So we got back home late on Monday night. A LONG trip with 3 young kids. And we're doing it all again 3 weeks from tomorrow - eek!

It was good to be home, it really was. There are things that will never change about Ontario, though. We will always be annoyed by Hal's family no matter how great they can be when they want to be. My mom will always be whiny about not spending enough time with me, making me feel like she really doesn't like my kids very much (mainly because they prevent her from spending time with me... sigh...) We have some good friends, who really care, and some hangers on that are just there well, because.

We went to see friends from church on Friday night, who had several other friends and their kids over as well. It was so great. I honestly just came out of their house that night on a high. I rarely feel that loved and wanted by people outside my immediate family. It's nice to spend time with other people our age, with kids the same age as ours, who are also professional people (and I don't mean that as snobbily as it sounds, but there are different challenges depending on your career choices, too). Church was great, too. It honestly felt like we'd never left, except for the number of people coming up to us. It was funny how many people asked if we were back for good. Leah and Ian went into the nursery that morning without even looking back, which is amazing, because every time we've tried to go to church since we moved here, they've FLIPPED OUT if I tried to leave them in the nursery. It's been six months, so there's no way that they remembered it (especially Ian), so all I can think is that they must have just realized it was home, somehow.

Saturday was interesting, to say the least. I took Millie to see her BFF from down the street. That was ok. I left Hal with Leah and Ian at his parents' place. His mom drove him nuts, the water wasn't working (the ENTIRE day) but at least the little guys got some sleep. That night there was a HUGE dinner (around 25 people) for us, which I enjoyed, but it was kind of disorganized and by the time that I got to eat there was barely any food left. Sigh. Oh well, better for my diet anyway :) It was nice to see the people who were there, but it's hard trying to talk to that many people, especially when you're chasing after two toddlers and trying to be sure they don't get themselves into trouble in a house that's essentially a construction zone right now.

Nobody slept particularly well the whole time, so I'm still trying to get the kids back on schedules, and trying to get caught up on sleep myself.

It was weird - while we were in Ontario, it just kind of felt like we'd never left, and yet I didn't really believe that I was actually there. When we got back here, it was good to be "home", but it just felt bizarre at the same time - like I wasn't sure what was real anymore. I hope this all gets resolved soon. I've come to the conclusion that although I love to travel, and I hope to see as much of the world as I can, I want a home base to always go back to. I'm not meant to live in foreign places - just visit them for pure enjoyment.

I hope this made sense - I've been meaning to write it all week, but I'm still so tired I can barely think straight. I'll try and write something later that might actually make sense :)

I'm HOME!!!

Sad when a hotel in your hometown feels more like home than your house.

So... Saturday afternoon suddenly people were outside blowing the leaves and then mowing the grass. We were somewhat perturbed, given that a) Leah and Ian were napping, and b) we hadn't asked anyone to do this.

Turns out the landlady called for them to come. We made SURE he said that she was paying, but Hal still called her to confirm and tell her that we didn't appreciate not having any warning. Ian ended up waking up early from his nap and was cranky the rest of the day.

So, the lawn is all nicely mowed.

Today we have about 10 inches of snow. Gotta love irony :D

I hate renting. I hate it with a passion that burns in my very soul (wow - haven't used THAT one in a while!)

Last week the couple that rents one of the "guest cottages" on this property told us that the landlady had called and said she was coming either Wednesday or Thursday. I cleaned like crazy, even though I'd heard before that she was coming and she didn't show up. But she finally showed up on the Thursday afternoon - only giving me a 1/2hr's notice (which is illegal, I believe). I could tell she thought the house was a mess. Gee, I have 3 kids, including 2 toddlers who make tornados look like gentle breezes... what a shock!

She asked about who we'd had doing the lawn (it's huge and we don't have the time or resources to do it ourselves) and I said we'd had her guy doing it, but when we found out he was charging twice as much as we'd been led to believe we cancelled the service. This was the end of August and the lawn hasn't been cut since then. It's not exactly gorgeous, but it's just shaggy more than anything. I mean, it's NOVEMBER for Pete's sakes!

Yesterday her realtor called. Because we found this place at the last minute, she was also our realtor, which is not an ideal situation, but it had worked out all right at the time. She said that Mrs. G (the 75-year-old landlady) had called her all upset because the grass was "up to her waist" and so L, the realtor, asked if this was true. I told her that it was unequivocally NOT true. It is MAYBE 6-7 inches long at this point. I asked if she meant the gardens, which were in a complete mess when we got here, and I wasn't about to pay for landscapers to fix HER mess. L said no, Mrs G had said the grass.

On top of that, L said that Mrs. G felt it was OUR responsibility to have the chimney and stoves cleaned if we wanted to use them this winter. Bull! They're part of the damn heating system. I don't know what we're going to end up doing, but this has just pissed both Hal and I off immensely. We already wanted to go home. Now I think we've decided that as soon as Hal can get a GOOD job at home we're out of here. I just don't care anymore. His company can just try and get the moving expenses out of us. We can stay here and go broke, or go home where he can get a good job, and I can actually WORK if I need/want to. I just told Hal that we're not going home to just any job. It has to be a good one, to at least make some part of this experience worthwhile.

Blech. I am NEVER renting again... I seem to recall saying that after we bought our first house... I just hope we don't have problems getting a mortgage when we go back and end up having to wait because he'll be starting a new job. Blech. I hate money. Blech.

Did I say blech?

When I was in high school, a lot of people watched Degrassi, but no one admitted it. Still makes me laugh.

I watched the first few episodes of the new Degrassi, to see the old gang, but never really got into it after that. Since I've been down here (where apparently it's like a cult show and these new kids get mobbed LOL) I've gotten addicted to the stupid show. I recognized part of the U of T campus in an episode tonight and got far too excited.

Damn I need to go home. 12 more sleeps :)

When Millie was about 3, and I was working for the Evil Accounting Firm (hereafter to be known as EAF) I made her a book called "Millie's ABC's". I used the colour printer at work to print it off and had the printing house across the street laminate and bind it for me. She always loved it.

I've finally been going through all of the boxes we still have left (and there are a LOT) and last weekend I found it, much to Millie's excitement.

This morning when I came into the family room to tell them that breakfast was ready, I found Millie and Leah sitting on the couch together, Millie reading her ABC book to Leah, the same way I used to read it to her.

Makes a Mama's heart melt :)

Random Thoughts from Tonight

1. Went to the gym after the kids were in bed. It's a long drive, so hard to convince myself to do it, but I really should go more often.

2. I was watching Hannity & Combes on the Cardio Theatre (this is one way that the Y here completely has it over the Y I used to go to at home) and they were talking ad nauseum about Hillary Clinton. I find it interesting how polarizing she is, but what I absolutely could not believe was the conservative woman (I have no idea who she is because I'm not a big Fox News watcher - surprise, surprise!) saying that Hillary Clinton broke the first rule of feminism because she took her husband's last name. Hello? Does anyone remember the outcry when Bill Clinton became president and the First Lady had a DIFFERENT last name? For Pete's sakes! You can't have it both ways people!

3. I had a lot more thoughts... but now I'm tired... crap :)

Oh, and thanks to a friend mentioning it, comments are now enabled for everyone, not just those with Google accounts :)

So much for updating every day :)

I'm doing better. It's hard, a daily battle, but things are back in control, I guess. I think that being here has stressed me out more than I ever would have thought possible. So many people think this should be the most exciting thing we've ever done, but really, I'm so far out of my element it's not even funny. There is very little that I, Miss Type A, can control here. But I have 3 kids to worry about now, and they need me to NOT be that person anymore.

Anyway, we're going home in a few weeks time. It's only for a few days, but I'm hoping it will be a chance to recharge. My mom has kindly booked us a hotel, rather than all 5 of us having to bunk with our parents in places that aren't really meant for large numbers of guests. We won't get to spend a lot of time with any one person, but it'll be nice to be home. Sounds like we'll be going home again over Christmas, too.

I'll try and do more of a real update soon, but not tonight. I'm watchin' "Heroes" from last night :)