  It’s pretty good the way it is.  Life without my kids wouldn’t be worth living so I’m happy we are all turning out okay.

It is great when Hubby joins us and hangs around.  But he does not affect Mathew’s quality of life like I do.  I am more of a homebody, movie-watcher, craft-doer, shopper than him and these are the things that Mathew enjoys as well.  My worry is that this will cause John and I to grow apart as he can go and do the things we used to do as a couple.  He can go and visit people with or without Mathew, and have a peaceful/pleasant visit.  I go with Mathew and something happens to Mathew out there ~ when we are around family or other people we know he turns into a nightmare.  The visit becomes unpleasant for me and for those around us. This last Christmas Eve, at a family get-together, I finally got up and went home.  I left Mathew behind and I’m told his behaviour changed once I left and everyone enjoyed themselves.  Lovely.  That made me feel like a million bucks.

Everything is a work in progress and we muddle along without blueprints or how-to guides.  We are all functioning adults and going about our work/school and life in a productive manner, so we’re doing something right. 

Now it’s late and I am tired.  I will be posting some summer pictures and little stories from here and there to update you with soon.  Thank you for stopping by and not totally giving up on me!

Mathew enjoying a b-i-g chair

The tallest man in the world sat in this chair.  This fellow is no longer alive and perhaps some new person now has the record but we weren’t going to argue.  What a difficult life this man must have had.  Imagine walking through a normal doorway, how far would he have to bend over to get through?  If he could sit at a normal table, did his knees rise higher than the table?  A normal spoon probably carried a pea-sized piece of food… to say nothing of sleeping, the poor fellow. 

 One of the reasons Mathew wanted to visit Niagara Falls was to visit the Wrestling Store.  He is a devoted fan of all things known as entertainment wrestling and somewhere along the way he discovered a store existed right there, beside Niagara Falls.  To his delight some famous wrestling visitors left hand imprints on select cement blocks. 

Mathew trying out the hand prints

 We had fun matching our prints to wrestlers but many of them appeared to have huge hands.  Here Mathew compares his hand to one of his favourite wrestlers, Rob Van Dam.  The tour of the store was a bit disappointing after all that anticipation.  It was a small, one-storey shop selling mostly shirts, sweaters and hoodies.  There were wrestling action figures for sale but Mathew already owned them all.  In the end Mathew did not buy any souvenirs from this shop and didn’t want to visit it again.

 We were cruising the street and shops for so long that we got hungry.  Deciding where to eat was the big challenge because everything smelled so good.  In the end though this place piqued our interest the most.  This chain has restaurants across Canada but I hadn’t heard of it before.  It is a fun place that any kid (at heart) will enjoy.

The Rainforest Cafe

 Before we ventured inside Mathew stopped for a photo opportunity with a colourful friend.  In “real life” this frog is very poisonous but here it was a friendly buddy to hang with.  To access the restaurant you first pass through the Rainforest shop.  If you wait for a seat, as we did, that gives you plenty of time to view the souvenirs for sale.  We somehow managed to resist purchasing anything before we went into the restaurant part to eat.

Mathew and a friend

 We were seated to the right of this fountain pool.  Essentially you are sitting in a replicated jungle, complete with foliage and trees everywhere. Animals lurk amongst the branches andevery so often a gorilla would move or a bird would squawk.  Diners are welcome to walk around and take pictures.  If you look up even higher you will see the dark night sky with twinkling lights and every so often a shooting star zipping by.   A storm passes overhead every 20 minutes or so ~ the lights flicker, thunder roars overhead and then the sound of rain is heard.  In addition to all that eye candy to gaze at, the food was excellent too!

Mathew enjoying our experience at the Rainforest Cafe.

A happy teen

 We decided to go for the awesome dessert.  It had a name like Exploding Volcano, which was further presented with a lit sparkler and all the servers calling out the name of the desert as it goes by.  It was one of those moments I would have happily sunk into the ground… unseen…  

… but I couldn’t of course.  Both us tried to eat the whole thing but we couldn’t manage.  Later I asked our server if anyone had ever finished the dessert and he said no, although many have tried.  He did see one customer puke after trying to eat too much of it!  That wasn’t our problem but we were very full when we finished and it took a lot of walking to digest our meal. 

Before we left we wandered around, checking out the various animals lurking behind trees and under leaves.  While I snapped this photo (Mathew making like a gorilla) the ape on the right moved!!!

One ape freakin' moved after I took this photo!

 I swear when I took this photo the ape on the right moved his arm!!  I told Mathew just to move and step away from the animals!  I think it is a mechanical monkey but you can never be too sure about these things.

Another stop on our tour through the restaurant were these elephants.  Once again Mathew makes like the animal in question and does a pretty good job of mimicking them, don’t you say?

Mathew mimicking an elephant

Once we left the restaurant (cafe) we had to walk around a looooong time to work off that dessert!  We continued walking right into the evening hours.  It went from light to bright within a short period of time.  By that I mean the scene went from daytime chaos to light displays everywhere ~ here you can see the beginning of the dazzling displays that probably light up the night sky right into outer space….

The next photo shows a ferris wheel.  Please note that each “cabin” on that wheel could easily seat 12 people so it truly is as high as it looks.  I want you to really admire it because Mathew and I went on it.  That night.  In fact, I took this photo right after we got off our ride because I was so happy to have my feet on the ground.

We went on THIS ferris wheel ~ at THIS time!

The lineup wasn’t very big so every other cabin was loaded with whatever party was waiting to go on.  By that I mean you weren’t crammed in with people you didn’t know.  Mathew and I got a cabin/carriage to ourselves.  Good thing too because I was having a mild anxiety attack as we started to lift off into outer space.  Once you crest the top you feel like there is nothing and I mean NOTHING supporting you anymore.  Especially at night when it is dark.  It felt like we were sailing down right into the river that the falls cascade into.  I didn’t relax at all for the ride and I could have kissed the ground when we got off!  As proud as I am of riding this wheel it is nothing compared to the “Eye” wheel that Joohn and Kristen rode in London, England!!

This was as high as it looks

Our final venture this night involved an arm and wax.  All the museums and attractions we went through exit via a shop.  In the back of this shop people were getting their hands waxed and it caught Mathew’s eye.  He waited for close to 1-1/2 hours for his turn.  He was far more patient than I was!  Knowing his distaste for anything slimy or goopy on his hands I didn’t think he would go through with the procedure, but he did it!  He did it 3 times because the wax cracked during the first 2 attempts!

Mathew getting his arm waxed

Lovely goop is slopped on the hand and arm, to protect it from the hot wax and to allow the cooled form to actually slide off the hand.  You are only permitted 3 attempts at a wax hand so the photo above was his first or second attempt that actually failed.  After that I put the camera away and helped keep his hand straight during the time the wax dries.

Mathew had the hand coloured in blue, his favourite colour.  There were cute yellow eyeballs glued on to the tips of 2 fingers looking as though the hand was all-seeing (ha ha) but they fell off in transit.  Here is the finished product, a replica of Mathew’s great paw at the age of 17!

Here is another look at Mathew’s arm getting dipped into hot wax.  It reminds me of an old horror movie, starring Vincent Price of course, where he takes unsuspecting people and turns them into wax figures.  Not replicas mind you, but the real person beneath the veneer of wax! 

I can attest to the fact that Mathew still has both arms and hands and that his wax hand is only filled with wax.

Then we went back to the hotel, calling it a night.

Kristen is doing an excellent job of keeping me on my toes.  She makes sure I’ve taken at least one picture a day.  If she tries to persuade you that this is sheer agony…well… the truth will get out there!

Week 2 Day 1:  Monday, 16 August 2010

What the ~ ?! A quiet day starting Week 2???

Has this child of mine EVER heard of a nice, quiet week? 

Apparently not!  Not to worry though it isn’t as bad as it appears… Kristen babysits for this police woman.  When she is in her patrol car she swings by and picks Kristen up.  I sure hope this is the only way I see her in a police car!

After babysitting all day she headed out with friends to a real, operating drive-in near here.  Remember those?  You drive your car in and watch a movie on a huge screen.  I used to go when I was a child.  My brother, sister and I would get into our pajamas and play at the playground until it came time for the movie to start ~ after the sun set of course.  I don’t think us kids ever lasted for a full movie before falling asleep in the backseat, but I have some fun memories from those times.

Kristen and her friends returned halfway through the second film.  The first feature, “Cats and Dogs” didn’t do much to stimulate their brains but the second film, “Inception” required too much thought for late at night so they left early. 

Day 2:  Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Day 2... our girl looks tired!

This is the end of a long day and it shows.  Our faithful subject waited for me to take a picture before heading off to bed.  Kristen was supposed to spend the night with her cousin however she was too tired.  Instead, she went over for a visit then came home to start hanging clothes in her new closet.  While organizing her closet she is culling her wardrobe and will try different things on ~ hence the fancy dress with jeans.  Good-night and sweet dreams!

Day 3:  Wednesday, 18 August 2010

Ready to Get to Work!

Good old-fashioned well water to plump up the veins.  Another hot day in paradise makes the water go down sooooo well.   This is after supper and I’m getting ready to take Kristen to school.  There are 3 performances left for “Hairspray” and then it will wrap up for this summer.

After the play Kristen headed over to her friend’s place for a sleepover.  She didn’t come home until Mathew and I left for his camp today.  I couldn’t tell you if she slept at all (sleep usually is scarce at sleepovers at that house!) but she seemed in fine spirits when I saw her briefly this evening.  Remember I said I went for a nap when I got home today?  I had a visitor pop in to say hi which takes us to…

Day 4:  Thursday, 19 August 2010

Our Shining Star

Geez, this girl is too pretty to hang out behind the scenes, I say!  She is on her way to school for the second showing of “Hairspray”. 

This photo was taken in my bedroom ~ check out the blue walls behind Kristen.  Lovely backdrop for her photo.  Even after 3 years of that colour on my bedroom walls I still love it.  Guess where I found inspiration for that shade and colour?  My mother-in-law’s bath rug!  It was such a lovely shade of blue that I finally took it in to Home Depot and matched the colour.  The furniture in this room is dark, wood brown and the curtains are white and ivory.  It is such a light, airy room that it is one of my favourite rooms.  On the left side of the picture you can just see stacks of books on my bedside table.  I must have 20 books heaped on there!  Books I’ve recently read, ones I’m currently reading and some more that will be read in the not-too-distant future.

Kristen and I are planning a back-to-school clothes shopping trip in the near future.  She loves wearing all sorts of clothes and different combinations at any given time.  The skirt she is wearing in this photo is actually a dressy, expensive one.  I wish I had the guts to wear combinations like this when I was a teen.  I’m happy her clothes get a lot of wear because how many of us have things hanging in our closets that have only been worn once or twice?  With Kristen you never know what she is going to wear… or say… or do…

At last!  We’re all caught up… see you tomorrow!

After a busy week our subject enjoys a bit of peace and quiet at the computer.  Just like her Dad, Kristen likes to rest her feet on the railing ~ I tried that once and almost broke my hip sockets!  Check out the animal slippers, cute!

The blob under her chair (right side of picture) is our Pug, Bosco.  He constantly snuffles under the computer table, sniffing for fallen crumbs.  He then moseys over to the dog blankets on the right and settles down for a nap.  He likes to be with his humans and there is usually someone on this computer.

Can you see Kristen peeking around the side of the chair?  Only for a moment did she look back at me and then she went back to cruising the net.  Probably updating Facebook and adding pictures from her Ireland trip.  It’s a beautiful day and she earned a day to herself! 

So we’ll just leave you in peace, ‘kay?  See you in week 2!

That is 30 degrees Celsius in the shade!

At almost 6 pm it is 30 degrees in the shade!  Sorry my American readers – I don’t know what that is in Fahrenheit except to say it’s stinkin’ hot!

Somewhere in all this heat is Kristen, except I can’t find her!  Help me look, will you?

What about the dining room?  Is she there?

The dining area and the back deck

Nope.  No one there.   How about at the computer?

All quiet here

No one there either.  So the smart thing to do is to check the driveway.  If the car isn’t there then she’s gone shopping with her father… so outside we go ~

Oh! She escaped in the car with her Dad!

That explains everything!  While we’re waiting for her to come back, I can tell you what she is shopping for today.  No, not jewellery, clothes or even books.  She’s shopping for this area of her bedroom:

A pink closet

Her closet.  Or more acurately her diva centre.  Check it out below:

The DIVA Centre

When we first moved here (3 years ago), Kristen found this lovely shelf and we decided to turn her closet into a diva centre.  More specifically a place for her jewellery, numerous hats, and makeup.  It was the cutest little area ~ these pictures don’t do it justice because everything is already out of there.  (Somewhere we have some pictures and if I ever find them I’ll post a couple) 

*Alas* all things change and so Kristen decided she needs her closet back.  So the aim of today’s shopping trip was to purchase a closet organizer for her.  After all, a girl needs to hang her dresses and stash countless pairs of shoes SOMEWHERE!  Right at the moment it’s all kind of stuck here….

EEEeeeek! Her bed!

The rest of the stuff is on her floor and it ain’t pretty folks.  In fact, although there is photographic evidence of what her floor looks like, I just can’t bring myself to show it here.  It would turn this post into a horror show!

Hark, I hear a noise!  Could it be…. could it…???

YES!

Well lookee here ~ look who's home

Shopping was a success, apparently.  She’s got a smile!

Happy Day 6

She is certainly pleased!  Next up will be to install the organizer.  That’ll be tomorrow. 

She still has some socializing to do later tonight, at a bonfire.  A girl’s day is just never done!

Kristen loving a little visitor to our house today

We’d love to see the dogs agains …although those two accidents doggies?  Not necessary, ‘kay?  There’s enough clean up after my two already!

After visiting the dogs and eating some some lunch yummies (meaning I don’t know what she ate) Kristen headed up to her friend’s house for some girl time before the musical tonight.  Now, her friend has a little turtle which they took outside to play with.  On the lawn.  The green lawn.  The green marked turtle, the small turtle… the one that blends so well with that sort of environment… yeah, they lost it.  Took them 1-1/2 hours to find the little turtle in all that grass.  And such a beautiful day to spend with your face mushed up close and personal in the grass.

Kristen didn’t have to be at the school/theatre until 5 pm.  That means she changed into her skulking clothes ~ the tech outfit to melt into the background.  If you look at yesterday’s get-up her boots had high heels that sunk into our lawn and clacked on the wooden floors.  Today’s footwear consists of her normal quiet shoes for gliding silently behind the scenes.  So this photo shows her in her technical mode ready for some serious work ~

Her butterflies are on their way to tonight's performance!

That funny-looking thing hanging on the wall on the right side of the picture is called a “shillelagh.  According to Wikipedia, “A shillelagh (Irish: sail éille, a cudgel with a strap), commonly pronounced /ʃɪˈleɪli/ “shi-LAY-lee” or “shi-LAY-la”, IPA: [ɕaˈleːlə]) is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob at the top, that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore.”   The following link has more interesting information about this cudgel   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillelagh_(club) .  John and I received that shillelagh from his beloved Auntie Jean and Uncle Jimmy when we got married 25 years ago.  It’s considered to be good luck and it has hung in a prominent spot in all of our homes since the day we got it….hey…maybe that is the secret to 25 years of wedded…uh…er… ecstasy? bliss?…. okay,  time is a better word.  Definately25 years for better and worse but that is for another post (love you honey!)

Right ~ good time to get back to the subject at hand…  In the picture Kristen is just about to set off for this week’s final performance of “Hairspray”.  It’ll play for 3 days again next week and I’ll go see it one night if, according to Kristen, there are any tickets left from the sold out performances.

Getting ready to head out

Is that mail she’s looking at?  On such a gorgeous day?  Oh dear, is it….a…a… BILL?!!!!

Of course not!  She’s only 16!  It’s her “Record of Employment” ~ in case she needs to go on pogey or something.  Pogey is what we Canadians call unemployment insurance.  Er… hang on… it has been renamed to something more positive ~ but I can’t remember what it is…teehee!  During the last school year Kristen worked part time at the local library.  Every Thursday evening and alternate Saturdays.  She is laid off for the summer and will be rehired in the fall.  She is quite happy to have a break as her school days were very full.  She just got back from her trip to Ireland (with her Dad) and now she is working as part of the tech crew on the musical now running at her high school.  She’s got some babysitting coming up and *whew* she’s a busy girl!

So in today’s peek, Kristen is in our kitchen checking out her mail.  That’s our rice cooker on her left.  I was supposed to clean up after supper yesterday but didn’t quite jump to it.  There is some writing on the wall behind Kristen, up near the ceiling.  It’s my favourite kitchen slogan, “Today’s Menu 2 Choices ~ Take It or Leave It”.  I’m all about concise and to-the-point communication!

Kristen got a little sunning in before I dropped her off.  I ran another sub to her for dinner; thanks Subway for your steak-and-cheese footlong sub (with a little sweet onion sauce).  It’s helping my girl grow big and strong!

(p.s. Kristen’s other hand is reaching for some red, seedless grapes ~ one of her favourite snacks)