Okay thats it

I M MOVING BACK TO BLOGGER. I AM MAD AT WORDPRESS

HTTP://WWW.THEPAHERD.BLOGSPOT.COM 

And the Moral of the Story Is????

This was a weekend of forgetting stuff places. 

 It started with Mykayla forgetting her winter jacket at the arena on Saturday. She remembered right away but when we went back it was gone. I fired off a quick email to the Skating Club and by the end of the weekend we got a response from one of the coaches that they had picked it up and taken it home with them

Secondly, on Sunday I came home from Noah’s final game for the weekend tournament and as I was on my way out to the team pizza party, I realized I didn’t have my cell phone. I immediately had the feeling I left it at the rink. As I was leaving to go check the car, our home phone rang. The caller ID read MOM CELL. Trevor answered and it was our friend and assistant coach. He had found the phone underneath the bench and just hit the talk button and saw it would ring HOME. Thank goodness on that one.

Finally today I picked up Taylor and he had a bag with shoes in it. It seems he had left his CIRCA shoes in the change room in his haste to leave school on Friday. He never noticed until last period today when they went for gym and one of his friends found them….. in the urinal. GROSS! Someone had of course urinated all over them. I can’t believe how low some people can be. I am sure it was one of the Grade 7 or 8 kids and of course after 2 days there is no way of finding out who would have done such a thing. I would have preferred if someone just stole them and we never saw them again.

I originally thought that it was his 75 dollar gym shoes and then I was really upset. I also thought that it happened over the weekend when the gym might have been rented out. The school offered to pay for them but when we figured out that Taylor didn’t even realize he was missing them until they were found and they were not his gym shoes we decided not to take them up on their offer. Instead we decided the lesson was Taylor’s to learn. He was responsible to pay for half for a new pair and since the pair he chose cost 35 dollars more than the original 60 he had to pay the extra as well. Next time I am hopeful Taylor will keep better care of his stuff  (not to mention Mykayla and I)

Still, what do you suppose possesses a person ( of whatever age) to do something so disturbing. 

Water Leak

Trev is putting in a new bathroom upstairs for the 2 older boys. Everything was going fairly well except for my husband’s frustration at not being able to walk into one store and purchase everything he needs for the job. Well you know nothing can ever be that easy.   We had looked into getting Bathfitters to come in and put a new cover on the existing bathtub. The estimate came in at almost 3300 dollars. Don’t they adverstise they can give you a new bathroom quickly and at a fraction of the cost? Well our current estimate is a new bathtub, drywall, paint, sink and vanity, toilet and floors for right around 2500.  Of course the disadvantage to that is doing all the work yourself.   Trev is trying to install the new shower fixtures and just went downstairs and turned on the water, which caused something to burst up in the bathroom so he went running back down to the basement to turn the water main back off and something burst down there too…   Did you ever watch the Cosby Show in the 80’s? Next time you see Trev, feel free to call him Cliff. Not that I mind. I think both of us can take the stress over the money we would have to pay to hire someone to come in to get a new bathroom. And hey, practice makes perfect right? We have 2.5 more bathrooms we want to redo in this house eventually so he should almost be a journeyman plumber by that time     Oh ya I will post some pics of the new bathroom once it is complete. 

Is This Yellowknife?

Short Term Forecast

	ThursdayAfternoon	ThursdayEvening	ThursdayOvernight	FridayMorning
TEMPERATURE	-18°C	-26°C	-32°C	-32°C
CONDITION	Mainly sunny	Clear	Clear	Sunny
P.O.P.	0%	0%	0%	0%
FEELS LIKE	-29	-38	-45	-43
WIND	N 25km/h	NW 20km/h	NW 15km/h	W 15km/h
HUMIDITY	58%	88%	92%	80%

We don’t expect any precipitation from Thursday Afternoon to Friday Morning.

 The only benefit is that this forecast doesn’t usually last the 6 weeks that YK sees. That and here is the forecast for YK. Still liking PA.

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories    (TextWeather: YEL)

Current Weather

Updated:Thursday Jan 17 2008,7:00 MST- Yellowknife Airport

-40

°C

• °C
• °F

Clear

• Feels Like: -
• Wind: NW 7km/h
• Sunrise: 9:43
• Sunset: 15:52

• Relative Humidity: 52%
• Pressure: 102.93 kPa
• Visibility: 24.0 km
• Ceiling: unlimited

• Hourly
• Last 24 Hours
• 14 Day Trend
• Webcams

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• Current Highway Conditions
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HISTORICAL DATA:

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303120012002200320042005200620072008

  It’s a great day to look for a new job in Yellowknife. Click Here.

Short Term Forecast

	ThursdayMorning	ThursdayAfternoon	ThursdayEvening	ThursdayOvernight
TEMPERATURE	-41°C	-38°C	-37°C	-34°C
CONDITION	Sunny	Sunny	Variable cloudiness	Cloudy with clear breaks
P.O.P.	0%	0%	20%	20%
WIND	N 10km/h	W 5km/h	SE 5km/h	SE 10km/h
HUMIDITY	74%	55%	70%	77%

We don’t expect any precipitation from Thursday Morning to Thursday Overnight.

 

Obsessed

I am sitting here with my ears glued to the computer. I have 900 CKBI going. The Raiders are playing in Moose Jaw tonight.  The current score is 5-4.Before this year I could have cared less about the minute to minute happenings of that team. But of course that has changed. Since Steven moved in I have gone to most of the home games, listened to most of the road games on the radio and this is one of the first games that Steven has started in that I haven’t actually watched on the WHL Webcast.  To say I am obsessed would be an understatement.But to tell the truth, this game has been a nail biter. Especially in the third period. 

If I Could Live anywhere….

I don’t know why but when I think of all the places I have lived the one place I would move back to in a second is Farmington, NM. I think it was because that was when our life was the simplest. At least compared to now. We had all our firsts there. Our first apartment, our first house, our first baby and our first mortgage.  We only lived there for 3 years and we promised we would go back to visit. We never have. It is one of my big regrets. Every year I would love to go back and every year there is something else that takes us away from the trip to New Mexico and somewhere else.I am not sure why it has always felt like there is some unfinished business there or that we were truly happy there and content with our lives.When we first got married and I moved down there to be with Trevor, we both thought I was headed for a nervous breakdown. I had gone from working 60+ hours a week, managing 6 kids and 5 other staff members to working taking care of a new husband who was pretty self sufficient and a small 2 bedroom apartment.  Every single person I knew there my age either worked or was a stay at home mom. I was neither so I felt in between worlds. Of course that eventually changed and we made some of the closest friends we have ever had. When we decided to leave Farmington we felt that God truly had His hand all over it. Our house literally sold before it was listed and everything came together rather easily.So if it was not all carefree when we were there why do I feel like life was so simple then? And if it was so easy to leave why are there times when I miss it so much?Of course the snowless winters and gorgeous summers may have something to do with it! 

Job Hunting

Well I started. Before Christmas I finally sat down and did an updated resume.  Then I got sick so I didn’t actually get to apply anywhere. But yesterday I did. I took my resume in to a few places and dropped them off.  It is funny how nervous I was just dropping off resumes.I haven’t actually job hunted since I was 21. I had so many different things to offer then. I was young and single. I didn’t have much experience but I had all the available time needed to take on whatever job I had to.  Now I am much older. I haven’t held a “real” job in over 13 years and what I did then would be impossible for me to do now. I have some more experience but the kind that comes from managing a home, a husband three kids and now a rent-a-kid. The computer experience is all self taught and even at that I think I can figure my way around a computer fairly well.My biggest liability is what personally I consider my biggest asset. I can’t, won’t and simply just don’t want to work while my kids are not in school. That limits my available working hours to Mon-Fri 9-3.  Of course it is more flexible when Trevor is at home because he is able to be available to the kids. But I really love being available to my family when they need me to be. I would love to have a light weight job that allows me to work those hours, learn some new computer skills, organizational skills and administrative skills.  I know there aren’t alot out there so I have expanded my job search to looking for something retail as well, with hopefully some fringe benefits there as well (like maybe some great staff discounts) Today I dropped off my resume at a place that I think would be my perfect job and certainly something that if I was considered for would be an absolute gift from God.  It would be an awkward start for sure but something I think I would fit into nicely, not to mention the hours are those perfect 9-3 hours and only four days a week.So now I will wait. I will continue to go out some mornings looking for the place I am supposed to be and if any of you out there know of a place of business looking for some extra help in their business let me know, I am really dying to get out there and be a part of that part of society again. 

The Return

I haven’t been here in a very long while.

I have been taking a break. I have been trying to decide if I wanted to continue to blog. There are things I would like to say. Then there are things I say that I shouldn’t say. But I think I will try to get back into it.

I may try and change it up a bit. I’m still trying to decide what in my life warrants a blog post. I am a bit of a downer and I tend to complain alot. I don’t really want that in a blog. Not constantly anyway.  I have a busy life chasing after my kids but I don’t really want to put that in a blog. Not constantly anyway.

Well maybe I will just throw somethings out there and see what happens.

It is the New Year. I purposely waited until now to jump-start this blog. I meant to post yesterday but after staying up until 2 spending a not so quiet night at home with my 3 kids, my rent a kid, my great niece and her mom. Saying an early goodnight to my parents who left because of my mom’s headache, I got up at 6 and made Belgian Waffles for breakfast. I went back to bed, over to the folks for a birthday dinner and the kids and I headed to Toon Town to spend a night in a hotel and waterslide and shop. All thanks to my hubby with whom things would be much better if he were here with us.

There have been alot of things rolling around in my head this last little while. We have lived in PA now for over a year. We have celebrated everything in our house at least once. We are pretty much settled in, so much so that we were able to make room for one more kid. We lucked out. After a few bumps in the beginning we are really happy to have “His Highness” around. The chores around the house aren’t multiplied too greatly with him there, and he assists in making my life easier by agreeing to let the kids stay home with him once in a while as I run errands and taxi service for the other kids.

School remains the same for the kids. As much as school can be the same. I am there everyday doing lunchtime supervision and it has been nice to get to know the other kids in school, spoil my kids by bringing in pizza once in a while and get to know the teachers as well. I still long to do something more, just not sure if I want to plug in time somewhere retail, go to school or whatever else is out there.

Work for Trevor is rolling along. The winter months always seem harder. This past summer they had record production months. But with the cold, frozen ground drilling always becomes slower, they break off more and the drills seem to be down more for repair.

As far as church goes, that is still a whole other story. Trev and I have made a few friends but in many ways we are still on the fringes of this church. The children have noone really to connect with at their age level so my concern is as it has always been. What is there for them to learn and grow in their faith. We have tried a couple other churches around with none of them igniting any spark either. I know that we need to be in a position to give more, be involved more and be open more. It is my struggle now. I still feel guarded in the church I grew up in. My parents were never the sit back and let things happen type people. They ruffled many feathers and as much as this church has grown I know there are still people there who judge not only Mom and Dad but possibly me as well.  I can’t point any fingers but it is something I work through and is often on my mind. And I know there are people from church who will read this and no offense is meant by any of these statements. It is my own personal journey that I work through.

The other personal struggle in my life is my role with my family and mostly with my parents. Since we moved here we have seen a constant and steady decline in my mom’s mental health. Her memory is failing rapidly. She repeats herself to no end and is often depressed and angry and bitter. Now having said all that I have to admit my mother was many of these things my entire life but now with her illness it is much more intense and constant. When she is a good mood, it is a very childlike state. She tries to be funny and joke but she doesn’t quite get how to be. As the only daughter who is here constantly I struggle with how to support and care for her without offending her (which happens often) and how to support my father as well. Dad while healthy is still an old man and can be grumpy and domineering at best and a total a** at his worst. (Christmas was no exception)

So as we continue to adjust to a new home and new life, I find that I am busy caring for my busy active children, caring for my aging parents, caring for a rising athlete away from home for the first time, trying to enjoy my husband’s time at home as much as possible there is little time left for the friendships and social life I was able to build in Yellowknife.  There are times that I miss it. Many times that I wish I had the friendships and time to have parties and morning teas and laid back suppers. But I also know that this is likely not the time in my life when I will have all that. And I am okay with that too.

Grand Central Station….

Yesterday afternoon we ended up being at home for the most part. We got home at about 2 pm from all of the days activities and we had planned a trip to Regina to watch the Rent-A-Kid play but he was scheduled to start so we saved some money and stayed home.

Anyway, the kids began to make playdate plans and soo the doorbell started ringing. Then it didn’t seem to stop. Paperboy doing his collection. One child dropped off to play with Noah. One child picked up to go play at her friend’s house.  Cute little hockey boy selling beef jerky came shortly after. Then came the Mormons. And finally the campaign workers for the Saskatchewan Party.

Now maybe we just aren’t usually home for long enough to have that many people pass through our door but the day before we also had Vickers School Fundraising and an Electrolux salesman.  Well that and the cute little girl next door had to come and drop off a movie for the rent-a-kid.

We actually were feeling quite popular.

My Hidden Rage….

One of the things we were most frustrated by the hockey system in Yellowknife was the length of time it took for the teams to be evaluated and balanced out. It never seemed to work right. Our last year there was the worst. Taylors division went from 4 to 5 teams and what started out as a pretty good looking team got chopped so much that we were left with one good skater and some who had never skated before.

Moving to PA we had hoped for something more. I mean after all this is Hockey Town North right. If you listen to the radio ads for the Raiders anyway.  Last year once again we had high hopes for Taylor’s team but infighting and disagreements led to us having almost as bad a year as the year before.

All the while I just kept my head by saying that it is just one year and that next year we can start fresh.

Enter next year.

Taylor tried out for Pee Wee AA. He didn’t make it and that was no huge surprise as they only allow for 2 goalies and there were 2 second year players who did better in the tryout than Taylor did. So the next step was the Tier II and Tier III evaluations.  After about 3 ice times we were called to confirm the 4th ice time. At which time we were told that Taylor would make Tier II. This was not a shock because out of the 9 goalies trying out, we were sure Taylor was top2 or 3.

Well we went to the 4th ice time and then waited for the call for the Mini tournament. We got the call from his coach and showed up dutifully at the arena at the appointed time. Once there we realized that Taylor had been placed Tier III. We were shocked, and angry. Trev immediately went to the guy in charge and began a discussion with him. The VP of MInor Hockey also got involved. They both agreed Taylor should be Tier II but said that they numbers put him in the bottom 6 and so they put him in Tier III. They also both admitted that the way the goalie evaluation was handled was something they were not happy with but didn’t know what else to do.

So they said they would discuss it more and get back to us.  So now we wait. We wait with our little guy who is crushed because every single one of his friends who played Tier II with him last year is in Tier II again and he is not. He cried the other night and is ready to quit because he knows that they screwed up.  We are not angry hockey parents who think our kid is better than everyone else, we aren’t out to advance our kid at the expense of others. We are just parents to a boy who loves his sport, tries really hard and works really hard out there. We just feel it is our job to advocate for our kids and when we see that there is an injustice in how things we done, an absolute flaw in the system we need to push for a change to benefit our child.

But I am angry. And so is Trev. He is our kid. And yes hockey and all sports are to be fun. But people have fun in different ways. Noah is playing Tier III hockey and is fine with it. He is with his friends and doesn’t always worry if he gets the puck or not. He has some ability but isn’t concerned about becoming the fastest or the best and we are okay with that too. Taylor is more like his dad. He has a sports mind and is very driven in whatever sport he plays (even Ping Pong) and the better he gets the more fun he has. The more competitive he can play the more fun he has. And we are okay with that too.

Because of Tay’s nature and drive we have done what we can to help him out with his goalie skills. We have allowed him to try for the highest level he can play. That is why it is so frustrating now that there are people all over Minor Hockey willing to say he is at Tier II level goalie but they still decided by numbers that he should play Tier III. 

So I am angry. I have this hidden rage when it comes to the people I love. It is something that I can’t control. I have a hard time speaking to people when I feel that my child is being compromised. It is frustrating because often I can hardly stop myself from burting into tears over it all. Unfortunately my son has inherited this and it frustrates both of us. In this situation I am trying to let Trevor handle it as I know he will not burst into tears but will rather handle it in the manly fashion which is to just get angry and yell. Funny how that reaction seems more socially acceptable. 

I hate being here in this position though. Waiting for someone else’s judgement. Mentally preparing myself for the worst and trying to decide how much we want to fight the system if they do not see things for our point of view.  Hockey gets a bad rap too. We do not want to be seen as “those” hockey parents who think that their kid is “all that.” Cuz really we don’t. We know that there are kids out there that are better than our kid. But when you have people within the organization that makes the decisions and they even see that they screwed up and that he should be at Tier II then what are we supposed to do? It is our job as parents to be our children’s best advocate and their biggest defender.  It is the the organizations job to make decisions that best benefit the majority of the children. By making the decision they did, they really benefit no one.

I don’t know I know I am not making sense but I just hate the week we have been having.