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Leanne's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 2/21/00 -------------------- 1/25/00 1/12/00 1/4/00 12/14/99 12/7/99 11/23/99 11/16/99 -------------------- Leanne's Introduction

February 21, 2000

Hello to all! It has been a few weeks since I have written, and I send my apologies. The reason is that I have been so very busy and have really had no time to just sit and think, let alone sit and type out a journal entry. I will not bore you with all the details of the past, but I will summarize and move on to the present.

First of all I have been hitting the books everyday. I had this huge assignment due on the 11th of February, and I have another one due on April 6th. On top of that I have to prepare for the final exam which is approximately three hours long and must be written sometime before October 2000 -- my goal is to write it in June. Study, study, study ... very exciting.

Secondly, work has been insane. I just completed all our quarter-end work for clients, and now I am working on our year-end preparations as our company's annual audit starts February 28th. Both jobs require many hours of work both in and away from the office and no one else in the office is capable of doing what I do (or would want to), with the exception of the President.

Thirdly, Jade has been very active. With her dance exams coming up on Thursday, the 24th, classes for dance, swimming, a couple of birthday parties thrown into the mix, a second bout with the chicken pox (she had a mild case, eight spots, last spring and almost a year later gets six more), a couple of doctor appointments here and there, lots of homework, a few tests and whew ... time flies.

Last of all are home renovations. This is lots of fun, as I find it a great way to let go and be creative. It also helps me relax.

That pretty much sums things up.

What is new? Let's see....

I have started my second assignment but cannot really get into it. It is very long (will require at least 70 hours of work -- ha!) and each time I sit down to start I get very distracted. Must concentrate harder....

We have started the redecorating of Jade's bedroom last week. This was almost mission impossible as Jade had one idea and I had another. Jade wanted a "sun, moon, star, astrological " theme and that is great, I really like that idea, it's just that she wanted her room to be painted all black (floors included) and then the stars, moon, planets etc... all in glow-in-the-dark colors (yellow, greens, blue etc...). I had to explain to her that we couldn't paint the entire room black, and that we could use the sun, moon and stars to come up with another idea. Uh, uh, no way, she would settle for nothing less. I got the crying "You don't like anything I want to do, I am a unique individual and want something to reflect my personality, not yours, Mom" (and these are her exact words by the way, pretty scary for an eight year old isn't it?) speech. She wouldn't talk to me about any other options or ideas, and there were many, all she did was cry, complain, stomp her feet and whine about this is what she wanted, it was her room, blah, blah, blah.... So what did I do? Well, nothing really, my mom, bless her soul, did. She showed up at my house one day with a beautiful comforter, in blues, yellows and white (tulips, daisies and pansy pattern) with all the matching bedding and window treatments and said "Here Jade, this is for your room, Grandma saw it and it was so pretty I thought of you and bought it. I love you." With that she left and Jade was thrilled! "Oh, Mommy, look how beautiful it is, let's put it on my bed right now!" We did and there was never another word about black walls and floors again. Go figure! My father, being the wonderful father that he is, decided he would paint his granddaughter's room (I picked out a pale buttercream color) for me. Once the wood flooring is laid down (wonderful father is also doing this himself -- just as he has done so for the rest of the house) I will be painting (some freehand, some stencil) tulips, daisies and pansies on her walls, door and closet. The plan is to make it a very peaceful garden for her to dwell. I can't wait till it is done. Then I move on to my bedroom and I have no idea what I want in there yet. I will save that story for another time.

As I mentioned earlier, Jade has had another bout of the chicken pox, however, these were itchy for only one day and horribly painful for her the next few days. They were on her waist/tummy/chest area and they burned anytime her pants would touch them or she bent over. Poor kid, at least they have started to disappear now. Has anyone else had a child get the chicken pox more than once?

Last week Jade went to her best friend's birthday party. They went ice-skating and had a great time. Jade is a much better skater than I thought. She can really cruise on skates. My dad has been the only one to see Jade skate over the past two years as he really enjoys going on the school field trips etc., while I am at work, so I really didn't think she could skate that well. She was really pleased to show off her talents to her mom and I was very proud of her. I never enjoyed ice skating but I think I have just developed a renewed interest in it just by watching my daughter so I'm going to put that on the priority list as an activity to share with her.

The past few days we have spent a lot of time outdoors as the weather has been beautiful. Murphy (the dog, my son) is thrilled as he has been feeling a little left out with us being so busy. It is sad that he has had to take a back seat for a while but he is currently reaping the rewards of a slow down in our schedule. Don't get me wrong, my dog is not neglected, he goes with us almost everywhere and my neighbors often take him on walks when they go, he just misses all the extra attention and cuddles he gets when we are just sitting around. He does not realize he is a dog at all.

Before I go I thought I should mention that my second MRI has been scheduled for March 2nd and I am pretty sure that all will be well. If there was really anything to be worried about I am sure (hoping anyway) that they would have had me in there right away.

On that note I am going to sign off, as I really have to get back to work. I will try and sneak in another quick entry later this week (like you haven't read enough already). A warm welcome to Shelley (How's it going eh? -- sorry couldn't resist), the newest diary writer and fellow Canadian!

Remember to hug your children and tell them you love them today, tomorrow and everyday.

Take care,

Leanne