A Break from the Bad

Let's take a moment and forget about all the bad going on around us!!

{Weekend Rewind}

Point form recap today cuz I am so sleepy today:

- had homemade pizzas at my parents place Friday night

- got to visit with Rylie and my sister

- received news that Marcel did not get his triple bypass due to another emergency (poor guy has been waiting in the hospital for over a week now)

- got our bathroom done

- ran to Shawville to visit my nanny and Aunt Donna who was up visiting

- grabbed a few groceries

- Maddy went to a birthday party next door and came back looking like a fox

- took the kids to watch Liam's hockey game (they won)

- did lots of laundry

- got new Tupperware

- taught Sunday school on Sunday

- received exciting news that my cousin/friend Lindsay and her husband Ryan will be welcoming a new bundle in August (big brother Sam said it's a baby see-ster...we'll see)

- spent all day Sunday cooking and baking

- made this GF carrot cake and got great reviews

- Butch and Uncle Dan came for supper

- Butch brought my newest warmer and some new scents

- tried to avoid the news in relation to the US and Trump and banning people from flying

How was your weekend?

FINALLY FRIDAY

- I thought Thursday was Friday, so today should be a nice long day

- Maddy is actually in office with me today because she has dentist appointment

- sending birthday wishes to my sister in law Sue today!

- my bathroom is getting done today, woo hoo

- I have a cold...well really just a sore body and a cough

- Girl Guides was cancelled this week because of snow

- I was busy at work which is always nice

- tonight we are having homemade pizza at my parents (try to coordinate meals now when your husband is celiac...I had to give mom his own pizza crusts)

- tomorrow Maddy has a birthday party next door

- we may go and watch Liam play hockey

- I am teaching Sunday School again

- any chance I get this weekend, I am hunkering in bed watching Netflix

Happy Weekend

Currently

Currently I am...

LOVING the mild temps and the relatively good winter we have had

NOT LOVING that I have caught the cold bug

LOOKING FORWARD to getting my bathroom done tomorrow, finally!

THINKING OF getting something to eat, my stomach is growling

LISTENING to Accu Radio on my computer at work and listening to some 80's

WISHING my Nanny Earl a Happy Birthday today (and my sister in law Sue tomorrow)

WATCHING Breaking Bad on Netflix and Nashville on TV

TRYING more and more gluten free recipes and finding Josee and Landyn a place to live

READING a Debbie Macomber book, can't remember the title

BUYING Usborne books, my cousin has an online party and I got Tanner some learning books before school

PLANNING birthday parties in February which are going to be small and one family celebration

PRAYING for Marcel who is still in the hospital still waiting for a triple bypass (which is now only going to be next week)

Join the fun, what are you currently doing!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

- Tuesday morning waking up to NO SNOW when it was supposed to snow all night

- my knowledge about celiac disease

- that Ricky's precious Pantene Pro V is gluten free (my Tres Semme is not)

- Tanner has a doctors appointment in February to get him screened for celiac

- birthday month is just around the corner (we have like 9 important birthdays in Feb)

- being important at work and actually getting my name on a bid to be the bilingual person

- the mild weather

- Josee and Landyn are coming home soon

- this weekend we have no plans other than Maddy has a birthday party, so we may head up to watch one of Liam's hockey games (he's in a tournament in Shawville)

- found a bakery sorta close to my work that is 100% gluten free...I want to go and visit it sometime soon

That's all I have for now

Happy Wednesday

Living with Celiac

Friday we met with the dietician to talk about Ricky's celiac...this lifestyle is worse than we ever expected and I am not sure why people actually do a gluten free diet when they don't have to!

Here are some facts that we learned and for those that may wanna know about celiac disease:

- it's a hereditary disease so basically now she wants Ricky's sisters and dad to get all screened for it, even if you don't have symptoms, you could still have it.  It's like a light switch.  If you have it, you have had it all your life but it would take some sort of event that would trigger the light switch to come on.  We figure that two years ago when Ricky was in the hospital with bad pains on his side and the doctors couldn't figure out what it was other than an enlarged bowel, that is probably what set it off.  In women, a pregnancy or miscarriage could be the switch.

- Tanner's bobo's on his back that he has had since he started eating basically that our doctor has identified as sebborhea could actually be celiac disease.  When I showed her, she said that celiac doesn't just come in form of diarrhea.  She recommends that we take Tanner back to the doctor and let the doctor know that Ricky has been tested positive for celiac disease and could this be linked.  He will take a biopsy of his skin from his bobo's and if it comes back that he has dermatitis herpetiformis, than Tanner also has celiac disease.

- when we cracked down on this and went full blown since January, there were things that I told Ricky that we could still do, I mean how bad would putting Diana sauce on your chicken be?  Well she basically told us this is a lifestyle, you cannot cheat.  It will kill you eventually if you don't take the precautions.  Diana sauce has malt in it and malt has gluten and just a little bit will affect his levels. When you don't think something has obvious flour, it probably has the word barley or malt in it.

- in the last month and a half, Ricky has actually lost 7 lbs

- we can get reimbursed on our taxes for groceries due to having this illness.  Ricky will get a doctors note saying that he has it and I have to keep all receipts and create a spreadsheet with everything.  For example, if a loaf of GF bread costs $7 and our normal loaf would cost $3, we would get the $4 back.  At the end of the year, I compile the list and receipts and we submit with expenses to get reimbursed.  A lot of work but worth it in the long run.

- don't be fooled for GF applesauce and GF maple syrup.  Companies charge an arm and a leg for GF products and the dietician says its all just a scam and that some companies will actually put GF on something that will not have gluten just to get the extra dollars.

- it's all about testing and trying...we have had more fails than successes but it's a big adjustment

- there is a grocery store in the plateau area called La Boite a Grains and it's a supermarket basically that caters to allergies and tolerances...it's obviously pricey but a good spot to go.

- gluten is just not in food...I have had to check his toothpaste and shampoo, both are okay, and had to go the pharmacist to make sure that his medications are all gluten free (which are also okay).  You have to watch for creams such as Aveeno that has oats in it, he cannot use this.

- he cannot eat GF oats for the first year because oats have never actually been confirmed that they are GF, even the GF specified ones. 

- we will save money on chip stand food this year because he cannot have chip stand food either unless it's a fresh batch of oil and nothing else has been cooked in it, then he could have the first batch of fries.  Because there are breaded chicken fingers and onion rings cooked in the same oil, it contaminates the fries so he cannot eat them.  He can have them cooked on a baking sheet at home (or Wes Chips in Arnprior because they only serve fries lol)

It is sure an adjustment, I will tell you that.  I am getting used to looking at the ingredient lists and stuff but Ricky also can't always depend on me.  He has to learn what to look for to.  I won't be with him all the time at places.  It's not that easy to go to a BBQ anymore.  He will have to bring his own buns.  I find the hardest is weekends at home.  It's not like we can just cook a box of Kraft Dinner, it's basically planning a meal for lunch.  You can't just grab something quick I find...living with celiac requires a lot of meal planning.

If anyone has questions, I feel that I am well trained.

{Weekend Rewind}

I was going to start by saying it was a pretty low key weekend because it was...but then when I start thinking of what went down, it was quite a jam packed weekend.

Friday I spent the day working from home because I had to register Tanner for school and attend a dietician appointment with Ricky in the afternoon.  More on that later, all I can say is, I am a walking encyclopaedia about celiac disease.

Tanner was supposed to have a sleepover at Sophie's but that got cancelled when her husband ended up suffering a heart attack at work and was rushed to the hospital.  He is stable and waiting for a triple bypass now.  Prayers are with Marcel and Sophie.

Tanner was obviously very upset about this. 

After the dietician appointment, I was going to run to the city, but I was sleepy and honestly, my brain was just in overload from information so we just relaxed.

Ricky headed to cards and the kids and I hung out at home.

Saturday morning I woke up with a headache (that stayed with me all day).

Maddy and I headed to the city.  We stopped at Ikea and picked up a few things and then went and did groceries (which sucks now buying everything gluten free)

We rushed home so that Ricky could head off to the legion for another Texas Horseshoe Tournament.

Tanner headed to my mom's for the night so Maddy and I just relaxed and I napped.

Maddy bought new bathroom stuff for the upstairs bathroom which she has now called the Kids Bathroom.

After a French toast supper (Ricky wasn't home), we met him at Brenda's place where a few friends gathered to celebrate my sister in law's birthday.  We played that Saran Ball of gifts game which was fun and then some shuffleboard before Maddy and I headed home around 10.

Ricky got in around 2 am and knocked over a container of Lego and woke me up.

Sunday morning I was up and by 9 am, I had a roast pan of spaghetti sauce going, a ham in the crockpot, chicken cooked and a batch of rice for the week.

I organized the kitchen.

I still had my headache so we skipped Church.

I found a new to us dresser on a Facebook yard sale for Tanner's room and sold the one that was in his room...this was the quickest transaction ever.  I barely got the dresser emptied and cleaned and the guy was at my door step picking it up!

The rest of the afternoon was spent re-organizing Tanner's drawers.

My parents came over for supper: ham and scalloped potatoes

Everyone had their baths and Maddy and I watched Kids Baking Championships and we were all in bed BEFORE 8:00 pm.

How was your weekend?

This week...

- we had weird weather but for the most part it was actually pretty mild, bring it on (just don't like the threat of freezing rain)

- Ricky came down with a cold again and possible tonsillitis

- I told Maddy a little white lie which came back and bit me in the butt (and to be fair, I knew it would) - I didn't feel like going to Guides cuz I was feeling like crap, so I told her it was cancelled...the next day, Olivia tells her it wasn't LOL

- was Maddy's Maplelea doll Jenna's birthday

Birthday celebrations for Jenna last year

- we ate a lot of rice (I think we're going to turn part Asian or something)

- I looked at IKEA a lot online

- Ricky received acknowledgement of being with the Government for 15 years and received a plaque, pin, certificate and a telescope (now, if he can actually put it together, the kids are excited to use it)

- Tanner counted down the number of sleeps until his sleepover at Sophie's (tonight)

- Maddy woke up yesterday morning with a red eye and I sent her to school, told her not to touch it, don't touch anyone else and don't mention pink eye...I know, I'm a bad mom (I did put pink eye drops in though) LOL

- I tried to new Goal Setter booster juice that I keep hearing on the radio and it wasn't good...it was too sweet, tasted like sweet tarts and gave me diarrhea (TMI)

- Wednesday was popcorn day at Maddy's school and I sent her with $20 and got $10 bags lol

- I am registered my baby for school today...where has the time gone?  While most parents are sad at this, I never am (no heart perhaps?) - I am uber excited for him to start school!

- I started watching Breaking Bad, anyone have any reviews on this?

- I broke my dresser and am down to two drawers...to be honest, it was Maddy's old dresser from her nursery which is...well 10 years old and for $100, it did it's job...now I need a new dresser (and Tanner too)

- we have gone through a lot of Kleenex (my mom commented one day that they never go through Kleenex which I thought was weird, we go through it all the time...maybe her and dad use their fingers more HAHAHAHA)

- I bought some Tupperware and won a free gift...I am all about organizing this year (and this weekend)

Happy Weekend everyone! 

Gluten Free Living

We have been living gluten free for almost a month now and I have to say, Ricky is doing really well and sticking to it.  It has been an adjustment, I am not going to lie.  There were definitely a couple fails along the way, but I have to say, all in all, it's not THAT bad.  Now, I can obviously eat gluten but I feel that I have to support him. 

The other day at Sophie's, she had fresh bread.  Fresh bread full of gluten. OMG. I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven when she gave me a piece.  Of course, I had to eat it before getting in the car but I have not even had bread in like a month and so this was a treat.

Here are some tips, points and recipes:

- cutting out bread and pasta is basically the main (and hardest) thing

- gluten free soya sauce is really strong, a little goes a long way

- we have to shop more because we go through more veggies

- baking has been challenging...no recipes I have tried turn out good, maybe the first day they are soft then they turn rock hard baseballs

- Betty Crocker Gluten Free brownies SCORED 100% in our house

- Aside from the gluten free section of the grocery store, there are many other gluten free items on every other shelf

- when you think you can eat something because it doesn't have obvious wheat in it, it likely has barley malt which you cannot have...like Diana sauce

- we have tried gluten free pasta from Catelli and then I bought brown rice pasta and I prefer it a lot better, brown rice pasta going forward

- have fun trying to make lasagna - the noodles are about squares of 3x3

- pizza doughs and breads are very hard to make on your own...they involved 5 different flours and xantham gum and still end up gross, so I bought some from Provigo last week in a red box and they were approved (unfortunately you get 4 for $8)

- Brown Rice Krispies are very good, I prefer them over the normal ones (and they are a good binder too in meatloaf and meatballs)

- I want to make these this weekend...we love perogies and I know they are cheaper to buy than to make, but not when they have to be gluten free

- we haven't eaten at a restaurant since this new living happened so that will be interesting...the thing with Ricky and his celiac is unlike a peanut allergy where you are going to obviously know if you have had it, if Ricky were to eat something with gluten, he doesn't feel any different.  He never has.  In the past, if he ate bread where other people may feel like crap, he doesn't.  He shits a lot but that has been since I met him...so for him to cheat is likely and I will give him that, he has seriously been doing so well that a little cheat when eating out is allowed.

Happy Thursday

What I'm Loving Wednesday

- today is Kernel's popcorn day...the grade 6's are doing it as a fundraiser at the school and I LOVE the dill pickle...MUST.GET.MORE!

- that despite the chunks of black beans, Ricky has approved and recommends the Sweet Potato brownie muffins I made him

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put the following into a bowl and mix:
3/4 cup of sweet potato (cooked and mashed)
1/2 cup of black beans (give them a whirl in a food processor)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp of vanilla

Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and add 1/3 cup of hot coffee into separate bowl, mix and add to the above ingredients.

In another bowl, mix:
3/4 cup of cocoa
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt

Add to the other ingredients.

I made them into muffins and cooked for about 15 mins then let them cook some more in the pan out of the oven, but watch them, you do not want them dry.

- Cadbury mini eggs are out

- the idea of redoing my bathroom, if the actual reno gets done.  I bought a new bath set and I am hoping to actually paint it...small enough space, I should manage it

- we aren't doing anything really for the kids birthdays this year.  Maddy wants a friend to go to the Real Canadian Superstore and do a cooking class and Tanner we'll just have cake at home with Nancy (also celebrating).  We thought that maybe we would splurge and do a night at the Brookstreet Hotel. 

- I am going to tell a fellow daycare mommy off soon...probably this week.  Why am I loving this?  Because this momma needs to put her in her place.  Let me tell you something...this woman isn't working and therefore, she comes to pick up her child and thinks she can just stick around (this pisses Sophie off) anyways...she is there when I arrive to get Tanner.  I am not even in the door 3 seconds and she's yelling at Tanner to get ready.  Ummm, you are not the boss, shut the eff up lady.  Anyways, I have had enough...usually when she does this and starts scolding my kid, he reacts by not listening or getting upset.  Sophie has explained this to the mom many times, ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS but she doesn't give a shit.  Last week Tanner had a meltdown one day because of her and she was like "oh Sophie, I thought you said he was an angel..." WHOA lady!  Whatever, I bite my tongue, grab Tanner and away we go.  The next night, she's there again and starts again and Tanner gets mad again.  She's like (to me) "do you want me to bring him out to the car, just bag his boots and grab his coat and I'll carry him out"...Umm NO!  She goes on to talk to Sophie in FRENCH basically saying, "oh I thought this kid was good - does he do this all the time - he's been putting up a fit all week" - Hey Lady, I speak and understand French.  Anyways I have had enough, so if this happens again this week, I will be saying something to her. 

- Tanner is having a sleepover at Sophie's on Friday night and I think Maddy and I are going to run to Ikea to have a look around before we pick him up on Saturday morning.  Then the kids and I will have a day to ourselves cuz Ricky has plans.

- working from home on Friday BUT because Tanner is sleeping over at Sophie's, I still have to go to the city in the morning

- Girl Guides started back up last night

Happy Wednesday!

{Weekend Rewind}

Not much was planned this weekend:

- the guy did not show up to do our bathroom, which sucked

- Tanner was full of boogers (aka the cold)

- caught up on all laundry

- went for supper with the girls, nice night out but didn't enjoy the restaurant

- had a visit with Rylie, which also meant, fighting with Rylie haha

- watched The Killing

- made Sweet Potato and Black Bean cupcakes for Ricky's lunch (funny thing...this recipe was given to me by my cousin, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with the black beans, and after searching other recipes, I think I was supposed to put it all in a food processor, which I didn't, so each bite has a bite of black bean haha)

- did meal prep

- stupid gluten free living ended up with a grocery order of $400

- taught Sunday school

- cleaned out my linen closet

- had morning visitors

- ended the weekend off with a little pedicure, courtesy of Maddy

How was your weekend?

This week...

...I had meals planned all week - go me!

...I worked on my French training

...I pulled something in my arm...and back

...started walking at lunch around my building and doing stairs

...I was super busy at work

...we had a weird bag of weather: deep freeze then mild, snow then rain

...I had a meltdown on Wednesday morning and blogged about it but didn't post it, maybe someday I will

...I listened to Christian contemporary music

This weekend...

...we are getting our bathroom done

...was thinking of going somewhere with Maddy to buy new bathroom stuff, time for a change

...we need groceries

...I am going for dinner with the girls and trying a new place

...I am teaching Sunday school again

Next week...

...I am working from home on Friday for two reasons: to register Tanner for school (WHAT!!!) and to go to a dietician appointment with Ricky (I listen better)

This chunky monkey is turning 5

...is going to be back to craziness, I have a meeting on Monday and then Girl Guides on Tuesday

Happy Weekend!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

- yesterday I got an early morning chuckle when I was walking through my building and there was a maintenance guy bent over and you could clearly see his underwear and you could tell that they were inside out (I could like read his tag)

- that I have phone and internet today at work...it's been choppy all week with Monday having none for about 3 hours

- my birthday was back in September and this week, I got my Booster Juice free regular smoothie email...woo hoo, better late than never!

- finished the first half of The Killing and now onto the next

- this weekend we are finally getting our bathroom done...well the bathtub surround which will be nice when it's finally done!

- gluten free living is really coming along.  Ricky is taking it serious and when I ask him how he's feeling, he is noticing a difference

- having meals prepared all week

- planning Maddy's double digit birthday...which after last year's stolen ring fiasco, we will not be having a party, maybe just one friend and do something...I am looking at some options

- preparing Tanner for school

- I received two tickets to Sens vs Pens with valet parking for tomorrow's game from our Property Managers at work...and was super excited as this is Ricky's fave team (Pens, not Sens) but he didn't want to go (doesn't like week night games) so I gave them to a colleague.

- saw that Reba has a new CD coming out in Feb and really thinking of getting it

- that Tanner put money in the celebration jar at church and said that HE LOVED SNOW...I was like, are you Jill's kid cuz you def are not mine!

- that the deep freeze is breaking and we are expecting a few milder days

Happy Wednesday!

Are We a Dog Family?

Last Christmas Ricky really tried to get the kids to be all gung-ho about getting a dog and much to his surprise, they said no.  Since then the idea has been floating around and we are always on the look out. 

Last Friday we received THE phone call that the dog that we have wanted from this specific breeder (have several friends and family that used these folks) had a litter and they would be ready to come home in February, did we want a female or male?  OMG this was really happening. 

The minute it became surreal, things started going through my head:

- it's so much work

- we have no yard and therefore will have to go out to take it the bathroom

- it's a puppy and what if it chews everything

- we are gone all day, I don't want to have to crate him/her all day

- it's so much money...plus then additional vet bills

Aside from the bad things going through my mind, I was also thinking:

- awww they are so cute

- someone to cuddle in bed with

- the kids could possibly learn some responsibility

- Ricky would have a walking partner

In the end, after discussing with Ricky we decided to hold off this litter but remain on the list for the next litter which will be in the Fall.  Will we be more ready then?  Probably not but maybe we will be ready. 

It's such a commitment.  I feel that getting a dog that is already trained is better but Ricky insists on a puppy to train and to get used to us.  I don't think we are a dog family yet.  Ideally, I want a dog that I can just let out back to do it's business, I want a dog that doesn't bark unless needed, I want a dog that will greet us at the door after work excited to see us with no messes in the house and it would really nice to not have the shedding and hair!

So...we are not a dog family, yet!

{Weekend Rewind}

This weekend was very low key....

Friday night I was just too exhausted and cold to go up to card night, so the kids and I stayed home.  I had a hot bath and then cuddled in bed watching my new Netflix series: The Killing.

Saturday morning the kids were up way too early.  After tidying up, Maddy and I ran to Shawville to get a few things for school lunches and then we came home, unloaded groceries, had lunch and then I cuddled into bed watching The Killing again.  Ricky headed to the Legion for a Texas Horseshoe Tournament.  After an attempt to nap, I got up and made a shepherd's pie and gluten free brownies for my parents and sister who were coming for supper.  Shannon, Casey and Rylie arrived around 3 and we just hung out.  I had missed my Rylie so it was nice to see her. 
After supper, I had a bad headache and...you guessed it, hot bath and cuddled into bed watching The Killing (with the magic bag).

Sunday morning the kids slept in a little then all of a sudden we were scrambling to get ready for Church.  I was running around gathering supplies while the kids got ready so we could stop and say bye to Rylie first.  We then headed to Church.  There were only my two kids and Caden at church but it was a nice lesson about how unique we are and made snowflakes.  When we got home, we had lunch then Maddy and I made some gluten free chocolate chip cookies, got a meatloaf ready for the oven and prepared some rice for the week.  We chopped veggies to have one hand for the week and basically got ready for the week.  Ricky was upstairs watching football and hockey, so why not, I headed down to bed to watch The Killing....haha!

We are back to work, all of us now and Maddy is back to school.  Back to routines!!

Hope you had a good weekend.

New Years Goals

I have never made New Years resolutions but this year, I have made a list of goals that I want to achieve this year:

- Pay off my line of credit which means when I am monthly budgeting, I will make it like a normal payment so I can clear it up quicker

- Exercise more: I want to start walking around my building and doing the stairs at lunch (I need to charge my Fitbit)
- Have more patience: believe it or not, this is hard for me, but I want to scream less at the kids and let them be able to do more without my nagging

- Be less OCD: if that's even a thing.  I need to let my house be a little untidy at times and be okay with it

- Plan a summer vacation: we had a great time last year in Toronto but this year I want to do something like renting a cottage or something - Ricky is still talking about driving to Nova Scotia but we'll see if I pay that line of credit off (haha)

- Drink more water

- Remembering to update pictures to hard drive and backing up iPhone more often

- Meal preparation: this will be more important now in a gluten free environment, it's not as easy to just whip something up, basically everything is homemade, not packaged.

What are your goals / intentions for 2017?

What I'm Loving...Thursday

- that I bit the bullet and drove to work in wintery conditions (my neighbour came with me and I am a much better driver than a passenger...and she felt safe, it was slow, but we made it)

- despite some power surges Tuesday evening and Wednesday, we did not lose power for more than minutes...people around us were without all night and day (it's like the ice storm all over again)

- to make things any worse, some residents in town were also without water, lucky again, we didn't lose ours

- being back to work

- finished Wentworth and NEED to wait for Season 5 now

- my New Year Goals, more on this tomorrow

- we have started committing to a gluten free diet seriously now.  Ricky was diagnosed with Celiac disease and as of January, I wanted to make sure that he is fully committed...still learning though, any tips or recipes, pass them along

- everyone is my household was somewhat sick during the holidays and I managed to bypass it all, all because of my oils, I'm sure of it (haha)

- quieter weekends now that the holiday bustle is over

What are you loving today?

{Christmas Recap}

First off, Happy New Year to everyone!  Hope it's been great this far!

I basically had no recollection of what day was what for the last 10 days so I am going to do a quick recap of what I can remember.

Christmas Vacation 2016

- Christmas Eve we went to Tracy and Butter's for our Christmas on that side...we had a turkey dinner and played some cards, made some money and exchanged gifts.

 - which means that we skipped Christmas Eve service at Church

- I realized that getting old sucks...because the kids fell asleep on the way home, when we got home, Maddy wasn't tired so we had to stay awake longer to wait for her to be asleep to play Santa

- Christmas morning we were all up around 7:30 am (had to wake Tanner up).  We opened stockings and then my parents came over and watched the kids open their presents.  They were happy with what they got and we probably snacked on chocolate.

- We tidied up, opened some gifts then headed to parents for breakfast and open more gifts there with my sister and brother in law.  Again, kids were all happy.

Tanner in his shark tale from Auntie

Maddy in her mermaid tail

 
- we brought everything home and napped then got up, got dressed, packed things and headed to the community centre where we were having our dinner.  We had way too much food as usual, the drinks were flowing, kids played, and the adults played Texas Horseshoes

So happy that my Nanny joined us

My dad serving dessert...his apron was a surprise

 
- we were home around 10:30

- we had no other plans for the week

- Boxing Day we were hit with an ice storm so it was a good excuse to stay in AND Ricky ended up with the gastro...ouff!

- By Wednesday, we were needing some fresh air, so we headed back to the camp with some friends and family and got the snowmobile going.  Bonus, we even got my Dad's 78' Everest skidoo going too after sitting in the bush for years!

- I decided to watch Wentworth and got hooked, I literally spent the rest of the holidays in bed watching it on the tablets.  I was hooked. 

Ringing in the New Year - 2017

- last minute plans changed due to my Nanny not feeling the best, so the card crew came over to our place

- we had lots of snacks, invited the neighbours over and basically chatted and had some drinks

- guests were gone by 11:30 pm

- we wanted to show Maddy what the whole thing was about and tried to find something on TV to watch the "ball drop" and decided on the Dick Clark special...we waited literally until we realized it was 12:05...ummm, did we miss it?  I don't ever remember it being a time zone issue, so we basically wasted that...so we called it a night

- we played around with a simple bath reno that turned into a far more challenge than we were experienced for...so now we are just waiting for the contractor to come and do the whole thing

I would say that we had a good holiday but man oh man am I ever glad to be back to the real world!  Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years.