All systems go

Catherine is still having a struggle with little Ava. Poor thing. The good news is that John's colonoscopy was clean. Yay! Alex is home.

October is almost over - and I'm glad

It has been a month of huge change, ups an downs. Catherine has had her little baby girl, and she is beautiful. Ava is a very healthy little girl, and I was lucky to be there to meet her just about an hour after she was born. I spent ten days with her, and John came for the last six days. It was a very intense time, full of changes, especially for Catherine and Paul. Catherine ended up having a hard time with breastfeeding, and with all the lack of sleep and hormonal changes, she went a little over the edge at times. It is hard to see that happen, and even though I know it will pass, I am sometimes worried about Catherine, who feels things to intensely. She has been so inside herself and it's hard for her to get out of the house. Paul is back to work today, so this will be the "real world" as she says. Paul's family left yesterday, so it will be her first time alone during the day. She may find that she can get in to the rhythm of life with a baby now. Once we get used to it, us moms tend to manage well. I hope Catherine will find this out too. We saw Jackson and his parents a few times too. Jackson is so cute and funny. We are looking forward to seeing him soon so that his parents can go down to Berkeley to find a place for them to live. This weekend was horrible. Alex ended up putting his car into a ditch. He had had a couple of beers a few hours earlier and even though he was not over the limit, the car was impounded. What a perfect storm of unhappiness! The reason he sped off late Friday night is because Sharah was not speaking to him and he wanted to see her. He told his dad this, and then went out. When John got the call to help Alex out, he went right down, and Sharah was there too. I wasn't there but it seems like the two of them really had it out. Both have very quick tempers. Alex is so upset with his dad that he has temporarily moved out. He came home yesterday to tell us that he loves us but still can't come home. He and Sharah had just ended things about half an hour earlier. There were lots of tears on Friday and I am worried about Alex's state of mind. I am going to try to find a counselor for all of us. Added to that, we didn't hear from Catherine all weekend. She had phoned on Friday, and there were tears and she was mad at her dad for giving Ava a cold - not a good way to end a conversation but I had to go to work. We heard that Heather had visited Catherine and Ava too - but she hasn't been in touch either. I feel isolated and right now I don't seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for anything. I guess that is understandable. To end this up and down month, John is going in for a colonoscopy tomorrow. He has to stop eating at noon and then take horrible stuff that will make him clear out his bowels in a very dramatic way. In a couple of days we should have a resolution to all of this. I hope and pray that the doctor will find nothing. I am going to work this morning. That is one thing I think I can still do, and I like being with the people at Deep Cove, staff and kids. It's raining again!!

baby!

Catherine is in the hospital! She is going to be induced, and I am quite a mess. I missed my teaching job today because I got mixed up and thought I was booked for the p.m. It is horrible but I am putting it down to sympathetic pre-labour brain! I am booked for the 7:00 flight tomorrow. We are going out for dinner tonight at the Bengal Room. Isn't that weird?

October 8 2012

It's a lovely Thanksgiving Monday morning. The weather continues to be spectacular, with 20 degrees yesterday! I went for a run yesterday morning, got some pumpkin soup made (there are still about 12 bags of frozen pumpkin from last year in the freezer!) then went in to Victoria to see "Red" at the Belfry. It was excellent, as most plays there are. I don't know why I nodded off for a few minutes. I guess it was dark and comfy. I saw Lloy from book club, who I haven't seen in years. I didn't recognize her at first since she has had a nose job! I think she had a lift too. She does look good. Her nose was just too long! We had errands to run of course, before and after, then came home and had a steak dinner. Not too Thanksgiving-y but we will have the dinner tonight, with Alex, Sharah and Margaret. I am missing the other kids and their spouses and Jackson like crazy but we just have to roll with it.Catherine will probably be phoning soon and I will be off to Calgary! I want to get a good bike ride in today, and other than that, it will just be relaxing and cooking!

October 3, 2012

Welcome Reid Alexander! Kelly was induced this morning and gave birth to a little boy just tonight. He weighed 9lbs.12oz. and all is well. I worked at Deep Cove in the Grade 5 class (English) this afternoon. It was fun and pretty cushy since there was early dismissal. I am there tomorrow too. I went to see Mary Anne in the fashion show at Resthaven Lodge. It was great! Another sunny day. I went for a bike ride down W. Saanich Road via Brentwood and Mt. Newton X Road. It was nice.

October is here

It's October 3 already! There is a cool feel to the air but it is dry and sunny. I should go to the gym for a change but I love being outside on days like these. I have ten passes to use up in two months, so I am waiting for the rain! We had Heather visit on Monday and then again on Tuesday. She is on her way to Kimberley, but not for too long, which makes me feel better. I think she is doing well and seems happy. Alex continues to work away at welding. There was drama with his cell phone bill yesterday. It turned out there was not a problem but there was a lot of tension at home. The good thing was that it totally took my appetite away! I still haven't lost any of my summer weight though, but I feel good. I just don't want to gain any more. I worked a half day yesterday and will work this afternoon too, and maybe tomorrow. Friday will be a morning in Martine's class, unless there is a call from Calgary! I am thinking it will be next week sometime. There has been a lot of waiting for things to happen the last few weeks!