April 2016

Long time no blog.

I guess life has gotten busier with moving up north 3 years ago.

We now live in a cozy 4 bedroom house that we bought last year for a good price. It's a fixer upper and we are in the midst of renovations. That means no walls and ceilings in the kitchen and living room and no kitchen cabinets.

Glen was off for 8 months from work so he went a little stir crazy to say the least. With my less than modest income that meant we had to stop buying materials so we could pay for our shell and put food on the table and fall a little behind on bills. It sucks being middle income and only one paycheck coming in.

Glen just started driving for a new company out of Winnipeg. He is expecting to be on the road for a few months before we see him. Hopefully he can come back next month when I go out of town for training and he will be back at the end of June for Aidan's grade 8 graduation.

Glen had left the house last summer for five months. He was going through a rough time with himself and left us. He still took the kids as often as he could and got his own place. It was time that we needed apart as it was not a good relationship that we were in at that moment. He moved back in in December following his mom's passing and we have taken it one day at at time.

I am working full time as store manager for our KL McD's. It is a rough job as I am in charge of 50+ staff and I have little direction from my supervisor and high expectations. It is a job, i think that I am good at it but I have lots of learning to do.

I stepped back from my part time job as medical receptionist at the Methadone clinic. It was way too many hours now that I am running the store. I had hoped to keep both jobs, but it didn't leave me with enough time for family and for myself.

I just started getting back into the fitness side of things. It has been two years since my knee surgery and I am feeling the need to run again. Hopefully It doesn't make things worse. I am going to modestly run this time. three times a week tops hopefully building up to 10 k. As my relationship with my husband goes, I will do the same with my exercise. One day at a time, one step at a time. I am using the couch to 10k application on my phone so to build up my endurance and distance. On my off days, I am doing stretching and light yoga to build up my muscles to prevent/reduce injury to my knees.

Liam is in grade 10 at KLDCS. He has been struggling with motivation to do his assignments and it is reflecting in his grades. He is trying and we are doing a  new approach to his homework and test preparation. He has been working at McDonalds for over a year now and enjoys making the money. He is going to Comic Con with some students from the High school next month. He has quite the portfolio of drawings and likes to live stream while he is drawing.

Aidan will be graduation from Grade 8 next month from the Intermediate program at KLDCS. His marks are amazing and he is a great student and peer as per his teachers. He spends his spare time playing video games and hanging out with his friends. He has been helping out a lot with Helyn lately too. He has quite the personality. He loves to do quirky little things that make us laugh.

Helyn is in grade 5 at Sacred Heart Catholic School. She is quite the little budding artist with the inspiration from her older brother Liam. She is turing out to be quite the young lady. She enjoys cooking and drawing. She got a cupcake maker for Christmas and makes us treats all the time. She is so sweet and loves helping her family.

Mom had a hard year battling colorectal cancer. She had chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed by surgery and an Illiostomy bag to help her heal following the surgery. The surgeon was confident that they removed all the cancerous tumors. She just had her bag removed so that is a new adjustment and recovery from surgery. It has been two weeks now and she is healing.

Dad is still out in Winnipeg. Looks like he will finally be retiring from truck driving. Nancy just moved back home to the apartment after a brief stint in retirement housing. Dad will be her primary caregiver with home care and nurses coming to check in on her daily and meals on wheels.

I will keep up a little more often now.

Chris

New adventure

Here we are three weeks into our new adventure in ole KL. 

I am working retail. It's interesting. Not horrible but not where I saw myself being. I like working with women and so I can continue to do that. 

Glen is working with my brother in his renovation/ construction business. 

The kids are adjusting. Today seems like a difficult day. Helyn misses her old school and her old teacher and friends. She is sleeping between Glen and I right now. She feels safe. Ill be calling her teacher tomorrow to ask her about Helyns work and this Nathan boy who is upsetting her. 

Aidan yo-yos as well. He likes the kids in his class. He is having issues with one of his teachers. We have been making extra time for him. 

Liam doesn't have an opinion about school. He is trying hard to fit in and make friends. He is a good kid with his head on his shoulders. He went out fishing with Matty ( my moms bf) and he caught a big pike and was shown how to akin it and prepare it. It was pretty cool. 

Our house closes in August so money is right right now as we are paying for expenses there and here. Just two more months to go. 

I feel bad that we are stealing my moms space but happy that the kids are getting to know her and Matty. They are good people who extended their lives and home to us while we try and get a place of our own. 

Apartments/ rentals are hard to come by around here. We have been looking but nothin big enough or safe enough. 

One of Liam's and one of Mattys fish 

Baby girl 

A long overdue update

Well here we are mid October 2011. Liam is playing football this year. Full contact. It's a great starter program. No games but two practices a week.
In the spring they will play other teams.
He is really enjoying it.
Liam is in grade 6 this year. This is his last year in grade school. We are having a hard time with that as he is only going to be 12 And being mixed in with 18 year olds. He is a mature boy, but he is so easily influenced. :(

Aidan is in grade 4 this year. He isn't in any programs as of right now but we are registering him for swimming next session. We has him at open doors for a few months. It is a counseling program which helped us work on his self esteem. He learned quite a bit. It was. Good program for him.

Helyn just turned 6 in September and is in grade 1. Where did my baby girl go?
She is doing well. She really enjoys playing with her friends and doing arts and crafts. She is such a sweet little girl full of love and sweetness.

I am still working for the midwives. It's full time now. It's always busy with lots to do. I really enjoy it and learn new things everyday.

Glen is still working hard with his business. Hard to believe its been two and a half years.

We added a new member to the family in march. A new puppy named jagermeister or jäger do short. He loves driving our 10 year old Sophie nuts and chases our cat Steve around for fun.

So that's it for now. I will start updating on a more regular basis.

I'm still here

Back to update. I will post more updates now that I have the blogger ap on my phone. Stay tuned

Ugh

Liam was in a cross country run for his school yesterday. He came in 45/60. A big improvment from last year where he came in 58th. He was happy with his accomplisment.We are proud of him too.

He has been having a hard time with Beckwith School lately. There is a girl in his class that likes to make his life hell. She controls what goes on in their lunch soccer game and likes to tell Liam to go to the other team when he ends up on hers. We are trying to teach him to speak up for himself... we feel if he makes his voice heard, she will let down eventually, we hope. He wants to go back to his other school. He has only been there for a month and he told us the reason he wanted to go there in the first place was to learn french so we are trying to convince him to stay a little longer. He is making some friends so that helps as well.





Aidan had his birthday party over the weekend. I will never have that many children over for a sleepover ever ever again! It was insanity. No huge problems, just a bunch of different personalities that didn't mess all the time and neither Glen nor I had enough patience or energy to keep up with them all the time. The moral of the story is Aidan had fun, the boys had fun and that's all we can ask for right? Thank you to Ethan, Aiden, James, Sam, Tye, Rylan for coming and for the wonderful gifts. :)

Helyn went shopping last night with her birthday money from Nanny and picked out a ..... gasp..... Barbie! This is new to her, but she is enjoying dolls lately.. not sure what I think about it, but she is a girl so I guess its welcome LOL. Where did this little girl come from? She still enjoys playing lego and pokemon with the boys, but when it comes down to it, she enjoys the barbies and polly pockets more. Ahhhh.

Long and Overdue update

It has been quite the year.

We lost our Papa Murray on Valentine's day this year.

My baby sister got married and is expecting their second baby in April next year.

Liam has switched schools from Arklan Public School to Beckwith so he could take the French Immersion program.It is quite the adjustment for him, he is having his good days and bad days, but he is trying and that is all that matters.

Helyn is going to Senior Kindergarten and the Ready to Learn Program at the Daycare.. so she is all day every day for school this year. She is loving school and learning so much.

Aidan is in the 3rd Grade and doing wonderfully. He is enjoying his time with friends and doing his best at school. Can't believe he is going to be 8 on Monday. Where does the time go?

Hey Hey

Christmas is over.
The kids had a good one.

Money was tight this year, but we were still able to pull of some nice presents.
There was a lot of lego, board games and other non electrical toys this year which was a good thing as we had no power for most of Boxing day. LOL.

It was great to see them enjoy their toys.

Glen's work is keeping him busy at the moment which is good. We are trying to bank on it and stay ahead.

Work for me is good. I was off for nearly 2 weeks with a cold. I am back tomorrow.
Feeling better now thank goodness. Funny, no one else got sick thankfully.... I was the only one who got the H1N1 Shot. Hmmm co inky dink??

Going to have a quiet new years too. Having a few friends over for drinks and the kids will be here so nothing too wild.

Hope you all had a great holiday and have a fabulous new year.

Food Values

I found a website with point values

http://quiddity.cc/rachel/diet/wwfoods.htm

New beginnings

Going to try and update this more.
Its going to be more like a diary.. I need a place to keep myself accountable for my actions.

I am started back on WW today. Counting my points, and going to exercise daily.

This is my menu for today.

Banana 3
eng muf with peanut butter 3
apple 1
Ham3
Mashed Tapatoes 3
mmixed veggies 0
coffee with mil 2
almonds 2
apricots 1
popcorn 2

Grand total for the day is 20 points.

I want to be down 10 pounds by Christmas and down 20 in total by the time I reach my goal.
I haven't weighed myself yet.. our Wii Scale is down at the moment.. might need a new sensor thing for it.
I am estimating my weight to be 155.. would like to be 130-135 by the end of my new life style.
Going to do 20 minutes of exercise each day on tp of walking to and from work.

September Update

Its been a Little while since we have updated.
Nothing new and exciting really.

We moved the boy's bedroom to the basement where they have a much bigger space. They love having their own floor.

School is going well for both of them. Liam joined the track and field team. I have to talk to Mrs. White about them going away for their events ( Liam said they are competing in Almonte).

Aidan is riding his bike almost daily and getting lots of exercise and etc. We had to take away his DS for a while. He only gets it on bad weather days now if he can't make other plans. He has to make the effort to do something before he gets the chance to play it.

Helyn is adapting well to school so far. She is exhausted when she comes home, but overall is getting along with the other kids and doing her work. She points out letters that she recognizes in signs and spells her name with no hesitation. She had a great birthday. We had a slumber party theme party with the slumbering. The kids all wore PJS and we did make up, hair and nails. It was very cute. I will post pics later on.

Work is going well. I am able to do things second nature now and don't have to ask nearly as many questions. The Midwives are friendly and helpful and Janet ( the administrator )gives me lots of feedback and things to do. I started running with my neighbour Elizabeth this week. We are at 10 minutes walking fast and 1 minute running for week 1... next week we will walk for 9 run for 2.. etc.

Glen is doing ok with work. It slowed a bit, as work usually does in his business around this time, but we are hopeful it will pick up again.

I am loving the fallness around us. It is gorgeous weather mid day and cooler at night. It makes me pretty happy. I am going to get out with the kids today and get some pics of the beautiful leaves.

Hope all is well... keep in touch.

Time to update

The kids started school today.
Liam is in grade 4 in Mrs Coleman's class, Aidan is in Mrs. Pentz's grade 2 class and Helyn in Mr Patterson's kindergarten class.

They all had a great first day. They are tired, but good. Hopefully they will be in bed early enough. I took them to the park after dinner.. then its clean up time and bed.

The Crampton Crew this morning before school.



On the way.

Where did August go?

Its already the 19th??!! Seriously?? When did that happen?

Its been a busy month. The kids have had playdates, sleepovers and lots of outside time ( up until last week at least with the heat).

Liam has been flipping through the Christmas wishbook lately and pointing out all that he wants... its too early for Christmas! He has been enjoying his bigger boy freedom. We let him go around the block to his friend's houses and to the park by himself even though I still have a hard time letting him go. He is 9 1/2 and I should let him have more freedom.. but its still hard. He is also talking about when he turns 10 next year and how he will be able to stay home by himself after school until I get home. Why does he want to grow up so fast?

Aidan is doing well. He taught himself to ride a 2 wheeler a few weeks back and is now riding like he has been doing it forever. Me thinks the scooter he got a few months back helped him find his balance.

Helyn has been talking up a storm. She really is coming out of her shell and starting to look, sound and act more like a 4 year old. She is always asking for help and now trying to recruit the boys into it. She calls them that... not her brothers but " My boys." "Mommy, where are my boys?"
Its so cute.

Work is settling in now. Things are getting easier. I am getting to know all the midwives and how they are.. its getting there.

Glen is doing ok with work. He is staying busy and I guess that is what counts.

Long over due post

Hi.. Its me.
Life is so busy with me working now.
The job is going well. I think I am finally finding my niche and getting comfortable now. The midwives are really helpful and understanding with my questions and yea.. Its good.

The kids are adjusting well too. They really don't seem to notice that I am gone during the day. LOL. They are happy to say " Bye Mom, see you later" and just as happy to greet me when I come home. Its good.

Becky came up last weekend to watch the kids while we went camping. It was great to see her and Ben. Ben gave me the best snuggles ever. Love him so much.

Camping was great. Very relaxing and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Glen's business is doing well. Its tough getting used to the lesser amount of a paycheck, but we are making due. We still have the house and the bills are getting paid.

Um... what else can I say?? Nothing much. I will try and get on at least once a week to update. If there is anything I haven't touched on, comment and ask and I will answer.

Going to Belleville this weekend with my friend Tanya for some time away. It will be fun.

On to new things.

I can't believe that the time has come already.

Next Monday, in 5 days, I will be working outside of the home.For the first time in 7.5 years, I will not be home all day with my kids.

For the first time in 7.5 years, I will have to leave the house on a regular basis and leave my kids in the hands of another person.

For the first time in 7.5 years, I will be Christine, not Mommy, for 8 hours a day.

I knew I wanted to work outside of the home again. I knew that it was time to go onto that second stage of my life, our family's life, but it doesn't make it any easier.

The kids will be fine.

I will be fine.

Our family will be fine.

We will go on and we will succeed.

I will just miss the all day interactions with my kids, friends and family.

The times they are a changin.

Its been a crazy week this week and I am thankful that it is coming to an end.

Lots has happened this week.

First of all, the kids finished school. The boys did wonderful on their report cards. They improved on almost all of their subjects ( even just from a b to a b + or a b- to a b+). We were very proud. We let them pick out something at walmart to reward them. Aidan picked a bakugon and Liam a pack of hockey cards. They are good boys.

All of the kids are out of school now. Yesterday at one point, there were 15 of them around. Not all of them were with me.. but it was crazy nonetheless.
Today is quieter and the next couple weeks will be even more so.

And as most of you know, I have accepted a new job as receptionist for the Ottawa Valley Midwives here in town. Its 4 days a week, with benefits and in a place where I really want to be. I have accepted the fact that I may not be able to be a midwife myself but I still would like to pursue being a doula once the kids are old enough ( a few more years). We need a steady income with benefits. Glen's business is doing well but he is self employed and we need those benefits for the kids.

Its a big transition. I love being home with my kids and I have great kids who are in my care, that is why this is so hard to move on. The families took it well and are happy for my future but we are both sad that we are losing each other. I lose Waylon and Emma after next week for certain and Emily and Jorian's parents are looking for someone.. it could be anywhere between next week and the week after.

I will keep this updated with the changes and everything. I still have nights and weekends to update the blog. LOL

Hope all is great out there in blog land. Everyone have a great weekend.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's day!

This is Glen's 10th Father's day. The kids made him some great gifts at school. Aidan made him an Inuk Shuk that says Dad Rocks. ( very cute) and Liam made him a health kit with different items in it to help him along in life ( like marbles in case he has lost some and a piece of rope if he is at the end of it).
Helyn and I made him breakfast this morning with what we had on hand as we didn't get groceries until this morning. French Toast, fried Bologna and scrambled eggs it was. LOL.

I tried calling my daddy today to tell him I loved him and to chat, but haven't heard from him yet.. so Happy Father's day Dad. I love you.

Last night we were at my friend Aimee's for poker. I had never played Texas Hold em. It was pretty fun. Thanks Aimee for having us and Thanks Kirsten for bringing the wine. It was great to be out of the house.

Next week I am going to see Chicago the Musical with Sandra. Its going to be fun. I can't wait to see it.

Dentist appointments.

I had my tooth fixed by Uncle Stu today.
It went well. Not too sore. Glad its done for now. Lets hope I don't have anymore root canals any time soon.

Liam had a cavity. He got it filled and did well. He didn't like it, can't say I blame him. Stu said when we go back in November, we will use sealant on his teeth to help prevent cavities.

Aidan's teeth were good. Well... sort of LOL. His incisors are coming in looking like fangs. LOL I am very interested to see what they look like when they finally pop through. Seems like my vampire fantasies are projecting through in real life.

I started working out again today. I took nearly 2 weeks off. I know.. bad Christine. I am ready now. My energy is next to nil so I need something. Tonight I did Tae Bo ( thanks for the advice Aimee)... and so I am sure I will be sore tomorrow. I will keep doing my DVD's or Wii Fit every day until I get that energy zap back.

Glen has a busy week ahead of him. He has been able to keep his calendar full for the last 3 weeks.... so lets hope this is a trend.

Helyn's battlewound



Aidan and his treasure out of his treasure box for reading at school.



Helyn and her friends Georgia and Emily.



Liam getting his award at school





Aidan getting his award at school



Helyn at the ceremony



The finished living room set up. Glen has been working hard on renovations for the passed few months. He has done a great job.







and a pic of the kitchen.



and the clean garage

Its been a little while since my last post.

Since my last post.

I got my second root canal.

Glen lost his job and started up his own business called Simplified Audio Video. He is still doing installation, programming and home theater but for himself. He has a few contacts who are feeding him business and he is keeping his calendar filled. Proud of him.

We went camping at the KOA in Mallorytown with Nana and Papa on the May long weekend. We froze our butts off. It was wet, cold ... no freezing. We made out 2 night stay into a one night stay. Our friend Chris and Sandra and their puppy Rudy also came with us. It was Nana and papa's 40th wedding anniversary so we also had dinner with Linda and Ted. It was very much fun.. much was learned.... LOL

Helyn got a cut on her eye and required medical glue to keep it shut. Nearly 5 hours in the ER for that one.

Liam and Aidan both got positive people awards. Liam for Effort and Perseverance and Aidan for Citizenship. I love these awards because they reward children for good deeds and being good people. Again.. very proud.

Tomorrow me and the kids go see Uncle Stu for some Dental stuff.

Long overdue update.

Yea.. I guess I have been avoiding the blog so I don't have to address the fact that Glen isn't working right now.
Yep.. you heard me.
He took a weekend off at the beginning of the month and his first day back, they give him his lay off papers.
He is in the process of starting up his own business so that means a lot of money going in, and very little in our pockets. We are also trying to think of ways to save money. Cutting down on groceries and luxury items is a big one. Possibly getting rid of the satelite and watching our energy consumption is another.

Its funny because for the last couple years, I have been trying to save us money and there has always been these I need this and I need that from everyone.. and we don't have any money saved up right now.

So I need to either get a part time job for the evenings and weekends or pick up more kids. I can't get a full time job.. I would be paying just for day care and making maybe 10$ a day afterwards.

The kids are doing good. They are a little upset that we won't have extra money for fun stuff this summer.. but I am trying to keep it exciting for them. There are lots of free activities that I can set up, and we can go camping at Nana and Papa's lot on the St. Lawrence.

We went camping this weekend at Mallorytown with friends of ours and Nana and Papa. The kids had a great time and we froze Saturday night, so we cut the trip short. Thankfully we did as Helyn threw up and I caught this cold.