As If ...

I think I jinxed myself yesterday by saying how good life is.
Because when I got home my tooth started aching. It had been bugging me, but by 7:30 last night I was in severe pain. Of course on the Friday of a long weekend no dentist in Burlington was at their office. I was flipping through the yellow pages and calling every.single.office that had emergency service. And no one answered.
Then I finally discovered a phone number. It's very cool. It's the emergency dentist hotline. One dentist is always on call. So, I reached a very friendly dentist.
He went through all of my symptoms with me. And, he explained to me that not only was he convinced that I had a tooth infection, but that if I had a cold that had been around a couple of weeks and then my teeth were really hurting, my body was probably fighting an infection.
So this morning I'm going to go get my problem solved.
I've been told to get there for 9:30 and since my cousin's wedding is today he will have me out by 1.
Have I mentioned I'm terrified of the dentist? I'm squeamish. It hurts. I'm cranky. And I wanted to spend time looking pretty for the wedding, not having my teeth drilled.
However.
I am very grateful that I have fantastic dental coverage so I should get reimbursed for some of this appointment. And, I'm grateful that the dentist could squeeze me in today.
I'm just really hoping this does not mean a root canal. Because that will do me in. (and I'm going all alone and I need moral support for root canals.)
Wish me luck. Stupid Teeth.
PS I love this quote:
Germaine Greer - "The essence of pleasure is spontaneity."

FANTASTIC!

Things are good. I know I've been very sparse in my comments to everyone lately, and really, in posting. I've just been swamped with stuff. I think we all are - that's what summer is about.
But, some good stuff.
Yesterday we had a work event where we went in teams (go team 5) and did a scavenger hunt around the city. I love this kind of stuff. LOVE IT!!!! Luckily I was on a team that was amazing. We were enthusiastic... AND WE WON!!!!!!! So cool. I got a gift certificate for $100 at Yorkdale. Go Team.
Nothing says fun like shopping. And, we went out afterwards and I had a few drinks with some old work friends and made some new ones. I love getting to know people. And, get to know people I did.
THEN...
I came in this morning to check my e-mail. I was flattered beyond belief to find out that I had been awarded a Rocking Girl Award. I was nominated by my blogging friend who I knew from Journalism School. (as I type this I suddenly have a serious craving for Salad King).
Anyway, I'm flattered and honoured. And, then someone said something really nice about me in the comments. And, that made me even happier.
So, thank you my friend.
Part of this award is that I get to award a Rocking Girl award to 5 people.

Multi-Tasking Mommy - because not only does she have a great blog, she is also a truly beautiful person. She's my complete opposite, I think, and I've e-mailed her several times to ask her opinion on things. She's amazing!

Haley-O - Hers was one of the first blogs I ever read (after Nine Pound Dictator). She is entertaining and funny and I love teh way she writes. I also love her honesty about what she's going through.

Ali - I actually read her blog for months before commenting on it because I felt she was far too cool for me. I have since realized that as cool as she is she's also very nice and hilarious sometimes.

Getting Unstuck - I loved Chantel's blog. I love love loved her book (really, if you haven't read it you should) and I found out that we went to the same school. Random. Anyway ... Really, she has some cool stuff, like she has lots of beauty tips and funny stories. Cool.

Nine Pound Dictator - We all know I love Rebecca. She's amazing and wonderful. She's honest, and she writes her stuff not caring whether or not people are mean to her or make fun of it. She's totally my hero in blogging and maybe even in real life. How could I NOT nominate her?

Sometimes he's just so cute ...

tonight we got home, and I was feeling miserable. Matt was being whiny. So, I asked him if he wanted a treat.
I pulled out his favourite - Pringles chips.
"No, mommy. I don't want that treat. I want a good treat."
The first thing that came to mind was that we have no treats in our house. And then he explained that he in fact wanted RAISINS.
Seriously. Raisins. Not lollipops or chocolate or chips. Raisins.
And he followed that by asking for apple juice.
I do not get it!
But, whatever works.

Overprotective much??

I try very hard not to be an overprotective mom.
I don't freak out if my son falls. I don't generally get annoyed at other kids being kids around him. He's in daycare, and I'm not one of the parents who wants an accident report for every cut and scratch.
So, it struck me as rather odd when my overprotective mothering instinct kicked in a couple of weeks ago.
We live in a townhouse complex, so there is a wall that divides our house from the house behind us. (so we have a side yard rather than a backyard). The house behind us has several children, four we think, one of whom, M, is 6 going on 7.
I met her when we had taken Rosie Rose Petal, our kitten, for a car ride and we were carrying her back home. M stopped us and asked to hold Rosie. I said no because she was really scared. But, M wanted to talk and play with Matthew. I finally told her that the next time Matthew and I were outside she could come hold Rosie and play with Matt.
I thought she would forget.
But, the next time we were outside, out she came. She wanted Matt to come over to her place. I said no. It went back and forth. I finally had to put on my mommy voice and say that it was time for her to go home. (she and Matt wanted to play on his bunk beds - I didn't really want her to come in).
Again tonight Matthew and I were outside with my nieces, my husband and my brother in law. Over she came - decked out in her bathing suit - to play in the sprinkler. Apparently she had asked her mom.
I didn't really mind it. First of all, it was kind of nice to have a 6 (almost 7) year old play in the sprinkler while I took a break. If she's playing outside, with me around, I'm okay with it. She seems nice. But, she's a little pushy.
What worries me is she wants Matt to go and play with her and her friends. There are lots of kids in the complex. I want Matthew to have friends. I want him to ride bikes and play and have a good time. But I'm not ready for him to be out of my sight.
I'm not quite ready to let go.
I'm sort of worried that I'll turn into that mom chasing her child around, bottle of sunscreen in one hand, cookies in another.
And, the other thing I wonder about ... why is this little girl allowed to run around to some other kids' house, with no concept of time or who these parents are. I would say my parents were fairly protective of me, but not overprotective. But, I guarantee you that they would not have let me go over to a stranger's home dressed only in a bathing suit. Isn't dangerous????
So, what do you think? Am I overprotective? And at what point do you start to let go a bit? I think 3 is just way too young.

Strawberry Picking and Amazing Strapless Bra Pics

My big plan for this weekend was to hang out with my boys and relax. But here it is, 9pm on Sunday, and I just realized I have not relaxed. At all.
But we had fun!
Yesterday I did something that's been needed doing for a long time. I did all of our laundry. I was hitting the point where I felt I had no clothes. I was beginning to think Matthew needed more clothes. I did 10 loads of laundry and discovered that we had a lot more stuff than I thought. And, I went to town organizing the entire basement.
Today we were going to go to the Pride parade, but Mike seemed grumpy, and I decided that the last thing we needed to do was take the GO train to Toronto, then the subway, and then stand in the sun. It was too much.
So thanks to the brilliant idea of Multi-tasking Mommy I decided to take Matthew strawberry picking.
We had a ton of fun.

We went on a tractor ride, we went for a pony ride and of course we picked strawberries.

Luckily I wasn't in it for the actual strawberry side of things because neither Matt nor I turned out to be great at actually picking strawberries. We got bored rather easily, and were more excited to eat than to pick. We ended up with a half basket of strawberries. We had a ton of fun and spent about 3 hours at the farm.
Then this evening we had a big family party for all of the July birthdays and father's day. It reallly was a lot of fun.

The new playhouse!

Kyla's crocs!

And, of course I took a picture of me in the new strapless bra ... fantastic!