The Gallagher Family

Kid Videos

2010-03-05T18:09:00.005-05:00

These two can be soooo cute at times :) They love to sing the anthem, makes me swell with pride.

I've had to upload these to Youtube because Blogger isn't working well with me. Just click on the links to see the videos.

Oh Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLw37ykjTgo

Playing in the snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iohPbb40uvU

Half of the Reason

2009-12-18T16:55:00.004-05:00

So, I know that I am the worst at posting, especially since crackbook. But this is different.

I got a call last week saying that my dad was having some issues that was thought to be related to disc/vertebrae issues. THAT I get, as I deal with that daily. This last week I have been waiting to hear what the outcome of the test that he had done were. I knew that he was getting his results back on Wednesday. But I never heard from him or any of my siblings so by Thursday night I was going to call him once I got the kids to bed to see what was going on.

Then the phone rang and it was him. Expecting to hear that it was a disc or vertebrae thing I was not ready to hear what he said next. He's been diagnosed with ALS or what is known as Lou Gehrig's disease. I had heard about it before as most people have but never really understood it fully. Not that I understand it fully now but at least now I know what he is going to be dealing with and going through. And to that all I can say is ITS NOT FAIR!!

This man has always been a strong man, and a constantly on-the-go man. To know what he is going to have to go through just hurts my heart. He is my dad and of course we have not ALWAYS seen eye to eye but what kid has ever seen eye-to-eye with their parent all the time. Regardless of anything that has been said or done in the past, he is my dad. He is half of the reason that I am here and ALL of the reason my family is the family it is. I love him for it. And I love him .

Once, a long long time ago I was briefly Daddy's little girl. I will remember that and I will cherish that.

I love you daddy!!

More Pictures

2009-10-07T12:07:00.002-04:00

Okay, I got my flickr account working again so to see more pictures click HERE.

Picture update

2009-10-04T10:45:00.008-04:00

Okay mom and everyone else who has been on my case about updating this here site. I'm just going to post a bunch of pics then at the end you can click on my flickr link to see all of them. I haven't downloaded any pics off of my camera all summer so there are over 800 pics and I am not posting them all here. LOL!! They are in no actual order just pics from the summer with family or Niagara Falls, or Marineland for the most part.

And I know I said that I would include a link to my flickr account so you could see the rest of the pictures but I can't log in for some reason. I am trying to fix it and once I do I will post it on here.

OMG They are gone!!!!

2009-10-04T08:18:00.002-04:00

So, because I take so many pictures we thought it would be a good idea to get an external drive to save them all on. And I finally did that about two weeks ago, freeing up room on my computers hard drive. I transferred everything over to the external and thought all was good...BUT IT ISN'T!! As I am sitting here finally updating the blog so my mom will get off my back, I plug in the external and....my pictures are NOT there. I am having a heart attack!! That is 3 years of pictures...gone. I hope there is a way to recover them, if not I am going to cry!!!

Billy Ray Cyrus

2009-07-25T07:43:00.009-04:00

Since moving here we have been lucky enough to get in a few concerts, so far I've seen Sara Evans and Randy Travis. Last night we went to go see Billy Ray. We didn't really know what to expect. I mean he has some good songs but we just weren't too sure how the show would be. We were happy at the way it turned out. The show was AWESOME!! He was funny, got the crowd into it and just COOL! I even left my seat with James and hung out by the stage like some little groupie bit it was SOOOOOOO worth it. And yes mom, he did play Achey Breaky Heart and as soon as he did the whole place went nuts!! I apologise for the quality of the pics and vids but I stupidly forgot my camera and only have my cell with me.

Chocolate Danger

2009-07-13T07:05:00.003-04:00

This came to me via email by Grandma Gail. I haven't actually tried it yet but Keenan and Nana are going to give it a go. I will let you know how it turns out.

Mmmm!!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips or (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract and your favourite tipple
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla extract and a drop or two of your favourite tipple, then mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

If your feeling very very naughty, cover liberally in Bailey's Irish Cream.

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now you are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Going Home

2009-06-12T09:16:00.002-04:00

So they are letting me go home shortly. I am guessing that I should be home by 11am, my time. The dr shoved that contraption up my nose and into my throat again and confirmed that it is that langular tonsillitis that he thought it was. Which he was telling me that he only ever sees a couple times a year. Ah,, yes my damn luck I have to get something that isn't "normal". There is still a lot of swelling so I will be on soft foods for awhile and because of my meds will have to be careful as the antibiotic they are using is the same one that caused c- deficile last year and because it happens before there is a better chance of it happening again. And again, I say OF COURSE, ITS ME!!

But at least I will be at home and may get some rest. The staff here have been wonderful but I have never been in such a loud hospital. The noise around here is crazy, even at night, it is like the bloody night staff is having a party, laughing and carrying on all night, just crazy. It will be nice to go home to quiet. I never thought I would refer to my house as QUIET but after this, it will be welcome.

Talk to you all soon.

Contact

2009-06-11T16:45:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm still here for now. The dr will be back again in the morning to check on me again. I do have a phone in here so if you do want to get a hold off me my number at the Resort is 705-739-5666 ext 33868.

The Days of My Life

2009-06-10T22:02:00.010-04:00

So yes, I know. It has been an extremely long time since posted...are you that surprised. So to make the unwritten months pass quickly...I may come back to it later (ok, EVEN later) in pics from events that have happened over the last few months like when my mommy and daddy were here which is ALWAYS tonnes of help for me and especially after the long winter with newly recognized fibromyalgia and cervical spondylosis. Even though the cruel signs and symptoms were easing up due to the nicer weather kicking back in. But enough about my OLD medical news, lets talk about the NEWEST of the NEW!!

Usually I am sitting at my computer desk typing away, yelling at the kids to do something and the dogs to STOP doing something. But not this time. I am at a Women's Only Health Resort lying on my bed in the warm heat with the occasional sounds of the wild in the distance......OR DON'T I WISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY, I am in the women's wing of the hospital. The heat....thats the cross between the stagnant air up here on the 4th floor and my fever which is at lease down from where it was the other day. The calls of the wild are pretty close but those would be the medical codes that get blared over the PA system all the time. Oh and on a side note last night my bedroom was a CORNER OR A FREAKING HALLWAY.

Lets back up a few days. Sat morning I woke up with a sore throat. I thought that maybe I had just slept with my mouth open all night and my throat got all dry and scratchy, wouldn't be the first time. But would I have that kind of....oh, wait a sec......

Ok, I'm back. My I.V. wasn't cooperating so they had to start a new one on the other arm in a different location.

So, back to the answer......NO WAY IN HELL, I MEAN COME ON PEOPLE THIS IS ME WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!

So anyways by Sunday afternoon I'm a ball of pain on the couch. Sore throat, sore ears, sensitive to light and sound. Can't swallow so that kinda makes it pretty much impossible to take most of the other meds I'm already on. So we call up my girlfriend Nat's kids and have one of them come over to watch the kids and we head off to a hospital we have never been to, only have seen signs on the highway when we went to see Randy Travis!! Another story. But thanks to my hubby's amazing topographical skills (and all the big "H" signs along the way) we got there. Waited our turn which surprisingly didn't take 6 hours. And it wasn't just a bed in a row of bed either, it was a separate examine room. BONUS, we COULD control the lights and the noise level. SWEET. So two swabs get done, 1 a rapid strep test and one the typical strep test that goes to the lab and takes longer. 1/2 hr later the rapid is done and surprise, surprise it was positive. Here is a percacet and a shot of torodol in your ass a prescription and have a good night, we were home by 830pm. And I was feeling pretty good. Or I should say I was feeling no pain anyways. But what came out to James in the livingroom was "Hehehe...I'm stoned....hehehe". And then the next thing I know I m asleep on the couch.

Monday morning, pain is back n FULL force. James is duty driver today so I have to take Haylei to daycare. So I get her there, change her shoes and am cautious to not touch anything. Make her carry what she needs with her to her classroom and do NOT go into it and get the heck out of there. Thats the LAST thing I want to hear is I caused 20 (and that is only her classroom, there are 2 others) to all get strep. NO THANK YOU!

Finally get to work. And for those that don't know, I only went there because I work at the Base hospital. Do what I gotta do and wait my turn, sorta. I looked so bad that half the staff didn't recognize me. When one did was taken to the back treatment room, only 1 number away from my real turn anyways. Yes, staff perks are a lovely thing when you need them at a place like that but it helps that I know how busy the are Monday mornings and got there as early as I could. My doc there was all sorts of wonderful that she always is, 2 days off now go fill that script!

Script did NOTHING!!!!! I found the only things that would help me was covering my head in ice packs in the dark and as quiet as possible. Which would me couch by day because spending too much time in my bed means that I have a terrible time trying to walk as it is, and come 330pm I'ld have to go up stairs cuz the heard would be arriving shortly. But by early Tuesday afternoon NOTHING was helping, even the clicking of the dogs claws on the hard wood would drive me through the roof. The ice packs would be warm to the touch in no time. By the time James came home from work Tuesday it was about 5pm. I had him call my friend to come over who happens to be a medic and she was there within 10 minutes and we were out the door to the ER again within another 10. This time she took me and James stayed home. Again we got in pretty quick.

As we waited one of the nurses stations was literally at the foot of my bed. At one point she had two nurse friends standing around chatting with her, and had commented to other friends or patients that they were "just chatting." I eventually pulled my curtain back and told them that "My head is about to split open and all I can hear is you three ringing in my head!" Politely, of course.... The response from one girl was "We do have to do a report." so I said, "Fine, then do your report and stop chatting about chatting" and closed my curtain. It got pretty quiet after that. Believe it or not, I still got treated fairly quick, LOL!! And yes, once the drugs kicked in I did apologise but she told me that I was excused seeing how I was in pain and they were "just chatting, for the most part." IV's were started because at the point a sip of water was NOT going to happen, I was spitting out my spit just so I didn't have to swallow that. The shot of morphine that went into my IV, that was heaven. Felt really strange and made my throat feel warm almost instantly but in a good way. I actually looked at the nurse and my friend, grabbed a hold of the bed and said, "WOW". They both giggled and explained that it was normal. All the IV's were in and I was back to functioning better and even carrying on conversations. Not stoned this time, but still feeling better.

Eventually a dr came by and we talked, then I was taken without my friend to another room, no one said why but I figured it out when the dr started doing his "thing". Which was sticking this long plastic light/camera thing up my nose and down into my throat. NOT comfortable to say the least. Apparently when you aren't in agonizing pain it just feels weired, THIS was BEYOND "weird".. He was trying to see what exactly was going on in there. He was telling me that there is an infection that can occur in there that can actually cause death in adults if misdiagnosed or untreated. Swell, but at least he knew what he was looking for and NO I don't have it. What I do have he says is the strep AND tonsillitis. But here is the kicker folks.....I DON'T HAVE MY TONSILS!!!!! I had them removed when I was 14 because I used to have trouble with them ALL THE TIME. I should clarify cuz I made him clarify for me. I don't have the tonsils that everyone thinks about when they hear the word but apparently there are actually 3 or 4 different kinds of tonsils, who knew? The ones that are all pissed right now are the langular (sp??) tonsils which is actually on the bottom back of your tongue. Now you KNOW those puppies are pissed off if you can actually see them all red and swollen and white where you would normally see the usual ones.

So I go back to my bed in the ER and ask the nurse if my throat feels good enough to drink do I need to stick around and use up more IV fluids if I could just drink the same amount? At this point it was 10pm already and my friends still had to drive a good 1/2 home and she had to work the next day. The nurse said she would ask the doc and come back. When she did she said that they were going to keep me for a few days because my blood work just came back and my white cells were severely elevated, the infection I have got too bad too fast that the course of at home antibiotics wouldn't even touch it, and they weren't.

So needless to say my friend went home and I hunkered down for a long winters nap. OK, no I didn't I laid in ER while they waited for a room for me to open up. Now how does a bed in a hospital open up at 1030 at night? I can only think of one way...and would I really want to go into that room? But they did some re-arranging and told me I was moving to a room around 2am this morning. My "room" was the CORNER OF THE FREAKING HALLWAY!!! Phone Camera pics to follow. Ya thanks, non-stop traffic (who knew there was so much going on at all hours of the night?) and where I could NOT turn off the light. Nevermind the fact that if I had to go to the bathroom I had to take all of my belongings AND my IV with me down the hall to the public bathroom because I was not going to leave it there in the hallway as I went for my "stroll." Oh, and to top it all off when I finally did pass out due to sheer exhaustion it was about 5am this morning just to wake up at 7am because about 10 feet away from my "room" is where they held some physio and taught people how to use crutches and canes on a set of stairs that lead....NOWHERE. Speaking of strolls, I head off for one today around lunchtime, come back and my bed? Gone! OK, now I'm getting pissed and march with all my crap to the nurses station but at least this time I could forgive them because I actually got a REAL room, with a window and all. You can't open that window but it is there.

So, of course by now I am thinking that today can NOT get any worse. WRONG. My neighbor in my semi private room (yes a bonus) just got out of knee surgery today and is a really nice lady but she can't move a finger without her bed creaking up a storm! My IV decides that it doesn't want to play and has spent a good chunk of the day yelling at me (hence the moving of it earlier.) Both not too bad, our right. James and the kids stop by about 530pm for a 1 hour visit....and don't leave until around 10, I think.

Here is the WORSE part, shortly after he gets here he informs me that when he picked up Haylei from Daycare the told him that she has a temp of 102 and is complaining of a sore throat. JUST FREAKING LOVELY!!! But because he left her OHIP card at home he can't take her downstairs to the ER. So he heads back home and the kids hang out here with me and we go for a walk and watch some TV. Now if you know Haylei she would be a junk food junkie if we let her. She is whining about chips, juice and a piece of chocolate hurting her throat when she goes to swallow, and the same with apple juice and an apple too. NOT our Haylei. So James gets back and he takes her through the ER game. The rapid strep is saying that isn't positive so now we are waiting for the lab results. The guy downstairs says that there doesn't look like there is anything wrong with her throat she "just has big tonsils" I have NEVER seen her tonsils this big, nevermind the slight whitish color that even I could see. I wish I would have stayed down there but I was due for my meds so I had to get back to my room. AND she just ended her second bottle of anti-freakin-biotics yesterday for her cough that we have been fighting since April!! The guy downstairs told James that the only reason that he will re-fill the last prescription of antibiotic is because I am already admitted upstairs for my tonsil issues. No more tests for anything else. NOTHING. Its like he just gave James something to make him happy and get him out of there. SO NOT A HAPPY MOMMA BEAR RIGHT NOW. May have been a good thing for that idiot that I had to leave. Needless to say James will be making an appt with her doc tomorrow. Something is going on and I'm sick of her NOT being healthy lately
we WILL be getting to the bottom of it an not only by throwing meds down her to cover it up.

Its 2am Thursday morning and I don't know if I am going home after I see the doc later on this morning or not. So before this state of the art computer that I am working on on my bed at this Gorgeous, Relaxing Women's Only Health Resort that has a lovely little quirk of doubling almost every vowel all on its own gets ripped off the bloddy wall and hurled out the window I am going to shut 'er down and try to get in some sleep, even with that noisy bed beside me. I''ll fill you all in on how it all unfolds in the next installment of "The Days of MY Life."

Mountsburg Maple Town

2009-03-25T17:12:00.007-04:00

After The Aboriginal village we headed up the road to Mountsburg Maple Town. Another cool place to go with the kids. They got to check out animals, learn how sap is turned into syrup. Both how they did it long ago and how they do it now. Then the kids got to play in the barn that was converted to a big play area. We even got to taste some yummy...I guess you would call it, maple sugar. Whatever it was it was yummy.

And off to Maple Town we go...

We tried to enjoy a pancake lunch. I say tried because the pancakes were a bit on the heavy side and by now we were a little mapled out.

Keenan told me he wants his next fort to be like this barn....sure, when I win the lotto. LOL!!

Spring Break '09

2009-03-25T16:44:00.004-04:00

So for Spring Break James got to come home for the whole week. I was going to say that that was the longest time he has spent at this house since we moved in but he was home at Christmas too. It was great to spend that much time all together, it seems like it has been so long since we have been able to do that.

We went to his dad's farm for a few days. I love that place. Its just so quiet and relaxing there. The kids love visiting there too, and so do the dogs. They get the run of the property with no leashes and all sorts of smells and stuff to check out and by they I was mean the dogs. But the kids check out all the different smells and things too :) I couldn't get any good ones of the dogs cuz they were too busy running everywhere.

Its amazing at how well these two CAN get along at times....gives me hope.

This is the milk snake that Linda found in the basement. When I told Keenan to go see the snake downstairs he thought I was just pulling his leg....he was wrong.

Crawford Lake Aboriginal Village

2009-03-25T15:50:00.008-04:00

During our visit to Grandpa's farm he took us to go see The Crawford Lake Aboriginal Village. It was such a cool place with so much to see. Keenan really enjoyed this because he had studied The Aboriginals in school this year. He knew so much about the buildings and things that were used back then he was our own little tour guide.

There were so many cool things inside to see and do. There are more pics on my flickr here.

Grandpa even tasted what Linda was cooking. HAHA!!

Keenan said he was Elliot the moose from Open Season. LOL!!

At the beginning of the movie....
And during the movie....Keenan is such a nut :)

I love this one with three generations of Gallagher Guys.

Here we are sitting around a fire as they taught us about how they turn sap into syrup.

Keenan's Birthday

2009-02-23T19:06:00.009-05:00

Ok, so I am only 2 weeks late on this post. But seeing how I'm not the best with words so I'm just going to post pics...thats what you all come here for anyways :)

Waiting IMPATIENTLY for the doors to open.

They are already sizing up what they can get into...

The faces....how cute...

How sweet is this one??

She was having a great time, and she actually beat everyone else's scores too!!

Ohhhh, the concentration.

He has resorted to praying for help...hehehe.

THE CAKE!!!

Yes, he did blow them all out in one breath.

HAHA, doesn't he look impressed? NOT!!

What made him so happy?

His GUITAR HERO.

She TOTALLY posed for this one. She had just been standing there before she saw the camera come up.

Below is a picture of the UB Funky's that he also got for his birthday. You can collect a bunch of them. Its an online interactive game thing that he likes. So if you see them around and want to pick up some, these are the ones that he already has.

Little Miss Haylei

2009-02-01T18:35:00.001-05:00

Because I came home with a new hair-do Haylei wanted one too. So tonight I got around to doing it. She is sooo funny. When I finished she danced around the living room. And when I told her that she was cute with her new haircut her answer was "I know." LOL!!

OH SO FUN!!

2009-02-01T18:10:00.000-05:00

So I went down to my sister Michelle's last to pick up our Christmas present that she got for us. It was too big to come back with us at Christmas what with all the other presents, the dogs and kids. So I went and got it and when James came home last weekend we put it up. I think we have played on it everyday since. Now we need our own place with a rec room and we would be set. How many people do you know that have hoops set up in their living room ?

The kids just LOVE it. And yes, Haylei can actually get it in...occasionally. LOL!!!

Other than that I guess the only other news would be that I decided it was time for a change. What do you think?? I love it, so much lighter. Plus it doesn't take half as long to do any more, and no more wearing my hair in a bun all week :)

And the cherry on top....

2009-01-16T18:49:00.001-05:00

Thats right. Not that I didn't have enough to deal with but now they are thinking that I have fibromyalgia on top of the spondylosis. Another disease that you can not get rid of. AWESOME!! Seriously??!! What is next??

After talking to my dr about it and to my mother in law who (the poor lady) has it too it all sounds oh too creepily familiar almost right down to the last symptom. I am hoping that they come up with something else or say that it is all caused by the spondylosis but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I am waiting now for appts with a neurologist, a pain clinic and back to physio and all I am hoping for is for someone somewhere to find a EXPLAINABLE reason as to what all of this stuff going on is and FIX it. Even though I know (and don't want to admit) that probably won't happen.

My father in law Ron sent this to me today and it explains the Fibromyalgia very well.

MY NAME IS FIBROMYALGIA
by Terri Been
Hi....My Name is Fibromyalgia, and I'm an Invisible Chronic Illness. I am now velcroed to you for life. Others around you can't see me or hear me,but YOUR body feels me. I can attack you anywhere and anyhow I please.
I can cause severe pain or, if I'm in a good mood, I can just cause you to ache all over.

Remember when you and Energy ran around together and had fun?
I took Energy from you, and gave you Exhaustion. Try to have fun now! I also took Good Sleep from you and, in its place, gave you Brain Fog. I can make you tremble internally or make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal. Oh, yeah, I can make you feel anxious or depressed, too. If you have something planned, or are looking forward to a great day, I can take that away, too. You didn't ask for me. I chose you for various reasons:

That virus you had that you never recovered from, or that car accident,
or maybe it was the years of abuse and trauma. Well, anyway, I'm here to stay!I hear you're going to see a doctor who can get rid of me. I'm rolling on the floor, laughing. Just try. You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who can help you effectively. You will be put on pain pills,sleeping pills, energy pills, told you are suffering from anxiety or depression,given a TENs unit, get massaged, told if you just sleep and exercise properly I will go away, told to think positively, poked, prodded, and MOST OF ALL, not taken as seriously as you feel when you cry to the doctor how debilitating life is every day.

Your family, friends and coworkers will all listen to you until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel, and that I'm a debilitating disease. Some of they will say things like "Oh, you are just having a bad day" or"Well, remember, you can't do the things you use to do 20 YEARS ago", not hearing that you said 20 DAYS ago. Some will just start talking behind your back, while you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity trying to make them understand, especially when you are in the middle of a conversation with a
"Normal" person, and can't remember what you were going to say next!In closing, (I was hoping that I kept this part a secret), but I guess you already
found out...the ONLY place you will get any support and understanding in dealing
with me is with Other People With Fibromyalgia.

Neuro Appt

2009-01-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

My first post on this one is here.

My second post is here.

And it is in part of my (may not have been one of my finer moments) rant here.

Newest Update on the Spondylosis...

So I had my neuro surg appointment today and it does not look good for me.

He is concerned at how bad my neck is for my age as this condition isn't usually seen in women until their 50's or 60's and for someone my age to have the results I do he said it(my neck) is aging way too fast.

The MRI results that he looked at today were the ones from back in Sept that I had done in Victoria but he said that they were too poor of a quality for any concrete answers today but the prognosis was basically have another MRI to clear up the pics (another month or longer waiting for that) and then he will come to a conclusion on whether or not he will even do anything about it now. There is the possibility that surgery MAY get done but even if he decides to do it all all it will do is reduce the pain and numbness/tingling in my arm and arm alone. It will do nothing for any of the other pains that I have in my legs, neck, feet, back...anywhere. I am going to be stuck with this forever.

Boy did that ring in my ears...I will be stuck with this...FOR EVER. That is a long time. So even if he does the surgery it will only lessen ONE pain. He even said that I should expect this to be a chronic and ongoing battle. "Even with surgery there is NOTHING that can be done about the rest of the pains or about my neck itself."

WOW!! I mean I was warned that this would probably the end of my career because of the underlying issue. But I don't think that it was until today that it REALLY sunk in that my life and career as I know it is over. Now I have to figure what I want to be when I grow up again...what kind of "normal" job and I going to get with this condition??? Who in their right mind is going to hire someone who is going to have medical issues for EVER and won't be reliable as to if she is going to be at work for times on end??? Because it is known that I will be battling this pain...for EVER!! I don't know or think that I will be able to hold down a "normal" job. Now what the hell am I going to do???

Hey Ange....what are your thoughts on me going back to school for accounting and doing contract work from home?? I'ld love to hear if that may be a possibility for me now. How difficult is it to get contract work??

Or is anyone knows or has any ideas as to what I should try to do from home or on a part time basis that is going to bring in a decent pay. This is going to rock my family's life as we know it. There is NO WAY we can go down to one pay. Its WAY too early for me to "retire" and not bring in any cash at all.

What a huge word that is....FOREVER.

Its kind of a trip to see the progression over the last four to five months hey?? And this is my life. Like it or NOT.

I got Elfed

2008-12-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

This is so funny!! You gotta try it. Follow the link and follow the instructions.

I got elfed

The Boyz

2008-12-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

Here is some more pics of our newest additions, Blaze and Timmy. Blaze is the black one and Timmy is the grey one. They have settled in quite nicely and absolutely HATE having comfy blankets and furniture to sleep on. I won't even tell you how much they HATE the kids. LOL!!! For those of you who can't read my tone...TOTAL sarcasm.

They even get along with the cat. She still growls at Blaze when he gets too close because he tries to play with her and she is not into it. But she's been caught cuddling with them too.

I love this one that Keenan took. They don't happy and comfy at all do they? LOL!!

Brien, thank you for letting us have these two beautiful boys. Yes there has been the typical issues of an accident here and a mistake there but nothing that was unexpected. We've only had them a short time but if feels like they have been a part of this family for a long time. Again thank you. And to see more pics of our boys feel free to check back here from time to time.

The Trip...FINALLY

2008-12-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

So after a lot of procrastination here they finally are.

This is when the kids woke up a realised that we were already on the move.

We stopped in Van and went for lunch with Dad, Gail and Chad. Chad was having a hockey tournament. Pam even joined us too.

A couple of the token road pictures.

The only place that we got to stop along the way was the West Edmonton Mall because it was one place that I had never been to and was not moving across the country without stopping there. I could have used another day or two so I could get in some shopping but my bank account wouldn't have let me anyways.

The only places that we got to see there was the water park, which was a blast, the glow in the dark mini-golf and a cool place for dinner.

We also managed to catch the 4pm seal show, the kids enjoyed that too.

Here is the mini-golf. I think I had more fun taking pics that the actual golf.

Here is where we went to dinner.

This is the contract that James had to sign because he ordered the "Insanity wings", and trust me they were HOT!!! I only took a pinch off one and my mouth burned for 1/2 hour. He managed to eat 2 or 3 of the wings...and paid for it later.....

I ordered the "Kitchen Sink" just cuz it sounded cool.

Check it out!! I have proof that they actually CAN get along.

A cute bridge at one of the RV parks we stayed at.

Ah, yes. The infamous running out of gas pictures. To set the scene...this is what was around us...

Nothing behind us...

Nothing to the side....

And nothing in front.....

All I can say is...hehehehehehehehehehe

He actually did get picked up rather quickly. And the gas station wasn't all that far away either. Our little worry wart Keenan, thought that the car that picked him up was full of bad people and that Dad was in danger. He worries so much he is going to have an ulcer before he is 12.

When we stopped to pick up the dogs the kids had no idea. They thought it was cool that these animals came right up to them.

And now let me introduce you to the latest addition to our family. This is Timmy. He is the most skiddish one, still is. He was about 18 months here.

And here is baby Blaze. He is about 8 months here.

Once we finally got them into the motorhome they squished themselves up front between the seats and stayed there for most of the remaining trip.

We stopped just up the road from where we picked them up to take them for a bit of a walk.

Someone, not going to mention any names, the only guy over 20, decided that he would let Blaze off his leash to see if...actually I don't know why he did it. Blaze took off. He thought that he could use Timmy to get Blaze to come back... he then accidently let go of Timmy leash. Needless to say BOTH dogs took off into the woods accross the road. Keenan was freaking out!! Crying and was SOOOO pissed at that someone. We had to call the guy we got the dogs from to come help us get them back. It worked. They came to his voice, thank goodness. I don't think Keenan would have ever let him live it down.

Keenan was SOME happy to see them come back. The downfall is that he still freaks out when I let the dogs off the leash.

I just love his eyes.

The end of our trip was a stop at James's mom's place. I always love going there. Even the first time I went there, which was without James, it just feels like home.

We got there on James' birthday so Lance, Tiera, Adam and his new girlfriend Michelle were there too. Mind you they probably would have came even if it wasn't his birthday. I love how they have family get togethers, we didn't really have many of those.

Laurin had this made for us to welcome us to Ontario. I thought it was pretty cool. And I am sure she is happy to have all her boys (and grandchildren) in the same province again. It's been a few years since all the boys have lived in the same province.

James enjoyed the gifts. Especially the ones that my mom sent...for the kids. LOL!! That glittery shirt is SO you hun.

Haylei always find a favorite in the room and apparently it is Uncle Adam.

The next morning Grandpa Ron was making us allpancakes. The kids hounded and hounded him until he would let them help. He caved. LOL!!!

I know there is more but that is all I can get on here now. My body is screaming at me for sitting on this chair for htis long.

Sorry

2008-12-10T21:17:00.001-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that my last post has hurt some feelings. For that I apologize. I didn't mean to hurt any ones feelings I was just venting. With the lack of friends that I have here so far I chose to vent here and apparently I chose wrong. Maybe from now on I will stick to posting pics and check my feelings at the log in page.

Again, I am sorry if you were one of the ones that I hurt.

Should have stayed in Victoria

2008-12-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

OK. So we have been gone now for almost two months. Like usual I am behind on things. Nothing new. And before I start, Wendy if you are reading this, okay you were right. You can rub my face in it next time I talk to you.

We moved here because of the fact that James was going to be here for over a year and with my medical condition we thought that I would get more help here seeing how we both have so much family around. Boy were we wrong. Yes we did have help moving in but after that....nothing.

Yes I am happy that we are closer to family and that I have been able to see my oldest sister Michelle a couple weeks ago (which was AWESOME, I love hanging out with her, Greg and Nic). I also got to see my cousin Carrie last Friday for coffee and I haven't seen her since our Grandma Moran died, which was about 17 YEARS AGO!! So that too was cool. Keenan even got to meet her and he thought that was neat to see "Moran" on her name tag.

But as for help. Just not in the cards I guess. My condition is getting worse as I have a great bit of difficulty going up and down the stairs now and will avoid them if I have to. Which means a lot of nights on the couch during the week when James isn't home. I can not pick up Haylei any more so if she is putting up a stink about going to bed there really is nothing I can do without being able to pick her up and carry her up those damn stairs. I really wish that I knew someone else with this condition because only they would know the type of pain that I am in CONSTANTLY. From days that sitting, standing laying hurt to the days where when one of my kids gently taps me as they play and it sends me to tears because of how much it hurts to touch my skin.

I almost wish that I had some big ugly cast or wound to look so people could SEE the pain and understand. When you can't see it it is harder to understand I guess.

At my physio appt yesterday my physio guy basically told me that he has to give up on me. Not because he wants to but because we aren't making any progress. As physio is a part of my unit (the base hospital) he said that he hates coming into my office and seeing me in pain but not being able to help me. So next week he will be talking to my dr to see if there is someone else around or in Barrie that may have more experience in dealing with my condition. Or to refer me to a pain management clinic. It sucks because he was the only one "helping" me and now it feels like he is done with me too. I understand what he is saying but it still sucks.

But enough about me and my ranting because as usual it is my mommy to the rescue. I have an appt with the neuro surg in Toronto mid Jan and then my dr's figure surgery shortly after that to at least fix the herniation. As for the rest of the condition, we won't know anything until that appt. But that is still over a month away which doesn't sound like long but in my situation a week sounds too long. So my mommy is going to come and help. From the sounds of it she will be coming after Christmas and staying until after that surgery...or until James get home in May. Yes it sounds like a long time but that just shows how much AWESOME my mommy is. Not that I wish any sort of trouble in my kids futures but if they do have any I only wish that I can be as great of a mother to them and help them in any way as my mommy is to me.

Maybe the next post I will actually post some pics but as of now I can't sit in this chair and type any more.

More from before we left.

2008-11-11T19:45:00.000-05:00

I finally downloaded all the pics of of my other camera. Here are some more from before we left.

Haylei just LOVES Wendy.

And Rugger.

Haylei also LOVES anything to do with make-up.

THIS is the reason that she has to be supervised EVERY SINGLE TIME she is around make-up.

While the girls were doing girls things the boys were outside burning a hornet's nest.

All tuckered out!!

Keenan on the other hand loves being around the ladies....

And picking them up....literally.

But I love it when they get him!!

Haylei goes in to "help HER Keenan"

For some reason we went around the table making faces at the cameras. Apparently I only took James' face. I think Wendy has the rest of us.

We also took turns with the wig too. In case you ever wondered what James would look like if he was a blonde girl.....SCARY

Keenan would have been a beauty!! LOL!!!

I didn't include myself in here because all of the shots were blurry. Plus we have all seen blonde Mel.

Our home...I miss it :( And no we still haven't sold it. :(

This next one stirs up some mixed emotions. It sucks that we had to leave our beautiful house and all the great friends we finally had. But as one door closes another opens. I just wonder what is on the other side of that door.

Before the move...

2008-11-09T15:44:00.000-05:00

Well, before I can do a post on our trip out here I have to do a post on just before we left. We did so many things and spent much more time with really good friends. We had a blast.

At the end of September we went to the Luxton Fall Fair and Tough Truck Competition. I only have picks from the fair on here. Maybe when I download the other camera I might have some from Tough Trucks.

Keenan was ALL OVER And then.

Little Miss Haylei had fun too. She like the cotton candy.

She went on rides with Dad.

And with Keenan.

And I tried to catch some year end sun.

Princess Haylei being her sassy self.

Like I said, we got to spend time with friends. Maria and Shawn brought over their two little ones while the loaders were loading up the truck. So we got see them for a bit and that was cool. We also spent some time at Dave and Wendy's before we left. We always have fun with them. The kids got to play and be silly.

The kids played with moon sand. That stuff is cool!

And ate dinner.

Haylei got her hair done by Wendy.

And played with her for a bit.

These are their dogs. Rugger (Ru-ger) is the Shepperd and Chester is the Cocker Spaniel. They are awesome dogs!! I just love them both.

Then the boys got their turn to play with the moon sand.

Dave working on his Art Piece.

James working away on his.

The End Results

We asked the kids to pick a winner and they chose Dave (Wendy and I didn't agree). But he may or may not have intimidated them to say that. LOL!!

It was hard to leave but we had no choice. We had an adventure to begin......

I'm back

2008-11-05T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hello we are here and starting to sort of settle in. Our new number is 705-424-4458 and my new email address is melgallagher@sympatico.ca. Still got lots around the house to finish up so this is it for this post. I'll be back once I get some time to fill you in on the trip and everything else. And yes, of course pictures :)

Just about that time

2008-10-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well it is Tuesday and in two days the movers come and pack us all up. Then on Friday they come back and load all of our crap into their big ol' trucks and take off. Its absolutely crazy and I don't think it will fully hit home until we are all packed up and living in the RV.

I just wanted to log on here one last time to say good-bye for now. Once we get our new place and our furniture and stuff gets delivered you can bet that one of the first things I will do is get the computer situated. James will already be in Kingston when our stuff gets delivered so I will have lots of computer time once the kids are in bed.

Well, take care and I will talk to all of you in a couple weeks after the National Lampoon's Gallagher Family Vacation comes to an end.....(lets hope it isn't as eventful as the original movie).

Out of commission

2008-10-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't been on here, not that I am usually that good at posting often. But it is because of the fact that I am in serious pain.

What we thought was cervical radiculopathy has turned out to be was worse. I had an MRI done on my neck last week and the results came back on Friday. Apparently I have Multi-level Cervical Spondylosis which apparently is a fancy way of saying real bad arthritis in the neck. Here is exactly what my MRI showed.

C2/C3 is unremarkable

C3/4 there is a mild bulge and bilateral uncovertebral hypertrophy. This causes mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis and minimal narrowing of central spinal canal. See this link for explanation.

C4/5 there is a mild disc bulge present and minimal narrowing of the neural foramina.

C5/6 there is a moderate disc bulge with a small central disc herniation. Uncovertebral hypertrophy also noted. This results in moderate central spinal canal stenosis with flattening of the spinal cord. There is also moderate to sever bilateral neural foranimal stenosis.

C6/7 mild disc bulge without central spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis

C7/T1 normal

Impression: Multi-level cervical Spondylosis. This is most severe at C5/6 where there is a central disc herniation also present. This results in moderate central spinal canal stenosis and moderate to severe bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.

So it doesn't look good. Lets put it this way. I have MASSIVE amounts of pain going from my neck down through my collar bone and shoulder blade to my shoulder and slightly down my back. From my shoulder (and all through it) down my arm to just past my elbow and all through it. The from about 3/4 the way up my forearm down to my fingers is constantly numb and tingling. With my thumb and the 2 fingers beside it being numb and tingling. Let not forget the spasms of pain in all locations. So ya...its been FUN!! NOT!!!!!

So basically my Dr. told me was that basically you have "X" amount of space in your neck, and I only have about half of the normal amount of space. Every bone in my neck is way smaller than it should be and every disc is bulging. The pathologist told my Dr that looking at my MRI he wouldn't have known that it was of a 31 year old woman. He said it looked like a woman in her mid sixties. This kind of thing usually appears in men in their 40 but not usually in women until their 50's or later. WOW, do I have good luck or what???

I have been on all sorts of pain meds over the last two weeks, like morphine (long lasting and fast acting), oxycotin, oxycet, T3's just to name a few. And right now I am on the Fentynal patch I was on 25 mcg now I am on 37.5mcg and will be going up to 50mcg tomorrow. Along with the patch I am on 20 mg of morphine every 4 hours or as needed. Also muscle relaxants at night (so I can sleep) and 900mg of gabapentin (nerve meds) threes tines a day. Oh and arthrotec which is a anti inflammatory twice a day. Yup, I'm a massive pill popper!!

It sounds like a huge amounts of medicine, and it is but you would not believe how harsh the pain is. I told James the other night that it was almost like having contractions in my arm...but worse!! It SUCKS!!

Needless to say I am off work right now on sick leave. The Dr's plan on me staying on sick leave until after we leave. The Base Surgeon and my Dr here are already talking to the Base Surgeon over in Borden so that I have a MO as soon as I get there and get assigned to a temporary medical category (work restrictions in civilian terms). My Dr. here thinks that I may be on sick leave for a month or two until they can get me into a neuro surgeon and what they are going to do with me. Mr Dr here is going to talk with the MO there and see if they can get the referral into a neurosurgeon before I even get there in hopes that at least will get the ball rolling so there isn't so much of a wait once I get there. We will see.

So basically now, I am to stay on the meds to control my pain and wait to see what happens once I get to Ontario.

I have done some reading on this and nothing has been very comforting. I have read that if left untreated I could be looking at a wheelchair. But then I also read that even with treatment I could possibly be looking at a wheelchair. But of course there is a chance that could happen no matter what but there is also a chance that things could work out but I guess that I am freaking out because if my neck looks this bad at 31 what will it look like at 40 ? or older? I guess I can only wait and see.

I probably won't post again before we leave seeing how the computer will probably be packed on Wednesday or Thursday and we won't be in our new place until 1 Nov. So if I don't talk to you before then...I will talk to you some time after that.

Cheers, and I hope all of you are better than me :)

Pain in the Neck

2008-09-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

So we have figured ou what is causing the pain in my neck and believe it or not it ISN'T my kids.

Apparently on top of everything else I am also dealing with Cervical Radiculopathy. Basically I got a pinched nerve in my neck which is causing pains and aches down my right arm. The Dr told me that most dr's give it 4-6 weeks but it could take as long as 6 months to totally clear up.!! OH LOVELY!!!

It basically feels like I am constantly carrying a real heavy in that arm that is pulling at my arm to the point it feels like it is going to fall off. Its FUN!!!

Lets hope it doesn't last too long :)

Update

2008-09-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

So as for the move, we are getting closer. We still don't have a definite date of departure but it will be sometime on or around Oct 13th. We should be getting into Ontario, if we stick to my schedule, on the 18th of Oct. Which is when we should be picking up our dogs. Yes, we bought 2 dogs and we can't wait till we can get them. But the kids don't know, it is supposed to be a surprise for them so please, no one say anything to them :)

Here is a link to some pics of the boys. Timmy is the dark and tan one and Blaze is the black and white one. They are both Georgian Bay Sporting Dogs. Basically 3/4 Weimaraners (James has always wanted a weim) and 1/4 lab. I am sooooo excited to get them!!!

The house is for sale and we have had one viewing already but apparently the house was too much house for the older couple that was looking. I hope we get a bite soon. I don't want to still have the house after we move. I would like to have it all dealt with before we go. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We will not be buying on the other end as we figure we are only going to be there for a couple years and I don't want to deal with that much buying and selling within 2 years, it would be too much. So we will probably move into PMQ's again. But on the bright side we are hoping to get into the old officer quarters on the base, they are supposed to be a lot nicer with 2 bathrooms and a fire place, we should find out in the next couple days.

As for me, some of you may have hear that AGAIN I have had some health issues. It started off with an infection which they treated with a strong antibiotic. Well, it was too strong and basically wiped out my system of ALL bacteria, good and bad. Causing a secondary infection which is known as C Defficile. Not fun. I am still dealing with some of the effects of that and have an appt today to find out whats next. To top it all off I have also had a kink (or something) going on in my neck for almost 2 weeks now and it has started to get worse, it feels like someone has punched me real hard in the shoulder. No idea what that is all about but hopefully I will find out today at my appt.

So like always I am falling apart and that in and of itself is frustrating but nothing new!! LOL!! I think I am about an inch away from buying myself a giant plastic bubble to move into!!

Haylei

2008-09-05T12:32:00.000-04:00

So I am going to use this post to catch up on a few things. I know I am not the best at keeping this thing going on a regular basis, but hey!! I'm trying. LOL!!

First is the most important!! Miss Haylei is 3!! Already, man has time really flown by. She started off as this cute quiet little thing. Now she is a ball of energy, sass and TOTAL cuteness!!

Yes I know I am late with this post but then again I am late with all my posts. LOL!!

I got Haylei her cowboy boots at the last Rodeo that I went to and gave them to her for her birthday. She just LOVES them, and her hat. We thought Grandma Laurin would like these pics of her and her boots. Miss Haylei can't wait for the move, it is all she talks about. That and when she gets to Ontario how she is going to ride Grandma's horse....we'll see about that. LOL!!!

Happy Birthday baby girl!! We love you!!!!!

Is anybody out there???

2008-08-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

It been some time since I had any comments. I know there are some people out there, so if you would be so kind as to leave a comment occasionally it would be nice. I know this sounds slightly pathetic but looking at that ) is kinda disheartening. Ok, my plea is over.

So my mommy and dad have been here for a for a couple weeks now and will be here for 2 more. Its been awesome. And it couldn't have come at a better time as we are now preparing to leave the province!!

Yup you heard me. We are POSTED!! WOOHOO!!! Finally!!

We knew it was coming for sometime now as James got his OT (Occupational Transfer). He has left the Navy and his old trade as a NCIOP (Naval Combat Information Operator) and will soon be starting his new career. He has chosen, and got accepted, to become a EO Tech (Electronic Optronic Technician). Which used to be called FSC Tech (Fire and Control Systems). From what I know of the trade, which isn't much, he will be fixing firing control systems on things like tanks and such. I think. LOL!! I guess if you want the exact description you can check out the Recruiting Website.

He received word a few months ago that he had been accepted and his ship had him posted to a shore unit until the time came for his remuster. He has been working on base lately working at BMP (Base Manning Party) that gets to do all the odd jobs that come around. I have been still working at my normal job at Base Logistics, so nothing really has been any different.

We had requested some time ago that I too get posted when he starts all of his retraining and it FINALLY happened. We couldn't be more excited. We have both been posted to CFB Borden as of 13 Oct. James won't be there long as his POET (Performance-Oriented Electronic Training) course start near the end of October in Kingston for over 6 months. But at least Me and the kids will be in Borden where he can come home come weekends. YA!!!!! Then when he is done that course he will have to do his 3's training in Borden for another 6 months. YA!!! We will be in the same town again :) Then after that......who knows. We will have to (not that we have much of a choice) go wherever "they" tell us.

So now that we have word that all of this is going to happen, its going to happen fast. We have less that 2 months to get the house sold, and organise all of the stuff that comes with a move like this. I need to take some DEEP breaths as this is going to be a whirlwind. I will try to keep you posted as to how everything is going. Keep your fingers crossed for us :) I just may have a nervous breakdown. LOL!!!!!!

More from the trip

2008-08-04T13:25:00.000-04:00

We had some visitors on mom's street.

Train Ride

2008-08-04T13:06:00.001-04:00

The kids loved the train. They had fun playing, building forts with a lady that I work with who was also on the train and just being able to move unlike a plane.

There are a tonne more. And the are on my flickr.

A month of catch up.

2008-08-04T12:11:00.000-04:00

I'm baaaaaaack. With the kids gone I kinda got lazy. Ok, lazier than normal. LOL!! I won't bore you with much chatter but I will post a crap load of pics to make up for the lack of posts. I'll start with the trip up, it was good. For the most part so were the kids.

Waiting for Grandpa's bus.

Grandpa's here!!!

On the ferry.

We got into Vancouver and we are waiting for Grandma Gail before we go get on the train. The kids at this point didn't know we were taking the train. Keenan was some excited when he figured it out.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles....OH MY!!

2008-07-01T08:59:00.000-04:00

So today I leave to go on an adventure with my kiddos. This should be interesting, we are definitely covering pretty much all type of travel on this trip.

We head out today with my buddy driving us by CAR to the bus depot downtown. Where we will meet up with my father and jump on his BUS to go to Vancouver. On our way to Vancouver we will be taking a FERRY. Once we get to Vancouver, and there isn't too much time in between either, we will be getting on a TRAIN, that will be taking us to Jasper, then to Prince George. We will be travelling this way for about 14 hours. HAHA!! Should be FUN!!! LOL!!!! Then once we get to George we have to get off the TRAIN and spend the night at a Hotel. And to get there we have to take a CAB (WHOLE new adventure in itself sometimes). Then back to the TRAIN in the morning where we will go up to Terrace and get in there around 6pm on Thursday the 3rd. And travel again by CAR to my mommy's house.

My turn around up there is actually going to be pretty quick. I wish I could have stayed for longer but with the possible upcoming posting we want to save a couple extra days to make a family vacation and take our time driving back to Ontario. If that happens.

So then on the 6th I am back in the CAR again to get to the TRAIN to take me to George, where I will have to spend the night again, and deal with the CABs. Then in the morning I am up and off to the airport to jump on a PLANE to Vancouver, then a BUS to Victoria, via the FERRY. To my patiently awaiting husband, where we will drive home by TRUCK.

Should be an interesting trip, I really hope the kids like it. They have never been on a train before. I can't wait to post all the pics of this adventure when I get back. See you then :)

Childbirth Song

2008-06-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

OMG!! I got this on my facebook the other day and I just HAVE to share it. SO SO SO FUNNY!!!

More Pictures From Coombs

2008-06-18T00:26:00.001-04:00

Little Miss Haylei waiting patiently for Wendy to show up so we could leave for Coombs.

Ooops, she caught me!!

Uhhh, not so patient any more....

I got stuck driving so there isn't any pictures on the way up.

Some pictures of the Cutest Kids on Earth!! I, ah, may be a little bias.

I just thought this was a pretty horse but it was being stubborn and wouldn't let me take a good picture of it.
The kids found this baby humming bird sitting on our wood pile. It was soooo small. That is Keenan's hand in the background.

Me and my girlfriend Wendy.

Now, this one I just LOVE!! I like the creepiness about it. LOL!!! And NO!! The kids weren't playing with fire. The were the big yard citronella candles and they were just standing beside them.

TOTAL Redneck shot!! LOL!! These guys were camping up from us. I know I did stupid things when I was young but not THAT stupid. Believe it or not they actually weren't that loud or annoying.

All Clear

2008-06-18T00:13:00.000-04:00

WOW!! Now that it is over I gotta SPEAK!! So most of you don't know but we just went through a bit of a scare. A couple weeks ago they found a lump in one of my breasts. I KNOW!! My jaw dropped too!!

BREATH!!

After a PAINSTAKING week of waiting for my mammogram and ultra sound appointments and then ANOTHER week of TORTUOUS waiting for my results, they finally came in all clear!! WOOHOO!!

We didn't actually tell anyone about it. So don't feel like you are the last to know, your not. I knew how bad I was freaking out and how concerned (because the man NEVER shows stress) James was, we just didn't see the need in anyone else worrying until we found out real answers.

So all is good. But I tell ya after those weeks of waiting was surprised I wasn't bald. And SERIOUSLY I don't care what anyone says, those mammogram machines are NOT "nice" machines.

This is what I'ld like to see one day. LOL!!!

I hope you had a good week :)

Nissan's Mr. Glorious

2008-06-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

My sister Angella posted this one awhile ago but I just finally remembered to google it and see for myself. The guy in white aka Mr. Glorious, is my first cousin Derek from Ontario.

He's awesome, I can't wait to see him some more stuff. Once he does I'll keep you posted.

Bull-A-Rama

2008-06-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

All of the photos are on flickr.

Kids at Coombs

2008-06-10T18:10:00.000-04:00

This last weekend I took the kids, along with a girlfriend of mine and her kids, up to Coombs, B.C. They were holding the 11th Annual Bull-A-Rama. We had a blast and the kids loved it too. They both thought it was pretty cool to get so close to the animals.

The kids are checking out the bulls before the show started on the first day.

In the stands watching the show during the second day.

Eventually they got bored and found hanging out under the grand stands was more fun.

Just being Little Miss Silly.
Isn't sand amazing??? LOL!!

All the kiddos playing at the park.

Haylei wanted to feed the cows. This guys was the only one who looked interested but he would only get this close. Poor Haylei kept getting frusterated because every time she would try to get closer the cow would back up. It only lasted until Haylei grunted at the cow and she took off. LOL!!

We stopped here on the way home. Its a little touristy strip mall sort of place. It has this castle thing for the kids, all of these statues and stuff. I wish we had more time to check it all out. It even had live goats living on the roof. It was pretty cool, I will have to go back one day.

I have more pictures on my other camera so I will have to post those when I get around to it, maybe even tonight. But I wouldn't hold my breath. hehehe

A Night at the Play

2008-05-25T23:06:00.000-04:00

Keenan and his class put on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And NO! He wasn't "Dopey". He was "Sneezy". I told him that is was too bad they didn't have a "Farty" cuz he would have been a shoe in. LOL!!

We played in the gym while we waited for it to start.

In between scenes he couldn't keep himself behind the sets. hehe

This is where he sneezes and then says his line. It was in french so I have no idea what he said but it sounded GREAT!! Oh, wait a minute he is right beside me as I type and he just informed me that he had asked Snow White "Where is your mother?"

Oh, we are so proud of our little actor. Yes, yes. That one there making cross eyes at me from on stage. That ones MINE!! LOL!!!

Here are some videos. I apologise for the first one. I was trying to video AND take the pictures at the same time...it wasn't working out so well.

On a side note to my mom....You're welcome mom :)

Swing Batter!!!

2008-05-25T20:45:00.000-04:00

We went to Keenan's first ball game a little while ago. His first game, first pitch, first hit.... and its a HOME RUN!!!! GO KEENAN!!!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!! Check out his tongue. LOL!!

I got too busy cheering and forgot to be snapping as he rounded the bases...

But here he comes into home plate!!!!!!!

Apparently after his home run he found being short stop boring.

James did awesome capturing this hit!!

OOhhh, the concentration......

He hits!!!!

And he's off to first....

Rounding second.....

HEY!! What's that second kid looking at?

IT'S KEENAN!! Bringing in the tail end of not only his second home run but his GRAND SLAM!!

GAME OVER!! Keenan's so cool he had to put his leather back on right away. He always knows how to make himself stand out. Other than always being the tallest kid there.

Haylei really couldn't have cared less. She took off into the trees...

And found the rocks more interesting.

REAL short one

2008-05-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

I know it has been awhile since I have been on here but I just haven't gotten around to it. And I don't got time now. I am off to the Pro Rodeo for the weekend. I volunteered with a couple friends of mine to help work there and we are camping right on site so it should be good times. Stay tuned for the pics.....AFTER I edit some out, and I am SURE there will be some I don't post!! LOL!!!

Have a great long weekend everyone!!

Picture Update

2008-04-28T21:04:00.001-04:00

Ok, ok I know I know I have gotten lazy when it comes to this site. I will try to get on here some more but for now I am just going to add a bunch of pics to catch you up.

First, here is my new hair do. I love it!! SOOOOOO much lighter.

We've been spending a lot of time with Dave and Wendy at their house. We do a lot of bon fires over there, the kids love it.

And as you can see, Keenan doesn't realise that even if he tells me he hasn't been playing with the charred wood I can call his bluff!! LOL!!!

Haylei likes playing with Wendy's little sand serenity garden thingy.

Here she is talking to her Papa, she LOVES her Papa!!

Wendy, Judy and I on a Girls Night Out!!! we call ourselves the walking joke..."A blonde, a brunette and a red head all walk into a bar....." We find it funny :)
We went to a Headpins Concert last weekend. SO MUCH FUN!!!

Even James had some fun there too. I have NO idea who those other two are or what they are doing with their mouths!! LOL!!!!

Private Screening

2008-03-25T01:36:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a long time so I am going to try to make up for it now.

We got invited to a private screening of Dr. Suesses' Horton Hears a Who and we had a great time.

Keenan LOVES Hannah Montana

We played in the lobby for a bit.

Then we settled in. We brought our friends The Thornes with us. And honestly Keenan has NOT been drinking...LOL!!!!

Haylei surprised us all by being really good. No screaming and paying attention, mostly. I was really impressed, it made for an even FUNNER day when there is no screaming being done :)

We played around in the lobby again after the show as we waited for lunch.

Check out the bugs on the roof!!

On our way home.

Haylei being her "Hammy"-self.

Easter at The Gallagher's

2008-03-25T00:16:00.000-04:00

In their new Easter clothes.

My little bunnies :)

Just the looks on their faces tells a storey.

Then on to egg paining....

Dad gets right into it.

Haylei thinks its finger painting by the looks of it.

It HAS to be exactly the riiiiiiight sticker.

Nana and Papa Feb 08 Visit

2008-03-24T22:56:00.000-04:00

Isn't she a cutie??!!

The cheeseball....
AHH... The real Haylei shines through!!

I just had to throw some of James in too. Isn't he handsome?? I may be bias but I'm RIGHT TOO!!

Check out the pose??

Oh yes, there is my handsome man......now who couldn't love that face???

Eliza's Easter Visit

2008-03-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

Eliza was here today with Baby Jake, okay so he really isn't a baby but that is what I have always called him. He will be Baby Jake even after he is twenty. We hung out at the house for a bit then headed outside. We walked over to the ponds on the next street and kids threw rocks into it for a bit. All the kids rode bikes over....including Eliza.

Keenan was trying to get off the pink bike before I could take a picture...HAHA on him, I LOVE MY CAMERA!!

Eliza had to fix the chain...twice....

Here she is telling Baby Jake to NOT touch the chain....after he purposely pulled it off after the first time she put it on.

Haylei was in a great mood as you can see. She didn't want to ride her bike, she wanted me to carry it everywhere. But heavens for bid that Jake would ride it. She had a melt down everytime he went near it.

She was pouting on the sidewalk at one point and Eliza thought that she would copy her...Haylei didn't like that and turned away from Eliza.

The they left. Short but always a good visit with Eliza, maybe next time will be longer???

More pictures on flickr

Umpy Dumpy

2008-02-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is Haylei's version of Humpty Dumpty. Too cute!!!! Sorry, but I don't know how to turn them.

Total Eclipse of The Heart

2008-02-20T22:28:00.001-05:00

Well, actually the moon. I ran out tonight with my new camera, mom and kids in tow. Off to chase the moon. But in all my brilliance I forgot my TRIPOD!!! Not good. This was the only alright one I took without the tripod.

We ran home and I grabbed my tripod, by this time I could snap pictures on the sidewalk across from the house instead of having to drive half way out of the developement. It was the first time I used it and I still have TONNES to learn about my camera but a couple turned out ok. Not fantastic, but okay.

It really kinda hit hard tonight that no matter where my baby is, even when I am screaming at, I mean spending quality time with the kids, we are still under the same great big moon. Love you hun!!

Keenan is EIGHT!!

2008-02-18T19:05:00.000-05:00

I am a week late on this post but I just don't seem to have enough hours in one day to get everything all done AND be on here a lot too. Plus I am exhausted and really just don't feel like it. But with James away I will post these so that he can see some of the pics from that day. More on flickr

This is ONE of Keenan's girlfriends.

Week one catch up

2008-02-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

I just thought I would post on how this week has gone so far since James has left. It true form, my black cloud came flying in the second it knew that James was sailing out.

When we took the kids to the Dinosaurs on the weekend, I wasn't feeling the greatest then. Mind you we had gone out the night before so I just chalked it up to that. NOPE!! By monday night I had a volcanoe at each end of my body. Not cool!! Haylei is the biggest booger factory ever right now. Thankfully Keenan hasn't caught anything yet. (knock, knock, thats me knocking on wood).

I am definately feeling better today, the eruptions have slowed down. Now I am just tired and sore. But then to top it all off....

IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT!!!

So as soon as I showed Keenan he wanted to go out. So he headed out for a bit. I came out to take some pictures but realised I had the wrong lens on. I went back into the house to change lenses. When I get back out Keenan had made a snow angel in the driveway so I went to get a picture of it. Yup!! You guessed it. My feet came out from under me and I came crashing down. All I could think about was protecting my camera!!! It didn't end up too bad. A little sore but that could be from the jolt of the fall or from getting over the heaves. I got a bit of roadrash on one hand and it skinned my right elbow pretty good. But most importantly...the camera was FINE.

A hint of advice....don't walk down your steep, slippery driveway wearing RUBBER GARDEN SHOES!!!

I don't know about you but if I ever meet this Murphy character I'm gonna throttle him!!!

Forgot

2008-02-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post these ones too. Aren't my babies adorable?? More on Flickr.

A Journey Back in Time

2008-02-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

So I mentioned that we went to "Walking with the Dinosaurs" over the weekend. Talk about an amazing show. I was just as excited about this as the kids were. I had my new Nikon at the ready. As we were waiting in line they told us that there was no flash photography allowed.

So many people you could hear groaning and saying things like.."This little thing won't get anything good if its too dark." As they pouted I thought to myself "I got an awesome husband, who gave me an awesome camera." To the tune of Na, na, na, na, na. hehehe

So here is our walk back in time starting from the Victoria Ferry Terminal as we waited for the Ferry to take us over to Vancouver.

Here is the link to my Flickr for the rest of them. And there are LOTS!!!!!

Trying

2008-02-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I really am trying to post more. We took the kids to Vancouver on Saturday to go see "Walking with the Dinosaurs." It was this HUGE production put on at GM Place. SOOOO Totally worth its own post. So while I edit those ones here are some too keep you occupied.

"Here Dad, its for you."

Da Boyz!! Chowin on pizza.

James managed to pry the camera from my fingers one night....LOL!!!

As much as they want to kill each other most of the time, they can be pretty cute too!!

He was soooo cute being the big protective brother. He was running along side and making sure she went straight and didn't run into anything.

URRRRGH!!! Blogger is having issues with letting me post any more pictures. There are lots more on Flikr

More dance pics

2008-01-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

Blogger wouldn't let me post any more pics on that last post for some reason, so here are the rest.

A Dancin' Fool

2008-01-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

OK, so he isn't a "fool but the title fit. Keenan is in his second tern of Boys Hip Hop. He LOVES it. He is definitely like me when it comes to music and dancing. We LOVE to do BOTH. Throw in some singing and we are even better!! I had to come home early on Thursday so I actually got to go to the whole class. So of course I brought the camera.

A Ticked Off Marine's Wife

2008-01-21T23:29:00.000-05:00

I am not too sure of where this came from but I got it in an email today and I just HAD to share it. It is quite a read, I wonder how many other people feel this way?

Here is a real woman who should run for president!
Written by a Marine housewife in New Jersey to the New York Times, this is one ticked off lady.

"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq and Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured:
I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank:
I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts:
I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and, you guessed it,
I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope you forward all this.

"If we ever forget that we're One Nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." Also by... Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said: "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out."

Only four defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
3. The British Soldier and
4. The Canadian Soldier

One died for your soul, the other 3 for your freedom.

The Blahs

2008-01-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

So THE BLAHS has had a hold of me for awhile now but I think I am about to beat them!!! I sat back the other day and realised that we have NO LIFE!! I mean seriously almost ALL we do is work and home or school and home. Once we get home we become rather non-active, non-productive family of couch potatoes!! Always complaining that we get home so late and we have NO TIME to do anything else. Well, I now say that is CRAP!!!!! When we don't go to bed until 10, there are a lot more hours in there than we were using. So I have come up with a schedule and some lists that is going get me out there and having a life again. I think it is my right-brained, or was that left, that has forced me to go back to lists and schedules. I have been trying to NOT do them but I have failed!! They are back and I have realised that I need them.

I have decided to take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours a day and do something for me!! I used to think that sounded like a lot of time but now that I think about it....not so much in the grand scheme of things. I have already scheduled time to go to aqua fit classes, aqua pilates, adult hip hop cardio dance class, I have scheduled chores for me and Keenan (James always does his part, don't need to schedule him, LOL). We are even starting family walks for at least 3 times a week. And last but not least I also have SCHEDULED time on the computer so that I can have this outlet too. Not that I am going to be on here every day going on and on and on but that will give me time to blog a bit more, check out more peoples blogs, there are some great people out there. Plus it will also give me more time to play with my camera and pictures and editing stuff. WOOHOO!! I'm excited. So here is to the changes and I hope all goes well!!

Camera's First Day Out

2008-01-16T11:10:00.000-05:00

Before I start I gotta show you the decorations I got for next year to add to the yard!! Check out these guys!!!! The big guy is so big that his tail is as tall as my fridge!! And just think about it....my garage has 12 foot ceilings!! He is MASSIVE. I can't wait until I can decorate next year!!! There is also a moose that is about the size of the medium reindeer.

Check out how small Keenan looks in there with them.

So I HAD to play with my new Camera. So one day I took Keenan out in the morning up to Sooke Pot Holes. It is a place about a 10 min drive from our house and it is just beautiful. Then I headed over to my buddy's place because he has a stream going through his yard and a creek running behind his house. Here is what I have come up with. Hmmmm, maybe I should think about watermarks and such....uh Ange. Wanna give me a call one night when the kiddos are in bed and teach me that one ??

So on to the pics.....I TOTALLY see some major differences. I can see that I am soon going to have a new addiction. Or actually my addiction to pics is just going to get worse. LOL!!!

OOHHHH!!! I am loving this camera. The clearness, the colour...oh oh oh the fun!!! I can't wait to learn more and start some more messing around with settings and a good editing program!! I am sure there will be more to come.

Christmas Day

2008-01-08T00:25:00.000-05:00

James was duty on Christmas Eve so we drove him in in the morning and dropped him off. Check out what was on the jetty beside his ship.... looks like a shopping cart right? No BIG deal right???

Still don't see the BIG deal?? Check out Keenan in the bottom left corner...

Now, THIS is a shopping cart!! Thrify Foods was HMCS Ottawa's sponsor for the Navy Lighting Contest this year, talk about an advertisement!!! This is what we will need in a couple years when our kids start eating like TEENAGERS!!! LOL!!!!!

We thought that for a change Santa may like a beer after all that milk. The carrots are for the reindeer.

And here is what dear Santa Clause left behind......

Then we went home and the kids opened their Christmas Eve presents...always jammies!!

Even Chino got dressed up. HAHAHA!!!!

Ok, here they are. The highly anticipated Christmas Day photos. Because James was duty Christmas eve we had to drive in Christmas morning and pick him up so we improvised and the kiddos did their stockings in the van.

When we finally got home, which couldn't happen fast enough for the kids, we got to attack the pile!! WOOHOO

Here, Keenan and Daddy open the present that "Santa" got for the family. It was GREAT because even James didn't know what it was.

But once he figured out it was a Wii, he was ALL OVER THAT!!!!

Keenan got a TV for his room. It was EXACTLY what he was hopping for!!

Haylei got her Dora Kitchen. I'm not sure who plays with it more, her or Keenan!! LOL!!

Some silly person (me, hehehe) got Haylei a little make up kit. Not realising that it was REAL stuff in there. Oh, well. She had fun.

Then I got to open MY gift from James. Check out his professional wrapping job. Sure looks like the post office wrapped this one!! OH. WAIT. They did!! I had to pick this up on Christmas eve from the post office because it had finally just came in. When James said that my present had been delayed in the mail and that I may not have had a present to open I was a little sad. But then I went and pick this up and it KILLED me to have to wait to open it!!!!

But as you can see IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!!

Check out the camera, and lenses, and filters and tripods OH MY!! I TOTALLY SCORED!!! I got the Nikkon D40X!!!! Talk about a sweet camera. I LOVE IT!! Now I just gotta figure out how to use it!! LOL!!!

And of course the after math. Well, thats it for now. I will have a new post soon,. With pictures from my NEW camera!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

More Christmas

2008-01-07T22:00:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to Galey's Farm. It is the same place that we took them for Halloween. But they have changed it all over to a Christmas theme. With Reindeer and everything!! Rudolph was too busy with all of the other appearances that he had to do so we didn't get to see his red nose. But Comet, Cupid and Dasher were there :)

We took the same train ride too.
This is a LOT blurry but it is the Grinch...on the potty. LOL!!!
OH WAIT!!!!! There is Rudolph...he's doing a fly over.
Its a bit dark but this one is for my mommy. Check out the penguins!!!!

After the train ride we walked through their version of Santa's Workshop.

Everyone was there helping Santa, we had The Muppets, The (creepy looking) Cat in The Hat, and of course the Grinch up to his tricks again.

Looks like Miss Piggy even lost weight. I guess she wasn't doing "Jenny" with Kirstie Alley. LOL!!!

Here the kids are making picture frames for Daddy. They each put their hand print on paper and framed them.

Okay, I know I haven't even gotten to Christmas Day yet, but it is bed time. I will post again in the next week sometime.

Christmas Time at The Gallaghers

2007-12-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

The kids made Rice Krispie Houses instead of Gingerbread Houses. Actually we still have the gingerbread houses too...we never did get around to making those ones. Guess we got something to do while James sails next month. LOL!!

Chino likes the ice cream...but apparently the ice cream doesn't agree too much with Chino. We found that one out the next day. YUCK!!

There are still lots more to come but these ones are just so my mom GETS OFF MY BACK!!! LOL!!! Just kidding mommy :)

Auntie Courtney's Visit

2007-12-29T09:49:00.000-05:00

My baby sister came for a visit the other weekend. We really didn't do anything besides hang out on the couches and watch movies. The weather was crappy so we couldn't really do much. But I promise Courtney, next time we will actually leave the house. LOL!!!

Check out how strong Keenan is, he pick her up right off the ground!!

The kids LOVE Auntie Courtney!!
They were even her hair dressers. LOL
Then on Sunday we met up with our Dad and Gail so they could get her back home. We went to Denny's and it was THE WORSE SERVICE EVER!!! We sat there for over an hour and all we got served was our drinks. I won't go into the details but lets just say we eventually just left and ate at the food court at the mall.

Catching up

2007-12-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

Mom was giving me a hard time about not posting enough so I will try to do some catch up....but I am not promising lots. LOL!!!

We have had some good times lately and I will try to get some pics in, Here are some clips and pictures of Keenan's Christmas concert. He was sooo AWESOME!! He is such a cutie!!

Here is Haylei with the other two girls from daycare. Amanda and Brycee

Keenan was in the Sooke Santa Parade with his dance class...he is in Boys Hip Hop.

We were a little early for the parade so we took them McDonalds first to burn off some energy.

Seriously!! HOW CUTE ARE THEY!!??

Sleepless in Victoria

2007-12-06T07:23:00.000-05:00

Well, another sleepless night. And worse tonight, James is duty, Haylei is having nightmares/dreams all night and calling out. So here I am at 04:25 in the morning posting.....tomorrow is going to be a rough one.

Well anyways, I know I said that I had mor pics to post but I don't want to be on here ALL night. LOL!! I am thinking maybe I should try to get in a nap before I have to get up for work in an hour.....

But I did want to get some Christmas photos so I will post some of our house so you can all see what I am so proud of. The maybe friday night I will throw some up of the kids and such.

Here is our tree and a couple of me pretending to take "good" pics, it is hard to do with this crappy cybershot I have but I will make do with it for now :(

First we will start by going around the yard just to show you how big some tof these things are.

Only in Victoria can you get away with being outside in Dec with no jacket...mind you we were only outside long enough to turn everything on. Not that that took much because James MADE a special extension cord that is 100 feet in length and there are 7 outdoor electrical boxed spaced along it. So that way we plug everything (almost into one long convenient cord and don't have the ugly sight of multiple extension cords all over the yard. Isn't he AWESOME?? So handy :)

And the Finale!! Well, almost. I can never seem to be happy with what I do... and James sin't much better. So we will be replacing the ucucles on the top roof with some new LED icicles. It will sooooo much better. I will post another pic when that fets done.

I hope you enjoyed our decorations...just wait til next year....it just keeps growing and growing. Next year I will have to add MORE to the display!!

This and that catch ups..

2007-11-22T21:09:00.001-05:00

Well it has been a bit since I have posted. The last one was before I went to Kitimat.

OH, on a side bar I am starting this post at 18:09 Thursday evening. I have had some issues with my hips again and my back went into spasms last night so this post may take a while to actually complete this but I want to see how long exactly...

I got in Thursday night and visited a couple people but it was a quiet night...Friday...not so quiet. Out I went to hang out with some of the girls. And that is NEVER quiet!! LOL!! We had a good time hanging out a a girlfriends and then hitting the scene. HAHA!! It is Kitimat...there is NO scene. We went to the 'Ol Keg (not to be mistaken with The Old Keg), it is the pub-by-day/club-by-night place there. I got to see a LOT of people that I knew so that was AWESOME. I was too busy mingling and chatting to take many pics but here are a couple.

Here is my mommy's dog "Potter" He was my shadow when I was there. I couldn't go ANYWHERE without him. He wouldn't even get up in the morning with mom. He waited until I got up. LOL!!! Isn't he a cutie??

Here is Dad with Potter....in their usually spots. hehehe

And I can't forget Remembrance Day!! It was such a good day. We all met up in the parking lot of Dairy Queen the fell in line for the parade...(I would post a picture but mom didn't take any)...tsk tsk Moooooooooooommmmmm, just kidding:) But she did take these good ones.

This is me and the President of the Kitimat Legion.

My Commanding Officer from when I was in Sea cadets, myself and the other man used to be the Legion President and he is still rather active with them. He also picks on my mom a lot and its funny!!!

One of Kitimat's great RCMP's, they were a great bunch of people.

This is Leslie. I NOW feel old when I am having cocktails with a kid I used to BABYSIT!! She is a great girl who has travelled and done a lot with her life. We are all proud of her.

HEY!! DAD!!! Recognise this guy?? He used to work for my dad in Price Rupert and now he is the Commanding Officer of the Sea Cadet Corp in Kitimat. What a small world hey??

Mom and Dad...aren't they CUTE??!!

I got this great idea and got every ones hats together...look at me trying to be some sort of photographer. LOL!!! We were missing an Air Force head dress, too bad that would have been a better more complete picture.

HAHA!! Here are some reps for each hat. LOL!! We had so much fun there.

Well, I am done this one. I have more but they will have to wait. But if you want to see all of my newest pictures, there is more on flickr. I will post another shortly, hopefully it won't take as long :) It is now 10:45 Sunday morning....

Kitimat next week

2007-11-02T08:56:00.001-04:00

I made a comment in the last post about going up to Kitimat next week. Yes, thats right I am going back home for a few days. My amazingly awesome husband has gotten me a ticket to go home for Remembrance day. Ever since joining the military it has been something that I have wanted to do.

Being from a rather small community I have always wanted to go back and show the town that even I made something of myself. (If you knew me growing up it was a toss up between actually DOING something with my life or becoming a bum in constant party mode). I have just always wanted to go back and speak to the Cadet Corps that I used to belong to and who introduced me to military life and let them know that there are options for them out there, they just need to make the right ones. And if I can get through to just one of those kids then it would be totally worth it.

Plus I will be going up there ALONE no hubby, no kids. After the retarded year we have had this is like a mini break for me. Yes, Hawaii sounded nicer but then I couldn't talk to the kids. And at least up in Kitimat I know people and my room and food are FREE!! LOL!!!

So to my HOTTIE of a hubby, THANK YOU for the ticket. I love you and YOU ROCK!!!

Halloween fun

2007-11-01T23:38:00.000-04:00

We took the kids out for some good old Halloween fun. First we went to Galey's farm and it was sooooooo much fun. There was a corn maze, a train ride, petting farm, games, tractor ride, pumpkin patch and more probably I just can't remember it all right now. Then that night we took them to the high school last weekend because they were holding a family fun halloween thingy. The kids LOVED it. It didn't matter if they won the game or not they always got a prize. So that was good. Plus me and Keenan entered the cake walk and for the first time I actually WON!! Not that it was anything great. I wasn't too sure even what it was until we were leaving and someone said "oh you got the bat". Ohhhh, so THAT is what it was. I didn't take a pic and it is gone now. Keenan attacked it.

They had sooo much stuff around the farm as you go along on the train. These are just a couple.

Hey Mom, do you and dad remember these prices????

There are many many more pic that I want to post but blogger is being pissy again with me. I will post them on my flickr but just for you mom I will try to get them all on here before I come home next week. If not I will just bring them all up on a CD.

More Halloween Fun

2007-11-01T23:17:00.001-04:00

Fun at the Park

2007-11-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

So as most of you know James is FINALLY HOME!!!! He got home on last thursday and the kids were SOOOOOOO surprised. It was AWESOME especially because he got home a whole week earlier than planned. So anyways, shortly after daddy got home we took the kiddos to the park.....

My sad attempt of a family pic!! LOL

Videos of the kiddos

2007-10-22T02:46:00.000-04:00

No big story but just shows you how great the cat is with Haylei. she is soooo cute!!

Keenan found one of my old CD's.....

My little Dancing Queen.

Great Pics of Great Kids

2007-10-22T01:14:00.000-04:00

I took the kids to the park last week. The kids loved it and I got some good shots too.

This one is called "Giant Keenan gets hungry!!"

Lets hope we don't see Haylei with too many more poles....

Check out how Maria does the girls' hair. It looks soooo cool.

Such a max relax cat. She stayed in there for 5 minutes after Keenan left her.

You just KNOW she did something wrong...

I FOUND YOU!!!!

Where is she???

2007-10-21T21:44:00.000-04:00

So the other night as I am going up the stairs to bed....

I look up and see that Haylei's door is open...

I check her bed....

Not there?? I see that Keenan's door is wide open, maybe she is in there.....

Nope. He is in there somewhere but she isn't with him.

So I go into my room and what do I find???

Little Miss had decided that my bed was better, got up there (its a little high) and SPRAWLED across it. She remembered her blanket and teddies of course.

Another time this is what I found on my way up to bed......

As you can see we are having a few difficulties getting Haylei used to to a "big" bed.

Nana's Five

2007-10-21T11:41:00.000-04:00

Here is the photo that my mommy asked for from the Thanksgiving weekend. The only picture that she specifically asked for was one of her five grand-babies. Here it is mom. Not the greatest but they are all together and looking in the same direction. It's not at me, mind you, but it IS in the same direction.