130-O Reunion Weekend

This past weekend, I reunited with 5 of my besties for a long overdue 130-O Reunion weekend. I am still grinning ear to ear thinking about this weekend. We had such a great time, and while I could detail every moment, you might not find it as amusing as we did - there were a lot of 'had to be there' moments for us, and while you really did have to be there, you can still appreciate the fun we had sharing old memories and making some new ones too!

Needless to say, we laughed a lot this weekend (howled at times)... and renewed our faith in the fact that living at 130-O and experiencing University was indeed some of the best times in our lives! We obviously thought this because we headed back to scene of the crime for a reminiscent tour of the hot spots!

Its hard to put into words what these ladies mean to me, its like being sisters - only a glorified sisterhood - we love each other, we rely on each other, we share the same opinions on some things, and oppose each other on others, but all around, we stick together, we support each other, we embrace each other - no matter how long its been, no matter what the distance between us... we are there for each other, and truly soak up the laughs and time we have together, because we all lead busy lives, and we know that the next time we get to do this, might not be for a while.

I really do love these ladies... and this weekend only reminded me how important these girls are to me! I can't wait for our next 130-O Reunion... it may be hard to top this one, but I look forward to trying!

 

CHEO: worth every penny you can spare.

I find myself on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, cleaning up from lunch and watching the CHEO telethon on CTV Ottawa.

Usually when you see a telethon broadcast on tv you flip the channel, but for many reasons, I am so taken by the CHEO broadcast.  The stories they tell every year really tug on my heart strings and make me hug my boys just a little tighter.

Mainly, since having children, PC and I have come to realize just how important the children's hospital is to us, and to so many families in Eastern Ontario.

Since E was born, we've relied on CHEO to get us through his kidney diagnosis, and every year we are so thankful to receive good news from the ultrasound techs and neuphrology that everything is going according to plan. He's a happy, healthly, three year-old boy, and despite only having one kidney, he's going to be A okay.

Just this past week, I ended up in emergency at CHEO with H, who had an extremely high fever and was having trouble breathing on his own. It was quite the scare, but the nurses and doctors at CHEO acted immediately, and got him the medical attention he needed.  We were admitted and within hours, his respiratory system responded well to the treatment they gave him. I know that any emergency room would act quickly, however, its the added touch and approach to children that I don't believe any other hospital does as well as CHEO. They truly go out of their way to make these unsettling experiences as non-traumatic as possible for the children and the parents too. I have yet to leave CHEO without a high sense of appreciation for the work that is done there.

Today, CHEO is broadcasting their annual telethon and asking for donations. If you have children, grandchildren, or friends and family with children, your donation will go along way to helping save lives and improving the lives of sick children in eastern ontario.

Please take a few seconds to call 1-888-738-1450 or 613-738-1450 and make a donation.  The telethon wraps up this evening, lets make every dollar count.

 

More time, more energy... please & thank you!

Wow... what I wouldn't give for a little extra time in a day and a double dose of daily energy.

Lately, its seems impossible to get ahead of the game... I get home from work between 5 and 5:30 pm on average and my weeknights are filled with managing two played-out boys, while attempting to get a half decent supper on the table before midnight 6:30 pm, and then cleaning up, getting the boys bathed and to bed, and then getting ready for to do it all over again the next day. My PVR is stacked full of shows I'd like to watch at some point before I turn 50, yet I am doubting that the opportunity to view even a fifth of that list will ever greet me.

Then if the daily 9 to 5 grind isn't enough to keep me on my toes, throw in baseball (me), golf (PC), and soccer (E) on three of those weeknights, and if I get to bed one of five nights before midnight, I consider it a 'good week'. 

I welcome the weekends but our agenda always has something on it. For the last 10 weeks the boys have been enrolled in swimming in the capital, so we spend a good chuck of our Saturday getting ready for swimming, going to swimming, swimming, coming home from swimming, and unpacking from swimming. Its one of those activities that plays the boys right now - which is great, but not so great if you want to do other things after swimming, like grocery shop or other household errands.

We haven't even gotten to Sunday yet - but if we aren't precommitted to a social function of somesort, I consider it a royal write-off because between laundry and prepping meals for the coming week - I am spent in all areas of my life.

I have a list of close friends that I have on my 'if I ever get an hour to myself I will call' list... and that list hasn't been given any attention in the last six months since I returned to work.

My girls from University are all coming to town next weekend for a long overdue reunion, and I am soooooooooooooo looking forward to this, yet, I am pondering how much fun I will actually have if I am running on empty (although if this reunion is anything like 10 years ago, it will not be hard to have fun with these ladies)!

On the whole, I need to find some extra umph in my day to keep my head above water... because not sure how much longer I can keep up the 'I've got this Mom thing under control' act. My days are number... unless of course I win Lotto Max, which at this rate I would consider a day-off and a good uninterrupted sleep-in as its equivalent.