And then there was...

Rain!  It has finally :decided to start raining.  The soil and ground has been very dry lately since there was a lack of snow pack this year, I have been squishing every spider I can find and teaching my girls to rain dance because we are in dire need of the moisture.  I am really hoping that this year won't be as bad of a drought as predicted.  The Squirbo, the Nomer and I went for a walk up and down our street in the rainy and windy weather.  We got to the top of the street close to the park and Squirbo looks at me and says home- House (her word for Clubhouse) in translation, she wanted to go back to our home and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Lately we have had to translate what she has been saying.  It is pretty jumbled up.  I am glad that her assessment is coming up in a couple of weeks.  The Nomer thinks everything is funny right now and is totally in love with her Jolly Jumper and everything she can put in her mouth.  Right now it is an Owl Rattle that she was gifted by my cousin and her family.  Speaking of the Nomer, she just woke up from her nap and is talking at the window upstairs.  She is so cute and I took her out for the second time in the Ergo this afternoon.  Now that she is bigger and chubbier, it is starting to fit better.  With her in the Ergo, I have to carry her with the straps higher up because the weather isn't warm enough for us to venture out without the Peekaru vest.  I guess I have the gadgets for a successful baby wearing venture with my kidlets now.  I wore the Squirbo as much as I could (mostly as a toddler) but loved every moment of having her so close.  She isn't much of a cuddle bug but when she wants to she is really good at it.  Last night, we were watching a movie together as a family and she fell asleep in her dad's arms.  I wish I had of taken a photo of the moment but my battery was dead in my camera.  The Nomer is a pretty cuddly baby, but she doesn't like the bouncy seat or the swing.  She has figured out how to escape them both so I am contemplating putting them back into storage to clear up some room in the living room.  The Nomer is all about the Tummy Time, Squirbo hated it, mostly because of her hip issues (IMO). 

So I walked away from the computer to speak with Laurence and make some dinner for the littles, I am just now returning (19:47) to find about a half a page of letters, numbers and characters had been typed all over this blog post courtesy of Squirbo.  So finally after about 5 minutes of backspacing I am going to finally get to finish up. 

Tonight will consist of working on conquering Mount Washmore and doing up dishes I was hoping to catch a Yoga class at the gym, but Daddy-O is out at the moment and I am needed by the littles who at this very moment have both decided to have meltdowns.  Yikes, I hope this blows over soon, I really don't need any major tantrums while on my own.  Crazy reigns supreme in my universe and I sure don't need a whole lot more of it around here.  I am working on getting a little bit less of crazy and a little more fun to hang around the home front, and hopefully things will sail a little more smoothly.

Catching up...

So a quick update on life since the 13th.... The weather was gorgeous until today, so we spent copious amounts of time outside soaking up the sunlight.  I signed up for a free 2 week trial gym pass at a local fitness centre... just to get sick and put on doctor ordered rest.  I am still waiting on my lab results but they said it might be mono or it might be strep throat... still in limbo and still have a killer sore throat.  But before all the getting sick happened, I lost 3lbs and tried out an awesome ZUMBA class a few times, plus got a couple good workouts in too. 
Life in Gurneyland hasn't really changed too much, we have started purging more stuff from within the depths of this house, so far I have taken 63 items out of our storage room and either sold them or gifted them.
Anomantia has taken a liking to my knitted work and loves to frog it on me.  For those who don't understand the term frog: it is defined as to unravel or unwork a knitted or crocheted piece.  Anomantia has also had huge advances in her development.  She now can list her numbers (almost all the way to ten but with a little confusion around 5-8), she can recite colours when presented with swatches, she can also list several animals (mostly farm animals and bugs).
Furia has decided that she really LOVES music by Alabama (especially "I'm in a Hurry") and particularly when she is in her Jolly Jumper in the kitchen doorway.  She is all about the squealing and giggling right now. 
On the 20th, Laurence and I packed up the Squirbo and the Little, and made our way to a recreational area not far from Gurneyland for a picnic.  While we were there, there were reports of moose sightings (I never know the plural of moose but there were three of them just up the trail from where we were).  We hiked into the picnic area with our firewood and cooler and the two kiddos in tow and roasted smokies and marshmallows over the small fire.  It was absolutely fantastic.  I had been wanting to do that for awhile and seeing as most of the snow had melted, I thought it would be the perfect time to do it.  We had to keep a very close eye on Squirbo as she kept on getting a little too close to the fire, but she learned about fires and roasting marshmallows.  The Little slept for a bit but she was a little cold with the wind off the river, next time I will bring more clothes for her, but at least the blankets helped.
On the 21st, the girls and I participated in The Great Cloth Diaper Change which was sponsored by a couple of WAHM's that run a cloth diaper business (where I like to buy my supplies when needed).  Anomantia still qualified as a change because she is short enough and not potty trained yet (sigh!), and so between the two of them, we counted for two bums changed.  We got to spend the morning with like minded parents and had lots of fun.  It was a great way to celebrate Earth Day.  That afternoon, it was too nice not to be outside, again!  We spent most of the rest of the day in the yard in the front yard in my case, I detailed the Jeep and got it all cleaned out and ready for our pending trip South West of Gurneyland.  We were supposed to go visit some friends about an hour's drive away the following day, but I woke up D-E-D Dead on the 22nd.
On the 22nd, we spent the afternoon lying in the sun in the backyard trying to keep warm.  The girls and I all passed out for an afternoon nap in the living room.  Laurence came upstairs to check on Anomantia seeing as she was rather quiet and found the three of us sleeping in various spots in the living room.  The pictures are rather cute but I have yet again not uploaded anything in awhile. 
On the 23rd, was pretty much a repeat of the 22nd except I was feeling worse than the day before and lost my ability to hear myself speak.  I had no vibration and I couldn't hear what I was saying. 
Yesterday, I finally broke down and went to the clinic only to be told that there would be a substantial wait time due to power outages.  The whole South East side of the city was without power (thankfully we live in the last neighbourhood that is considered North East - right on the cusp of the South end).  I finally got in to see a doctor and then was sent to the lab at the hospital for blood work.  Still no real diagnosis yet but we will see what all transpires.  Today I am feeling better already but I still have the swollen glands and sore throat. 
Today we went out for lunch and on the way home Anomantia managed to dump half of her butterscotch milkshake inside the freshly detailed Jeep.  So as soon as we got home, I grabbed my Spot Bot and got it as clean as I could with what I had to work with.  However, my Spot Bot has finally decided to die after five years of use (lots of use).  It has been an invaluable tool and totally worth the two hundred dollars I spent on it all those years ago.  Now I have to start looking for a new one to replace it. 
So for now Squirbo, the little, Laurence and I are trying to get rid of our various plagues and ailments and getting rested up so that we can enjoy the rainy season which is fast approaching.  I'll post another photo bomb again soon.
Carlee

Victory is MINE!

Today, I finally started to clear things out and purge through the clutter of our Master Bedroom.  Our room has been so cluttered with stuff (mostly Mount Washmore) I have been avoiding doing anything in there.  The history is that Anomantia is still in the upstairs bedroom (aka the nursery) with the crib acting as a toddler bed and since the room downstairs (aka her big girl room) is not yet ready for her, Furia and all of Furia's stuff has been piled (yes, literally PILED) in our room.  So this morning, I decided to tackle a portion of the junk in the room... and a few hours later, I have emerged victorious, all that is left are a pile of receiving blankets and two laundry baskets of Furia's clothes that are on the verge of being too small.  I went through the baskets of clothes and diapers this morning and put all of the newborn all the way to 3 month sized stuff back into storage bins and sorted through once again downsizing the amount of stuff we have in that size group as most of it went unworn.  I came across several Queen size bed sheet sets and extra pillow cases that don't fit any pillows in my house anymore.  There were three bags of stuff to either sell, pass along to friends and family or freecycle.  I am just waiting to hear back from a few people before I list what I decided we didn't need anymore.  Laurence has been supportive of my process as I have been stressed and I need an oasis in our chaos where I can go and close the door and not feel overwhelmed.  I figured why not start with the place I need to relax the most.  Plus it will be nice to be able to get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee and not trip over laundry and other junk.  Today, I found the missing black baby shoe that I have been looking for since Saint Patrick's day, just to find out it doesn't fit anymore.  Madamoiselle long feet is already wearing the Robeez slippers that I had on Anomantia at a year old, they are a little big, but they will work.  I found my rogue First Aid kit and the mates to several pairs of socks.  Plus about a dozen pebbles, a chunk of chalk (that had gone through the wash in Anomantia's hoodie), 72 cents and way too much dirty laundry on the bottom of the pile.  So this afternoon, I have been getting my exercise by going up and down the flights of stairs (with baby in tow- mostly in the sling) hauling laundry clean up and dirty down.  I have done four loads of regular laundry and one load of diapers (runs through 2 wash cycles and 3 rinse cycles with the stupid water saver machine... I miss my old top loader beast machine for the cloth diapers these new ones really suck!).   But tonight, I am starting to finally feel relief from the mayhem that used to occupy my bedroom.  This summer, Laurence has offered to help me paint our room (it is still the hideous taupe from when we bought this house 5 years ago), I am hoping that he will choose the colour as he has excellent taste in colour schemes.  Who'd have thought that split pea green would go so well with sunset orange?? Those are the colours on the walls in his office and I think it looks awesome!  This week, I have some more planting to do... I picked up some more trays for my starters.  So far, I have 128 corn plants, 30 tomato plants (Big Beef and Roma varieties) and 2 avocado trees started.  I still have room for 432 more seedlings in trays and another 24 in 3" pots.  Hopefully they will all come up as I am ready for the gardening season to begin.  Last year my garden was a bust!  Our soil was barren and barely produced anything at all.  So in the fall, we covered it in chicken poop and hoped for good seepage over the winter.  This spring so far, Laurence has built me a new compost silo and has already turned over a good chunk of the garden between snow falls.  This summer (what I have off from work) will be dedicated to going camping and gardening along with doing everything and anything with the girls.  I can't wait to go camping with them both.  Laurence and I are traditionalists, we don't go camping with a rig, we tent it and build our own shelters with what is on location for us.  We hope to find some new places off the beaten path to pitch our tent and enjoy nature (and hopefully not too many mosquito bites) with the girls.  This summer, we hope to simplify and live as simply as we can.  

So now I have to conquer tomorrow and then, a day of rest (yeah right!) and just take back this house one little bit at a time.  Clutter will be gone soon and I will be at peace and hopefully be able to call this house, my home.  I have never really liked this place, little own feel at home here.  I dream everyday of the day when the renovations will be done and that FOR SALE sign goes up on the front lawn.  I dream of the day we can pack up Gurneyland and move it somewhere where I will feel more at home.  For now, I will live with the green marker on the top set of stairs, blue and purple footprints across the living room carpet and muddy shoe prints everywhere (did I mention that the off-white carpets are on the stairs and in the living room??)  I will be glad when I get the chance to shampoo the carpets again and maybe get them a little clean.  It has been a year and they are way past due for another cleaning.  Once then clutter has been conquered, then I will treat myself to a day of carpet shampooing (yay for free rentals!) With all that, I leave you with a picture of Anomantia being a bucket head (silly girl!)

In Style and Hell

 A few days ago, Anomantia decided that she was going to wear her sh-shoes again since most of the snow was gone from the backyard.  She also wanted her dog hat (note they aren't all puppies anymore!) and her red Canada Hoodie with the pock-ettes (note they are no longer called pockey).  On the way out the door she requested a piece of chalk to decorate the sidewalk between the house and the garage.  While I was getting the chalk for her, she picked up her handbag (of the sparkly variety- Her Pabby (dad's dad) gave it to her for Christmas last year) and headed out into the yard. 

 She has started to develop a sense of style on her own and has particular items that are definite favourites when it comes to clothing and foot wear.  She chooses all of her own accessories as I really have no interest in them.  I carry a diaper bag because I have to (but it is usually compacted to the smallest bag I can find and a backpack when it is a longer trip) otherwise it is just my wallet and phone shoved into my pockets and keys somewhere in the mix.    Anomantia is becoming more and more fearless and independent, to the point I can't take her out when I have Furia with me.  She refuses to hold my hand when in parking lots or in the street and will run out onto the road to try to get away from me.  I have been finding parenting her very frustrating lately.  I have to be more patient and try to be more understanding of what her needs are but she is extremely needy.  I am hoping that this phase will pass soon because I am constantly hearing "Go! Move! Bad Mum! NO! Move!"  from her and I am missing my nice loving girl.  Everything has become a fight.  From getting her to eat to diaper changes, to toilet training and putting her boots or shoes on.  Getting her dressed in the morning is a huge fight, all the way to getting her into bed for a nap or even the night.  I have so little energy as it is, I don't know what to do.

Miss Furia is now teething...HELP!  She drools, and cries almost non-stop.  Sleep is very broken and she is up to nurse several time each night.  In short...I am DRAINED!  Life has been an uphill battle for me here in Gurneyland and I really wish I had more help but I make do with what I do have.  Laurence has been busy working and trying to get the garden turned over so that we can get the plants into the soil next month.  I have been seeding in every extra moment when I am not sleeping or tending to a child or cleaning the house or running errands.  I still can't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel as I can't remember the last time I had some "me" time that didn't consist of breastfeeding and doing something at the same time.  I am so ready for a break (aka going back to work) but I say that now, I don't really mean it.  I love being at home with my kids and husband yet at the same time, I wish I had some alone time.  My kids need me more now than ever so I had better get tending to their needs while I still can.  My house and life can wait another 20 years before I think about myself again.  And I'm off running like a chicken with my head cut off again. Later...

Easter Weekend

 08 April 2012- Furia Eevul Obsidian Gurney turned 3 months old (14 weeks).  This series of photographs were taken before leaving the house for Easter breakfast with some of Laurence's fraternal brothers and their families about a half an hour drive North of Gurneyland.

 I had laid out a cute pair of jack and lily Mary-Jane style shoes for Anomantia to wear but in her words " NO sh-shoes BOOP!" She always calls shoes sh-shoes and she still has a hard time pronouncing T's so they mostly come out as P's.

 Furia giving the camera a wave, while Anomantia laughs at me for being a dork!

 My big girl in her Easter dress (it lasted until about noon, when she figured out how to untie the bows and pull the ribbons out:( but it was covered in chocolate anyways).

 Furia not too impressed... so I made some more dorky faces to get her to smile!

 Anomantia's Oh Mum! Then she told me "No Stop!  Bad Mum!"  (I get that a lot lately).

 A half smile from Anomantia because she had had enough of the camera already.

And finally a photo with both my girls smiling... took long enough but they finally got it together enough to give me one photo with smiles on both their pretty faces.

Easter was CRAZY!  Too much chocolate + too little sleep = BAD!  I am still trying to catch up on the lack of sleep but daytime naps with Furia that have been happening, are probably not the greatest idea because they end up wrecking my night's sleep. ie: staying up blogging when it is close to midnight and I should be sleeping.  Easter breakfast was good, we had a great time visiting with the brothers and their wives, they spoiled my children and filled Anomantia's handbag with chocolate when I wasn't looking plus put a bunch of Hershey's Kisses into the diaper bag just as we were leaving.  Last night we went over to a friend's place to play Monopoly with her and her brother but ended up having to leave as Laurence was not feeling well (he is better now).  This afternoon, we took the girls to the swimming pool to relax (For Laurence, pretty stressful for me as Anomantia is fearless in the water and a complete maniac).  Followed by trying to watch Disney's The Lady and The Tramp but we were unsuccessful as we all ended up napping instead.  All in all, it wasn't a bad long weekend, but I am glad it is over.  I and ready for the routine to kick back into play and get things back to how they should be and the next long weekend we should be getting the garden planted.  This afternoon, Laurence and I charted the layout for the garden and where everything will be going.  Now it is just a race against time to get everything seeded and sprouted before the May long weekend.  At least we have the greenhouse to get things started but it is still too cold for most plants to be outside.  I still am trying to find the right plants for my front planter because it is only partially sunny and mostly shady on the West side of the house and I have had minimal success with plants in there aside from Dill which will be planted out front again.  So I am hoping for good weather and a speedy sprouting season that way we will have a good harvest this autumn. I am hoping to post as much as I can over the next few weeks to see if I should keep this thing going or let it die, I am hoping that Gurneyland lives on, it all depends on the amount of time I can devote to it as my minutes of thought are already broken by one if not both kiddos.  I am off to water my Avocado seed in hopes that it will sprout into a tree and then try to sleep before someone wakes up for a feeding. 'Night.

Thursday's Photos and Update:

 Wednesday evening I managed to finish off the pajamas I was making for the girls as Easter gifts.  Anomantia thought she got to wear the pants right away, and was not too happy when I told her she had to wait.  Her reply was "soft pants on, OK yeah" and then she ran away with them.

 I entered my name in a draw for 88 yards of hand spun mixed fiber yarn... for those of you who don't know, I am a fiber addict and self proclaimed yarn snob.  I love all natural fibers but I couldn't resist this kettle dyed yarn giveaway.  And I WON!  It arrived in the mail yesterday and I couldn't be happier.  A huge thanks to Katrina from Under the Hill Crafts for donating to the BB Butts Giveaway.  I can't wait to knit it up, but I have no idea what I am going to make with it, so until I decide it will sit and wait.

 Yesterday, I let Anomantia pick out her own clothes for the day.  She chose her "Dadt's", heart pants and "Pockee".  In translation that means the orange waffle shirt with buttons (like her dad's red one), the blue jeans with the hearts on the waistband and the dress with pockets.  Later on, she put on a bear jacket that we just got and was running around calling them kitties followed by a growl.  It was quite entertaining. 

 Anomantia's new talent is that she has figured out how to open the sugar container, I looked up while nursing Furia to see this... she had opened the container and was dipping her fingers in the sugar bowl and licking them over and over and repeating the process a few times until I could get it away from her.  I guess I have to keep the sugar on a higher shelf in the pantry now because she can open that door too. 

Yesterday morning, Anomantia and I did Yoga while Furia napped and then all afternoon she would mirror my movements like she did in the morning.  We also played Wii Fit Plus activities, it was lots of fun.  We had all sorts of fun playing in the fresh snow that had fallen overnight.  Anomantia stomped every patch of snow all over the lawn in the backyard.  It was quite funny, however, I am ready for winter to be done and go away for another year. 

Today, I think we are going to go swimming at the pool and enjoy our Good Friday.  Furia just woke up for the day but the rest of us have been up for a few hours already.  So I have to pack the swim bag and make lunch for the family, in the meantime, Laurence has gone to the office (in the basement) to get some work done and Anomantia is colouring a picture of Spongebob Squarepants.  Furia and I are cuddling and enjoying her morning nursing session, she is such a joy.  Life can't get much better than this moment right now.  I am going to enjoy this moment and the rest of my day. I hope you all have an excellent Good Friday.

procrastination and religion

Today I challenged myself to deal with all the little procrastination projects that I have been saying, I am going to do.  Well, I woke up, showered and got ready for my day but it still didn't quite happen.  I have been saying to Laurence and Anomantia that I would make them chocolate chip cookies.  I told Anomantia that I would make her some play dough and I have been promising myself that I would take a run to break in my new running shoes that I got last week.  So I put off cleaning today for all of the above.  I have made parts of the girls Easter gifts (even though we really aren't religious), I have to get them finished up this week.  I am at a stand still with my thoughts towards this holiday.  Yes, I believe in a higher power, but I am not sure where God fits into our lives, if at all.  When I was a teenager, God was a huge part of my life, it was a very personal thing.  I never enjoyed being preached to but enjoyed the readings and having discussions to hear other peoples' interpretations of religion.  As I got older, the less personal time I had, I enjoyed spending my Sundays doing what I wanted to be doing (mostly sleeping and being lazy).  Now that I have children of my own, how do I explain religion to them.  So I have this dilemma of what holidays should we celebrate and which ones should we forgo?  One of my favourite holidays has always been Halloween, it allows children to dress up however they want for a day.  I have told Anomantia she can dress up however she wants any day she wants.  She wore her Batman costume (cape and all) for a day a couple of weeks ago and insisted on being called Batman all day that day.  I can only encourage her to develop her own style and personality, I don't want to try to mould her into a mini-me and I want her to be a free individual. 
So far, this year we have celebrated the following holidays:
New Years Day, Furia's Birthday, St. Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Family Day St. Patrick's Day, and now Easter.  I think if we try a little of everything when it comes to holidays this year, we might be able to figure out which ones are the best for us. 
In the meantime, I had better stop procrastinating about cleaning my kitchen or there will be no dinner made tonight due to lack of clean dishes.  Plus I have a few little things to put away before Anomantia wakes up and tries to get at them.  Happy Wednesday... only one more day until Good Friday!

And we're off...

02 April 2012- Anomantia had some good quality time with her dad in the office in the morning.  I went downstairs to see if she would come upstairs to get dressed (at noon) and have some lunch and the response I got from her floored me.  She was sitting on Laurence's lap, stood up on the chair leaned over Laurence and pushed on my sternum and said "go away, move, go, Bad Mum! Go!"  Whenever someone is doing something she doesn't like it is Bad Mum, Bad Dad or Bad Fifi (sometimes Bad Baby).   Later on that afternoon, Furia was on my lap while I was checking my emails and Anomantia was sitting next to me on the couch, Furia was contently watching Anomantia playing on her tablet and the next thing I realise that Anomantia is yelling at Furia "Don't look at me!" and then started to poke her face with the stylus pen for her tablet.  I am just glad she didn't poke her in the eye.  We spent most of the day outside enjoying the nice weather while it lasts.  In the afternoon while Furia napped, Anomantia and I cleaned the front porch and tried to pick up the pine cones off the front lawn but we were greeted by this:

Our lawn was crawling with lady bugs.  Anomantia went around yelling BUG! every time she saw one which was often... I stopped counting at 186 but there were lots there.

03 April 2012:
Today was a backwards kind of day.  Last night was a rough night when it comes to sleep and today was stressful.  I managed one 15 minute cleaning session and got my front entrance cleaned top to bottom and cleaned out the bottom of the closet.  I found my boots thinking I would be getting into the garden this week, but once I finished, I checked the forecast and it is calling for more snow :(
We had to go out to meet a client this afternoon, and my head obviously wasn't screwed on right, I left the client's contact information on the ironing board in my living room, made it to the meet up point but no way to contact them, and to find that I had put Anomantia's boots on the wrong feet (causing her to scream almost the whole truck ride to the meet up).  I totally screwed that one up.  On a better note, I did our weekly grocery shopping trip this evening, and came in $25.00 under budget on food and had enough to buy Laurence some 8' pressure treated boards for my new compost container for beside the garden.  My old plastic one died last fall, so we needed something that will survive the cold winters here. 
Tomorrow is a new day has been my mantra for today!  I think that the best thing now would be for me to get some decent sleep.  Furia has been sleeping very erratically lately, one day she will sleep tons and then next not at all.  With her being so unpredictable, I find myself waking up in the night to pump and same thing in the mornings on the days that she sleeps a ton and then on the days when she is awake, I can hardly put her down, she wants to nurse all the time.  She is growing in length again, I can tell because her sleepers are getting shorter on her.  She is absolutely a lovely baby to be around and she thinks Anomantia is hilarious.  I can see her being the annoying little sister that wants to do everything her big sister does already, she is totally fascinated with everything that Anomantia does.  Anomantia has started singing lately.  She makes up words and tells people to Dance when she sings and claps her hands.  She also has started calling her monkey to find him and yelling for him to "COME, COME MONKEY!" when he is upstairs and she is in the living room.  It is so fascinating to see the daily changes in her vocabulary too.  Her newest sayings are "Pay Attention and Be Nice".  I think she understands far more than she lets on.  And her latest change is she now says "No-kay" for yes and no.  I am finding it quite confusing but we are getting through it. 
And with all that, I really need to get some sleep!  I am off to bed to get ready for another adventure here in Gurneyland. 

Good Night

April Fools Day!

So I thought it was some kind of a joke... Earlier this week (Monday or Tuesday, I can't remember exactly), I was trying to get Furia to latch on it was close to 2am when I heard someone banging on our front door.  I freaked out and woke Laurence up to go see who it was.  By the time we got downstairs, there was no one there.  However due to a fresh snow fall, we were able to tell that someone had driven up to our place, got out and came to the door, knocked twice, and then returned to the vehicle which drove away.  All this left us totally baffled as to who would have been at our door in the middle of the night.  We were still speculating as to who it was yesterday, but this morning we get a strange phone call from the Police saying that there has been a few noise complaints against us... playing loud music, kids screaming, things banging around 1am in the morning.  The Constable said that he had been to our house at the time of the first complaint but we didn't answer... WTF!!! We have Anomantia who is 2 and sings in her bed if she wakes up in the night (which is very rare) and Furia that might cry while I try to get her to latch on as we bed share, she is never crying for long.  As for the loud music, I don't even have a set of speakers that are loud... I have no stereo, just my Zune with a set of computer speakers that I listen to music but never after 11pm and it is definitely not loud especially if Anomantia has gone to bed.  As for the banging, if the wind picks up, it'll make our garden shed shake and it kinda bangs, but it is made of cheap metal siding and currently the door is broken.  Things have been relatively quiet with our dealings with the RCMP but I think the Wicked Bitch of the West (The evil old lady who lives to the west of us), must be getting bored and starting to stir the pot again.  She called the cops on us several times in the last five years and is a miserable neighbour to have.  We are not the only ones to think this either, she is miserable to our other neighbours as well.  I have a friend who knows her grandson and even he doesn't like visiting her.  She doesn't celebrate Halloween and yells at the kids who come to her door on Halloween because she won't turn her lights out. 
So when I saw the RCMP number show up on the call display this morning, I thought it was some kind of joke!

I can't remember where I found this picture, but I thought it appropriate for today.

Today I am starting my new program and routine, I am hoping to declutter the entire house in 30 days.  I am following a few of the Flylady techniques and changing it up a bit to fit in my needed diaper changes and nursing times for the girls.   I will try to post updates daily this month all depending on how the process goes and how much time it takes away from doing fun stuff with the girls.  I am off to start flying and spend more time with my lovelies.  (Anomantia is blowing kisses at the screen.