For the record

I would just like to say I am so lucky to have the following people in my life:

Jason - b/c he literally loves me no matter what (that's a pretty tall order some days). He can also always make me laugh, and I never doubt who I am when I am with him.

Maddie: she is smart, funny, and beautiful. She is a gift.

My Parents: for a million reasons, but most recently for house sitting for us and cleaning every single inch of our house. I am still finding things they cleaned/fixed/replaced

Jason's Parents: for always making me feel like a part of their family

Lisa - for being the world's greatest sister. She is always (always) there to say "yes, I'll help you with that". I honestly don't know how people live without a sister like Lisa in their life.

Now here is where the rest of you are thinking, c'mon Jenn what about me?

Well, I should really just make a list of the people I'm glad are NOT in my life b/c I think that would be shorter and much easier. (For example, Mark Wahlberg - b/c if he were in my life, well things would just get awkward, wouldn't they. I mean, I'd hate to have to break the guys heart, know what I mean?)

I will say this to all you Blog Interwebs: I don't know why you do it, but thank you for reading this silly thing and always encouraging me. It's a ridiculous ego centric form of expression but in a weird way it seems like a safe mode to send out the good, the bad, the ugly.

I dare you all to go and make your own little list of the 5 people in your life who have influenced you the most. And the 5 people you are most grateful for. Same list? I don't know.

sick day

As mentioned, it was a sick day at The Markoskys. Maddie had to stay home b/c Jason and I were both sick and frankly not interested in driving her to school and then going back to get her. The mere thought of 2 hours of driving exhausted both of us.

So Maddie decided to be The Mom and Look After Me. Sounds great, but the reality meant she came in to check on me every 5 minutes while I was sleeping. I finally just had to pretend to be asleep so she'd leave me alone. And then I was asleep and I'm not sure what she was doing. Thank goodness she is six and was able to pretty much fend for herself today b/c Jason and I were both pretty much out of commission until about 4pm.

Well, I think it's time for my neocitran/advil/tylenol cocktail and then beddy-bye.

Night.

It is really going to happen...

Our house is SOLD! Possession date is April first so we have a bit of time to find another house and pack this one up.

Jason and I are both home sick today though so that's taking a bit of the excitement out of the news. (Insert pity party here)

The Tragically Hip

The Hip played in Regina last night. I am not really a "concert person" but I think this is the 5th time I've seen them. And I'm pretty sure all five times I've been with Allison.

A few years ago they played in Saskatoon so Allison and Tammy came up for the night. We had such a great time. I love their concerts b/c I'm just surrounded by my people.

The clutch is likely going in my car right now - kind of a big deal on it's own, but became a pressing concern when Jason said I shouldn't drive it to Regina. But I have plans, I have a concert. Then we remembered the joy that is the bus. Oh, how I love the bus. I'm not even being sarcastic. It's great. So I hopped on the express bus and was in Regina by 4pm. Now I'm riding home again. I have a seat to myself and I think I'll settle in for a nap after this post.

The Bus is Great Because:
1. I can stand up and stretch when I want
2. I almost always have my own seat (I've actually only shared a seat once in my life I think)
3. The windows are HUGE
4. I don't have to talk to anyone
5. I can sleep
6. I can read
7. I can listen to podcasts
8. There is wifi so I can obsessively check houses on the realtor websites
9. And the obvious - it's green.

out of the blue

Tanner comes up real close and says:

"Did you know my grandma makes marsmallow salad? It's soooo good. It's pink."

Jason just said:

"I hate cooking."

Ears are pierced.

And she couldn't be more thrilled.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Remember this?


Six years ago today our Madeleine Jane arrived.  Wow, so much has happened in 6 years, I can't imagine what the next 6 will bring.

Today is a big day for Maddie.  When she comes home for supper tonight there might be something very different about her.  It should be happening in the next 10 minutes or so. I'm home sick with Post Disney Flu so Maddie is having this Special Event with her Daddy.  Let's wish them both luck and hopefully I'll have some pictures to post in a couple of hours.

 

we're baaaaack

Home again! And soooo tired. Well, apparently Maddie isn't tired, but Jason and I are.

Going for a nap right now in fact.

Here are some pictures to tie you over.

We didn't actually make it to the Kennedy Space Centre, but....did find the gift shop in the mall, oh I mean airport. (FYI, Orlando Airport - current favorite airport).

snapshots

Day 4: Hollywood Studios & Dinner at the Castle

We started off at Hollywood Studios. I made reservations at Hollywood and Vine. Great buffet food but it was LOUD and CHAOTIC. Not really the calm, refreshing lunch I had intended. Saw a bunch of characters, but unfortunately I had no idea who they were. Neither did Maddie. We got their autographs anyway. Seemed to make them happy.

We didn't do a whole lot there b/c Maddie wasn't feeling great today. We managed to keep it under control with advil, but she was feeling pretty rough around 2pm so we headed home for a nap/rest. Advil kicked in and she went for a quick swim with her dad before we raced back to the Magic Kingdom to have supper in the Castle.

We had a little bit of time before supper started so Maddie suggested the Haunted Mansion again. So glad b/c it is My Very Favorite Ride from when I was a kid. I still love it. We also quickly raced through the Swiss Family Robinson tree - another favorite from when I was small. We've only seen maybe a third of the Magic Kingdom, not sure if we'll go back tomorrow for more, or just head to Animal Kingdom.

Dinner with Cinderella etc - the castle was beautiful. Maddie wore an adorable Tinker Bell costume. We had our family photo with Cinderella. Then while we ate, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, and Jasmine all stopped by to say hello and take photos with us. The food and service wasn't as good as at Asherkhuas (Norway at Epcot) but it was still magical and we enjoyed ourselves.

These posts haven't been funny or likely even well written, but I have to tell you I'm exhausted every night when I sit down to do this. I can't think of a single funny thing right now. We have seen some crazy people (a mom dressed in an inappropriately short Snow White costume with her two princess daughters...I think she bought the costume at the wrong store....) and I swear half of Brazil is here. I have never seen so many Brazilians. Ever. They are everywhere.

Maddie's lullaby music is starting to get to me.

Nighty night.

Day 3: Typhoon Lagoon

We went. It was great. Didn't take the camera.

Basically a giant water park with a shipwrecked surfer theme. Probably one of our top favorite places. It was 82F (smokin hot) and empty. Two perfect ingredients for a water park. No line ups - at all. Pretty much had the place to ourselves. The water park 5 min from our hotel is closed for "refurbishment" and this one is a 45 minute bus ride - it's only downfall. We may go again on friday.

Disney Day 2: Epcot

Went to Epcot today. Favorite ride for Jason and me was the Mission to Mars. When I asked Maddie she said "all of them!"

We were hungry for supper and exhausted so decided to find a restaurant then head home for an early evening. We stopped in Norway and found a Princess Dinner with room for our table! What a great experience. We do have reservations for a Princess Dinner at the castle in the Magic Kingdom, but this was a nice "dress rehearsal". And it was only one point for each of us off of our dining plan.

I'm so tired. Can't blog any more. Night.

Disney: Day 1

Our first day at Disney and of course we headed to the Magic Kingdom. Slow picked us up at the hotel and drove us there, then helped us get settled in. He showed us how to get around using the monorail and about a million other tips but frankly I was so excited/overwhelmed I'm afraid I missed most of them.

I did manage to buy a $10 balloon within 15 minutes of entering the park. Rookie mistake. Spent the rest of the day having that damn balloon smack me in the face. Sigh.

January is SO the time to go - no one else is here. Sunday night we didn't wait in a single line up. Our first ride was with Slow and his family - they took us to the Buzz Lightyear ride. Fun. And then POOF they were gone. We thought they were staying the night and spending the day with us on Monday, but that wasn't their plan. They literally drove down just to get us settled and then headed back home after an hour or so. What an amazing family. We sure missed them when they left.

Jacksonville, FL

We came to Jacksonville to meet up with Jason's friend Steve ("Slow") and his family: Sue, Crissy, and Steven. They are are such a terrific family. They've made us feel so welcome. We spent the day yesterday with Slow and Sue as they toured us around their city. We started at Jax Beach. The beach was so amazing. The water was much colder than I expected, but Maddie enjoyed swimming in the ocean and likely could have stayed there all day. She stripped right down on the beach to put her suit on. Nothing was stopping her...

Next we went for lunch at Krystals. They are similiar to a White Castle. Something I've never had either. We went to check it off our life list. It was tasty, but I can say I wouldn't rush back.

After lunch we toured around a bit more, we ended up at a Fort where the French settled and fought the spanish. Florida was under french rule for about 20 years in the 1500s. There was a pier, so we went out and Jason spotted dolphins jumping and playing. So fun to watch them leap into the air. A huge cargo ship came in with help from two tug boats. It was accompanied by two coast guard boats so the consensus on the pier was this cargo ship had some type of military content that it needed the security.

I managed to go to Target under the guise of "we need snacks for Disney". Oh Target, how I've missed you. I raced around, but of course didn't have enough time. I was in the snack isle, getting snacks and then WHAM-O I rounded the corner and I was the WINE ISLE! In TARGET! Yes, of course I bought a $7 bottle of wine. Why wouldn't I?

For supper we ate at Joe's Crab Shack. Seafood - YUMMY. It's a casual and fun restaurant. The staff do line dances every hour or so. I ordered a "steampot" This meant my food came in a round black roasting pan. No kidding. Two kinds of crab (4 sets of legs), mussels, scallops, corn on the cob. It was so good.

Back to the hotel by 10pm and exhausted.

I'm writing this in the car as we drive down to Orlando. It seems to be a 3 hour drive. Roads have been full of traffic and literally every five minutes there is some kind of business or rest stop.

Time to stop, I don't want to miss any more of the scenery. Will post again at bedtime.

Chicago

Let me catch you up a bit.

We left Saskatoon in winter weather. There was some type of complication at the airport and we ended up waiting 45 minutes to have our plane de-iced. We all slept on the plane before we even took off.

Turns out that was a pretty precious 45 plus another 15 or so in Regina waiting to be de-iced there. We also flew United which guess what - they are as great as their reputation. Jeepers, did we miss WestJet. Arrived in Chicago O'Hare late and had about an hour to get off our plane, go customs, collect our bags, check our bags again, and then book it across the airport. This involved a tram ride and a 20 minute walk/run to our gate. Arrived at our gate at 1:08 to discover that our 1:11 flight had already left. Thank you, United.

Sweaty, exhausted, and hungry (we had been up since 4 a.m. and only eaten the snacks I packed) we walked back to Customer Service. There we met United's Only Friendly Employee. Lucy was terrific. She took care of everything and got us on the 7 pm flight. She also recommended some restaurants. Lucy, we heart you.

So, we had a mere 6 hours to kill in the Chicago airport. Didn't go nearly as badly as you might think. Maddie was So Good. She ran with us for that 1pm flight, we were late but it wasn't b/c we were waiting for her. We played Uno, she played Pollys and watched shows. I managed to "sleep" for a little while.

We arrived in the wonderful heat and humidity of Jacksonville around 10:30 that night. Headed to our crazy cheap hotel ($50 a night??). The hotel was amazing - clean, comfortable, newly renovated. A pool right out our window. Perfect.

Second hand validation

Well looky what I found.

Picture #1 bought 2 of these for $1 at Great West Warehouse. Don't worry, I'm going to paint them a super fun colour.

Picture #2: for sale at Target for, wait for it, $49.

Seriously.

The Adventure begins

Up at 4:00. Here we go!

so.

We leave tomorrow. I've managed to get myself over excited (can you tell) and exhausted. It's not one of my finer points, as Jason will tell you.

But: everyone is packed. Maddie is asleep. We are ready for the adventure to begin.

Won't have our phones, but we will have wifi and will check email everyday.

If you are in the neighborhood: we're staying at Disney All Star Resort.

J

SO ready for flip flops!

hi

stars in my eyes

Lisa introduced me to a "photo challenge". Project Life 365. Check it out (it's on The Google). A relatively quick way to savor a moment from your day.

3 (THREE) MORE SLEEPS

So, I may have mentioned that WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD IN THREE MORE SLEEPS?

I am SO EXCITED. That is the understatement of the century. As Maddie would say "I have butterflies in my tummy". I have been planning, saving, scheming for this holiday for the last 4-5 years. I knew Maddie couldn't be too young when we went. It might even be better if she was 8 but frankly I just CANT WAIT ANY LONGER.

The plan: We are flying to Jacksonville Friday. We should get there by late afternoon. Jason has a friend there so we will visit with him and his family until Sunday. Hopefully we will do at least two of the following:

1. pick an orange from a tree
2. pet a gator
3. eat seafood
4. hear a bunch of cool accents (Steve is originally from Brooklyn)

Then Sunday we will hop in our rental car and drive down to Disney World (squeeeeee). I think Steve and his family will be joining us for a day or two there. They go often so I'm hoping they can show us the ropes a bit.

Where are you staying, Jenn?
On the resort! As I told Morgan - if I'm going to Disney I want to spoon Mickey at night. We are staying at the Disney All Stars Resort.

Fact: Americans love double beds in their hotel rooms. What? In America? Where everything is BIG? True story.

I have planned about as much as I can seem to get away with. Maddie and I have implemented a transition program and social story for Jason to help him understand there won't be "sleeping in" on this trip. As Mandy says: It's a TRIP, not a VACATION. True dat.

We will be having supper with The Princesses in the castle one night. Another night we are going to eat at what looks like a great italian pizza place. I'd like to book one more Character Dinner, so hopefully I can get on that tonight. I don't seem to be tired. Not. At. All.

So are we packed? Really, you had to ask?
Maddie - packed a week ago saturday
Me - mostly finished packing tonight. Maddie and I are sharing a suitcase, see photos below
Jason - has not even started washing his clothes. sigh.

I'm trying full on packing cubes for the first time. I've tried them in smaller quantities before but this time I am Embracing The Cube. Giving it a big ol hug. And you know what? So worth it. They are fantastic and fit so much. Everything is soooo organized. Maddie has three cubes (a weeks worth of clothes in three cubes) that are a bright colour. When we get to the hotel she'll know exactly where her clothes are. She loves an organized suitcase as much as I do so she is all over it.

Is Jason using cubes? Um, no.


So, if this loads right, you should see all the cubes laid out "before". I have everything except my flat iron and toiletry bag. Even our shoes are in here. Then you should see the "after" with everything tucked inside and room for a bit more.

C'mon, admit it. You know you like it.

2013: Resolutions

Emily shared this really great post with me. After reading it I says to myself: Self - you should steal that idea.

So here I go.


What I resolve to do more of in 2013:
- enjoy time with Maddie
- blog (you lucky ducks)
- work on photo books
- drink Starbucks on Fridays
- exercise. Cliche? Yes. Necessary? Indeedy.
- make more lists, hells yeah.

What I need to do less of:
- text or check my email when I'm with Maddie
- Internet at bedtime (needs to stop)
- feeling bad for being just myself (that sounds more negative than it should, but do you ever go over things that you said/did and just berate yourself? When really it was not a big deal and you were just being yourself and people love you for being you? Know what I mean? That. Well, I'm going to try and cut down on that.)

What I resolve to not say to Jason:
- Why don't you know how to use a hamper?
- Would you buy me chips?

What I resolve to not say to Maddie:
- stop talking

I resolve to teach Maddie:
- it is more important to be smart, educated and funny
- not everyone will think you are smart and funny, but I always will
- you can actually carry your backpack when I am around
- walking is a legitimate mode of transportation and it is not actually the end of the world and your legs will not actually fall off

I resolve to spend less money on:
- crap from Superstore/London Drugs/Shoppers Drug Mart/Michael's that was never on my list in the first place
- fast food
- stuff I won't ever (nev-ah ev-ah) use

I intend to learn how to:
- change the oil in my car
- rock climb
- operate a metal detector (so I don't have to be the digger)
- quilt something flannel and cozy

I resolve to get Zen about:
- commuting b/c it will end
- families at work who are not yet ready to listen to me
- people in general who are not yet ready to listen to me (b/c obviously if they were ready they would recognize that, as a matter of fact, I do know what I'm talking about)

I plan to try the following restaurants:
- The Hollows (for brunch)
- Duck Duck Goose
- the Taj Majal or some other really (and expensive) Indian restaurant
- The Cave (Janna says it looks like you are on the moon.  In the 1970s.  Really, I need to check that off my list)

Okey doke there kiddies. That's my first list of 2013. I'm curious about you interwebs - name something from three of the above categories (you pick).


And to reward you all for indulging me as I ramble: here are pictures of Madeleine's first skating lesson with Mackenzie!

Christmas - Part Two

Member how I said we spread Christmas out? Well...part two is starting up next week. Mom and Dad are coming and we'll do it again (a slightly mini-er version). They are coming to house/dog sit for us while we are away (Disney World, but don't worry, there will be MUCH more on that later) but they are going to come a few days early so we can have some Christmas time together.


We ate our gingerbread house, but this is what it looked like. #NotReally