Jess and Jens Excellent Adventure - Week 2

So today we are in Monaco but we are sleeping in Menton. Tomorrow we will be doing a crazy drive all day to Bourges tomorrow. Then it will be Le Mans then in Caens and then Paris. We are having a blast.

Jess and Jen's Excellent Adventure

OK so we can not post any pics because Jen didn't bring her USB cord but that will come later. So far we have been in Castelnou 5near Cahors) with Angelina and her family. We ate sooooo much. This morning we went from Cahors to Toulouse to Nimes and now Avignon. We are staying at a very beautiful B&B here. Tomorrow we will be going bacdk to Nimes for a festival that is happening this week. We even have tickets to see a real bullfight!!

We have many stories to tell but French computer keyboards are very different so it is very tricky to type on so you will have to wait for them when we get home. Then we can post the pictures that go with our adventures too!

Missing my boys at home though. Be good and I will bring lots of gifts home. And Sheldon, don't worry. I have not been hit on at all...not even checked out...lol.

Happy Birthday, Connor

Yesterday Connor had his birthday party (which is why we were MIA from Eric's party). It's hard to believe that 11 years of his life have already gone by. So much has happened in those 11 years. One thing is for sure though; Connor has an old soul. Even as a toddler, you could tell that the spirit in this little boy was very wise and mature. Now you can tell by the way he talks and in his mannerisms.

He definitely acts his age too though. I've never met his friends from school ever since we switched schools. I've always said I'd be one of those parents who always know who their children's friends are but I seem to be failing in that these past couple of years. Anyways, I finally got to meet a couple of them yesterday at his party.

Here were some things I noticed about 11 year old boys nowadays...

1. They all have long shaggy hair (except Connor finally got a trim on Friday)
2. Their voices can start changing
3. Girls are not as gross anymore, but still a little gross
4. But they still love playing with swords, light sabers, and video games
5. And burps and farts are still hilarious (...Dalan)

I've also noticed another thing. Our house is not big enough to handle the energies of four 11 year olds and two 8 year olds so we banished them to the park nearby for a while.

The party began during the 3rd period of the hockey game. It was tense for a while there, especially when it went into overtime. I think I was the most vocal out of everyone there. But in the end, the Ottawa Senators prevailed and it's off to bring home the Stanley Cup.

Connor's ice-cream cake was very fitting for the occassion.


Dalan's present was pretty funny. He took a huge box and filled it with scrunched up newspaper. Then he scattered coins and other little items (like Tic Tacs and a rubber bouncy ball) into the box. You can only imagine how hard it is to find tons of little coins in a huge box filled with scrunched up newspaper. Connor had fun finding them all. Very creative, Dalan.

Here are some other pictures from the party.









Oh and stay tuned for "Jess and Jen's Excellent Adventure". It all starts in 24 hours!

Now it's 47 hours...

50 hours to go!

The countdown continues....

68 hours to go!!!!!!

Which Superhero Are You?

I am Elektra.

There's really no superhero with more style than you.
Because who could beat being sexy assasin ninja?

Hey Chrissie...my ninja style beats your ninja style.

Take quiz...

.doc vs .pdf

I realize I haven't talked about my job lately because it's been pretty busy and I've had no stories to tell. But that has all changed since yesterday. One client that I work with is not very technologically savvy. Ok, no big deal. I can handle that. So yesterday, I emailed the client asking for some pdf files we needed for the website we are developing for them. The client answered and said they were having difficulty finding the pdf files but would it be ok if they sent Word docs and I could resave them as pdfs. "Sure," I said, "no problem." A little while later, I got the files. I took a double take when I saw these files. These files were not Word files. They were PowerPoint files. Who in the world creates their Annual Reports in PowerPoint??? No, they were not slides of the reports. It was their whole annual report made in PowerPoint.

I think my design and layout teacher would drop of an aneurysm...right....about....now.

Happy Mother's Day

First and foremost, I have to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom. She has been an example of hard work and sacrifice to me. Thank you for putting up with all my crap as a teenager then still loving me as I became a mother as well.

I'd also like to say Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law. Do they have Mother's Day in Australia? Anyways, thanks for raising a fabulous son...it's Sheldon I'm talking about, if you're wondering which one.

I went to a wedding reception last night for a special young lady that I met while I was her Young Women's leader. She was just a little Beehive. Now she is married...I can't believe it. I feel so old!

But I digress. As the usual wedding reception activities unfolded (first dance with hubby, dance with her dad, groom dancing with his mother, and the ever so popular slide show documenting the bride and grooms childhood to marriage with the accompanying cheesy love songs), I realized that in as little as ten years, I could be sitting there watching one of my own sons get married. I couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed at the thought. I guarantee you that I'll probably be a soppy teary mess when the slide show plays. Or perhaps it won't be a slide show. Perhaps technology will make way for some kind of virtual reality show.

Anyways, my point is that I love my sons. I am going to be very protective of them as they start dating. I may even end up being one of those overbearing mothers who point out faults in their girlfriends because nobody is good enough for my boys. I apologize in advance to all future girlfriends and their future spouses. However, this criticism comes with years of living with them. I know they are not perfect and because I know what their faults and weaknesses are, the women they choose to marry must be able to complement those weaknesses into a strength. I suppose that is why opposites attract. But I also know that the women they choose must not bring them down and turn a strength into a weakness.

I can say this though...I am trying to prepare them to be a good husband. They will know how to do their fair share of household chores and they will know how to cook. For example, ever since Aidan could talk, he has never said "I love you". Sheldon and I say it to each other and to the boys all the time so it's not like it's something foreign in our home. But still, he has never said those words. Now I am getting worried and foresee this as a future problem for him when he is married. I can only imagine the couples counseling sessions now...



Wife: "I don't feel he loves me. He never tells me he loves me. Even when I tell him that I love him, he never says it back. He just smiles and hugs me."

Shrink: "How do you want to respond to that, Aidan?"

Aidan: "She knows I love her. I shouldn't have to say it all the time. I show her all the time I love her."

Wife: "But he never says it!"



Like I said, I'm trying to correct that now before it becomes a problem. I explain to him that when he loves somebody, he needs to tell them sometimes so they know he loves them. And it's rude not to return the "I love you" if you really do feel that way. So it's become kind of a game to try and coax an "I love you" out of him. But whenever I say it to him, he just grins and hugs me.

Well one night as I was putting him to bed, I said "I love you" and did not get a return. I was getting frustrated. Then he gave me a big hug as usual, then said "This is how I say I like you."

So to Aidan's future wife, his hugs mean I like you. I have deciphered his code.

Last month though, we made some real progress. We were at the mall picking up Sheldon's new suit and bumped into Angelina. She accompanied us to the store. As we were waiting, she noticed how clingy Aidan was. She commented on how he loves his mommy. I explained the whole I love you dilemma to her. She was shocked and started to chastise him in a playful way. I demonstrated by saying I love you to him and he didn't reply. Then I tried it in French and low and behold, he returned the sentiment in French! Now I don't know if it was because he was scared of Angelina in all her Frenchness, but it worked.

So to Aidan's future wife, if you want to hear him say I love you, say it in French.

But if you could only imagine the happiness I felt when he returned those words. So to my mother, my mother-in-law, and my sons...

Je t'aime.

The Twelve Days to France

I have officially started counting down the days to France.

That kind of day...

It's only 3:18 in the afternoon and already it's been that kind of day. I was at the grocery store for 10 minutes, came out, and saw very noticeable scratches on my new truck! I don't know if some dummy scratched up my car trying to open his/her door when I was parked downtown during work or when I while I was at the store for 10 minutes. There wasn't anybody parked beside me at the store, but who knows.

Then when I came home, I realized the girl at the store forgot to give me my zucchini! I have been looking forward to eating grilled vegetables on the BBQ tomorrow and now my little zucchini is gone. I only had 8 things in my bag when I bought 9. I know this because I went through the 8 items or less checkout line. And all my items except the zucchini were not food related!

Then when I came home to show Sheldon the ugly scratches on the truck, I noticed a very faint scratch line across the whole side. This wasn't as noticeable because it is so faint, but I saw it. Somebody tried to key our truck!

I am totally mad. What a day! And it's only 3:21 in the afternoon.

Pepe Le Piu

I was at the gas station today and as I got out of the car, the guy on the other side was just leaving. As I'm pumping gas, I get a strong whiff every now and then of cheap cologne. I was shocked that the guy that had just left had so much cologne on that it was still in the air! As I got into the car, turned the car on, then turned the steering wheel to get out of the gas station, I got another strong whiff of the cologne. I wondered where the heck that smell came from. I then realized it may be my hands. I smelled my left hand and there was no odour. Then I smelled my right hand - the hand that held the gas pump. It reeked of cologne. Whoever was at the same pump I was at before me must have applied so much cologne that he left residues of it on the handle of the gas pump! Eeeeewwww. I couldn't wait to wash my hands once I got home. Throughout the night, the memory of that smell comes to my mind as if I had just caught another whiff of it. Blegh.