Connor's puzzle piece!

Connor's puzzle piece!
Connor is a "Racing for Autism" hero!

Monday, March 27, 2006

Good week, bad week!

All caught up now...


Saturday, March 25, 2006

Good week, bad week!
Current mood: chipper
Category: Blogging

So, two kids have had a GREAT week, and two have had a so-so week! Both of my older boys have had bullying issues at school...nothing new here....grrrrrr! The oldest, Connor, was called "Canadian scum" and physically assaulted by a little wanker in his year group. I hope this kids' parents have a roaring case of the shits as revenge..hehe! We try to teach Connor to turn a blind eye but I'm severely tempted to tell him to stand up for himself and kick some ass...he's not a small guy! Is that so wrong of me?? I will never understand this "foreigner" anger that persists in some of the smaller regions of this country...get over it already, we live here, we own a house here, we pay our taxes here, so KISS MY ASS!! My 2nd born also had issues with the same group of bastards that regularly bother him at school. There is another "foreign" girl at school that is being given grief and she decided to fight back this week....and it worked! She is bigger than my 10 year old..and she's only 7! Woo hooo! I think Cam should team up with her and kick some serious ass! How much bullying should kids be expected to take before they fight back???? It is really hard as a parent to tell them to ignore it when you know that the parents of these little bastards/bitches that do the bullying are not discouraging theirs kids' behaviours! Think we need to start a rebel alliance all of our own! Now, that could be the vodka tonics talking...urgh!

In the good news part of this blog: number 4 child toilet trained this week...yippee! Last Saturday he announced that he wanted to pee in the toilet and he obviously meant it!! We've only had one accident since last Saturday...at preschool which is apparently not uncommon when they get engrossed in playing (so I'm told..hehe)...so I do believe we've got it sussed! Woo hoo! I think I may be finally over the "broody" phase where I long for another baby....4 out of diapers and creeping up on 40....okay, stick a fork in me, I'm DONE!!

In other news...my darling daughter Maeghan (the only other pink one in the house besides me and the damn cat..hehe) got her ballet exam results today! In her Royal Academy of Dance Grade 2 Exam she received a...DISTINCTION..the highest grade! Woo hoo! She got a total mark of 80%, which is exceptional! Pardon my shameless bragging! It was all the more sweet because she was convinced that she would only earn a "Merit" because she had made a few errors, so seeing her face today when she heard her results was priceless! I am one PROUD MOMMA! I enjoyed 18 years of ballet as a girl/young adult and am so proud that my girl enjoys the same thing that I did for so many years! So it was celebratory hot chocolate (and a gingerbread latte for Mommy..mmmmmmm) at Starbucks for us!

Tim and I have had a hellish week so are enjoying a quiet night to wind down! Tim is killing some type of enemy on his computer and I'm enjoying some catch-up on mine while the kids are busy watching movies/playing Xbox 360 games....absolute bliss for a Saturday night! I will pay for the vodka and pink wine in the morning, but what the hell! It's "Mothering Sunday" here tomorrow but I'm up early to take Mae & Soph's to the stables for 9:00...UGH! I already got my gift, a lovely insulated picinc bag full of goodies, yesterday! It was full of yummies....port, cheeses, wine, crackers, chocolates, nuts, etc...plus plates, glasses, cutlery and the all important corkscrew! YIPPEE! We will be sure to try it out if it ever stops raining...**not holding my breath**

Love to all,
Laura :o)

Homesick...

And there's more...

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Homesick...
Current mood: blah
Category: Blogging

So I'm really homesick today...yah, yah, I know I'm ALWAYS homesick, but today is a bad case. Went over to do some PTA stuff last night (okay, I'm a loser PTA woman too...sheesh) and sat in a room with a bunch of women who are all from "here", have known each other for dogs years and I felt suddenly very sad...again. I just long to sit with my long term friends again, have a glass of wine and just gas about the world, the universe, etc. I just miss my confidantes so much...blah. It's not that I want to be close to any of these particular women, in fact there's a few I can hardly stand to be in a room with, it just stirred up those general feelings of longing for the familiar. I miss hearing accents like mine. I miss being able to use my own brand of sarcasm and wit without getting odd looks. I miss using slang, expressions and euphemisms that make sense to the people in with. Sigh. Like I said, just damn homesick. I know I'm here for the long haul but some days are just tougher than others. Guess I just get to be a big whiney pants for today. Sigh.

Okay, feel better now that I've got that off my chest.
Laura :o)

Home stretch???

Cut and paste....

Laura :o)

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Home stretch???
Current mood: chipper
Category: Blogging

Bear with me....boring Mommy stuff! I think we may be on the toilet-training home stretch here...woo hoo! My 3 y.o. woke up yesterday and ran to the toilet insisting on doing a pee....naturally when Mommy thought she had found some peace and quiet with a magazine...sigh. He was still wearing his training pants and usually we get an earful when we try to strip him! He has been wearing regular old underwear yesterday and today and has managed to do all his "stuff" in the toilet....woo hoo! I took the kids swimming today and he even told me he had to pee and we ran to the toilet and....SUCCESS, our first pee in public! Woo hoo! I have been told to wash all of his Spiderman underwear....yes SIR...so that he can wear them to Preschool tomorrow...he wants to show his teacher what a big boy he is....awwwwwwww. So fingers crossed that this is the home stretch and that I may, at long last, have four kids and will never have to deal with stinking diapers/trainers ever again! Yippee!

In other news....my current fave band ORSON, hit number ONE on the U.K. top 40 tonight...WELL DONE BOYS! Thank god f&%ing Chico has been banished...hopefully for good. I will never understand the musical tastes in this country, EVER...keep in mind this is the same country that had Tony Christie's "Amarillo" at the number one for weeks as well last year.....makes my friggin ears bleed, I swear!! Grrrrrr! Well done Orson, and wishing you all much success!

Good night all, hope you had a great weekend!
Laura :o)

Happy Tuesday...

Another repost...
Laura :o)


Tuesday, March 14, 2006


Happy Tuesday
Current mood: mellow
Category: Blogging

See...I told you it would take me awhile to remember to blog!!

So this is how my Tuesday started...let me start by saying that I am NOT a morning person, in fact I despise those moments when I realize that I have to wake up and it takes me about 30 minutes to be able to verbalize and a full hour until I'm "in my body". So just after the radio came on at 6:00, hubby and I realize there is our 3 year old wedged between us. Sigh. That would explain why I feel like a pretzel! A few moments later my hubby says...are we wet???? A quick scan upwards let us know that the roof was intact so the sheets are whipped off to discover that the boys "training pants" have malfunctioned and the three of us plus the bedding and matress are soaked in pee.....ewwwwwww! Talk about a rude awakening and I HATE to be bolted into life! Now I realize that there are people in the world who get off on/pay lots of money to be soaked in urine, however we are not among those humans. So off hubby goes with "pee-boy" for a bath and I'm downstairs stuffing bedding into the washing machine and bundling up the duvet to go off to the laundromat. Happy Tuesday indeed. Hope you all had a better start than we did.

Laura :o)

Greetings...

Just wanted to cut and paste a few blog entries from another site I was using!

Laura :o)


Thursday, March 09, 2006

Greetings...
Current mood: blah
Category: Blogging

Okay, I'm new at this blogging stuff and will probably forget to do this regularly, but here goes! Just figured out how to upload pictures...woo hoo! I feel like such a technophobe when I try new things only to discover that I'm brighter than I give myself credit for and I really can do it! So lets hope I can use this webspace to my advantage!

It's grey, rainy and crappy in England...not exactly unusual...and my mood reflects this today. I feel terribly homesick right now and this is something I struggle with quite often. I'm a Canadian living abroad and I know many other expats feel the same way. It's not that I haven't made a life and friends here, but it's just not the same as "home"..kwim? Sigh. I think I need a vacation and am in the works to organize this, can't happen soon enough!

My youngest, Delsin, is fighting a cold. He's been snuffly for a few days and woke up today pretty bunged up. At about 9:00 this morning he crawled on top of Daddy and zonked out...and he's still out at 12:30 in the afternoon...poor little guy. The good thing about being 3 is that you can just shut down the body and fight the cooties off! He was supposed to be a preschool 15 minutes ago but I feel secure in the knowledge that he isn't missing "Rocket Science 101", so no worries! :o) I'd rather let him sleep it off and be back to his normal lovely self soon. He is an angel when he is asleep...awwww.

The other kids are back at the daily grind...aka school...The weeks seem to fly by when you have school aged kids. My life seems to be flying by lately..urgh! Tonight is our rushed night with swimming and Brownies, so need to get psyched up for the after-school rush. Mae gets to stay for a film after school as well..it's book fair/movie week here in Oxfordshire and the school has organized a series of movies for the kids to enjoy after school. I think it's great for the kids to socialize as a group out of school hours.

Okay...enough dawdling online, must get the ironing done...it never ends with a family of 6...and I hear the dishwasher beeping so it needs unloading too...sigh. At least it will keep me distracted from the rain!

Laura :o)

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Hola!

My first post on my new blog...wheeeeeeee! Welcome to my adventures in the big world, hope to keep all my family and friends updated on the Taverner family as they continue on their lives "across the pond".

Laura :o)