The Story of a Table

Last night our new dining room table arrived!

I ordered it 5 months ago.

I was told when I ordered it at the end of April that it would take 8-10 weeks.  We didn't need a dining room table, it is more of a formal dining area, I figured as long as I had it for Thanksgiving dinner I would be happy.  8-10 weeks put us mid July and plenty of time to find a sideboard to compliment the table.

Mid July came and went, no table.  I called and was told it was delayed and would arrive the first week of September.  No big deal.  I didn't really need it until the first part of October.  I continued to wait.

After the long weekend in September I started to wonder why I hadn't heard anything and called the store again.  They contacted the manufacturer of the table and was told it was getting on the truck that Friday and would be in Calgary in 2 weeks bringing us to last week.

The saga continues.

I told the salesperson that I wouldn't actually believe it until it was on the truck until it was loaded so I called back the Monday after it was supposed to ship.  It didn't ship.  I was told that it would ship that Friday.

This is when I officially started to panic.  

James thought I should cancel the order all together.  I insisted that we wait since I did not want to start the process of finding another table I liked.  Plus, if we ordered another table we would just have to wait 8-10 weeks again for it to arrive again.  Wasn't it easier to just wait the extra week or 2 for a table that we both loved?

If only I had known then how the rest of the story would play out.

I called the store the following Friday at noon and they confirmed that our table was loaded.  Thank God.  They said it would probably be 2 weeks and my table would be delivered immediately.  Finally.

After only a week they called and said my table was in, I paid the balance (less delivery!) and the table was scheduled to be delivered this past Tuesday.  I was thrilled.  Jasmin texted me to tell me the table had arrived and I told her to send me a picture once they left.

Instead, she texted that the delivery guy wanted to talk to me. #nevergoodnews

He said the table had been delivered without a base, i.e. no legs, just the wood top.  I told him to load the table up and take it back.  I was done.  I didn't want to deal with these delays anymore.  He told me he was just the delivery guy and that he couldn't take it back.  Instead he left the table top boxed up on the floor of my dining room.

I called the store ready to explode.  I closed my office door because I knew I was going to yell and maybe even swear.  Lucky for the manager he wasn't there.  The young gal that I talked to followed up on my table and called me back 30 minutes later saying the base was located in Calgary and wasn't still out east like I feared.  I breathed a sigh of relief and scheduled a follow up deliver for yesterday for them to come with the base and assemble the table.

I got home and was making supper when I thought that maybe I should open the box and see what the table looked like.  It had been 5 months since I'd seen it after all.  I took one look at it and thought that it looked too light.  I called James in and he thought so to.  Again, remember we hadn't seen the table in 5 months.

I called the store to confirm that they had ordered us the walnut table because I wasn't happy with the color.  It wasn't at all what I was expecting or wanting.  She confirmed we ordered walnut.  She asked if there was a sticker on it saying the color and I couldn't find one.  James had to lift the box while I took a photo of the sticker on the bottom side.  I sent that along with a photo of the table to the store.  They confirmed that it was NOT the right table color.  Fawk.

Walnut (what i want), my table, white oak (what i got)

Not only did they deliver the table without the base, they also delivered the wrong one altogether.  I told the manager that if the right table wasn't set up in my living room on Wednesday night he could cancel the order.  I didn't care if he had to strap it on his back and carry it himself.  I was done with dealing with delays and errors and he knew it.

I pulled up after work on Thursday and the delivery truck was already there.  I was half nervous and half excited to see what they were assembling.  One look at the table top and I knew that the right table was finally in its forever home. And this time, they even brought a base!

Upon texting friend she asked if it was worth the wait.  While I really do like the table, I wasn't sure I was ready to say I liked it that much.... Yet!

I am happy that this ordeal is finally over and we once again have a dining room table.  Now to start shopping for the sideboard and I think all of our furniture will finally be ordered!  Then, I will happily go back to clothes shopping. Ha!

A Weekend with my Mom

A few years back my mom and I started a tradition of doing a run together.  It started out with her being my motivation to do an organized run and now it is me that motivates her to continue running.  She has always been my fitness motivation from the time she dragged my brother and I to the aerobics classes to she taught.  She continues to amaze me by joining her local crossfit cult gym where she lifts more than I could ever dream to.

This year we decided to do the Melissa's Road Race in Banff. While it was our first time, it is rumored to be the last one ever so I'm glad we squeezed this run in.  Last year we opted to bring the whole family with us for our one night getaway but this year we decided to keep it just her and I.

We had many laughs.  Starting with my mom wearing her shirt backwards most of the morning from the time she tried on a few things at Lulu.  I didn't even notice until we sat down for lunch and the waitress commented that we had ran in the race.  I took one look at her and noticed immediately that her shirt was backwards.

We didn't only laugh at her, I had a few moments myself.  I may have forgotten which locker was mine and/or my locker code.  I had to get the front desk to open 3 lockers before I found mine.  Not to mention that I forgot my phone in the pocket of the robe that I put in the bin in the change room.  No need to worry, the phone was quickly retrieved after the bin was emptied but before it was sent down for washing.  #closecall

Often when my mom and I spend time together we not only laugh at each other but we also get annoyed.  She was annoyed when I wouldn't go to the hot tub after dinner because I was tired and I was annoyed when she wouldn't go in the morning when I wanted to.  She put up with me checking my phone constantly waiting for the kids teams on Sunday and I put up with her using her flashlight to read the menu at the restaurant.

I am so thankful for this time with my mom.  I don't have my own daughter so these are the only mother daughter trips I will ever have.  I love that we have fitness in common.  She taught me how important exercise is in my life by leading by example.  Good thing she taught me that because she certainly didn't teach me to shop.  I am teaching her a thing or two.

I hope I am just as fit and active as she is when I over 60.  And as long as she is willing to run with me I will keep this tradition of our annual trip going strong.

five on friday: hockey evaluations

Yesterday night we wrapped up 2 weeks of hockey evaluations for the boys with a total of 12 skates between the 2 kids.  This is Cooper's first year of evaluations since he is just starting novice and added to the complexity of getting the kids where they needed to go.  They skated at the same time 3 days!  Yes, the 2 weeks were stressful and busy but we still walked away having learning a few things....

Wearing Uncle Joel's jersey for good luck.

{one} Kids are resilient.  Grady really wanted to move up one more level, but alas it wasn't meant to be.  Every morning he would ask if he moved up and when he didn't he'd be sad for about 5 minutes then move on.

{two} They end up on the right team.  This is our third year of evaluations and at first I was skeptical about the process.  Now having been through it 4 times (between both kids) they really do end up on the right team.  After 5-7 skates they make sure that you get matched with your level.  Yes, a kid can slip through he cracks if they have a few bad skates but for the most part I believe in the system.

{three}Evaluations are easier when you child tries.  For the past 2 years we struggled with the concept of evaluations with Grady.  He wanted to move up but didn't seem to put effort into the evals, like he didn't make the connection that he needed to skate hard to move up.  This year the concept seemed to click.  He went out there and gave it his all.  As a parent, as long as your child is skating their hardest, it doesn't matter where they end up because ultimately they will end up in the right place.  While evals were still stressful, it doesn't even compare the the stress I've felt in previous years wondering if he would end up on the right team.

{four}Tears can be shed.  After a particular skate, Grady got in the car and was upset about his skate and thought he did bad.  Seeing your child upset is the hardest part of this whole process.  He is 9 years old and it seems like it is a lot of pressure for these kids over a 2 week period.  I told him I was proud of him no matter where he ended up and that we would have a great season either way.  I just want him to know that I am proud of him because I am SO proud of him.

{five}Once the teams are formed all is forgotten. Thankfully, once we get our team list and they see some familiar names, all seems to be forgotten.   The good news is that this year there were so many familiar faces in the dressing room that I just know this year is going to be a great season.

The only question that remains is which, if any, team will I manage this year....

Back to School: Picture Day!

Today I am linking up with TBB to talk about school pictures.  The good, the bad, and the ugly. Can I just say that the pictures get worse the older I get?  My theory is that it is hard to make a 5 year old look bad but by the time I reached the 7th grade (by far my worst photo!) it all went down hill.

I start out so cute with the open mouthed smile like celebrities now do in selfies all the time.  The bowl cut bang and the the cute pick dress.

Kindergarten

Moving right along into Grade 1 where it seem that I still have the bowl cut bangs with the added curl and a partial open mouth smile.  I'm not so sure on the blue turtle neck.  Were those ever cool?

Grade 1

Growing up I think that this was my fave school picture.  From the missing tooth grin to the green tunic with the roses and deer.

Grade 2

If I remember correctly, grade three was the year that my Mom forgot it was school pictures but managed to put me in my first communion dress which would hopefully make up for the fact that my hair wasn't styled.  At all.

Grade 3

Jumping forward a few years to grade 7 and I introduce you to my worst school pictures full of reminders that I grew up in the 80s/early 90s.  The scrunchy, the big bangs full of hairspray, and the guess jeans tshirt.

Grade 7

In grade 8, I traded in the big bangs for a big bob and homemade necklaces.  Obviously.

Grade 8

For my first year of high school I apparently thought it would be a good idea to dress like a man.  Also noted as the year I got braces.

Grade 10

Still have braces, still wearing a man's shirt.  I must also add that this was my fave shirt for months.

Grade 11

And finally grade 12, my final school photo.  Braces are off, hair is curled, big smiles and it looks like this was the year that my friends held me down to pluck my eye brows.

Grade 12

I hope you had a good laugh at the progression through my school years, I certainly did.

Now, if you came over here trying to identify the celebrity school pictures I posted on TBB, here they are.

From top left to bottom right:  Justin Beiber, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Aniston, Lauren Graham, Ellen DEgeneres, Justin Timberlake.

Now before you start working for the day, head over to see Deena's school pictures.  I promise you that her hairstyles were as extravagant as mine, maybe more!

My thoughts on.... growing up

When you have a baby, you are in control.  Ultimately, you decide when the baby eats, sleeps, and know every movement that your baby makes.

Then, you go back to work.

You wonder all day what your baby is doing.  What they ate, how long they slept, how many times the pooped (for real!), how much he cried....  You lose a little control.  Even at the ripe 'ol age of 1 my baby had a life without me.

Then, your baby starts school.

They spend their entire day in a classroom full of other kids doing a variety of things that you never hear about.  Especially if you have non-talkers like I do.  I really have to pry out anything about their day.  For the most part we play a little game where everything tells 3 things about their day.  Including the adults.

Then, they want to go to the park by them selves.

When we moved there was a park behind our house and down a path where they did not have to cross a street.  So we allowed them to walk to the park and play for 20ish min before we headed over to check on them. This was huge.  Not only could I not see them, but they weren't even being supervised by an adult.  They aren't babies anymore.

Then, they want to bike to the school park with their friends.

This is where I put my foot down.  You are growing up too fast!  Until you can bike with me and show me that you are safe you can't go.  We set up a few guidelines that he had to meet before he was allowed to go.

1.  He had to know my cell phone number.  He learned it in 15 minutes.

2.  He had to be brave enough to ask an adult to use their phone.

3.  He had to have a plan of what to do if someone got injured or sick.

We let him go once and thankfully he never asked to go again, yet.

My mom always told me little kids, little problems and big kid, big problems.  I am really starting to see this.  In our case, medium kids, medium problems!  I find it hard to let my kids out on their own.  It isn't something that I am used to doing.  I want them to be safe, but I want them to also learn how to be responsible. I feel like we are stuck in this middle zone where sometimes I feel like they are ready and sometimes they aren't.

Independence.  It is learned and we have to let our kids make mistakes and trust them to use the knowledge we gave them.

But it isn't easy.

This week was a new test for us as we sent Grady off to his first sleep away camp.

His bags weighed more than he did.

We packed up everything he could possibly need any more. From a bathing suit and shorts to his winter jacket and rain gear.  He ended up using it all minus the winter jacket! We have only been on one camping trip as a family. One.  And at 10pm on the first night Grady found me and told me that he didn't feel safe there.  Oy.  And here I was sending my oldest away for 2 nights on his own with 50 other 9 year olds.

This was his first time ever sleeping away from us other than when the grandparents have watched him.  As a parent it is scary to send your kid out into the world and not know what they are doing.  The teachers said that no news is good news.  I dropped him off on Monday morning and picked up a wet, cold, but happy kid last night.

The teachers posted many pictures of the kids on their twitter feed and we had a few parents there that were texting us pictures of what the kids were up to.
.

What an accomplishment it was for both of us.  Grady survived his first nights away from Mom and Dad with no tears.  And I realized that our boy is growing up and that it is okay to let go a little.

Back to School: Favorite Memories

I love that this month TBB is talking about back to school.  There is something nostalgic about letting your mind wonder back 30+ years... yikes!  I have so many fond memories of my school days from the first day of kindergarten where I met my true blue Dee to the day that I graduated from grade 12.  Three out of four of my friends in grade 12 were bridesmaids in my wedding and are my besties to this day.  Here are just a few memories that stand out in my head when I think back to my school years.

First Day of School

The first day of school for me was so different than it was for my kids.  I went to the only catholic french school in the city and had to be bussed.  My mom was a working parent and I went on the bus for the first day of school every year as did all the other kids from my school.  We assembled in the rotunda (a big open assembly area) and the teachers would call out the names in their class and we would file up one by one with all our properly labelled school supplies in our new back packs. I do not remember there being any parents.  A very different experience from the posted lists that my kids see on arrival at the first day of school.

Mean Girls

Can we all admit that junior high girls are mean.  It seemed that at any given time there was one girl that was 'ousted' and that no one liked.  That person rotated and everyone got there turn, myself included.  I remember coming to my locker one day in grade 7 and my magnetic mirror (I know you had one!) was covered in mean post it stickers that my previous 'friends' had written.  I was so sad that I called home crying.  There used to be a communal phone hanging outside the office for students to use.  Weird.  When I think back to those days I am happy to only have boys!

Favorite Teacher

One of my favorite teachers was in grade 4 and ironically my first male teacher.  I remember him reading the book I Want to Go Home by Gordon Korman out loud to the class and I loved it.  Keeping in mind that he was a very large man, one day when he was reading out loud to the class room the chair he was sitting on broke.  The whole class broke out in laughter.  I remember this like it was yesterday.  Sadly, this same teacher whom I loved when I was in grade 4 was arrested for possession of child pornography 10 years ago.  I remember being so sad when I heard that.

Lines

In Grade 5 I had what was known as the meanest teacher, again male.  He was known for making his students write lines if they misbehaved.  I remember being so stressed the first (and only) time I got lines.  I don't remember what I did, but I did remember that I went home and practiced because over the course of the 15 minute recess you had to write the line 37 times, the length of a full scap piece of paper.  My mom will vouch for me, and maybe she remembers what I did.  Probably talking in class.  Surprise, surprise!

Biking to School

During the long winter in SK I took that bus, but as soon as it was nice enough we switched it up to biking as it was about a 45 min walk to school.  On a bike it was less than 15 minutes.  I always stopped a designated corner so Deena could meet up with me and we could finish the bike ride together.  While the bike ride to school was uphill and tiring, the way home was a breeze and great way to end a day.

School Dances

Who doesnt' have memories of attending school dances in the middle years.  Starting in grade 6 we got to attend the school dances where the final slow song would always be everything I do, I do it for you by Bryan Adams.  Every time.  There may have been a dance for our grade 9 graduation where we snuck booze in and then it got confiscated by the teachers.  Thankfully, they only found half of it....

These were followed by the dances in high school where our biggest problem was sneaking past the teachers without them realizing that we had been drinking before arriving.  Now I realize that there was no way we were fooling any of them!

Fries in the Caf

In high school I met 2 of my best friends over fries in the cafeteria.  You see none of us could drive and there were no fast food joints in walking distance.  So... we ate fries every singe day.  Thank God for teenaged high metabolism!

Social Life

I am thankful that I grew up in the time before cell phones and facebook.  We took so many pictures and I am happy that they are tucked away in a photo album somewhere and not displayed on social media for all to see.  We passed paper notes.  Paper.  My brother once found them all and read them.  I had to throw them all out.  We had to actually talk on the phone to make plans....  Oy.

May Long Weekend

Some of the best times of my high school years were camping over May long weekend.  None of my friends had cabins so we mostly tented in yard, field, or even baseball diamond.  Surprisingly we never got kicked out.  We drank lots of beer, ate horribly, and made the best memories a gal could ask for.  I realize from this post that I did a substantial amount of under age drinking, I hope my kids don't read this until they are adults.  Ha!

Graduation Day

Most memorable day of all my schooling years.  The end of an era really.  Starting with a pre-grad breakfast, a cap and gown ceremony, a dinner with friends and family, and finally a grand march.  I think grand march is a local term as James doesn't know it.  In my hometown there was not a supper put on my the school.  Everyone ate separately.  We chose to rent a banquet room at a hotel with our group of 5 friends.  Then at 7ish you headed to the chosen facility and the grads would March with their escort in their gowns through the crowd.  Like a parade of sorts.  Then we ditched the gown for shorts and tees and headed to an all night dry graduation party and dance.  I'm sure by the time our kids

I loved this walk down memory lane.  While I loved my highschool years, I certainly don't want to go back to them!  Ha!

An InLinkz Link-up

Welcome to First Grade!

After 2 weeks of watching Grady go off to school every day, it was finally Cooper's turn to return to the classroom.  I must say, I had one exited boy on Tuesday morning.

At his school, they send an email the Friday before school starts to tell you who your teacher is.  A few texts to the other parents and we found out that Cooper's 2 best friend picks were in his class.  From that moment on, he couldn't wait to get back to school.

Since James was volunteering at Grady's school on Tuesday morning, it was just Cooper and I walking to school.  We did our photo shoot and Cooper wanted to leave super early.  We weren't the first to arrive at school, but close.

The rumor is that Cooper is in a class where 3 teachers operate out of 2.5 classrooms.  Our school is tight on space this year as they are waiting for a new school to built so they are working with what they have.  My initial reaction was annoyance.  When Grady had the same arrangement last year he was in grade 3 and it allowed him to be with some friends that he didn't have in his homeroom.  For Cooper in the first grade, I feel like it may be too much.  It is such a big learning year with reading and writing and I don't want him to fall behind.  The saving grace is that Grady has had 2 of the 3 teachers assigned to grade 1 and they are fantastic.  The one teacher he hasn't had is the one he got and is supposedly the best of them all.  Fingers crossed that the year of 60 six year olds goes well!

After I watched Cooper go into the school with his new teacher I headed into work for a half day in order to pick him up from school in the afternoon.

If you are a parent you know that if you don't see them immediately after school it is hard to pry any info out of them.  Maybe it's just my kids?

I was so excited to go back and get Cooper and hear about his day.  He was the first one out, just like his brother, which is great since time is tight to get to Grady's bus stop.

As we walked away from the school I asked Cooper how his day was.  He said I loved.....   And I waited to hear what he loved about his day.

I loved my Jam sandwich.

For real, you had your first full day of school and you want to talk about your jam sandwich??  That's my Cooper.

Have a great year in Grade 1!

Month in Numbers: August 2017

August was busy.  They are all apparently.  So outside of what I've already blogged about doing this month, there is even more to tell you about.  Let me begin.

10: years that Layla was part of our family
6: kids that loved her dearly
1: dog that will be forever missed



1: kid with wet socks on the stairs caused a fall and a giant goose eggs
24: hours of headaches means a call to the doctor
3: weeks between fall and doctors visit
1: small concussion (likely)



1: trip to the eye doctor for their annual appointment
4: eyes checked
0: glasses needed



100: dollars spent of his own money to buy heelies
6: uses before a fall
2: weeks since he's used them



39: years this handsome man turned mid month
2: kids were excited to give their gifts



1: hockey attended by Cooper while Grady went to school
3: power skating sessions for the kids combined.
27: ice times between both kids in 12 days. Yes, you read that right.



1: stepper received as a gift
500: steps a day goal.
2: times goal achieved. Maybe I'll start again in September.



6: blinds that arrived for the kitchen
4: weeks I waited for them to arrive
2: days waited to have them installed



1: football draft in our kitchen area
9: men each with a lap top in a case of beer
4: hours they participated in draft
2: of us decided we'd rather have a picnic in the Castle room then sit downstairs with the loud men!



2: boys took the train downtown to go to Devonian gardens
3: hours spent on the train, bus and finally at the park
3: annual end of summer trip complete



Bring it on September, there is no way you can be busier than August!

TBB Asks: September

I am so excited to be participating in the second TBB asks with the Blended Blog.   With many kids (including Cooper!) going back to school it seems fitting that this month is all about back to school!

1.  School - love or hate?  I didn't love school but I was always good at it. Plus I got to see my friends at school so it wasn't that bad.

2.  Start before or after the long weekend?  I don't remember for myself, but with my kids I have one that starts before and one that starts after.  Most kids around here start after since our summers are so short!

3.  Snooze or not?  I am not a snoozer, my kids on the other hand.... I have a song I sing to wake them up that my mom used to sing to me and they hate it.  Win for me!

'Wake up wake up its such a beautiful morning!
Wake up wake up its time to start your day'

4. Fave breakfast?  We always had ice cream and Neapolitan ice cream melted on top on the weekend

5.  Fave Cereal? Rice Krispies with so much sugar in it you could scoop it off the bottom. Ironically Grady's favorite is also Rice Krispies minus the sugar!

6.  Uniform?  NO!

7.  Back to school outfit?  Always.  We don't do this with our kids though.  They have so much clothes they don't need it.  Maybe it isn't a think anymore.

8.  Walk or Bus?  Both. I bused in the winter and road my bike in the summer.

9. Bag?  Back pack in elementary, no bag in high school (so uncool!), and messenger bag in University.

10. Lunch?  Cafeteria fries in grade 10 when we couldn't drive, then we started going to the friends house where the parents had just grocery shopped.  Fridays were always for eating out.

11. Milk Cartoons?  I have no idea what that means.

12.  Bag or Box? Always a lunch box with a fancy character on it.

15.  Chalkboard or dry erase?  I am quite certain there were no dry erase boards back in the day.  We also had to write our notes out, they were never printed for us!  Our kids are spoiled!

19.  Favorite after school show?  I went to daycare so there were no after school shows but I do remember loving TGIF on Friday nights.  Full house, Family Matters, perfect Stranger, and a 4th show I don't remember.  I am also from the era of Whose the Boss and Growing Pains.  Such great family TV.  They really don't have those any more.

22.  BFF in high school?  I am so fortunate to have known all of my current BFFs in high school.  I met my true blue (Dee) in Kindergarten and the rest of my posse in Grade 10 in the school cafeteria. See #10 above.

27.  Attend reunions?  No.  I am still friends with most of the people I'd like to see.  Besides, with FB I know what all of them are up to anyway.  That, and no one plans one even if I wanted to go.

Now go check out what the others are saying about their back to school experiences!

An InLinkz Link-up

five on friday

{one}  I am off the friday before every long weekend.  Today I am using the day to get a massage and volunteer in Grady's class.  It is the first of many field trips this year and I am so excited to participate in the very first one.  We are walking from the the school to Weasel Head which is a 2.8 kilometer walk each way.  I'm not really sure what it is we are learning but I'm excited to find out!

{two} This is my first weekend in 6 weeks that I will be spending at home.  We will fill it with birthday parties, a hockey tournament, house chores, and more!  Hopefully there will be some time for reading in there somewhere since I have 6 books sitting on my night stand waiting to be read!

{three} Cooper is starting school on Tuesday and he is more than ready to go back.  While I'm sure he has enjoyed all the play dates I lined up for him, it is time for him to get back into routine. The kid is so ready for Grade 1 and can't wait to learn to read.  Good thing I wasn't a teacher, like I originally planned, as my attempts to teach him have all failed!

{four} I will spend some time this weekend catching up on all my favorite TV shows.  Bachelor in Paradise, Big Brother, and Riverdale are on tap.

{five} I've been shopping for home decor non stop.  Sometimes I come home empty handed (James is happy).... and sometimes not, like today.  I got off work early yesterday and headed to a few stores on the way home and had success in each one.  Happy to see the house coming together.  Slow and steady.

Have a great long weekend!