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Peaces Of Me++++
++++ The miles just keep rollin as the people leave there way to say hello I've heard this life is overrated but I hope that it gets better as we go |
June 30/03 Monica was out to the Mall with Sam today, expected money but she doesn't have to spend every time she goes there. She finally traded her rolled pennies with me and bought 2 cute tops for $11.00. I will use the pennies to give her an allowance! She has a game tonight and we saw parents on another team ragging on there daughter so much about her performance that the coach talked to them once during the game from 3rd base and twice after the game. They forget it is just a game. Nadia came home from camping and its funny, but she was next door neighbours with our next ddor neighbours... out of about 300 camp sites they were neighbours again! She went out to dinner to Natasha's and I hope Natasha sticks to her guns about breaking up with John. Her life won't be very exciting if he never goes anywhere. I am worried right now, Stacy walked the dog after 10 and then came home to say she was going somewhere with Josh, a small place called Raglan. I am so worried that I phoned Brent to see why he would take her there and he said it was to drive on the dirt hills. I don't like that at all. I know he went off the road last year so it is making me nervous. Lately when he has gone out there Brent said the cops were after them. Great! I hope they come back soon. I phoned Dave he told me not to worry she is safe but he doesn't understand that she is not the type to go out darting over dirt hills. The last time they were there on saturday they were chased out of raglan by an undercover police car and chopper. This is the kind fo fun Josh likes, but Brent is seldom with him on these excursions and now Stacy is with him. I keep getting the feeling that he will try to impress her just because she is the girl he liked so much all the time he was growing up and he will want to show her his life style. It might seem far fetched and that I am getting carried away here but I don't think so, Josh spent his whole childhood with a huge crush on Stacy and was devastated when he realized that the guys were eyeing her when they got to high school so I don't think I am blowing this out of proportion at all. John is also one who even told Stacy's own father how he felt about Stacy so them having Stacy with them would really be something. I was talking to Sullivan and I probably gave him my fear about her being out on the hills but Stacy just doesn’t like going out so late at night. So I am here just waiting and worrying…. Annie at 6/30/2003 11:05:00 p.m.
Last night Brent came home, went out again and Josh hid in the bush to scare the crap out of Brent! Brent, Josh and Sullivan watched TV late in the evening. Stacy let Sullivan sleep as long as he wanted today, she worked in the morning and while I was outside tackling an old garden with Monica his mom came over and talked to him in the hall and gave him an ultimatum. I realized when I came in Sullivan looked very upset and extremely quiet so I asked Stacy what was wrong, if they had an argument or something and that is when she told me. He didn't really want to go home to face what would be happening. I would like to have told his mom that the same thing is happening with my son and that we did the same thing, we went over to TJ's and brought Brent home and he has been home more since, I don't know if that is the reason or he just wants to be home more. It turns out that Stacy talked him into going home and he was there before his mom got home so hopefully that made things better. We downloaded the cottage pictures today and there was a lot of undesirable pictures taken there that Brent was uneasy at showing me. I have to question their IQ when they were smoking up in the boathouse. Lets think this one out. Lets all toke up in a boat with a gas line leak, in a 70-year-old wooden building that would take about 2 minutes to burn to the ground. I am disappointed. TJ called Brent over to ask him to help with some electrical wiring and dry walling so James and I drove him over when we went out to Brothers Restaurant. The kids at home had a pizza. It stormed a lot today, so I wonder how Nadia and Derrick are handling it with them camping? It really started to thunder and lightning here a while ago. I yelled for James to turn off his computer and he ran down but the power went out before he got it off. Monica went to Sam's today. When it stormed too much we decided that Monica should stay over night at Sam's. Monica was leery to do so because she didn't have any pj’s and I had to tell Julie that she needed protection for overnight so then Monica was all right. Annie at 6/30/2003 04:57:00 a.m. I woke up and it was almost 1am and none of my kids were home. I phoned Cory's and got Monica and we knocked on the Keg's to get April...way too late. Stacy was still up to drive Sullivan home. I think he went under protest. I believe that he thinks that any day that he has to go home is a date that has been cut short. He forgets that usually a date is only a few hours and then they go there separate ways. He is with her sometimes for days at a time. I hear Stacy actually have to say that he has to go home overnight and he will say that he doesn't want to go or he doesn't have to go. I wish he had a job, it would be so much better for the time that they shared. I really worried all night about April with those guys. I went over to Marita and requested her that if April was there and she was going to bed to please send April home if it was just her and the guys. Cory was here today and wandered with Monica throughout the house. He witnessed a scuffle between Stacy and Monica. That boy is growing up right in front of our eyes! His voice is unrecognizable it is changing so fast. His voice is so much lower right now...really noticeable. Last year Monica was so much taller than him but now he is taller. Cory is a man child. Stacy was very adamant that Sullivan shaves off his Mohawk befoe he meets our family and he did. She has plans for that boy now...payback for the haircut. We went to Terry's for Mark's 40th birthday party. Sullivan came and it was nice to have Cory with us. He is spending more time with us these days. Cory was talking to Monica about her contacts and I turned off the radio just as Cory was asking Monica "How do you get the condoms out?" He meant contacts. He was mortified that we had heard it. His voice is changing now. I was surprised at James, he asked Sullivan if he wanted to be driven home and Sullivan said it didn't matter either way and James drove him to our house knowing that it meant he would be staying overnight, but I guess it was easier on James after a long evening. I wish we would have had privacy to ask Stacy what her feeling were about Sullivan coming home with us because last time I think there was some tension about him staying overnight. Stacy has mentioned that she needs time alone to be by herself and with other people. They are together too much for kids in there first couple of months together but I think Sullivan is so happy to be here that he hasn't noticed that he might be crowding her. Brent didn't go, even when he has the opportunity he hasn't and everyone asked about him...he is the only grandchild that hasn't seen her. Grandma is rapidly getting more of a vocabulary and even sang happy birthday to Mark! Annie at 6/29/2003 04:19:00 a.m. James and I worked on the garage today, I hate doing it because it seems that it is the only time James and I become short with each other. I really got upset when we were at the dump and I realized that he threw out a cabinet that has only been out of the package long enough for James to lose the hardware for it, it was over $50. and he just dumped it. Nadia and Derrick went camping at Sibault's Point but unfortunately Natasha and John did not come as planned. Natasha was so mad that John decided not to go that she broke up with him. Got lost ended up going south on 48 almost to to I took Monica to Kelly B's birthday party and when we got there no one would answer the door. Finally her dad drove up. Carol said that Monica's pitching was excellent the other day, Monica said it was terrible but they said that she only faced up to a maximum of 4 batters every inning. Sullivan asked Brent to buzz his hair ... he can't afford to pay for it right now. He decided to have a Mohawk and gelled it in spikes. Brent was more than eager to give the haircut to Sullivan, I am sure he knew how put off Stacy would be. Stacy came back from her first shift of spinning and was shocked when she saw it, didn't like it at all. Two cops pulled up to her and were asking if she was old enough to drive, and when she asked if they wanted her to pull over, they winked and drove off. We teased her that they were flirting with her. I was pretty upset with April. She 'sacked' Sullivan and he went down hard, nauseated to the point that he had to run to the bathroom to throw up. Brent and TJ went to the movies. Stacy with the girls and Sullivan... somewhere. April had one of the pictures she took and the Athletic awards published in the paper! April spent a lot of time at the neighbours. She was in their pools and hot tubs. Mike was there too and Monica hot tubbed until she went to Cory's. Monica was upset ant the way Mike and Jeff were looking at her in the hottub, just staring at her body. Even Billy got in on it when he said to the guys that his hand almost touched April's pussy. Billy must have been going with the flow of things...he is only like 8 years old. Monica told him off and then April did too. I feel uneasy with April being there alone with them now. If it had been April that told Billy off first I probably wouldn't worry but I think April being the oldest and it being said about her should have defended herself first. Annie at 6/28/2003 04:42:00 a.m. Last day of school for Monica and I had to bring the van over to get all her junk! Cory and Monica went to Gramma's to swim and Stacy and Sullivan followed shortly after. Monica said they had a real good time. Sullivan had to take some Math test at Durham College today, he hasn't taken math in quite a while so I hope he did well. I took Monica to the Dairy Queen in Ajax to meet her volleyball team for a while until her eye went blood red. I came back for Stacy's game since she didn't have a ride she had to ask Amy. Amy and Sullivan went smoking cigarillos or something disgusting. I don't think Stacy will like that at all, she has no use for smoking, especially cigars. Brent went to TJ's at 10:30 at night. Annie at 6/27/2003 04:09:00 a.m. Monica went to our next door neighbours, to get her hair done in a French braid, just as all my other kids did when they were in grade 7 helping out with the grade 8 grad. Stacy was upset that Brent last night said that he was bothered at the way Sullivan treated Alex, she said that the only thing Sullivan did was when Alex tried to be funny Sullivan would give him a weird look. Monica got a great report card today 87% Cory was 89%! Lots of brain power there! I took the pictures for the school grade eight graduation but unfortunately my camera was full. I have asked other parents to send me some of there digital pictures. They loved the video and some mothers hugged me. They said they were so happy that there kids were in between mine so that I had there pictures! I talked to Brent about Alex, how I was worried about his drinking and how it bothers me that he tries to make people feel sorry for him. The guys are letting him believe he is funny when he drinks and the guy seems to think that he needs to drink to have fun and to get along with people. They are not doing Alex any favours and they will all tire of Alex's 'poor me' attitude soon. Brent has complete trust in his friends and turns a blind eye to the bad parts, like with Adam and when Adam really let Brent down and it was finally out in the open Brent can't forgive. Other people found Alex annoying, like Steve did too, so hopefully Brent will see the big picture and try to help Alex by watching his drinking or not laughing at the dumb things he says or feel sorry for him when Alex is drinking. Brent went with me to but a new monitor and processor, they thought that it couldn't just be the fan that was making my computer overheat and we agree with them. Stacy wasn't feeling well today, sore throat and headache. Sullivan came over and she started to feel better later in the evening. Annie at 6/26/2003 04:07:00 a.m. April phoned home early this morning to say that she had an allergic reaction to her cat and she had to come home. It was quite severe she had hives all over and was sneezing. I guess she can't sleep over there again if she is that allergic to her cat ;o(. I finished the tape fro the grade 8 grads but my computer is overheating so I couldn't perfect it. Nadia came up to me and said that someone had to been on there period because they made her come on and sure enough there are 4 of us... Stacy is the Alpha Wolf! We all have really bad cramps too! We saw Gramma today, Toni brought her home for the day and she is about to piece together some words but it is still frustrating for her to try to get her point across. She gives us the most heart felt hugs ever... something that you don't need words for. Nadia complained about the lost tickets and they found them so they are giving her free tickets to any concert of her choice! Stacy and Amy took the dogs to the Creek and somehow Caesar was left at home later in our bed. I didn't have laundry detergent so I had to hang our bedsheets outside to dry. I drove Brent to TJ's, what I said that I wouldn't do, but it gave us a chance to talk. He has it in his head that he had every right to use the boat because Grammie said it was all right. It doesn't matter, we said no and Grammie is only a co owner of the motor. He tried to shift the discussion by saying that Sullivan had a problem with Alex. Steve hit Alex and then Sullivan did, then later Alex tried to beat up on Sullivan. After that Sullivan was putting Alex down. He said that Sullivan was taking over with looking after the cottage, like he was responsible for the cottage when Brent should have been. But as far as I am concerned I know that Sullivan would be making them food- he is like that and that is part of being responsible. If he is taking charge, then I am glad he is with Stacy because I know she is being looked after. Besides, Brent would have acted the same towards someone who tried to take a piece out of them as Sullivan did with Alex. Annie at 6/25/2003 04:33:00 a.m. Monica's school had its track and field day. April volunteered for her hours. She was dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt with a velour black jacket and it was sweltering out, 32degrees. I argued with her until she realized that she wasn't going to win, I told her she would faint in the heat. I helped out with the Javelin and picture taking. Josh B was teamed up with me and bless him, he can't help himself taking every advantage to mess up people and the programs. He marked one guy as 100 and the next that was farther by a few feet at 70. April tried to measure from that point and he went elsewhere after lunch. The kids were limited to the number and kind of events this year to give others a chance at ribbons. Colleen made a point of telling me this year she didn't put any pressure on her kids and Holly only signed up for a few field events. Maybe Colleen is trying to change, I hope so. They had her on a post so she couldn't be where her kids where which took a lot of pressure off Holly and Monica. They probably got equal amounts of ribbons, I don't really know, I didn't ask. Monica and I walked past Doober and Drew and while we were talking Doober was hiding 'something' behind his back. Monica asked why Doober was hiding a cigarette behind his back, but I don't think that is exactly what it was. I didn't think they ever hung out and it is disappointing to see Doober with him. Stacy was taking a long time coming home from the cottage so I phoned up there and talked with Steve. I asked him about the boat and he stumbled over his words so much that I said, "You don't have to say anymore, I understand". Brent used the boat. It just makes my stomach turn to think he couldn't abide by one request. I shouldn't have put Stacy in the position to lie, I usually don't do that, but I was so sure that she would tell me the truth about Brent using the boat that she walked right into the lie said that they were only sitting in it. I am so disillusioned that she lied to cover for Brent, I have hardly ever caught her in a lie. I didn't say anything about it and she finally said that she felt bad for lying. My feelings are very hurt over it. This is my last straw with the trust I have always had in Brent. It is gone, damaged. He was told directly not to use the boat. Now I realize why Dave is so mad at me that he couldn't talk to me on the phone and won't return my calls. The permission he was talking about was permission to use the boat. Why would Brent think he could get away with doing it? They had trouble with the boat and had to get parts at the marina, who knows our boat and family very well. Stacy said that it went well up there and I asked her if Brent was responsible. She said yes, until he drinks, and then he has a who cares attitude, which I already knew. James went to a Neil Young concert with Nadia from the NHL box seats so they made an evening of it. I took Stacy to Newmarket but it hardly seemed worthwhile when they used her for only 1 1/2 innings. Monica was in Brooklin and pitched but says she didn't do well at all. April spent the day with Chelsea -oh yay. They went swimming at Gramma's by themselves She slept overnight at her house...here we go again. Annie at 6/24/2003 04:23:00 a.m. It is so quiet with all the kids away except Monica. James routered the shelves today and Monica is painting her own. It is searing hot so Monica has her bathing suit on to paint. OK James won that one, Nadia phoned and asked us to pick her up around 7 tonight, they didn't bring enough stuff and they are bored. James took Monica to baseball practice and then I realized that I didn't have a car to go take pictures of Dan and Doober playing in the downtown center stage. I asked Marita if she could drive me and she said that I could take her new van! It was stinking hot down there the heat was radiating off the pavement. I met Carlie's mom there and Dan had forgot to bring part of his guitar and she said that it was a good thing that Dan's mom wasn't there to see that because she was pretty hard on him when it came to not doing things right. I was talking to Carlie there and the only question I asked her about up north was how was the toilet paper holding out. She said they bought some but found out when they got back to the cottage that it was paper towels. I couldn't believe that they would even think of using it, they know that the septic tank is on its last legs. I finally got through to them at the cottage first to Alex who had to tell me how drunk he was and then Stacy to tell them not to use the bathroom until they got toilet paper. I talked to Carrie about Kathy's phone call and why Dave is so mad and she said that there has to be more to it, that I am missing something. Annie at 6/23/2003 04:51:00 a.m. We were up early with April so we could make an early game in Camebridge. We faced Brampton and even thought they beat us we ended up facing them again in the final game where we got silver. April pitched an inning and a half and struck out 2 batters and an out to first. We were very proud of April's pitching. In the car she told us that when she was on first she kept running back to first with each pitch and the runner started criticizing her for doing so. So April got revenge by farting while standing on the bag and then left it so the girl had to stand right on the bag and deal with the smell! Only April could think of that. Jeff came down to Toronto to get the tickets for the Sarah McLaughlin concert and they were turned away, they couldn't find them at the Will call booth. Nadia phoned to find out if Amy left them at the Willcall booth and found out that Jodi won tickets to Jamaica at the firefighters event! When we got home Nadia said that Kathy had phoned to say that Dave was upset that Brent didn't ask for permission to use the cottage. That is nitpicking because Brent phoned his uncles to see if anyone was using the cottage just like Grammie asked him to do. No one has ever had to ask for permission to use it. Nadia reminded her that she has used the cottage before and Kathy said that it is different because Nadia is a girl. She said that they didn't have time to check up on him either... we didn't ask then to do that. I guess Kathy forgets her partying up there or maybe she does remember. If Dave was upset about it why couldn't he phone his own sister or Brent before he left? Nadia and April went camping up at Sibauld's Point for a few days James and I drove them up and when we dropped them off we realized how unprepared they were. No paper plates, they didn't have a clue as to how to prepare! They didn't have flashlights or games or cards, nothing to amuse the after the sun goes down unless they plan on doing a lot of talking. James is betting that they will want to come home tomorrow but I think that they will be stubborn and come home on Monday. In any event it will probably be a good lesson on how to prepare for independence! Monica spent the day at her teams car wash in short and a bikini top, forgot the sunscreen and was not feeling well enough at Cody's party that she came home to use the washroom. Monica always wants to be involved in everything so she wanted to go back to the party and was upset on the phone when she couldn't get there. I told her once you leave the party not feeling well it is not polite to come back to it. She even wanted to go back to Cory's at 10... she just doesn't want to miss anything! Annie at 6/22/2003 04:33:00 a.m. Nadia went downtown to pick up the firefighters tickets for Amy Jodi and Coral for tonight. When she was waiting for her GO train she realized it was on a different track and ran for it without thinking of getting her ticket marked. She got a $110. ticket. She was so upset that James gave her the money as a present for graduating so it wouldn't ruin her day. Stacy and Sullivan went up north ahead of Brent and his friends. I didn't want her in traffic and this way she an come home on Monday without traffic too. I picked Sullivan up at his house and we talked a lot of the way home. I trust this boy so I am glad Stacy found him. Brent went later in the afternoon with the rest of the partiers in a convoy. I received a principal's award today, Monica wanted me to go so much that I had to miss part of Nadia's Commencement, but luckily James came home early and brought me back to it. She got honours! After we went out with the Derrick's parents for the first time ever to the Keg and they bought us supper. Stacy's old teacher from elementary school was sitting next to us. We went to April's baseball practice and then went to Mardi Gras with Nadia and Derrick, We met Monica's team and the girls went off while we stayed with the parents. We had piles of necklaces that they threw from the floats. We realized that April was at home alone and her friends were there so we came home and brought her back and she was very grateful. Monica stayed with Kelly overnight. Annie at 6/21/2003 04:43:00 a.m. Brent finally came home from Tuesday, he has wanted me to wake him up early to get his resumes out but that is hard to do when he is not even here! The plan to party at Steve's cottage is turning out to be a pain. Brent says that Steve is being a Nazi about who gets to be in the cottage and who has to sleep outside. Brent says that one minute he is allowed to sleep in the cottage, the next he is camping outside. Now Steve doesn't want to have people with big tents and he keeps changing the arrangements. What is the difference between having a big tent or a little one? Brent phoned us and asked about our cottage. I wanted no part in it, it is between Gramma and Brent. He called Grammie and she said it would be all right so now they are all going to our cottage. Steve was livid at first when Brent told him that they were now all going to Brent's cottage but calmed down when he realized that everyone was fed up with him moving people in and out of the cottage and then dictating what kid of tent they could use. Monica came home this evening. They spent the day and Marineland and Lundy's Lane. Mr. H scream right in her face this morning after she made a comment to him. He had told everyone that they had to be back at a certain time no matter what. When his group was late the kids were complaining and he explained to them that one of the kids was sick, and he asked Monica what she should have done. I guess he wanted her to concur with him but she told him that usually when someone is sick you cut what you are doing and go home so the person could lie down. James thought she was out of line until I told him that Mr. H confides to Monica about almost everything. He treats her like an adult so he should expect her right to an opinion He apologized to her but she said she couldn't even look at him after. April was at Erins all day at a pool party. There are now a wide variety of kids from High School there. She is burnt to a crisp. Bought a new TV Annie at 6/20/2003 04:59:00 a.m. Monica phoned me from Niagara Falls this morning!!! They have visited the McKenzie Printery, Laura Secord Homestead, Brock Monument, the Butterfly Conservatory shopping, swimming and IMAX. That was a lot for one day! Today they plan to go to a, pancake house, Great Gorge Aero Car Ride over Niagara River a fun play day at a school, Fort Erie and Museums. Gramma was let out of the hospital today and she couldn't wait to get out of there. Toni came and got her out and as soon as Gramma heard that they were releasing her, she packed her bags and was sooo ready to get out of there. Ten days is such a long time with no outside contact eh? The first thing she did when she got home was to check her email! She was in Whitby for the afternoon and was surrounded by family, who dropped everything to be with her. She gave us all heart felt hugs and there were tears in her eyes, something I am not used to seeing from her. She means the world to everyone here and Toni plans to take her to Brampton for a while so we will really miss her. Toni is taking her to Brampton where she has taken time off work and has arranged for her rehabilitation to take place. She realized that a necklace was missing and conveyed that it was on her until the MRI test yesterday and it was put in an envelope. She got so upset when Jen asked if it was from Grandpa and we could all understand why she was so agitated. James and I talked to her about power of attorney and she said that she could write her name. When she tried she wrote Bernice Chuck - love is strong! When James saw his dad's name instead of her last name he wsa teary eyed too. Stacy went to Sullivan's for the evening. Before they left they fell asleep wrapped up in each other in the living room. That is the second time I have seen Stacy straddled all over him, last week Sullivan was standing up and her legs were tightly wrapped around his waist. This is foreign to me as these were foreign thoughts to her with any other guy. Annie at 6/19/2003 04:35:00 a.m. Monica went on her School Niagara Falls trip and she really surprised me when she came up to me and gave me a big hug and kiss so that anyone could see. I guess she is maturing because last year if I even looked at her like I was going to show public affection she would run. I hope she has lots of fun. Brent quit work at No Frills today. They complained about him being insubordinate to a acting manager and Brent said that the manager was threatening to send home someone when they really needed him (BJ). They were already short because Steve called in sick. Brent said that the guy was in the back so what did it matter that his shirttail was out? If they sent the guy home then it would mean extra work for everyone else and to just let the guy work in the back with his shirttail out on his last day and every thing would get done. It was no skin off the other guy because he was working his last shift, it would only inconvenience No Frills and Brent. Brent said that the whole time he worked there he never got called upstairs and now the assistant store manager was doing it regularly the last week. Brent got the weekend off asked the assistant manager who said he didn't have a pen and then he phoned the store owner in front of me and asked him for the time off. The assistant manager says that somehow he managed to get the time off without him or the owner knowing. Right. The funny thing is that for the last little while Brent has been taking everyone's shift and they complained that he was the one messing around with the schedule. There was also an issue about a message board and someone wrote something and the assistant manager thought it was Brent and wrote back that he should quit. Brent said that the guy thought it was him because there was something in the message that only Brent and he should know. I didn't say anything to Brent about it but the one other person who would probably know and that would be Steve because Brent confides in Steve. If Brent didn't write it and the assistant manager is sure he did, then it was probably Steve. Sullivan really helped Stacy study. She was going to do it on her own and then she asked if she should ask him over to help her. I said that only she would know if his helping is to her advantage. She wanted him and he helped her all evening and stayed over night too. Annie at 6/18/2003 04:31:00 a.m. Last day of school before exams. Merzy decided not to streak because he hurt his foot yesterday and wouldn't be able to run fast. Stacy said that there were teachers visible in every hall so they were expecting the worst. Nadia phoned Gramma today and talked to her for 25 minutes. We listened in for 5 minutes and Nadia was wonderful. She read her the news from the Internet and just plain told her what everyone was doing. James and I were broken up listening to her. Gramma is used to reading the news from cover to cover so this would be so appreciated by her. James was talking to Grammie on the phone about Executors and power of attorney and Grammie told him that Dave and Mark are. She told me years ago that I was and to change all the locks on the doors when she died so that Kathy and Carrie couldn't get in. That would have been awkward, it was nice of her to let me know that she had taken me off as executor, I guess I am the one she is trying to lock out now. April had more community hours to do today for the fun fair. She didn't look too pleased because they had her friends together and she was alone with an older person. By the end April was enjoying talking with the woman. Some silly adult threw the coupons out in the trash and the kids used them to buy up the cotton candy. April refuses to study for her exams, says she knows it all...ok. But I told her if she went into the exam with a 68 she sure better do better or maintain it. Nadia and Derrick played tent at his house. Today was her last day at work before they can decide if they want her services or not. The vice president says he is too busy to make the decision just yet but she has been waiting since late April! Annie at 6/17/2003 04:11:00 a.m. James came home at 3 am, so did Brent but when we woke up Brent was not at home. Monica played Brampton 2 this morning and won in an international tiebreaker. Brampton told us that we are a better team than the older teams. We were doing very well in the next game until they had a brain cramp in just one inning and it seems everyone made every infield error you could make! That was us for the rest of the day, we came in 2nd. Coach Paul told us that one of their daughters was at a party last night and they were talking about SARS and a guy said that his sister was quarantined for a couple of days. She asked who it was and Brent said that she wouldn't know because she is 13 years old and the girl said, "Is it Monica Edwards?" Small world. After the tourney Monica went to Cory's house and they took her out to shoot some Golf balls. She had a lot of fun with Cory and his dad. Nadia and Derrick bought 2 camping tents and put them up in his backyard. They went swimming too with Max. The one tent is a 2 room tent as they plan to do some camping this summer. April went over to Gramma's house to swim with some of her buddies. Stacy and Sullivan went later in the evening but it is still too cold to really swim. Other years we have been in for most of June but no way this year! Stacy is immersed in studying for 2 exams. There was no sign of Brent at all today so I phoned Merzy and asked if Brent was at TJ's. He said he would find out for me. I worry when I don't know where he is. I guess everything is all right between them but people are adamant that they saw what they saw her doing. Annie at 6/16/2003 04:46:00 a.m. Back to Brampton and we won all 3 games. Mackie is being negative to Kelly and Kelly doesn't want her for a catcher so I guess that means Monica will get her. That's all right Mackie is a nice kid, they just have to adjust their styles to each other. We dropped in to Toni's Restaurant to talk about Gramma. She got to see her because they needed papers to sign so she says that she looks really good but still can't really communicate. Marita's neighbourhood party to find our dog and they stuffed us full of food before we rushed to Ajax to watch Stacy's baseball. Sullivan was with the Caesar and the dog wanted both Sullivan and us but we were sitting in different places so he kept barking. Stacy and Sullivan were both tres burnt, didn't use sunscreen for the first couple of hours. Her coach was being an idiot yelling at the girls and Stacy actually swore back at Jeff, about her knee and how fast she could go. Monica went to a party and we went to the Keg’s. April went back and forth from the party to our house, with Chase, Scott, Chelsea and Tara. April swam a couple of times and was so loud at about 2am singing down the street that I yelled, "shut up" from my bed and she heard me! She slept at Chelsea's house. There were quite a few people at Marita’s and the food was great! Stacy and Sullivan soaked themselves in vinegar to get the red out of their burn and then decided to have a group hug with April. April was gasping for non-vinegar pure air. Brent went to Mat's (TJ's ex boyfriend) party and I am worried about him being there, because of TJ. I hope he is all right. Annie at 6/15/2003 04:14:00 a.m. We received a collect call from Sullivan at 11:30 last night after we had dropped him off at the GO Train. He had been robbed at knifepoint at Rouge Station and had no money to board the bus. The bus driver wouldn't let him on. He asked Stacy to phone his mom from one of those special numbers that you don't need long distance for because the long distance feature had been taken off his home phone. It took her a long time to try and get through. She was very worried about him. At 2:30pm the Health Department phoned to say that the confinement for SARS had been lifted so Monica can play tonight in the Brampton tournament! She went right after school to join the wrap up party for the homework, sports club and had a drink and pizza with them until I came to pick them up. I think Colleen is now realizing that Holly lives for her music, is really good at the piano and that is her passion. She actually told me today that as much as she wants her daughter to be 'a jock', she is so crazy about her music that she is beside herself that she couldn't be in the piano recital because of the Sars. I am happy for Holly that she can go now. Stacy came home early and called me outside to say that some people told her that TJ had been necking with her old boyfriend in the cafe yesterday. I told her to tell Brent right away and she did. TJ denied it. His friends wanted to tell her, they were pretty sure she cheated before but were waiting till the next time to confront Brent about it. I asked Brent as I went to bed what was going on and he says he hasn't figured it out yet. Stacy worked, went to her game and then came home to study. Shelly was having a party and Sullivan was there and that is where Brent was heading when I went to bed. We went to Brampton for Monica's game, and were walking through the front doors of the complex when I recognized someone from there behind. Donna The Doobie Brothers mom! Their little brother was there for a lacrosse tournament. Monica was upset for her game against Brampton because Mackie told Kelly right in front of Monica that she didn't want to catch for Monica, she wanted Kelly. I can understand that she has always caught for Kelly, there is a special bond between catcher and pitcher but if she feels that way then perhaps Monica should have one of the other catchers. Nadia came home late and when I asked her to make sure that she told us her plans about coming home on the GO train she got upset and said that we ditched her. I didn't, I phoned Derrick to make sure and his sister told me he was expecting a call from her so she thought they had plans. Nadia brought me home a Stanley cup cap! Annie at 6/14/2003 04:30:00 a.m. The SARS Effect Woke up to the school principal phoning to say that Monica and the grade 7's are in quarantine for SARS because they visited the retirement home last week. It is so frustrating because the parents were not informed that the kids would be visiting and for weeks they have been advising people not to visit the retirement homes. If I had of known that they were going there I would not have made Monica go to school in the afternoon. Any other time that Monica knows that they are planning a trip she stays home. The lady she was paired up with was suffering from some sort of dementia and she was totally unnerved by being near her. Her little school had their best record ever going into the tournament and it was amazing that the little school made it among the big schools. They were very sad about missing the final day and not competing in the finals. Gramma had a nurse phone me today looking for James and they put her on the phone and she was very agitated and weepy. It was a very stressful conversation and I feel so helpless. I wish we could visit her but the hospital won't let any visitors in because of SARS. The school asked me to go to the health Department and get all the SARS kits for the grade sevens and disperse them to the students. I said that I would get them from the health department but the families could come to the school for them. The principal is confusing being nice with being stupid. I got gas on the way home and I couldn't find my purse. At that point yes I did feel stupid. They wouldn't let me go home to get my purse and I had nothing of value to leave behind so I just had to sit there. Fortunately, with the kindness of strangers people gave me their coupons and money to pay the $25.00. Holly and Kate were going to be quarantined at my house so that Kate's mom could conduct her at home business and Holly because her parents weren't home. They had the run of the basement and they were all wearing their masks. I was prepared to take them up to our cottage for their quarantine but when I phoned my brother for the cottage keys, I found out he had been quarantined from his exposure at the same retirement home. He assured me that the patients that they were so concerned about had been sick all along, that they have had lung problems for quite a while and that they were over reacting. The quarantined kids frolicked outside for a few minutes on the front lawn but there was no one anywhere near them. A nosey, I mean, concerned parent phoned the school to complain about them being together and outside. Then she phoned the Health Department who phoned to say that they couldn't be together. This is silly, these three leaned against the wall the entire time away from the others at the retirement home and if they were exposed they were all infected the same. Why can't they be together? Stacy and Sullivan both went to see the school play the final baseball game at the Skydome. They won the first and lost the second. Sullivan, Steve and Alex were with Rich when he met some of his gays friends and one was a transvestite. It completely unnerved the boys except for Sullivan who I think enjoyed the banter and the play on words or the opportunity to spar with them, I guess. They thought Steve was a gay in denial. The only good part of the day was that Stacy pitched for the first time since last year. She did well but her team makes silly mistakes. She couldn't run like she normally does, she should have been in a run down but she wouldn't because of her knee and I can't blame her. She was in a weird mood when she got in the car but she has to let the little remarks of one sarcastic teammate go by. Sullivan was with me for quite a while. I really enjoy being with him, I like his openness, his candor, like Brent and I find his mind fascinating. He can sequence events in a time line and I like thinking like that. It seems ironic that I was so afraid of the brain games my mom played while I grew up that I actually prayed for each of my kids to have average intelligence. Thank goodness HE didn't listen and Sullivan is proof that if someone is that smart they don't have to manipulate. Sorry, everyone manipulates to a certain degree but it is just nice not to have every word have a double edge. I really missed the political and historical discussions we had growing up at our dinner table. Stacy is like Mark and my dad in the way she takes her studies so seriously. My mom and dad had 2 very different kinds of smarts so Sullivan and her could be a good match mentally too. If they were both the same kind of way they would probably clash. I am trying to figure out when he gets bored. He should in certain circumstances but he doesn't act like it. He will be with Stacy while she studies or watch baseball, a game he finds not very stimulating, and he seems all right with it. Yet cartoony and computer animation he finds not very eye catching. Brent told me that when Steve found out about Monica and the Sars he said that Brent better not say he is being quarantined with it because it will mess him up at work. Nice that Steve is only thinking of himself these days. Brent had TJ over late. They left with a carload of people. I heard April, earlier tell Brent that a girl named Nicki asked if Brent and TJ were still going out. Something must be going on for her to ask April. Annie at 6/13/2003 04:56:00 a.m. The most baseball I've seen in one day had to be today, 8 games. Monica played in the school tournament where they won all four of their games. They advance to day 2 tomorrow the finals! I watched Shannon and Jess's school for 2 games, then watched a bit of April's house league game, where there were no umps and Monica's game in Ajax. We had fun teasing TJ and Brent about the phone message and the handcuffs. Rich, Derrick, Stacy and Sullivan all listened to it and then when Amy came we got to hear it again! ------------------- Mom, so I don't forget, my new Dentist appointment is now on June 26, at 5:45pm. I had to reschedule it because I got tickets to the NHL Awards show and Gala tomorrow night. :) Nadia Annie at 6/12/2003 04:36:00 a.m. I still don't feel well, James thinks I should go to the doctor but I have a hard time explaining why I hurt. I told James I would go if he explained. We are getting to old for this, no way, but that is definitely stroked off our list! Monica didn't go to a impromptu practice after her double header was cancelled, she went to the movie Bruce Almighty and dinner with Cory. Nadia was offered tickets to Ozzy Osbourne but didn't except them because of Gramma. Stacy went to the Skydome to see the the schoolwin in baseball. She then worked on her anorexia video, Brandy came over with makeup for some more pictures since she is the star in Stacy's movie. The High School asked me to photograph the Sports Awards so April came with me and will get 2 hours for her community service. Chelsea got the Junior Athlete of the year and all I dan say is WTF? It wasn't deserved at all, she is by no means an athelete. She just sucked up to the right person and when she got her tooth knocked out in Lacrosse by her own player they started using her instead of always benching her. They should have given her a good sportsmen award not the award that is suppose to go to a quality athlete. Took Brent to Mario's for his hair cut Hannah said that Jessie's new girlfriend was so worried about meeting Stacy that they almost didn't go to the camping. Nadia left work early and went to lunch with Grammie. Looked at the porch down the street, it cost them $5000. Stacy had her first game with her team, one of the coachs yells a lot and was kicked out of the game. Brent's phone called our answering machine while him and TJ were play fighting. All you could hear is giggling and a mention about handcuffs. When we asked him he said that he was trying to draw a moustache on her because he shaved his beard off and she tried to draw one on him. Annie at 6/11/2003 04:55:00 a.m. My insides are really hurting this morning. I don't know if it is my period trying to happen or what. Monica had a massage today from Kate's mother because she is very sore from pitching so much on the weekend. It really helped. Wow!! thank you soo much, you have to be the sweetest kindest mother and person i know. Not many people would do the nice things you do and for that i am grateful. If there is ever anything i can do for you anytime all you need to do is ask. Once again thank you for all the things you have done for me. Thank you very much (even my friends didn't get me anything) Jess Christopher C This has been the day from hell here. Gramma suffered a stroke in the afternoon. Stacy answered the phone to hear Gramma trying to say anything but nothing would come out. James and Stacy rushed over there and took her to the hospital. James had visited her in the morning and she says that she felt strange when he had left so she took some aspirin and laid down. Then she worked on the pool and when she answered the phoned she realized that she couldn't talk. James stayed with her as long as he could because once he left the hospital, no one was allowed to visit her again because of SARS. All the family felt helpless, but gathered at her house to talk about what we should do. It was so strange to visit at Gramma's without her. Brent phoned in to work and was disappointed that the boss felt it necessary to tell him that Brent didn't give him very much notice about Gramma and to find someone to cover for him. Steve wanted no part in it and Brent basically had to beg him. John R wouldn't answer his phone so Brent went right to his house but he didn't want to do it because he had a job interview. Steve really complained about helping Brent out. Annie at 6/10/2003 04:28:00 a.m. I went unconscious to the world when I got home last night. I didn't hear the phone or the kids trying to wake me up. Stacy came home from her camping, there as about 20 of them in Wasago, they had good weather and a good time. Sullivan stayed over until the late evening. Made a birthday collage for Jess C. 19th birthday and a cd for Sullivan. Annie at 6/09/2003 04:15:00 a.m. Stacy had her after Prom party, but it took a long time for the kids to come back. Most of them had Lays on them from Prom. From about 12 until 3am about 60 kids made an appearance, even if it was for a few minutes. Brent, TJ and friends had been here earlier, to make sure things went smoothly but I am afraid that they were pretty bombed by the time the other kids got here. Brent had to put TJ in his bed for the night. I stayed up until the last had left. Its funny, but he whole time Stacy and Jessie went out, he always was one of the first to leave, he never saw most of the parties as they were just started when he went. This time Jessie and his girlfriend were about the last to leave, after 3:30am. Coral was very drunk and throwing up in the bathroom. I hope she is all right. Me, I went to bed at 4:30am and had to get up with the alarm at 5:30am-ouch! To make matters worse, we went to Timmy's and they gave me regular tea instead of Decaf and I was buzzing and shaking all day. James recognized the symptoms right away. Monica had her tournament in Pickering, she pitched in 3 games and they took silver. She did so well and impressed everyone. She drove in many runs, she was involved with almost every run! On the game where she should have sat out, they used her as an offensive player because her bat was so hot. During the layoff James disappeared for a couple of hours, Monica and I had no idea where he was. It was hard not being at your own diamond all alone so I was ticked off when he showed up...but I can never stay mad at him...never could. He had been with Scott for a couple of drinks. Annie at 6/08/2003 02:22:00 a.m. I asked James to make a slide in division between the dinning room and kitchen today and the he disappeared for about 3 hours! I didn't have a clue where he was. He was at Gramma's house. I offered Monica $20 dollars to help clean up for the party tonight and she didn't let me down. Prom day Sullivan came over in the morning. Stacy had her hair and makeup appointment. She was very frazzled when she finally got home at almost 4, the time she was expected to have her pictures taken at Coral's. Shane's family and Coral's family were all there, they had a spread of food for the group, all very nice. Jodi brought 2 guys over to have her pictures taken with them. This is weird; she is going out with one of them and Rich is the other. Sometimes I feel that she enjoys power over people, these 2 guys, she could have gone to prom with either of them as friends, whatever, but to ask them both to dress up so she could have her picture taken with them seemed like a lot to ask, like she was using both of their friendships. Just an observation that I found strange. Stacy drove herself and Sullivan to the Prom in Markham. We went to Monica's tournament. She was disappointed that she hasn't pitched in a few games. Annie at 6/07/2003 04:16:00 a.m. Went with Stacy in the afternoon to buy her a matching bra and shoes. I was having a beer with Marita and John and we were kidding that she would be in serious trouble if she said she had to have the matching underwear and when she got home from school that is exactly what she asked for. We went there when I picked up Nadia at the GO and Monica didn't handle the shopping well, she had to have a certain pair and pouted and got very angry with me. I wish she could recognize when she is acting that way quicker, she apologized when we got home but it left a bad taste in all our mouths. Monica told me her school went to the Retirement home today and they walked right passed the SARS screening. I am mad that I didn't know about it because I would not have let her go. The woman she visits has dementia and makes Monica very uncomfortable. Monica has her whole lifetime to be exposed to the troubles of growing old and it is hard to be compassionate when you are frightened of them. I caught a ride to Coburg with Devon's mom because James was at a golfing/dinner due. The umps cancelled it until the parents complained that this is the second time we have come there and it is an hours drive. They are not a strong team so it is even worse when you know you are coming to have no contest anyway. When I got back James had a huge plate of scallops, ribs and crab legs, Monica and I ate them all. James said each platter cost $109. I have never seen such huge scallops. YUMMM! Annie at 6/06/2003 04:44:00 a.m. Amy's brother was suspended again, for about the 4th time and can't go on the school trip. They are saying he uttered death threats but it was taken out of context. Stacy said that he can be very moody at times. Stacy stayed home today, and she was trying to find someone to cover her work for Prom night and she phoned the Principal to ask her to cover and she cheerfully accepted. I think the Principal needs all the support she can get so she did it because Stacy is a Edwards! Brent was with Josh last night and he is not home this morning so I checked to see if he was over there but no. He told me that he wasn't going to sleep at TJ's last night but he phoned from there looking for a ride. He left Josh with Kevin and met up with TJ at the food court and ended up with her. I looked at April’s web page this morning and looked over what she had revised and I was shocked to see that she had put down the kids full name beside the pictures of their bums along with a comment that was sometimes not all that nice or that could have been taken the wrong way. I tried to get her home from school to fix it but they couldn't find her. Stacy even took the car back to look for her. My stomach was in knots worrying about how some people would react to the comments. I finally got through to her and picked her up and she spent the afternoon changing it for me. I have often told her that her written word can get her in trouble so she had no problem changing it. In other words April trusted my judgement. The hunk of the school is talking to her now! I talked to Sullivan, Stacy had picked him up at the Pickering Town Center with his tux and they have no problem with my concerns about camping in Peterborough, they are going to look for a different campsite, which I am very grateful. I don't often try to change my kids minds and today 2 of them respected my opinions. I deep fried a couple of pounds of chicken wings and they went over so well, that kids who don't normally eat them helped to devour them. James returned from a rainout game with Monica and only got 4 of them! Stacy and Sullivan cleaned out the car after school and she found her keys in the door pocket that have been lost for a couple of months. James and I had to take the car out in the evening and they had left a big envelope in on the dashboard so I checked on it. It was dark so I didn't read the envelope, just opened it up and looked at the contents. When I turned on the light I saw Sullivan's school transcripts and it was a trip to my past! God, I was right about him, he is just like my son, and me! All the brains but effort is lacking. I think he has the same attitude Brent did; he could have done in the 90's but did enough just to get by. I heard him before say that a teacher warned him in grade 8 about the dangers of not doing homework, just as Brent was. Nadia was the same in elementary school and then something just clicked in grade 7and she began enjoying learning. I think a lot of it was that she liked and learned how to challenge herself. There is a certain amount of arrogance when you know you don't have to put the whole effort in but I can understand why, I did it too. There is no question that Sullivan is brilliant, and I am sure he will put in the effort in time. Something has to really grab his attention and maybe he might be ready now. I hope he gets into Durham, it might be good for him, even if he got in the same course as Stacy. I know it really helped Nadia and Derrick, they enjoyed every minute of Durham College and the teachers gave them extra which really kept their interest. Stacy worked in the gym for a couple of hours so Sullivan went out with Jodi. I heard Dan come to the door for Brent. Sullivan and him wrestled for a minute, looked like old friends, happy to see each other, so I hope they are ok. Bloxy is in the hospital for mixing alcohol and prescription drugs. Annie at 6/05/2003 04:04:00 a.m. Caesar was bitten on the ear by a puppy today. The pup wouldn't let go and it was hanging off his ear! The pup had a mouth full of fur and the fur was hanging from Caesar's ear but then he went back for more. I am worried about the after Prom party, there was a stabbing last weekend at an after Prom party. I am worried about what could happen to Sullivan. Even Nadia said at her Prom there was a camping party and people were setting other peoples tents on fire. As I told Nadia I would feel better if even Stacy stayed in a hotel with Sullivan alone, than get put in the spot where Sullivan was threatened. Stacy knows Sullivan more than most girls would know there boyfriend after one year, they have been together that much. She has always had high morals and I wouldn't expect that she wouldn't be doing anything she didn't want to. I have seen the look on Jessie's face when he has been drinking and he is angry and I know that his group of friends have a gang mentality, they have already spread the rumour concerning his safety so that is why I am so concerned. Waited for Stacy at noon for 15 minutes so when she didn't show I made new plans with James. Melanie Pringles. Went to drop into Joe's, and had a couple of beers. Went to Joe's game in the evening. I was taking Brent to TJ's but she was with a group for a school project so we had to turn around. Brent phoned everyone and ended up at the Kegs. Nadia was out with Kelly tonight, her boyfriend broke up with her. It went from planning the wedding to I don't love you anymore. Of course she is blue so Nadia picked some outfits for her, that she normally wouldn't pick for herself, to try on. Kelly ended up buying them so they ended up having a good time. Annie at 6/04/2003 04:43:00 a.m. I got mad at James this morning, which almost never happens. He went golfing with Dave Kegs, I don't mind that but this time their tee off time was 8:15, not the usual 6am. When they start early, they finish early and James can continue with the day, work, family... This time I get a phone call to say that the company Brent worked at on Friday were having trouble getting into some of their programs and they needed Brent. He wanted me to drive Brent to Woodbine and 407. I don't want my kids to see him golfing without working and I want their priorities to be work first. Anyway I picked Brent up from TJ's and he ended up talking to them on the phone so he didn't have to go in. James and I didn't mention it again. I worked very hard all day in the garden, basement, the dining room and my bedroom but not that you would ever notice. Even though I have thrown out tons of things we still have way too much around. Stacy came home and wanted to help out in the backyard so she whipper snippered. She couldn't get the string to come out and Brent told her to hit the machine against a rock so Stacy raised it and just slammed it into the rocks. I was so shocked at the force she used that I couldn't stop laughing to tell her that she was going to break it, that all it needed was a gentle tap and then she golf swinged into the concrete steps. I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk. When Brent came out to help her she looked so stunned at how little effort she should have used. I found out later that Jane next door was in her hot tub naked because she said that we are never in our back yard but she had to stay in the hot tub the whole time Stacy and I were in the backyard! We had a double header in Pickering. Monica pitched the 2nd game and she looks like she has finally realized the importance of the junk that we have been encouraged her to incorporate in her pitching. She looked so impressive, James was all smiles. Annie at 6/03/2003 04:22:00 a.m. Mississauga Tournament and we should know that you never get fair umps there. I know, sour grapes, but the one ump yelled foul, when it was fair and then reversed after our payer came back from first and they tagged her out. Even Mississauga said that "its not all our umps that are unfair." Mississauga even called yesterdays rain out a complete game against us, they were up 2-1 when they only played 3 1/2 innings. When we got back Fabio was here! No, Sullivan was a dressed up in a suit for a cadet ceremony where his buddy received a scholarship award, one like Sullivan got last year. He never has recited a resume to me, I find out new and impressive things about him all the time. When I doubted his integrity last January he could have used a lot of ammunition about what he has achieved, but he never even tried and that has impressed me almost the most about him. Most important is how he treats Stacy and that is so well. She can’t get over the fact that he will stay with her when she is doing homework, when she says he should be bored, but he stays with her. I have all the confidence that he will make good things happen with his life and with Stacy’s too. I am glad she has met him. Nadia and April were together a lot again today, it is really working out that they are sharing a room. They worked on April's web page, April is learning so much from Nadia. Brent, I am so bewildered about Brent staying in TJ's bed when he is there. I wanted him to grow into a relationship, discover each other, and not have it laid out before them. Everything young love has to offer and put up with, they have skipped. They will never be able to talk or reminisce about the stolen moments you make or try to have, and think about later to cherish, that is not for them. All the innocence and imagination is just not there for them and they know each other reverse of what it should be. I am worried. Annie at 6/02/2003 04:36:00 a.m.
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