Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Proof: She DOES have horns!



And you thought that I was lying ......believe me when I say that she wears them proudly.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Tagged .....

You are in for it now as I have been tagged by my fabulous blogging friend Sheryl over at Peanut Butter and Jelly Boats. The name of the game is to share with you, six random things about myself. So here we go:

  1. I have small feet. Not as in lily feet but close. I am 5 foot 11 inches and only have size 8 feet. This is likely the cause for my natural penchant for being a klutz as well as the numerous injuries to my lower extremities such as ankles and knees. Feet are needed for balance and well, I don't have much of it.
  2. The thought of roughing it outdoors as in camping in a tent makes me nauseous. I am convinced that I am the main course for some lucky cougar out in the woods, and I would likely be the easiest meal in that cougar's life as I would pass out cold if I came eye to eye with it. I can't run fast either due to #1 above, therefore, you might as well strike hiking off the list too.
  3. I turned 36 at the beginning of July, an age that I never thought that I would make it to. I never foresaw my future much past my late twenties and never envisioned having a family either. Now I have made it to 36 and have a family so I must be doing something right. It is tough some days because my dad died suddenly at this age so you can't help but be reminded just how young he was and that he had so much living yet to do.
  4. I married the best man in the world for me. Words just can not describe how solid we are after almost 16 years together. Never has there been a point over the years for regret or second thoughts and we continue to grow on this journey even more so ... if that is possible. By the time I reach 40, I will have spent half of my life with this man.
  5. I am a rock star in my own mind. Actually, not a rock star but a hip hop/R&B/80's star wanna be. In my mind, I can do all of the dance moves just like the pros and have the voice of an angel. In reality, I have no rhythm and can make the crankiest of alley cats howl upon hearing my crooning. Having said that, I just played Rock Band for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago and got 97% in vocals for Bon Jovi's, Wanted Dead or Alive and I have finally graduated to the Basic Level of Dance Dance Revolution.
  6. I can't get enough hugs, kisses and I Love You's in a day with my children. I am the clingy one with them and can be found grabbing them at any given opportunity. My biggest fear in life is that my children will never know how much I truly love them and how much they mean to me.

With all of that insight I just gave you, I am just itching to learn a few more things about others. I am now supposed to tag six other lucky people. So ... the winners are:

Ellen at Goofballs World

Andrea at The Laughs Will Go On

Ellen at Baiers On The Move

Beth at Total Mom Haircut

Sari at The Geek Inside

Mike at Something About Parenting

The rules: Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their site. Let your tagger know when your blog entry is up.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Online Again

With all of the glorious hot, sticky and long heat wave we have been experiencing here (averaging +30C or higher for the past 3 weeks), along comes with that the ever present threat of forest fires. Leave it to some numb skull exercising their ignorance to not properly extinguish their banned campfire, to some psycho that lights them on purpose out of pure joy to Mother Nature providing the most excellent lightning show, there is always that threat that the fire will be closer to home than you are comfortable with. Luckily, this latest fire was not overly close to my house, however it got too close to a communications hub and caused severe damage to it, hence providing me with a lack of internet and at time cable service for the past two days. Imagine my excitement 15 minutes ago to see that internet bar all lit up in it's glorious green colour on my router .....

I mean, how pathetic am I when I feel out of touch and lost without the internet. Sadly, the internet is my life in the sense that 99% of my communication with friends and family are via email, msn or bloggin. Add in keeping up to date on current events, banking, bill payments and researching and entertainment and well, yes, on more than one occasion these past two days, I feel that I had gone rustic. As in good old fashioned rustic. Like how many would feel to lose the television or even electricity rustic.

The good news, is aside from making it through these difficult two days of no internet, I can officially announce that I made it through a whole week of daycare!!!! Yes - it was a four day week and I really like the idea of that. Already, my day tomorrow is jammed packed with dentist and doctor appointments, haircuts, grocery shopping, interviews for the dayhome, and household chores. Which theoretically means that I can actually kick back and enjoy life with my children on Saturday and Sunday because everything will be done. If this little scenario actually plays out to perfection then heck - I just may love being an independent business woman. I mean success doesn't necessarily mean that you must be raking in the moola right? My redefinition of success means that I managed to keep my cool despite four screaming kids all clamouring for my attention, three of the four kids taking turns beating on each other while I attempted to remain neutral and firm in the battles, I actually managed to provide healthy and wholesome meals and snacks despite my culinary ineptness, I became an important fixture in one of those children's lives, so much so that they scream and cry when they have to leave me come the end of the day. I mean that accounts for success no? And to tell you the truth, it doesn't matter because when it comes down to it, it is what I feel my accomplishments are that truly define success for me. If I am capable of holding my head up high and giving it my best, then I must be doing something right.

So folks, in my euphoria of surviving my first week of daycare and having internet access again, I am off to kick back, relax and read a great smutty yet stupid book. In my infinite wisdom, it makes so much more sense to get up at 5:30am tomorrow to get the household chores done before the appointments begin, the haircuts, then the interviews and then the weekend company arriving. Just call me practical ... no wait ... perhaps I should look at redefining that word too .....

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

I Survived .....

I always giggle when I see people where those T-shirts with the slogans, "I Survived ..... " and it went on to boast about a social event like a Margarita Fest or scaling a daunting mountain and the individual lived to tell about it. I would always secretly wonder what possessed people to own shirts like these because they always seemed a little tacky to me. Now I know better.

People wear these shirts with pride because they truly did accomplish a great feat of surviving whatever the event was and what ever the odds were that went along with it. They wear these shirts with inner pride and I am willing to bet they are secretly yearning for someone to come up and inquire about this loud shirt in hopes that they would get to tell their story about this amazing feat. I mean why not? Everyone takes pride when they achieve a milestone, goal or just something plain out of the ordinary.

I am getting a shirt made up. I am hoping that I can find a company that will express courier it to me because I survived "The First Day of Daycare In My Home". There were times it wasn't easy folks and I distinctly remember looking at my watch yesterday morning and thinking to myself, "What kind of torture have I cooked for myself this time ..... it is only 9:00 am". Luckily, the day did get better but still, it was a long one. A light of dawning shone down on me yesterday that could be akin of a slap in the face of reality. This is not going to be an easy job. In fact, it is probably going to be the toughest job that I have ever had. The good news here is that I perform well under pressure and tense situations. We had our first discipline issue right off the bat yesterday morning and we dealt with it accordingly. One of the children, which is normal, had to test the limits to see how far they could go. Unfortunately for them, I reigned them in rather quickly, but while doing so, I thought in the back of my mind, "Oh this is real fun, you have to be so careful in the way you present yourself. Tread carefully because these little buggers could nail you to the wall."

And because I am a direct individual, the parents and I discussed the day in length last night getting a feel for how my children, myself and their children all handled our first day together. I reminded the parents of what my expectations and rules are and specifically asked them if that was going to be an issue for them or their children. Luckily, the parents are on the same page with me so at least there will be consistency in the gentle rules for all children involved.

This isn't going to be an easy job, no way. But, I will have to focus on the positive rather than the negative or else this endeavour could become a real chore. No one puked yesterday, no one had an avoidable potty accident yesterday, no one got hurt and no one cried. Instead, there was a lot of laughter that could be heard coming from this house and only perhaps a half a dozen times, could the stern Mommy voice be detected from our overly amplified windows and yard.

So, being unsure of what each day will bring forth with this daycare experience, perhaps I should have my T-Shirt read: "I Survived Daycare .... Yesterday ... And Have Lived To Talk About It!!"

Friday, July 18, 2008

Marshmallow Madness

A Word To The Wise:

For all of you with inquisitive minds, please make the following mental note: Even if those Crayola Scented Markers, particularly the Burnt Marshmallow scent, smells so good that you just want to eat it, in most cases, they taste like crap. I can vouch for that as you can see ....


Yours in Ink,

Masyn



PS - Thank gosh for Crayola and the non toxic ink and washability. In no time flat, did we have those black stained teeth (and tongue) white again ......

Love Mommy

Thursday, July 17, 2008

It Has Arrived!!

I received the call early yesterday afternoon and was hard pressed not to wake Masyn out of her rejuvenating nap to run on down there and pick it up. I managed to exercise restraint and casually drove on down to the mall about two hours later.

So my friends, this is it!! My family ring! I can hardly wait to show it off to the world and field questions about it so I can proudly announce to the world, my love and pride for my family.


Wednesday, July 16, 2008

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Do you see anything wrong in this picture? Or was it just me at that particular moment .....


Tuesday, July 15, 2008

And So It Begins ....

Today is our first trial run day. For three hours this morning, we will welcome two children into our home in hopes that they will have fun and feel safe, loved and comfortable with us. And if all goes well, they will officially begin their day care with us on Monday. The calls continue to come in with interested parents and the consensus seems to be a real crunch for parents who have different types of work schedules; part time and shift work. So despite the many suggestions from friends and family, I think that I will pursue that market. I mean, my heart goes out to parents that must work and knowing just how difficult it is to get quality child care, it must be beyond frustrating for them. Besides, I think that it is so important to know that you can establish a quality relationship with the parents and the parents that I have met so far, the ones with the special schedules, are great. There is mutual respect, jokes, trust and open direct communication right off the bat. I like that. I also think that is incredibly important especially seeing as I could be the one to hold, comfort, guide and encourage their children. And in my method of thinking, I think that it will also be good for my family as not only will it allow variety in our household, but it will allow me to gently introduce the concept of sharing Mommy, toys and the house to my children.

Oh ... and the best part about this .... maybe? I think with this schedule, I will be able to enroll Kaelen into preschool come the fall! I am so excited for this, Kaelen even more so because being a full time working Mom outside of the home, never allowed this opportunity for us as there was no way to get him to and from school. We are heading to the preschool that I am interested in after lunch today for a little looksy and meet n' greet.

Perhaps this is what we are truly supposed to be doing as the cards seem to be easily falling into place for us in this new adventure. Like any new adventure or risk, I just hope all goes well .....

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Moving a Little Slowly

Well, I am back and moving a little slowly as a result of over indulgence over the past week. Like a scene from a relative PG version of Moms Gone Wild movie, I socialized, I danced, I curled, even golfed, drank waaayyyyyyy too many Kokanee beers and probably didn't get to bed any earlier than 3:00 am for 6 days straight. I made new friends, said good bye to old friends that I will likely never see again in my life due to their age, where they live or where life takes them over the next 40+ years.

This week marked the end of a curling bonspiel - 64 straight years of fantastic fellowship, good curling, bad curling, massive consumption of Kokanee beer, the foundations for some marriages, I am sure, a reason for some divorces. This event has been a foundation for family reunions, and mending rifts from the past. It was an event that was truly unique and special, and it is sad to see it come to an end.

I had a great time this week and feel that I really needed the break. It was my first break away from the kids since becoming a Mom. It was so refreshing to have stimulating adult conversations with people of all generations and to have the privilege of actually eating a meal hot and uninterrupted. Do I dare rub in managing to squeeze in six solid hours of sleep WITHOUT interruption? Sigh .....

BUT ..... I am happy to be home. I missed my babies so much and there were definitely many difficult moments in a day. Moments that left me unfulfilled and yearning to wrap my children in my arms. A phone call home managed to help some of that need, but more often than not, it only amplified that feeling.

Now I am off for bed to get some much needed healing sleep. Much to blog about over the next week including the SEVEN interviews that I have with families interested in my newest adventure: a dayhome. Lets just hope that no one sent a PI to observe me in my finest form on Thursday night after curling as I am pretty sure that the Invisibility Cloak may not have hid my good natured antics that so impressed other curlers ........

(I am kidding you know)

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Adios

At 2:00 PM MST today, this chickie is officially on her first vacation without children in 4 years!! There will be conflicting emotions in a couple of hours. I am sure that I will have to exert tremendous will power to ensure that my lead foot doesn't mow anyone down while it puts the pedal to the metal to get out of town. Yet, I will have to also consciously ensure that my hands aren't spinning the steering wheel around a full 360 degrees steering me back into our driveway.

Since becoming a Mommy, I have never been away from my children; like ever. And while I am very excited for this little break, I am also struggling with leaving the kids. When thinking that I am leaving them for five days in a couple of hours, my eyes well up in tears. What am I going to do with myself? How am I going to sleep at night not being able to hear them and get up randomly throughout the night to check on them? How are the kids going to survive without me? I know that is tremendously arrogant sounding but still, that it the thought process. I know that the kids will be fine as they will be cared for by Daddy and my Aunt. I also know that they will forget about me for the short term once they are doted on and kept busy.

Yet when I talk with my sister about the fun that we are going to have for the next five days, I get excitement in my stomach. We are going to be curling for the next five to seven days. I will be surrounded by family, friends and awesome fellowship in a non stop happy party like atmosphere. I know that I deserve a break and I know that I will enjoy myself.

But knowing all of this doesn't make it easy to leave home without my children. It will be done though for the sake of Mommy's sanity and I will come back to my babies refreshed and ready to take on their antics and let them experience new adventures.

So my friends, blogging will be sparse for the next five days while this Mommy kicks back and relaxes with adult stimulated conversation and lots of laughs.

Gifts, Laughs and Ciao Baby

Guess what? I have been one spoiled Mommy of late!! In addition to Jenn's fabulous gift, this old lady celebrated her birthday. So while all of you Americans were celebrating your fabulous country's Independence Day, this Canadian was celebrating her ... erm ... 25th Birthday at the same time!! And yes, next year I will head down to one of my favourite places on earth; Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to celebrate OUR birthdays ... how fun will that be? Fireworks on my birthday.

And, the gifts and wishes just keep on pouring in for this Mommy. I love that. I love gifts. I mean who doesn't? And, my husband just secured himself an extra special spot in my heart forever with his gift to me; the gift of knowing that he actually listens to me. I had mentioned just after birthing Masyn as a jest that seeing as he never gave me a birthing gift with Kaelen that he could redeem himself and kill two birds with one stone by gifting me with a Family Ring. It was said in genuine jest because I was having such a difficult recovery from Masyn's birth for that first two weeks. But low and behold, guess what I received for my birthday?? Yep! A Family Ring!! I chose the style and sizing yesterday so I will have to sit and wait with eager anticipation for the next couple of weeks for it to come in. I will provide you all with a picture once it arrives. Receiving this ring to me is like the giddy happiness of that when my husband asked me to marry him. I wanted to go out and show the world that I had a ring on my finger but unfortunately, Paul in his nervousness sized the engagement ring to match the size of a thumb ring that I was wearing at the time. I am sure the jeweller probably thought that I was a mammoth of a hulk when making it ....... Anyways, I had to wait for four weeks to get the ring back because it was made 4 sizes too big and the ring had to be totally remade. The feeling that I had then is what I feel now. Impatient. Impatient to wearing the ring with pride and the excitement of showing people and explaining the symbolism of the coloured stones.

Aside from this gorgeous ring, I have received a day at the spa (Thank you Auntie Janny and family!!). I have never been to a spa before (yes ... you have read that right) so the choices on the brochure seem endless. What is your favourite thing to have done? What would you recommend for this rookie?

And folks, the gifts and well wishes don't end there. I received super caring phone calls all day Friday accompanied by some rather interesting Grammy winning singing, homemade cards (Thank you Mom-In-Law), birthday cakes (yes ... two of them!), bottles of wine and Tim Horton's gift cards (because that is where I blow our children's education fund(s) on a daily basis). And sadly, the wealth of gifts aren't stopping yet. I am heading back to my hometown today to play with my Mom and sister for a week and they have gifts for me. Sigh ..... despite getting up there in age ... erm .... I mean being so youthful, I sure love having birthdays.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Lucky Day

Yesterday, I was treated to a most surprising random act of kindness: a present in my mailbox!! Yes, my birthday is so very close but it wasn't a birthday present. It was a beautiful, thoughtful gift that still has me smiling this morning.

What is it you may ask? Well, Jenn over at Life In A Nutshell sent me her summer CD compilation as well as her son's favourite (okay ... and hers too seeing as she is such a HUGE BNL fan) CD, which is the Bare Naked Ladies children's album. It was totally out of the blue and wow, very touching. I have met Jenn twice in my life time and both times I am sure that Jenn figured that I was a stalker. We had met through the blogging world and would read each other's sites. Then one day, a couple of weeks after having Masyn, I recognized her (from her profile picture) in a mall in Calgary and ran up to introduce myself. Fast forward a year later, and again in Calgary, the kids and I ran into her, weeks before she delivered her second son in the Ikea cafeteria. I have spoken to Jenn perhaps a whole ten minutes of our lifetime, but I consider her as a good friend. With all of her support that she gives me on my site through comments and my following on her site, there is just that special connection for me. Our family is heading back to Calgary towards the end of August and I so hope that we will have the chance to meet up with her and her family prior to them leaving for their vacation.

So Jenn, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your wonderful, sweet and uplifting gift of music!! You have provided us with an awesome gift of love and smiles!!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

THE GREAT PUDDING CAPER

The Beginning

The Aftermath - Who needs a spoon when fingers can do the trick so much better?


Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Lovin Thy Neighbour

It is hot here baby. Hugely hot. Sizzling hot. Sweltering, constantly sweating hot. We are averaging +35 C or hotter every day for the past week. While the weather is beautiful, it certainly makes for a few challenges with the wee monkeys. The house is too hot for them at night (+31C with fans on), heat rash is starting to make a showing on Kaelen and Coppertone Kids 50 SPF is making a killing off of me.

Cue in our wonderful neighbours .... who happen to have the most refreshing POOL!!! I love being the recipient of generosity, especially when it directly benefits me in the form of cooling off my uncomfortable children. So, for the past two days, for two hours I am in bliss because my children are in bliss. Our neighbours not only have a gorgeous refreshing pool, but a shaded backyard with a HUGE sandbox in it!! It is a dream come true for any parent with young children.

It was Masyn's big debut in a pool. I know, 16 months is a long time to have a first experience in a pool but as expected, she took on the challenge with that of a warrior. As you can tell, she was totally relaxed and chilled out in her baby float.


Kaelen on the other hand was a little more dramatic. He was all eager to practice his new skills of dunking his head under water as he had learned in swim lessons, but it took us almost half an hour just to get him in the pool. The first day was a total flop and he spent most of our time there in the sandbox. However yesterday, he was a mad man and just wanted to jump off the diving board. For some reason, it was more appealing to jump into our neighbour's arms rather than mine. Which, was a good thing because my body is still recovering from the beating it took from work on Saturday night (that story to come later), so treading water was not at the top of my list to do.
Oh that water and pool was refreshing. Have I mentioned how much I love my neighbours?