yes I know that date says Monday, but when I went to save this post, it was Sunday about 5pm local time (MST which is GMT -7) … but anyhow I digress.

So while deciding one what to do with the family on The Husbands last weekend off before Christmas, we opted to take the monsters pony riding.  We went to this place I had seen advertised on Kijiji that is about 20 minutes from where we live.  A … rustic kind of place but well it served the purpose.  We got to feed some African sheep, see some horses, ponies, miniture horses, goats, and a calf.  We also got to feed most of the livestock some grain which was great fun for the Monsters especially Healthy Weighty Wee Man, who thought this was just the bees knees.  After we finished all that we helped brush, saddle and harness the ponies and donkey that the Monsters were going to ride.

For the first time in any family outting I did not hear from Wee Blonde Child, “Can we go home now?”  Oldest Large Child did just a bit of just rewards when the lady who owns the farm wanted to give her an impromptu riding lesson.  Shortly before that, OLC was boasting to me that she knew all about horseback riding and was an expert at it (and this being the second time EVER in her life to be on the back of a horse and the first time didn’t count as she was only placed on her Granda Dermot’s horse who was not broken for riding, but cart pulling).  It was most hilarious for this Insane Mother of Three to see and hear OLC go trotting across the yard we were in saying, “whoa. Whoa! WHOA! WHOA!!” (talk about learning young about not being boastful!)

And here are the proff we did this (if I can get the uploader to work for me today!)

post edit (uploader still not co-operating …. so here is what I got so far adn more to come)

So, it move forward from my previous post, I cut Screaming Chinese Child loose.  I do feel a modicum of guilt as I have no doubt left her parents hanging with no child care but I seriously could not in good conscience continue to care for SCC with the amount of screaming she did.  Add in to that parents that just didn’t seem to care.  I had to ring SCC’s parents a couple times to collect SCC when they said they would be back at a certain time and were then at least an hour later than what was agreed.  But at the end of the day, it is really not healthy for a one year old child to be screaming like that for hours on end.  I tried consoling the child in various ways and all too often,  the only thing that would quiet Screaming Chinese Child was to be put in a corner by her self in either the travel cot or the pram by her self! with no other children about.  Now I was not comfortable with this and told the parents repeatedly, but they still continued to bring SCC knowing she acted/reacted in this manner.  So last night they were warned that this may happen and then after a long disscussion with The Husband, I decided that the stress created by having SCC in my home was not worth the money brought in.  They were informed to not bring the child back.

So there you have it.  Only the adventures of Tiny Wee Man, Oldest Large Child, Wee Blonde Child, and Healthy Weighty Wee Man.  We’ll have to wait to see if any others join the mayhem!

So it was a week ago, but still we went.  We saw caribou (or was it elk?)  I even went on the gondola. (which if you know I don`t go on first floor balconies easily with out having a minor panic attack! so this was a feat in itself.)  Then we froze our tookas’ by going across the walk way at the top in the wind and blowing snow and Oldest Large Child proceeded to walk in every bit of snow she could find that was more than ankle deep (which was not at all hard as it was everywhere!), Wee Blonde Child continually asked if we cold go home now, and Healthy Weighty Wee Man, he just struggled to stay upright.  It was cold.  Really really cold and in my infinite wisdom, did not bring a hat for myself.  My ears still hurt.

the pics are to come (they seem to be taking forever to upload).

(post edit) I gave up trying to up load the rest of the pictures so here is what I got so far….

                                                             he didn`t want his picture taken so this was the best I got!

don`t ask the names of the peaks and mountains I dunno and didn`t find out!

so if you are one of my Facebook friends, you know I have started minding other peoples children at my home as at the mintue The Husband and I not afford for both of us not to be working and trying to find adequate childcare for my three children that was not costing a fortune was impossible.  The one childminder we did have our children with ended not as great as it started.  My children have had a few different minders over the course of their lives and not once have I ever had someone complain about them.  It is usually me who is saying to the minder “are we talking about the same three children?  Because you can’t be talking about my three children.”  That said, my children are not all out evil or extremely misbehaved, but they are children.  However, the one fulltime minder they did have in Calgary, seemed to blame a whole host of things on my children.  When collecting the children one day, The Husband was told that Healthy Weighty Wee Man had torn the screen out of the screen door, while I knew that not to be true, it was already hanging out before we ever arrived on her doorstep.

Anyhow I am digressing…

My frustration now lies with needing to have “X” amount of children to make this profitable for me to stay home (with our children) minding other children.  At the minute I have two children, one of which I could do without.  I shall now refer to them as Tiny Wee Man and Screaming Chinese Child.  Tiny Wee Man is just that, he is one year old and about the same size Healthy Weighty Wee Man was when he was born, okay I exaggerate, but he is small, however he is happy and healthy and that is all that matters.  Screaming Chinese Child is EXCATLY that. Her parents are Chinese and Canadian.  The very first day that SCC stayed she was grand.  The second day, not so much but not too bad either.  From the third day on … not at all.  All, ALL. ALL!! that SCC does is scream SCREAM!!!! at the top of her lungs for HOURS on end.  From the time she arrives to the time she leaves.  The only time she is not screaming is when she has screamed her tiny wee self tired and therefore to sleep, she is eating, or when her parents are holding her.  I have told the parents about this and I gave them a time line of how long I am going to put up with it.  Now I wish I hadn’t.  I will have one more week of screaming to endure.  Her father seems to think she likes coming here.  I am trying to wrap my mind around that one.  And yes they know all about the screaming.  I was hoping they would take pity on the child and pull her themselves.   Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhh …..NO!

Gotta go, the screaming has begun again…

Healthy Weighty Wee Man turned three.  I’m not kinding where did my babbee go?

taken Sept 06 (not quiet a year old)

taken Oct 08

And now the requeset party pics ….

to quote HWWM … “mighty machines!”  a rock truck and a front end loader, sorta like daddy uses.

I have to say that ever since we decided that I would be a Stay At Home Mom I have become very unmotivated.  I really really wonder how so many women do it!  When we stopped and looked at it, it made more sense (?!!!?!) for me to mind 2-3 children in our own home, than it did for me to go out to work.  I would be bringing in up to  $1800 CDN a month rather than making that, then paying $1400 for child care and bringing in to the house only $400.

But now I am bored.  I feel like I have lost my motivation. The Husband works such long hours that he is barely home long enough to have supper and go to bed.  So its not like me staying home frees up more time for us and when TH isn’t working we try to cram in as much sight seeing and family outings in to the two days he gets off as time will allow.  Speaking of which TH has two (count ‘em TWO WHOLE DAYS!) off starting tomorrow and he was saying he wanted to go to Banff (about a two hour drive west) so pardon me internet while I go surf you to plan out our day and findout what are family friendly things to do once we invade the town!

TGIF everyone!

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae, 1915

Let us not forget why we have have the freedoms we have today and the price our fore-fathers paid to acheive it.  And the soldiers of today that pay with their lives so that others could possibly have the same liberties.

yep its cold here.  A kind of cold I have not felt for a long time!  At 9am this morning Wee Blonde Child and Oldest Large Child asked if they could go play outside in their pajamas …. it was -9 celcius.  MINUS NINE!  Yeah no. not even at +9.  I recall driving my own mother to distraction wanting to wear shorts outside just because it was sunny, but I also recall it being during a warmer season than it is now!  However I have not heard once from WBC that she is cold since we moved.  That particular child would be fully dressed and go get her housecoat on because she said she was cold ~ children!  But even though it is only -9, I know it is going to get colder.  Much much much colder.  But at least it will be a bearable cold, but already I am missing the warmth of the radiators heated by the back boiler on the fireplace….

what shall we do today? what shall we do today? what shall we do today? what shall we do.

Oldest Large Child has a four day weekend and The Husband is working so it falls to me to keep the monsters busy.  Not that huge of a deal accept that it has gotten cold outside and I like being warm.  There are times I think I would do better in an arrid climate after living with so much rain for the past two years.  Bring on Dubai!

Right now though I have to collect a teeter totter (I`m liking the free sections on Kijiji and Craigslist) and I am thinking I just might have to check the bank account to see if it would support a trip to Ikea.  Ahhh Ikea ….. I have so missed Ikea ….. I had to live for three years with out an Ikea close to me.  The CLOSEST was Scotland and that was at least a two hour drive and an eight hour ferry ride (all round trip).  Ahhh Ikea …. yes I have  not yet visited Ikea since moving back to Canada … don`t go there!

So that said I am off to get on with my day before it never gets started!

I have been slient.  There is no great reason for this other than I have just not bothered to post.  There have been times I have intended to but we ALL know where intentions lead to.  Laziness.  I would like to think that I have been busy, but I have not.  I have just not posted.

In no particular order, what we have been doing in the past two weeks:

• getting Wee Blonde Child to pooh.


• discovering Calgary by collecting various free items from all over the city.


• had a couple “interviews” for childminding resulting in one full time child that started and one to start later week.


• sorting out Halloween costumes. (see pics below)


• carving pumpkins.


• baking cakes (one for the school Halloween Party cake walk).


• trick or treating


• getting HWWM to actually put on his costume!


• face painting.


• going to the school halloween party and dancing me tookas off with my monsters.


• recovering from trick or treating.


• a trip to Kananaskis Country


• trying to explain to The Husband why he will not have a good chance to see a bear at this time of year and it will be safe to go camping in the summer while the bears are not hibernating.


• discovering that no matter where in the world we are my monsters are they still throw stones into any body of water larger than a puddle.


• a trip to Chinook Centre with the monsters.

now the pictures…. (again in no particular order)

Paul in Kananaskis Park

only thing missing is Caringford Lough….still throwing stones in to water!

the boooty gained!

the wall flowers!

devil in disguise!

OLC’s school logo for the pumpkin carving contest!

my men … (my dad, ryan, Paul)

nuf said!

Well folks thats us as they say!