Left Coast Mama

Bye bye bye

2006-11-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Bye Bye Blogger.

I am off to my own domain. I am now going to be free of problems with losing posts, pictures etc. Come and see me at http://leftcoastmama.net

Here's to a new blog beginning.

Love Thursday

2006-11-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favourite pictures of Aidan and me. I have a hard time getting him to sit on my lap and cuddle anymore.
I miss that.

Maybe I will get some more cuddle time in when he is a little older and less independent.

Happy Halloween, Happy Monkey Tuesday!

2006-10-31T22:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight Aidan and T. were dressed up in their finest Monkey costumes and we went Trick-or-treating. As always with Vancouver we found the celebration a little different than in the east. A few places in the complex had their houses done up but at least two of those weren't home to pass out treats. Kinda disappointing.

Aidan had a great time though because we let him do what he has wanted to on the last few walks. Go up to strange doors and knock or ring the doorbell. The fact that only two people opened the door wasn't a problem. The fact that they gave you candy (well at least something to put in your bag and shake) was amazing.

As always this post wouldn't be the same with out some cute pictures. So here goes:

Aidan and T. walking out from our front Door. The bags were a hit.

I missed my blue hair so much I wanted a blue wig. We couldn't get the boys to sit too well so we joined them.

We did manage to get one picture of the two of them that wasn't of Aidan's back end.

"Hi I'm Scary Tyrone the Jack o'lantern"

"Who"

Horror Cookies and prep for Monkey Tuesday

2006-10-29T21:18:00.000-08:00

I am a Halloween nut. I love it! I try every year to be creative with my pumpkins and decorate the door and get enough candy for the hoards that come to our door. Well for the one or two that come to the door and all the grown ups that come to the house. Last year we didn't have any children and we were really excited when the Chinese Food Delivery guy came to the door. (Yes he did get a treat.)

This year I have something to compete with. I don't have my Halloween wreath up yet and my pumpkin lights are not in the window because the boy keeps playing with them. I haven't quite figured out how to combat that. Now three houses in the complex have really done a lot of work with their front porches. One is I guess a little generic with some scarecrows and a sign, but the two up front on the street have the webs, bats, spiders, cool lights and their pumpkins already lit. I am jealous. Well I guess that tomorrow I will be able to get the pumpkins carved and they should look good.

With Halloween in mind I tried to bake some stained glass Halloween shaped cookies. I hadn't made them before but I had some at Dei's last Christmas and I thought that some Jack o'Lanterns would be cool. I found some really cute (and a little expensive) Halloween cookie cutters and some life savers (a bag individually wrapped was all I could find) and today I had the time to make the cookies. The first set burnt in our oven. I swear the oven is about 50 degrees hot. Some weren't too bad but others (like the cat) were totally burnt. Even Anthony wouldn't eat them. The next set I turned the oven down to 300 and put a lot more candy in the holes. Tis worked better but I think they are meant to be bigger cookies with bigger hole because instead of a nice stained glass effect I got horror cookie. Some looked like exploding pumpkin guts and others like they were bleeding out the eyes. I have picture proof.

Anyway, we got out today and took some pictures of Aidan in the sunlight in his monkey suit. I will post a couple of pictures now and more on Monkey Tuesday.

Happy Halloween!!!

Update

2006-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would be posting much more in the last 2 weeks, but again life happens and when it does blogging seems to go out the window.

When we were coming home from Nova Scotia two weeks ago we had problems with Air Canada, again. We had managed to use our Areoplan miles to get our tickets which put us at the bottom of the totem pole. When we checked the flight earlier and we had our seats and no problems. When we got to the airport Aidan and Anthony were able to get their tickets printed out but not me. So we had to go to the "Self Serve Assistance" which never bodes well. We also noticed that Anthony and Aidan didn't have assigned seats anymore. It turns out that the flight to Ottawa had been canceled and the passengers were put on to our flight, therefore knocking us out of our seats. This meant that we got put in the very last "Torture" seats in the last row. Of course they are very uncomfortable and the seat in front of us was broken and wouldn't stay in the upright position.

It was a very long and uncomfortable flight and Aidan got only about an hour and a half of sleep. (Despite being four hours time difference, which means we got in about 3:30 am his body time.) At least we got all our luggage this time and nothing seemed to be lost or stolen. Anyway, with the problems Anthony has had with his back in the past we should have just left the luggage in the car and got it in the morning but Anthony brought it in and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The next two days Anthony was in pain but it seemed to be ok on Monday. Tuesday was a different story. Anthony didn't got into work, and for those of you who know Anthony you know that it is very unusual. By the afternoon Anthony was in so much pain that he could stand up with out feeling like he was going to pass out. So, off to the emergency room so he could get some pain meds. Unfortunately we should have just gone to the doctor since they gave him a prescription and sent him home with nothing to help the pain.

I went through another very tough week with both the baby boys (Aidan and T) and it reiterated for me that the two of them together are too stressful for me with out the space for them to run around. I gave G. notice on Monday and in about three weeks I will not be babysitting T. anymore except maybe as an emergency caregiver. It is a relief because I was starting to be very stressed and I need to be able to get out and do things with Aidan. I am happy to do it part time but T. is a very demanding little boy and I wasn't happy. I am still stressed but at least now there is an end date to look forward to. I also wanted to do this before there were any hard feelings. I really like T. and G. and I want to remain friends with them. I would love the boys to be friends and have play dates, but for my sanity and Aidan's naps I needed to do this. A day with no breaks, toy throwing and hitting and temper tantrums because the boy wants all the attention (or just his mother to be there,)makes Gwen a stressed and no fun girl. I didn't make the decision to stay home just to make someone else's child care issues easier. G. seemed to take the news fairly well. I know that it is really difficult to find child care and I was affordable, and I wish her luck.

Anyway, enough with the ranting, the next thing I will post is another love Thursday. I am thinking about it right now. :)

Home for a rest, not likely.

2006-10-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

So if you are among the few people who read my blog you may have wondered if I fell off the face of the earth. Hmm, well I didn't exactly, but I did spend two (mostly) wonderful weeks on the other side of the country. Now you may think that I should have posted as "Right Coast Mama", and you would be right, I should have, but I didn't. So, what to do? Well I guess that a recap will be forthcoming, but not tonight. I still need to decompress and Aidan isn't adapting well to being back home. I think it will take us quite a bit of time to getting him back into his routine.

The main problem is, yes you guessed it, sleep. He seems to be having separation anxiety especially in the middle of the night. He has been waking up at 3 or 4 am and then he just wants to cuddle. He isn't ready to be awake, he doesn't want to play, all he wants is to be as close to me as he can. The odd thing is that when this ever happened before he always wanted to nurse. Now he just wants to be close. It is harder to get him to sleep after this happens when we aren't nursing. I guess it is me that is missing it.

It is really funny to me that I can miss something that I was sure was going to be a bit of a chore that I would do for six months or until he bit me. Eighteen months later and I am mourning that fact that he is weaning. Sigh.

Anyway, as I am falling asleep at the laptop, I should let you dear readers (my that was presumptuous of me,) go, and bid you adieu. Good night.

Pink Socks, They always Look Girly, Unless They Just Look Cute

2006-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know you now have "Black Socks" going around in your head. So do I, but in my head I am rewriting the lyrics to describe something Aidan did this morning.

Ok, here goes:

Pink Socks,
They always look Girly
The longer you wear they the warmer you get.
Sometimes they look kinda cozy,
but, Aidan keeps saying "I won't steal them yet."

Pink Socks,
They always look girly,
The longer you wear them the warmer you get.
Sometimes they look kinda cozy,
Now, Aidan's decided "I'll take what I can get."

Pink Socks,
They always look girly,
The longer you wear them the warmer you get.
Sometimes they look kinda cozy,
Now Aidan's stole them, I'll be cold in a bit.

Pink Socks,
They used to look girly,
The longer he'll wear them the warmer he'll get.
Sometimes they look kinda cozy,
I know he is practicing, he'll pull them on yet.

Pink Socks,
They used to look girly,
The longer he wears them the warmer he gets.
Sometimes they look kinda cozy,
I know he is thinking, "Yes, I did it."

ALL BY MYSELF!!

Long time, no post.

2006-09-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been busy with the boys. Aidan has been good, but T. is being very aggressive and getting on my nerves. I know that part of it is that T. is not seeing his mom as often as he wants, he has just today got a new tooth, but he is so much more destructive aand aggressive than Aidan was at his age.

Today wasn't too bad because it was short, we had a long walk and T. had a long nap. I had a horrible tuesday and yesterday we couldn't get out because it was raining so hard and the double stroller doesn't have rain protection. I may just have to say scew it and get Aidan a full rain suit and have him on the front. He would probably be happier with that anyway.

After Aidan's nap today (which was shorter than he would have liked) Aidan did the strangest and cutest thing. He just lay down on the living room floor. About 15 minutes later he moved about 2 feet anf then did it again. A few minutes later he cuddled with me for about half an hour. Needless to say he went to bed very easily tonight.

Sorry for the rambly post, I hope to post more coherently tomorrow.

I Can Pick Out an Apple All by Myself

2006-09-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Aidan is quite fond of fruit as long as it is whole. He loves apples and nectarines and plums, but if I cut them up for him he just spits the pieces out of his mouth.

This afternoon after his nap Aidan was doing his usual rooting around in the bookshelves and found the fruit basket. He pick out an apple and started using those chompers of his to take some huge bites out of it. Of course he left most of it for someone else to finish, but he did try for a nice healthy snack.

And you know what they say . . .

Canadian Idol:Update

2006-09-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

So they had the Final two compete yesterday. Hmm, well it was ok and I am pretty sure that Eva will win, but it wasn't the most exciting Canadian Idol ever. I think there were only two things really of note.

1: Farley, wow man, your fashion sense is truly out there. I am sure that no other man could pull off the outfit you had on last night except perhaps Willy Wonka. (Just for those of you who don't know he was wearing a white suit with black accents a white bowler hat and a big black and white polka dotted tie.)

2: Zach, you are so emotional. I think that you must be great with your kids. They will always know what you are feeling and I think that for the most part that is a good thing.

Love Thursday

2006-09-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Baby Love. It makes me smile anytime I see this picture.

Life was very busy

2006-09-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Did we mention that Nana Lorraine was in town for a quick visit (and a Girl Guide conference)? That's this week's excuse for a lack of postings (which I'm in the middle of rectifying). Mom was really happy to get time out here and enjoyed the conference and even managed to get me back into guiding. I am not sure if I will stay after this year but up until the trip to Quebec with eleven 14-16 year old girls I really enjoyed it.

Nana and Aidan

Nana at the Museum of Anthropology
This weekend past was Labour Day weekend. The weather was gorgeous, so we took advantage of it. Need to get outside before the rainy season starts!

On Sunday we took Aidan to the water park (Yes, I'm aware of the irony of going to the water park during the sunny, dry season before the rain comes). He sure likes holding the hose. And, he sure doesn't like sharing it. (Last night we were passing a real fire hydrant and he was stearing us towards it.)

In fact, he gets right pissed when someone else wants to use the hose! You should have heard the growling!

On Monday we picked Mom up from the Guide camp in the far reaches of Maple Ridge and brought along a picnic basket (thanks CMT!) to have lunch at Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park. After lunch, we went for a bit of a hike, with predictable results.

Sooooooo......

File this in the "Doh! Should have thought about that!" folder.

You know how those disposable diapers get pretty bulky as whatever chemical inside of them swells as it absorbs moisture? Guess what happens when a toddler (who will not be named) sits his butt down in a pool of water with a fresh diaper?

It explodes!

Well, pretty much. It swells so quickly that water-absorbed crystals erupt from the lining of the diaper. Man, the stuff was everywhere. Hopefully we got it all cleaned up ... I can't imagine that it's particularly healthy to eat.

Here's some pictures of the boy recreating the incident, but with a swim diaper on.

No, I don't know why he was trying to lie in the water.

He's not drinking the water -- he's blowing bubbles. No, really.

The Amazing Climbing Boy will climb anything!
All text ammended from Anthony's earlier posts. I am quite happy to take my husband's hard work and make it my own.

Dinner Out

2006-09-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, last Wednesday (my mom was in town, and that was the night she could babysit) a bunch of us went out to dinner. We played it up classy, with the excuse that it was a "post-graduation" dinner (Tomer and Ali had graduated within the past few months, Carla within the past year-and-a-bit, and Anthony graduated two years ago). We headed up to Horizon's Restaurant on Burnaby Mountain. A little expensive, but a good time was had by all.

Carla and Tomer

Tomer and Ali

Parisa, Anthony, Gwen, Carla, Tomer, and Ali

Canadian Idol: Update, Late

2006-09-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Canada, at last you have taken my advice. You got rid of Tyler. Frankly now I don't really care who wins.

Good Luck Eva and Craig.

Canadian Idol: Update

2006-09-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Canada, Canada, what am I going to do with you? You kept Tyler, again. Come on, don't you know he SUCKS!!!? I am becoming disillusioned with the whole thing.

And, it has to be said, that Sass, what the hell were you thinking when you decided to go for dreads? Was the beer to hard to get out of your hair one night and you decided you liked the way it looked? If you are going to go with a hairstyle that looks ridiculous, at least go for something that would look a little better on you. Right now you just look unwashed. You, my dear, can NOT get away with this look. In fact it is kinda like how Preston Manning (former leader and founder of the Reform Party) looked when some idiot told him to get rid of the glasses. Take my advice and get a new stylist if this is what they told you would look good.

Ok Canada, I am giving you one more chance to get rid of Tyler, do not disappoint me!

Lighthouse Park

2006-08-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Since Saturday was taken up by looking for and failing to find glasses, Sunday morning we went to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. Aidan slept very well the night before so we figured we could get a bit of a hike in before he needed his nap. So 10:30 ish we set out for West Vancouver.

The entrance to the park is off Marine Drive about halfway between Ambelside and Horseshoe Bay. The drive is very scenic and the houses you can see along the road are beautiful. I can only assume that the ones on the water side are gorgeous since you can't see many of them. By the time we got there and parked Aidan was raring to get going.

We walked through the lovely park down the Valley Trail to Starboat Cove, took some pictures, and continued to the Light Station and the Lighthouse viewpoint. Again we played with my camera and took some pretty decent pictures. We had a snack and Aidan had some running time by the Nature house and Sk'iwitsut buildings. We then set out to the West Beach trail to another viewpoint. Just before the viewpoint on a nicely groomed trail but for one rock that caught my left foot and I twisted my ankle and scraped my knee and leg for the first time in years. (I'd say at least 15 :p) After trying to clean it up as best I could with baby wipes we kept walking and about 15 minutes later Aidan was asleep in the backpack. It is amazing how cute he looks when he is asleep. Anyway, I guess the pictures will tell the whole story.

(Which I will add to the post as soon as Aidan naps.)

Aidan and Anthony at Starboat Cove, Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver 27 August 2006

Lookout over looking Starboat Cove (City of Vancouver in the distance)

Light Station over looking the Lighthouse

Aidan and Anthony (Anthony thought this looked like he had a beer belly but it is just his shirt puffing a bit because of the backpack.)

Snack time for Aidan and a chance for him to run around in the dirt a bit. (He was filthy in about a minute.)

Me, looking westish towards Howe Sound on the West Beach lookout.

Shore Pine Point

Look at that Road Rash

Aidan asleep on the Shore Pine Trail

Aidan still asleep at the car. Unfortunatly he woke up when we put him in the carseat and didn't nap anymore that afternoon. He did go to bed early though.

Cheers to the New Bi-Ped

2006-08-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Aidan has taken more than two steps on his own. FINALLY!!

I can now say to anyone who asks "Is he walking on his own yet?" "Yes, as a matter of fact he is." I don't have to tell anyone that it was only at the beach and he wouldn't repeat it at home. It is ok. He can do it. Well I have known for months that he could do it. He just wouldn't walk on his own.

His first step he fell but then he got back up and started motoring to the hibachi on the ground just getting ready to be lit. Ah, you say it was the danger factor that we hadn't counted on. Aidan will walk towards the things he really wants, and the things he wants are dangerous. Hmm I might have to sneak a couple of sharp knives to my Mom at the airport to entice Aidan to walk to her. That wouldn't get me into trouble, eh?

I will try to get some of this fabulous walking on the web as soon as Aidan will walk in front of the video camera. The cool thing though is that Aidan walked in front of both Anthony and I. You never know when a real first is going to happen, and I am very glad that both of us got to see it.

Penaten, Penaten Everywhere, and Not a Drop of Rash

2006-08-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

This morning after Aidan had a short nap and T. was down for the count I decided to read my scrapbooking book. Aidan was happily watching Veggie Tales or baby crack as we like to call it here, and I thought I was safe. Aidan was moving around a bit but his attention was still on the songs so I really thought I could read. He then found the tin of diaper cream, you know the really thick zinc oxide. I thought (stupid me) that it was ok, because he was engrossed in the Veggie Tales and he couldn't open the tin anyway.

Now to be fair (to me) he is always quiet when he watches these songs and usually he doesn't even move, so it really wasn't any quieter than usual to get my mommy radar going. When I looked up Aidan, the coffee table and all of the clothes he was wearing were covered in diaper cream. Silly me I went down to get my camera and started a video conversation with Anthony at work before I cleaned him up. Well, I guess that it was the parent in me. I couldn't be angry at him as it was totally my fault for under-estimating his ability to open things.

So, check out the pictures and laugh with me. I think the shirt and the pants are done for.

After a lot of work, baby wipes, dish soap, soaking, baking powder, Spray n' Wash, detergent and a super hot Super wash most of the Penaten came out except for a little stain on the shirt. Wow. I thought they were done for. Now if only the Spray n' Wash didn't have such a bad smell. I have had a migraine since spraying the clothes.

Thursday Love

2006-08-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks and Irene Nam of Momster started Love Thursday. I really liked the idea but didn't get around to getting the picture and links up last Thursday, so today I am doing a double.

The first picture is of my husband Anthony and my son Aidan in the first 48 hours of Aidan's life. I love the picture and it really reminds me of the love I have for both of my boys and the love my husband has for our son.

This second picture shows my grandmother's love for her first great grandson. I love all that you see is Aidan and his grandnana's hands. The love that radiates from this picture is almost tangible.

Happy Love Thursday!

Canadian Idol

2006-08-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

So Canada you have kept Tyler again. Sigh, what are we going to do? I really thought he sucked.

Canada, please start to listen to the sounds coming out of his mouth. He SUCKS!!!! Dude needs to get a brain and go back to Saskatchewan. If you are only voting for him because of the Western alienation thing, get a grip. It is a friggin singing contest. Therefore the dude who doesn't have a brain and can't sing shouldn't be there. Please, for the love of Pete get rid of him next week!!!

As for the rest of them, I don't really care who wins. Eva and Chad you should get to the top two but if you don't, do like the song says "Blame Canada." :)

Weekend Update

2006-08-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I guess you could say that like most of my weekends this one was nothing too out of the ordinary. Friday night filled with "Take Home Chef" and "What Not to Wear" on TLC. Saturday filled with "Flutag," sunburns, video games and cards. Sunday filled with two sickies.

It seems as soon as Aidan gets a cold the next day Anthony has it as well. I am not really sure what to make of this. It is a little annoying but there is not much we can do. Anthony will almost never take time off when he is sick so he stays sick longer and on the weekends he is pooped. Both of them are getting better but as with any cold they seem to linger for a long time. This one seems much longer since it came only 3 weeks after the beginning of the last one.

Friday I managed to get a couple of cute pictures of the kids. Aidan and T. sitting on their matching chairs.

Aidan sitting like a "big boy" after nearly giving his mother a heart attack. He has taken to climbing on anything that he possibly can.

On Saturday we went to see the Flutag (Flying Day) sponsored by Red Bull. We went with our friends Tomer and Carla and we found a pretty good spot to watch the first few. It was pretty shady and Aidan took the time to suck up to Carla. I swear he is an opportunistic little devil.

The flying machines were pretty silly and most of them didn't make it very far. This one was still in first place when we left.

When we got home we decided to extend the day and Carla and Tomer stayed for supper. A nice corn on the cob, nugget potatoes and green beans for Carla and that plus some good steak for the rest of us. While we were preparing supper the boys were able to get some video game time in on the x-box. NHL hockey anyone? Aidan had at least three controllers trying to find one that would actually let him play. I am thinking that we will need a game system for him very soon. (Ok we will play too, but it will be mostly his.) Carla managed to get a nice picture of the boys playing.

After supper we got Aidan down to bed and then played the weirdest game of wizards ever. I swear that in the first game Anthony had crap and got way too many tricks for the hands that he had. In the second game I was under 50 until the very end because he had passed the luck my way. There was a hand where I had 2 wizards and a bunch of trump and still managed not to get the right amount of tricks.

Sunday we made a lazy day. Aidan was pretty cranky and Anthony needed a day of rest to get back to work on Monday. I was a bit cranky too, but Anthony really did need the time and he rescued me when I reached the end of my rope.

Now that I have the weekend up I might have to do a week update. :)

Confessions Update

2006-08-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

I wrote earlier about some of my frustrations with the two boys that I am looking after; my own and a friend's son. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get our rules to mesh a bit better. The unfortunate thing is that we can't have a rule for my house and not hers because at 12 months he won't understand that different situations have different rules.

So I broached the subject of throwing objects. I was positive and I just said that "Something we are working on is not throwing objects even balls." I told her my strategy of taking the ball or whatever and stating what the object is for. I.E. "The ball is for rolling not for throwing. The maraca is for shaking not for throwing." I am hoping that with all of us doing the same thing I will have the boys under a little bit of control and not have them hurt or my house broken.

I also gave her his first "drawing" before I broached anything. I know she was very pleased with it and I hope it softened the blow. I also hope that crouching it in positive language made it better. I am trying to make things easier for all of us and keep the boys safer.

Confessions

2006-08-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am not so sure that babysitting/caring for my friend's child is working out for me. I am not sure I want to be a care-giver. I am sure that I am not looking forward to September when it goes from 3 days a week to 5 full days a week.

Does this make me a bad person? I hope not. But my friend's child is driving me crazy. He is a few months younger than my son Aidan and can be very clingy. It isn't that Aidan can't be that way, but he is my child and usually a few minutes of cuddling and maybe a couple of minutes of breastfeeding and he is good to go. Of course this isn't possible with my friend's child. (Well the cuddling is, but that doesn't seem to work as well as it does for Aidan.)

He is also a thrower of things. I am pretty sure this is because my friend and her husband taught the boy to throw a ball early on. No rolling the ball for them. Throwing. Now this means that now he throws balls, toys, anything that he can pick up. I have tried really hard with Aidan to not throw things. Even balls. Especially since very soon they will be told in no uncertain terms "Don't play with that basketball/baseball/soccerball in the house, you will break something!" I have been trying to be a little subtle with the different rules that they have for their son, but I am thinking that I will have to be clear very soon that throwing things is one of my absolutely not rules.

Now don't get me wrong about this, I really like the boy. I am just not ready to have two little boys so close in age, but on totally different schedules, in my house almost full time. There are times when they are playing along side each other and my son isn't taking the toys from my friend's child that I think this may not be so bad. Then there are times like today when it is now 1:15 and I might be able to get some breakfast. {sigh.} I guess that I just have to hope that the bilingual daycare has a spot that opens up in January. (That is the earliest age that they would take my friend's son.) Though maybe in a few weeks I will have them on a similar schedule and we can start doing things again, then things might be good, great even.

In the meantime, please tell me I am not a bad person, and that there is hope for things to get better.

Canadian Idol: I can't keep quiet anymore.

2006-08-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

To the voting Canadian public:

What the Hell are you thinking???????? Why have you not kicked Taylor to the curb yet? If I hear another "Dude where's my car?" moment from him I honestly don't know what I will say. Come on! Ashley has been kicking ass and you throw her away. It is almost enough to make a person actually watch it when it is being aired and vote.

To the contestants:

Steffi: Get rid of the bows. Sure they were fine in the beginning but now they are just getting in the way of people taking you seriously. Also, figure out how to emote a bit more. I think you could be amazing but right now all people see is someone acting.

Taylor: For god's sakes if you don't have a brain in your head by all means keep speaking the way you do. If you do have some intelligence stop imitating Ashton Kutcher in "That 70's Show" and say something intelligent.

Craig: Stop with the cheesy ballads and cheap theatrics. Oh, but thanks for choosing at least 1 song written for a male. Don't ever choose a Celine song. Please!

Chad: Choose some upbeat songs. Right now you are just a bit boring.

Eva: Shock the crap out of people and sing a song at least partially in French. Come on girl represent yourself!

To the judges:

Sass: Stop hitting on the young boys and for god's sake don't get drunk on the show!!!

Farley: Get out of the suit once in a while. It might do you some good.

Zach: Say what you mean and don't pussyfoot around it. Come on, they are paying you for your opinion.

Jake: Disagree with Zach all you want, don't take it so personally.

To Ben Mulroney:

Please stop the I have no clue about music but that sounded wonderful to me crap. Come on, just admit that you have a tin ear and that nobody hired you for you looks or appeal to the Canadian public. Damn I really can't think of one reason why they would hire you for this particular job.

To People everywhere:

Can we start a web campaign to rid Canadian Idol of Mulroney? I would sign in a flash. Let us vote him off idol and keep a contestant another week!!

Am I Getting Old?

2006-08-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Since when did 33 become old? When did 33 mean you have all kinds of aches and pains that keep you from sleeping? I guess it might be like Penn Jillette says, that after you mid twenties everyone has some sort of pain.

Sigh, well, this pain kept me up till almost 4am last night. And I am babysitting this morning. WTF, if it was going to happen why not Monday night instead? I feel weird that it was so sleep depriving because it was merely really uncomfortable. The fact that my Ipod died was just a lovely bonus. I should have just have gone out for a walk. Maybe that would have got me to sleep sooner.

Anyway, enough bitching about pain. I will post something later about the boy. :)

New Camera, My Favourite Subjects

2006-08-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Something we hear a lot at our house: Anthony says, "Aidan, where's Mommy?"

Aidan and Anthony, False Creek Elementary School

We went walking and stumbled upon a small playground one day. I brought Aidan and Anthony back here to play. I am not sure that Aidan liked his first time on a tire swing. It was funny seeing Anthony try to maneouvre in and out of it though.

Aidan did however love the slide. It was on a slight hill and he could, with our help, climb up the slide and then go down on his own.

Aidan went down a couple of times on his bum, but he preferred to go both up and down on his tummy.

Wow this looks steep. It is amazing what you can do with camera angles.

Too bad you can't see all the dirt. He had a blast though. "Catch you later Grandparents."

Teething Again

2006-08-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Aidan never does anything half assed. He is teething again. This time it is two molars and an eye-tooth. All. At. The same time! This doesn't make for a restful weekend.

Friday night I was sure that Aidan would be asleep in no time because he was tired, a little bit frantic and he got up before 7 that morning. This usually means that he goes down really easily. Not this night. I am pretty sure that he woke himself at least three times before midnight. This was when we decided that tylenol, and some dimetap for the stuffy nose might be in order. While it may be really easy to give Aidan medicine when he is awake, when he is tired and has woken himself up a few time it is a disaster in the making. Aidan still had a hard time sleeping. It was about this time that we figured out how many teeth he was trying to get out at once. He woke another few times during the night and we were all exhausted on Saturday morning. About 10 am we refound the oragel. Aidan was quiet for a full hour. Sigh, why didn't we remember it the night before?

Saturday we spent mostly looking for glasses for me. It is always difficult and the pair that I like best is $529 just for the frames. Most of the hip glasses are not for my face at all. They make it look rounder than it should and really much older than I want to look. I think I have a couple that might work but we couldn't keep going with Aidan because he was very quickly becoming "Tantrum Boy."

On Sunday we got up later than the day before and didn't do too much. Well Anthony cleaned out the filing cabinet, shredded three garbage bags full of paper and file all the bills and other paper that was hanging around the front table and computer desk. Oh we also got our new camera. Anthony found a nice camera very much on sale and got it to replace our small digital camera that was lost/stolen from our luggage at Christmas-time. So I had a chance to play with it a little bit. I will be posting some pictures a little later. I am also planning to take some pictures of me in some frames. Maybe I can get some comments on which pair to get.

Anyway, after playing at the park, eating supper and a bath Aidan was very tired and went to sleep without a fuss. Keep you fingers crossed for a good night.

Should I or Shouldn't I?

2006-08-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Please help! If there are any lurkers I need your comments.

I have written a post about my stepmother. It was cathartic and I needed to write it. Now I just need to know if I should post it.

I haven't named my stepmother and it is very unlikely that she will ever find my blog let alone read it. The post isn't mean, and my husband doesn't think that it is too harsh considering what she did. I am obviously of two minds as to whether or not to publish this post. I would like to get all these things off my chest and it is probably better that I don't burden my father with this. It is also extremely unlikely that he will read the post either.

I also think that if I publish this post that I will feel a hundred times better. Just having it on my computer as a draft has helped but I know that having it on my blog will take another full load off. That is a huge part of the reason that I started a blog other than my family blog. I needed a place to write things that are not always warm and fuzzy. Our family blog is a way to let the people back home see some of the changes in Aidan that they miss living on the very other side of the country. This blog is a way for me to get things off my chest. It is not always nice and cute, (though sometimes it is) and has already made being a SAHM better. I feel more connected with other people even if I don't exactly know who those people are.

So connect people, should I publish the post or should I delete it, or should I keep it on my dashboard ready if I feel the need? Help me please.

Spreading the Love

2006-08-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

PajamaMama has christened the next few days:
The Bloggin' Good Blogger Days.

Your mission, shall you choose to accept it (and you will), is to go to as many blogs as you can and point out at least one good thing about the author of that blog. Do your best to give them a warm fuzzy feeling. Show your appreciation, admiration or plain old joy.
Tell them why something they did touched you, why a choice they made shows the true fabric of their moral being. Just go BE NICE to every blogger who's blog you read today. And don't be shy, either!!
Plus, post an entry similar to this one on YOUR blog and ask people to leave warm fuzzies in your comments. Spread the love, people!

Maybe if we take a week to engage in warm fuzzies, they will become a more permanent part of our daily lives, both on and off the computer.
In review:
1. Leave me a warm fuzzy in my comments.
2. Post a similar entry (or copy and paste this one, giving credit) on your own blog.
3. Leave a warm fuzzy on every blog you visit today.
4. Sit back, read your own warm fuzzies and feel, well, warm and fuzzy!
Enjoy!

All credit to her, esp for the body of this post. I love the idea, and liked how she phrased it, so I pretty much copied the instructions.

While you are at it visit a few of my favourite blogs from the blogroll. You will not regret it! Pass the good Karma along.

Politics of breeding (Shout Out to Queen of Spain)

2006-08-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

A few minutes ago I read a post by the Queen of Spain on the politics of breeding. I was amazed at how fired up I felt and I knew that I had to post because 1 comment wasn't going to be enough. I am not sure where this post will end up but I am sure that it is something that needs to be said. At least it needs to be said by me.

As a teacher I am already on the bottom of the politician's totem pole. Which is really a funny analogy when you think about it because the bottom of the Totem pole is the most important. If the base isn't strong and steady the whole thing just collapses. It is definitely like that with teaching and childcare, and parenting. How can you have a stable society if you make the stabilizing professions so difficult to be part of that many talented people don't take them up?

As a teacher it is so difficult to get into the public system in BC that many people stay on a "teacher on call" (toc from now on) list that they end up having a few part time jobs as well, live with their parents or depend on their spouse to make ends meet. (It can take as much as 2-4 years to get a year long contract and at any time that contract can be terminated for the next year and you are right back on the toc list.) If people are in a situation I was in, they end up working for an independent school for much less pay (and the pay is pitiful for public school teachers) and delay the time you must put in on the toc list of the public school, just so they have a dependable income to pay the essentials like rent and food. Let me tell you when you are making less than 30 K a year you are not buying a house any time soon. Not only do a lot of new teachers end up with mounds of student debt, they end up behind schedule if they take the independent school detour (to pay said debt)and even further from being a big tax paying individual. Isn't that what the government wants, a big tax paying individual? Then why do they not make education a priority. They under fund it, make our stupid union (another topic for another day) fight for wages, overpopulate schools with students and underpopulate it with teachers and then wonder why teachers are unhappy.

If teaching is so unimportant to people, child care seems to be worse. The lack of daycare in this country is pitiful. The money that Harper's government decided to send us monthly does absolutely northing to remedy this. A hundred dollars a month, that they are going to tax back, (which is really going to screw up the people that really need it) is not going to make more child care spots. It is to going to change the 1-3 year waiting lists for spots. It is not going to make it any easier for a parent to stay home with their child. The main reason I am taking care of my friend Gen's child is exactly that. She put her son on a waiting list before he was born! She still does not have a daycare spot for him. In fact we both need to get our sons on pre-school lists yesterday.

The child care issue is one of the reasons I decided to stay at home with my son. I also decided that since we could make the sacrifice to have me stay at home that it was well worth it. Who needs to be able to buy a house anytime soon? The fact that I am still a toc also was a factor. My detour of three years seems to have made a big difference. I was on the toc list only about half a year before I got pregnant. So now I have detoured again. Sigh, I am never going to get a permanent position. The thought of having no discernible schedule for Aidan was too scary to contemplate. We also live across the country from all our family. The 6000km commute is a little much to get a reliable babysitter. All of these factors are not the most important in our decision to have me stay home with Aidan. The most important factor was and is that I want to stay at home with my son. I want to be the one who teaches him all kinds of things. I want to see him in all kinds of firsts. I want him to be a well adjusted social being who loves life and knows without a doubt that he is loved. Now this is not me saying at all that children without a stay at home parent do not have these things and are not loved as much. I just had the choice and for me there was no other one.

I am so glad that I made this choice. I am SAHM. SAHM I am. I made this choice, and I was fully supported by my partner-in-parenting-crime. When I was pregnant I wasn't sure if I was going to be totally happy as a SAHM, but when push came to shove and I was in the thick of it I realized there is nothing else I want to be right now. I am Mother. I can and will be part of a movement of mothers for choice. Choices for childcare, choices for education, choices for the kind of blogging you choose to do. The choice to be a mom or not. Strap on a vagina and join me.

Post 3: am I Stupid?

2006-08-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, ok, it started well. Then I realized that Tristan is a sleep moaner. A loud sleep moaner. Aidan did well and I made sure the music was on. Unfortunately the sleep timer kicked in at about 45-50 minutes of his sleep. Which for those of you who don't know Aidan's sleep patterns is about the time he will wake up if something disturbs his cycle. So I only go about 40 minutes to myself.

Oh well, tomorrow I will have the music playing the whole time!!!

Post 2: am I Stupid?

2006-08-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

The answer is "NO!" They are both asleep. They talked (well Aidan did) for about 5 minutes, and when I peeked in just after the last post they were both quiet and lying down. Five minutes later both, asleep. Wow. Time to myself. Yeah!

Post 1: am I Stupid?

2006-08-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

I need a few minutes to myself. Both Aidan and Tristan need a nap. Both are fighting them. They both need to sleep in the same room. Am I being ridiculous trying to put them down at the same time? I will give them both 10 minutes and check on them. Keep you posted.

Over and out.

Firsts

2006-08-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today my baby boy got his first black(ish) eye. Sigh, he is such a boy!

Aidan loves to climb, and he loves books. Not just his books, but Mommy's books. The ones that are on the shelf that he shouldn't be able to reach. So, what did Aidan decide to do today? Well, he decided it would be fun to lure Mommy into a false sense of security. He decided that it would be a good time to climb up on the bottom shelf and reach as far as he could on tiptoes. He decided it would be a good idea to pull as many books as he could down to the floor. What he didn't anticipate was that he would fall on his butt and that the books would fall on top of him. He didn't understand that if that happens you should look down, not up. And then the small hardcover that he knocked down wouldn't poke you under they eye with the sharp corner.

When I heard the crash I turned around and Aidan had already closed his eyes and was in the silent part of the scream. I comforted him as best I could and he stopped crying fairly quickly. It was as I was sitting down with him that I noticed what had really happened. Until then I just thought some of the books had fallen on his head. Ouch! Corners of books can hurt. Thank goodness it was a small one and his black eye is only a small bruise. On the up side, 5 minutes of breastfeeding later and he was asleep for a three hour nap.

I hope he has learned his lesson. Hmm, not counting on it though. :)

Ponder

2006-07-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is a post I have been thinking about for awhile now. I am a stay at home mom for now and I have found something that really bothers me. Why is it that your childless friends think that your time is not as valuable as theirs is?

Now I am not saying that all my friends do this to me all the time, but there have been quite a few instances in the last few months where we have made a date to get together and the friend has bailed at the last second or called after they were supposed to be there. I understand that they have busy lives and when they call up and ask what I am doing later in the afternoon I am usually going to respond, "Nothing." However, what I mean by "nothing" is probably not what they think it is. I am going to try to get Aidan down for a nap. I am after that, going for a walk somewhere with him so that he doesn't turn into Tantrum Boy.

If I am waiting for a friend to come over, and if then said boy gets up early I am trying to entertain him until that friend is supposed to show up. Sometimes the boy sleeps later and that also messes things up, but only if the friend actually makes it to my house on time. I would chalk it up to just the one friend, but it has happened to me with others too. I know they had good reasons for being much later than they anticipated, and I can understand that. What I don't understand is people not calling to let me know they are going to be late or that they are going to blow me off entirely.

How much, in the time of cell phones, and they all have them, does it take to let someone know you are going to be late? A minute? Two? Or if we have made plans earlier in the week, the day before whatever, just call me in the morning if you don't think you are going to make it. That would piss me off much less. I am adaptable. I can make other plans. It is the holding pattern that you get in if you have plans with someone and half an hour after they were supposed to be there, then they call, that pisses me off.

People, stay at home moms do have a life. I am glad to have you in mine, but please, for the love of god, call if you are going to be late. That is all I ask!

(Anyone agree on this? Or am I just being a bitch?)

And I Didn't Cry

2006-07-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today Aidan got his first real haircut. Not just a trim. Not a hair here and there. A full blown haircut. I really liked his baby curls, soft hair, in his face, feathering around his ears. It made him look both angelic and mischevious at the same time.

The only problem with hair like this is the toddlers penchant for doing things himself. This means that when they are eating, everything, and I mean everything gets in their hair. This isn't the worst however, the worst is when your toddler has a cold.

Last week Aidan had a head cold. You know, one of those messy ones with lots of snot. Now, I know that some people take the time to style their hair with gel. Snot is not a good alternative. In fact it is damn hard to get out of hair. So hard in fact that you would think that I could actually sculpt a mohawk in Aidan's hair.

Now my baby boy has a really boyish haircut. No curls, no hair in his eyes. He looks so grown up. Sigh. 16 months and he looks like a small adult. Well, maybe not. I think I wouldn't feel so sad if it hadn't been my plan to get it cut. I knew that my husband needed his hair cut and I had to wash so much stuff out of Aidan's hair this last week or two that I knew in my head that he needed his hair cut too.

Now my husband has written for our family blog about the experience more eloquently than I can. So check out the post. I will just leave you with some pictures of my new boy.

Happy Anniversary

2006-07-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Anthony, you have made me so happy in the 6 years of our marriage and the 9 years previous that we have been together. There are not enough words to tell you how much I love you.

Happy Anniversary!

New Cousin

2006-07-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Aidan welcomes his new cousin Petranella Marie. She was born yesterday at 1 am eastern time. She weighed 8lbs 10 oz and is 21 inches long. We can't wait to get more details and pictures.

Congratulations Andreana and Sean!

Baby Crack

2006-07-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

No, not that kind of crack. The kind that keeps them glued to one spot. The kind that lets you strap a mask on the poor child and get through a half hour of medication into a struggling infant. The kind that lets you take the child you are taking care of downstairs for a nap and knowing that you son will not have moved at all. You know that he is safe and not showing you how small he can make himself by going under the baby gate and into the always fun bathroom. (Or going down the stairs by himself in a tumbling scare your mother to death kind of way.)

Yes boys and girls I am talking about the Veggie Tales Sing Along Videos. They are better than any other tv show. Aidan has always liked them. In fact when he was very small I used to feel guilty about letting him watch tv at all. But I soon got over it when I realized that I could actually get something to eat or, god forbid, go to the bathroom.

Now that I am taking care of my friend's son, it is the most valuable piece of toddler equipment that I own. I am so glad that I discovered the effects of Veggie Tales.

What about you? What are your best forms of baby distraction?

Blogher Envy

2006-07-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend there are hundreds of cool women bloggers advancing on San Jose, California. Sadly, I am not one of them. On both counts actually. I am not a cool woman, and so far not much of a blogger. I am trying however.

So, now I have a big case of Blogher envy.

When I first heard about the Blogher conference I thought that it sounded really cool, and well worth it for those women who were going. The conference topics sounded really interesting and more than that useful. But would a girl like me belong there? What could I add to the discussion?

You see I have not been blogging very long. Our family blog has only been in action since November and my own personal blog only about a week. I am not much of a writer yet, but I have found that having a blog is making my thoughts sometimes slow down enough to get them down on virtual paper. I even think that my writing is improving. Not enough yet to get much traffic, but enough that I might not be ashamed to let someone from the Blogher community look at it.

I have also recently come out of my shell a bit and start commenting on the blogs I have been lurking on for a while. I may come off as someone trying too hard, but I guess that is something you have to be willing to take. So, I am making the effort to do things. I write a post almost every day now. I comment in at least one place every day. I am starting to save for next year's Blogher.

Now I just have to pimp my blog around. Hopefully all it will take is a cute picture of my son. Children have to be good for something . . . don't they?

Perfect Post

2006-07-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever written the perfect post? You know one that is witty, intelligent and should resonate with people? Well I write those all the time, they just don't make it onto Blogger. I write my best posts while I am walking and thinking or just before I fall asleep.

Ah, now you understand why my blog is so boring and banal.

A great example is two nights ago. I was having a hard time falling asleep and I was listening to some podcast. It was either a Manic Mommies or a Mommycast or a Penn Radio. I know, I know, it is a weird mix. Anyway, I was thinking that one of the reasons that I find blogging hard is that my fingers can't keep up with my brain. By the time things come out of my fingers I read them and think, "That is not what I was thinking at all." Or in the alternative, "Damn, that was stupid." I then started thinking that maybe I should podcast instead. I know that my verbal skills are (at least most of the time) are much better than my written skills. I think that I even started to write the podcast in my head.

Ok, so why am I still blogging? Why did I even make the effort to get my own blog, instead of just writing for my family blog? I am really hoping to improve my writing and maybe even become as prolific as a few of my favourite bloggers. If you haven't already checked out A Mommy Story, Queen of Spain, Somewhere on the masthead do so now!

Well this certainly isn't the perfect post, but maybe I can be nominated for one of the Really Fucking Stupid Blog Awards. I am sure that the first category is probably right up my alley. :)

Have you ever?

2006-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

I found this over at Maniacal Days site. You Bold what you have done. Underline what you plan to do. Maybe someone will actually read this.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain (but only the hikable ones)
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said 'I love you' and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea (well, only next to the sea)
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper (just once or twice LOL)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse (lots of partials)
34. Ridden a roller coaster (but not real one)
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (talk like a pirate day Sept. 19)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states (Well, no, only a few but I have been to almost all the provinces and territories.)
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe (not yet)
47. Taken a road-trip (lots of them, the one to the Yukon and NWT was the longest I think.)
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving (See bungee jumping comment)
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretend to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (but only at home, Karaoke Revolution rocks!)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (I don't have the courage)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas (gotta see Penn and Teller)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house (Damn I hope so)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror (
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (not till the stomach is much more toned))
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about (I am not sure)
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (Well it was the day after our wedding)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145.Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Anyone reading this feel free to use any portion of this. Do any of these inspire a post?

A Pool is a Wonderful Thing

2006-07-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know there is not a lot of yard space in Vancouver. In fact most people do not have any yard and just have a balcony. This means that there are not a lot of pools in which to dunk you toddler in the blazing heat. Well, I guess that I spent the best five dollars of my life. (Except maybe the cat basket I bought for a buck, but that is another story.) I bought a blow up wading pool.

Now usually a blow up anything will take forever to inflate and leave you breathless. This one took only five minutes and that was while taking care of a 16 month old and a 12 month old. The boys have enjoyed the wading pool in my living room for a few days (dry of course) and I wasn't sure if it was going to be very good with water. Until today.

I put the wading pool on our tiny balcony, put less than an inch of water in it and Aidan crawled into it right away. I think that he has spent an hour and a half out of the last two in it. It is small enough that he can crawl over the sides and with the small amount of water he was very happy to splash and play without any worry. He was also cool.

Now, how do I get the water out?

Two Boys, A Cold and a Nap

2006-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

This week I started to sit for Gen as she went back to work. Tristan has been very good and there haven't been too many tears. Both he and Aidan have been napping but just not at the same time. They have been playing together quite well with not too many fights. I even think that Tristan will stop stalking the cats soon. The only thing that I have been worried about for a long time is the naps.

Naps are my down time. The time I get to do the really decadent things in my life. You know those things that make you life much more comfortable. Yes, I am talking about getting something to eat, a decent cup of tea, and the most decadent of all . . . I get to go to the bathroom . . . BY MYSELF!!!!!! So you must be guessing that the last two days might have been a little, . . . well (sigh) tiring. Yes I must admit that I was incredibly tired last night. So tired that I told Anthony the choice for dinner was either he or I go and get Wendy's. (He didn't complain.)

Of course all this was made much more difficult because Aidan had to go and get himself a head cold. This meant that Monday night he was up every hour wanting to be breastfed to clear his nose. Last night we gave in and I also bought a warm humidifier and Dimetap infant drops for stuffy nose. And guess what, Aidan slept till 4:00 am. (Good thing Anthony and I went to bed at 9:00 pm.) It took us a while to get him back to sleep and I was all to happy to dose him again.

This morning when Tristan came he had decided to also get the cold and kept his parents up all last night as well. At least it made both the boys tired. I took them out to play in the playground and brought them back for lunch. Gen came and put Tristan down for his nap and when she left I fed Aidan to sleep.

So, now they are both in the same room and asleep at the same time. And what do I do? Do I get the time to do the decadent thing as mentioned above. No I blog. :) Excuse me while I go to the bathroom. Alone. (Woo Hoo!!!!!!)