Not much point to this other than to say it's my 500th post in this blog.
Stay tuned for my 501st blog post. It will be much more entertaining.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
New Anna Words
Anna now says "No" but we don't think that she equates it with her head-shaking "NO" because when she says it, it's in her cute little voice and not said with any sort of purpose yet. She also cruises around saying "Yeah, yeah.... no" which is just plain funny.
I realized this week that Anna has finally stopped spitting up. I'm sure I'm totally jinxing it by typing this, but I can't really remember the last time she spat up, not counting her lovely pukefest after her birthday party.
I realized this week that Anna has finally stopped spitting up. I'm sure I'm totally jinxing it by typing this, but I can't really remember the last time she spat up, not counting her lovely pukefest after her birthday party.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ha!
I was reading a Strawberry Shortcake story to Rachel this afternoon in which there is a Cake Shoppe. I read it as "Cake Shop" and Rachel corrected me, "No, Mom. It's SHOPPY!"
Later this afternoon, Rachel was being whiny so I told her I wasn't going to play with her if she continued on like that. (She wanted suggestions to solve a problem in her imaginary Strawberry Shortcake world but kept vetoing the ones I gave her.) She told me that she was going up to her room. This was said in a grumpy voice while stomping towards the stairs. I pointed out that if she went to her room she would miss her afternoon snack.
"No, Mom, you can do room service!" she told me. I suspect that she knew this was not a request that I would agree to since she was giggling by this point. She then proceeded to request bed service, couch service and some other kind of service before finally deciding that retreating to the kitchen TABLE for applesauce and crackers wasn't such a bad deal after all.
Later this afternoon, Rachel was being whiny so I told her I wasn't going to play with her if she continued on like that. (She wanted suggestions to solve a problem in her imaginary Strawberry Shortcake world but kept vetoing the ones I gave her.) She told me that she was going up to her room. This was said in a grumpy voice while stomping towards the stairs. I pointed out that if she went to her room she would miss her afternoon snack.
"No, Mom, you can do room service!" she told me. I suspect that she knew this was not a request that I would agree to since she was giggling by this point. She then proceeded to request bed service, couch service and some other kind of service before finally deciding that retreating to the kitchen TABLE for applesauce and crackers wasn't such a bad deal after all.
Friday, February 20, 2009
I can't resist.
June 28, 1999
Jane and Ben close on their first house. Although no-one seems to believe it, yes, they had separate bedrooms until their wedding on August 29! (Yes, I realize that is too much information for some, but come on. It's too much information of the good kind, is it not?)
spring 2000
Jane accepts an offer to take over a violin studio in Charlottetown, PEI
late June 2000
Jane and Ben spend a week in PEI house-hunting. Much to Ben's chagrin, they do not choose to purchase the house with the painted-on shuffleboard court in the basement. Nor do they purchase the overly blue house. They find a gorgeous brand new raised ranch with a huge backyard and arrange to have it finished just the way they want it.
Unfortunately for Jane and Ben, Ben's Crohns disease chooses to flare up the night they arrive home from Charlottetown. Decisions must be made since London is home to many more doctors and hospitals.
July 2000
Jane and Ben get out of house deal in PEI, not altogether unscathed. They likely owe Ben's parents heftily for this one!
Sept.11, 2000
Jane and Ben's house in London is no longer theirs.
remainder of Sept.2000
Jane and Ben rough it back in the guys' apartment for a few weeks. Ouch. Some things are better left in the past!
Oct.-Dec. 2000
Jane and Ben rent a lovely condo within spitting distance of Angelo's (great market/lunch place). They store most of their furniture in the basement and are able to teach lessons from the condo despite neighbours' complaints.
Dec.8, 2000
Jane and Ben move into their lovely new house with TWO studio spaces on Cedarwood Crescent! Their good friend K is kind enough to cat-sit since it was Fagans Messiah night and no-one wanted to come home to a house with a hidden cat. We located the toilet paper before leaving, and thanked K profusely.
Aug.7, 2005
Jane and Ben move to Kansas with their friends T and D. That story has been documented elsewhere in this blog and I see no need to dredge up memories of losing my husband for two days!
May 2006
Jane and Ben move back to London for the summer and sublet a nice apartment.
August 2006
Jane and Ben move back to Kansas to an even smaller two-bedroom apartment. Fun times are had by all.
May 2007
Jane and Ben move home to London to their "Forever Home."
June 14, 2007
Jane and Ben's new living room furniture is delivered and Jane gets a positive pregnancy test that afternoon resulting in some changes to our career thoughts.
August 12, 2008
Jane and Ben head back to Kansas.
And thus ends the saga for now. We do intend to look for cheaper housing when our lease here is up, and that would make 10 addresses in 10 years of marriage! At least our lives aren't boring.
Jane and Ben close on their first house. Although no-one seems to believe it, yes, they had separate bedrooms until their wedding on August 29! (Yes, I realize that is too much information for some, but come on. It's too much information of the good kind, is it not?)
spring 2000
Jane accepts an offer to take over a violin studio in Charlottetown, PEI
late June 2000
Jane and Ben spend a week in PEI house-hunting. Much to Ben's chagrin, they do not choose to purchase the house with the painted-on shuffleboard court in the basement. Nor do they purchase the overly blue house. They find a gorgeous brand new raised ranch with a huge backyard and arrange to have it finished just the way they want it.
Unfortunately for Jane and Ben, Ben's Crohns disease chooses to flare up the night they arrive home from Charlottetown. Decisions must be made since London is home to many more doctors and hospitals.
July 2000
Jane and Ben get out of house deal in PEI, not altogether unscathed. They likely owe Ben's parents heftily for this one!
Sept.11, 2000
Jane and Ben's house in London is no longer theirs.
remainder of Sept.2000
Jane and Ben rough it back in the guys' apartment for a few weeks. Ouch. Some things are better left in the past!
Oct.-Dec. 2000
Jane and Ben rent a lovely condo within spitting distance of Angelo's (great market/lunch place). They store most of their furniture in the basement and are able to teach lessons from the condo despite neighbours' complaints.
Dec.8, 2000
Jane and Ben move into their lovely new house with TWO studio spaces on Cedarwood Crescent! Their good friend K is kind enough to cat-sit since it was Fagans Messiah night and no-one wanted to come home to a house with a hidden cat. We located the toilet paper before leaving, and thanked K profusely.
Aug.7, 2005
Jane and Ben move to Kansas with their friends T and D. That story has been documented elsewhere in this blog and I see no need to dredge up memories of losing my husband for two days!
May 2006
Jane and Ben move back to London for the summer and sublet a nice apartment.
August 2006
Jane and Ben move back to Kansas to an even smaller two-bedroom apartment. Fun times are had by all.
May 2007
Jane and Ben move home to London to their "Forever Home."
June 14, 2007
Jane and Ben's new living room furniture is delivered and Jane gets a positive pregnancy test that afternoon resulting in some changes to our career thoughts.
August 12, 2008
Jane and Ben head back to Kansas.
And thus ends the saga for now. We do intend to look for cheaper housing when our lease here is up, and that would make 10 addresses in 10 years of marriage! At least our lives aren't boring.
And so it goes...
Breaking news this week... apparently GM is likely dropping Saturn from its line of products in order to stay afloat. Once again, we've managed to buy something only to see it get discontinued. Perhaps an apology to the dealership is in order!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A brief history in cars, or, how we will be in a position to buy that new mattress for our 10th anniversary after all
August 29, 1999
Jane and Ben get married. Ben brings to the marriage a lovely maroon 1990 Honda Accord. Jane brings a 1990 Dodge Shadow with a pink stripe (her mother would not like it if the stripe was not mentioned). Both cars were inherited from parents. It's rather clear who got the better deal even if some people do insist that the Dodge had very comfortable seating and always got them where it needed to go. (When you don't really drive anywhere, that's an easy claim to make!)
While Jane and Ben were on their honeymoon in faraway Scotland, their good friend H was cat-sitting, house-sitting, and car-sitting. Sadly, she did a lot of car-sitting as the Dodge died on her while we were away. This was the beginning of a great relationship with Dave the Mechanic, and the beginning of the end of the Dodge.
October 1999
Ben is out of town. He is on his way back for a gig. Jane and H are also headed to that gig. Sadly, the Dodge won't start so Jane takes a cab to the gig (luckily she had H's viola with her) and H rode her bike. That was the day we decided to say farewell to the money trap.
mid-October 1999
Jane and Ben arrange to purchase a nice-looking Saturn SL1 sedan. It works. That's really all they care about in a car at this point.
A few years later (2002 or 2003?)
Jane and Ben trade in their Saturn sedan for an even nicer Saturn Wagon. This way they can transport instruments without putting them in the trunk. This was a lesson that they perhaps should have retained.
Early July 2004
The wagon stops dead in the middle of nowhere (well, to be fair, it was between Ingersoll and Woodstock) on the 401. Jane, Ben and their friend K were on their way back from a gig and surprise party for Ben. Little baby Rachel was also with us. We fried on the side of the road until finally we were rescued. Saturn loaned us a VUE for a few days and we quite enjoyed it.
Also early July 2004
Jane and Ben decide to sell Honda to mechanic's friend since it has been running fairly unreliably over the past couple of years. (see below for story about muffler and cello string!)
May 13, 2005
Jane and Ben drive to Chatham to purchase a 2000 Honda Odyssey. Luckily, they get a great deal because, not so luckily, less than 2 years later, the Odyssey died a tragic death on the I-80 and is likely in a scrap heap somewhere in Montezuma, Iowa.
May 15, 2007
While Jane heads to Windsor in her mother's Corolla, Ben heads for St. Catharines where he is set to wheel and deal (hahaha) for a 2006 Toyota Sienna that has been sitting on the lot for over 6 months. He is ready to cave at a higher price than his nagging wife will let him settle at. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Ben does the only thing that is good for him. He does what his wife says, and gets the van for the lower price.
Sept.10, 2008
Jane and Ben bite the bullet. For the first time in their marriage, they pay cash. Not just any cash. They pay American cash for a brand new 2008 dark blue 4-door Honda Civic. It's a great car. It's fun to drive, it gets good mileage, and it's just a joy to have two cars again!
Feb.6, 2009
The Civic dies an untimely death less than 10 minutes from home. Several days later, the insurance company confirms its final demise. This notice is accompanied by a hefty settlement cheque that will enable us to purchase another car so that Ben can continue to drive to work without paying indefinitely for a rental car.
Feb.17, 2009
Jane suggests getting a Saturn VUE. Since she and Ben are not done having children yet, she proposes that perhaps it would be logical to purchase a vehicle that could accommodate 3 carseats across the backseat. She and Ben spend some time online and find a couple of used VUEs at incredibly low prices.
**Interjection: Jane feels the need to point out that she has often lamented the need to buy a car back in September when gas prices were high and haggling was not that successful. Clearly she should not lament such things or she will get her wish, albeit not in the manner she would have chosen**
Feb.18, 2009
Jane and Ben steal a 2004 Saturn VUE with 30,690 miles on it from the Saturn dealership in Blue Springs, Missouri. No, they didn't actually steal it but they might as well have since they paid a whopping $7500 for it. The Blue Book value for that vehicle is just over $10,000. To buy a new VUE would set them back more than twice as much money.
Ben happily installs Anna's carseat in the centre position and heads for home in his green and tan Saturn VUE. Jane plots how to trade vehicles but concludes that Ben would probably notice if she tried to take the VUE away from him.
And now you know our not-so-brief history of cars. Don't anyone dare me to do the same for houses!
Jane and Ben get married. Ben brings to the marriage a lovely maroon 1990 Honda Accord. Jane brings a 1990 Dodge Shadow with a pink stripe (her mother would not like it if the stripe was not mentioned). Both cars were inherited from parents. It's rather clear who got the better deal even if some people do insist that the Dodge had very comfortable seating and always got them where it needed to go. (When you don't really drive anywhere, that's an easy claim to make!)
While Jane and Ben were on their honeymoon in faraway Scotland, their good friend H was cat-sitting, house-sitting, and car-sitting. Sadly, she did a lot of car-sitting as the Dodge died on her while we were away. This was the beginning of a great relationship with Dave the Mechanic, and the beginning of the end of the Dodge.
October 1999
Ben is out of town. He is on his way back for a gig. Jane and H are also headed to that gig. Sadly, the Dodge won't start so Jane takes a cab to the gig (luckily she had H's viola with her) and H rode her bike. That was the day we decided to say farewell to the money trap.
mid-October 1999
Jane and Ben arrange to purchase a nice-looking Saturn SL1 sedan. It works. That's really all they care about in a car at this point.
A few years later (2002 or 2003?)
Jane and Ben trade in their Saturn sedan for an even nicer Saturn Wagon. This way they can transport instruments without putting them in the trunk. This was a lesson that they perhaps should have retained.
Early July 2004
The wagon stops dead in the middle of nowhere (well, to be fair, it was between Ingersoll and Woodstock) on the 401. Jane, Ben and their friend K were on their way back from a gig and surprise party for Ben. Little baby Rachel was also with us. We fried on the side of the road until finally we were rescued. Saturn loaned us a VUE for a few days and we quite enjoyed it.
Also early July 2004
Jane and Ben decide to sell Honda to mechanic's friend since it has been running fairly unreliably over the past couple of years. (see below for story about muffler and cello string!)
May 13, 2005
Jane and Ben drive to Chatham to purchase a 2000 Honda Odyssey. Luckily, they get a great deal because, not so luckily, less than 2 years later, the Odyssey died a tragic death on the I-80 and is likely in a scrap heap somewhere in Montezuma, Iowa.
May 15, 2007
While Jane heads to Windsor in her mother's Corolla, Ben heads for St. Catharines where he is set to wheel and deal (hahaha) for a 2006 Toyota Sienna that has been sitting on the lot for over 6 months. He is ready to cave at a higher price than his nagging wife will let him settle at. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Ben does the only thing that is good for him. He does what his wife says, and gets the van for the lower price.
Sept.10, 2008
Jane and Ben bite the bullet. For the first time in their marriage, they pay cash. Not just any cash. They pay American cash for a brand new 2008 dark blue 4-door Honda Civic. It's a great car. It's fun to drive, it gets good mileage, and it's just a joy to have two cars again!
Feb.6, 2009
The Civic dies an untimely death less than 10 minutes from home. Several days later, the insurance company confirms its final demise. This notice is accompanied by a hefty settlement cheque that will enable us to purchase another car so that Ben can continue to drive to work without paying indefinitely for a rental car.
Feb.17, 2009
Jane suggests getting a Saturn VUE. Since she and Ben are not done having children yet, she proposes that perhaps it would be logical to purchase a vehicle that could accommodate 3 carseats across the backseat. She and Ben spend some time online and find a couple of used VUEs at incredibly low prices.
**Interjection: Jane feels the need to point out that she has often lamented the need to buy a car back in September when gas prices were high and haggling was not that successful. Clearly she should not lament such things or she will get her wish, albeit not in the manner she would have chosen**
Feb.18, 2009
Jane and Ben steal a 2004 Saturn VUE with 30,690 miles on it from the Saturn dealership in Blue Springs, Missouri. No, they didn't actually steal it but they might as well have since they paid a whopping $7500 for it. The Blue Book value for that vehicle is just over $10,000. To buy a new VUE would set them back more than twice as much money.
Ben happily installs Anna's carseat in the centre position and heads for home in his green and tan Saturn VUE. Jane plots how to trade vehicles but concludes that Ben would probably notice if she tried to take the VUE away from him.
And now you know our not-so-brief history of cars. Don't anyone dare me to do the same for houses!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Anna walked!
I tricked her yesterday (yes, on her birthday!) and she took three small steps in a row before she got to a piece of furniture. Yay for walking! Anna also enjoys "walking" while pushing Rachel's little shopping cart around the living room. We're going to go get her a sturdy baby stroller to push around instead.
Ben finally put the gate at the top of the stairs today, so now I can do laundry upstairs in the mornings without worrying that Anna is going to roll, crawl, cruise or walk down the stairs!
Unfortunately, Anna is now sick. We did give her some cake this afternoon at her party but she wasn't really interested. She's been throwing up most of the afternoon and evening, and she finally fell asleep in my arms about half an hour ago. I passed her over to Ben so he could go sleep in the recliner with her. (We don't want her on her back in the crib in case she throws up again and chokes or something like that!) I'd hold her myself, but I cannot sleep in the recliner all night without a recurrence of the pelvic pain.
Ben finally put the gate at the top of the stairs today, so now I can do laundry upstairs in the mornings without worrying that Anna is going to roll, crawl, cruise or walk down the stairs!
Unfortunately, Anna is now sick. We did give her some cake this afternoon at her party but she wasn't really interested. She's been throwing up most of the afternoon and evening, and she finally fell asleep in my arms about half an hour ago. I passed her over to Ben so he could go sleep in the recliner with her. (We don't want her on her back in the crib in case she throws up again and chokes or something like that!) I'd hold her myself, but I cannot sleep in the recliner all night without a recurrence of the pelvic pain.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
One year ago...
Ben was sound asleep, Rachel was sound asleep and I was online trying to decide if I was really having contractions or not. I remember falling asleep from about 11 p.m. until 1 a.m. and feeling some contractions through my sleep.
I do know that by 4 a.m. last year on Feb.14 I knew that I was in labour. I am still very grateful to our wonderful friend H - I don't know many people I could call at 4 a.m. who would anwer the phone right away and agree to come over to watch a sleeping 3 year old!
We were at the hospital and checked in by 5:30 a.m. and Anna was born at 10:03 a.m., just 42 minutes shy of my last scheduled doctor's appointment at which we were going to discuss induction.
Since then, I have not slept more than 6 hours straight. This post is not a "let's see who's the most sleep deprived" kind of post, it's just the facts. For the last few months of my pregnancy and since Anna was born, I have not slept much at all. I'll readily admit to hoping that Anna picks tonight to sleep through the night, although I don't have much real hope of that!
We had her 1 year pictures taken today. She was overtired and doing funny un-Anna-like things such as sticking her hands in her mouth and refusing to smile. Despite that, we still managed to come away with some very cute pictures! Rachel was overtired from attending a birthday party for one of the kids in her class, so she decided that she didn't want to have her picture taken. I was disappointed since we had adorable matching outfits for the girls, but I figure I'll just have to get my pictures in April when we do Rachel's 5 year pictures!
We don't have any big plans for tomorrow. Anna's "party" is on Sunday, but as of this moment, the guests are dropping like flies. Luckily, Anna won't know or care. ;)
I do know that by 4 a.m. last year on Feb.14 I knew that I was in labour. I am still very grateful to our wonderful friend H - I don't know many people I could call at 4 a.m. who would anwer the phone right away and agree to come over to watch a sleeping 3 year old!
We were at the hospital and checked in by 5:30 a.m. and Anna was born at 10:03 a.m., just 42 minutes shy of my last scheduled doctor's appointment at which we were going to discuss induction.
Since then, I have not slept more than 6 hours straight. This post is not a "let's see who's the most sleep deprived" kind of post, it's just the facts. For the last few months of my pregnancy and since Anna was born, I have not slept much at all. I'll readily admit to hoping that Anna picks tonight to sleep through the night, although I don't have much real hope of that!
We had her 1 year pictures taken today. She was overtired and doing funny un-Anna-like things such as sticking her hands in her mouth and refusing to smile. Despite that, we still managed to come away with some very cute pictures! Rachel was overtired from attending a birthday party for one of the kids in her class, so she decided that she didn't want to have her picture taken. I was disappointed since we had adorable matching outfits for the girls, but I figure I'll just have to get my pictures in April when we do Rachel's 5 year pictures!
We don't have any big plans for tomorrow. Anna's "party" is on Sunday, but as of this moment, the guests are dropping like flies. Luckily, Anna won't know or care. ;)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Heard after bath tonight
"Mom, I'm cold! I'm hot! I'm warm! I'm cold! I'm hot! I'm warm!"
*pause*
"Mom, are there any other temperatures besides cold, hot and warm?"
Clearly someone was in a goofy mood after bathtime tonight.
*pause*
"Mom, are there any other temperatures besides cold, hot and warm?"
Clearly someone was in a goofy mood after bathtime tonight.
I recommend State Farm
Wow. They are writing off the Civic (no surprises there) and are giving us more than we expected in settlement. While I wouldn't recommend needing to make a claim to test your insurance company's mettle, I have to say that State Farm has been absolutely fantastic throughout all of this.
The person who hit Ben's car has been less than wonderful. She is still 100% denying that she was involved at all and is now claiming that a car turned and hit her car and that's how it got damaged. There were WITNESSES. There is a POLICE REPORT. Can we say "rich entitlement attitude" a few hundred more times!??!?! WOW.
I bought a new carseat for Anna today. She got another Britax Marathon, the "Hannah" pattern (which makes me giggle since we thought about naming her Hannah since it was more biblical than Anna). We just missed a Britax sale at Target, but the store I went to hadn't taken down their sale signs so I got it for $50 off. Even though we're not paying in the end, I figured I might as well try to get the better price. I will be buying Rachel another Graco Nautilus. They have recently come out with a cover for it called the - wait for it - "Rachel"! So as soon as I can find it in store, we will be riding around with Anna/Hannah and Rachel/Rachel. I want a carseat named Jane!
The person who hit Ben's car has been less than wonderful. She is still 100% denying that she was involved at all and is now claiming that a car turned and hit her car and that's how it got damaged. There were WITNESSES. There is a POLICE REPORT. Can we say "rich entitlement attitude" a few hundred more times!??!?! WOW.
I bought a new carseat for Anna today. She got another Britax Marathon, the "Hannah" pattern (which makes me giggle since we thought about naming her Hannah since it was more biblical than Anna). We just missed a Britax sale at Target, but the store I went to hadn't taken down their sale signs so I got it for $50 off. Even though we're not paying in the end, I figured I might as well try to get the better price. I will be buying Rachel another Graco Nautilus. They have recently come out with a cover for it called the - wait for it - "Rachel"! So as soon as I can find it in store, we will be riding around with Anna/Hannah and Rachel/Rachel. I want a carseat named Jane!
Who knew?
Who knew that the ER could be a place to pick up new students? Ben went in on Saturday afternoon to get checked out. The nurse who took him down for X-rays found out that he was a musician. It turned out that she was looking for a new teacher for her children - piano, violin and cello! They came this afternoon and it looks like one girl will take both piano and cello, one violin and one piano on a weekly basis. Can't argue with that.
Will crawl for ponies...
Once again, the scene was Rachel's room. Anna has almost crawled for a few days now. That is to say, she will get up on all fours, look like she's going to do it, move one limb and then stop and belly flop. She then looks up with a "who, me?" expression that is hilarious.
This afternoon we put her down in Rachel's room again, just out of reach of many tantalizing objects. After a moment's indecision, Anna purposefully crawled several steps to successfully grab a My Little Pony while saying "Uh-oh!" Clearly she knows they are not her toys!
This afternoon we put her down in Rachel's room again, just out of reach of many tantalizing objects. After a moment's indecision, Anna purposefully crawled several steps to successfully grab a My Little Pony while saying "Uh-oh!" Clearly she knows they are not her toys!
So cute...
We got home shortly after 1:30 this afternoon after running some errands. Anna was clearly exhausted, so I changed her diaper and took her straight upstairs for nap. She lay down, grabbed Olly, spit her sucky out, wiggled happily into her favourite nap position and I haven't heard from her in almost an hour!
It was hard work being admired all morning, I'm sure.
It was hard work being admired all morning, I'm sure.
Monday, February 09, 2009
The verdict is in...
Apparently "Mr. Gitter" is a pretty good professor. Although his 10 a.m. class liked him better than the 8 a.m. class last term, his overall evaluations were quite positive. Here are a few choice samples for your entertainment. Please keep in mind that Ben was teaching Theory Fundamentals, aka remedial theory to incoming music majors.
From the 8 a.m. class:
"I think Gitter was a good teacher. A little boring (8am didn't help..)"
"I think Mr. Gitter could have been more strict." (Ha! I told him that!)
"I like the way Mr. Gitter taught. I am taking Theory 1 at 8:00 next semester because I want him as my teacher."
"Teacher was a little dry. Way too textbook about everything. It was hard to keep my attention." (Um, what does the kid want? It was remedial theory!)
From the 10 a.m. class (notice the difference?):
"The Gitter Man! Awesome teacher, fun to have and easy to learn from."
"I thought Mr. Gitter's learning of all the students names was very helpful to my learning experience. It made me feel and know that he was a real person who cares, not a mindless heartless robot"
And my personal favourite:
"Great job teaching class. You made it so I didn't want to shoot myself in the face while learning this monotonous material. Great teacher."
From the 8 a.m. class:
"I think Gitter was a good teacher. A little boring (8am didn't help..)"
"I think Mr. Gitter could have been more strict." (Ha! I told him that!)
"I like the way Mr. Gitter taught. I am taking Theory 1 at 8:00 next semester because I want him as my teacher."
"Teacher was a little dry. Way too textbook about everything. It was hard to keep my attention." (Um, what does the kid want? It was remedial theory!)
From the 10 a.m. class (notice the difference?):
"The Gitter Man! Awesome teacher, fun to have and easy to learn from."
"I thought Mr. Gitter's learning of all the students names was very helpful to my learning experience. It made me feel and know that he was a real person who cares, not a mindless heartless robot"
And my personal favourite:
"Great job teaching class. You made it so I didn't want to shoot myself in the face while learning this monotonous material. Great teacher."
Saturday, February 07, 2009
I don't think I've told this story before. If I have, someone can point it out to me!
Years ago, ie. pre-kid, Ben and I were on our way back from a visit to Toronto. We had stopped at a wedding client's apartment on the way home, so it was rather late at night as we made our way down the 401 back to London. Just shy of exit 299 (which conveniently happens to be the African Lion Safari exit!), we heard a loud thumping and banging. Ben pulled over and we discovered that the muffler of our old Honda Accord was dragging on the ground. (What IS it with us and Hondas anyway? Oh wait. I need to be fair. The Dodge Shadow broke down many times. Our Saturn Wagon also had several incidents. But our Hondas seem to fare the worst these days...)
We called CAA (AAA to you Americans!) and they arrived fairly expediently. The man who came out asked if we had a wire coat hanger that he could use to rig up the muffler so that we could at least drive home albeit at a crazily slow speed. We had no hangers of any sort in the car, so that option was out. The man asked if we had any sort of wire in the car. "How long a piece?" I asked.
Ben knew what I was getting at, and headed to the trunk to pull out his cello case where he almost always keeps some spare strings. The man laughed at us when we pulled out a C string (the thickest one). He agreed to use it to tie up the muffler but told us that he was sure we'd be calling him again within the hour. We assured him that he had no idea how strong a cello string really is, and what kind of tension it was built to withstand.
Sure enough, we made it all the way home to London (a little over 100km!) with the muffler tied in place with a cello string!
We called CAA (AAA to you Americans!) and they arrived fairly expediently. The man who came out asked if we had a wire coat hanger that he could use to rig up the muffler so that we could at least drive home albeit at a crazily slow speed. We had no hangers of any sort in the car, so that option was out. The man asked if we had any sort of wire in the car. "How long a piece?" I asked.
Ben knew what I was getting at, and headed to the trunk to pull out his cello case where he almost always keeps some spare strings. The man laughed at us when we pulled out a C string (the thickest one). He agreed to use it to tie up the muffler but told us that he was sure we'd be calling him again within the hour. We assured him that he had no idea how strong a cello string really is, and what kind of tension it was built to withstand.
Sure enough, we made it all the way home to London (a little over 100km!) with the muffler tied in place with a cello string!
The good, the bad and the ugly
The good: It was at least 21C today and we took the kids to the local school playground after dinner! Rachel rode her bike with a little help from Ben, and Anna chattered excitedly in the stroller. I wore sandals. Sandals in February!
The bad: Our house is a mess and Anna has started to crawl a bit more. She is also getting more brave every day and can cruise the kitchen confidently as well as the rest of the house! (Ok, this isn't really bad. It is only frustrating because I'm not done babyproofing. Well, my version of babyproofing is putting away things that should be put away anyway. Ha!)
The ugly: Ben was in a car accident last night. He is fine. The car he hit is fine as is the driver. The lady in the car who hit him is fine other than claiming she didn't hit him despite massive evidence to the contrary. She actually told her insurance agent that she didn't hit Ben's car. There were witnesses. The police were there and took statements from everyone. Trust me, she hit Ben's car.
Ben's cello was in the trunk of his Civic and here's where we get to tell yet another unbelievable story about the amazing world of string instruments. (Hmm. Have I told our other cello/car story here? Perhaps not. Clearly there will be another blog post above this one soon!)
After the Land Rover driven by the lady who lives in a million-dollar home (no, not kidding) hit Ben's car (he wasn't in it, thankfully!), it was impossible to open his trunk. The fire department came and eventually had to get at the trunk via the back seat. After they pried it open, they cut open Ben's carbon fibre cello case with a hacksaw. The cello has a few new scratches but is otherwise completely unharmed!!!! We suspect that the combination of the carbon fibre case and how it was wedged in the trunk saved the cello from destruction.
We spent today on the phone with insurance trying to sort things out. Ben has a rental car right now, and our insurance will let us know in a few days if the Civic is a write-off or if they'll fix it. We will need to buy new carseats (insurance will cover this) and eventually a new cello case. Luckily, Ben still has his old soft case and he can just use that for now.
We were reminded of the insanity of the US system again when it was pointed out to us several times that Ben should go to the ER to get checked out so that our insurance would cover any related medical expenses. While we would have likely had him checked out at home anyway, I doubt that we'd have stressed about when to do it if he wasn't feeling too bad. He went to the ER this afternoon and came home with the diagnosis of a chest bruise and a couple of prescriptions for painkillers that he says he likely won't fill.
So, the summary of this week:
1. Broken crib - bought new one
2. Awaiting large (to us) medical bill for sprained ankle.
3. Owe large (to us) amount of tax to Canadian government
4. Car possibly a write-off
5. Cello case in pieces - definitely a write-off
The really good thing? After all of this, I'm confidently declaring that Friday the 13th can't possibly be a bad day for us this year!
The bad: Our house is a mess and Anna has started to crawl a bit more. She is also getting more brave every day and can cruise the kitchen confidently as well as the rest of the house! (Ok, this isn't really bad. It is only frustrating because I'm not done babyproofing. Well, my version of babyproofing is putting away things that should be put away anyway. Ha!)
The ugly: Ben was in a car accident last night. He is fine. The car he hit is fine as is the driver. The lady in the car who hit him is fine other than claiming she didn't hit him despite massive evidence to the contrary. She actually told her insurance agent that she didn't hit Ben's car. There were witnesses. The police were there and took statements from everyone. Trust me, she hit Ben's car.
Ben's cello was in the trunk of his Civic and here's where we get to tell yet another unbelievable story about the amazing world of string instruments. (Hmm. Have I told our other cello/car story here? Perhaps not. Clearly there will be another blog post above this one soon!)
After the Land Rover driven by the lady who lives in a million-dollar home (no, not kidding) hit Ben's car (he wasn't in it, thankfully!), it was impossible to open his trunk. The fire department came and eventually had to get at the trunk via the back seat. After they pried it open, they cut open Ben's carbon fibre cello case with a hacksaw. The cello has a few new scratches but is otherwise completely unharmed!!!! We suspect that the combination of the carbon fibre case and how it was wedged in the trunk saved the cello from destruction.
We spent today on the phone with insurance trying to sort things out. Ben has a rental car right now, and our insurance will let us know in a few days if the Civic is a write-off or if they'll fix it. We will need to buy new carseats (insurance will cover this) and eventually a new cello case. Luckily, Ben still has his old soft case and he can just use that for now.
We were reminded of the insanity of the US system again when it was pointed out to us several times that Ben should go to the ER to get checked out so that our insurance would cover any related medical expenses. While we would have likely had him checked out at home anyway, I doubt that we'd have stressed about when to do it if he wasn't feeling too bad. He went to the ER this afternoon and came home with the diagnosis of a chest bruise and a couple of prescriptions for painkillers that he says he likely won't fill.
So, the summary of this week:
1. Broken crib - bought new one
2. Awaiting large (to us) medical bill for sprained ankle.
3. Owe large (to us) amount of tax to Canadian government
4. Car possibly a write-off
5. Cello case in pieces - definitely a write-off
The really good thing? After all of this, I'm confidently declaring that Friday the 13th can't possibly be a bad day for us this year!
Friday, February 06, 2009
No!
"No, Anna!" "No, Anna Rose!" "Anna, stop! NO!"
Rachel, Ben and I have all said this to Anna many times over the past few weeks as the little so-and-so manages to cruise all over the place giggling as she does it. We recently realized that she totally understands the word "no" - every time she hears us say it, she shakes her head and laughs.
Tonight she sunk to a new low after dinner. She always scavenges in her bib for leftovers (it has a pocket) the second we take her tray away. Tonight, after she had been put down on the floor, she spotted a pea that had fallen on the footrest of her highchair. She headed straight for it, ate it, and then searched the entire surrounding area for more scraps. We DO feed her! Really, we do!
Rachel, Ben and I have all said this to Anna many times over the past few weeks as the little so-and-so manages to cruise all over the place giggling as she does it. We recently realized that she totally understands the word "no" - every time she hears us say it, she shakes her head and laughs.
Tonight she sunk to a new low after dinner. She always scavenges in her bib for leftovers (it has a pocket) the second we take her tray away. Tonight, after she had been put down on the floor, she spotted a pea that had fallen on the footrest of her highchair. She headed straight for it, ate it, and then searched the entire surrounding area for more scraps. We DO feed her! Really, we do!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Hyperbole
"I'm the tired-est girl in the whole world!"
"I'm the hungriest girl in the whole world!"
Mommy thinks, "She's the whiniest girl in the whole world!"
"I'm the hungriest girl in the whole world!"
Mommy thinks, "She's the whiniest girl in the whole world!"
Thursday Story Club
Rachel wanted to read Anna's new book this afternoon, so I suggested that she come to the table and read it to Anna while Anna had her afternoon snack. Rachel one-upped me and promptly created her very own Thursday Story Club in which she reads books to Anna while Anna eats.
Rachel picked out five books for the initial run. She read each page and then showed Anna the pictures. She also informed Anna what each book would be about. "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" is apparently a hilarious Dr. Seuss book, while "Dewdrops" is a Kindermusik book that will teach Anna all about flowers. "Clap Your Hands" is for teaching Anna different moves, and "Shimmer the Sharing Fairy" is of course all about sharing. After the first set of books, Rachel picked out another five, thereby shattering any reading records with Anna that either Ben or myself might previously have set. (I do apparently have some lingering guilt that I don't read to Anna much at all yet!) After those were done, Rachel picked out some more books, but explained that she was too tired to show the pictures so she would just be reading those to herself. Ha!
Rachel picked out five books for the initial run. She read each page and then showed Anna the pictures. She also informed Anna what each book would be about. "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" is apparently a hilarious Dr. Seuss book, while "Dewdrops" is a Kindermusik book that will teach Anna all about flowers. "Clap Your Hands" is for teaching Anna different moves, and "Shimmer the Sharing Fairy" is of course all about sharing. After the first set of books, Rachel picked out another five, thereby shattering any reading records with Anna that either Ben or myself might previously have set. (I do apparently have some lingering guilt that I don't read to Anna much at all yet!) After those were done, Rachel picked out some more books, but explained that she was too tired to show the pictures so she would just be reading those to herself. Ha!
Anna is a giggle monster
Tonight Anna took another single step when cruising from her highchair to another kitchen chair. She got smart the next time though, and just cruised from the highchair to the table instead! She giggles like a maniac when we "catch" her cruising somewhere she shouldn't go, like towards Rachel's art desk or around a corner where I can't see her.
If I ask, "Where's Anna?" I am rewarded by crazy giggles and shrieks.
She has crawled "one step" twice now, both in the last couple of days. I'm still amused that she neither crawls nor walks.
I'm less amused that I've been up since 4 a.m. again.
If I ask, "Where's Anna?" I am rewarded by crazy giggles and shrieks.
She has crawled "one step" twice now, both in the last couple of days. I'm still amused that she neither crawls nor walks.
I'm less amused that I've been up since 4 a.m. again.
Media influence again
The other day while driving Rachel to preschool, I heard the following from the backseat:
"Mom, did you know that you can get a diamond pendant at Burger King?"
Apparently there is an ad about this in the current Scholastic Parent and Child magazine that we get from Rachel's preschool every month. Note that *I* have not found the time to read said magazine and am thus relying on my 4-year-old to let me know the contents.
"Mom, did you know that you can get a diamond pendant at Burger King?"
Apparently there is an ad about this in the current Scholastic Parent and Child magazine that we get from Rachel's preschool every month. Note that *I* have not found the time to read said magazine and am thus relying on my 4-year-old to let me know the contents.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Yes, we got a crib
Yesterday was crib shopping day. Tempting as it was to buy a crib from Pottery Barn Kids and return it in 6 weeks (after ordering and picking up the part for the old crib!) as per their liberal 90 day satisfaction policy, we resisted since it would clearly be wrong to do so.
Anna and I went to three different stores in the morning looking at cribs. Ben checked out one store near UMKC at my request, then we met after lunch at one of the ones I had been to that morning. After that, we consolidated vehicles and continued crib shopping. I think we hit four more stores together before finally buying a new crib. We will now have to return to our original plan of 17 children since we've got a brand new crib to house them all.
The new crib is a very dark wood, not at all what we would have chosen but we were rather limited regarding what items were in stock that were not flimsy or poorly made. Instead of a drop side rail, the top part of the side rail flips down with a two-part hinge system that is definitely childproof. My only complaint is that it requires two hands to operate so I have to stop and put the bottle down somewhere instead of being able to drop the side rail down with one hand.
The salespeople were all trying to talk us into a convertible crib that would change to a toddler bed and then a full or twin bed depending on the model. I don't know why it was so hard for these people to comprehend that those features simply aren't important to us. I'm short. I don't want to stand on a stool every night to reach in to the crib. Hence the need for some sort of dropping side.
It seems like most crib mattresses here are set lower to the ground and the rails aren't as high, or perhaps we just had a very tall crib. Proportionately, I suspect that the cribs are all the same, but they feel different to us.
I miss our old crib already. We might still go ahead and get the replacement part although I do admit that I like the new one... just not as much as I like the old one!
Anna and I went to three different stores in the morning looking at cribs. Ben checked out one store near UMKC at my request, then we met after lunch at one of the ones I had been to that morning. After that, we consolidated vehicles and continued crib shopping. I think we hit four more stores together before finally buying a new crib. We will now have to return to our original plan of 17 children since we've got a brand new crib to house them all.
The new crib is a very dark wood, not at all what we would have chosen but we were rather limited regarding what items were in stock that were not flimsy or poorly made. Instead of a drop side rail, the top part of the side rail flips down with a two-part hinge system that is definitely childproof. My only complaint is that it requires two hands to operate so I have to stop and put the bottle down somewhere instead of being able to drop the side rail down with one hand.
The salespeople were all trying to talk us into a convertible crib that would change to a toddler bed and then a full or twin bed depending on the model. I don't know why it was so hard for these people to comprehend that those features simply aren't important to us. I'm short. I don't want to stand on a stool every night to reach in to the crib. Hence the need for some sort of dropping side.
It seems like most crib mattresses here are set lower to the ground and the rails aren't as high, or perhaps we just had a very tall crib. Proportionately, I suspect that the cribs are all the same, but they feel different to us.
I miss our old crib already. We might still go ahead and get the replacement part although I do admit that I like the new one... just not as much as I like the old one!
Cute stuff
This morning as we walked down the hall toward Anna's Kindermusik classroom, she started saying "Ba! Ba!" Now whether she could see the brightly coloured balls from where we were or whether she remembered the fun she had last week is questionable, but she is definitely saying ball.
Last night was another rough (non)sleep night. Anna took a good nap this morning but I had to wake her up at 9:15 to get Rachel to pre-school. I didn't feel that guilty since she'd been sleeping since 7:30. I believe that the words, "You should have slept last night!" may have come out of my mouth upon hearing her feeble protests.
Anna evaded sleep until after Rachel's Kindermusik class. As we were driving home at 3pm, she fell asleep in the car. She looked at me when I took her out, but didn't object at all to being transferred straight to her crib. Since I didn't want her up all night, I asked Ben to start running the girls' bath at 4:15 since the sound of the water would likely wake Anna up. A few minutes prior to that, I had gone in to check on her and thought I heard her moving around. She was moving a bit in the crib, eyes still firmly shut. I had walked in saying "Is my Anna up from her nap?" since that's what we always say while heading in to get her. Anna never opened her eyes, but in her sleep she twisted around and whispered "Nana" before curling up and sleeping soundly again.
Tonight she wouldn't go to sleep. I finally had to rock and pat her in the recliner while Rachel watched a Little Bear video. Her eyes gave up eventually and she again transferred easily. It's currently a little after 10 p.m. and I think I've been in Anna's room 3-4 times at least due to various cries and sounds. Since Ben played a recital tonight in Warrensburg, he is simply staying there tonight. (He teaches at 8 a.m. tomorrow. There would have been no point in having him come home.)
And there she goes again... I suspect that I will just rock her in the recliner tonight. She's teething and has a runny nose. Or perhaps she's grumpy about turning one next week too. Who knows?!
Last night was another rough (non)sleep night. Anna took a good nap this morning but I had to wake her up at 9:15 to get Rachel to pre-school. I didn't feel that guilty since she'd been sleeping since 7:30. I believe that the words, "You should have slept last night!" may have come out of my mouth upon hearing her feeble protests.
Anna evaded sleep until after Rachel's Kindermusik class. As we were driving home at 3pm, she fell asleep in the car. She looked at me when I took her out, but didn't object at all to being transferred straight to her crib. Since I didn't want her up all night, I asked Ben to start running the girls' bath at 4:15 since the sound of the water would likely wake Anna up. A few minutes prior to that, I had gone in to check on her and thought I heard her moving around. She was moving a bit in the crib, eyes still firmly shut. I had walked in saying "Is my Anna up from her nap?" since that's what we always say while heading in to get her. Anna never opened her eyes, but in her sleep she twisted around and whispered "Nana" before curling up and sleeping soundly again.
Tonight she wouldn't go to sleep. I finally had to rock and pat her in the recliner while Rachel watched a Little Bear video. Her eyes gave up eventually and she again transferred easily. It's currently a little after 10 p.m. and I think I've been in Anna's room 3-4 times at least due to various cries and sounds. Since Ben played a recital tonight in Warrensburg, he is simply staying there tonight. (He teaches at 8 a.m. tomorrow. There would have been no point in having him come home.)
And there she goes again... I suspect that I will just rock her in the recliner tonight. She's teething and has a runny nose. Or perhaps she's grumpy about turning one next week too. Who knows?!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Lest anyone think that all I do is complain...
I will say that we're not really bothered by any of this stuff. So we have a broken crib, we're stuck in crappy health-lack-of-care and we owe back taxes. In 11 days (10 by the time anyone reads this, I'm sure!) we will have a one-year-old in the house! Watch soon for a year of Anna in review!
Why we don't like Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day was rather repetitive this year. How, you might ask? It was repetitive in that things kept happening that were annoying and frustrating. Thankfully, it was not completely Bill Murray-esque or I think that Ben and I would still be thwapping our foreheads with the top of a plastic coke bottle. (Try it! It makes the coolest hollow sound! Ben only stopped after I confiscated the bottle and tossed it in the recycling bin. We're so mature.)
It all started when Anna went down for her afternoon nap. Prior to that, we were actually having a pretty good day. I'd managed to get the girls out the door on time to get Rachel to preschool for 9:30, and Rachel was surprisingly not bothered by having TWO subs last minute! I got all the paperwork done that I needed to for various school-related things, and Anna and I enjoyed a pleasant morning running various errands including spending a gift certificate in the book store.
After lunch, I went to put Anna down for nap. Unbeknownst to me, she had managed to sneak Olly downstairs so I had to go back down for him. She was screaming in her crib when I got back upstairs, so I ran back in and went to "body-slam" the side rail down as I always do in order to reach Anna more easily. Too bad the entire side rail decided to splinter and break off the crib.
**NOTE: A 3-sided crib is nowhere near as functional as a 4-sided crib.**
Anna eventually fell asleep on the floor in her room for an hour and then transferred to sleeping on me. I had fun making some phone calls only to confirm that yes, our crib was discontinued a few years ago (Seriously, everything we buy gets discontinued soon after. Kitchen furniture, master bedroom furniture, baby furniture, china... you name it, we've bought it and watched it get discontinued!). We could order a new side rail for $100 (yes, the crib is solid wood and wasn't cheap!) but couldn't get it until mid-March when we're in London unless we wanted to pay an additional $250 freight charge. Um, no thanks.
We briefly contemplated having Anna sleep in her pack'n'play for 5 weeks until we could get the new crib rail, but the pack'n'play is big and has rattle toys on the sides so it's not exactly conducive to long-term sleeping. And after Anna was up approximately 7 times between 12:45 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. last night, forget that idea! She sleeps little enough as it is. We certainly don't need to give her a reason to sleep less.
During the crib fiasco, I called my mother. Oops. We discovered that she had received mail pertaining to our 2007 Canadian tax return. Our moving expenses were disallowed for various legitimate reasons so now we owe an additional $1300. Since we were asked to submit receipts back in October to verify claims, this didn't surprise me much. **NOTE: Do not file taxes with a newborn in the house. Chances are good that you will not read the rules carefully and will end up in this predicament!**
Then I opened the mail. That was mistake number three. I received a "This is not a bill" statement from my insurance company informing me that being diagnosed with a sprained ankle in the ER would be costing me approximately $723. I suppose I am meant to be happy about this since the initial bill was $1560 and this is the discounted rate. And people wonder why I prefer the Canadian health care system?!?!?
All in all it wasn't a bad Groundhog Day. We'll call it an adventure in financial stress. Yes, that's it.
It all started when Anna went down for her afternoon nap. Prior to that, we were actually having a pretty good day. I'd managed to get the girls out the door on time to get Rachel to preschool for 9:30, and Rachel was surprisingly not bothered by having TWO subs last minute! I got all the paperwork done that I needed to for various school-related things, and Anna and I enjoyed a pleasant morning running various errands including spending a gift certificate in the book store.
After lunch, I went to put Anna down for nap. Unbeknownst to me, she had managed to sneak Olly downstairs so I had to go back down for him. She was screaming in her crib when I got back upstairs, so I ran back in and went to "body-slam" the side rail down as I always do in order to reach Anna more easily. Too bad the entire side rail decided to splinter and break off the crib.
**NOTE: A 3-sided crib is nowhere near as functional as a 4-sided crib.**
Anna eventually fell asleep on the floor in her room for an hour and then transferred to sleeping on me. I had fun making some phone calls only to confirm that yes, our crib was discontinued a few years ago (Seriously, everything we buy gets discontinued soon after. Kitchen furniture, master bedroom furniture, baby furniture, china... you name it, we've bought it and watched it get discontinued!). We could order a new side rail for $100 (yes, the crib is solid wood and wasn't cheap!) but couldn't get it until mid-March when we're in London unless we wanted to pay an additional $250 freight charge. Um, no thanks.
We briefly contemplated having Anna sleep in her pack'n'play for 5 weeks until we could get the new crib rail, but the pack'n'play is big and has rattle toys on the sides so it's not exactly conducive to long-term sleeping. And after Anna was up approximately 7 times between 12:45 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. last night, forget that idea! She sleeps little enough as it is. We certainly don't need to give her a reason to sleep less.
During the crib fiasco, I called my mother. Oops. We discovered that she had received mail pertaining to our 2007 Canadian tax return. Our moving expenses were disallowed for various legitimate reasons so now we owe an additional $1300. Since we were asked to submit receipts back in October to verify claims, this didn't surprise me much. **NOTE: Do not file taxes with a newborn in the house. Chances are good that you will not read the rules carefully and will end up in this predicament!**
Then I opened the mail. That was mistake number three. I received a "This is not a bill" statement from my insurance company informing me that being diagnosed with a sprained ankle in the ER would be costing me approximately $723. I suppose I am meant to be happy about this since the initial bill was $1560 and this is the discounted rate. And people wonder why I prefer the Canadian health care system?!?!?
All in all it wasn't a bad Groundhog Day. We'll call it an adventure in financial stress. Yes, that's it.
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