With the Canadian dollar being so high, Mr. Sass and I went to the states to do a little shopping. We got some great deals! He got a couple new things to wear. Little baby got lots too! It's not so bad when the GAP is having a 50% off sale! I think we bought one of everything that was neutral. Fun times!

Although something occurred to me. The first time Exile was out here, he took home a loonie and a toonie. At the time, he thought he was taking a 'cut' since our dollar was lower. Who knew that with a bit of time, he'd be making money?! And you laugh at our rainbow, animal money. Ha!

Clearly this is important...

Damn the people who make those Mini Wheat Commercials. The jingles are catchy and get stuck in my head...

Mix that with the Christmas carol "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Cotton-Eye Joe" that I've been singing ALL day, and I'm about ready to be committed.

Apparently I've been a little neglectful!
It seems things have been keeping me rather busy lately. Every night there is something I have to do or somewhere I have to be! When I finally get to sit down, I crash right out. The good thing is, I've been sleeping really well. Sleeping like the dead some nights!
Sadly, not much is going on:

* We had our "Meet the Creature" night at school this week. Nothing like being at work from 8 am until after 9pm and on my feet. There has been such a nice night breeze every night, but go figure that there would be nothing that night. God, was it ever hot. Attractive. My feet swelled up nicely too. The joys.

* I'm heading off to do a little cross border shopping today while our dollar is doing so well. Hopefully we can score some good deals and smuggle it back across the border without having to pay anything!

* I'm going to the doctor's appointments now every 2 weeks. It's really set in now that this is going to happen soon. Third trimester now. Wow.

* Starting our prenatal classes at the beginning of October too.

See..told you. Nothing too earth shattering. Hope life is more exciting for you =P

A student asked me yesterday, "When are you going to lay your baby?"
Like I'm some sort of chicken.
I laughed until the tears ran down my cheek (I call this a "Hella" laugh. She has the best laugh!)

Now I'm questioning the whole educational system.

A little perspective

Mr. Sass has an issue with putting the couch in front of the window in our family room. It would look way better there (it's a pretty big window), but it's something we 'argue' about all the time. I had some friends and their husbands over on Saturday for dinner and it wasn't too long before the guys decided they needed to go look at cars at a local dealerships. As soon as they were gone, like the good girlfriends they are, they helped me switch the room around (okay - so I kinda just stood there and they did all the moving of furniture). When Mr. Sass came home, he was a little shocked and threatened to move everything back as soon as people left, knowing I can't do it (right now) by myself. There were playful jabs at each other during dinner and he pretended (mind you, there was a little truth in there) to be pissed. The girls didn't want me in trouble (no worries - I wouldn't be for those who don't know the sense of humour around here!) and one of them had stated to Mr. Sass

K - Please don't be mad. You can't beat her anyway, she's pregnant.
Mr. Sass - That just means I can't hit her in the stomach.

Lovely eh? I feel so loved.

**Belly pics over at the other blog "A Pea in the Pod"...just because you asked :)

I can't believe it's been 19 years.
It feels like it was only yesterday. I miss you terribly. I miss hearing you call me "Dolly" and taking me out early with you Saturday mornings. That was our time. We would listen to Cyndi Lauper and Twisted Sister in the truck. You told me silly stories and jokes and listened to every word I said. I knew I was special to you. You always made me feel special and loved. It doesn't really get easier with time does it? When I let my mind wander to those memories I get such a terrible ache in my heart. I wish you were still here with us. I wish you were there see me graduate, to walk me down the aisle, and I wish you would be able to be here to see the birth of your grandchild. I wish I could have those Saturdays back.
I guess I'll settle for those sweet memories, the time we did have, and knowing I have a special guardian angel to watch over me...

Haiku Friday: Work and body parts....

Survived the first week,
but four days felt like seven,
in this hot weather.

Hot weather and work
combined have given me some
pretty swollen feet.

New fascination!
Watching my belly jump, move
Cool but freaky too.

The first 2 days have been good. I'm feeling dead tired though, as my body adjusts to being back in working mode. You'd think I'd crash out at night...but alas last night had other plans.

We were at his parents house for a going away dinner, and I admittedly ate too many rich foods (home cooked Mennonite meal...mmmmm). I was up once to go the bathroom and was feeling a little heartburn (or what I think is heartburn...I've never had it before). I took some Tums and went back to bed. Just as I drift off again I feel Mr. Sass jump out of bed and run to the bathroom. I must have fallen asleep because apparently he was in there awhile before I was awaken by the turning on of all the lights. Seems he was awoken to a severe bloody nose. It bled all down his face, arms, chest, the sheets...and then while he ran to the bathroom, left a drip trail on the floor! So a cleaning we go..at 2:30 in the morning. He's feeling woozy from the blood loss so he goes down to get a snack and I ask for water. By this time, I'm feeling this 'heartburn' in a major way and am propping myself up on no less than 6 pillows. We lay awake laughing at the state of the two of us. We feel like such losers. We both drift off as a major thunderstorm hits and we once again have to get up to close windows. The dog decided NOW that he doesn't like thunder (it was rather loud) and needs to be close to us. I think I finally go to sleep just before my alarm went off.
Yet, I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.
I better get some sleep tonight though...

Well, I guess I'm ready. I'm dealing with the 'end' of summer and getting back to work. The classroom is ready, my bag is ready...I'm just waiting for my mental state to catch up. I'm excited of course, but it's hard to let summer vacation go. I'm eager to start fresh with a new group of kids and try my hand at this split grade level teaching this year (2/3). My biggest worry right now is that I have minimal clothes appropriate for work that actually fit. I need to get my butt to a maternity store and find some suitable dress clothes, because I'm guessing that jean capris and flip-flops just won't cut it.
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! I have some friends coming over for a bbq and to check our our newly done (and slightly renovated) family room. To anyone with kids or who is going back to school themselves: Good Luck. A special shout out to Hella's son who's entering SK!! He totally rocked JK, and I'm sure he'll tear up SK real good too. What an awesome kid. No luck needed there, but big hugs and kisses to him!

Waiting for baby spiders

I'm alive.
I've been in to work most days this week trying to out some order to the room and get prepared for Tuesday. I can't believe the summer vacation is over. It just seems to by so quickly! I'm excited for the new year though. It's always nice to start fresh.

The week has been an emotional one though. My friend's father passed away. It's always hard to watch a friend go through such a sad loss and really know just how hard it is. There isn't enough hugs in the world.

Then there is my older brother. He was over at my younger brother's place on Saturday and spent the night. At some point in the night he got bit by something. He's not sure what. On Sunday he thought it was a pimple on his leg and scratched it. To make a long story short, by Monday at lunch he was at work and in a lot of pain. His calf had swelled up almost 3 times it's size and was bright red. Obviously infected. His leg was numb and he was having a hard time walking. He went to the emergency department and he was admitted right away. He spent 2 nights there and then he was sent home with the IV still in his arm and his leg only looking slightly better. He had to return on Wednesday afternoon (a few hours after going home) to get more IV meds and now a nurse comes to the house twice a day to deal with him and he's hooked up to some pump of some sort. Jesus H. Christ. They think it may be blood poisoning, but I don't really know for sure. It's all been crazy!

Mind you, as a good sister, I offered my diagnosis while my brother was held up in the hospital bed. I figure some nasty spider bit him and then crawled into his leg to lay eggs and that's why it's so swollen. Soon, he will wake up in the middle of the night to some kind of ticking/hissing sound and his calf will burst open and 2 million little spiders will crawl out.

So now I'm waiting for some spiders so I can finally say "I told you so!"

Deep Thought...

Are people who live in China, told that if they dig long and deep enough, they'll eventually get to Canada?

There is this commercial for Nature Valley's (Cranberry) Almond granola Bars. Two female deer (doe?) are watching a hiker eat a granola bar and marveling at how yummy it looks. It's a cute commercial until the announcer comes over and declares that the granola bar is covered in "creamy nut butter."

Am I just a pervert or does this sound a little off? I know people are looking for a little extra protein in their diets, but not everyone wishes to swallow that...although the addition of nuts and cranberries may make it more appealing to some. Either way, I'm looking to see if I can get a tour of their factory. I want to see just how they pull this off...

This is a juicy one!

A new radio station to consider?

The call letters KUNT have been mistakenly given for a Florida based radio station. Apparently, these letters were issued after another blunder: KCUF-FM in Aspen Colorado (read it backwards).
Someone is clearly not paying attention, or they have a great sense of humour. I just wonder who finally figured out something was fishy? If the more conservative listeners 'tune in' to the crass meaning of the letters KUNT, things could get hairy!

Random tidbits...

Nothing like a good charlie horse to wake you up at 6 am, after spending several hours trying to actually get to sleep. I finally gave up and decided to start on some tasks around the house. The baby's room has it's first coat of paint now!

I went to the horse show yesterday to help out and watch all the girls from the barn compete. They cleaned up!! Most of the top ribbons went to the girls! There was one accident though. A young girl from another barn was having some difficulty with her horse. He reared up and she came crashing down. The horse lost his footing and crashed down on top of her legs. She was knocked out cold. By the time the ambulance arrived she was conscience and was moving her arms and legs. They strapped her down to be safe and took her away. Her parents weren't at the show and they were desperately trying to track them down. Keep her in your prayers please!

We also celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday this weekend. It's always nice to spend some time with them. I am lucky to have such great in-laws when I think about all the crap and arguments that other people deal with!

Sadly, this is the last 'real' week of summer vacation, as next week I must go in and begin to set up my classroom for this year! I seem to be packing a lot of stuff into this last week though!

On that note...time to see if I can put a second coat on the walls. Or take a nap.
The nap might win.

I've been blog lazy these days. Maybe I've been too busy baking and cleaning things. I've been determined to clean out every nook and cranny and purge stuff we no longer need or use. I can't be bothered to have a garage sale, so I just opt to send most of it to a women's shelter (the nicer stuff!) or the Salvation Army. I even managed to part with no less then a dozen pairs of shoes. I'll be around again soon...

I'm a Master Baker!

I went and bought farm fresh peaches, and blueberries and then grabbed some strawberries and apples.
When I got home this afternoon I decided to bake. I made a peach crumble, a strawberry-blueberry pie and apple pumpkin bread. I hardly ever bake (mostly at Christmas for other people!) but I went to town today! Funny thing is, I don't really want to eat any of it. It smells really good, but the thought of eating it doesn't appeal to me. Mind you eating the rest of the berries does! So if you're in the area, this pie ain't going to eat itself!

I wonder if this is what Johnny Cash was talking about?

Met a friend for lunch,
Waste of lunch and money,
Both of us got sick.

That night she's better,
Toilet and I? Still close friends,
And this was Tuesday!

I'll spare you details,
I should be on the mend soon,
Staying hydrated...

Check out the Haiku Buckaroo Contest over at My Mommy's Place! There's still time to enter!

The Toes of Hoes...Part ?? HNT

More Toes!
It's been almost a year since I posted some toe pictures. This time the toes are of me and my friends at my friend J's wedding back on July 28th.
Bonus marks if you can pick my toes out (Hint: I took the picture).

Happy HNT!

In yo face sucka!

I took a very big step.
Almost everyone knows of my insane fear of bees. I'm sure the screaming and running away gives it away if you don't know.
The other night I was home alone and cooking dinner. At some point between running out to the BBQ and back into the house a wasp got in and had perched it's icky little self on the kitchen window. I was freaking. Mr. Sass wasn't around to kill it. No friends to rescue me. Shit.
I had to put my big girl knickers on and kill it myself.
And kill it I did.
After it was clearly dead I had to keep hitting it to make sure. For the record, I screamed the whole time I was killing the poor bastard. The neighbours probably wondered what the hell I was doing...
I just couldn't scrape up it's remains so I left it on the window sill until Mr. Sass got home. He swept it up, but not before I took a picture.
Shut up. People take pictures of their catches and kills all the time. So what if it's only a bee to you. This is victory for me!

Sassy: 1, Wasp: 0

What's in a (middle) name?

Mackey tagged me with the Middle Name Meme!

Here are the rules:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged,

and to read your blog.

My middle name is Marie.

M - Mommy. I can't wait to become a mommy! It's something I've wanted for so long. I can't imagine a better 'job'.

A - Anal. I can be quite anal about certain things (like how I want a certain thing done), but I bite my tongue because I hate confrontation. I'd be more likely to leave something until later and then 'do it right.' I know that's bad. Also, as much as Exile may insist, I'm not into anal sex.

R - Reliable.

I - Imaginary Animal. As a kid I had an imaginary Unicorn that lived in my room. We'd go on adventures at night when I was suppose to be sleeping...yes I had friends. Cut a 6 year old some slack eh!

E - Educated. Not just book smarts. Mama didn't raise no fool.