~ Yep, another one ~

Two posts in one day?! Yes, the pigs have taken flight.

I posted, and then was doing my blog rounds. I haven't touched blogs or FB all week, stupid busy job.

So reading the Mare, who rocks...and lives too far away, and she wrote something that hit me.

...we still have fun together and laugh (alot) and do nice things for each other and all that stuff that I just knew it was supposed to be like...

I smiled.

For her, and for me...cause I too am in a "I just knew it was supposed to be like this".

~ Grab my arm and yank ~

Just pull me where ever you need me to go, cause I ain't gettin' there on my own.

What a week!! and not in an "that was the best week of my whole gosh darn life".

NO!

"That was the most emotionally and physically draining week that has hit the charts yet!"

K, here's the run down.

And now that I'm thinking of it...it's been two weeks.

Nov 19...picked up the kids for their first sleep over at mom's house. We've been working up to this. Had a 'late over' the week before. My children have not done a lot of sleep overs. They live close to their grandparents, and are not allowed to sleep over at friends. It's a rule of mine, you can challenge me on it a different day. I don't have the energy today. So come over friday night for pizza and movie. Miss S had announced that she didn't want to sleep over. I didn't sweat it, I know how she is. She's just nervous about not being at her own house. So I didn't say anything. Unbeknownst to her...I had an ace up my sleeve. Waahaha. I've been preparing for the kids to come and stay for a bit. New toothbrushes, pj's and toys that stay at mom's house. No need to pack anything really...I gotcha covered. So they were pretty stocked about new stuff, every kid is right? Miss S love to design clothing and accessories. She is constantly making new dresses and outfits for her dolls and barbies. I found this Project Runway type dealy that you create the outfits for the paper dolls. It's more sophisticated than paper dolls...but whatever. You get the idea...I had new stuff for her to play with. She rocked it. It wasn't a bribe, just a means of helping her be comfortable in a new environment. So she designed....and Mr O built endless cars, trucks and buildings with Lego. JJ man...he played computer. Lego is a little above him, and he's just as happy to be on Nick Jr.

Bed time arrives. O is a super sleeper. Takes him about 2.5 seconds to hit the hay and saw the logs. Princess S does a lot of tossing and turning, but then knocks out like a fighter. JJ man however, he's terrible to get to sleep. Partly because if he's had any type of nap...even 10 minutes he's hit the second wind like I'd main lined him Red Bull.

So JJ man and I hit the Where's Waldo Tour. Even at 3 years old, he can pick that guy out of a Chinese intersection.

By this time I'm dying, can't keep my eyes open. Had already fallen asleep while they watched Ice Age 3. So Sista S and I put the JJ man between us, and we nod off. This works fine. At some point JJ fell asleep cause I was rudely awaken in the night with a head in my back, then a good swift kick...then the slap across the face as he's turning.

I remember at 4 am saying..."J, move over"....and Princess S replying from the other side of the bed..."He is over, I'm gonna fall off soon".

Needless to say, it was not a restful sleep fro the women. The little man though, he was primed for the day.

So...kids slept over.

Saturday, spent the morning and early afternoon with the rats...then dropped them at home so they could go to a birthday party.

Saturday night....Gerry Dee. So funny.

Sunday....spent the whole day trying to help our family/friends get through a very tough, emotional and confrontational time. 7 hours. It was very hard, took hours for us to come down off the stress after. I can't give details, they are not my details to give. But it was a lot.

Monday - FOCIS - Focus on Communication in Separation

This is another free class offered by the court systems. It was a two night opportunity to learn some new strategies to communicate with others, and especially the person we're trying to co-parent with.

Tuesday...our only night home. I think we even made real food rather than take out.

Wednesday - starts as a regular day. Work, the other half of the FOCIS class. THEN....oh yes...THEN. We get out of the class to find missed called, txt messages and emails. "Come now, emergency...warning, warning".

So we run home...well drove, cause Strathmore is very far to run. Pack a quick over night bag...and head out. Time check 10:06.

A few lessons learned in this little night of adventure.

1. If you drive too fast trying to achieve a destination, you will over heat your small car and break stuff.

2. If you break stuff on your car, you have to sit on the side of the highway.

3. If you sit on the highway at midnight, it gets cold.

4. If you can't fix your broken stuff, you have to drive/coast back to your home...and pick up the other vehicle.

5. Trying to achieve destination part 2 - Time Check 12:45 am.

All the while trying to talk, console, locate, reassure, joke, lecture, listen, cry...oh so many things that can happen with a cell phone.

Achieve Destination - Time Check 2:30 am.

Locate Emergency Victim - take away the alcohol. Send to bed.

What we thought would be a over night visit to help a situation, turned into a three days excursion. It was fine, we were needed, we stayed.

Friday night and Saturday - we were already planning to be in Lethbridge, so we just stayed. Spent an entire evening and next day making chocolates.

Did you think the adventures were over?!! Oh no, no no.

Drive home Saturday night, and start to pack. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MOVE STILL!

The commuting is finally over, the long hours of driving, driving, driving. We made it. Three months of endless driving has finally come to an end.

Destination of New Habitation - Cochrane, or as I like to call it..."In the shadow of the rocky mountains". That's my new return address. Look for it on your Christmas cards.

Hours to pack truck 2

Trips to Cochrane to unload 2

Rad guys that helped us 2

Hours cut off commute everday - = 2!!

Does the adventure end now? oh...no no no.

Car is still broken, and stuck in Strathmore. Fortunately we are a two vehicle house hold...no big deal.

Everything is moved into the garage of new house...but the owners are staying for two more days. We are house sitting for 7 months for them. It's fine, no problem. We feeling like we're having a sleep over...but they'll leave eventually.

Wednesday - owners leave, finally have house to ourselves. It's 8 times the size of the apartment...we have decided. Not sure what to do with all the space.

It snows. Just to top off the adventure of a lifetime...it snows. We are shovelling the postal boxes again this year. So guess what we did last night? And will be doing again tonight? And likely Saturday evening as well...you guessed it.

AND....AND AND AND....this weekend marks the first of kids starting to come for the weekends.

My mailing address for your chocolates, tranquilizers and letters of condolences.

Tiffany
In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

~ Remember that time I went on a trip? ~

It's taking me forever to tell you about our trip. Stupid FT job. It takes up all my free time. And even stupider commute, if we're not working or sleeping...we're driving. 11 days until the move!!! It can't come soon enough. We're tired of feeling like prisoners in our own home.

So...to re-cap.

North Carolina

" Will m'lady be needing a box?"

Nascar

Metallica

Churches, churches, churches

Water Falls

So you think you can Dance

Chicken - really that's all they eat.

Next on the adventure was Phoenix. This was a welcome change in temperature. Charlotte was having it's coldest October on record. Of course they were, we were there. Layers layers layers were on tap in Charlotte. Never even looked at the shorts and flip flops.

Phoenix however, a glorious 30 degrees.

There wasn't a direct flight from Charlotte to Phoenix. We had to fly through Cleavland. I don't know much about US Geography...but it seems that Cleavland is not anywhere near Phoenix. I also didn't consider the time zones and all the nonsense. Flight from Charlotte to Cleavland is about an hour. No big deal. Cleavland to Phoenix....I wrongly assumed was about 2...uh, time zones told me otherwise. Flight was more than 4 hours.

Hello Terminator Salvation.

That's what we watched. I'm not a big Terminator fan...but I do appreciate the DNA of Christian Bale. He has a very reclusive manner about him. I'm not attracted to that at all, but in him, its appealing.

Then discovered the humor of The Adventures of Old Christine. I've added it to my list of watching.

Flight, our first one left at 6:00...AM. Those are never fun...you have to get up at like 4 am...that is not a time that I am awake. So I'm dead tired. Spend all of the first flight trying to sleep, but who really sleeps well on an airplane. Plus it was a smaller plane, so it was loud.

Cleavland plane was larger. Three seats, aisle, three more seats. The average size.

Okay, that's it about the flights, cause there was nothing exciting that happened.

Phoenix is the polar opposite to Charlotte. Practically no trees, and if there are some, they're Palm Trees. Crazy amounts of traffic, commerce and big box stores everywhere. Desert, cactus and luscious sunny days.

We got our rental car and headed out for another adventure, and got promptly lost. Now, this was neither intentional nor expected. The map was wrong. That's what I say....where the map showed us, and the GPS, and the signs....and where were actually were...well they didn't match up. Anyway, delayed start to fun in the sun.

Found our condo, couldn't get in. The day is just getting better and better. This was a gated community, which means there's a gate, with a code. It would seem that you need to enter the correct code in order for it to open. I was given a code...it was not correct.

So here we are, in a city that is not our own, loaded with luggage and anticipation...have our home away from home in our sights...can't get in. Call my friend/client/condo owner. No answer. Lovely.

Fortunately nice landscape man not only entered the right code, but told us what it was. It wasn't close to the code she had given us.

FINALLY, we get in. And it's fantastic. Not huge, but well decorated, right by the pool...and we have it all to our selves for the next 5 days.

Feels like 4:00 to us, it's noon.

Went to eat. In and Out Burger. Is the burger coming out of the closet? It was fine.

Put on our swim suits, loaded up on sunscreen, covered up...well I did cause there were 20 maintenance guys repainting the place...and as it was I was a spectacle in my white ness...never named my swim suited-ness.

Ready to lay by the pool, in OCTOBER, work on my tan...and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Can't open the gate. Is this sounding like a broken record??!?!? Is there a sneaky guy who thinks it's funny to tell you one code, but that's not actually the code you need....no, it's a completely different code.

So I walk back to the condo, under the watchful eye of the maintenance guys. Casey keeps trying the code, the wrong code, of course. I call friend/client/condo owner again. She gives me the code...it's not the code she originally gave me. This is becoming irritating.

Get back to the pool, Casey is already arranging the loungers and get ready to bask.

"How did you get in? That was the wrong code?

"I reached over the gate and turned the handle"

"Oh"

Rest of the day, basking, eating, and dead asleep by 8:00.

~ Water Falls and Cooking Craziness ~

The waterfalls in North Carolina.

This is the one from the movie The Last of the Mohicans

So....Saturday night.

Months ago I booked a cooking class. Casey loves to cook and I wanted to do a couples cooking class for his birthday. We were in Phoenix at that time, so last night was when it happened.

If you ever have the chance, it's so much fun. We took a Cookbook Company cooking class, down on 11 Ave. So great. It is a class of 10-12 couples who all cook different dishes and then all sit down to eat a 4 course meal. We made the soup.

We sat with a big table of sisters and their husbands. It was so much fun that we all went out after and laughed harder than I have in a long time. And, as only true friends do, we added each other on FB today...so now we're bonded for life.

~ Story time gone mad ~

What happens when you have 3 crazy kids, a Blackberry phone, and a mom that thought we'd actually read stories??

Craziness!!

Did you notice Mr. O's new trick?

LOL....hope no one smacks the back of his head...he might stay like that.

~ North Carolina ~

Since I'm at home today...where the pics are....here are some of my favorite shots from North Carolina.

~ Day 4 ~

I've been busy and distracted, sorry for the delay.

So Day 4 - We headed to the mountains of North Carolina where there are some amazing water falls. I'd like to show them to you, but it seems they are on my home computer. So pics to follow later. Drove about 2 hours and checked out Looking Glass Falls. Nice, water, falling...fine. Then went farther up through the mountains to see a bigger one. This one was featured in the movie Last of the Mohakians (no idea the spelling on that). You couldn't get really close, but it was still amazing. Over 400 feet high. Again, pics to follow. Daniel Day Lewis was not around, disappointing.

Then headed back, down through South Carolina.

This was Monday and we had tickets to So you think you can Dance. This was held at the same Time Warner Arena that Metallica had been at. Quite the contrast in events. It was okay. We are fans of the show. The live tour is re-do's of dances that were on the show. So, though it was cool to see the people live, and the dances that we enjoyed live, it wasn't screaming unbelievable or anything.