My "little" job

So once the kids are back in school again for the year I get a little job to keep me busy while the kids are in school. This year I started working at Quiznos a few blocks from my house.

So far it has been a rough go. I am absolutely exhausted and I don't think I am doing as well as I should be. Maybe I am being hard on myself but there are moments every day where I feel like the STUPIDEST person on the planet. I thought a place like Quiznos would be easy but I was so wrong. There are like 30 different recipes you have to know by heart, then there is the "easy" register which I always manage to mess up, and all the food prep that keeps you busy throughout the day.

I'm working Mon to Fri from 9-2:30. So while it's only a 5 1/2 hour shift I am pooped at the end for being on my feet the whole time and I never have a break. We're just too busy.

Now that being said I really like the people I work with. I could not have a more accommodating boss. I have 2 days off next week because the kids have a PA day and Ethan has an eye appointment. I have learned a lot and feel like I have made strides...Just wish it came to me easier.

And then there are the aches and pains of us 30 somethings. When you're 21 nothing hurts and once you hit 30 it all hurts. My wrist is in a permanent state of pain and my back has knots up and down it. I am going to have to invest in better shoes. And maybe find a way to get gloves over a wrist brace. LOL That should be fun!

I got my first paycheque today though and that was a nice treat. I'm going to get a few things for myself...all that work deserves a little treat. I am thinking a nice purse would be awesome.

So I'm gonna tough it out a little while longer. If anyone knows of a job that pays decent and requires much less pain...let me know and my views might change! LOL

Anyway, this new job has me exhausted! Hope this message finds you all doing well!

Boy am I ever behind!

Alright, I admit it....I suck at keeping this thing up. I shall try to do better in the future. In the meantime, lets put the berating aside and I will catch you up on a few things happening the LaFrance abode.

So we have finished the little bathroom upstairs as much as we can for now. The shower rip out/replacement will have to be a spring job as I don't have it in me financially or energy-wise. But I have fixed the vanity, painted it a beautiful chocolate brown, installed a new countertop, sink and faucet (YES ME!! lol) new fixtures, lighting and painted it. To cover the HIDEOUS shower we painted the outer tile white (we aren't using it so it shouldn't scratch) and hung a shower curtain to hide the awful 80's glass door. So now it looks like a beautiful spa getaway. The mood is so much calmer than the old yellow and blue theme. I love those colours but the tones were harsh and made you feel anxious. Just glad it is done for now and hopefully it won't be too long until we have a new shower in there.

In other house news we tore down the one shed and now have much more lawn. Turns out there was a HUGE dirtpile hiding behind the shed so we have turned that into a new garden that will have some pretty annuals but will mostly be a fruit and veg garden. My dinnerplate hibiscus is out in bloom and I am so excited! I wish I had pictures to download. Soon I promise! While the vast amounts of rain were crappy for our social lives, our basement (ugh...don't even get me started) and our pool time; it did wonders for our plants. Next year we plan on builing nice retaining walls around the beds and raising the dirt level to ammend the soil so that they can do that much better next year. I never thought I would be that into plants....go figure!

The master bedroom remains undone. I think Shawn and I are just exhausted....maybe at some point this month we will tackle that one. Maybe by then I will have some photos! LOL

My sister Sarah came up to visit for a few days. It was great to see her again. We hung out by the pool, went shopping, got my haircut and went to the Winona Peach Festival. It was an all round good visit. I often wish she lived closer so we could do things like that more often. It's hard not having family close sometimes.

We took the kids to St Jacobs the weekend before school started. The Lego store there is one of their most favourite places in the whole world. Got some yummy veggies at the market and toured the stores in the village. Then we took a quick juant to Waterloo where there is a great park with a zoo of sorts and a splash pad. It was a fun visit made all the more fun by our travelling companions the Thompsons. Their kids went to our kids old school and over the last few years we have been fortunate to become friends with them. We love our visits and the kids really love seeing the people they miss.

We have been given Church callings now too! Shawn is now the gospel doctrine teacher and I am activity day leader for the girls (formally known as achievment girls leader) I just got called this last Sunday so I have yet to do anything as far as my calling is concerned, but I am so proud of Shawn and how well he is doing in the calling. Think I would get in trouble for flirting with the teacher??

The kids started their new school on Tuesday. So far things are going well. Jenna has adjusted well (as if there was any doubt) and Ethan has had a few bumps but it hasn't been a bad transition. The teachers are very involved and are easy to work with. It's always nice to know that you have someone with a vested interest in having your kids succeed and be happy working with you. The LRT has been FABULOUS. She spends time with him every day so far. I hope that she continues to have a close working relationship with him. I am not sure how much of that he got before.

As for me, I started a new job this week at Quiznos. Now I know this isn't anyones idea of a dream job but it's something to keep me busy while the kids are in school. I work from 9-2:30 Mon-Fri so it is perfect as far as letting me be the mom I want to be. We will see how things like holidays and PA days go, but for now it suits me. I feel a little overwhelmed still. There are over 20 sandwiches I have to learn how to build, and learning the routine has been interesting. I never get to sit down which is bad in one way and good in another. I hate being bored on the job. We had a lot of that post Christmas rush at the portrait studio. But man I am exhausted!!!! It's go go go all day long. I am having the hardest time remembering things and getting the hang of it. I am sure it will come. The boss said during my interview it takes about 3 weeks to a month and I am only on day 2. So hopefully it won't be too long before it all kicks into high gear and I become a sandwich making phenoem! Wish me luck!!

In other news....my bro in law and his lovely wife, and our friends Rob and Victoria are buying a house (not together obviously! LOL)!!!!!!! I am so thrilled for all of them! I know how happy we are to finally have a home of our own, it's nice to see others have the same kind of happiness.

Anyway, after a long day or work and kids that's about all I have in me for now. Sorry I haven't been doing my blogging duty. I will try to make it up to you soon! Thanks for reading!

Back to work blues

So now that the summer holiday is nearing it's end it's time once again for me to find a job. It's very difficult because of what I want and need from a job makes it nearly impossible to find. The kids are in school from 8:40 until 3:00 so I need to find a job that will only book me within those hours because there is no one to watch my kids. I have no family or friends nearby and with what I would make at said job would not cover the cost of daycare. So that being said I stand a good chance of also needing PA days off because of the kids, and holidays that aren't closed. I know....good luck Rachel! My job last year at the portrait studio was great as far as allowing me that opportunity but I am not going back there. I am not looking for full time work or something that keeps me super busy but with the kids not home all the time it's nice to have something to keep you a little busy. Plus now with the house we could use any extra income that we can get. Even if all it does is help pay for Christmas and incidentals. So while I haven't officially begun my search yet I hope and pray that something comes my way that lets me be the mom I want to be yet also lets me help contribute a little bit financially. Wish me luck! I have a feeling I am going to need it!

Lie to me!

What is it with the incessant need that kids have to lie? At this point we haven't dealt with any major lies in this house ala "this party is adult supervised and there will be no drinking" kind of vibe but it happens all the same.

Take this morning for instance. I must have asked Ethan 5 times to brush his teeth. Every time I would say "Ethan have you brushed your teeth yet?" and he would reply that yes he had....Well he obviously hadn't because his toothbrush was still dry and his mouth smelled like my kitchen garbage can. So after the last bald faced lie I called him out on his lying behavior.

There is not much in the world that a mother hates more than when her kids lie. And they all do it, it's human nature I guess....but man do I hate it! And they start so young! The "I didn't do it's" and the "I don't know"'s start pretty soon after they learn how to talk. Is there some innate reflex that tells their little minds that Mom is stupid enough to believe that the ice cream on the couch just walked itself over there? Do they think we will not figure it out? It's worse when there is more than 1 of them....because then you are never 100% sure who the culprit is.....and they team up too. "Look if neither of us cracks then she can't punish us because she won't know who to punish!!!!"

So we had a nice long talk today about how it's not good to lie. Laid on the the guilt a little thicker than normal but I think I got through to them.....if only for today. (if only for the next hour? LOL)

My kids are nuts!

OK so I thought it was my duty to have a nice lighthearted post as opposed to the ones I have put up as of late. So here a some videos of the kids...mainly Jenna. They should all bring a good laugh!

This is Canada Day at Pier 4. The kids are hopped up on ice cream and are movin' with the groovin'. Well Jenna is...Ethan is just trying to keep up!



Here is some more of Pier 4



And then there is Jenna in our pool being a total ham but as you can see starting to get the idea of how to swim!

I've got the DIY blues!

OK so this all started with painting the small bathroom. I thought it would be a little thing to keep me busy and some of the bigger projects I would handle at a later point. So before I painted I needed to get the incredibly bad caulking job off the wall where it meets the shower. As I am taking if off (no small feat) some of the tiles start to come off with it! Can you imagine? Turns out the caulking is all that was keeping some of them on! So I have lost about 4 tiles thus far and the shower project that was meant to be put off for a significant amount of time has now been bumped up the schedule. As it stands now we are getting quotes from various sources and are deciding how to proceed with the shower fix.

So anyway back to the bathroom. The vanity needed to be painted. It was already pained white and badly. I wanted it to be a dark dark brown. In doing this I needed to take off the hinges. As I quickly discovered though, the screws were stripped. So thus began an hour long lesson in patience as I twisted and pried the hinges off the cabinet. Which of course meant I now needed to buy new hinges. So eventually I got my cabinet painted and the new hinges are on and it is back together. Ta da! It looks great....almost. It became glaringly obvious how disgusting the vanity top now was. And the sink....it has a couple of chips in it that now stare at me whenever I use it. So another trip to Home Depot to buy a new counter top sink and faucet. UGH! Oh and in all that I disconnected a light fixture in the bathroom without killing myself!

So next step it to get rid of the ugly ceramic toilet paper holder in the bathroom. Well I cut through the caulk there to pull if off the wall only to discover that it was actually sitting IN the wall. So now I have this big 5" x 7" hole in my wall. Hmmmm.....I don't think Polyfill will stretch that far! So I take a piece of wood, cut it to fit between the joists put it behind the wall, in the hole. Then I take some drywall screws and screw the wall to the wood. Then I take a piece of drywall and cut it to fit in the hole. I screw that in as well and then I take Polyfill to fill in the gaps. It worked like a charm! So once we get the counter top (Thursday) we can put that in (with the sink and the faucet YIKES) I can finally sand and yes, paint the bathroom.

So I decide I can wait until Thursday before I attempt any more DIY and frankly my house is falling apart. There are beds to make and dishes to do and laundry to wash. So I decide, you know what, the bathrooms could use a good cleaning. The tub surround in the big bathroom is reprehensible. I swear the previous owners lived in a dirt trap. So I have my little scrubby sponge and my Vim and I am scrubbing away at the soap scum when I try to clean the yucky caulk. Well, doesn't it come off the wall! Turns out the previous owners caulked over the old stuff without first removing it! Jack of all trades, masters of none these people!

So after 5 minutes of removing 2 layers of caulk (that should shock you all because caulk is INSANE to remove) and applying stuff to melt the little leftover bits I went to cut some trim. There are spots in 2 of the bathrooms that were missing trim and I felt that while I was waiting it would be as good a time as any. Then after a little while, I attempted my first caulking job. I am notoriously messy so I was smart and taped off the sections I was working on. It looks pretty good. Better than what was there before if I do say so. I noticed while I was doing it that the faucet never had anything to seal it...ever! So I made sure I did that too. The tub area also has a window so I resealed that as well. All of this because of soap scum in my tub!

So I have decided that cleaning only leads to bad things happening. This house is apparently held together by dirt so I should just leave well enough alone. I was quite happy to paint and rest on my laurels until we could afford to do more, but apparently this house will not let me. Sigh! That being said, I am glad things are getting fixed. I hope I did a good enough job to not warrant having someone come in to fix my "messes". Guess we will find out! Looking forward to Thursday but part of me is scared that I will just screw something up there too! Maybe I will just let my father in law do it!

I hope to have some pictures for you soon and as soon as we decide what the heck to do about the shower (aka "bane of my existence") I will post it.

Oh and it should be noted that the kids for the most part have been great while mom is going through all of this. It hasn't been easy for anyone. I hope tomorrow I can hang out with them in the pool and just relax and enjoy them. I have some pretty awesome kids I must say.

So I am going to sign off for now. I need to take a breather from life and just lie catatonic for several hours.....wish I could have a bath tonight!

A decade in the making

This past weekend we celebrated our son, Ethan's 10th birthday. It's hard to believe so much time has gone by so quickly! It feels like yesterday that we discovered we were pregnant! Well our little man has grown up into a fine young boy and we are so incredibly proud of him. He has had so many challenges come his way but he always manages to persevere. In his own "Ethanesque" way of course! I am so excited for what awaits Ethan in the future but so sad to realize what has already become the past. I saw Bear in the Big Blue House on the other day and I showed it to Ethan. He LOVED that show when he was tiny. That tidbit of information appalled my 10 year old. The fact that he ever liked a "baby show" was apparently too much. He is still pretty snuggly which I am grateful for. Not sure how much longer I am gonna get the mommy love. It is sure to become an embarrassment soon enough. He has come along way from my chunky little baby boy. Oh to have just one day again where he could be tiny. We would have our afternoon nap on the couch together just like we used to....and he would actually eat decent food! LOL (for those who don't know....Ethan is VERY picky....another nice aspie trait!) I miss having him actually fit in my arms. He's all legs now! I know everyone reading this will want to tell me to have another but after 2 great kids....I am not sure my luck will hold out on me a third time. Plus there are genetic things to consider....but all I know is the day my son was born was one of the best days of my life and I have been so blessed to be his mom.

Anyway, back to the party!! We had lots of people show up to celebrate his big 1-0. There was the LaFrance's and the Corkum's of course but there were also a lot of friends there. Even two from his old school which really meant a lot to me. Making friends does not come easy to kids with asperger's and Ethan is particularly afflicted with this attribute. The one even wanted Ethan to come to his house and play as soon as possible and the two of them were planning sleepovers and stuff. We had a lot of family friends as well. Our real estate agent even stopped my to wish Ethan a happy birthday and bring him a card! That was so sweet! It was great to spend the weekend with the people we care about the most. It ended up being split into a 2 day event because of work commitments but in some ways that made it nicer. Everyone enjoyed the pool and the slide which was great. This was our first pool party and it worked out well. I hope in the near future we can have an open house and have everyone come and see our accomplishments....will have to see. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this a special day!

Ethan asked my friend Shari to make his cake. it's a book (fittingly) and it has his 2 favorite Pokemon characters on it.....I don't know anything about Pokemon though to tell you who they are!

Opening Presents!

Blowing out the candles!

Hanging out on his new pool lounger!

Jenna thoroughly enjoying the lounger herself!
Marni and Dave
Opening Presents part 2

Week 1 in our new home

OK so we're in...and we are all still alive. Life as a homeowner has certainly proved interesting thus far. I might end up re-interating stuff from the previous post so I apologize in advance if any of this is "old news"

So Friday, we get the key around 1 and we boot it to the house with our van full of stuff. Only when we get there we realize "Hey this key doesn't work!" We check it against the side door, the back door....nothing. So we call our lawyer. He gets the lock code from the previous owners and we are finally in. The remainder of the keys are promised to be there by the evening. It's been a week and still no keys. Our friends Marni and Dave let us use his work truck to bring lots of stuff over. Our friend Aaron comes to hook up our cable, internet and phone and then we end the day collapsing in our beds at the old house.

Saturday is moving day. We start out bright and early with the vans packed and the men off to get the moving van. Things run fairly smoothly with minimal injuries and little to no furniture damage. The carpets in the kids rooms are ripped up so they will be sleeping in our rooms until the new carpet goes in. We could not get our family room couch down the stairs so it currently resides in our good living room until we find someone who wants it.

Sunday, we got the kitchen together, unpacked and basically got the house as organized as we could at this point. Also sent Shawn out for a few things. The week continued with the painting of the kids rooms. Jenna's is lavender and Ethan's is a soft smoky green. Painted out their trim white. In the meantime they were still sleeping in our room which meant they would not fall asleep and Jenna snores when she does so it made for an interesting sleep this week. We got the gardens in relatively decent shape. My sister bought me a hydrangea. It's very cute. We also planted the things I brought from the old house. We got the pool up and running. On moving day it was green....yum! We also fixed the one kitchen cabinet that was broken, got rid of the lovely cat pee smell in the one closet, retiled said closet, got longer hoses so I could use my washer etc. On wednesday we had a locksmith come and re-key the locks and change those that were old and wrecked. We also discovered this week that our oven does not work so we are in the process of getting that one fixed. On Thursday the electricians came to change the crazy fuse box to the prettiest high tech panel you have ever seen. It looks so much safer than what we had before. We also put GFCI outlets in the bathrooms. Can't be too careful. I know what can happen when you don't have them. They also fixed some outlets in the basement. When they put them in they reversed the polarization in all them so that needed fixing. Can't wait to get that bill! On Friday the carpet guys came and the kids finally got to move into their rooms. It was a peaceful nights sleep for us! The rooms look great and I am so happy they are in there. Ethan will be getting new furniture, hopefully in the not too distant future so then it will look really great! I also got to work filling in holes in the kids playroom so we can paint it and the kids will have that back. Then that means I can go to work on the rest of the house and they will be occupied. We spent today running errands and puttering around the house. Shawn took the oven element into a store to see if it still works or is dead. If it's just the element we can replace that but if it's not than we are better off getting a new stove. More money! Just what we need! I went to work getting the bedrooms in better order and generally tidying. I called a Church with a pastor who takes furniture donations and I am hoping he calls back soon. The couch takes up a ton of room and makes it hard for us to get around. Plus it will go to either refugees or women escaping violence so that makes me happy. Now it's time to go and paint the kids room. If only we could afford to have someone do that for us! My back is killing me!

But through all the trials and tribulations we are so thrilled to be in our new home and we can't wait to be fully settled in. It's taken a long time to reach this point in our lives....I want to savour each moment. We've been incredibly blessed.

And of course we are again so thankful for those who have helped us this past week. We could not have done this week what we have without your help. You are the best family and friends we could ever hope for.

I hope to update you again soon and hopefully then I can have some pictures to show you.

We're In!!!!

OK so after a couple of grueling days of moving we are finally in our new home. Things are going fairly well with the exception of a couple of snafu's. We have to get rid of our old couch because it won't go down the stairs...and I need to fix one of my kitchen cupboards. I think once we get painted and unpacked and carpets cleaned this will be one heck of a great house though. To all my friends who have attempted to call me since Friday morning, there have been issues with both phone lines (old and new) so if I haven't returned your call it isn't because I am ignoring you. HONEST!! Hopefully we will have a fully functioning phone soon so we can call you. In the meantime I really need to thank the people who have helped up so much with this move. First, Frank our agent for finding us this place, second, Marni and Mom L for helping me pack up, Third Dad L for helping me pack and get the old house ready to leave. Then there are my movers; again Mom and Dad L., Dad C, Marni and Dave, Rob, Jim, Jess, Sarah and Becca. Could not have done this without you people and there is no thanks I could give you that would be enough. You are the best family and friends anyone could ask for and we are eternally grateful. So back to the house I go. Hopefully I will find time to update you over the week. Thanks for reading!

SOOOOO sick! Oh no!

Ok so like moving week isn't one of the most stressful weeks in a persons life to begin with; it just gets that much more fun when you throw a monkey wrench into like say.....getting sick. Well that folks is me today. Welcome to my pity post.

It started last night with a sore throat. Was a little concerned but thought maybe it was just from the AC or something. This morning...throat still sore and I have some lovely swollen glands to boot. By afternoon I had some wicked body aches and chills. I actually went to bed mid day.....I have to really be sick for that to happen.

So now I am freaking out a little. I have to move on Friday and Saturday. Then in the next week I need to start unpacking, and painting, rip out carpet, have the new one installed, have the electrician come to change our fuse panel to breakers and keep my kids occupied. Not exactly a good time to get sick right?

Shawn is going to give me a blessing tonight, and I soaked in the tub for a while. I hope this isn't strep or something like that because I just cannot be out of commission like that this week. Maybe in a week and a half I can be a little bit sick...but not now...

So other than that I think I am actually faring well in the packing dept. Nearly everything is packed and ready to go. Got a few little things to pack and some laundry to put away tomorrow. The kids go to Nana's tomorrow night and will be there until Sat. night. I am sure they will love it. I can't wait for them to get into their new home and once the painting is done and the carpets are laid they will have awesome new rooms. It will be great.

Anyway, this will probably be may last post for a few days at least. Thank you faithful readers! We're having a lot of fun doing this and look forward to telling you of our adventures in the new house! See you again soon!!!!