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.
Baby Age Ticker
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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.
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