sick and tired...literally

I went to work Wednesday and only made it till 11am. I left with a bad cough (I had no voice left) and a high fever. I only had a small cough when I arrived at work... I have spent since then in bed pretty much unable to move and unable to sleep from all the coughing, pounding headaches and fever. This was definitely the worst flu I have EVER had. I managed to drag myself to a walk-in clinic this morning and a chest xray showed bronchitis. I started antibitoics today and I am praying they kick in soon. I miss not being able to cuddle with the kids.

I will be back to posting once I am better. 

I'm back from Puerto Vallarta!

Oh what an awesome trip it was. 9 days of glorious sunshine and heat. A huge thank you to my parents for making the trip possible and for their hospitality.

My sister and I ended up getting to Puerto Vallarta about 3.5 hours later than expected. And all because of a toilet. We went from Ottawa to Chicago and then Chicago to PV. We were about 1.5 hours from landing in PV when it was announced that 2 out of the 3 bathrooms on the plane were not working. No one was overly concerned since we didn't have much time left. THEN the pilot came on and announced that we would have to stop in Houston because they couldn't land in PV with only one working toilet. Kim and I were pissed because she purposely picked these early flights so that we would get to PV in the early afternoon. We missed the afternoon there completely.

I ended up with a super blocked right ear. I wasn't terribly worried until the 5th day of not being able to hear whatsoever out of my right ear. Annoying as all hell. My mom and I walked to the American hospital where the doctor took one look in my ear and said 'Oh yes. Ear infection.' $128 for the visit and $40 in meds later, and we were out of there within 45 minutes. In Ottawa, that would have been an 8+ hour miserable experience at one of our hospitals. Needless to say, the meds/ear drops were useless and my ear unblocked itself on the plane ride back home.

We spent every day from around 8:30-2:30 by the pool at the resort where we were staying and then we'd head back to the apartment to shower and skype with family and then we'd bus it to downtown PV for dinner. We mainly ate Italian and Mexican and the majority of our meals were delicious. Shopping happened each evening also. So many interesting little stores with handmade stuff. I'll post my purchases as soon as I have time to take photos.

The flights home were...interesting, especially once we arrived in Houston. What a freaking gong show. We get off the plane and head to customs where hundreds and hundreds of people are herding like cattle. AND Kim and I only had a 1.5 hr layover. We started freaking when we saw the lines. We made it through customs in about 45 minutes. Shocking - I thought it would have taken longer. Next was a race to find our luggage and check them in AGAIN. THEN we had to go through security. AND THE LINE-UP. I just about died when I saw the line here. We were convinced we were never going to make our flight to Newark. We managed to get through security about 13 minutes before our flight was supposed to take off. But we still had to get from gate C1 to C43. So we started running and then I practically jumped in front of one of those golf carts that was heading in our direction and gasping for breath, I said that we had to get to C43 in the next couple minutes or we were going to miss our flight. Luckily the guy in the cart was heading to the same gate and we made it there just in time. PHEW because I did not want to be stranded in an airport overnight.

We arrived in Ottawa at midnight and we waited for our luggage. Kim's never showed up. She was pissed. Everything she had bought in PV was in there including the gifts for my kids, my niece and her husband. Her luggage ended up being found 3 days later in Quebec City (?????).

The kids were overjoyed to see me, as was Pablo. I missed them so very much. I've never been away for that long. Anyway, here are some pictures I took with my phone while I was there:

the view just before landing in PV

the Bayview Grand resort where we stayed

View from the balcony of the apartment of the only cruise ship we saw, heading to dock on our last day

a view of the pools and ocean from the balcony of our apartment. we went to sleep each night listening to the waves.

another view from the balcony

view of the mountains from where we hung out during the day

the view from my lounge chair

downtown PV

downtown PV

downtown PV - view from the balcony of a restaurant

rustic downtown PV

warm sun and sandy beaches, here I come!!!

Tomorrow my twin sister and I are off to visit our folks in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our parents have been vacationing there every winter for years. I've been there before a couple times but it's been over 10 years I think since my last visit. My sister was there a couple years ago and the photos below are from her trip there. I am so excited to go where there is no snow and no need to bundle up just to go get the mail. LOL! Anyway, I've got posts all ready to go so you guys won't even know I'm gone! See you all next week!

all photos from my sister's flickr

birthday pressie

Friday was my birthday and even though I felt like crap due to a very bad cold (who gets a cold in the summer?!?!), I was pleasantly surprised to see this on the dining room table when I got home from work:

a portrait of Isabella done by a friend of Pablo's

The portrait was done from this photo:

There are two more portraits coming - one of Simon and a family portrait. Can't wait! Thanks so much Pablo and my kiddos for a fantastic gift and birthday!

I knew it was just a matter of time...

before my twin sister Kim and I dressed alike at work.

Kim on the left and myself on the right (before I coloured and chopped my hair off)

We work for the same government department and recently, we both now work in the same building, on the same floor. We confuse many and it's fun.

the latest around here

I got my hair done yesterday. Thought I'd try something different and a bit edgier so I went with a style complete with a shaved side and I wanted a strawberry blond colour. The colour is dark now but will lighten after a few washes. I love the change.

(still need to scrub the dye off my forehead - OH, and photos courtesy of Isabella - little miss photographer!!!)

And now, a quick update on the others.

Isabella - she just completed 2 weeks of full-time camp. She had a blast but came home really grouchy and tired. What we have to look forward to once full day school starts in September...

Simon - we took Simon to a physiotherapy consult on Wednesday and she confirmed that Simon definitely has low muscle tone. She said this is something he'll have all his life so we need to help him improve his muscle tone. Some things we need to do with him are: get him walking up and down small hills, walking on curbs for balance and to get his feet moving one in front of the other on a narrower area, carry heavy things, take him to parks often to maneuver around the obstacles and we need to help Simon with stairs. Simon often goes down a set of stairs on his bum still so we need to get him to walk down them instead. We also need to get him to practice going up with one foot on each step rather than both on each step. We also bought something to strap to the pedals of a tricycle so that we can strap Simon's feet to the tricycle. We tried this at the appointment - Simon's feet strapped to the pedals of a tricycle - and he was able to ride around the room with no problems. It was so cute to see since he's never been able to keep his feet on the pedals before. The physiotherapist also said that it's better for Simon to play sitting at a table than sitting on the floor. Due to his low muscle tone, when he sits on the floor, he hunches his back and his hips point outward more than normal (already an issue). The physiotherapist will see Simon again in August.

Simon cont' - we also saw a social worker about Simon and she confirmed our views on not putting Simon in school this September. A big reason why I want to keep Simon out of school is that if he is in school, all his therapy is done through the school and the amount of therapy he receives depends on the school's budget. If Simon is not in school, his therapy is done through the children's hospital and they can provide more help than the school ever could. We're now looking at options of playgroups, etc. for Simon for September.

Pablo - spoke to his oncologist last week and was explaining to him how he's been vomiting daily for over a month now. His oncologist is setting up an appointment for him to see an endocrinologist - someone who can hopefully help regulate his system because something is clearly not right. Pablo also spoke to the hospital in Toronto about his upcoming bladder pacemaker surgery and it looks like now it won't be till maybe September...
 

my new tattoo!

I have been meaning to get this tattoo for 6 years now. 7 years ago, on Aug 16, 2005 my grandmother passed away. She meant the world to my sisters and I, so we all decided to get a tattoo in her memory - 'Nonna' which means grandmother in Italian. My sisters both got theirs while I was pregnant with Isabella. I waited WAY too long to get mine. The two birds represent Isabella and Simon. I know my grandmother is watching over them. I just wish she could have met them...

Here is my tattoo with a few before/during shots:

the finished tattoo!

after the stencil application

the first couple of minutes hurt like a b*tch, then my arm went numb and it was okay after that

letter outlining done

I cut it all off...

I was tired of my hair so I just had to cut it all off last weekend. Now the fun is experimenting with different ways to style it...

I was so overdue...

to get my hair done. And here are today's results (taken in our windowless bathroom with crappy lighting):

hair by Jayme at Platform Artistic Hair Concept in Orleans

Update on all four of us

I'll start off with the kids' update. All good news. Then I'll talk about Pablo and I which is all bad news.

Simon - he had his 3 year check-up with our wonderful family doctor. He is a healthy 41 pounds and 37 inches tall. Doc says she wouldn't be surprised if Simon ended up as tall as his father (6'4''). At the rate he eats, that is NO surprise. He's talking up a storm and we can now have nice conversations with him.

Isabella - she has two loose teeth. Her first ones. Both are on the bottom in the middle. She is beyond thrilled and wiggles them often.

Me - I need to make an appointment with our wonderful family doctor because I think I have gallbladder issues. I've been ignoring the symptoms for some time but the headaches, stomach aches and especially the pains on the right side under my rib cage, are getting worse.

Pablo - he's been feeling like crap for a few weeks. Weird, tingling, numbness sensations all down his left side. Waking up all disoriented and forgetting where he is....basically, seizure like symptoms. When he mentioned all this to the doctor at Simon's appointment today, she did some quick strength and balance tests and quickly concluded that there is something wrong. She then revoked his license, sent him for bloodwork, scheduled an appointment with his neurologist, and sent an emergency request for an MRI which she wants within 24 hours. Since Pablo can't drive, I have to take him back to the doctor's tomorrow so she can look at the bloodwork results.

Bloody hell.

My new glasses and Simon's updated mohawk

I got my new glasses and sunglasses a couple weeks ago but kept forgetting to take photos. Simon also got the sides of his head shaved and he wanted his picture taken so voila:

simon decided to start chewing my shirt

more chewing of my shirt

thinking about chewing my shirt

chewing some more

the face goes with the hair

My new look

Look what I did yesterday. I was so overdue for a cut and colour. I have alot of hair. ALOT. The amount of hair on the floor after the cut was done was ridiculous. My head feels so much lighter and I love the lighter colour too.

Next - new glasses because I'm 3 years overdue for that.

Around the house

As promised, I took some photos of changes that I've made recently around the house and while taking photos, I snapped a few of the kids and our cat who, believe it or not, is still alive (my cat is around 17 years old and has lost so much weight in her old age that she probably weighs a couple pounds - she does seem happy - I would never make her suffer). I'll save the house photos for a separate post that I'll post tomorrow.

I'll start with a couple photos of my new hair. But in case some of you don't know what my old hair looked like, here is a photo from when I got it done last:

and now, here is what my hair looks like now (minus make-up because I don't plan on leaving the house today - lots of cleaning and laundry to do). I need new glasses (I've had these for over 4 years). So hard to take a photo of yourself...

And now some photos of the kids:

Finally, here is a photo of our cat doing what she does 98% of the time (I wish):