Gettin' There!

Okay, so three weeks in the new place and I still have some boxes to unpack, not to mention the entire garage full of stuff that was all boxes of things in our old basement (that sat there for 6 years untouched), but I am beginning to feel like I'm almost there. I have been trying to channel my twin sister, who would have had all of this done in two days, but it's not working out so well. Naturally there are the considerations of newer household furnishings (new couch) to purchase as well as accessories (flat screen t.v.s), but all in good time. By way of an aside, the UGLY couch and loveseat that have been featured in many of the photos I have posted are GONE!! I am jubilant! Know why? They were a WEDDING gift from my SECOND husband's parents in 1994. All I can say is "ding dong the witch is dead". Every time I looked at those things they represented something less than savoury to me. The local chapter of the SPCA was more than happy to take them off our hands to resell to someone who will love them again.

Oh, and my office/slash sewing room has become a reality! Can I hear a "what-what"? Or better yet, how about a chorus of angels all singing that one perfect note? I've actually already made a baby blanket and given it as a gift - the ones for sale will come eventually, but for now I feel I must get back into the swing of things.

I have a lot on my plate right now. Household things aside, I've got Hayden's fundraiser coming up and did I mention I agreed to be a coordinator? What on earth was I thinking? I haven't even collected one cent for the walk yet and it's next Sunday. Boy when I choose to be dumb, I go all the way.

I need to unearth all of my fabric and crafting supplies and get them organized. I'm a little terrified of digging out all of the rubber stamps because I have been buying them willy nilly over the past few years and stuffing them anywhere and I really think I've lost track of the ones I've bought and exactly how many of them I have. Gulp! The fabric situation is no better. I notice that most of the plastic bins in the aforementioned garage have "Heather Material" written on the side of them. Oh boy.

I am continuing to work on the Ugandan project for Dr. Pirani. I got stuck on one piece that was much longer than the others and much harder to decipher (these are notes that were transcribed from tape and I am rewriting them and putting them into more of a "professional" format). It was also a very gut-wrenching piece for me to read as it got into more detail of the poverty situation over there and what people have to go through to survive, never mind getting treatment for their clubfoot kid. No wonder the rate of correction is only 60% as opposed to over 95% here. I now have a new mission that coincides with my desire to pay a visit over there. I have an appointment set up to talk to Dr. Pirani for early June and will fill you in when the time comes. Let's just say I am feeling very passionate about it.

I've been trying to write for myself as well. Not sure if I mentioned the children's story I have written, but I also have a piece of adult fiction that I've started and am not getting very far with. The time! Oh the time!

Here's the thing: having my "own space" to set up does not necessaily mean that I get the precious minutes to do it in. How about that? Huh!

The days seem to go by in one foggy haze for me right now. The kids being together in the same room has generally worked out - Kes will just roll over and ignore Hayden if he's bothering. But I notice that Hayden's nap is starting to play a key role in how well he settles down. If he gets to sleep later than around 1:30, then he's awake for much longer (like right now I can hear him thrashing his brace against the crib right above me - turkey). This, of course does not mean that he won't still wake up at SIX-FREAKIN'-FIFTEEN in the morning, like he's been doing for the past couple of weeks. I feel like the walking dead right now. Or like I have suddenly acquired ADD (not too unlikely as it is already in the family) and concentrate on one thing at a time. Ay me.

On Kes: the bribery technique for the toileting issue has worked WONDERS! It worked almost from the get-go and I have let a couple of little near incidents go. I wasn't going to today, but she was so devastated that she wasn't going to be able to put a sticker on the calendar that I made a deal with her and it all worked out. I have to say that as bad as people think bribery is, it WORKS. Plus as a friend's husband put it: "I wouldn't go to work if they didn't pay me" - so technically the world is made up of bribery, ain't it? HA!

On Hayden: his language skills are still reasonably immature, but progressing. I can understand most of his gibberish and now and again he comes out with expressions such as "Oh, NO WAY!" and "Oh God!" that sound hilarious. I find that even though his speech is less advanced than his sisters' was, he is much more mature in many other ways. For example, this morning I sat him on a big chair at the kitchen table so he could eat a fruit cup. We got rid of the high chair before we moved and bought a little inflatable booster seat, but I bypassed it today. He calmly sat and ate his fruit, stopping to sip the juice out of the cup when he noticed it was dripping off his spoon onto the table. Had I ever tried that with Kes at this age, she would have been off the chair and running around splashing fruit juice all over the house.

Recently I bought a CD for Hayden at his sing-a-long group by this woman (who runs the group) and both of the kids love it**. It's a CD of fun songs for kids that aren't necessarily all kiddie songs. I think some of them might be old pub songs actually! When "The Cat Came Back" starts to play you can hear Hayden singing "back", "day", "away" and it is just so darned cute. I really need to get him into music as early as possible. He just loves singing. He also sings along to his Learn to Dress Elmo doll, which I love!

Well, that's about all for now folks. Bye for now!

** My favorite song on the CD is "Paddy McGinty's Goat" - way too funny:

Mister Patrick McGinty, an Irishman of note,
Came into a fortune, so bought himself a goat.
Said he, "Sure, of goat's milk I mean to have my fill!"
But when he got his Nanny home, he found it was a Bill.

And now all the ladies who live in Killaloo
Are all wearing bustles like their mothers used to do.
They each wear a bolster beneath the petticoat,
And leave the rest to Providence and Paddy McGinty's goat!

Missis Burke to her daughter said, "Listen, Mary Jane,
Now who was the man you were cuddling in the lane?
He'd long wiry whiskers all hanging from his chin."
"Twas only Pat McGinty's goat, " she answer'd with a grin.

Then she went away from the village in disgrace,
She came back with powder and paint upon her face.
She'd rings on her fingers, and she wore a sable coat,
You bet your life they never came from Paddy McGinty's goat.

Little Norah McCarthy the knot was going to tie,
She washed all her trousseau and hung it out to dry.
Then up came the goat and he saw the bits of white.
He chewed up all her falderals, and on her wedding night

"Oh turn out the gas quick!" she shouted out to Pat,
For though l'm your bride, sure l'm not worth looking at.
I'd got two of ev'rything, I told you when I wrote,
But now I've one of nothing, all thro' Paddy McGinty's goat.

Mickey Riley he went to the races t'other day.
He won twenty dollars and shouted, "Hip Hooray!!"
He held up the note, shouting "Look what I've got!"
The goat came up and grabbed at it and swallowed all the lot.

"He's eaten my banknote," said Mickey, with the hump.
They ran for the doctor, he brought a stomach pump.
He pumped and he pumped for that twenty dollar note,
But all he got was ninepence out of Paddy McGinty's goat.

Now old Paddy's Goat had a wonderous appetite,
and one day for breakfast he ate some dynamite.
A whole box of matches he swallowed all serene
and then he went and gobbled up a quart of paraffin.

He sat by the fireside, he didn't give a hang,
He swallowed a spark and exploded with a bang.
So if you go to heaven you can bet a dollar note....
that the Angel with the whiskers on is Paddy McGinty's Goat.

P.S. I got my hair cut on Friday. Nothing really to report. Just happy to have it cut is all.