Still Searching...

Sunday evening my Darling Babygirl came to me.

"Mommy, can we have a talk?"

Ohmigod, here we go, what is it, WHAT IS IT?? 

"Sure honey, have a seat.  What would you like to talk about?"

"Well, can I walk to school with my friends from now on?"

"But, but...I thought you like walking to school together.  Hmmm, except for when I sing."  LOL

Babygirl rolling eyes...

"AAAHHH, no singing!"  smiles  "Mom, about that..."

Mom, since when did she start calling me Mom, I think I like Mommy better!

"Um, I haven't said anything so far, cuz I know you like it, but..."

"But what??"

"I'd kind of like to walk with my friends is all."

sniffle (from me)

"Ok honey, let's go over the safety stuff then."



*SIGH*  I just HAD to raise her to be an independant, well adjusted, self sufficient and confident individual.  What was I thinking!?

And so, I'm back.  Here I'd been blaming the internets, my connection and it was my computer instead.  I took it in, got it back, still couldn't go online for more than a moment or two, took it in again, got it back, and it still isn't quite right.  At least I can go online now and I'm not giving my computer up again as long as I can do that!

Now I must go about the business of catching up!  I've missed you all terribly, and hope you've all been faring well!

And now I'm off to read my little blog missing heart out...

Overheard whilst awaiting Babygirl after school by her classroom.  I think they're about her age.  It seemed out of the blue, but I probably only caught the very end.  I'm curious as to what led up to this point.

"Oh, like ew!"

"Did you really see it?"

"Yeah.  I'd never kiss a lesbian, they're gross!"

"I KNOW, they're SO gross!"

"They have all kinds of diseases I heard."

"So did you REALLY see them kissing??"

"Ok, I guess not, but it's still gross."

"I think so too.  They DO have diseases.  If you kiss one you'll die."

...me, because I simply couldn't help it...  "So what makes you think that they all have diseases?"

Girls looking shocked that someone overheard them....

"My Mom says."

Lovely. 

*sigh*

To one and all of my blogging friends, I'd just like to say...

Using Mosha's idea this morning.  While I have a lot on my mind, they are things I'd rather not think too deeply about at the moment and so a memelicious day it is.

I'll leave it to you to decide how accurate they are...

You Would Be a Pet Fish

Relaxed and laid back, you prefer to sit back and observe what's going on around you. You are secretly very wise and intelligent, but few people take the time to learn about you. You don't mind if the world doesn't understand you. You're having enough fun trying to understand the world. Why you would make a great pet: You're peaceful and nice to be around, but not very demanding Why you would make a bad pet: Let's face it... the only person you're truly interesting to is yourself What you would love about being a fish: Swimming around aimlessly without a care in the world What you would hate about being a fish: Being used as bait or food for bigger fish

You Are Disturbingly Profound

You're contemplative, thoughtful, and very intense. Taking time to figure out the meaning of life is a priority for you. Because you're so introspective, you often react in ways that surprise people. No one can really understand how you are on the inside... and that disturbs them.

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are intense and rebellious. You are intelligent... but in a very unconventional way. You are curious about the world. You love doing something new. In fact, you enjoy taking risks and doing things most people would shy away from. You are very physical. It's likely that you're athletic, but not into team sports. You have the soul of an artist. Beauty and harmony are important to you.

I actually have many more of the sunrise, but they were the same scene, the sun was just brighter...or not.



Canada Place, where the cruise ships dock.

Borrowed, ever so gently, from Lili...

1. How long have you been a Mom?
* 11 years

2. How many children call you Mommy?
* One

3. Girl, boy, or both?
* Girl

4. Did you know what you were having?
* Technically no, but I had a (correct) feeling.

5. How old were you when you became a Mom?
* 29

6. How long were you in labor?
* 4 hours

7. What’s your favorite thing about being a Mom?
* The hugs, the kisses, the cuddles, the "I love you Mommy"'s

8. What’s your least favorite thing?
* Knowing that I won't always be able to protect her

9. Do you want more kids?
* Would love to!

10. Do you plan on having more soon?
* Alas, no  :-(

11. How many times have you been pee’d on?
* Couldn't keep track, too many to count

12. Barfed on?
* See above. 

13. Is your child named after anyone?
* Middle name, yes

14. How did you come up with their name?
* Just a name I always liked from the time I was little

15. When your child gets in trouble, who is the bad guy?
* Usually me

16. What is the longest you have been away from your children?
* 4 days

17. Bedtime routine?
* A little reading, a little cuddle, and lights out by 9

18. Are your toes painted?
* Yes

19. Last movie you saw in the theater?
* I think it was called Spiderwick Chronicles, Babygirl picked it so I don't remember the exact name

20. One thing you will not (did not) give up just because you’re a mom?
* Me, and definately a sense of humour

21. One thing you did give up now that you’re a mom…
* Time

22. Best Mom perk…
* “I love you Mommy!”, accompanied by a huge bear hug

23. Snack, you sneak bites from your child?
* Sure do

24. When the kid is napping, you are (were)…
* Napping also

25. Where is your child(ren) now?
* At school

26. Favorite place to buy maternity clothes (was)?
* All mine were borrowed, or from my husband's drawer, or just my own "regular" clothes, slightly modified

27. If I could do it over…
* I would have tried for a second almost immediatly after instead of listening to the doctors

28. Did it turn out the way you expected?
* No, even better

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in Canada, although we're having our dinner at Mom's today, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my blogging friends a very happy one whether they be in Canada or not.






I do have much to be thankful for. Unfortunately I haven't the time or the privacy at the moment to relay the reasons why and wherefore.


(I would also like to apologize for my tardiness at posting the rest of my "Cruisin'" photos.  Again, I haven't had my usual amount of alone time and privacy.  I will, however, get to it lickey split.)

Stolen (ssshhh), from Darling Lili, and it's pretty darn accurate I'd say.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Ingrid!

 

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Just a super (really very super) short note for today....now what was it Lili said about bunnies?....I don't remember....

Anyway...

I won't be around posting (which I haven't done a lot of lately anyway), or commenting for the next couple of days.  I'm going on a little two day cruise.  It will be my first time on a cruise ship, so I'm really quite excited.  I plan on taking photos and telling you all about it when I get back.

So on that note, I will wish you all a very happy friday, and a wonderful weekend ta boot!

Over and out.

Still interrupting our regularly scheduled programming...

BFF1 came to stay for the weekend and we got into the daiquiris and Pat Benatar and well, I'm just too gone for posting.  Just thought I'd let y'all know that I'll be back at least after the loooong weekend with a continuation of Trip photos, whatever part it is that comes next, and probably BFF visiting photos, if you can handle it!  More and more photos that is!  (did I really say y'all, seriously, I dunno, but I don't actually talk like that)

WOOT!

Anyhoo my darling blogging buddies...I'm having a grrrreat time with my GRRRRL from waaay back, but I'm finally off to bed!  I don't know how much of this fun I can handle.    :-P

Carry on...   



/

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming of Trip Photos, temporarily, until I figure out how Photobucket works. I've used my limit on Flickr so I'll have to upload the rest somewheres else.

BUT...

This little photo break gives me the opportunity to wish a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our wonderfully dearest Sir Buffalo, and our delightfully quirky WhirlyMan. Do you think we'll get to see WhirlyMan's special red number in honour of his birthday (sorry Lili!). ;-)

So here it is...

Wishing you both only the bestest, loveliest, most wonderful 

things on your Birthday, and really, just always. Enjoy!! 


And in honour of your birthday's, I'll be making a lemon meringue pie tomorrow! Well, except that I don't like meringue, so it probably won't have any on it. I'll let you know how it is. Hee! :-D

  

Hmmm, I'm beginning to realize that I have a lot of photos. Already up to Part 3 and still more to come.

Ah well, on to the Pacific Undersea Gardens. Another place I quite enjoyed, but for a very different reason than the others. The bottom part of the building is under water with large glass windows, leaving it cool, dark, and muffled, giving it an other worldly feel. The stairwells to the bottom were narrow, very steep metal tubes, which threw off my balance and perspective.

We never did see the dive show, we arrived halfway through it, so we just waited until it was over and everyone else left. We were the only ones in there then, it was so incredibly quiet, adding to the other worldly atmosphere.

Anyway, moving along...


That's it to the left of the photo, literally on the inner harbour.




These next photos are taken from behind glass, obviously, so are a little blurry.

Here we have the shy octopus pushed right up against the glass. I guess this one enjoyed his fame. This photo is particularly blurry, but I had to get him just because octopi are freaky, crazy cool.





I particularly liked this one, simply because it doesn't look quite real to me. It kind of looks like a natural history exhibit I saw in a museum once upon a time.




They call this handsome devil a Wolf Eel, although he's not really an eel at all, but rather an elongated fish. I'm sure you care, but I found it interesting, I always thought they were eels. In any case, a face only a mother could love! (or maybe not)




Nothing all that interesting about this one, but I liked his colouring. He was in the touchy feely pool, with all manner of slimy creatures you could touch.




That's all for today. Tomorrow, Trip Photos - Part 4 (hmmm, not sure, maybe random photos?). 

I hope you're all not bored to death yet. Really, I'm almost done with the pics!! :-) 

Moving on to part 2, Butterfly Gardens. I absolutely loved it there, so peaceful. Not nearly as extensive as the Vancouver Aquarium's tropical garden, but very calming all the same. 





And there you have the Butterfly Gardens. I apologize for the sheer volume of photos, I have SO many more, it was just so hard to choose.

Tomorrow, Trip Photos - Part 3 (Undersea Gardens)  

Mmmmm...

Okanagan cherries...

Simply the best.

No, really, THE best.

Darling Husband really must stop pruning trees out back.  They're taking their vicious revenge on me!  

ACHOOOO!!

Strange thing that.  I was never allergic to anything until after my 30th year.  Starting with just the sniffles and a general feeling of malaise, it's only gotten worse every year since.  Odd.

Or maybe notsomuch.  My Dad was never allergic to anything either, and we ALWAYS had pets, I don't think we were ever without a cat in the household for as far back as I can remember.  Round about the time I turned 24, or so, one of their cats went missing, and the other was hit by a car.  Now he can't be anywhere near a cat without incurring a MAJOR allergic reaction.

Anyway...

Carry on...







 

The weekend started out well enough I suppose.  Darling Husband and Babygirl went camping, I had the house all to myself, and it was so sunny and hot.  I needed some time to myself.  I didn't do much, went for a drive in the sun, with the windows down and the music blaring, so nice.  Some shopping was done too, nothing like a little retail therapy to soothe a wounded soul.

But then the call came...

"What's Babygirl's carecard number?"

"Um...what?  WHY!?"

"She had a little accident, we're at the hospital."

Words a mother hopes never to hear.  Frantically digging through my purse, and trying to get information as to her condition as well I fair enough almost broke into tears.  To say I've been completely wound lately would be an understatement, and a story for another time.

As it turns out, she was riding her bike, as in bicycle, down the gravel road, hit a rock, lost control, hit the young fellow she was riding with and went *ss over tea kettle into the road.  When Darling Husband came running up she was just picking the gravel out of her flesh and she looked up and said, "Daddy, I can't move my arm."  He took one look and thought to himself, "Well I know THAT isn't right!"

He relayed to me that when he saw it he felt his stomach turn and his lunch try to exit from whence it came.  He kept it only by virtue of knowing the importance of appearing calm and nonchalant to his Baby.  It looked like she was letting her hand hang loose from her wrist, except that it was hanging from three inches above her wrist.  He soon realized that the large lump on the top of her forearm was not swelling but was indeed the bone poking the skin up.  After his good buddy ran all the way back to camp to get the truck they departed and drove hell bent for Princeton hospital, roughly a half hour away.

He had called me after she'd been seen by the doctor and x-ray'd and confirmed that yes it was broken.  At which point he looked at the doctor with a yeah, AND??  expression.  The yeah, and, part was ok, now take her to emergency, to which he replied, "Aren't we IN emergency!??"  The doctor in this "hospital" suggested he take her to Penticton hospital.  He decided being that the drive to Penticton and the drive home were roughly the same, he'd just gumboot them home and take her to emergency here, and let me just say, he made very good time!  After the doctor sedated and splinted her, they were on their way.  At least they did THAT much! 

For the next three and a half hours I worried and waited, paced and raged, so frustrated.  Frustrated that they didn't DO anything for my Baby and frustrated that I couldn't do anything for her.  I couldn't even talk to her because Darling Husband's cell doesn't have reception once you leave Princeton until you hit this side of Hope.  I know that there's nothing I could have actually done for her, but it was tortuous, her being there hurt, and me being here.  I've always been there when she's sick or hurt and it just killed me I couldn't even talk to her.

He called when they were five minutes away and I met them in the driveway to head off the the next emergency.  We arrived at approximately 9:30pm.  It's absolutely ridiculous.  You go to the initial reporting station and, well, report...then you wait, and wait.  Then you get called to triage and give them the details...and you wait some more.  After which you get called to the chart area, where you give them more details, the same details, and you wait yet again...and you wait...and wait.  FINALLY we were called through the big green doors and were escorted into pediatric emergency, you guessed it, to wait again!

In any case...

When we finally saw the doctor, he took the x-rays Darling Husband had from Princeton Hospital and went behind the desk to look at them.  I was sitting right in front of the desk and was listening to them talking and my throat started to get tighter and tighter.  Darling Husband told me later that the doctor was grimacing and the two nurses that came to see visibly shivered.  They had been telling us through our whole wait not to give Babygirl any food or water just in case and it was becoming more of a fear that she would need surgery.

In the end we were lucky.  The pediatric doctor made a phone call and as it turns out the orthopeadic surgeon hadn't left the hospital yet, and so we just had to wait...again.  When we finally met him I felt so much better.  He was very matter of fact and calming, and he was good with Babygirl.  He explained what made this a "bad" or difficult break, and what he was going to do about it.  I breathed a sigh of relief when he said they would try without surgery first.  I guess that if it had of been someone of adult age who was done with their growing, surgery would have been necessary, but because of her age, there was a good chance she could do without it.

And then we were left...to wait again while they tried to find a bed for her.  The waiting was getting excruciating and Babygirl never made a peep or a complaint other than to say, "Mommy, I'm kind of hungry."  

This time it didn't take long once they had a course of action and a bed was found in much shorter order than I had expected.  You know, Babygirl has never even had a blood test and now I was watching as they hooked her up to heart monitors, oxygen machines, and iv's.  All the while trying to act like everything was sunshine and roses because my Babygirl was beginning to look frightened and was looking at me to ascertain if she should be scared or not.  When the doctor returned he asked us to leave the room and she looked absolutely terrified.  You have no idea how hard it was to walk away from her with that look on her face.  Actually I suppose anyone with children does know.

In the end they knocked her out and did what they needed to do, and she is now the proud owner of a full arm, blue fibreglass cast.  And in the end we were walking out of the hospital at sometime shortly after 3am.

She's only now starting to get somewhat back to normal.  The first night we had to wake her every two hours to make sure she still recognized us and where she was, and WHO she was.  She had to be supervised for the next 24 hours because apparently the type of aneasthetic they used stays in your system and can knock you wonky unexpectedly.  It can also cause nightmares so she's been sleeping with me.  

She's doing well now albeit with some pain and comfort issues.  And I guess because of the kind of break it is she'll have to be x-ray'd every week and have a new cast every couple.  Apparently even when the arm is immobilized this kind is very easy to knock out of place again.  It does this odd twitching thing quite often which she finds a tad disturbing, moreso than the pain even, I think.

My poor Baby!  She managed to have the type of break that would leave even some of the most hearty to writhing on the ground, with not a tear shed.  Endured a 3 1/2 hour drive home only to wait in another hospital emergency ward for 5 1/2 hours, absolutely exhausted, hungry, thirsty and in pain, without making a peep of complaint, not being able to step foot into the comfort of her own home or bed until 12 1/2 hours after it happened.  She's such a little trooper!

I am saddened and disgusted at the state of our medical system and could get on a complete rant.  Believe me, when we arrived home that night, or rather morning, I sat down to write as all the anger and frustration bubbled around in my gut.  As it turns out, I fell completely asleep sitting at my desk.  

Yes, I could rant and carry on.  But for now, I'm just relieved.




  **I promised details, but I bet you didn't expect THAT much detail!!**


 

Hmmm...

I dunno...

Do you think whales pass gas?

Just wondering...