It is gorgeous here! Low to mid 20's and sunny! This afternoon, we are heading to the beach and tomorrow we are heading to the everglades to go on an airboat tour. Tomorrow is supposed to be the warmest day yet at 27 degrees. Then it is supposed to be cooler for Thurs and Fri - so you know what that means - outlet mall shopping!
Our house here is absolutely gorgeous. We got the master bedroom since we have Julie and the bathroom (complete with 2 walk-in closets) is bigger than our bedroom at home. We love this house! If we come back again next year, we'll likely get the same house again since it is gorgeous and in a nice quiet area, but close enough to the shopping.
Julie did so amazing on the drive down! It was about 25 hours of driving time and we only lost an hour total due to traffic, which isn't bad considering how long the trip was. Having the portable DVD player in the car for Julie was awesome, it kept her occupied for most of the drive.
We are enjoying our vacation so much, I don't want the week to end!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Last post for 2009 (probably)
This will likely be my last post for the year given that I'm leaving for Florida on Friday and won't be back until January 5th. Although, who knows, I may post while I am sitting by the pool at our house in Florida ;) I'm so excited about the trip! I hope Julie does okay in the car for that long! We bought a portable DVD player to help occupy her for some of the drive.
This is my first time ever going south during the winter. All the other times I've been south have been in August, April, October, and September. So this one will be different because I can escape some of the snow! I have also never been on this long of a drive. My longest drive thus far would be to New Brunswick in 1996.
We had Christmas with my side of the family on the weekend, and it was awesome! We had our turkey dinner on Saturday, then played games for the evening. We played this new (to us) game "Settlers of Catan". Have any of you ever played it? It is AWESOME! We loved it so much that we played it again on Sunday! We had our 'Christmas morning' on Sunday and it was so much fun.
On the 25th, we will be heading to Carlos' parents house for the afternoon and then we're leaving on our trip - yay!
I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas!!!
This is my first time ever going south during the winter. All the other times I've been south have been in August, April, October, and September. So this one will be different because I can escape some of the snow! I have also never been on this long of a drive. My longest drive thus far would be to New Brunswick in 1996.
We had Christmas with my side of the family on the weekend, and it was awesome! We had our turkey dinner on Saturday, then played games for the evening. We played this new (to us) game "Settlers of Catan". Have any of you ever played it? It is AWESOME! We loved it so much that we played it again on Sunday! We had our 'Christmas morning' on Sunday and it was so much fun.
On the 25th, we will be heading to Carlos' parents house for the afternoon and then we're leaving on our trip - yay!
I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas!!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Great weekend
I had my company Christmas party on Friday and it was a lot of fun. It was great to see everyone again and get to know some of the new people. I was so glad that Julie was okay without me from 6:30pm until almost midnight! She was with my parents and was an angel, she only got a little grumpy near then end and that was only because she was really tired. I'm so glad I can get out in the evenings now! Tomorrow, I am meeting the girls from work for dinner and then we're going to see New Moon. They even made T-shirts so we all wear either "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward". We'll feel like we're 15 again ;) I decided to go with Team Jacob for this movie, but then I'll switch to Team Edward for Eclipse ;)
And then on Friday I'm going scrapbooking with a mom's group that I joined, so that should be fun!
Hard to believe it's only 11 days until the trip now! I'm getting so excited!
And then on Friday I'm going scrapbooking with a mom's group that I joined, so that should be fun!
Hard to believe it's only 11 days until the trip now! I'm getting so excited!
Monday, December 07, 2009
It's a lonely world...
... this blogging world is. Seems like I am the only one who is still posting. The rest of you haven't posted since the summer! I'm feeling a bit like the cheese standing alone...
Monday, November 30, 2009
That's a first!
We have our Christmas Tree put up and decorated - and it's still technically November! We put up our tree on Sunday afternoon; our very first Christmas tree of our own! We figured that now that we have Julie, time to put up our own tree! And since we're leaving for Florida on the 25th, I thought we should put our tree up early so we can enjoy it! This morning, I wrapped most of our presents and put them under the tree. We only have 2 more presents to buy (I know what to get, we just have to go out and get them). Other than those 2, all our other presents are wrapped and under the tree. I am thrilled since I hate the crowds in the stores, so we don't have to do any last-minute shopping this year - yay!
I had a lovely birthday weekend. Crop Day on Saturday went very well. We had some last-minute add-ons, so we ended up with 12 of us in total, so we had enough to cover all our costs and a little extra... so yay! Everyone who came really enjoyed themselves and wanted to know when the next one is. So, I'll likely do another one in the early spring and hopefully get some more people out.
We bought our dishwasher yesterday and we are having it installed this week - likely on Wednesday. I can't wait! I am so pumped about having a dishwasher; it will be the first time I've had one since living with my parents!
I had a lovely birthday weekend. Crop Day on Saturday went very well. We had some last-minute add-ons, so we ended up with 12 of us in total, so we had enough to cover all our costs and a little extra... so yay! Everyone who came really enjoyed themselves and wanted to know when the next one is. So, I'll likely do another one in the early spring and hopefully get some more people out.
We bought our dishwasher yesterday and we are having it installed this week - likely on Wednesday. I can't wait! I am so pumped about having a dishwasher; it will be the first time I've had one since living with my parents!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Julie had her 9-month check up yesterday. She is now 30" long and weighs 18.5 pounds, so she is on the 95th percentile for length for her age and 50th for weight. She's in perfect health and my doctor thinks she'll be reading at 3 since she's so alert.
This weekend, we'll be making a purchase that I am SUPER excited about! We're getting a dishwasher! The dishwasher that matches our new fridge and stove is on sale this weekend only for $100 off, so we thought we'd jump on that chance. So, hopefully we can get it installed soon and say goodbye to washing everything by hand - yay!
I've had one more person sign up for CropDay (they saw my ad on Kijiji), so now I only need 1 or 2 more people to sign up to break even. I still have 3 or 4 solid maybes, So I'm hoping a couple of those people come! Should be a great day!
EDIT (1:44pm)
That person that had signed up for Crop Day just cancelled - what a bummer! I was really hoping to get at least 1 new person out! Sheesh!
EDIT (9:33pm)
I just had another 2 people sign up, so I am really close to breaking even now - yay!
This weekend, we'll be making a purchase that I am SUPER excited about! We're getting a dishwasher! The dishwasher that matches our new fridge and stove is on sale this weekend only for $100 off, so we thought we'd jump on that chance. So, hopefully we can get it installed soon and say goodbye to washing everything by hand - yay!
I've had one more person sign up for CropDay (they saw my ad on Kijiji), so now I only need 1 or 2 more people to sign up to break even. I still have 3 or 4 solid maybes, So I'm hoping a couple of those people come! Should be a great day!
EDIT (1:44pm)
That person that had signed up for Crop Day just cancelled - what a bummer! I was really hoping to get at least 1 new person out! Sheesh!
EDIT (9:33pm)
I just had another 2 people sign up, so I am really close to breaking even now - yay!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Feelin a little discouraged...
I am co-hosting a Crop Day (scrapbooking) in a couple weeks with my leader. We decided to do this to increase our client base. We rented a hall and advertized in the newspaper, on kijiji, put posters up around town, through facebook, and sent invites to all our personal contacts. After ALL that, we only have 6 people signed up (2 of which are my mom and Oma). VERY disappointing. I just joined a local Business Network and went to a networking meeting last week to try to make some new contacts. There was certainly lots of interest, but nobody signed up for my event. I also joined a local mom's group, and have posted my event there. So, it's certainly not for lack of trying! I don't know what else I could have done!
I am just really disappointed because we need another 2 people to sign up to break even. The space we rented can hold 26 people, so we still have 20 spaces left! So, I am really discouraged. At least 7 or 8 people have told me that they would really like to come, but can't make that particular day and would like to know if I run it again. I'm thinking maybe next time, I'll have one at my mom's house so it won't cost me anything. We'd be limited to 8 people or so, but at least I wouldn't have to pay for a hall rental if not many people show. And I could reduce the cost to people that way too.
I am disappointed that I didn't get a single phone call from all the advertising we did. I guess in hindsight, it's probably not a good time of year for people, but I thought people might like to work on Christmas gifts or cards.
I just wish people would give it a chance. Because the products are absolutely amazing and there is something for every level of creativity. There are really simply albums where everything is included (papers, photo mats, stickers, etc.), so no thinking required. There are even albums where all you do is slide in your photos! I just need to find a way to get it across that you don't need to be creative to do scrapbooking. There is even digital scrapbooking for those who don't have a lot of printed photos, but have lots on their computer. This is a great way to get your photos from your computer to being enjoyed; also make great gifts for people. I just created my first digital scrapbook and had 5 copies printed for Christmas gifts... made shopping really easy!
I just realized that when I go back to work in mid-January, I will have a total of 4 part-time jobs - yikes! I will have my regular job 3 days a week (24 hours a week), my Creative Memories business, looking after Oma 2 evenings a week (8 hours a week), and my marking job for the local university, which is 44 hours per semester (works out to ~4 hours a week). So, when you add all that up, I will be working at least 40 hours a week! But, only 1 of those jobs means being away from Julie, so I'm happy about that.
I am just really disappointed because we need another 2 people to sign up to break even. The space we rented can hold 26 people, so we still have 20 spaces left! So, I am really discouraged. At least 7 or 8 people have told me that they would really like to come, but can't make that particular day and would like to know if I run it again. I'm thinking maybe next time, I'll have one at my mom's house so it won't cost me anything. We'd be limited to 8 people or so, but at least I wouldn't have to pay for a hall rental if not many people show. And I could reduce the cost to people that way too.
I am disappointed that I didn't get a single phone call from all the advertising we did. I guess in hindsight, it's probably not a good time of year for people, but I thought people might like to work on Christmas gifts or cards.
I just wish people would give it a chance. Because the products are absolutely amazing and there is something for every level of creativity. There are really simply albums where everything is included (papers, photo mats, stickers, etc.), so no thinking required. There are even albums where all you do is slide in your photos! I just need to find a way to get it across that you don't need to be creative to do scrapbooking. There is even digital scrapbooking for those who don't have a lot of printed photos, but have lots on their computer. This is a great way to get your photos from your computer to being enjoyed; also make great gifts for people. I just created my first digital scrapbook and had 5 copies printed for Christmas gifts... made shopping really easy!
I just realized that when I go back to work in mid-January, I will have a total of 4 part-time jobs - yikes! I will have my regular job 3 days a week (24 hours a week), my Creative Memories business, looking after Oma 2 evenings a week (8 hours a week), and my marking job for the local university, which is 44 hours per semester (works out to ~4 hours a week). So, when you add all that up, I will be working at least 40 hours a week! But, only 1 of those jobs means being away from Julie, so I'm happy about that.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
WOOHOO!
My Dad's passport came in the mail today! I was at my parents house when it was delivered and mom and I were totally floored that it arrived exactly a week after we mailed that paper we were waiting months for! We thought it would take 4 - 6 weeks to get his passport.
The Austrian Embassy was really on the ball! We thought they were waiting for the Citizenship record search before they sent the application to Austria, but they must have sent it back in August when Dad applied and then when we sent the Citizenship record paper, they sent us the passport right away. Amazing! So, Dad is coming on the trip for sure now! We still have to apply for the Permanent Resident card, but apparently as long as we can prove we have applied, that will be good enough for getting across the border. But, with 6.5 weeks until the trip, that may be enough time to get his PR card, especially since we can have it rushed since we have proof of travel plans. YAY! I am so glad he can come! He totally deserves a vacation!!!
Julie is 9 months old now, I can't believe it! She is 30 inches long, so she is the length of an 18 month old! Gonna be a tall girl!
I LOVE my new software. I can create scrapbooks, calendars, cards, etc. I have been working on a scrapbook since they are on sale 25% off this month (so my 20 page scrapbook will cost me $15 to have it printed). All these pages are pre-designed, so I just drag and drop photos and write some text - the rest is done for me! SO EASY! I'm going to have a whole scrapbook printed, but this is my favourite page so far:
The Austrian Embassy was really on the ball! We thought they were waiting for the Citizenship record search before they sent the application to Austria, but they must have sent it back in August when Dad applied and then when we sent the Citizenship record paper, they sent us the passport right away. Amazing! So, Dad is coming on the trip for sure now! We still have to apply for the Permanent Resident card, but apparently as long as we can prove we have applied, that will be good enough for getting across the border. But, with 6.5 weeks until the trip, that may be enough time to get his PR card, especially since we can have it rushed since we have proof of travel plans. YAY! I am so glad he can come! He totally deserves a vacation!!!
Julie is 9 months old now, I can't believe it! She is 30 inches long, so she is the length of an 18 month old! Gonna be a tall girl!
I LOVE my new software. I can create scrapbooks, calendars, cards, etc. I have been working on a scrapbook since they are on sale 25% off this month (so my 20 page scrapbook will cost me $15 to have it printed). All these pages are pre-designed, so I just drag and drop photos and write some text - the rest is done for me! SO EASY! I'm going to have a whole scrapbook printed, but this is my favourite page so far:

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Update on various things
I heard back from my company, and they have accepted my proposal to work part time. They will be sending me a letter sometime soon with the details, but I'm going to be working Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (24 hours/week). Which sounds good to me! That way I will have Mondays and Thursdays off to be with Julie and I also can do some work from home on those days if needed. I will try not to make a habit of it, but it's good to have that option if I need to. So, I have mixed feelings about returning to work. Intellectually, I know I should go back since we will need the income. I will give it a try and see how it goes. So, my official return to work date is Tuesday, January 19, 2010. So, I still have 2.5 months of mat leave left, so I am going to enjoy it to the max!
Good news: my dad will be receiving that paper he was waiting for within the next couple of days. Our local MP's office was really pushing them, so they finally processed that application. So, as soon as it arrives, my mom is going to send it overnight to the place to get his Austrian passport, which takes 4-6 weeks. The trip is 8 weeks away, so we should be okay there. Turns out we can also apply for his PR card at the same time, which is awesome. The current processing time for the PR cards is 4 months, but we can have it rushed since we have proof of travel arrangements. And our local MP's office will help us again with the PR card. So, it is actually looking hopeful that he will be able to come on the trip after all! I'm sure it will be down to the wire, but it may actually come out in our favour!
We took Julie to my parent's house tonight so Carlos and I could go out on a date. It was really nice; we should make an effort to do that more often! Julie was dressed up and looked adorable! We also took her to visit Thom and his girlfriend, also to Al's place, and to our neighbours. She was quite a hit! She was a little leopard:

Good news: my dad will be receiving that paper he was waiting for within the next couple of days. Our local MP's office was really pushing them, so they finally processed that application. So, as soon as it arrives, my mom is going to send it overnight to the place to get his Austrian passport, which takes 4-6 weeks. The trip is 8 weeks away, so we should be okay there. Turns out we can also apply for his PR card at the same time, which is awesome. The current processing time for the PR cards is 4 months, but we can have it rushed since we have proof of travel arrangements. And our local MP's office will help us again with the PR card. So, it is actually looking hopeful that he will be able to come on the trip after all! I'm sure it will be down to the wire, but it may actually come out in our favour!
We took Julie to my parent's house tonight so Carlos and I could go out on a date. It was really nice; we should make an effort to do that more often! Julie was dressed up and looked adorable! We also took her to visit Thom and his girlfriend, also to Al's place, and to our neighbours. She was quite a hit! She was a little leopard:

Thursday, October 22, 2009
I received a response
I got an email from my boss this afternoon which said the following regarding my proposal to work part time upon my return in mid-January:
"In concept it should be workable. We’ll be back to you with the details next week regarding a change to part-time employment. Talk soon."
I had a feeling he would come around once he thought about it a bit and talked to the other senior staff. So, it is looking promising that I will be able to work part time. I will wait and see what he sends me next week. I am hoping he is okay with a 24 hour work week, that would be me working 3 days per week. I think that would be the best option. It will still be very difficult to return to work, but with 3 days a week in the office, that means I would have 4 days a week with Julie, which is certainly better than 2!
"In concept it should be workable. We’ll be back to you with the details next week regarding a change to part-time employment. Talk soon."
I had a feeling he would come around once he thought about it a bit and talked to the other senior staff. So, it is looking promising that I will be able to work part time. I will wait and see what he sends me next week. I am hoping he is okay with a 24 hour work week, that would be me working 3 days per week. I think that would be the best option. It will still be very difficult to return to work, but with 3 days a week in the office, that means I would have 4 days a week with Julie, which is certainly better than 2!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Feeling a little lost
I had my meeting with my boss yesterday in which I told him I would like to work part time. He said he wasn't expecting that and he would have to think it over and talk to senior staff to see what they thought. I made it very clear that I was willing to take work home with me if there was something that really couldn't wait until I was back in the office. Turns out they just hired a hydrogeologist/senior project manager last week and he is in my former office. Which means when I go back, I won't have my own office anymore, I would be sharing. I couldn't expect them to keep my office for me, but when October came around and it was still empty, I thought there was a good chance I'd get it back! Oh well. If I am going to be part-time, I am totally okay with sharing an office since I won't be there all the time.
I told my boss I am flexible on the details but that I would work a minimum of 3 days per week and he agreed that 3 days in a row would probably be best for the company, so we're thinking Wed/Thurs/Fri. He seemed positive, so I am sure he will come back saying it is fine. He asked me whether this was just in transition or whether this would be my new hours permanently and I really couldn't answer that. I don't know whether I will be back full time down the road or if I want part time forever (at least until kids are in school).
The meeting yesterday really made me realize something: I don't want to go back to work at all. Which doesn't make rational sense since I like my job and love the people I work with. I just felt this tug on my heart saying that I don't wan to leave Julie at all. I would love to find some sort of job where I can work from home. That just doesn't seem to be an option right now.
So I am feeling very lost because I'm not sure if my boss will agree to part-time and if he doesn't, I'm not sure I will say yes to full-time, in which case I will be out of a job. I would be very surprised if they let me go, but on the other hand, I don't even want to go back. It's just a money thing. So, I'm feeling a little lost.
I told my boss I am flexible on the details but that I would work a minimum of 3 days per week and he agreed that 3 days in a row would probably be best for the company, so we're thinking Wed/Thurs/Fri. He seemed positive, so I am sure he will come back saying it is fine. He asked me whether this was just in transition or whether this would be my new hours permanently and I really couldn't answer that. I don't know whether I will be back full time down the road or if I want part time forever (at least until kids are in school).
The meeting yesterday really made me realize something: I don't want to go back to work at all. Which doesn't make rational sense since I like my job and love the people I work with. I just felt this tug on my heart saying that I don't wan to leave Julie at all. I would love to find some sort of job where I can work from home. That just doesn't seem to be an option right now.
So I am feeling very lost because I'm not sure if my boss will agree to part-time and if he doesn't, I'm not sure I will say yes to full-time, in which case I will be out of a job. I would be very surprised if they let me go, but on the other hand, I don't even want to go back. It's just a money thing. So, I'm feeling a little lost.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I feel like I could rip my hair out!
More drama on our vacation. We booked the rental house in June and at that time, I asked everyone to check their passports to make sure they are still valid. Everyone said they were good, so I didn't push the issue.
Yesterday, I checked Oma's passport and Thom's and Oma's expires soon and Thom's is already expired. No problem. I took Oma today to get her passport photos taken and I printed out the form and filled it out with her and I will take her next week to submit it. Since her passport was issued less than 6 years ago, she can go through the simplified renewal process - awesome.
Thom on the other hand, his passport expired in September 2008, so he will have to apply for a new one instead of the simplified renewal process. His passport was issued in September 2003, so if he had renewed his passport a month ago (or in June when I told everyone to check their passports!), he would have still been within the window of being able to do the simplified renewal. Fine. I printed off the longer application and was filling it out with him and he needs 2 documents as proof of identity and the only 2 on the list that he would have are driver's license and health card. Well, I asked him for these 2 documents, he handed me his driver's license and a little piece of paper with his health card number on it and our conversation went like this:
Me: What is this? Where is your health card?
Thom: I don't have a health card; I never have. This is all I have.
Me: You MUST have a health card. What do you show when you go to the doctor?
Thom: They never ask for it.
Mom looked in her files and he got a letter saying he had to renew his health card immediately, but there is no date on that, so it could be years old. I phoned right away and I got him an appointment for tomorrow morning. I am taking him down there to make sure it gets done and to ask them if they could rush it since we need that in order to apply for his passport. I will also ask if we could use his temporary one that he will get to apply for a passport.
What a pain! I am starting to feel like if I didn't push everyone, it would only be me, Carlos, and Julie going to Florida. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing, I suppose... but so not the point! This is supposed to be a family vacation and nobody seems to be putting in the effort to get their travel documents in order!
Yesterday, I checked Oma's passport and Thom's and Oma's expires soon and Thom's is already expired. No problem. I took Oma today to get her passport photos taken and I printed out the form and filled it out with her and I will take her next week to submit it. Since her passport was issued less than 6 years ago, she can go through the simplified renewal process - awesome.
Thom on the other hand, his passport expired in September 2008, so he will have to apply for a new one instead of the simplified renewal process. His passport was issued in September 2003, so if he had renewed his passport a month ago (or in June when I told everyone to check their passports!), he would have still been within the window of being able to do the simplified renewal. Fine. I printed off the longer application and was filling it out with him and he needs 2 documents as proof of identity and the only 2 on the list that he would have are driver's license and health card. Well, I asked him for these 2 documents, he handed me his driver's license and a little piece of paper with his health card number on it and our conversation went like this:
Me: What is this? Where is your health card?
Thom: I don't have a health card; I never have. This is all I have.
Me: You MUST have a health card. What do you show when you go to the doctor?
Thom: They never ask for it.
Mom looked in her files and he got a letter saying he had to renew his health card immediately, but there is no date on that, so it could be years old. I phoned right away and I got him an appointment for tomorrow morning. I am taking him down there to make sure it gets done and to ask them if they could rush it since we need that in order to apply for his passport. I will also ask if we could use his temporary one that he will get to apply for a passport.
What a pain! I am starting to feel like if I didn't push everyone, it would only be me, Carlos, and Julie going to Florida. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing, I suppose... but so not the point! This is supposed to be a family vacation and nobody seems to be putting in the effort to get their travel documents in order!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Grrrr - stupid government!
We have a family vacation to Florida planned at the end of December. We are all really excited. The only problem is I don't think my dad will be able to go. All because the government is being incompetent! My dad is a landed immigrant and his Austrian passport JUST expired in July. So, he had to go to Ottawa in person to apply for a new one. The only thing he is missing is his citizenship record search, which my mom applied for in mid-July. Well it STILL hasn't arrived. And he needs that to get his passport and he needs his passport to apply for a Permanent Resident card. We were getting really worried that we wouldn't get this done in time, so my mom called the office of the local MP and got in touch with someone to help. Well that lady phoned to see what was taking so long with the citizenship record search and they are REALLY backlogged and are currently completing requests submitted in April. So, at this rate, he won't get it until December and then his passport takes up to 6 weeks, and then he needs his PR card, so there just won't be enough time. The lady at the MP's office is going to try her best to push them, but it's not looking hopeful.
I am so sad because my dad really deserves a vacation! I will be so upset if he is not able to come!
You'd think that 5 months would be plenty of time to get travel documents in order, but apparently not! It's going to take that long just to get the first of the 3 steps required!
I am so sad because my dad really deserves a vacation! I will be so upset if he is not able to come!
You'd think that 5 months would be plenty of time to get travel documents in order, but apparently not! It's going to take that long just to get the first of the 3 steps required!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Julie is great!
We had the follow-up appointment today and it turns out Julie has a small ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) and the doctor said it is no cause for concern and the small ASDs almost always close up on their own. We need to have her re-tested if it persists in several months, but the doctor said she could barely hear the murmur today. I am hoping it is well on its way to closing up and perhaps by her next check-up with our family doctor on Nov 24, it will be completely gone. So, I am very glad that everything is okay!
Julie is now 8 months old and here are her stats: 18 lbs and 29 inches long! She is off the charts in terms of her length and is around the 35th percentile for weight for her age. So, the doctor said she is at the age where she should be getting a good portion of her daily calories form baby food, so I guess I have to up her intake of babyfood and cut back on the nursing a tad. I guess I only have a little over 3 months before I go back to work, and then she will need to be on babyfood during the day and only nursing morning and bedtime.
Julie is now 8 months old and here are her stats: 18 lbs and 29 inches long! She is off the charts in terms of her length and is around the 35th percentile for weight for her age. So, the doctor said she is at the age where she should be getting a good portion of her daily calories form baby food, so I guess I have to up her intake of babyfood and cut back on the nursing a tad. I guess I only have a little over 3 months before I go back to work, and then she will need to be on babyfood during the day and only nursing morning and bedtime.
Monday, October 05, 2009
I had a nice weekend away at a ladies retreat with Julie, mom, and Oma. Julie was a real hit! So many people asked me "is she always this good?" She was an absolute angel!
The only downer was that Oma cried the whole time and said she wanted to go home. And we were 2.5 hours away from home. Yet when I asked her what was wrong, she would reply with "I don't know". Then I would tell her if she doesn't even know why she is upset, she should just decide not to be upset. Then we would have the same conversation 5 minutes later and again and again all weekend. I have really noticed a change in her in the last month or so. She just seems so depressed and sad all the time, yet she doesn't know why. Mom is taking her to the doctor tomorrow to get the doctor's opinion on whether Oma should go through the mediation process, so I think we will have a list of things to mention to the doctor. It is so sad to see Oma go through this. It has gotten really bad now she cries all the time and says "I don't know what I'm going to do". Yet she doesn't know why she is upset. And it's gotten to the point now that mom has to bribe her to shower and she refuses to wash her hair. I think we'll have to take her to a salon to have her hair washed once a week because she absolutely refuses to wash it herself yet she doesn't know why she doesn't want to. This is really hard on us all. I am looking after Oma the 2 evenings a week mom has to go to work. Tomorrow, mom is going to a support group for caregivers, so I really hope she gets some good support there.
On Thursday, we have Julie's follow-up appointment with the pediatrician to go over the results of her echo cardiogram, and I really hope everything is okay. I will be so relieved after that appointment.
On Saturday, one of my childhood friends is getting married. She and her fiance are getting married exactly one year to the day after their first date. I am looking forward to the wedding and then enjoying 2 turkey dinners on the weekend as well!
The only downer was that Oma cried the whole time and said she wanted to go home. And we were 2.5 hours away from home. Yet when I asked her what was wrong, she would reply with "I don't know". Then I would tell her if she doesn't even know why she is upset, she should just decide not to be upset. Then we would have the same conversation 5 minutes later and again and again all weekend. I have really noticed a change in her in the last month or so. She just seems so depressed and sad all the time, yet she doesn't know why. Mom is taking her to the doctor tomorrow to get the doctor's opinion on whether Oma should go through the mediation process, so I think we will have a list of things to mention to the doctor. It is so sad to see Oma go through this. It has gotten really bad now she cries all the time and says "I don't know what I'm going to do". Yet she doesn't know why she is upset. And it's gotten to the point now that mom has to bribe her to shower and she refuses to wash her hair. I think we'll have to take her to a salon to have her hair washed once a week because she absolutely refuses to wash it herself yet she doesn't know why she doesn't want to. This is really hard on us all. I am looking after Oma the 2 evenings a week mom has to go to work. Tomorrow, mom is going to a support group for caregivers, so I really hope she gets some good support there.
On Thursday, we have Julie's follow-up appointment with the pediatrician to go over the results of her echo cardiogram, and I really hope everything is okay. I will be so relieved after that appointment.
On Saturday, one of my childhood friends is getting married. She and her fiance are getting married exactly one year to the day after their first date. I am looking forward to the wedding and then enjoying 2 turkey dinners on the weekend as well!
Monday, September 28, 2009
We had a great time at the Toronto Zoo on Friday. It was a gorgeous day and I finally got to see the Tundra exhibit – yay for polar bears! Julie was WAY more interested in looking at the other kids and not so interested in the animals… except for the monkeys – she loved them!
On Saturday, something happened that made us realize that Oma has deteriorated even more to the point now that she will need to be with someone all the time when she’s awake. Mom had a fitness class, so she was gone from the house for 1 hour. My dad was home so Oma wasn’t there by herself. My brother Thom was in the dragonboat races out of town, but for some reason Oma thought they were in town. She went to ask my dad several times if he could take her there and he kept telling her the races were out of town, but she kept forgetting and thought they were in town.
My mom came home from her fitness class and was going to take Oma to go pick up a prescription and Oma was nowhere to be found. Dad said he hadn’t seen her in awhile, but thought she just went to lie down. Mom looked everywhere, but no Oma. She also noticed that her purse and cane were missing, so Oma must have left. My dad said he didn’t see a vehicle come, so they had no idea if she just wandered off or what happened.
Just when my mom was getting hysterical and thinking she may have to call the police, Oma came home and she was crying. She told my mom that she wanted to go see Thom in the races and started walking to the spot she thought the race was. We do have dragonboat races there every June, but Oma did not understand that Thom was in a race out of town. We have no idea how far she walked before she turned around. She was very upset that she couldn’t find Thom.
Now we don’t know what to do because we can’t have Oma wandering off. She could get mugged or something… I’m sure there are people out there that prey on the elderly because they can’t defend themselves. And the area she was walking in is not the best area.
My mom doesn’t know what to do because now she feels like she can never leave Oma and she obviously has to leave her to go to work. Luckily, there is a support group here in town for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s/dementia, so my mom is going to go to the next gathering and I really hope she gets some good advice and support there.
On Saturday, something happened that made us realize that Oma has deteriorated even more to the point now that she will need to be with someone all the time when she’s awake. Mom had a fitness class, so she was gone from the house for 1 hour. My dad was home so Oma wasn’t there by herself. My brother Thom was in the dragonboat races out of town, but for some reason Oma thought they were in town. She went to ask my dad several times if he could take her there and he kept telling her the races were out of town, but she kept forgetting and thought they were in town.
My mom came home from her fitness class and was going to take Oma to go pick up a prescription and Oma was nowhere to be found. Dad said he hadn’t seen her in awhile, but thought she just went to lie down. Mom looked everywhere, but no Oma. She also noticed that her purse and cane were missing, so Oma must have left. My dad said he didn’t see a vehicle come, so they had no idea if she just wandered off or what happened.
Just when my mom was getting hysterical and thinking she may have to call the police, Oma came home and she was crying. She told my mom that she wanted to go see Thom in the races and started walking to the spot she thought the race was. We do have dragonboat races there every June, but Oma did not understand that Thom was in a race out of town. We have no idea how far she walked before she turned around. She was very upset that she couldn’t find Thom.
Now we don’t know what to do because we can’t have Oma wandering off. She could get mugged or something… I’m sure there are people out there that prey on the elderly because they can’t defend themselves. And the area she was walking in is not the best area.
My mom doesn’t know what to do because now she feels like she can never leave Oma and she obviously has to leave her to go to work. Luckily, there is a support group here in town for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s/dementia, so my mom is going to go to the next gathering and I really hope she gets some good advice and support there.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Glad that's overwith!
We went for Julie's Echo Cardiogram this morning. It was basically a very detailed ultrasound of her heart. The hardest part was she had to sit still! Trying to get a 7.5 month old to sit still for 45 minutes while being poked and prodded was no easy task! But, they finally got all the measurements and we'll get the results at our next appointment with the pediatrician on October 8th.
Julie still has a bit of a cold, so I'm not sure whether to take her to her music class this morning. I would hate for her to miss it since she enjoys it so much, I'm just not sure how the other moms would like it if I brought her since she is still sniffling a bit. But I doubt she is contagious anymore. Hmmmm... dilemma.
A couple weeks ago, we had some family portraits done. We did some 4 generation pics with Julie, me, my mom, and Oma. We also did some of Carlos, Julie, and me... some of Julie and me, and some adorable ones of just Julie. I get to pick them up tomorrow and I can't wait!!!! I will try to scan some in so I can post them on Facebook because some of them are just TOO CUTE!
Julie still has a bit of a cold, so I'm not sure whether to take her to her music class this morning. I would hate for her to miss it since she enjoys it so much, I'm just not sure how the other moms would like it if I brought her since she is still sniffling a bit. But I doubt she is contagious anymore. Hmmmm... dilemma.
A couple weeks ago, we had some family portraits done. We did some 4 generation pics with Julie, me, my mom, and Oma. We also did some of Carlos, Julie, and me... some of Julie and me, and some adorable ones of just Julie. I get to pick them up tomorrow and I can't wait!!!! I will try to scan some in so I can post them on Facebook because some of them are just TOO CUTE!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
We're all miserable around here!
Last weekend, Julie was a grumpy girl because of teething, this weekend she has her first cold! It started Thursday evening when I noticed she was coughing and had a bit of a stuffy nose. She also woke up several times during the night on Thursday night, which is a rarity around here, she usually sleeps though the night. Yesterday, she was obviously uncomfortable and very congested. Which makes breastfeeding difficult since she needs to be able to breathe through her nose! I used some saline drops and a bulb syringe thingy to try to clear her nose a bit. It is working well enough for her to be able to nurse, but I feel so helpless that there isn't much I can do to help her. Last night she slept with us in our bed since she was waking up every hour or two. Poor ju-jube.
She is looking slightly better this afternoon, but she's still quite congested. She had a mild fever yesterday, but that was gone today. So, I hope she is on the mend!
And an update on the situation with my uncle... we are not sure if we will proceed with mediation since she charges $200/hour and wants a $2,000 deposit. Oma keeps saying she's not going to pay $2,000 to talk to her son, so I'm not really sure how we are going to proceed. We are willing to participate in the process, but we're just not sure who is going to pay for it. And my mom is not speaking to my uncle, so we can't ask him what he thinks about it. I think my mom may talk to the mediator and ask if she has any indication from my uncle whether he would be willing to pay for it.
Perhaps a family meeting would be better since it won't cost any money? And we could ask a friend of Oma's to be there as a '3rd party'. Although most of Oma's friends want to stay out of it, so I'm not sure if we would find anyone. And we're not really sure if we should put Oma through that since she gets really upset easily and even has trouble breathing when she even thinks about my uncle, so I can't imagine how she would be if there was a heated discussion going on. What a mess! I just want this to all be over and move on! It has pretty much ruined our summer and I don't want it to ruin our fall as well!
She is looking slightly better this afternoon, but she's still quite congested. She had a mild fever yesterday, but that was gone today. So, I hope she is on the mend!
And an update on the situation with my uncle... we are not sure if we will proceed with mediation since she charges $200/hour and wants a $2,000 deposit. Oma keeps saying she's not going to pay $2,000 to talk to her son, so I'm not really sure how we are going to proceed. We are willing to participate in the process, but we're just not sure who is going to pay for it. And my mom is not speaking to my uncle, so we can't ask him what he thinks about it. I think my mom may talk to the mediator and ask if she has any indication from my uncle whether he would be willing to pay for it.
Perhaps a family meeting would be better since it won't cost any money? And we could ask a friend of Oma's to be there as a '3rd party'. Although most of Oma's friends want to stay out of it, so I'm not sure if we would find anyone. And we're not really sure if we should put Oma through that since she gets really upset easily and even has trouble breathing when she even thinks about my uncle, so I can't imagine how she would be if there was a heated discussion going on. What a mess! I just want this to all be over and move on! It has pretty much ruined our summer and I don't want it to ruin our fall as well!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Oh, the pain
Poor Julie is not her usual happy self right now. Her second tooth is coming in and is giving her a lot of grief! Poor girl! We have her some baby tylenol one night when she was having a particularly difficult time and that helped her sleep. I wish there was more I can do to help! She was so unhappy on the weekend that we had to cancel going to a wedding on Saturday evening. Luckily, we were only invited to the dance portion, so we didn't have to RSVP or anything, so I felt a little better. I was planning to go after we got Julie to sleep, but she didn't get so sleep until midnight that night!
On to other baby related things... we have been using cloth diapers for the last few days and I love them! I have been meaning to give them a try for awhile, and we finally are giving it a go. I got a gift certificate for a month free of our diaper service in town, so we are doing that right now and after our free month is up, I think I will buy some of my own and wash them at home (I can't see paying $110 plus tax per month for the service).
Oh, Julie calls!
On to other baby related things... we have been using cloth diapers for the last few days and I love them! I have been meaning to give them a try for awhile, and we finally are giving it a go. I got a gift certificate for a month free of our diaper service in town, so we are doing that right now and after our free month is up, I think I will buy some of my own and wash them at home (I can't see paying $110 plus tax per month for the service).
Oh, Julie calls!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The good, bad, and ugly
The good: we had a lovely weekend at the cottage. Weather was gorgeous, mom and I swam around the point... good family times.
Julie is 7 months old now and I am blown away with how smart she is! She learned how to clap and loves it!
Carlos and I celebrated our second anniversary yesterday. It was lovely! We went to the place we had our wedding reception and had a lovely dinner and then walked around the grounds and took some pictures.
The bad: On Sunday, my uncle got his 10 year old son involved as a pawn. He got his son to call Oma at the cottage and when Oma asked him when they were coming to visit her, he said he was going to come and pick her up to take her to their cottage. When they showed up (it was all 3 of his sons), we thought perfect, they can visit with Oma here like she wants! But the 10 year old insisted on taking Oma to their cottage and even said "my dad told me to bring her to our cottage because he wants to talk to her there". So, he had obviously been trained. My cousin looked very uncomfortable that he had to say that. So, we weren't about to get them involved, but they did stay to visit for awhile. Until their mom called to see if they were on their way (I guess she was worried that Oma was putting up a fight about going to their cottage). She ended up going and stayed for a couple hours. My uncle and aunt dropped her off and Carlos and I were sitting on the deck when they came and they totally snubbed us. I waved and they totally ignored me. So, I guess they are mad at me too. The night before, there was a big party at the marina, and they ignored my brother, so I guess they are not speaking to our entire family.
The ugly: we had the appointment with Oma's lawyer yesterday. It actually went quite well. The ugly part is he informed us that my uncle has hired a lawyer and his lawyer has been in touch with Oma's lawyer. I suspect my uncle hired a lawyer because he couldn't get any information from Oma directly about Will changes, so he thought he'd try another route. His lawyer talked to Oma's lawyer and because of client confidentiality, Oma's lawyer couldn't tell him any specifics about any documents he is preparing, but he did say that Oma has been in to see him and he recommended a capacity assessment and that she passed that. So, basically, my uncle wouldn't have a case if he tried to contest the Will.
The good thing is, a couple weeks ago, my mom walked in on my uncle talking to Oma and he was asking her "are you trying to change your Will? What changes are you trying to make"? Luckily, Oma didn't remember, so she said she wasn't making any changes to her Will.
The new Will was signed yesterday, so that is good. Only took 3 months! But, I'm really glad the lawyer insisted on a capacity assessment because now we know my uncle will contest it when the time comes for sure. And he won't have a case.
I am really relieved that the Will is now changed. That doesn't help us with the day to day life though and all the stress my uncle is causing. The lawyer recommended mediation, which is what we are moving ahead with now. It will be Oma, my uncle, my mom, and me involved in that and initially, the mediator will meet with us all separately. So, I'm sure that will take place in the next couple of weeks. It really offends me that my uncle thinks I would lie for my mom, but the mediator is the professional, so she will listen to everyone and then come up with some sort of plan with how we can move forward.
Julie is 7 months old now and I am blown away with how smart she is! She learned how to clap and loves it!
Carlos and I celebrated our second anniversary yesterday. It was lovely! We went to the place we had our wedding reception and had a lovely dinner and then walked around the grounds and took some pictures.
The bad: On Sunday, my uncle got his 10 year old son involved as a pawn. He got his son to call Oma at the cottage and when Oma asked him when they were coming to visit her, he said he was going to come and pick her up to take her to their cottage. When they showed up (it was all 3 of his sons), we thought perfect, they can visit with Oma here like she wants! But the 10 year old insisted on taking Oma to their cottage and even said "my dad told me to bring her to our cottage because he wants to talk to her there". So, he had obviously been trained. My cousin looked very uncomfortable that he had to say that. So, we weren't about to get them involved, but they did stay to visit for awhile. Until their mom called to see if they were on their way (I guess she was worried that Oma was putting up a fight about going to their cottage). She ended up going and stayed for a couple hours. My uncle and aunt dropped her off and Carlos and I were sitting on the deck when they came and they totally snubbed us. I waved and they totally ignored me. So, I guess they are mad at me too. The night before, there was a big party at the marina, and they ignored my brother, so I guess they are not speaking to our entire family.
The ugly: we had the appointment with Oma's lawyer yesterday. It actually went quite well. The ugly part is he informed us that my uncle has hired a lawyer and his lawyer has been in touch with Oma's lawyer. I suspect my uncle hired a lawyer because he couldn't get any information from Oma directly about Will changes, so he thought he'd try another route. His lawyer talked to Oma's lawyer and because of client confidentiality, Oma's lawyer couldn't tell him any specifics about any documents he is preparing, but he did say that Oma has been in to see him and he recommended a capacity assessment and that she passed that. So, basically, my uncle wouldn't have a case if he tried to contest the Will.
The good thing is, a couple weeks ago, my mom walked in on my uncle talking to Oma and he was asking her "are you trying to change your Will? What changes are you trying to make"? Luckily, Oma didn't remember, so she said she wasn't making any changes to her Will.
The new Will was signed yesterday, so that is good. Only took 3 months! But, I'm really glad the lawyer insisted on a capacity assessment because now we know my uncle will contest it when the time comes for sure. And he won't have a case.
I am really relieved that the Will is now changed. That doesn't help us with the day to day life though and all the stress my uncle is causing. The lawyer recommended mediation, which is what we are moving ahead with now. It will be Oma, my uncle, my mom, and me involved in that and initially, the mediator will meet with us all separately. So, I'm sure that will take place in the next couple of weeks. It really offends me that my uncle thinks I would lie for my mom, but the mediator is the professional, so she will listen to everyone and then come up with some sort of plan with how we can move forward.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Am I crazy?
Here is the latest: my uncle apparently phoned Oma to invite her to his cottage. She didn’t remember this conversation, but my mom found some notes written on a newspaper to that effect, so she asked Oma if he had called. She remembered that he had called, but not which day he wanted to visit or any of the details. So, I emailed him and he is picking up Oma today to take her to his cottage until Saturday.
When I asked Oma about this yesterday, she said she didn’t want to go. I spent 6 hours with Oma yesterday, and every time she though of going, she would gasp for air and look very agitated and say that she doesn’t want to go. She would turn to my mom and say “please don’t make me go!” I was very worried about her since she was having problems breathing because she was so stressed out about this. She REALLY doesn’t want to see my uncle after what he’s done, but she does want to see her grandsons (they have not visited her at all this summer).
So, mom suggested that we invite her grandsons to her cottage for a visit this weekend since everyone will be at the lake. This made her feel much more comfortable and she was so relieved that she wouldn’t have to go to my uncle’s cottage.
I emailed my uncle and told him very clearly that Oma has decided not to go to his cottage since she doesn’t want to go away overnight, but that she would like his sons to visit her at her cottage.
He responded with “Oma will be fine with family, she went to Quebec City overnight, so this will be okay… please make sure she is ready as promised”. So, he is not listening.
I am going to visit a friend out of town this afternoon and one of mom’s friends lives very close to her, so I think we are all going to disappear this afternoon and I will drop mom and Oma off to visit mom’s friend while I am visiting with my friend. Since Oma clearly is having health issues over the thought of going to my uncle’s cottage, we have to step in and keep her safe. He will show up to pick her up and there will be nobody home. Which will make him furious, but it’s not my fault he didn’t listen to me when I told him Oma decided not to go! Sheesh!
Good thing Oma’s appointment with the lawyer is on Tuesday… that appointment can’t come soon enough!
When I asked Oma about this yesterday, she said she didn’t want to go. I spent 6 hours with Oma yesterday, and every time she though of going, she would gasp for air and look very agitated and say that she doesn’t want to go. She would turn to my mom and say “please don’t make me go!” I was very worried about her since she was having problems breathing because she was so stressed out about this. She REALLY doesn’t want to see my uncle after what he’s done, but she does want to see her grandsons (they have not visited her at all this summer).
So, mom suggested that we invite her grandsons to her cottage for a visit this weekend since everyone will be at the lake. This made her feel much more comfortable and she was so relieved that she wouldn’t have to go to my uncle’s cottage.
I emailed my uncle and told him very clearly that Oma has decided not to go to his cottage since she doesn’t want to go away overnight, but that she would like his sons to visit her at her cottage.
He responded with “Oma will be fine with family, she went to Quebec City overnight, so this will be okay… please make sure she is ready as promised”. So, he is not listening.
I am going to visit a friend out of town this afternoon and one of mom’s friends lives very close to her, so I think we are all going to disappear this afternoon and I will drop mom and Oma off to visit mom’s friend while I am visiting with my friend. Since Oma clearly is having health issues over the thought of going to my uncle’s cottage, we have to step in and keep her safe. He will show up to pick her up and there will be nobody home. Which will make him furious, but it’s not my fault he didn’t listen to me when I told him Oma decided not to go! Sheesh!
Good thing Oma’s appointment with the lawyer is on Tuesday… that appointment can’t come soon enough!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Okay, freaking out a bit here
I took Julie to a pediatrician today since we were referred there about the white dot on her nose. The pediatrician said it is nothing to worry about, we can have it removed if we want, but she recommends waiting until she is older. What she did notice however, is Julie has a heart murmur. Which of course sounds terrifying to me! Anything with the word 'heart' sounds very serious! She said most of the time, this is a problem that fixes itself as the child grows, but she has ordered an echo cardiogram just to be safe, which is scheduled for Sept. 22nd, but we won't get the results until her follow-up appointment on Oct. 8th. It's probably nothing serious, but of course I'm freaking out!
In happier news, Julie cut her very first tooth today!!!
In happier news, Julie cut her very first tooth today!!!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Busy few days!
Yesterday was my company's annual fun day. We started this tradition 4 years ago and usually, it is a triathlon (with events such as bowling, mini-golfing, go-karting, etc.). This year, we did the "Walk in the Clouds" in Haliburton Forest. It was AMAZING! First, we had to canoe across a lake, then hike through the forest (including climbing a hill called 'huff and puff'), then we started the canopy tour. It is a series of bridges (wooden planks with cables on either side to hold on to and we were also harnessed in attached to a cable above). The whole thing was 30 to 75 feet above ground and took about 1.5 hours to complete the whole course... it was SO awesome!!! I'm so glad I went! I took my mom and Oma along with me so they could babysit while I went on the tour (it was about 3.5 hours in total). It was so nice to catch up with my coworkers again.
Today, we went to Carlos' parents house and my parents and Oma were invited to come along. So that was fun. We even had a stop at a local marina to look for a pontoon boat for the cottage. Oma is having lots of trouble getting in and out of the boat now, so we're thinking we'll need something easier for her next year. So, my parents are in the market for a used pontoon boat. We figure now is the time to start looking and hopefully they'll find an awesome one by the spring.
Tomorrow, we are headed to Carlos' sister's house, so that will be fun. Just means the weekend is jam packed full of traveling!
Today, we went to Carlos' parents house and my parents and Oma were invited to come along. So that was fun. We even had a stop at a local marina to look for a pontoon boat for the cottage. Oma is having lots of trouble getting in and out of the boat now, so we're thinking we'll need something easier for her next year. So, my parents are in the market for a used pontoon boat. We figure now is the time to start looking and hopefully they'll find an awesome one by the spring.
Tomorrow, we are headed to Carlos' sister's house, so that will be fun. Just means the weekend is jam packed full of traveling!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Trying to lay low
We are trying to lay low for the time being with this whole situation with my uncle. Oma's lawyer is on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so we can't get anything done before then. Oma is at the point where she wants the Power of Attorney to take effect so she can't be held responsible for any decisions she makes. Which means if my uncle shows up to force her to sign anything, it won't be valid. She has an appointment with her lawyer in 2 weeks, so we just have to get through until then. The problem is, he won't leave Oma alone. Today, he called at least 6 times and the one time Oma answered, he got her really upset and confused. We don't know how to protect her from him... mom doesn't want to leave Oma alone incase he shows up, so we are literally taking Oma everywhere with us.
In the meantime, my uncle sent me an email today trying to get some answers about Oma's finances. Oma tells me it is none of his business, but if I tell him that, he could question Oma about it and she could completely change her mind and tell him whatever he wants to hear. So, I'm really stuck. I can't give him the answers he wants, but if I tell him why, he will question Oma about it and she will forget what she told me, making me look like a liar. But if I don't give him the info, it looks like I am intentionally withholding info. What a dilemma!
In happy news, Julie had her 6 month checkup today, and she is in perfect health. Here are her stats:
Weight: 17 lbs, 3 ounces
Length: 71 cm (28 inches)
Head Circumference: 44 cm
Here's one of my favourite pics of Julie:
In the meantime, my uncle sent me an email today trying to get some answers about Oma's finances. Oma tells me it is none of his business, but if I tell him that, he could question Oma about it and she could completely change her mind and tell him whatever he wants to hear. So, I'm really stuck. I can't give him the answers he wants, but if I tell him why, he will question Oma about it and she will forget what she told me, making me look like a liar. But if I don't give him the info, it looks like I am intentionally withholding info. What a dilemma!
In happy news, Julie had her 6 month checkup today, and she is in perfect health. Here are her stats:
Weight: 17 lbs, 3 ounces
Length: 71 cm (28 inches)
Head Circumference: 44 cm
Here's one of my favourite pics of Julie:

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Things are a million times worse now...
I am so upset... my poor mom!
This morning, we were figuring out what we could do to stop my uncle from badgering Oma, and we thought it would be best for Oma to write him a letter expressing her wishes since when she talks to him in person, she gets all confused and forgets what she wanted to say. So, we sat down this afternoon and drafted a letter together and we edited it many times until Oma said it was exactly what she wanted to say. Then we read it to her 3 times so she was sure it was what she wanted. The basis of it was that my uncle was not welcome on her property until he accepts Oma's wishes (that I am to manager her fiances) and apologizes to my mom for the allegations he made towards her. We have not yet sent the letter since we want someone impartial to this to witness it and talk to Oma when mom is out of the room to read her the letter and make sure it is what she wanted to say and ask her whether she is being forced.
Oma also told me several times this afternoon how he is not welcome at her house right now and even said she's not sure she can ever forgive him. She told my mom that she will do whatever it takes to protect her.
My uncle dropped by this afternoon and my mom told him that Oma said he is not welcome on the property. My uncle turned to Oma and said "did you say that"? And Oma's response was "of course not; you are welcome here anytime". My mom said she wrote a letter just an hour ago stating that he is not welcome and my uncle turned to Oma and asked "is that true?" and Oma said "Of course not, I didn't write a letter". My uncle laughed in my mom's face and said it must have been her that wrote the letter. So, Oma completely forgot everything from this afternoon and took my uncle's side.
Now my mom looks like a complete liar! She feels completely betrayed that Oma could say this morning that she will do anything to protect her and then only hours later, she throws her under the bus and takes my uncle's side. My uncle said in writing that he will spend every dime he has taking my mom through a bitter and expensive law suit.
So, now we have no idea what will happen. We don't really have a leg to stand on if Oma tells one thing to my mom and then the complete opposite to my uncle. We don't know how far he will take this. My mom is scared to go home in case he calls the police claiming elder abuse.
I think we are going to hold off on sending the letter since that will only make him even more mad and then he will definitely take legal action. We want to lay low until the new will is all signed and that's done. Mom sent Oma's lawyer a copy of my uncle's nasty email tonight saying that Oma is asking for his advice on how to proceed to make sure she is protected.
What an absolute nightmare!!!! I feel absolutely sick.
This morning, we were figuring out what we could do to stop my uncle from badgering Oma, and we thought it would be best for Oma to write him a letter expressing her wishes since when she talks to him in person, she gets all confused and forgets what she wanted to say. So, we sat down this afternoon and drafted a letter together and we edited it many times until Oma said it was exactly what she wanted to say. Then we read it to her 3 times so she was sure it was what she wanted. The basis of it was that my uncle was not welcome on her property until he accepts Oma's wishes (that I am to manager her fiances) and apologizes to my mom for the allegations he made towards her. We have not yet sent the letter since we want someone impartial to this to witness it and talk to Oma when mom is out of the room to read her the letter and make sure it is what she wanted to say and ask her whether she is being forced.
Oma also told me several times this afternoon how he is not welcome at her house right now and even said she's not sure she can ever forgive him. She told my mom that she will do whatever it takes to protect her.
My uncle dropped by this afternoon and my mom told him that Oma said he is not welcome on the property. My uncle turned to Oma and said "did you say that"? And Oma's response was "of course not; you are welcome here anytime". My mom said she wrote a letter just an hour ago stating that he is not welcome and my uncle turned to Oma and asked "is that true?" and Oma said "Of course not, I didn't write a letter". My uncle laughed in my mom's face and said it must have been her that wrote the letter. So, Oma completely forgot everything from this afternoon and took my uncle's side.
Now my mom looks like a complete liar! She feels completely betrayed that Oma could say this morning that she will do anything to protect her and then only hours later, she throws her under the bus and takes my uncle's side. My uncle said in writing that he will spend every dime he has taking my mom through a bitter and expensive law suit.
So, now we have no idea what will happen. We don't really have a leg to stand on if Oma tells one thing to my mom and then the complete opposite to my uncle. We don't know how far he will take this. My mom is scared to go home in case he calls the police claiming elder abuse.
I think we are going to hold off on sending the letter since that will only make him even more mad and then he will definitely take legal action. We want to lay low until the new will is all signed and that's done. Mom sent Oma's lawyer a copy of my uncle's nasty email tonight saying that Oma is asking for his advice on how to proceed to make sure she is protected.
What an absolute nightmare!!!! I feel absolutely sick.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
It never ends
Yesterday, my aunt and uncle took Oma out for lunch. Of course, my mom and I both thought that they just wanted to get her alone to talk about money instead of actually just wanting to spend time with her. Oma was going to tell them that I was looking after her fiances and they don't need to worry about it, but I think they got her all confused again. When my aunt came to drop her off, mom, Julie, and I were in the pool and she came out there to talk to us. The conversation started pleasant, until my aunt brought up the bills. I said I have them and I am looking after it. She was not happy and I got the impression that she thought I was being sneaky by keeping the bills at my house. I bought a file box last week and made labels with my label maker for each of her expenses so I can keep everything organized. I have no idea why she is upset with that, when she was looking after things, she took the bills to her house! The bottom line is, they won't accept that I am now looking after it. She said that Oma told them that she didn't want me looking after her finances, and when I asked Oma about that later, she said there is no way she would have said that, and that she does indeed want me to look after it. So, I think they just got her so confused that she didn't even know what she was saying.
So, my aunt started screaming at my mom. Good thing we were in the pool, so she couldn't get in our faces to yell at close range. She certainly tried to get as close as she could to my mom by coming right to the edge of the pool and croching down to yell at my mom as close as she could. My aunt said that my uncle is mad that "the kids" are taking advantage of Oma. My mom said "what kids?" My aunt meant my mom, my brothers, and me. WHAT?!?! They think we are taking advantage of Oma? Oma keeps saying "what would I do without you?" We are the ones who look after her 99% of the time! My mom looks after her full time! We spend every day with her and my mom takes care of her meds, invites her over for almost all her meals, drives her to do errands, does her laundry, cleans her house, etc, etc, etc! I can't believe they think we are taking advantage of Oma! Well, my aunt stormed off all mad. I'm not sure what they will try now... My guess is they will try to take legal action against us. They are going to be LIVID when they find out they no longer have Power of Attorney! What a mess!
The problem is my uncle is a bully. When my mom told my aunt that she didn't want to meet with my uncle because he's a bully, her response was "Well the same could be said about you!" You all know my mom and she is ANYTHING but a bully!!! The first time in her entire life she is standing up to him to protect Oma and she gets called a bully. Since my uncle is such a bully, he gets Oma all rattled and confused so then she'll say anything to keep the peace. I think perhaps she needs to write him a letter explaining that she does indeed want me to look after her finances and that he needs to respect that and stay out of it. But that he is welcome to visit her for fun. He won't accept that, he says he has a legal responsibility to manage her assets. HUH? Even if he was still co-PoA, that only takes effect when she is no longer capable of making decisions. Which he thinks is now, but she is perfectly capable of still making decisions!
It is so sad. All he cares about is money. He is so worried that Oma is spending all her money and there won't be anything left for his inheritance. Our attitude is that Oma has worked hard her whole life, if she wants to spend her money, she can!
And if this wasn't enough drama for yesterday, Carlos found out that his (former) friends' wedding was on the weekend. I have never seen him so upset. He is so hurt that he was excluded and doesn't even know why. His friends are complete jerks and he doesn't deserve this; he is the nicest guy in the world!!!
So, my aunt started screaming at my mom. Good thing we were in the pool, so she couldn't get in our faces to yell at close range. She certainly tried to get as close as she could to my mom by coming right to the edge of the pool and croching down to yell at my mom as close as she could. My aunt said that my uncle is mad that "the kids" are taking advantage of Oma. My mom said "what kids?" My aunt meant my mom, my brothers, and me. WHAT?!?! They think we are taking advantage of Oma? Oma keeps saying "what would I do without you?" We are the ones who look after her 99% of the time! My mom looks after her full time! We spend every day with her and my mom takes care of her meds, invites her over for almost all her meals, drives her to do errands, does her laundry, cleans her house, etc, etc, etc! I can't believe they think we are taking advantage of Oma! Well, my aunt stormed off all mad. I'm not sure what they will try now... My guess is they will try to take legal action against us. They are going to be LIVID when they find out they no longer have Power of Attorney! What a mess!
The problem is my uncle is a bully. When my mom told my aunt that she didn't want to meet with my uncle because he's a bully, her response was "Well the same could be said about you!" You all know my mom and she is ANYTHING but a bully!!! The first time in her entire life she is standing up to him to protect Oma and she gets called a bully. Since my uncle is such a bully, he gets Oma all rattled and confused so then she'll say anything to keep the peace. I think perhaps she needs to write him a letter explaining that she does indeed want me to look after her finances and that he needs to respect that and stay out of it. But that he is welcome to visit her for fun. He won't accept that, he says he has a legal responsibility to manage her assets. HUH? Even if he was still co-PoA, that only takes effect when she is no longer capable of making decisions. Which he thinks is now, but she is perfectly capable of still making decisions!
It is so sad. All he cares about is money. He is so worried that Oma is spending all her money and there won't be anything left for his inheritance. Our attitude is that Oma has worked hard her whole life, if she wants to spend her money, she can!
And if this wasn't enough drama for yesterday, Carlos found out that his (former) friends' wedding was on the weekend. I have never seen him so upset. He is so hurt that he was excluded and doesn't even know why. His friends are complete jerks and he doesn't deserve this; he is the nicest guy in the world!!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Finally, some summer weather!
The pool still isn't too warm, but I was tired of waiting, so I went swimming yesterday and the day before. It was actually quite nice once I got used to the temperature. Mom bought a little kiddie pool for Julie. The first time, she cried only being in up to her ankles, but yesterday, she was actually enjoying it. She actually sat down in the water and the water was up to her waist, so that's improvement!
The situation with my aunt and uncle is still ongoing. As of the weekend, Oma asked me to look after her finances instead of them (my aunt expressed on Friday that she didn't want to do it anymore, so that was the perfect opportunity for me to step in). Well, I sent them a very nice email thanking her for all her help, but that I will be taking it over. Well, my uncle sends back a 5 page email thanking me for my offer to help and saying how he has a legal responsibility to make sure Oma's assets are being properly managed. He doesn't know that he no longer is co-PoA or executor of the Will, but regardless, even if he still was, he has no right to take over - Oma is still capable of making decisions! She just can't handle the stress of day to day banking and making sure her bills are paid. But my uncle wants to have control and tell her what she can and can't spend her money on and says that we all have to pay her back for gifts she has given us - the nerve!!!
So, yesterday, we went to the bank and I now have online access to all Oma's accounts, so I can see when her bills are paid (almost all of them are on automatic payment) and when her income gets deposited. So, now I can look after it for her. I sent my aunt and uncle a nice email thanking them for all the info they have provided me in the last couple of days and that I will take care of it from now on, as per Oma's request. I wonder how they will respond to that one!!! I hope we don't have to go as far as telling them they don't have co-PoA, because then they will make Oma's life a living hell. Perhaps they will back off, but I doubt it! And my aunt can still see all the bank transactions since it is actually a joint account with her, so hopefully being able to check to make sure all the bills are paid will be enough for them. What a nightmare!
The insurance is all taken care of, we went to the office on Tuesday and were in and out in 20 minutes, so I have NO IDEA why that wasn't done 2 months ago!!! The fact that my aunt and uncle left Oma's house, my parents' house, and the cottage go completely uninsured for 2 months without telling anyone is completely ridiculous!!! That's why Oma wants to "fire" them from looking after the bills. That and the fact that they never keep her informed. They only see her a handful of times a year, and she really needs a more hands on approach. Someone who can tell her on a near daily basis if she has money or not.
What a mess! I hope we can get the changes to the Will made by the end of this month, and then we can finally put this all behind us! Of course, until my uncle finds out, then it will be WW3!! We don't want to deliberately hide things from him, but if we don't, he will badger Oma and guilt her into leaving everything to him. Sigh, family drama!
The situation with my aunt and uncle is still ongoing. As of the weekend, Oma asked me to look after her finances instead of them (my aunt expressed on Friday that she didn't want to do it anymore, so that was the perfect opportunity for me to step in). Well, I sent them a very nice email thanking her for all her help, but that I will be taking it over. Well, my uncle sends back a 5 page email thanking me for my offer to help and saying how he has a legal responsibility to make sure Oma's assets are being properly managed. He doesn't know that he no longer is co-PoA or executor of the Will, but regardless, even if he still was, he has no right to take over - Oma is still capable of making decisions! She just can't handle the stress of day to day banking and making sure her bills are paid. But my uncle wants to have control and tell her what she can and can't spend her money on and says that we all have to pay her back for gifts she has given us - the nerve!!!
So, yesterday, we went to the bank and I now have online access to all Oma's accounts, so I can see when her bills are paid (almost all of them are on automatic payment) and when her income gets deposited. So, now I can look after it for her. I sent my aunt and uncle a nice email thanking them for all the info they have provided me in the last couple of days and that I will take care of it from now on, as per Oma's request. I wonder how they will respond to that one!!! I hope we don't have to go as far as telling them they don't have co-PoA, because then they will make Oma's life a living hell. Perhaps they will back off, but I doubt it! And my aunt can still see all the bank transactions since it is actually a joint account with her, so hopefully being able to check to make sure all the bills are paid will be enough for them. What a nightmare!
The insurance is all taken care of, we went to the office on Tuesday and were in and out in 20 minutes, so I have NO IDEA why that wasn't done 2 months ago!!! The fact that my aunt and uncle left Oma's house, my parents' house, and the cottage go completely uninsured for 2 months without telling anyone is completely ridiculous!!! That's why Oma wants to "fire" them from looking after the bills. That and the fact that they never keep her informed. They only see her a handful of times a year, and she really needs a more hands on approach. Someone who can tell her on a near daily basis if she has money or not.
What a mess! I hope we can get the changes to the Will made by the end of this month, and then we can finally put this all behind us! Of course, until my uncle finds out, then it will be WW3!! We don't want to deliberately hide things from him, but if we don't, he will badger Oma and guilt her into leaving everything to him. Sigh, family drama!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Oh the drama!
The situation with my aunt and uncle is still going. On Friday, I stopped in to see Oma and my aunt was there. At first, our conversation went well, but then she brought up Oma's finances. She said she didn't want to look after it anymore, and I do understand that she feels caught in the middle. She wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise, just went on this big speech about how our entire family is jealous of them because they have lots of money and assets and that's why there is tension between our families. WHAT?!?! She couldn't be further off the mark! She also accused me of trying to keep things from her and asked me if someone had called me to let me know she was there and I came running to protect Oma... huh?
She also said something about the house and the cottage not being insured right now. And my uncle called Oma this morning to tell her to go to her insurance company. Ummm, she doesn't drive... how is she supposed to get there? My mom called the insurance company and they said Oma's policies have been cancelled since they haven't been paid since June and they have been talking to my aunt as the contact person on the account! WHAT! For the last 2 months, both the cottage and house have not been insured. My aunt and uncle came by in mid-June to look after the bills, and when they left, they said everything was up to date and paid. Now we find out they were lying and the insurance has been cancelled?!?!?! That not only puts Oma at risk, but also my mom's house since they are all under the same policy! And my aunt and uncle didn't even think to tell anyone this?!?! My mom and Oma are livid, but this gives us the perfect opportunity to tell my aunt that she is no longer going to handle Oma's financial affairs. She told me she didn't want to do this anymore when I saw her on Friday anyway, so this is the perfect time to tell them I will be taking this over. So, mom, Oma, and I have an appointment tomorrow morning to set up a new insurance policy.
And if my aunt and uncle get all offended, we'll have to tell them that my mom has sole power of attorney and they need to butt out.
In related news, Oma had her capacity assessment done on Saturday and she passed with flying colours. This test was to see whether she has the mental capacity to make decisions and understand the ramifications of her decisions (i.e. changing her Will). So, now she can finally have the changes to her Will made and we can put this all behind us for now... here's hoping, anyways!
She also said something about the house and the cottage not being insured right now. And my uncle called Oma this morning to tell her to go to her insurance company. Ummm, she doesn't drive... how is she supposed to get there? My mom called the insurance company and they said Oma's policies have been cancelled since they haven't been paid since June and they have been talking to my aunt as the contact person on the account! WHAT! For the last 2 months, both the cottage and house have not been insured. My aunt and uncle came by in mid-June to look after the bills, and when they left, they said everything was up to date and paid. Now we find out they were lying and the insurance has been cancelled?!?!?! That not only puts Oma at risk, but also my mom's house since they are all under the same policy! And my aunt and uncle didn't even think to tell anyone this?!?! My mom and Oma are livid, but this gives us the perfect opportunity to tell my aunt that she is no longer going to handle Oma's financial affairs. She told me she didn't want to do this anymore when I saw her on Friday anyway, so this is the perfect time to tell them I will be taking this over. So, mom, Oma, and I have an appointment tomorrow morning to set up a new insurance policy.
And if my aunt and uncle get all offended, we'll have to tell them that my mom has sole power of attorney and they need to butt out.
In related news, Oma had her capacity assessment done on Saturday and she passed with flying colours. This test was to see whether she has the mental capacity to make decisions and understand the ramifications of her decisions (i.e. changing her Will). So, now she can finally have the changes to her Will made and we can put this all behind us for now... here's hoping, anyways!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Great cottage weekend
I had a great time at the cottage with Carlos and Julie. It was too bad that lj and nej didn't end up coming, but I'm glad we have rescheduled for a few weeks from now.
That was the first time we've been to the cottage just the 3 of us and it was so nice to have a little vacation. It was so quiet and peaceful! I enjoyed every moment! Until we were about halfway home and I realized I forgot to turn off the pump and hot water tank. So, we had to turn around and go back. We spent a little extra time at the cottage that way ;)
I am struggling with something and I'm not really sure how to handle it. Oma wants to see Julie all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she cares. I just think the second we walk out the door, she has forgotten that we have visited and is desperate for another visit. We went to visit yesterday after getting home from the cottage even though we were both tired. Well, a half hour after getting home from visiting her, she calls to ask if we could come back for another visit! I really wanted to have today at home to just get caught up on laundry and spend some time with just Julie, and Oma has already called saying she misses Julie and asking for us to come for a visit. Am I crazy for wanting a break from Oma? I realized this weekend that my maternity leave is more than half over, and I have spent almost all of my time either looking after Julie or trying to make Oma happy. Am I being selfish for wanting some time alone with my daughter? I don't want to sound ungrateful, I am happy that mom and Oma live so close and want to spend time with us, I just don't like being made to feel guilty if I don't want to visit every single day! So, I'm going to have to start saying no some of the time, but I know what's going to happen if I do that... she will start crying and begging. I will still visit of course, I just can't do every day anymore. Any advice on how I can get the point across that I want time alone with my daughter without hurting any feelings?
That was the first time we've been to the cottage just the 3 of us and it was so nice to have a little vacation. It was so quiet and peaceful! I enjoyed every moment! Until we were about halfway home and I realized I forgot to turn off the pump and hot water tank. So, we had to turn around and go back. We spent a little extra time at the cottage that way ;)
I am struggling with something and I'm not really sure how to handle it. Oma wants to see Julie all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she cares. I just think the second we walk out the door, she has forgotten that we have visited and is desperate for another visit. We went to visit yesterday after getting home from the cottage even though we were both tired. Well, a half hour after getting home from visiting her, she calls to ask if we could come back for another visit! I really wanted to have today at home to just get caught up on laundry and spend some time with just Julie, and Oma has already called saying she misses Julie and asking for us to come for a visit. Am I crazy for wanting a break from Oma? I realized this weekend that my maternity leave is more than half over, and I have spent almost all of my time either looking after Julie or trying to make Oma happy. Am I being selfish for wanting some time alone with my daughter? I don't want to sound ungrateful, I am happy that mom and Oma live so close and want to spend time with us, I just don't like being made to feel guilty if I don't want to visit every single day! So, I'm going to have to start saying no some of the time, but I know what's going to happen if I do that... she will start crying and begging. I will still visit of course, I just can't do every day anymore. Any advice on how I can get the point across that I want time alone with my daughter without hurting any feelings?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Quebec was awesome!
I had a great time in Quebec City with Julie, my mom, and Oma. We took the train and were completely oblivious to the impending strike until Carlos told me on Wednesday evening. Luckily, we were coming home on Thursday and the train we were on was set to finish its run by 11:30pm, so we missed the strike by a half hour!
We did lots of great things: a horse and carriage ride of the city, a bus tour, lots of walking and exploring, etc. We stayed in the Chateau Frontenac, which was gorgeous! Our room was very close to the pool, so we took Julie for her very first swim! She was a little scared at first, but then she started to enjoy it. We had lots of amazing food and had a great time. What an amazing city; sometime soon I want to go back with Carlos since he has never been there.
On the weekend, I didn't do much of anything. I am having a Creative Memories card making workshop this evening, so I am spending today getting ready for that.
We did lots of great things: a horse and carriage ride of the city, a bus tour, lots of walking and exploring, etc. We stayed in the Chateau Frontenac, which was gorgeous! Our room was very close to the pool, so we took Julie for her very first swim! She was a little scared at first, but then she started to enjoy it. We had lots of amazing food and had a great time. What an amazing city; sometime soon I want to go back with Carlos since he has never been there.
On the weekend, I didn't do much of anything. I am having a Creative Memories card making workshop this evening, so I am spending today getting ready for that.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Some hot action last night!
I was awoken last night by several firemen. Too bad they were working on extinguishing a fire across the street! I woke up at about 3:45am this morning to many flashing lights and lots of noise outside. Carlos opened the blinds to look out and the building directly across the street from our house was on fire. We could see the flames coming out of the windows. It is a large building that has been completely renovated this past year and converted to 7 condo units. Luckily, nobody has moved in yet since they are still being renovated. So, naturally, Carlos and I were glued to the window for over an hour while they put out the fire. Okay, I was checking out the firemen... of all the times to be married! :) There are still cop cars out there since they are investigating the cause of the fire. I think that building is cursed or something since there was an attempted murder there a couple years back.
I spent a couple days at the cottage this week, which was fabulous! Now I'm getting ready for the trip to Quebec City; we leave bright and early Monday morning.
I spent a couple days at the cottage this week, which was fabulous! Now I'm getting ready for the trip to Quebec City; we leave bright and early Monday morning.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Lots to talk about
I can't believe Julie is 5 months old already!!! We did her measurements again and she now weighs 15 pounds, 10 ounces and is 70 cm (27.5 in) long! Wow! We definitely need to buy the next size of carseat for her soon since the one we have now is only until 29 inches or 22 pounds, whichever they reach first. And Julie will reach the length restriction long before the weight restriction! We are planning to take a trip to Babies R Us sometime in the next 2 weeks, so hopefully we find a nice one then.
We had a wonderful visit with Niki, James, and Logan. The weather was nice, so we spent some time hanging out at the local zoo. They just completely renovated the whole play area at the zoo, and it is amazing. I am going to have to take Julie there lots when she is old enough. I am so thankful to have the zoo only 5 minutes away and best of all, it is free of charge! Logan is SUCH a cutie; can't wait to see him again!
I am really furious at some of Carlos' friends. Here is the short version of what happened. Every year for the last 6 years, his friends have a big party in Orangeville. Carlos has been every year. This year, 3 friends in the group have new babies, so Carlos made a comment while chatting with one of the friends online that this year will be different with lots of babies around. She didn't say much, but Carlos then realized that photos had been uploaded from this years' party which had already taken place. We thought it was still to come and that the invites had not been sent out yet. He was really upset and asked his friend "where was my invitation?" to which she didn't say anything, just went offline. Carlos is really hurt since these are his friends that he grew up with and has known since elementary school. And he has been to this party EVERY year and this year he didn't even get an invite.. he just saw pics online of them all having fun and he is the only one in the group not invited. Makes me just furious! I can't believe they would do this to him! He is the nicest guy!!!!
To make it even worse, a couple in the group are engaged (have been for awhile), and she had a bachelorette party recently and pics were online. So, the friend that excluded Carlos from the big party was at this bachelorette party. The kicker is the bachelorette party was in Peterborough! So, they were literally blocks from our house and they didn't contact us to come for a visit to meet Julie. That is so hurtful that this friend came all the way from Orangeville and didn't even ask to come over. And she knew Carlos was hurt from being excluded from the big party. What a bitch! The other thing is, if this girl was having a bachelorette party, chances are they have finally set a wedding date and the wedding is really close. Well, we didn't get an invitation. If we are not invited to their wedding, Carlos will be SO CRUSHED; that is 100 times worse than not being invited to that party. This is their wedding and Carlos was very influential in their relationship; he says they wouldn't be together if it wasn't for him since I guess he helped them through some rough times. So, if he is excluded from that too, he will be so hurt. I feel so badly for him; his friends are being real jerks.
On to happy things, I am going on a "4 generations" trip to Quebec City! Oma REALLY wanted to go with Julie, so mom and I are tagging along too ;) We are going on the train and staying in the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac! I am excited!!! We are going on July 20 - 23; should be fun!!!
We had a wonderful visit with Niki, James, and Logan. The weather was nice, so we spent some time hanging out at the local zoo. They just completely renovated the whole play area at the zoo, and it is amazing. I am going to have to take Julie there lots when she is old enough. I am so thankful to have the zoo only 5 minutes away and best of all, it is free of charge! Logan is SUCH a cutie; can't wait to see him again!
I am really furious at some of Carlos' friends. Here is the short version of what happened. Every year for the last 6 years, his friends have a big party in Orangeville. Carlos has been every year. This year, 3 friends in the group have new babies, so Carlos made a comment while chatting with one of the friends online that this year will be different with lots of babies around. She didn't say much, but Carlos then realized that photos had been uploaded from this years' party which had already taken place. We thought it was still to come and that the invites had not been sent out yet. He was really upset and asked his friend "where was my invitation?" to which she didn't say anything, just went offline. Carlos is really hurt since these are his friends that he grew up with and has known since elementary school. And he has been to this party EVERY year and this year he didn't even get an invite.. he just saw pics online of them all having fun and he is the only one in the group not invited. Makes me just furious! I can't believe they would do this to him! He is the nicest guy!!!!
To make it even worse, a couple in the group are engaged (have been for awhile), and she had a bachelorette party recently and pics were online. So, the friend that excluded Carlos from the big party was at this bachelorette party. The kicker is the bachelorette party was in Peterborough! So, they were literally blocks from our house and they didn't contact us to come for a visit to meet Julie. That is so hurtful that this friend came all the way from Orangeville and didn't even ask to come over. And she knew Carlos was hurt from being excluded from the big party. What a bitch! The other thing is, if this girl was having a bachelorette party, chances are they have finally set a wedding date and the wedding is really close. Well, we didn't get an invitation. If we are not invited to their wedding, Carlos will be SO CRUSHED; that is 100 times worse than not being invited to that party. This is their wedding and Carlos was very influential in their relationship; he says they wouldn't be together if it wasn't for him since I guess he helped them through some rough times. So, if he is excluded from that too, he will be so hurt. I feel so badly for him; his friends are being real jerks.
On to happy things, I am going on a "4 generations" trip to Quebec City! Oma REALLY wanted to go with Julie, so mom and I are tagging along too ;) We are going on the train and staying in the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac! I am excited!!! We are going on July 20 - 23; should be fun!!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hangin in the Heat
Yesterday, we went to the cottage for the day and boy, was it hot! There wasn't much of a breeze either, so we pretty much planted ourselves in front of the fans. It was warm, but we still had fun.
Question: is anybody going to the UW homecoming in September? Our class has a reunion, so I was just curous whether anyone was going. I am considering it, but I obviously don't want to go if nobody else is!
Julie had another check up with the doctor yesterday. She now weighs 15 pounds, is 68 cm (27") long, and her head circumference is 43 cm. She is above the 95th percentile for length for her age! The doctor said she is right on track to be a 6'2" adult - wow! Within the next 6 weeks, I can start giving her some baby cereal. It is not recommended to start this before 6 months, but my doctor seems to think we can start anytime now. I think I'll wait until the 6 month mark to be safe... unless Julie shows signs before then that she is ready.
Question: is anybody going to the UW homecoming in September? Our class has a reunion, so I was just curous whether anyone was going. I am considering it, but I obviously don't want to go if nobody else is!
Julie had another check up with the doctor yesterday. She now weighs 15 pounds, is 68 cm (27") long, and her head circumference is 43 cm. She is above the 95th percentile for length for her age! The doctor said she is right on track to be a 6'2" adult - wow! Within the next 6 weeks, I can start giving her some baby cereal. It is not recommended to start this before 6 months, but my doctor seems to think we can start anytime now. I think I'll wait until the 6 month mark to be safe... unless Julie shows signs before then that she is ready.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Sunshine State
I have never been to Florida (except for a layover in the Miami Airport, but I don't count that). This December, we are travelling to Florida for a family vacation. My parents are paying for the house rental as a Christmas present for the family. Score! We are leaving on Boxing Day, will arrive late on the 27th and stay until Jan 3rd, arriving home late on the 4th. My brother Al won't be able to come (he doesn't have any vacation time remaining), but it looks like Thom and his gf can come. So, it will be me, Carlos, Julie, Oma, my mom, my dad, Thom, and Thom's gf. It will be fun! The house we have rented is in Rotonda, which is on the Gulf Coast about 1.5 hours south of Tampa. We thought renting a house would be good because it's WAY cheaper than renting a few hotel rooms and this way we'll have our own pool, hot tub, etc. and we can cook all our own meals to save money too... hopefully we can find a seafood market nearby to buy fresh seafood everyday!
We'll have to make a day trip to Busch Gardens, and the Everglades another day. We are also going to try to make it to Kennedy Space Center on either the way down or the way home.
For any of you who have been to Florida, do you have any recommendations on must-sees?
We'll have to make a day trip to Busch Gardens, and the Everglades another day. We are also going to try to make it to Kennedy Space Center on either the way down or the way home.
For any of you who have been to Florida, do you have any recommendations on must-sees?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
I passed
My boating exam that is! You are allowed to get 9 wrong and still pass, and I only got 2 wrong... and 1 of them I didn't agree with the right answer, but what can you do ;) Everyone who drives a boat needs a license by September, so I am glad that it's out of the way now.
Yesterday, while I was writing my boating exam, my mom called to tell me that my aunt and uncle showed up to talk to Oma. So, I headed straight over there after my exam to see what was up. Mom was babysitting Julie, so she stayed out of it until I got there. Turns out, my aunt and uncle were just concerned about Oma's spending habits. My aunt keeps track of Oma's finances and has online access to her account and Oma has taken out over $2,000 in cash in the last 3 weeks and we have no idea where it has gone. And of course, Oma doesn't have a clue either. As a result, Oma doesn't have enough money to pay her bills this month. What a mess. Oma always says she doesn't like my aunt to be able to see her account statements, but on the other hand, she obviously does need help. It's quite sad. I think we're going to have to take away Oma's bank card and give her an allowance of sorts. Oma does not like the idea of that, she was in tears yesterday over the whole thing.
The good news is that my mom and uncle were in the same room together and they were civil. I think it helped that Julie was there because nobody wanted to yell in front of her, so that was good. The renting of the cottage didn't come up, but that's probably better because they were able to have a reasonable conversation and I think if they started talking about that, it would have turned into a screaming match again. Last I heard, my uncle told Oma that he was going to see if he could find another cottage for them to rent since he knows lots of people at the lake. That would solve the whole issue. So, I guess he finally saw the light and realized that it is still Oma's cottage. So, problem solved... for now anyways.
Tomorrow, the ladies (Oma, my mom, Julie, and me) are headed to the cottage until Sunday. The men will join us for the weekend. Should be good times! Carlos' first father's day is on Sunday, so that is special. We may go to visit Carlos' parents on Sunday afternoon too, so that will be nice.
Yesterday, while I was writing my boating exam, my mom called to tell me that my aunt and uncle showed up to talk to Oma. So, I headed straight over there after my exam to see what was up. Mom was babysitting Julie, so she stayed out of it until I got there. Turns out, my aunt and uncle were just concerned about Oma's spending habits. My aunt keeps track of Oma's finances and has online access to her account and Oma has taken out over $2,000 in cash in the last 3 weeks and we have no idea where it has gone. And of course, Oma doesn't have a clue either. As a result, Oma doesn't have enough money to pay her bills this month. What a mess. Oma always says she doesn't like my aunt to be able to see her account statements, but on the other hand, she obviously does need help. It's quite sad. I think we're going to have to take away Oma's bank card and give her an allowance of sorts. Oma does not like the idea of that, she was in tears yesterday over the whole thing.
The good news is that my mom and uncle were in the same room together and they were civil. I think it helped that Julie was there because nobody wanted to yell in front of her, so that was good. The renting of the cottage didn't come up, but that's probably better because they were able to have a reasonable conversation and I think if they started talking about that, it would have turned into a screaming match again. Last I heard, my uncle told Oma that he was going to see if he could find another cottage for them to rent since he knows lots of people at the lake. That would solve the whole issue. So, I guess he finally saw the light and realized that it is still Oma's cottage. So, problem solved... for now anyways.
Tomorrow, the ladies (Oma, my mom, Julie, and me) are headed to the cottage until Sunday. The men will join us for the weekend. Should be good times! Carlos' first father's day is on Sunday, so that is special. We may go to visit Carlos' parents on Sunday afternoon too, so that will be nice.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The wheels are in motion
The appointment with the lawyer today went very well. This type of thing is quite common, which is pretty sad. The lawyer is working under the assumption that my uncle will dispute this when it all comes out and says my uncle has 2 possible grounds for dispute: 1) that Oma has been diagnosed with dementia, so she didn't know what she was doing and 2) that my mom provided "undue" influence to try to get Oma to change her will. So, to protect Oma and her wishes, the lawyer wants to make sure that both of those claims could be proved false. Oma will need to get a capacity assessment done asap to determine whether she is still able to make decisions. She has been seeing a gerontologist, so mom called her office this afternoon and they may have enough info from the tests they have done thus far to provide a capacity assessment. Otherwise, Oma will need further testing... we will find this out by early next week.
As for the possible claim that my mom had undue influence, for Oma's next appointment with the lawyer, one of Oma's friends whom she trusts is going to take her so that my mom is completely not involved and it will just be Oma and the lawyer in the room and the lawyer will ask her all sorts of questions to make sure this is what she wants and that she has not been threatened in any way to make these changes.
We suspect he will take legal action to dispute the will when the time comes, which is why we are doing everything to make sure that won't go anywhere.
So, hopefully in a couple weeks, this will all be resolved and we can put this behind us for now and enjoy the summer at the cottage. We are not going to tell my uncle about the changes to the will at this point because he will be furious and lay a huge guilt trip on Oma and badger her until she gives in and basically make whatever time she has left a living hell. Which is totally what we don't want. We want to make this time of her life as happy and as care-free as possible.
In the meantime, I think Oma will have to write a letter to the renters and let them know that no matter what my uncle says, the cottage is only available for the 1 week, as we indicated earlier. That was our compromise... Oma didn't want to rent it at all this summer, but she does feel badly for them and that they are being told 2 different things and were looking forward to the holiday. So, we have offered them 1 week as a good will gesture, but that's it. The fact that my uncle keeps calling them after Oma talked to them and tells them not to listen what Oma says is not right.
As for the possible claim that my mom had undue influence, for Oma's next appointment with the lawyer, one of Oma's friends whom she trusts is going to take her so that my mom is completely not involved and it will just be Oma and the lawyer in the room and the lawyer will ask her all sorts of questions to make sure this is what she wants and that she has not been threatened in any way to make these changes.
We suspect he will take legal action to dispute the will when the time comes, which is why we are doing everything to make sure that won't go anywhere.
So, hopefully in a couple weeks, this will all be resolved and we can put this behind us for now and enjoy the summer at the cottage. We are not going to tell my uncle about the changes to the will at this point because he will be furious and lay a huge guilt trip on Oma and badger her until she gives in and basically make whatever time she has left a living hell. Which is totally what we don't want. We want to make this time of her life as happy and as care-free as possible.
In the meantime, I think Oma will have to write a letter to the renters and let them know that no matter what my uncle says, the cottage is only available for the 1 week, as we indicated earlier. That was our compromise... Oma didn't want to rent it at all this summer, but she does feel badly for them and that they are being told 2 different things and were looking forward to the holiday. So, we have offered them 1 week as a good will gesture, but that's it. The fact that my uncle keeps calling them after Oma talked to them and tells them not to listen what Oma says is not right.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
WW3 has begun
This whole situation between my uncle and mom/Oma has completely blown up. Yesterday, my uncle sent my mom a nasty email basically saying the renting of the cottage is a done deal and forbidding her from changing it. He said he is taking control of the cottage. He said a bunch of hurtful things. For the last week, my aunt and uncle have been trying to get a hold of my mom because they want to get together and chat. Well, mom was able to put them off for awhile because of the wedding, but they got sick of waiting and sent the nasty email instead. They said it's a done deal and they are drawing the line in the sand. So, by saying they want to chat about this, they mean they want to convince my mom that they are right. They are not interested in compromising at all.
Oma is really hurt that my uncle is taking control of the cottage because SHE IS STILL ALIVE and he has no right to do that. So, Oma called the potential renters... there was no answer, but she left a message saying that we are offering them 1 week, as discussed over a week ago. That was our compromise.
Then, Oma called my uncle and told him that we have offered them a week and that's all we can do because she wants to go up there. His response was that they can have all 3 weeks and she can come to his cottage if she wants... okay, what about the other 9 of us? He doesn't care. My uncle got Oma all confused and she told him she is very upset about this and that she doesn't want to rent the cottage since she wants to go there. But, he doesn't care. He cares more about the renters than he does his own mother and sister.
So, my mom called my uncle. Well, she started off talking to my aunt my mom told her that she had given up an $8,000 teaching contract for July so that she could take Oma to the cottage because she really wanted to be there. My aunt said too bad; it was too late to change the renters' vacation plans. What we would like to know is why on earth they would only tell us about this after it was too late to change it?!? My mom called the renters within 24 hours of realizing there was a problem and they were disappointed, but very understanding. Then my uncle called them the next day and told them not to listen to my mom or Oma, that they could have it for the full 3 weeks... that was 10 days ago now. It makes me so upset that they arranged this all in MARCH and didn't tell my mom until the end of May. Sure, they may have told Oma, but she forgets 5 minutes later. They needed to tell my mom, who is Oma's caregiver and has the cottage calendar. What a mess. One of the things my aunt said is if we don't give in, this will affect the relationship between our families. It already has! We only see them 2 or 3 times a year anyways, no big loss.
After talking to my aunt for a couple minutes, my uncle came on the phone with both barrels blazing and was screaming at my mom. I could hear his side of the conversation too because he was screaming so loud. His exact words were "it's my cottage so I'm taking control of it". My mom kept saying "Oma is still alive, it's her cottage; it's not your cottage". That screaming went on for a few minutes, until my mom finally said "you're choosing the renters over us, there's nothing more to say" and hung up.
What a nightmare. I had to stay at my mom's house until after midnight last night to try to calm her down. I am really worried about her health. She has been so upset over this for 2 weeks now with chest pains and problems breathing. I don't know what to do.
Luckily, Oma, mom, and I are going to see Oma's lawyer on Thursday. That appointment can't come soon enough! Since my uncle won't listen to my mom or Oma, I think a letter needs to be sent to him from the lawyer telling him that he has no authority over the cottage and to butt out!
The bottom line of this whole situation is Oma wants to go to the cottage with mom, me, and Julie since this is the first summer where we are all free. So, we have been planning that for months. My uncle says it's his cottage since he will be getting it anyway when Oma passes, so he is taking control of it now. Well, little does he know Oma is changing her Will so that he won't be getting the cottage! That will be another war when he finds that out!
Oma is really hurt that my uncle is taking control of the cottage because SHE IS STILL ALIVE and he has no right to do that. So, Oma called the potential renters... there was no answer, but she left a message saying that we are offering them 1 week, as discussed over a week ago. That was our compromise.
Then, Oma called my uncle and told him that we have offered them a week and that's all we can do because she wants to go up there. His response was that they can have all 3 weeks and she can come to his cottage if she wants... okay, what about the other 9 of us? He doesn't care. My uncle got Oma all confused and she told him she is very upset about this and that she doesn't want to rent the cottage since she wants to go there. But, he doesn't care. He cares more about the renters than he does his own mother and sister.
So, my mom called my uncle. Well, she started off talking to my aunt my mom told her that she had given up an $8,000 teaching contract for July so that she could take Oma to the cottage because she really wanted to be there. My aunt said too bad; it was too late to change the renters' vacation plans. What we would like to know is why on earth they would only tell us about this after it was too late to change it?!? My mom called the renters within 24 hours of realizing there was a problem and they were disappointed, but very understanding. Then my uncle called them the next day and told them not to listen to my mom or Oma, that they could have it for the full 3 weeks... that was 10 days ago now. It makes me so upset that they arranged this all in MARCH and didn't tell my mom until the end of May. Sure, they may have told Oma, but she forgets 5 minutes later. They needed to tell my mom, who is Oma's caregiver and has the cottage calendar. What a mess. One of the things my aunt said is if we don't give in, this will affect the relationship between our families. It already has! We only see them 2 or 3 times a year anyways, no big loss.
After talking to my aunt for a couple minutes, my uncle came on the phone with both barrels blazing and was screaming at my mom. I could hear his side of the conversation too because he was screaming so loud. His exact words were "it's my cottage so I'm taking control of it". My mom kept saying "Oma is still alive, it's her cottage; it's not your cottage". That screaming went on for a few minutes, until my mom finally said "you're choosing the renters over us, there's nothing more to say" and hung up.
What a nightmare. I had to stay at my mom's house until after midnight last night to try to calm her down. I am really worried about her health. She has been so upset over this for 2 weeks now with chest pains and problems breathing. I don't know what to do.
Luckily, Oma, mom, and I are going to see Oma's lawyer on Thursday. That appointment can't come soon enough! Since my uncle won't listen to my mom or Oma, I think a letter needs to be sent to him from the lawyer telling him that he has no authority over the cottage and to butt out!
The bottom line of this whole situation is Oma wants to go to the cottage with mom, me, and Julie since this is the first summer where we are all free. So, we have been planning that for months. My uncle says it's his cottage since he will be getting it anyway when Oma passes, so he is taking control of it now. Well, little does he know Oma is changing her Will so that he won't be getting the cottage! That will be another war when he finds that out!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Whirlwind weekend!
I had an incredibly busy weekend... but it was a good one! Friday night, I went to the rehearsal for my brother's wedding (I was doing a reading). The rehearsal dinner was then at my parents' house, so that went until 9pm or so. My brother left a message at 4:30pm the day before the wedding asking if the programs were done and printed. We had them done a week prior and emailed it to them for final approval and nowhere along the line did they ask US to print them because if they had, I would have had them all ready to take to the church at the rehearsal. That's typical for my brother though, so we printed them at my parents' house after dinner and had the wedding party fold them, so it worked out fine.
The wedding was beautiful. My brother and his now wife are so obviously in love, it is so cute to see. The wedding was in a tiny old church, and the ceremony was beautiful. And I did an amazing job on my reading, if I do say so myself ;) At the rehearsal, the sound person realized they didn't have a mic for me, and I said "I don't need one, I know how to project my voice"... haha!
After the ceremony, we went for pictures and then headed to the reception. The reception was in a tent on the bride's uncle's farm, so that was nice. Until the sun went down and the mosquitoes were out and it was FREEZING! So, we just had to dance up a storm to keep warm :) We left around 10pm to get Julie home and it was pretty much just the wedding party left at that point anyway. I think a lot of people left as soon as the dance started since it was so cold. I guess in hindsight, they should have ordered heaters for the tent! All in all, it was a beautiful wedding and they are now happily on their honeymoon in Punta Cana for a week.
Yesterday was my mom's Creative Memories Open House. She had invited 36 people, but only 6 could come. But, that's okay. It was very successful and my mom got $70 in free product for being the host, as well as a host gift and host pack, she we were both thrilled with the result. The products really do sell themselves, it's just getting people to come out... that's the hard part! A lot of people said they would have liked to come, so I'm sure if we have another party in a couple months, we can get some more people to come out then.
I'm so glad I have no plans for today. I need a day to just veg after the busy weekend!
The wedding was beautiful. My brother and his now wife are so obviously in love, it is so cute to see. The wedding was in a tiny old church, and the ceremony was beautiful. And I did an amazing job on my reading, if I do say so myself ;) At the rehearsal, the sound person realized they didn't have a mic for me, and I said "I don't need one, I know how to project my voice"... haha!
After the ceremony, we went for pictures and then headed to the reception. The reception was in a tent on the bride's uncle's farm, so that was nice. Until the sun went down and the mosquitoes were out and it was FREEZING! So, we just had to dance up a storm to keep warm :) We left around 10pm to get Julie home and it was pretty much just the wedding party left at that point anyway. I think a lot of people left as soon as the dance started since it was so cold. I guess in hindsight, they should have ordered heaters for the tent! All in all, it was a beautiful wedding and they are now happily on their honeymoon in Punta Cana for a week.
Yesterday was my mom's Creative Memories Open House. She had invited 36 people, but only 6 could come. But, that's okay. It was very successful and my mom got $70 in free product for being the host, as well as a host gift and host pack, she we were both thrilled with the result. The products really do sell themselves, it's just getting people to come out... that's the hard part! A lot of people said they would have liked to come, so I'm sure if we have another party in a couple months, we can get some more people to come out then.
I'm so glad I have no plans for today. I need a day to just veg after the busy weekend!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Did somebody order some drama?
There has been a lot of family drama in the last week. And the timing of it couldn’t be more poor since my brother’s wedding is in 3 days.
The short version is this: Oma has dementia, so her short term memory is completely gone. So, she is constantly repeating the same things over and over and can’t remember things from 5 minutes ago. My uncle knows this, but apparently, he and Oma had a conversation sometime in the winter and Oma agreed to rent the cottage this summer. Then she completely forgot about that conversation and then at Easter, we were discussing the cottage plans with her and she decided based on that discussion that she would not rent the cottage this summer since I am on mat leave and mom didn’t take on a teaching load in the summer, so she has from mid-June until September off. So, Oma, mom, Julie, and I were planning to spend a good portion of the summer there and come back into town every few days.
Last Friday, my uncle sent my mom and email to let her know he has rented the cottage for 3 weeks this summer. He never even checked with us and we are furious. Oma doesn’t want to rent the cottage since she wants to be there and IT’S HER COTTAGE! My uncle is laying this huge guilt trip on her saying that she promised and she can’t go back on her word now since it will ruin his relationship with the potential renters (they are friends of his). He doesn’t care that we were all planning to be there; he said in the email that he is getting the cottage as per Oma’s will, so he has decided to take control of it now. How hurtful! She is still alive!
This is a huge mess. We have talked to Oma to find out what she wants and she does like the potential renters and doesn’t want to ruin their summer plans, so we have found them a week where we were not planning to be up there and have offered that to them instead and told them we were very sorry that it was double-booked. They were disappointed, but totally understood and said Oma doesn’t need this kind of stress. Well, my uncle found out we talked to them and he called them and told them to forget what mom and Oma said, and that they could in fact have it for the entire 3 weeks. The nerve! I should also mention that he has his own cottage. The right thing to do would be for him to rent them his cottage for the other 2 weeks, but he wouldn’t do that since that would inconvenience him.
He calls Oma and gets her all upset and badgers her until she gives in. And them my mom has to spend a few hours calming her down. He is not respecting her and treating her in a kind and loving way, which is really upsetting. He only lives 20 minutes from Oma and he only sees her 3 or 4 times a year. My mom is Oma’s caregiver full time (since their houses are attached), which is what Oma needs because otherwise, she would need to be in a home. Looking after Oma is pretty much a full-time job these days and my mom has cheerfully taken that on. Oma is no longer able to cook her own meals and mom also has to administer her medication since that is too much for Oma to handle on her own.
So much for the short version! I just can’t believe he would basically act like Oma has already passed away and decide to take control of the cottage because he thinks he’ll be getting it when she passes away. She can leave her assets to whomever she wants! And inheritance is a privilege, not a right! I think this is actually a blessing in disguise since now Oma is re-thinking her will. Because all she wants is for her grandchildren to all be able to enjoy the cottage. What a mess. As if we all need this stress the week of my brother’s wedding!
The short version is this: Oma has dementia, so her short term memory is completely gone. So, she is constantly repeating the same things over and over and can’t remember things from 5 minutes ago. My uncle knows this, but apparently, he and Oma had a conversation sometime in the winter and Oma agreed to rent the cottage this summer. Then she completely forgot about that conversation and then at Easter, we were discussing the cottage plans with her and she decided based on that discussion that she would not rent the cottage this summer since I am on mat leave and mom didn’t take on a teaching load in the summer, so she has from mid-June until September off. So, Oma, mom, Julie, and I were planning to spend a good portion of the summer there and come back into town every few days.
Last Friday, my uncle sent my mom and email to let her know he has rented the cottage for 3 weeks this summer. He never even checked with us and we are furious. Oma doesn’t want to rent the cottage since she wants to be there and IT’S HER COTTAGE! My uncle is laying this huge guilt trip on her saying that she promised and she can’t go back on her word now since it will ruin his relationship with the potential renters (they are friends of his). He doesn’t care that we were all planning to be there; he said in the email that he is getting the cottage as per Oma’s will, so he has decided to take control of it now. How hurtful! She is still alive!
This is a huge mess. We have talked to Oma to find out what she wants and she does like the potential renters and doesn’t want to ruin their summer plans, so we have found them a week where we were not planning to be up there and have offered that to them instead and told them we were very sorry that it was double-booked. They were disappointed, but totally understood and said Oma doesn’t need this kind of stress. Well, my uncle found out we talked to them and he called them and told them to forget what mom and Oma said, and that they could in fact have it for the entire 3 weeks. The nerve! I should also mention that he has his own cottage. The right thing to do would be for him to rent them his cottage for the other 2 weeks, but he wouldn’t do that since that would inconvenience him.
He calls Oma and gets her all upset and badgers her until she gives in. And them my mom has to spend a few hours calming her down. He is not respecting her and treating her in a kind and loving way, which is really upsetting. He only lives 20 minutes from Oma and he only sees her 3 or 4 times a year. My mom is Oma’s caregiver full time (since their houses are attached), which is what Oma needs because otherwise, she would need to be in a home. Looking after Oma is pretty much a full-time job these days and my mom has cheerfully taken that on. Oma is no longer able to cook her own meals and mom also has to administer her medication since that is too much for Oma to handle on her own.
So much for the short version! I just can’t believe he would basically act like Oma has already passed away and decide to take control of the cottage because he thinks he’ll be getting it when she passes away. She can leave her assets to whomever she wants! And inheritance is a privilege, not a right! I think this is actually a blessing in disguise since now Oma is re-thinking her will. Because all she wants is for her grandchildren to all be able to enjoy the cottage. What a mess. As if we all need this stress the week of my brother’s wedding!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Busy busy
I have been super busy lately! My brother is getting married in 5 days; wow! I am also having my first Creative Memories event on Sunday, so I am busy getting ready for that. I have been making cards since I want to give one to everyone who attends as a free gift and then people can see all the great things they can do; it's not just scrapbooking. In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have chosen the day after my brother's wedding for this, but it's at my mom's house, and she thought it would be a good day since her house will still be clean from the rehearsal dinner she is hosting on Friday evening. I can't believe the wedding is so close! So much to do before then!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Gorgeous weekend!
The weather yesterday was beautiful, so Carlos and I took Julie on 2 walks. It was so nice to get out in the warm weather and smell all the lilacs - my favourite smell! I picked some and brought them home so now my kitchen smells like lilacs too!
I installed the Creative Memories photo software (Memory Manager 3.0) and it is absolutely amazing! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has photos on their computer. It is a great way to keep them all organized and you can do pretty much all the same editing as you can in photo shop! I am so impressed with this software!
Julie has been a little cranky in the last few days, which it totally not like her... I think she may be having another growth spurt and I think also her gums are bothering her... poor girl!
It was one year ago today that we found out we were expecting - wow, a lot has happened in the last year!
I installed the Creative Memories photo software (Memory Manager 3.0) and it is absolutely amazing! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has photos on their computer. It is a great way to keep them all organized and you can do pretty much all the same editing as you can in photo shop! I am so impressed with this software!
Julie has been a little cranky in the last few days, which it totally not like her... I think she may be having another growth spurt and I think also her gums are bothering her... poor girl!
It was one year ago today that we found out we were expecting - wow, a lot has happened in the last year!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Just call me Jennifer!
Carlos' work has an internal newsletter type thing and he got the latest issue yesterday, which has Julie's birth announcement in it. It congratulated Carlos and his wife JENNIFER on their new arrival, Julie Erika. HAHAHA! The last birth announcement was for Carlos' coworker Andy and his wife Jennifer, so I'm thinking someone copied and pasted that one and forgot to change Jennifer's name to mine! So now, of course, Carlos has been calling me Jennifer.
Today is supposed to be a high of 26 degrees - yay! I'll have to make the most of it and take Julie for a walk this afternoon!
Today is supposed to be a high of 26 degrees - yay! I'll have to make the most of it and take Julie for a walk this afternoon!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Good loooong weekend!
I had a good long weekend with my hubby and baby. Carlos had Thursday and Friday of last week off, so we had 5 days together - it was great! We did lots of errands and got a lot accomplished. We were planning to go to the cottage from Saturday until yesterday, but Saturday was rainy and gross, and Sunday was really cold. So, we ended up going just for the day yesterday. It was beautiful and I can't wait to go out there lots this summer!
I am really excited about Creative Memories. I hope I can be successful at it and at least meet the quota. I guess we'll see! My mom is having an open house for me on June 7th, so I'm hoping that people place orders and book get togethers at that event.
My sister-in-law-to-be asked me to do a reading at the wedding. Yay! I'm so glad they included me. Can't believe it's less than 3 weeks until my brothers wedding - WOW!
I am really excited about Creative Memories. I hope I can be successful at it and at least meet the quota. I guess we'll see! My mom is having an open house for me on June 7th, so I'm hoping that people place orders and book get togethers at that event.
My sister-in-law-to-be asked me to do a reading at the wedding. Yay! I'm so glad they included me. Can't believe it's less than 3 weeks until my brothers wedding - WOW!
Monday, May 11, 2009
I am now a CM consultant!
I'm excited! My website is here
I haven't done much with the website yet, but it is up and running! So, check it out if you're interested. If you would prefer a paper catalogue, let me know, and I will mail one to you when I receive them next week. You can place any orders through my website and have them shipped directly to you. One thing to note: for orders less than $100, they will charge you $8 in shipping (orders greater than $100 are charged 7%). As to not discourage anyone from placing a small order, I have decided to reimburse anyone who places a less than $100 by mailing a cheque for the difference between that and the 7%.
I had a wonderful mother's day. Carlos brought me breakfast in bed! And he bought me 2 planter boxes for on the back deck; I can't wait to put some flowers in them!
I haven't done much with the website yet, but it is up and running! So, check it out if you're interested. If you would prefer a paper catalogue, let me know, and I will mail one to you when I receive them next week. You can place any orders through my website and have them shipped directly to you. One thing to note: for orders less than $100, they will charge you $8 in shipping (orders greater than $100 are charged 7%). As to not discourage anyone from placing a small order, I have decided to reimburse anyone who places a less than $100 by mailing a cheque for the difference between that and the 7%.
I had a wonderful mother's day. Carlos brought me breakfast in bed! And he bought me 2 planter boxes for on the back deck; I can't wait to put some flowers in them!
Friday, May 08, 2009
More thoughts
I woke up with a splitting headache and feeling nauseous this morning - fun. I can't complain though, I have been the picture of health in the last year or so - not even so much as a cold. So, a little headache here and there is to be expected I guess.
Last night, I had a meeting with my mom's friend who is a Creative Memories consultant. So, I got a bunch of information and got to see all her product that she has at her house. I was blown away with how nice some of the stuff is. They have stuff for every level of scrapbooking: albums that you do from scratch, albums where all paper and embellishments are included so all you add is photos, but you place stickers and things, and they even have albums where all you do is slide in photos. So, there really is something for everyone. And the catalogue really doesn't do them justice; they are spectacular in real life! They even have digital scrapbooking where you create an album on your computer and then order prints of your album which come as a hardcover bound book.
So, I will think it over for a few days and make my decision as to whether I want to try my hand at being a consultant. I'm leaning towards yes since there really is no risk. If I try it out and find the quota too hard to meet, then I can just order whatever I want for myself at my discount and then leave. No big deal.
Oh, Julie calls.
Last night, I had a meeting with my mom's friend who is a Creative Memories consultant. So, I got a bunch of information and got to see all her product that she has at her house. I was blown away with how nice some of the stuff is. They have stuff for every level of scrapbooking: albums that you do from scratch, albums where all paper and embellishments are included so all you add is photos, but you place stickers and things, and they even have albums where all you do is slide in photos. So, there really is something for everyone. And the catalogue really doesn't do them justice; they are spectacular in real life! They even have digital scrapbooking where you create an album on your computer and then order prints of your album which come as a hardcover bound book.
So, I will think it over for a few days and make my decision as to whether I want to try my hand at being a consultant. I'm leaning towards yes since there really is no risk. If I try it out and find the quota too hard to meet, then I can just order whatever I want for myself at my discount and then leave. No big deal.
Oh, Julie calls.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
My bro is a home-owner!
My brother is working hard on the renos at his new house. I went to see his house when he got the keys on Friday and is it ever nice! The house is a cozy 3 bedrooms bungalow(one of the bedrooms is really small though, so it's more suited to use as an office) and their yard is amazing! It's HUGE! And they have a 2-tiered deck out back, which is awesome. I'm so happy for them! And the wedding is one month tomorrow - wow!
We took Julie to the zoo in town here for the first time on Saturday. And she slept the entire time! We had a little picnic lunch and then wandered around to look at all the animals - the squirrel monkeys and meerkats are my favourites!
I don't have much on this week, which is nice. On Thursday evening, I am going to meet with my mom's friend who is a Creative Memories consultant. I have a list of questions for her and I will decide whether I want to sign up to be a consultant. I can always try it out and if I find the quota too hard to meet, then I can just buy whatever I want to for myself at the discount and then let it go. I'll see what I think after my meeting on Thursday, but I think I would like to give it a try.
The only thing I'm not sure about is how that would affect my EI payments. Being a CM consultant would mean I was self-employed for that, so I would only declare my income at tax time. But for EI, if you make any money, you have to report it on a bi-weekly basis. Initially, I wouldn't make any money at CM since I would need to purchase the starter kit and some other supplies to make as demos, which would be business expenses. So, it would be a few months before I broke even. With EI, you can make 40% of your EI benefit without it affecting your payments, so I could make $180/week and still get the full benefits from EI. And I would make much less than that with CM. I'm just not sure how I would report income to EI when I'm not getting a paycheck or anything... hmmm... Guess I'll have to figure that out.
We took Julie to the zoo in town here for the first time on Saturday. And she slept the entire time! We had a little picnic lunch and then wandered around to look at all the animals - the squirrel monkeys and meerkats are my favourites!
I don't have much on this week, which is nice. On Thursday evening, I am going to meet with my mom's friend who is a Creative Memories consultant. I have a list of questions for her and I will decide whether I want to sign up to be a consultant. I can always try it out and if I find the quota too hard to meet, then I can just buy whatever I want to for myself at the discount and then let it go. I'll see what I think after my meeting on Thursday, but I think I would like to give it a try.
The only thing I'm not sure about is how that would affect my EI payments. Being a CM consultant would mean I was self-employed for that, so I would only declare my income at tax time. But for EI, if you make any money, you have to report it on a bi-weekly basis. Initially, I wouldn't make any money at CM since I would need to purchase the starter kit and some other supplies to make as demos, which would be business expenses. So, it would be a few months before I broke even. With EI, you can make 40% of your EI benefit without it affecting your payments, so I could make $180/week and still get the full benefits from EI. And I would make much less than that with CM. I'm just not sure how I would report income to EI when I'm not getting a paycheck or anything... hmmm... Guess I'll have to figure that out.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Big Day
So today is the day my brother gets the house. Hopefully. I guess there was some sort of snag with the land, there was a part of it that was illegally severed or something, which may set things back. But the lawyers are working hard to make sure it closes today as it was supposed to. So hopefully they get the keys today like they want! Al has already packed up most of his stuff and is eager to move in! Hard to believe, my little bro moving out... and getting married in 5 weeks!
I am still considering signing up to sell Creative Memories. The quota is actually $600 every 3 months. I want to find out what happens if you don't meet that. Because I could always try it out and see. At the very least, I could get the stuff I want at a discount. I know my mom has a bunch of stuff she wants to order, and she has offered to have an open house type thing at her house and invite a bunch of people so I can show people the stuff. And my soon-to-be-sister-in-law has said that she will have a workshop/party after the wedding. So, I'm sure I would meet the quota for the first 3 months right there.
So I haven't made my final decision yet, my mom is getting some more info tonight from her friend that is a current consultant. The nice thing is, there are only 4 CM consultants in my town, so it is a relatively untapped market. And I don't even have to stick to my town, people can order from the website and have things shipped directly to them, which is a nice feature (I will have my very own website within the general CM one). I just figure I have so many friends in the getting married and having babies mode, now is the time most people want to preserve their memories and create lovely albums to keep forever! And the CM albums really are MUCH nicer than anything at Michaels. They are a bit pricey, but I think the quality is unmatched. And they have both traditional and digital scrapbooking items, which is good so there is something for everybody. And I have heard that their photo editing software is amazing (my mom says it is better than photo shop, but I want to try it for myself).
So I am excited to get more information about this. I am not really thinking of it as a part time job, but more of a hobby where I can get stuff at a discount and learn new things, and if I make some money at it, then great.
I am still considering signing up to sell Creative Memories. The quota is actually $600 every 3 months. I want to find out what happens if you don't meet that. Because I could always try it out and see. At the very least, I could get the stuff I want at a discount. I know my mom has a bunch of stuff she wants to order, and she has offered to have an open house type thing at her house and invite a bunch of people so I can show people the stuff. And my soon-to-be-sister-in-law has said that she will have a workshop/party after the wedding. So, I'm sure I would meet the quota for the first 3 months right there.
So I haven't made my final decision yet, my mom is getting some more info tonight from her friend that is a current consultant. The nice thing is, there are only 4 CM consultants in my town, so it is a relatively untapped market. And I don't even have to stick to my town, people can order from the website and have things shipped directly to them, which is a nice feature (I will have my very own website within the general CM one). I just figure I have so many friends in the getting married and having babies mode, now is the time most people want to preserve their memories and create lovely albums to keep forever! And the CM albums really are MUCH nicer than anything at Michaels. They are a bit pricey, but I think the quality is unmatched. And they have both traditional and digital scrapbooking items, which is good so there is something for everybody. And I have heard that their photo editing software is amazing (my mom says it is better than photo shop, but I want to try it for myself).
So I am excited to get more information about this. I am not really thinking of it as a part time job, but more of a hobby where I can get stuff at a discount and learn new things, and if I make some money at it, then great.
Monday, April 27, 2009
An update on many things
Saturday was the bridal shower for my sister-to-be. I took Julie and she wore a dress for the first time ever. She wore the dress that lj bought for her and it looked adorable! I took a picture, but it was with my mom's camera, so she has the pic, I don't have it yet. Julie look adorable :)
Not much else happening around here. Our eaves work is being finished up right now, so they will be done before lunch today. I want my dad to come have a look at the work tonight and then if he says everything is okay, I will pay the invoice tomorrow. Home ownership is expensive! But that work was long overdue. We also have to get our chimney repaired, but I am hoping we can wait until the fall or even next year for that. And our shingles are almost 20 years old... it never ends! But that was to be expected, our house is almost 100 years old.
Operation declutter is going well. I am still working on the office. I moved all my scrapbooking stuff to the main floor, which will be much better. I bought a cheap $90 pantry at Wal-mart and we put it together yesterday to house all my scrapbooking stuff and that opens up some space in my office so I can actually put some office stuff away.
Oma is doing better. They have her on 2 new meds to help prevent further strokes, so that's good. She seems to be back to her old self. I'm wondering if this latest stroke will make her memory even worse, but I guess only time will tell on that one.
Tomorrow, I am going out for dinner with the girls from work, so that will be fun. I do miss the people I work with. Don't really miss work yet, but definitely the people. I'm starting to think about what I'm going to do when I have to go back to work. Since I have 8.5 months before I have to go back, I am considering all sorts of possibilities. I know I will have to go back, I just hope I can do some sort of part time schedule and maybe even work a couple days a week from home and only be in the office 1-2 days a week. That's my ideal situation. My mom has the type of job where she only has to be at the university for maybe 10 hours a week, so she is open to babysit a lot, which is great.
I am even considering other types of jobs too. I guess they would be in addition to my regular job since I don't want to give that up completely. My mom thinks I should sell Creative Memories (scrapbooking items), but I think there is a minimum sales requirement you have to meet each quarter, which I don't want. I do love their products, but I don't want any pressure. I sold Avon while I was in highschool. Didn't make a whole lot of money at it, but it was fun. I also didn't put in a lot of effort though, so maybe I could make more money at it if I put in more effort. Although in these tough economic times, I'm sure people aren't wanting to buy as much. I'm just thinking of the endless possibilities at this point. The 'top-up' from my company ends in July, at which point I will only be getting the maternity benefits from the government, so I guess I'll wait and see how we deal with the reduced income.
Not much else happening around here. Our eaves work is being finished up right now, so they will be done before lunch today. I want my dad to come have a look at the work tonight and then if he says everything is okay, I will pay the invoice tomorrow. Home ownership is expensive! But that work was long overdue. We also have to get our chimney repaired, but I am hoping we can wait until the fall or even next year for that. And our shingles are almost 20 years old... it never ends! But that was to be expected, our house is almost 100 years old.
Operation declutter is going well. I am still working on the office. I moved all my scrapbooking stuff to the main floor, which will be much better. I bought a cheap $90 pantry at Wal-mart and we put it together yesterday to house all my scrapbooking stuff and that opens up some space in my office so I can actually put some office stuff away.
Oma is doing better. They have her on 2 new meds to help prevent further strokes, so that's good. She seems to be back to her old self. I'm wondering if this latest stroke will make her memory even worse, but I guess only time will tell on that one.
Tomorrow, I am going out for dinner with the girls from work, so that will be fun. I do miss the people I work with. Don't really miss work yet, but definitely the people. I'm starting to think about what I'm going to do when I have to go back to work. Since I have 8.5 months before I have to go back, I am considering all sorts of possibilities. I know I will have to go back, I just hope I can do some sort of part time schedule and maybe even work a couple days a week from home and only be in the office 1-2 days a week. That's my ideal situation. My mom has the type of job where she only has to be at the university for maybe 10 hours a week, so she is open to babysit a lot, which is great.
I am even considering other types of jobs too. I guess they would be in addition to my regular job since I don't want to give that up completely. My mom thinks I should sell Creative Memories (scrapbooking items), but I think there is a minimum sales requirement you have to meet each quarter, which I don't want. I do love their products, but I don't want any pressure. I sold Avon while I was in highschool. Didn't make a whole lot of money at it, but it was fun. I also didn't put in a lot of effort though, so maybe I could make more money at it if I put in more effort. Although in these tough economic times, I'm sure people aren't wanting to buy as much. I'm just thinking of the endless possibilities at this point. The 'top-up' from my company ends in July, at which point I will only be getting the maternity benefits from the government, so I guess I'll wait and see how we deal with the reduced income.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Oma is okay
I just phoned the hospital to get an update and Oma is doing okay. Her symptoms have resolved, so they will likely be sending her home this evening. It was a very mild stroke, so they didn't need to do any treatment other than just watch her since for the first 24 hours, she is at a greater risk for more severe strokes. So, as of this afternoon, we can relax a bit.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Poor Oma
My mom just called to let me know she had to take Oma to the hospital... I guess she had another mini-stroke (she's had 2 or 3 in the last 5 years or so). They are waiting for some test results and will keep me posted. I hope she's okay!
Drowning in Papers
I decided to try to work through some of the mess that is my office and it's a huge job! I am in a ruthless cleaning up mood, so I figured I should take advantage of it. I can't believe all the crap I have kept! I really want to get my house a little more organized, so this is a start at least.
The company we hired is starting on our eaves/soffit/fascia today, so it may be done by the end of the week - yay! Our plan for this year is to get the outside of the house fixed up. New eaves/soffit/fascia is happening now, and then later on this spring we want to repaint the window sills, garage, and roof over the back deck. I think Carlos is planning to take a couple days off in May so we can get this done. We also really need to get our chimney repaired, but that will have to wait until either the fall or next year since this work on the eaves is quite expensive. Owning an older home is a lot of work! But, I think the work this year will make a huge difference on the outside.
The company we hired is starting on our eaves/soffit/fascia today, so it may be done by the end of the week - yay! Our plan for this year is to get the outside of the house fixed up. New eaves/soffit/fascia is happening now, and then later on this spring we want to repaint the window sills, garage, and roof over the back deck. I think Carlos is planning to take a couple days off in May so we can get this done. We also really need to get our chimney repaired, but that will have to wait until either the fall or next year since this work on the eaves is quite expensive. Owning an older home is a lot of work! But, I think the work this year will make a huge difference on the outside.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Good news and bad news
I'll start with the bad news... we think there is something wrong with Gino (one of our cats). I was out all day yesterday, but when I got home, he was favouring one leg and obviously in pain. I don't think it's a problem with the leg, but maybe his hip from the way he was walking. So, I'm going to check on him this morning, and if he's still limping around, I'll have to take him to the vet today to have him checked out. I hope it's nothing serious! Poor guy...
And the good news - we're having a new fridge and stove delivered today! We bought the set on the weekend since we found a really great deal - both for $999! No more beige and brown 'wood' trim appliances from the early 80's! So we should notice a difference on our electricity bill! They are "stainless look", so they are not actually stainless steal, but look like it. Actually this is better than stainless since it doesn't have that smudgy look that is so hard to keep clean. The stove is self cleaning which I really wanted and it also has the smooth cooktop, which is awesome! We got the very last set (they are selling them all off since they don't make that colour anymore). There is also a matching dishwasher, but we decided not to get that right now. They had lots of the dishwashers left, so we could always get it a few months down the road if we want to. We have gotten by this far without a dishwasher, so we'll wait on that one. And even if we don't get the matching one, a black one would look good since there is also quite a bit of black on the fridge and stove.
And even more good news - for the last 3 nights, Julie has slept for 9 hours! YAY!
EDIT 9:39am
Gino seems to be a bit better this morning. Still limping, but not as bad. So, we're going to keep an eye on him today and see if he gets better. If not, we'll take him to the vet tomorrow to get checked.
Our new fridge and stove arrived at 8:15am this morning - they look great! The funny thing is, we used our tax refund to pay for them and last year, we used our tax refund to pay for our washer and dryer! And both years, we bought our new appliances on the Saturday of the Easter long weekend. I found that funny.
And the good news - we're having a new fridge and stove delivered today! We bought the set on the weekend since we found a really great deal - both for $999! No more beige and brown 'wood' trim appliances from the early 80's! So we should notice a difference on our electricity bill! They are "stainless look", so they are not actually stainless steal, but look like it. Actually this is better than stainless since it doesn't have that smudgy look that is so hard to keep clean. The stove is self cleaning which I really wanted and it also has the smooth cooktop, which is awesome! We got the very last set (they are selling them all off since they don't make that colour anymore). There is also a matching dishwasher, but we decided not to get that right now. They had lots of the dishwashers left, so we could always get it a few months down the road if we want to. We have gotten by this far without a dishwasher, so we'll wait on that one. And even if we don't get the matching one, a black one would look good since there is also quite a bit of black on the fridge and stove.
And even more good news - for the last 3 nights, Julie has slept for 9 hours! YAY!
EDIT 9:39am
Gino seems to be a bit better this morning. Still limping, but not as bad. So, we're going to keep an eye on him today and see if he gets better. If not, we'll take him to the vet tomorrow to get checked.
Our new fridge and stove arrived at 8:15am this morning - they look great! The funny thing is, we used our tax refund to pay for them and last year, we used our tax refund to pay for our washer and dryer! And both years, we bought our new appliances on the Saturday of the Easter long weekend. I found that funny.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Happy Birthday to my hubby!
Today is my hubby's 31st birthday! I have booked my mom to babysit Julie so that Carlos and I can go out on a date. I can't wait! I'm going to get all dressed up for a night out with my man ;)
Julie is amazing! The last 2 nights, she has slept for 8 hours - wow! I couldn't ask for a better baby! :)
I went to the bank yesterday and set up an RESP for Julie. For any babies born after 2004, the government contributes at least 20% of how much you contribute (could be up to 40% based on your income). So, that is too good of a deal to pass up on! A minimum 20% return on your investment plus whatever return you get on the money invested (ours is invested in a specific mutual fund called the "Target 2025 fund" which means for the first several years is it invested in mostly equity (high risk, but high potential for return) and then as it matures, it slowly decreases the portion of equity and increases the portion of guaranteed funds so that by close to the time you need the money, it is invested very low risk. Right now we are just starting with a low monthly amount, but we can always increase it when we have more money. And if we have any more children, we can add them to the same plan too.
Today I am making phone calls to try to get some estimates to have our soffit, fascia, and eaves replaced on our house. It will be an expensive thing to have done, but it is long overdue and we figured now would be the time to do it with the new "2009 Home Reno Tax Credit". We are also flirting with the idea of upgrading our kitchen... but again, an expensive job. We will definitely price things out though.
Julie is amazing! The last 2 nights, she has slept for 8 hours - wow! I couldn't ask for a better baby! :)
I went to the bank yesterday and set up an RESP for Julie. For any babies born after 2004, the government contributes at least 20% of how much you contribute (could be up to 40% based on your income). So, that is too good of a deal to pass up on! A minimum 20% return on your investment plus whatever return you get on the money invested (ours is invested in a specific mutual fund called the "Target 2025 fund" which means for the first several years is it invested in mostly equity (high risk, but high potential for return) and then as it matures, it slowly decreases the portion of equity and increases the portion of guaranteed funds so that by close to the time you need the money, it is invested very low risk. Right now we are just starting with a low monthly amount, but we can always increase it when we have more money. And if we have any more children, we can add them to the same plan too.
Today I am making phone calls to try to get some estimates to have our soffit, fascia, and eaves replaced on our house. It will be an expensive thing to have done, but it is long overdue and we figured now would be the time to do it with the new "2009 Home Reno Tax Credit". We are also flirting with the idea of upgrading our kitchen... but again, an expensive job. We will definitely price things out though.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Busy girls!
Mom and I finished the wedding invitations for my brothers wedding yesterday. They look amazing! For some reason, my brothers fiance who is usually incredibly organized, is being a somewhat disorganized bride, which really surprised me. Good thing she has me to get things in order! I really think I should be a wedding planner in my next career, I really enjoy it. I guess the only downside would be working with bridezillas ;)
Last night we had a little birthday party for my mom, whose birthday is today. So that was nice. We gave her a little engraved photo frame with this photo in it:

I took my mom out for lunch yesterday in honour of her birthday (since she is fully booked for today), and that was the first time I went to a restaurant with Julie. She was an angel! She slept for most of it and when she was awake, she was happy in grandmas arms. Not a peep out of her the whole time!
Other good news: for the second night in a row, Julie slept for 7.5 hours - awesome! I really couldn't ask for a better baby! She's so happy and smiley 99% of the time she's awake, and she's such a great sleeper!
Last night we had a little birthday party for my mom, whose birthday is today. So that was nice. We gave her a little engraved photo frame with this photo in it:
I took my mom out for lunch yesterday in honour of her birthday (since she is fully booked for today), and that was the first time I went to a restaurant with Julie. She was an angel! She slept for most of it and when she was awake, she was happy in grandmas arms. Not a peep out of her the whole time!
Other good news: for the second night in a row, Julie slept for 7.5 hours - awesome! I really couldn't ask for a better baby! She's so happy and smiley 99% of the time she's awake, and she's such a great sleeper!
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