We are ditching graciously giving the poor sucker grandparents with the extremely tiring and horrific joy of having their overactive beautiful grandchildren for the weekend.

Do you know what that means?

That means that we are KIDLET FREE for a WHOLE WEEKEND. 

Yup.

We're getting rid of them dropping them off tonight at my mom and dad's, and they will be hurriedly graciously returned on Sunday in time for a Variety show put on by Cystic Fibrosis.

Now, what will we be doing with this glorious kid free time on our hands?  Aside from missing the children terribly and talking about them constantly?  Tomorrow we are off to Barrie for some yarn shopping with our good friends Kevin and Bev.  Bev and I don't really care what are going to encourage the men to go elsewhere while we drool over yarn shop.

Oh man, it IS going to be sweet!

Keyzia had a dr's appointment today.  Nothing serious, I just wanted to get these warts on the back of her leg checked out.  ((Turns out that we could treat them, but eventually they'll just go away.  Keyz's immune system will realize that they're there, and they'll just disappear.))

Our doctor's nurse, Sylvia is quite fabulous.  She loves our kids and is always talking to them, asking them questions and that kind of thing.  It's great for many reasons, the main one being that my kids have no fear about going to the doctor's at all.  It's great.

So, Sylvia was asking Keyzia if she was going to school next year.  Keyzia turned to her and said, "I already do school!  At home!"

Sylvia was quite impressed and totally knew that she was talking about homeschooling! 

I was just so proud of my little girl.  It's funny too, you don't get nearly as many funny looks when she says we have school at home as when I say that we homeschool!

Okay, so I am totally addicted to the breadmaker.  I big red puffy heart the breadmaker. 

Sometimes?  When no one is looking?  I kiss the breadmaker before I go to bed at night.

I really do.

Wanna know the best part?  I have a BETTER breadmaker now!  I know.  I can hardly believe it myself.  My heart aches a little just thinking about it.

You know the bread maker that accomplished this?  It's a good bread maker.  A lovely dough mixing sweet breadmaker.  The problem with it is that you can only make bread in it.  It didn't have setting for things like RAISIN BREAD!  or PIZZA DOUGH!  or things of such nature.  It didn't even have a sweet setting.  Also?  It was a loner.  I would someday have to give it back.

Shocking.  I know.

But, my lovely and dear friend Connie begged and pleaded with her mother for one of her two breadmakers just for me.  She even delivered it! 

That night?  That very same night?  I may have made the best bread ever made in the history of the world.

Seriously.

The smell was so good that Ja and I hauled our tired sorry butts out of bed just to eat a piping hot slice of the stuff.

It was so good that I didn't even take a picture of it to share with you all.

I love the breadmaker.

No.  Really.  I am about to write an article and post on the WORLD WIDE WEB that contains way too much information.

Dad?  Step away from the computer.  I promise that tomorrow I shall post something happy about... bunnies!  or puppy dogs!  With absolutely no talk whatsoever about my girlie parts or their functionings.

That said...

Here we go.

A few weeks ago I bought something a little nutty.  I had done some research, found a supplier, and purchased the Diva Cup.  ((You'll really really have to click on the link to even get a vague understanding of what this is.))  Think...  a diaphragm, sort of, but for your period! 

Thus follows a review, of sorts, of said Diva Cup and my thoughts to it's uses and whether it was worth the crazy amount of money it cost me.

To sum up, the Diva cup rocks my world and I can't believe I waited so long to get it.

The end.

Hunh?  More details?  Awrighty, here we go.

It's this crazy cup shaped thing that you insert into your, er, girlie bits.  It catches all those monthly nasties, then you empty it out, wash it, and re-insert.  Or put in your cupboard in the handy dandy draw string bag until next month.

A typical period for me lasts about 7 days.  The first two days are usually brutal horrifying nasty things, where if you look at me, I just might rip your face off and have it for dinner.  I will soak through the big tampons in about two hours or so, and be quite heavy even while sleeping.  It does generally taper off a bit by day 3, and then down to almost nothing by day 7.

This time?  I was very uncomfortable, as per usual on day one.  Day two (yesterday) totally fine.  Today?  It's tapering off, and I think that'll probably be it by tonight.

I have yet to fill the cup and I left it in there for 6 hours or more yesterday.  And for a good 8 hours today.  I didn't even need to empty it when I did.

The tricky parts?  Learning how to get it in is tricky.  Especially as a die hard tampon woman.  The lesson I learned is that you do not insert it the way you would a tampon.  It actually sits very low, just inside the vaginal opening.  Surprisingly tho, I cannot feel it when it's in there properly.  I had to go back and read the directions on it to really figure the thing out.

One thing that is weird is peeing with it in.  I have been assured by some cyber buddies that it will not fall out, but it does kind of feel like it.  Maybe it's just my superior vaginal muscles!  After pushing out a ten pound baby!  ha!

I'm convinced that it's the lack of chemicals in these things that's doing my body good.  I also switched to cloth pads for at night, but I haven't even really needed anything on at night, so that part doesn't even matter.

A three day period??  That's unheard of for me!  But, I will take it.  Oh yes, I will take it.

Now I'll probably get pregnant or something.  Figures, eh?

Oooeee!  A new scarf!

You know, I like knitting scarves.  You can play around with funky stitches, do all kinds of fun things, and end up with this long warm fuzzy.  Nice.



Okay, bad bad picture.  If you can get around the rug pattern to see the scarf, there it is!  Blocking in my bedroom!!

This is the multi-directional scarf in Iris Schreier's Modular Knits.  Quite an ingenious pattern, actually.  Done on one circular needle, I used some grey angora like stuff from Gramma's stash, and double strand of black cotton, also from Gramma's stash.  I'm really pleased with it thus far.  After blocking, all it will need is a hefty dose of black fringe, and won't I be styling with my red winter coat!  Oooee!!


The stripes were so much fun to do.  With this type of knitting, you never cut the yarn.  It's pretty much continuous, unless, of course, you run out. 

There are quite a few other patterns in this book that I want to try, but first, methinks me needs a matching hat.  N'est pas?

You know what there is pretty much nothing better than?  The smell of baking bread.  Okay, okay, so maybe eating freshly baked bread straight out of the oven is pretty sweet too.  Put some butter on there...  ooo yah.

Carla and James recently leant us their breadmaker.  I've always wanted a bread maker, but you know, money, blah blah blah.  The fact that I am usually a miserable failure at baking, blah blah blah.

BUT!  Do you want to know what I accomplished last night???

(((insert drumroll here)))



Wahoo!  I did it!

Okay, the first try was a miserable failure.  I think I put in an extra cup of flour.  But THIS!  THIS is a BEAUTIFUL thing!

It was even edible.  So edible, in fact, that Eph had eaten the whole top off it by the time we came downstairs this morning.  His comment was, "I LIKE the crustez on this bread, Momma!"


Now, since this breadmaker is a loaner, I think I may need one of my own...  Perhaps something like this?

Yah.  It's been a while.  I've got that blogging block right now.  Or maybe I'm just to into the current knitting obsession?  Who knows!

In an attempt to break the blogging block (wow, say that five times fast!), I offer you a random posting, in list form, with gratuitous cuteness to break up the tedious boredom...

1.  I broke down and had a Pampered Chef party on Friday.  Had a $300 show which gets me $45 worth of free stuff and 1 half price item.  Wahoo!  I might splurge and get a new frying pan too...  we'll see about that.  Even at 60% off they're ridiculously expensive.  It's worth it in the long run.  Lifetime warranty, baby.

Gratuitous Cuteness #1

They really do love each other!!

2.  My winter coat died.  The day that "real" winter hit, the zipper kaputzed on me.  It would have cost about $50 to replace the zipper, so I splurged and got a new coat from Winners.  $50 for a red down jacket.  It's much fun!  But now I definitely need to make a new scarf for it.

Gratuitous cuteness #2

((hamming it up for the camera))

3.  This weekend we had bright sun and cold weather.  Now THAT is winter.

Gratuitous cuteness #3

(((my men)))

4.  For many many reasons, I ordered a Diva Cup.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Gratuitous Cuteness #4

((zoned out in front of the universal babysitter))

5.  Homeschooling continues wonderfully.  It's funny about homeschooling...  While I've been home with the kids all along, now is the time when I feel the most purpose.  Weird. 

6.  My son spent fourty minutes taking one page at a time out of a blank notebook today and piling them beside himself on the couch.  In his underwear.

7.  My daughter, when told she could wear whatever she wanted to today came down in a very fancy dress.  So, my son is hanging out in his underwear, and my daughter in a dress.  Nature vs. Nurture my ass.

8.  I really like the word ass.

Random Gratuitous cuteness for no particular reason

((How could you not want to EAT those cheeks???))


(((yes, his roller skates are pink.  He's very in touch with his feminine side...)))

He left me the leftover Shepherd's Pie for my lunch....  didn't take it to work for his own lunch.

Now that's love.

I certainly am feeling the urge to write today.  I get that way sometimes.  I mean, I started this blog as an outlet way back when with some very pathetic and sad posts...  just check out the archives and you'll know what I mean!

And today, today I've got that urge to put fingers to keyboard, and yet not a lot to say.  It's an odd feeling, really.

Well, what's been up with us?  Not a heck of a lot, really.  We're plugging away at life.  Getting through.  Eating as much chocolate as is humanly possible.

But, it does look like winter has finally arrived!  I think we got almost 30 centimetres yesterday.  AND!  To celebrate!!  The zipper on my one and only winter coat decided to die!  Hooray! 

sigh.

What timing, eh?  It was awful drafty when we went out yesterday, that's for sure.

The homeschooling continues on.  Keyzia is working on matching upper and lower case letters right now.  She is loving this game.  It's pretty funny, actually.  She was doing a rather difficult memory game... one where you have to match the word to the picture.  She figured out that she could find a picture, and just keep getting that picture and doing one different tile at a time to find the match.  Ja and I are so screwed.  Our kids are already smarter than we are!

Eph's toilet training continues.  Frustratingly.  He gets the whole concept, he understands and can tell when he has to go, he just can't be bothered going to the bathroom.  You know, he was a lazy bugger for nursing, and now he's a lazy bugger for going to the bathroom.

I think he gets it from his father.

And now I'm just going to end this post because it isn't really going anywhere, and frankly, I'm feeling sleepy from boredom just by writing it.  Go and read something interesting... like mooning the Fed Ex guy.

I smell it everywhere.  If there's a drop on the floor I lean down to see if it has that distinctive odour...  the odour that will lead me on the hunt to find the balled up wet big boy undies...  and eventually the naked son who has tracked over the house with his pee soaked socks.

Is this what my life has been reduced to?  The pee hunter?  The one who continually says, "Do you have to go pee?"  "Do you have to go pee?"  "Do you have to go pee?"  Man, I even annoy myself, I can only imagine how annoying it is for Eph!

We are toilet training.  I had forgotten how much toilet training sucks.  Actually, I think that Keyzia left me delusional.  Wanna know how we trained her?  Left her bum naked with the potty in the room.  Told her she needed to put all of her pee in the potty, and, lo and behold, she did.  Worked great!

Eph?  Not so much. 

Is it a boy thing?  Is it a second child thing?  I'm pretty sure it's an Ephraim thing.

He totally understands the concept.  In fact, he poops everytime in the toilet.  Every.  Stinking. Time.

The pee?  We could find the pee anywhere.  Almost makes me glad we don't have any carpet just yet. 

Now, the past few days he's been doing really really well.  He does great at Sunday school, and great at playgroup.  It's the at home part that doesn't go so well.  The past few days he's at least been making it TO the bathroom.  Onto the toilet is pretty hit and miss.  But, progress, right?  At least it's in the bathroom???

I think I've washed the bathroom rug fourtyhundred* times since Friday.

He stays dry for his entire nap.  He goes when I tell him to go.  And he can get on and off the toilet in this weird climbing all around the rim way before he sits down.  He can take his pants and big boys off all by himself. 

He totally GETS it. 

He just needs to get it in the toilet.

In the meantime, the swiffer wet jet is constantly on standby.  I don't think I've washed these floors so much in the past 9 months that we've been here.  The laundry gets done almost every day, and the toilet is constantly being wiped down.

So, I guess the one good thing of toilet training is how clean the house is.

But, I think I would rather a messy house that isn't permeated with the odour of pee.

Well, I can dream, can't I?

*Yes, I did say fourtyhundred.  But it's okay.  Coolbeans said noon thirty!